Xīn shòujiè bǐqiū liùniàn wǔguān fǎ 新受戒比丘六念五觀法
The Six Recollections and Five Contemplations for Newly Ordained Bhikṣus by 允堪 (Yǔnkǎn, 撰錄)
About the work
A single-fascicle Northern-Sòng pedagogical handbook by Yǔnkǎn (允堪, 1005–1061), explaining for the newly-ordained bhikṣu the dailycycle disciplines of (i) the six recollections (liùniàn 六念), recited each morning before mealtime, and (ii) the five contemplations (wǔguān 五觀), the formula recited silently while taking food. The opening signature reads shāmén shì Yǔnkǎn zhuànlù 沙門釋 允堪 撰錄.
Prefaces
The authorial xù: “The Buddhist establishment of vinaya teaching is like the Confucian establishment of lǐ 禮 (ritual code). Without lǐ, the gentleman is reckoned ‘not a complete man’; without vinaya, the śramaṇa is reckoned ‘one without proper footing’… Of the six recollections and five contemplations: these are truly the daily regular standards of the bhikṣu. Yet some, just having taken full ordination, abandon them and do not practise them; some merely recite the words and do not penetrate to their meaning. Alas — if these are not understood, even reaching white hair one is still far from the Way. So I rely on Nánshān’s xíngshì (i.e. Dàoxuān’s Sìfēn lǜ shānfán bǔquē xíngshì chāo 四分律刪繁補闕行事鈔), gather the canonical teachings and provide a zhù 注 here, that beginners may not stumble at the start.” The preface invokes the present emperor (今上皇帝) — a Northern-Sòng emperor of Yǔnkǎn’s lifetime, hence Rénzōng 仁宗 (r. 1023–1063).
Abstract
The liùniàn 六念 are six things a bhikṣu should formally bring to mind each morning: (1) zhī rìyuè 知日月 (recognising the day and month: where one stands in the lunar halfcycle for the poṣadha); (2) zhī shíchù 知食處 (knowing where the meal will be taken); (3) zhī shòujièshí 知受戒時 (knowing the time of one’s ordination, by date and rains-retreat seniority); (4) zhī yībō 知衣鉢 (the inventory of one’s robes and bowl); (5) zhī shíwèi tóngshí 知食位同食 (the order of seating for the communal meal); (6) zhī shēn jiànbìng 知身健病 (whether one is well or ill, hence whether one fasts or eats). The wǔguān 五觀 are the standard formula: (1) jì gōng duō shǎo, liáng bǐ láichù 計功多少量彼來處 (reckon the labour invested and assess whence the food has come); (2) cǔn jǐ déxíng, quánquē yìnggòng 忖己德行全缺應供 (consider one’s own merit, whether complete or deficient for receiving offerings); (3) fángxīn líguò, tān děng wéi zōng 防心離過貪等為宗 (guard the mind against fault, with greed etc. as the principal target); (4) zhèngshì liángyào, wéi liáo xíngkū 正事良藥為療形枯 (treat the food properly as good medicine, taken to relieve bodily wasting); (5) wéi chéng dàoyè, fāng shòu cǐ shí 為成道業方受此食 (one accepts this food only for accomplishing the pathwork). Yǔnkǎn glosses each item with citations from the Sēngqí lǜ 僧祇律, the Zēngyī āhán 增一阿含, and Dàoxuān’s Xíngshì chāo. Composition is bracketed by Yǔnkǎn’s mature pedagogical period in the 1030s–1050s; notBefore–notAfter are set 1030–1061. The work was a standard novice-training reader through the Yuán and Míng.
Translations and research
No substantial secondary literature located.
Links
- CBETA online: https://cbetaonline.dila.edu.tw/X1099
- 允堪 DILA
- Kanseki DB