Dàshèng sānjù chànhuǐ jīng 大乘三聚懺悔經
The Mahāyāna Sūtra of the Three Aggregates of Confession by 闍那崛多 (Jñānagupta, 等譯) and 笈多 (Gupta, 等譯)
About the work
A one-fascicle Mahāyāna sūtra on confession according to the three aggregates (三聚 sānjù = the three classes of bodhisattva-precepts: 攝律儀戒 restraints, 攝善法戒 wholesome actions, 攝眾生戒 benefits to beings), translated by Jñānagupta 闍那崛多 (闍那崛多) and Gupta 笈多 (笈多) at the Suí court late 6th c.
Prefaces
Translator’s colophon: 隋天竺三藏闍那崛多笈多等譯.
Abstract
The “three aggregates” (三聚淨戒 sānjù jìngjiè) is a key Mahāyāna systematisation of the bodhisattva-precepts: (1) saṃvara-śīla 攝律儀戒 — the restraints (the negative precepts, equivalent to the Vinaya prātimokṣa); (2) kuśala-dharma-saṃgrāhaka-śīla 攝善法戒 — the precepts of wholesome action (positive cultivation); (3) sattvārtha-kriyā-śīla 攝眾生戒 — the precepts of benefiting beings (compassionate action). This three-fold schema, originating in the Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra, became the canonical Mahāyāna analysis of the bodhisattva-discipline and is essential to all subsequent commentary on the Fànwǎng and Yīngluò běnyè traditions.
Translations and research
- Tatz, Mark. Asaṅga’s Chapter on Ethics with the Commentary of Tsong-Kha-pa: The Basic Path to Awakening, the Complete Bodhisattva. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press, 1986. — Includes detailed discussion of the three aggregates.