Fózǔ sānjīng zhǐnán 佛祖三經指南
A Compass to the Three Sūtras of the Buddha-Patriarchs expounded by 道霈 (Dàopèi = Wéilín, 述)
About the work
X37 No. 675 in three fascicles is a comprehensive late-Míng / early-Qīng exposition of the “Three Sūtras of the Buddha-Patriarchs” (佛祖三經) — the Sìshíèrzhāng jīng 四十二章經 (KR6i0483), the Bā dàrén jué jīng 八大人覺經 (KR6i0476), and the Yíjiào jīng 遺教經 (遺教經) — by the late Míng Cáodòng Chán master 道霈 (Dàopèi = Wéilín 為霖, 1615–1702). The work is preserved in the Manji Zoku-zōkyō 卍續藏經 (CBETA X37 No. 675).
Abstract
Dàopèi’s Zhǐnán 指南 (“compass,” “guide”) provides a unified expository treatment of the three sūtras as a single integrated curriculum. The work is structured in three fascicles, one per sūtra, each containing the full text of the sūtra followed by Dàopèi’s running commentary. The unifying interpretive framework is the late-Míng synthesis of Cáodòng Chán with Tiāntái doctrinal categories and Pure Land devotion that characterised Dàopèi’s teaching cycle: the Sìshíèrzhāng jīng 四十二章經 is read as the foundational śrāvaka-and-bodhisattva digest, the Bā dàrén jué jīng 八大人覺經 as the bodhisattva-yāna contemplation-handbook, and the Yíjiào jīng 遺教經 as the Buddha’s final synthetic injunction to the saṅgha. The three together are presented as the complete monastic introduction to Buddhist practice — the canonical curriculum that every novice was expected to master.
The composition reflects the late-imperial consolidation of the Sānjīng 三經 curriculum that had been promoted from the early Sòng onward (under the patronage of 真宗皇帝 Sòng Zhēnzōng and the editors of the imperial canons). Dàopèi’s Zhǐnán 指南 provided the integrated commentary that the Sòng promotion had not produced, and it became one of the standard introductions to monastic Buddhism in the Cáodòng tradition during the Qīng. Dàopèi was a prolific commentator, with extensive works on the Avataṃsaka, the Mahā-parinirvāṇa, the Yuánjué jīng 圓覺經, and many other texts; the Fózǔ sānjīng zhǐnán 佛祖三經指南 is one of his most accessible compositions, designed for the ordinary monastic reader rather than the doctrinal specialist.
Translations and research
No standalone Western translation located. For Dàopèi (Wéilín) and the late-Míng Cáodòng tradition see:
- Wu, Jiang. Enlightenment in Dispute: The Reinvention of Chan Buddhism in Seventeenth-Century China. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.
- Hsieh, Ding-hwa Evelyn. “Buddhist Leaders in the Late Ming,” in various edited volumes.