Fóshuō bā dà púsà jīng 佛說八大菩薩經
Sūtra of the Eight Great Bodhisattvas translated by 法賢 Fǎxián / Dharmabhadra (譯)
About the work
The Fóshuō bā dà púsà jīng (T490) is a one-fascicle Sòng-period Mahāyāna sūtra by 法賢 Fǎxián. It enumerates and praises the aṣṭa-mahābodhisattva (eight great bodhisattvas): Mañjuśrī, Avalokiteśvara, Maitreya, Samantabhadra, Vajrapāṇi, Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin, Kṣitigarbha, and Ākāśagarbha.
Prefaces
The text opens with rúshì wǒwén. The colophon attributes the translation to Fǎxián.
Abstract
The doctrine of the eight great bodhisattvas is a late-Mahāyāna systematization of the Mahāyāna pantheon. Each bodhisattva is associated with a specific function: Mañjuśrī (wisdom), Avalokiteśvara (compassion), Maitreya (future buddha), Samantabhadra (universal practice), Vajrapāṇi (protection), Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin (hindrance-removal), Kṣitigarbha (rescue from hells), Ākāśagarbha (memorial-power). The grouping became foundational for Vajrayāna iconographic schemes (the aṣṭamaṇḍala of the eight great bodhisattvas is standard in Tibetan and Chinese esoteric Buddhist art).
The translation is dated to Fǎxián’s post-987 CE Sòng productivity (989–1000 CE).
Translations and research
- Sen, Tansen. Buddhism, Diplomacy, and Trade. Honolulu, 2003.