Sìshíèrzhāng jīng jiě 四十二章經解
An Explanation of the Sūtra in Forty-Two Sections by 智旭 (Zhìxù = Ǒuyì Dàshī, 著)
About the work
X37 No. 670 in one fascicle is a Míng-dynasty commentary on the Sìshíèrzhāng jīng 四十二章經 (KR6i0483) (T784) by the late-Míng Tiāntái-Pure Land master 智旭 (Zhìxù = Ǒuyì Dàshī 蕅益大師, 1599–1655). The work is preserved in the Manji Zoku-zōkyō 卍續藏經 (CBETA X37 No. 670) and is one of three commentaries by Zhìxù on the texts of the “Three Sūtras of the Buddha-Patriarchs” (佛祖三經) — alongside Bā dàrén jué jīng lüèjiě 八大人覺經略解 (KR6i0477) and his commentary on the Yíjiào jīng 遺教經 (遺教經).
Abstract
The Jiě 解 (“explanation”) presents Zhìxù’s distinctive late-Míng synthesis of Tiāntái doctrinal categories, Pure Land devotion, and Chán meditation as the framework for interpreting the Sìshíèrzhāng jīng 四十二章經. Zhìxù glosses each of the forty-two sections in turn, drawing out the doctrinal content under the headings of the four siddhāntas (四悉檀), the liùjí 六即 of the Tiāntái path, and the yīniànsānqiān 一念三千 doctrine. He emphasises throughout the practical applicability of the sūtra’s teaching to the lay practitioner as well as the monk, and he reads the more ascetic sections (renunciation, contemplation of impurity, etc.) through the lens of upāya — provisional teachings that prepare the practitioner for the Mahāyāna-Pure Land path that is the sūtra’s true import.
The commentary is one of the most influential late-imperial expositions of the sūtra and shaped the late-Míng and Qīng monastic understanding of the text in the Tiāntái-Pure Land traditions. Zhìxù’s commentaries on the “Three Sūtras of the Buddha-Patriarchs” formed the basis of his own teaching cycle and were widely used in monastic instruction.
Translations and research
No standalone Western translation located. For Zhìxù’s biography and works see:
- McGuire, Beverley Foulks. Living Karma: The Religious Practices of Ouyi Zhixu. New York: Columbia University Press, 2014.
- Shih, Heng-ching. The Syncretism of Ch’an and Pure Land Buddhism. New York: Peter Lang, 1992.