Lèngyán jīng shìzhì yuántōng zhāng kējiě 楞嚴經勢至圓通章科解
Outline-Commentary on the “Mahāsthāmaprāpta Universal-Penetration Chapter” of the Śūraṃgama-sūtra by 正相 (解)
About the work
A one-fascicle (1卷) commentary by Zhèngxiàng Tǐrú 正相體如 正相 on the Mahāsthāmaprāpta Universal-Penetration Chapter (Shìzhì yuántōng zhāng 勢至圓通章) of the Śūraṃgama-sūtra — the brief but doctrinally pivotal section of the sūtra in which the bodhisattva Mahāsthāmaprāpta declares his attainment of awakening through “single-mind recollection of the Buddha” (niánfó 念佛). Preserved as X16 no. 310 in the Xùzàngjīng. The work pairs Zhèngxiàng’s own Bōrě xīnjīng fāyǐn 般若心經發隱 (KR6c0170) as their dual expressions of his late-Wànlì doctrinal program.
Prefaces
The opening Shìzhì yuántōng zhāng kējiě xù 勢至圓通章科解序 frames the sūtra-extract as the single most concentrated expression of Pure Land within Chán in the Mahāyāna canon: “Among all Pure Land practice methods, the niánfó gateway of the Mahāsthāmaprāpta Universal-Penetration Chapter is the most intimate single step of practice — the wondrous medicine that cures the corpse, the great wealth that relieves the impoverished, the great vessel that crosses the sea of suffering, the wish-granting gem that rains down all treasures.” The author records that the work was drafted in yǐhài 乙亥 (Chóngzhēn 8, 1635) at the Báimǎ shānfáng 白馬山房 in Yuè 越 (the Shàoxīng region) “during a brief retreat from sitting in meditation.” The work was cut for printing at the request of “two or three disciples.”
Abstract
The Mahāsthāmaprāpta chapter is the fundamental Mahāyāna scriptural ground for Chán-Pure Land syncretism: the bodhisattva attains universal-penetration not through a guān 觀 (“contemplation”) but through niánfó, recollection of the Buddha as if “thinking of one’s mother.” Zhèngxiàng’s kējiě extracts this short chapter from its Lèngyán setting and presents it as a stand-alone Pure Land scriptural foundation — comparable to the Three Pure Land Sūtras that constitute the standard scriptural basis of the school. The format combines a hierarchical kē 科 (structural outline) with running jiě 解 (interpretation). Composition: Chóngzhēn 8 / 1635, the same year as Zhèngxiàng’s Heart Sūtra fāyǐn.
Translations and research
No substantial secondary literature located.