Shísòng bǐqiūnī pōluótímùchā jièběn 十誦比丘尼波羅提木叉戒本
The Sarvāstivāda Bhikṣuṇī-Prātimokṣa by 法顯 (Fǎxiǎn, 集出)
About the work
A one-fascicle extract of the Sarvāstivāda bhikṣuṇī-prātimokṣa (354 rules) compiled (集出 jí-chū, “extracted and edited”) by Fǎxiǎn 法顯 (法顯) from the Shísòng lǜ (KR6k0016) after his return to China in 414. The text supplied the Sarvāstivāda nuns’ lineage with its bi-monthly uposatha recitation-text.
Prefaces
Compiler’s colophon: 宋長安沙門法顯集出. The text is documented in the Chū sānzàng jìjí (T55n2145).
Abstract
The Shísòng bǐqiūnī jièběn is one of the four extant Chinese bhikṣuṇī-prātimokṣas (alongside the Mahīśāsaka KR6k0004, Mahāsāṃghika KR6k0008, and Dharmaguptaka KR6k0012). It is unusual among the four in being a Chinese-side extract from an existing translation rather than a separately-translated text. The 354-rule structure follows the standard Sarvāstivāda pattern. Comparative philological work (Heirman 2002, Chiu 2005) treats it as a key witness for Sarvāstivāda bhikṣuṇī-discipline.
Translations and research
- Heirman, Ann. Rules for Nuns according to the Dharmaguptakavinaya. Delhi, 2002. — Comparative apparatus.
- Chiu, Tzu-lung. Buddhist Nuns in Eastern Asia. PhD dissertation, Ghent University, 2017. — Modern bhikṣuṇī-saṅgha context.
Links
- CBETA T23n1437
- 法顯 DILA
- Dazangthings date evidence (390, 415, 470): [ Sakaino 1935 ] Sakaino Kōyō 境野黄洋. Shina Bukkyō seishi 支那佛教精史. Tokyo: Sakaino Kōyō Hakushi Ikō Kankōkai, 1935. 280-281 (source)
- Kanseki DB