Qījùzhī dúbù fǎ 七俱胝獨部法
Separately-Circulating Method of the Seven Koṭi [Cundī] by 善無畏 (Shànwúwèi, Śubhakarasiṃha, 譯)
About the work
A short one-fascicle Cundī mudrā-method translated by Śubhakarasiṃha (善無畏) and circulating separately (獨部 dúbù — “of the separate section”) from the larger kalpa-cycle. The colophon abbreviates the translator’s name as 三藏沙門無畏 (without the 善 prefix). The text is the most narrowly focused of the four Tang Cundī translations, restricted essentially to the practice of the mahā-mudrā of the deity’s twenty-five-section maṇḍala (二十五部大漫荼羅印).
Abstract
The opening describes the zǒngshè 摠攝 (“encompassing”) mudrā of the twenty-five-section maṇḍala: both hands’ ring and little fingers crossed inside, the two middle fingers raised straight in mutual support, the index fingers placed on the second joint of the middle fingers, the thumbs pressing the ring fingers, etc. — i.e. a precise aṅguli-mudrā description that is the iconographic locus classicus of the Cundī main mudrā. The text proceeds through the supporting mudrās and their associated vidyā spells, and gives a compressed ritual-application appendix. As a dúbù “separately-circulating” piece it functions as a focused supplement to the broader Cundī-cycle, intended for a practitioner who has already received the abhiṣeka and seeks the daily ritual essentials in compact form. With KR6j0285 (Śubhakarasiṃha’s full Cundī-method) the present text constitutes the Mahāvairocana-school Cundī corpus.
Translations and research
- Gimello, Robert. “Icon and Incantation: The Goddess Zhunti.” In Images in Asian Religions, 2004.
Links
- CBETA T20n1079
- Kanseki DB
- 善無畏 DILA
- Dazangthings date evidence (720) — 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.