佛說摩鄧女經

Fóshuō Móténg nǚ jīng 佛說摩鄧女經

Sūtra of the Mātaṅga Woman translated by 安世高 (Ān Shìgāo, 譯)

About the work

The Fóshuō Móténg nǚ jīng (T551) is a one-fascicle short sūtra by Ān Shìgāo 安世高 (安世高). The protagonist Móténg nǚ 摩鄧女 (the Mātaṅga woman) is the famous low-caste woman whose attempted seduction of Ānanda triggers the discourse in the Shǒulèngyán jīng 首楞嚴經 (KR6j0118, Śūraṃgama-sūtra, T945). This text preserves a much shorter, narrative-focused version of the same story.

Prefaces

The text opens with the canonical formula.

Abstract

This text opens the “women’s sūtras” sub-cycle (KR6i0182–0202) — short narratives centered on female protagonists. The Mātaṅga story illustrates the Buddhist principle that the low-caste woman is no different from any other in her potential for liberation; her devotion to Ānanda is reframed by the Buddha as her aspiration for the Dharma. Translation falls within Ān Shìgāo’s productive period (148–170 CE).

Translations and research

• Faure, Bernard. The Power of Denial: Buddhism, Purity, and Gender. Princeton University Press, 2003.
• Sponberg, Alan. “Attitudes toward Women and the Feminine in Early Buddhism.” In Buddhism, Sexuality, and Gender, edited by José Cabezón. Albany: SUNY Press, 1992.

Links

• CBETA T14n0551
• Kanseki DB
• 安世高 DILA
• Dazangthings date evidence (160, 300) — Fei Changfang 費長房. Lidai sanbao ji (LDSBJ) 歷代三寶紀 T2034. T2034 (XLIX) 51a6-7, 52a6, 63c16-17.