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大日經疏妙印鈔

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Text ID
KR6j0663
Date
1299–1330
Dynasty
日本

Dàrì jīng shū miàoyìn chāo 大日經疏妙印鈔

The Wondrous-Seal Notes on the MahāvairocanaSūtra Commentary (Jp. Dainichikyō sho myōinshō) by 宥範 (Yūhan, 記)

About the work

An 80-fascicle Late-Kamakura / early-Nanbokuchō scholastic commentary on Yīxíng’s 一行 Dàrìjīng shū 大日經疏 — the Tang Esoteric foundational commentary on the Mahāvairocanasūtra (KR6j0662, T39n1796) — by Yūhan 宥範 (宥範, 1270–1352) of the Onoryū 小野流 lineage. The Miàoyìn chāo is the single most extensive medieval Japanese commentary on Yīxíng’s text outside of the Tō-ji Sanbō scholastic tradition (cf. KR6j0666 the Yǎnào shāo of Gōhō et al.), and the principal Onoryū contribution to the systematic exegesis of the Mahāvairocanasūtra commentary corpus.

Prefaces

The opening (fascicle 1) presents the great-doctrinal-frame of the work in classical Shingon scholastic mode:

“Self-nature dharmakāya Vairocana dwells in the dharmadhātu, accepting the pleasures of the dharma. The original-source inner-witness of the multitudes of beings — each of them lifting up the wisdom-seal, surrounding the Buddha in thirst — though all of one body in great compassion universally covers the realms-of-sand, in unconditioned great kindness equally pities the conscious. Hence from the immovable original-ground, with the deeply wondrous mirror, one shows the universally-present body-of-form in the ten directions. Without departing from the eternal-dwelling palace of body-and-mind, the Three-Mystery dharma-teaching is dispensed across the three times…”

The author identifies himself in the running header as “Monk Ajaku records” 沙門阿寂記 — his ordination-style.

The closing colophon of fascicle 80 (lines from the source’s fascicle-80 tail) gives the complete genesis of the work:

“…My venerable master [阿闍梨耶 ācārya] commanded me, saying, ‘Alas, this dharma-stream is on the point of being lost; if you set down a record of what you have heard, you will preserve the dharma-way.’ I declined repeatedly; he insisted: ‘You have studied the exoteric and esoteric traditions; you have received the word-mark and teaching-mark transmissions. Even though the literary expression is humble, it will not injure the doctrine. Like the chick of the garuḍa whose voice from within the egg already surpasses other birds, the Mahāyāna learner is also so. Even bound by afflictions within the egg, the salvific sound exceeds the three vehicles. — Hear-the-dharma in the morning, benefit-beings in the evening: that is the essential of this scripture, its threefold-statement dharma-body. Do not decline; do not refuse. Record the essentials of what you have heard, and do not allow the doctrine and reason to fall away.’

“Thus from the 8th day of the 11th month of Shōan 1, year-cycle Jǐhài [正安元年己亥, = 1299 CE], up to the 21st day of the 7th month of Shōan 2, year-cycle Gēngzǐ [正安二年庚子, = 1300 CE], following what my foolish hearing had retained, I recorded the outer 35 fascicles, naming it Aban-Hōrakushō 阿鑁法樂抄. My bright master, having thoroughly examined the whole, gave his assent and rejoicing, and changed the name to Miàoyìn chāo 妙印鈔…

“But as for the inner-flesh portion, this had not yet been preserved in heart and viscera and emitted from the mouth. Therefore, in order to repay that great kindness — and in order to moisten this dry ground — from Enkyō 1, year-cycle Wùshēn [延慶元年戊申, = 1308 CE] I began to record [the rest]; up to Gentoku 2, year-cycle Gēngwǔ [元徳二年庚午], the 2nd day of uzuki (4th month), year-cycle Rénshēn, [= 1330 CE] the work was completed.

“My hope is to open the inward-treasures of later learners — that they may play with the precious-jewel in the chamber of their own minds; long-illuminating the fifty-six yī-cycles of time, may they radiate the pearl-light on the morning of the Nāga-flower assembly…”

“Miàoyìn chāo fascicle 80. The honored manuscript reads: Gentoku 2, year-cycle Gēngwǔ, the 2nd day of uzuki, year-cycle Rénshēn [1330 CE], recording completed. — Ono-school descendant Acting Junior Bishop Yūhan, aged 61 小野末葉權少僧都宥範六十一.”

This colophon also fixes Yūhan’s birth-year as 1270 CE (1330 – 60 = 1270 calculated for age 61 by traditional reckoning).

The Taishō text’s modern editorial colophon further records: “The eighty fascicles of the Miàoyìn chāo are taken from the Tō-ji University Library copy as base text, collated with the Onnarō Ninna-ji copy and the Sanuki Takamatsu Muryōju-in copy. Begun October 25, Shōwa 4 [1929 CE]; completed March 13, Shōwa 5 [1930 CE]. The three witnesses have respective strengths and weaknesses; the better readings have been adopted. — Hōshū 寶秀, age 62, recorded at the Pagoda-side residence of Tō-ji in Kyōto.”

Abstract

The Miàoyìn chāo is Onoryū Shingon scholasticism’s monumental engagement with Yīxíng’s Dàrìjīng shū. Its method is the full medieval-Japanese-Shingon scholastic apparatus: every chapter, paragraph, and key technical-term of Yīxíng is quoted and then re-explained with reference to:

  • the Six Great Elements 六大, Four Mandalas 四曼, Three Mysteries 三密;
  • the Five Wisdoms 五智 and the Four-Body (法身, 報身, 應身, 化身) classification;
  • the standard Shingon doctrinal axes — self-nature vs self-receiving vs other-receiving dharmakāya, etc.;
  • the post-Kūkai Heian commentarial heritage — Kūkai’s foundational works, Saisen’s KR6j0665, and the various Heian Onoryū and Hirosawaryū transmissions;
  • the Nāgārjuna-attributed Esoteric works on the Shì móhēyǎn lùn tradition.

The work proceeds chapter-by-chapter through Yīxíng’s 20-fascicle commentary, providing for each section both a general doctrinal frame (大意) and a detailed phrase-by-phrase exegesis. Its scope is comparable to the Tō-ji-tradition Yǎnào shāo of Gōhō (KR6j0666) — slightly larger (80 fascicles vs 60), and complete (where the Yǎnào shāo remained unfinished beyond fascicle 17.5 of the original). On internal grounds, the Miàoyìn chāo and the Yǎnào shāo are largely independent witnesses to the late-medieval Japanese reading of the Dàrìjīng shū: the Miàoyìn chāo preserves the Onoryū transmission via Genkaku 嚴覺 → seven generations down to Yūhan, while the Yǎnào shāo preserves the Tō-ji Sanbō transmission via Raihō → Gōhō → Kenpō. Together they constitute the definitive medieval Japanese scholarly apparatus for the Dàrìjīng shū.

The author identifies himself in the running header by his ordination-style as “Monk Ajaku” 沙門阿寂 (宥範); the colophon adds his canonical name Yūhan 宥範 and his official rank Acting Junior Bishop 權少僧都.

The companion text KR6j0664 (Miàoyìn chāo kǒuchuán, T58n2214, 10 fascicles) preserves the oral-transmission supplement to the main work: the verbatim teacher-student exchanges that accompanied the present written text.

Translations and research

No substantial secondary literature located. (The Miàoyìn chāo is heavily cited in modern Japanese-language Shingon scholastic studies but has not received dedicated Western-language treatment.)

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