Pútíxīn yì 菩提心義
The Meaning of the Bodhicitta [Anonymous; sub-titled “(Hǎiyùn 海運)“]
About the work
A one-fascicle (1卷) doctrinal treatise on the bodhicitta (“mind aspiring to awakening”), preserved as T46 no. 1953 in the Taishō. The catalog meta entry leaves authorship blank; the source file’s title-line carries the parenthetical sub-title “(海運)” — possibly identifying the author as Hǎiyùn 海運 海運 (a name attested in the Esoteric tradition; his identification is not independently verified in DILA Buddhist Studies Person Authority). Composition window is therefore broad: the work’s mature doctrinal apparatus and its Esoteric-school orientation place it somewhere between mid-Tang and Sòng.
Abstract
The Pútíxīn yì is a short systematic exposition of bodhicitta under five doctrinal mén 五門:
- Shì míngyì 釋名義 (explaining the term and its meaning) — bodhi (Skt.) translates Chinese jué 覺 (“awakening”); since sentient beings are deluded and covered, this is called “non-awakening”; meeting a good teacher’s opening and dispelling of avidyā and seeking awakening is bodhicitta. The term is analyzed both as a yīzhǔ 依主 (“appositional-modificational”) compound (the mind that seeks bodhi) and as a xiāngwéi 相違 (“oppositional”) compound (bodhi-and-mind, taken as ultimately non-dual).
- Shì tǐxìng 釋體性 (explaining the substance and nature) — referencing the Yìfǔ 義府.
- Biàn yīyì 辨一異 (distinguishing oneness and difference) — citing the Huáyán (xīn fó zhòngshēng sān wúchābié 心佛眾生三無差別).
- Míng xiāngzhuàng 明相狀 (clarifying the marks and conditions).
- Shù xíngyuàn 述行願 (narrating the practice and the vow).
The treatment integrates Yogācāra–Mādhyamaka philosophical analysis with Esoteric-school doctrinal categories. The work is short but tightly organized and represents the standard doctrinal-summary genre of post-Tang Buddhist scholastic writing.
Translations and research
No substantial secondary literature located.