Dàshèng bǎifú zhuāngyánxiàng jīng 大乘百福莊嚴相經
Mahāyāna Sūtra of the Hundred Marks of Merit Adorning the [Buddha’s] Body re-translated by 地婆訶羅 (Dìpóhēluó / Divākara, 再譯)
About the work
T662 (one fascicle, alt. title 百福莊嚴相經; Sanskrit Mañjuśrīparipṛcchā-sūtra) is 地婆訶羅’s second rendering of the same Indic Mañjuśrīparipṛcchā underlying T661. The frontmatter notation 再譯 (“re-translated”) indicates that this is a deliberate second attempt by the same translator, presumably reflecting his maturing command of Chinese or a different exemplar of the Indic text.
Abstract
T662 is unanimously ascribed to 地婆訶羅 (Divākara, 613–687) in the canonical bibliographies. Date bracket follows his attested productive period (676–687). The text is closely parallel to T661 but with finer distinctions in the treatment of the “hundred marks of merit” doctrine; the alternate title (zhuāngyánxiàng “marks adorning [the body]”) emphasizes the role of meritorious roots in actively adorning the buddha-body, rather than simply being its causal source. The two versions may derive from slightly different recensions of the Mañjuśrīparipṛcchā — though it is more probable that Divākara revised his earlier rendering after acquiring better access to the underlying Sanskrit through later contact with Indian visitors.
Translations and research
- Chen, Jinhua. Philosopher, Practitioner, Politician: The Many Lives of Fazang. Leiden: Brill, 2007.
- Sen, Tansen. Buddhism, Diplomacy, and Trade. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2003.
No book-length English translation located.
Links
- CBETA T16n0662
- Kanseki DB
- 地婆訶羅 DILA
- Dazangthings date evidence (680) — T = CBETA. Taishō shinshū daizōkyō 大正新脩大藏經. Tokyo: Taishō shinshū daizōkyō kankōkai/Daizō shuppan, 1924–1932.