Bā dàrén jué jīng shū 八大人覺經疏
A Subcommentary on the Sūtra of the Eight Great-Person Awakenings compiled by 續法 (Xùfǎ = Bǎitíng, 集)
About the work
A one-fascicle commentary on the Bā dàrén jué jīng 八大人覺經 (KR6i0476, T779) by the Qīng-dynasty Huáyán scholar-monk 續法 (Xùfǎ = Bǎitíng 柏亭, 1641–1728), one of the principal late-Qīng commentators on Huáyán-school texts. The work is preserved in the Manji Zoku-zōkyō (CBETA X37 No. 673).
Abstract
Xùfǎ’s shū (subcommentary / extended exegesis) is markedly fuller than 智旭 Zhìxù’s shorter Lüèjiě (KR6i0477) and reflects the Qīng-period scholastic tendency toward systematic exposition with doctrinal cross-references. Xùfǎ approaches the sūtra through Huáyán-school doctrinal categories: he reads the eight awakenings as a graded sequence of contemplative practices culminating in the bodhisattva’s universal vow, and he organises the exposition around the Huáyán yīzhēn fǎjiè 一真法界 (one-true-Dharma-realm) doctrine. The work draws on a wide range of canonical and exegetical sources, including the Avataṃsaka-sūtra, the Mahā-prajñā-pāramitā-śāstra, and the standard Tiāntái zhì-guān texts, providing the reader with comprehensive doctrinal context for each of the eight contemplations.
Xùfǎ also produced a much fuller five-fascicle subcommentary on the Sìshí’èrzhāng jīng shūchāo 四十二章經疏鈔 (KR6i0487), reflecting his programmatic engagement with the “Three Sūtras of the Buddha-Patriarchs” — the Sìshí’èrzhāng jīng, the Bā dàrén jué jīng, and the Yíjiào jīng — as foundational monastic curriculum texts.
Translations and research
No standalone Western translation located. For Xùfǎ as a Qīng Huáyán commentator see:
- Hammerstrom, Erik J. “The Heart of Huáyán: A Study of the Huáyán Translation Movement.” (Various publications.)
- Sheng, Kai 圣凯. 『清代华严学』. (For the Qīng Huáyán tradition.)