Āpítán Bā Jiāndù Lùn 阿毘曇八犍度論
Abhidharma-aṣṭa-skandha-śāstra (Aṣṭagrantha): Treatise in Eight Divisions by 迦栴延子 (造), 僧伽提婆 (譯), 竺佛念 (譯)
About the work
The Āpítán Bā Jiāndù Lùn 阿毘曇八犍度論 (Skt. Abhidharma-aṣṭagrantha or Abhidharma-aṣṭaskandha-śāstra, CBETA T26n1543) is a Former Qin (前秦) dynasty translation of the principal canonical Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma text in 30 juan, organized in eight sections (jiāndù 犍度 < Skt. skandha “division” or Pāli khandhaka). It was translated in 383 CE by Saṃghadeva 僧伽提婆 (僧伽提婆) and Zhú Fóniàn 竺佛念 (竺佛念), with a preface by the renowned Chinese Buddhist scholar 道安 (Dào’ān, 312–385). It is the earlier translation of the same root text (Jñāna-prasthāna) as the Xuánzàng version (KR6l0009, T1544), but translates a distinct Gandhāran recension (Aṣṭagrantha).
Prefaces
The text opens with a substantial preface by 道安 (Dào’ān, 312–385 CE), who explains the title and describes the translation process. Dào’ān writes that Saṃghadeva, a Kaśmīra monk (Jìbīn shāmén 罽賓沙門), came to Cháng’ān in the nineteenth year of Jiànyuán 建元十九年 (383 CE) having mastered this text by memory. At the request of the monk Fǎhé 法和 (法和), Saṃghadeva recited the text while Zhú Fóniàn (竺佛念) served as interpreter, and Huìlì 慧力 (慧力) and Sēngmào 僧茂 (僧茂) wrote it down. Translation began on the 20th day of the 4th month and was completed on the 23rd day of the 10th month — a period of six months. Dào’ān notes that a subsequent revision over forty-six additional days corrected the translation and reduced it by four juan. He records that the Sanskrit original comprised 15,072 śloka-units (≈ 482,504 syllables) and the Chinese version ran to 195,250 characters. Dào’ān praises the text for its comprehensiveness (bó 博), essentials (yào 要), and subtlety (mì 密).
Abstract
The Aṣṭagrantha (“eight divisions”) is an alternate title for the Jñāna-prasthāna (發智論), the “body” (śarīra) of the Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma canon, whose “feet” (六足論) are the six associated texts. The text is attributed to Kātyāyanīputra 迦旃延子 (迦栴延子) by Dào’ān’s preface: “佛般涅槃後，迦旃延（義第一）以十部經浩博難究，撰其大法為一部八犍度四十四品” — “After the Buddha’s nirvāṇa, Kātyāyanīputra [foremost in interpretive skill] compiled the vast and difficult-to-master ten-part sutras into a single collection of eight divisions and forty-four chapters.” Modern scholars (Frauwallner 1995; Willemen, Dessein, Cox 1998) tentatively place the composition of the Jñāna-prasthāna in the period c. 2nd century BCE to 1st century CE in Gandhāra or Kaśmīra.
The T1543 translation differs from T1544 (Xuánzàng’s translation) in representing a different textual recension: T1543 renders the Aṣṭagrantha, a Gandhāran version that may preserve an earlier, less systematized form of the text, while T1544 is translated from the standard Kaśmīra Sanskrit Jñāna-prasthāna. The Taisho itself signals this relationship by prefixing T1543 with “No. 1543 [No. 1544].”
Dào’ān’s preface is a major primary source for the study of 4th-century Chinese Buddhist translation practice. It shows the collaborative, oral-and-scribal method: the foreign monk (Saṃghadeva) recited from memory, a bilingual monk (Zhú Fóniàn) transmitted the meaning orally, and scribes wrote it down, with subsequent revision.
Translations and research
- Frauwallner, Erich. Studies in Abhidharma Literature. Albany: SUNY Press, 1995.
- Cox, Collett. Disputed Dharmas: Early Buddhist Theories on Existence. Tokyo: International Institute for Buddhist Studies, 1995.
- Willemen, Dessein, and Cox. Sarvāstivāda Buddhist Scholasticism. Leiden: Brill, 1998, pp. 65–88.
- Dhammajoti, Bhikkhu KL. Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma. 4th ed. Hong Kong: Centre of Buddhist Studies, 2009.
Other points of interest
Dào’ān’s preface to this text is one of the earliest substantial Chinese discussions of the Abhidharma genre and its value. His appreciation of the text’s three virtues — comprehensiveness (bó 博), essentials (yào 要), and subtlety (mì 密) — became a touchstone for later Chinese Abhidharma scholarship.
Links
- CBETA Online
- Taisho Vol. 26, No. 1543
- Kanseki DB