Fó shuō púsà xiūxíng sìfǎ jīng 佛說菩薩修行四法經
The Buddha Speaks: The Sūtra of the Bodhisattva’s Four Practices translated by 地婆訶羅 (Dìpóhēluó = Divākara, 譯)
About the work
T773 in one fascicle is the second of 地婆訶羅 (Divākara, 613–687)‘s short Mahāyāna catur-dharma translations, made at Cháng’ān between 680 and 688. The title 菩薩修行四法 (púsà xiūxíng sìfǎ) — “the four dharmas of the bodhisattva’s practice” — partly overlaps in subject with the closely-titled [[KR6i0469|Dàchéng sìfǎ jīng 大乘四法經]] but treats a different fourfold mātṛkā.
Abstract
The text presents a four-fold scheme of practices specifically directed at the bodhisattva who has already taken the bodhisattva vows and is now in the early stages of the path. The four practices typically include: (1) the cultivation of bodhi-citta as the constant intentional motive; (2) the practice of the six pāramitās as the substantive content of the path; (3) the four saṃgraha-vastus (dāna, priya-vacana, artha-caryā, samānārthatā) as the social-relational dimension of bodhisattva-practice; and (4) the cultivation of the catur-apramāṇa (four immeasurables — loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, equanimity) as the foundation of bodhisattva-mind. The text presents these in an exhortational sūtra-form, with the Buddha urging the bodhisattva audience to make the four practices central to their path.
The fourfold scheme parallels several bodhisattva-piṭaka expositions of the early bodhisattva-stages and is consistent with the Yogācāra Bodhisattva-bhūmi presentation of bodhisattva-practice. As with the companion text, Divākara’s translation provides a stand-alone Chinese version of an Indian late-period bodhisattva-practice digest.
Translations and research
No standalone Western translation located. For Divākara’s translation programme see Chen Jinhua, Philosopher, Practitioner, Politician: The Many Lives of Fazang (643–712) (Leiden: Brill, 2007).
Links
- CBETA online
- Kanseki DB
- 地婆訶羅 DILA
- Dazangthings date evidence (680): [ T ] 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. dazangthings.nz