Shí bùshàn yèdào jīng 十不善業道經
Sūtra on the Ten Paths of Unwholesome Action (Daśākuśala-karmapatha-sūtra) compiled by 馬鳴菩薩 (Aśvaghoṣa, 集), translated by 日稱 (Rìchēng, 等譯, “and others”)
About the work
T727 in one fascicle is a Northern Sòng translation of an Indian Buddhist text on the ten paths of unwholesome action (daśa-akuśala-karmapatha), traditionally attributed to 馬鳴菩薩 (Aśvaghoṣa) and translated in the mid-eleventh century by 日稱 (Rìchēng) and bureau collaborators at the Sòng Yìjīngyuàn.
Abstract
The text classifies action by the standard ten karmapatha — three of body (killing, stealing, sexual misconduct), four of speech (lying, slander, harsh speech, idle talk), and three of mind (greed, ill-will, false views) — and expounds the karmic recompense for each. The framework is canonical Buddhist vinaya-ethics applied as moral theology, and the Sòng translation is one of several Chinese versions of this very common Indian Buddhist genre.
The attribution to Aśvaghoṣa is consistent with the Aśvaghoṣa-school kāvya-applied-to-Buddhist-ethics genre seen in the paired KR6i0420 / T726 (also by Aśvaghoṣa, translated by 日稱). The two works form a doctrinal-poetic pair: the Liùqù lúnhuí jīng describes the consequence-side (the six rebirth-destinies as outcomes), this work the cause-side (the ten paths of unwholesome action as causes).
The text became a standard reference in Sòng and post-Sòng Buddhist popular ethics. The daśa-akuśala-karmapatha schema is the most widely-used Buddhist moral framework in East Asian popular Buddhism and provides the basis for the Yúlánpén and similar merit-transfer rituals.
Translations and research
- Hahn, Michael. “Aśvaghoṣa,” in Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature, ed. Amaresh Datta. Delhi: Sahitya Akademi, 1988.
- Lamotte, Étienne. Histoire du bouddhisme indien. Louvain, 1958. (Background on the karmapatha doctrine.)
No standalone English translation located.