佛說延壽妙門陀羅尼經

Fóshuō yánshòu miàomén tuóluóní jīng 佛說延壽妙門陀羅尼經

Sūtra of the Dhāraṇī of the Marvellous Gate of Lifespan-Prolongation (Sumukhanāmadhāraṇī-sūtra, Sòng version) by 法賢 (Fǎxián, 譯)

About the work

A one-fascicle Northern Sòng dhāraṇī sūtra translated by Făxián (法賢, d. 1001 — the second translator of that name, sometimes Sanskritised as Dharmadeva or Dharmabhadra; not to be confused with the Jin pilgrim Făxiăn 法顯). Colophon: 西天譯經三藏朝散大夫試光祿卿明教大師臣法賢奉詔譯. Taishō head-note: No. 1140 [Nos. 1138, 1139]. CANWWW pairs this with KR6j0353 (T1137), KR6j0354/KR6j0355 (T1138a/b), and KR6j0356 (T1139) — together they constitute four overlapping Chinese translations of the Sumukhanāmadhāraṇī.

Abstract

The sūtra opens with the Buddha at Magadha — at the Vajrāsana of the Great Spirit-Stūpa, in the Pure-Light Hall (普光明殿) at the bodhi site — accompanied by twelve hundred and fifty great bhikṣus (Śāriputra, Mahāmaudgalyāyana, Mahākātyāyana, Mahākāśyapa, Ānanda, Rāhula, Hùguó 護國, Revata, Cūḍapanthaka, Gavāmpati, Bharadvāja, Kālodāyin, Aniruddha, etc.), all great arhats, together with innumerable bodhisattvas. The framing identifies the dhāraṇī as the miàomén (subtle gate) of lifespan-prolongation (延壽). The translation reflects Sòng-period Chinese Esoteric idiom — late-Northern-Sòng polished prose, full benefactor-formula colophon, careful transcription of the dhāraṇī syllables. The text is one product of the imperial translation bureau (傳法院) at Kāifēng under Taizōng and Zhēnzōng. Făxián’s translation activity at the Bureau spanned roughly 989–1001; this work falls in that bracket.

Translations and research

• Bowring, Richard. “Brief Notes on the Sung Buddhist Translation Project.” Cahiers d’Extrême-Asie 7 (1993): 137–146.
• Sen, Tansen. Buddhism, Diplomacy, and Trade: The Realignment of Sino-Indian Relations, 600–1400. Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press, 2003.

Links

• CBETA T20n1140
• Kanseki DB
• 法賢 DILA
• Dazangthings date evidence (1001) — 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.