Zá Āpítán Xīn Lùn 雜阿毘曇心論
Saṃyuktābhidharma-hṛdaya-śāstra: Mixed/Combined Heart of the Abhidharma by 法救 (造), 僧伽跋摩 (等譯)
About the work
The Zá Āpítán Xīn Lùn 雜阿毘曇心論 (Skt. Saṃyuktābhidharma-hṛdaya-śāstra, CBETA T28n1552) is a Liu Song (劉宋) dynasty translation of the third and most elaborated text in the Hṛdaya tradition, 11 juan, attributed to Dharmatrāta 尊者法救 (法救) and translated by Saṃghavarman 僧伽跋摩 (僧伽跋摩) and others. The colophon identifies it as 宋天竺三藏僧伽跋摩等譯. The Taisho header “No. 1552 [cf. Nos. 1550, 1551]” marks its position in the Hṛdaya sequence.
Prefaces
No independent preface survives in the received text.
Abstract
The Saṃyuktābhidharma-hṛdaya (“Mixed Heart of the Abhidharma”) is attributed to Dharmatrāta 法救 (Dharmatrāta), a prominent Sarvāstivāda master of the Kaśmīra Vaibhāṣika tradition, also cited in the Mahāvibhāṣā as one of the four major masters whose views it presents. Frauwallner (1995) identifies the Saṃyuktābhidharma-hṛdaya as the most comprehensive text of the Hṛdaya tradition, substantially expanding on Dharmaśreṣṭhin’s base text with the addition of “mixed” (saṃyukta) material from related Abhidharma sources.
The translator Saṃghavarman 僧伽跋摩 (Saṃghavarman, “Protected by the Saṃgha”) was a Central Indian (Tiānzhú 天竺) monk who worked in the Liu Song court, translating several texts including this one. He was active in the mid-5th century CE.
The Saṃyuktābhidharma-hṛdaya was an important study text in Chinese Abhidharma circles. Together with T1550 and T1551, it forms a progressive trilogy of increasingly elaborated presentations of the Sarvāstivāda doctrinal system in summary format. Vasubandhu’s Abhidharmakośa (KR6l0023) may have been composed partly in response to and in dialogue with this tradition.
Translations and research
- Frauwallner, Erich. Studies in Abhidharma Literature. Albany: SUNY Press, 1995, pp. 191–232.
- Willemen, Dessein, and Cox. Sarvāstivāda Buddhist Scholasticism. Leiden: Brill, 1998.
- Dhammajoti, Bhikkhu KL. Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma. 4th ed. Hong Kong: Centre of Buddhist Studies, 2009.
Links
- CBETA Online
- Taisho Vol. 28, No. 1552
- 僧伽跋摩 DILA
- Kanseki DB