Sūxīdì jiéluó jīng lüèshū 蘇悉地羯羅經略疏
Brief Commentary on the Susiddhikara-sūtra (Jp. Soshitsuji kara-kyō ryakusho) by 圓仁 (Ennin, 撰)
About the work
A seven-fascicle commentary on the Susiddhikara-sūtra (KR6j0061, T18n0893a) by Ennin 圓仁 (圓仁, 794–864), the Heian Tendai master and nittō hakke Tang-pilgrim. It is the principal Heian Tendai-Esoteric (Taimitsu) commentary on the Susiddhikara and a companion to Ennin’s commentary on the Vajraśekhara (KR6j0027, T61n2223).
Abstract
Ennin’s Lüèshū (Jp. Ryakusho, “brief commentary”) is the foundational Japanese Tendai-Esoteric (Taimitsu) commentary on the Susiddhikara. The Taimitsu tradition particularly emphasized the Susiddhikara — alongside the Mahāvairocana-sūtra and Vajraśekhara-sūtra — as the third pillar of the Esoteric tradition, distinct from the Shingon (Tōmitsu) tradition that emphasized only the dual-mandala (Garbhadhātu + Vajradhātu). Ennin’s seven-fascicle commentary established this threefold scriptural framework as the doctrinal foundation of Taimitsu Esoteric practice.
The composition dates from Ennin’s post-Tang period at Mount Hiei (847–864), most likely his tenure as the third Tendai zasu (854–864).
Translations and research
- Reischauer, Edwin O. Ennin’s Diary. New York: Ronald Press, 1955.
- Stone, Jacqueline I. Original Enlightenment. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 1999. — On the Taimitsu tradition.