Fó shuō shí’èr fómíng shénzhòu jiàoliàng gōngdé chúzhàng mièzuì jīng 佛說十二佛名神呪校量功德除障滅罪經
Sūtra in which the Buddha Pronounces Twelve Buddha-Names and the Divine Spell for Comparing their Merit, Removing Obstructions and Effacing Sin by 闍那崛多 (Jñānagupta, 譯)
About the work
A one-fascicle Suí translation by 闍那崛多 Jñānagupta (523–600). The colophon “隋天竺三藏法師闍那崛多譯”. The Taishō editors mark the parallel “[No. 1349]” — i.e. the Táng re-translation by 義淨 Yìjìng, KR6j0579 Fó shuō chēngzàn rúlái gōngdé shénzhòu jīng (T1349). Both render the same Indic source. The dating bracket is Jñānagupta’s Suí period (587–600).
Abstract
The Buddha sits at Vulture-Peak (耆闍崛山) with 1,250 bhikṣus and 12,000 bodhisattvas headed by Ajita 阿逸多 (= Maitreya). He addresses Maitreya in turn, and from each of the ten directions plus zenith and nadir summons one Tathāgata, naming each by an extraordinarily long epithet-name — the eastern Tathāgata, for instance, is named “Vacuity-Merit-Pure-as-Subtle-Particles, of Equal-Eyes, Upright-of-Aspect, Merit-Mark-Brilliance-Lotus-Crystal-Light Jewel-Substance Fragrance, Most-Supreme-Fragrance Offering-Concluded, Various-Adornments Topknot-Knot, Limitless-Boundless Sun-and-Moon-Brilliance Vow-Power-Adornment Transformation-Adornment Dharma-realm-Producing Unobstructed-King Tathāgata Arhat Samyak-saṃbuddha”. For each name, those who, having committed the four pārājikas, the five ānantarya deeds, slander of the Three Jewels, etc., now hear and recite the name even once will efface their karmic burden — the jiàoliàng gōngdé (“comparison of merit”) in the title.
The work is the principal Chinese textual basis of the Twelve-Direction Buddha-Names liturgy, a karmic-purification practice that became important in Táng and post-Táng repentance ritual. Recorded in the Lìdài sānbǎo jì, Kāiyuán shìjiào lù and subsequent catalogs under Jñānagupta’s name. Nanjio N0414.
Translations and research
No substantial secondary literature located.