Fó shuō bāzhǒng chángyǎng gōngdé jīng 佛說八種長養功德經
The Sūtra on the Eight Types of Cultivated Merit by 法護 (Dharmapāla, 等譯)
About the work
A one-fascicle Sòng-period translation of an Indian sūtra on the eight precepts (aṣṭāṅga-uposatha-śīla) — the standard set of eight precepts (the five of the upāsaka + three additional: not eating after midday, not enjoying entertainment, not using high beds) observed by lay Buddhists during the bi-monthly uposatha days. Translated by Dharmapāla 法護 (法護) at the imperial Yìjīngyuàn.
Prefaces
Translator’s colophon: 宋西天三藏法護等譯.
Abstract
The eight precepts (aṣṭāṅga-uposatha-śīla) are the foundational ethical commitment of late-Indian and East Asian lay Buddhist practice, observed on the bi-monthly uposatha days as a temporary expansion of the standard five lay precepts. The text presents Dharmapāla’s late-Sòng rendering of an Indian source on this practice. The “eight types of cultivated merit” (八種長養功德 bāzhǒng chángyǎng gōngdé) reflects the doctrinal framework treating each precept as a category of meritorious cultivation.