Fóshuō Hēishì fànzhì jīng 佛說黑氏梵志經
Sūtra of the Black-Clansman Brahmin translated by 支謙 (Zhī Qiān, 譯)
About the work
The Fóshuō Hēishì fànzhì jīng (T583) is a one-fascicle short sūtra translated by Zhī Qiān 支謙 (支謙). The protagonist is a brahmin called Hēishì 黑氏 (“Black-Clan”; Sanskrit *Kṛṣṇa or *Kāla brahmana) who comes to the Buddha and is taught a parable of release. The text is the source of the famous Chán 禪 dialogue “The Brahmin Hēishì offers two flowering trees” (黑氏梵志獻花) cited in Bìyánlù 碧巖錄 (KR6q0078) case 27 and elsewhere.
Prefaces
The text opens with the canonical formula.
Abstract
A short avadāna sūtra in which the brahmin Hēishì, gifted with magical power, offers two flowering trees to the Buddha; the Buddha twice tells him “let go!” (fàngxià!) — first of the trees, then of body and mind. Datable to Zhī Qiān’s Wú-period activity (222–252 CE). The text became foundational for the Chán “fàngxià” trope.
Translations and research
- Cleary, Thomas, trans. The Blue Cliff Record. Boulder, 1977 — translation of Bìyánlù case 27 citing this sūtra.
- Nattier, Jan. A Guide to the Earliest Chinese Buddhist Translations. Tokyo: IRIAB, 2008.
Links
- CBETA T14n0583
- Kanseki DB
- 支謙 DILA
- Dazangthings date evidence (245) — T = CBETA [Chinese Buddhist Electronic Text Association]. Taishō shinshū daizōkyō 大正新脩大藏經. Edited by Takakusu Junjirō 高楠順次郎 and Watanabe Kaigyoku 渡邊海旭. Tokyo: Taishō shinshū daizōkyō kankōkai/Daizō shuppan, 1924-1932. CBReader v 5.0, 2014.