Fó shuō Yōupósè wǔjièxiāng jīng 佛說優婆塞五戒相經
The Sūtra on the Forms of the Five Precepts for Lay Followers by 求那跋摩 (Guṇavarman, 譯)
About the work
A one-fascicle Sūtra on the five precepts of the lay-follower (upāsaka-pañcaśīla: abstinence from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and intoxicants), translated by Guṇavarman (求那跋摩) at Jiànkāng in 431 CE. 優婆塞 transliterates Skt. upāsaka “lay follower”; 五戒 wǔjiè renders the Skt. pañcaśīla.
Prefaces
Translator’s colophon: 宋罽賓沙門求那跋摩譯.
Abstract
The Fó shuō Yōupósè wǔjièxiāng jīng is the principal Chinese canonical exposition of the lay precepts. The text presents each of the five precepts together with detailed casuistic analysis: distinguishing the “heavy” (guru) and “light” (laghu) violations, the conditions of full transgression, and the karmic consequences. The upāsaka pañca-śīla is the foundational Buddhist ethical commitment for lay practitioners and the basis for the more elaborate eight-precept (aṣṭāṅga-uposatha-śīla) and bodhisattva-precept (bodhisattva-saṃvara) extensions developed in the parallel literature (KR6k0110 Yōupósè jièjīng etc.).
Translations and research
- Heirman, Ann & Stephan Peter Bumbacher (eds.). The Spread of Buddhism. Leiden: Brill, 2007.
- Schopen, Gregory. Bones, Stones, and Buddhist Monks. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 1997.