Fóshuō Zhuǎnyǒu jīng 佛說轉有經

Sūtra on the Transition of Existence (Bhava-saṅkrānti) translated by 佛陀扇多 (Fótuóshànduō / Buddhaśānta, 譯)

About the work

The Fóshuō Zhuǎnyǒu jīng (T576, Bhava-saṅkrānti-sūtra) is a one-fascicle Mahāyāna sūtra translated by Buddhaśānta 佛陀扇多 (佛陀扇多). The title rendered literally is “Sūtra on Transmigrating Existence”; zhuǎnyǒu 轉有 = bhava-saṅkrānti, the passage of bhava (existence) from one life to the next, treated here through the simile of a reflection (pratibimba).

Prefaces

The text opens with the canonical formula.

Abstract

A brief Mahāyāna treatise in sūtra form on consciousness, rebirth, and the absence of a transmigrating self, datable to Buddhaśānta’s translation activity at Luòyáng and Yè under the Northern Wèi (525–539). It is a parallel to the KR6i0207 大方等修多羅王經 by Bodhiruci I and to a Tibetan version preserved as Srid pa ‘pho ba’i mdo.

Translations and research

  • Aramaki, Noritoshi 荒牧典俊. “Bhavasaṃkrānti-sūtra studies.” See also references in May, Jacques. Candrakīrti, Prasannapadā Madhyamakavṛtti, Paris 1959.
  • No further substantial secondary literature in English located.