Fànwǎngjīng xuányì 梵網經玄義
The Profound Meaning of the Brahmajāla Sūtra by 智旭 (Zhìxù, 述) and 道昉 (Dào Fǎng, 訂)
About the work
A one-fascicle introductory commentary on the Fànwǎng jīng by Ǒuyì Zhìxù 蕅益智旭 (智旭, 1599–1655) — the great late-Míng / early-Qīng synthesist of Chán, Tiāntái, Pure Land, and Vinaya — edited by his disciple Dào Fǎng 道昉 (道昉). 玄義 xuányì “profound meaning” indicates the genre — a hermeneutical introduction expounding the title, doctrinal framework, and major themes of the parent sūtra.
Prefaces
Author’s colophon: 明蕅益智旭述，道昉訂.
Abstract
The Xuányì is the introductory volume to Zhìxù’s principal work on the Fànwǎng jīng: the Hézhù (KR6k0097). Together they constitute Zhìxù’s complete commentary, which became one of the most influential late-imperial readings of the bodhisattva-precept tradition. Zhìxù’s distinctive synthesising approach — integrating Chán meditative practice, Tiāntái doctrinal frameworks, Pure Land devotion, and Vinaya discipline — shaped the late-Míng and Qīng-period Chinese Buddhist understanding of the Fànwǎng tradition.
Translations and research
- Yū, Chün-fang. The Renewal of Buddhism in China. New York: Columbia University Press, 1981.
- Shih, Heng-ching. The Syncretism of Ch’an and Pure Land Buddhism. New York: Peter Lang, 1992.