Gēnběn shuōyīqiēyǒubù bìchúnī jièjīng 根本說一切有部苾芻尼戒經

The Mūlasarvāstivāda Bhikṣuṇī-Prātimokṣa by 義淨 (Yìjìng, 譯)

About the work

A one-fascicle Chinese rendering of the Mūlasarvāstivāda bhikṣuṇī-prātimokṣa (358 rules), drawn from the parent Mūlasarvāstivāda Bhikṣuṇī-vibhaṅga (KR6k0024). Translated by Yìjìng (義淨) in the early 8th century. The Sanskrit text is preserved in the Gilgit manuscripts.

Prefaces

Translator’s colophon: 大唐三藏義淨奉制譯.

Abstract

The Mūlasarvāstivāda bhikṣuṇī-prātimokṣa is one of the four extant complete bhikṣuṇī rule-sets in the Chinese canon. Tsomo’s (1996) comparative study of the Dharmaguptaka and Mūlasarvāstivāda bhikṣuṇī prātimokṣas is the standard reference. The pre-modern Tibetan tradition never established a bhikṣuṇī lineage, so this text — though canonical for Tibetan Buddhism — has no historic Tibetan ordination tradition. Recent ordination-revival movements have used the Dharmaguptaka bhikṣuṇī-prātimokṣa (KR6k0012) instead.

Translations and research

  • Tsomo, Karma Lekshe. Sisters in Solitude: Two Traditions of Buddhist Monastic Ethics for Women. Albany: SUNY Press, 1996.
  • Schmidt, Michael. Bhikṣuṇī-Karmavācanā: Die Handschrift Sansk. c.25(R) der Bodleian Library. Göttingen, 1993. — Sanskrit edition.
  • CBETA T24n1455
  • 義淨 DILA
  • Dazangthings date evidence (705): [ T ] T = CBETA [Chinese Buddhist Electronic Text Association]. Taishō shinshū daizōkyō 大正新脩大藏經. Edited by Takakusu Junjirō 高楠順次郎 and Watanabe Kaigyoku 渡邊海旭. Tokyo: Taishō shinshū daizōkyō kankōkai/Daizō shuppan, 1924-1932. CBReader v 5.0, 2014. (source)
  • Kanseki DB