Shòu shíshànjiè jīng 受十善戒經

The Sūtra on Receiving the Ten Wholesome Precepts (translator unknown)

About the work

A one-fascicle anonymous sūtra on the conferral of the ten wholesome precepts (十善 shíshàn: the standard Buddhist ethical formula of three of body — not killing, stealing, sexual misconduct; four of speech — not lying, slander, harsh speech, frivolous speech; three of mind — not coveting, not hating, not holding wrong views).

Prefaces

No translator-attribution survives.

Abstract

The Shòu shí-shàn-jiè jīng is one of the principal Chinese sūtras on the daśa-kuśala-karma-patha — the ten foundational ethical actions that form the basis of Buddhist morality for both monastic and lay practitioners. Its inclusion in the Vinaya division reflects its precept-conferral content. The translator and date are unknown; the catalog tradition assigns it to “lost translation” of the early-medieval period.

Translations and research

  • Hirakawa Akira 平川彰. Bukkyō ni okeru zai no shikō. Kyoto, 1973.