Dà fāngguǎng shīzǐhǒu jīng 大方廣師子吼經
The Great-Extensive Sūtra of the Lion’s Roar (Skt. Siṃhanādika-sūtra) translated by 地婆訶羅 (Dìpóhēluó, Divākara, 譯)
About the work
T836 in one fascicle is the Táng re-translation of the Siṃhanādika-sūtra, parallel to [[KR6i0541|Rúlái shīzǐhǒu jīng 如來師子吼經 (T835)]] by Buddhaśānta of the Northern Wèi. Translated by the central-Indian Táng translator 地婆訶羅 (Divākara, 614–688) at Cháng’ān during his Yífèng 儀鳳 to Chuígǒng 垂拱 (676–688) translation career under Empress Wǔ Zétiān. The Táng title prefixes 大方廣 (mahā-vaipulya, “great-extensive”) to mark the text as a vaipulya-class Mahāyāna sūtra.
Abstract
The narrative frame and doctrinal content are identical to those of T835: at the Sun-Moon-Palace, the Buddha sends the bodhisattva Shèngjī 勝積 (Skt. Vijaya-saṃcaya) to the northern Buddha-field of Huānlè 歡樂 (Divākara’s translation of Buddhaśānta’s 歡喜 = Sukhāvatī / Mudita), where the Buddha Fǎqǐ 法起 (= Buddhaśānta’s 法上 = Dharmottara) is currently teaching, to receive the doctrine of the lion’s roar (siṃhanāda) directly. Shèngjī travels there, receives the teaching of paramārtha-doctrine and prajñā-pāramitā through the celebrated siṃhanāda-formulation, and returns. See KR6i0541 for the full doctrinal summary.
Divākara’s translation differs from Buddhaśānta’s chiefly at the level of name-translation (法上 → 法起; 歡喜 → 歡樂) and in the polished late-seventh-century technical vocabulary characteristic of the empress-Wǔ translation establishment. The doctrinal content is unchanged.
Translations and research
See KR6i0541 for the relevant secondary literature.
Links
- CBETA online
- Kanseki DB
- 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. https://dazangthings.nz/cbc/source/1/