Jùshě Lùn Shū 俱舍論疏
Commentary on the Abhidharmakośa by 法寶 (撰)
About the work
The Jùshě Lùn Shū 俱舍論疏 (CBETA T41n1822) is a Tang dynasty 30-juan commentary on Xuanzang’s translation of the Abhidharmakośa (KR6l0023, T1558), composed by the monk Fǎbǎo 法寶 (法寶, Tang), a student of Xuanzang. The text opens “沙門法寶撰.” It forms the second of the three major Tang commentaries on the Kośa (倶舍論三疏), alongside 普光’s Jùshě lùn jì (KR6l0034) and 圓暉’s Jùshě lùn sòng shū (KR6l0036).
Prefaces
The first juan begins immediately with a detailed doctrinal discussion: 法寶 opens with five analytical topics (wǔ mén fēnbié 五門分別), the first being “reconciling the date of the First Turning of the Dharma Wheel” (會初轉法輪時). The opening pages discuss chronological discrepancies across the sūtra literature about the dates of the Buddha’s birth, renunciation, enlightenment, and parinirvāṇa, drawing on the Cháng āhán jīng 長阿含經 (KR6a0001) and other sources.
Abstract
Fǎbǎo 法寶 (fl. late 7th–early 8th century CE) was a student of Xuanzang who composed this comprehensive commentary on the Kośa. Like 普光’s Jùshě lùn jì, the Shū follows the Kośa chapter by chapter in 30 juan and provides detailed Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma exegesis. The two commentaries differ in approach: where 普光 is more concerned with reconciling Xuanzang’s translation with the Vaibhāṣika tradition, 法寶 at times shows greater independence in treating doctrinal questions. Both are indispensable for understanding the Tang reception of the Kośa.
The Tang Kōsha commentary tradition (三疏) — 普光’s jì, 法寶’s shū, and 圓暉’s sòng shū — represents the full flowering of Chinese Abhidharma scholarship in the 7th–8th centuries and was transmitted to Japan (奈良 Nara period) as part of the Kusha-shū 倶舍宗 school. 法寶 is a common Buddhist name; this Tang Abhidharma scholar 法寶 is distinct from the Song Chán monk 法寶 who appears in KR6q0288.
Translations and research
- No translation of this commentary into Western languages exists.
- Hirakawa Akira 平川彰. Indо Bukkyō shi インド仏教史. Tokyo: Shunjūsha, 1974. — Contextualizes the Tang Kōsha tradition in Japanese transmission.
Links
- CBETA Online
- Taisho Vol. 41, No. 1822
- 法寶 DILA
- Kanseki DB