Fóāpítán jīng chūjiāxiàng pǐn 佛阿毘曇經出家相品
The Buddha-Abhidharma Sūtra: Chapter on the Forms of Going-Forth by 真諦 (Paramārtha, 譯)
About the work
A two-fascicle excerpt from a larger Indian abhidharmic-Vinaya work, presenting the chapter (品 pǐn) on the forms of monastic ordination (出家相 chūjiā xiàng). Translated by Paramārtha 真諦 (真諦) at the Chén court in 558–569 CE.
Prefaces
Translator’s colophon: 陳天竺三藏真諦譯.
Abstract
The Fóāpítán is an abhidharmic-Vinaya hybrid work — combining doctrinal-systematic analysis (abhidharma) with monastic-disciplinary content (vinaya). The “chapter on the forms of going-forth” expounds the doctrinal taxonomy of upasaṃpadā — the various modes by which monastic ordination is conferred (the early “ehi-bhikṣu” form, the tisaraṇa form, the karmavācanā form, etc.). The text is one of the few Sammitīya / Sāṃmatīya-affiliated works preserved in Chinese (cf. KR6k0042 Lǜ èrshíèr míngliǎo lùn); Paramārtha’s preference for Sammitīya material reflects his Indian background at Vālabhī, the school’s principal centre.
Translations and research
- Paul, Diana Y. Philosophy of Mind in Sixth-Century China: Paramārtha’s “Evolution of Consciousness”. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1984.
- Funayama Tōru 船山徹. Shinjaku no shisō 真諦の思想. Kyoto: Kyoto University Press, various.
- Demiéville, Paul. “Sur la mémoire des existences antérieures.” BEFEO 27 (1927): 283–298.