Qīngjìng pínì fāngguǎng jīng 清淨毘尼方廣經
The Vaipulya Sūtra of the Pure Vinaya (Skt. Pariśuddha-vinaya-vaipulya-sūtra) by 鳩摩羅什 (Kumārajīva, 譯)
About the work
A one-fascicle Mahāyāna vaipulya (方廣 fāngguǎng “extensive/expanded”) sūtra on the “pure Vinaya” — the bodhisattva-discipline conceived as the perfection of the Indian vinaya tradition. Translated by Kumārajīva 鳩摩羅什 (鳩摩羅什) at Chángān, c. 401–412 CE.
Prefaces
Translator’s colophon: 姚秦三藏鳩摩羅什譯.
Abstract
The Qīngjìng pínì fāngguǎng jīng is part of the early Mahāyāna bodhisattva-vinaya literature, which sought to interpret traditional monastic discipline within the doctrinal framework of the prajñā-pāramitā and bodhicitta. The text presents Mahāyāna critiques of merely behavioural Vinaya observance and emphasises the importance of upāya (skill in means) and the bodhisattva-vow as the foundation of authentic ethical practice. The Sanskrit original is not preserved.
Translations and research
- Lamotte, Étienne. Le Traité de la Grande Vertu de Sagesse de Nāgārjuna. 5 vols. Louvain: Bureaux du Muséon, 1949–1980. — Discusses the early Mahāyāna vinaya-critique tradition.