Wēnshì jīng shū 溫室經疏
Commentary on the Wēnshì Sūtra commentary by 慧淨 (Huìjìng, 撰)
About the work
T2780 in one fascicle is the early-Tang commentary on [[KR6i0391|Wēnshì jīng 溫室經]] (T701) by 慧淨 (b. 578, fl. 605–650), recovered from the Dunhuang manuscript-cache and incorporated into the Taishō in vol. 85 (the gǔyì 古逸 miscellanea volume). 慧淨 is the same author as [[KR6i0366|Yúlánpén jīng zànshù]] (T2781), and both works share the same Dunhuang-recovered character.
Abstract
The commentary opens with a Tang-period xù 序 (preface): “夫溫室經者，斯乃積淨業之善基，蕩塵累之津澤” (“As for the Wēnshì jīng, it is the good foundation for accumulating the deeds of purity, and the ferry-route for washing away the burdens of dust [i.e. defilement]”). The image cluster — jiējīng 階橙 (“stairway”) to heaven, zhōuháng 舟航 (“boat”) to cross the sea of suffering, nángkuò 囊括 (“net”) containing cause and effect, bāojǔ 包舉 (“embracing”) merit and wisdom — establishes the elaborate parallel-prose register of the commentary. The yīniàn jìngxìn 一念淨信 (“a single thought of pure faith”) theme drawn from the parent sūtra is developed in close relation to the bodhisattva-stages framework: a single act of pure giving (the bath-house benefaction) takes the practitioner directly to the shídì 十地 (ten stages) of the bodhisattva path.
The commentary then proceeds through the parent sūtra section by section. Composition window: 慧淨’s active scholarly period at the early-Tang capital, 627 (Zhēnguān 1) – 650; no internal date is preserved. Together with [[KR6i0392|Yìjì 義記]] (T1793) by Jìngyǐngsì 慧遠, this constitutes one of two major medieval Chinese commentaries on the Wēnshì jīng.
Parent sūtra: KR6i0391 (T701). Companion commentary: KR6i0392 (T1793).
Translations and research
- Salguero, C. Pierce. Translating Buddhist Medicine in Medieval China. Philadelphia, 2014.
- Mochizuki Shinkō 望月信亨. Bukkyō kyōten seiritsu shi-ron. Kyoto, 1946 (on Tang scriptural exegesis).
No standalone English translation located.