Tiānqǐngwèn jīng 天請問經
Sūtra of the Questions of a Deity translated by 玄奘 (Xuánzàng, 譯)
About the work
The Tiān-qǐngwèn jīng (T592) is a very short sūtra (about 350 characters) translated by Xuánzàng 玄奘 (玄奘). A god (deva) approaches the Buddha and poses a series of riddle-like verse questions which the Buddha answers in matched verse. The text is parallel to the Devatā-saṃyutta of the Pāli Saṃyutta-nikāya (SN 1).
Prefaces
The text opens with the canonical formula. The Xuánzàng translation colophon dates it to Zhēnguān 貞觀 22, ninth month, eighth day = 648 CE at the Hóngfúsì 弘福寺.
Abstract
A miniature sūtra, much-loved in East-Asian Buddhism for its Q-and-A verse structure and its compact ethical teachings (e.g. the famous lines on what is “the world’s greatest treasure”). Translated by Xuánzàng in 648 CE during the early phase of his post-pilgrimage career. Parallels: Pāli Devatā-saṃyutta (SN 1) and the Bié-yì zá ā-hán jīng 別譯雜阿含經. T2786, an anonymous commentary, is preserved in the [[KR6i0226|Tiān-qǐngwèn jīng shū 天請問經疏]] from Dūnhuáng.
Translations and research
- Demiéville, Paul. “Sur l’authenticité du Ta tch’eng k’i sin louen.” Bulletin de la Maison franco-japonaise 2 (1929): 1–78 — context for Xuánzàng’s translation idiom.
- Bodhi, Bhikkhu. The Connected Discourses of the Buddha. Boston: Wisdom, 2000 — Pāli parallel.
Links
- CBETA T15n0592
- Kanseki DB
- 玄奘 DILA
- Dazangthings date evidence (655) — 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.