Āshéshì wáng shòujué jīng 阿闍世王授決經
Sūtra of King Ajātaśatru Receiving the Buddhahood Prediction translated by 法炬 Fǎjù (譯)
About the work
The Āshéshì wáng shòujué jīng (T509) is a one-fascicle sūtra translated by 法炬 Fǎjù. It narrates Ajātaśatru’s reception of vyākaraṇa (shòujué 授決, prediction of future buddhahood) — a major Mahāyāna soteriological event in which the unrepentantly sinful king is nonetheless predicted to attain buddhahood, demonstrating the Mahāyāna doctrine that no being is excluded from the path.
Prefaces
The text opens with the canonical formula.
Abstract
The Ajātaśatru vyākaraṇa narrative is foundational for Chinese Mahāyāna doctrines of universal redemption. The narrative is treated extensively in the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra tradition (T374, T375) and in Mahāyāna apocryphal narratives. Translation falls within Fǎjù’s productive period (290–306 CE).
Translations and research
- Silk, Jonathan A. Riven by Lust. Honolulu, 2009.
- Radich, Michael. The Mahāparinirvāṇa-mahāsūtra. 2015.