Pì zhī fó yīn yuán lùn 辟支佛因緣論
Treatise on the Causes-and-Conditions of [Becoming a] Pratyeka-Buddha by 失譯 (Shīyì / anonymous translator)
About the work
A two-juǎn anonymous avadāna-style treatise gathering eight stories of the past-life conditions through which various individuals — kings, ministers, householders, queens — attained pratyekabuddhahood (辟支佛 / pacceka-buddha). The colophon “失譯人名今附秦錄” places the translation in the late fourth century Qín period; the Lìdài sānbǎo jì 歷代三寶記 (T2034) and Kāiyuánlù 開元錄 (T2154) accept this attribution. Although classed in the Taishō Yújiā / Lùnjí division, the work is in style and content nearer to avadāna / jātaka literature than to abhidharma — a collection of edifying past-life narratives illustrating the slow accumulation of merit characteristic of the pratyekabuddha path.
Structural Division
CANWWW (T32N1650) records eight yuán 緣 (story-conditions), each centred on a different protagonist:
- Bōluónài-guówáng wù pìzhīfó yuán 波羅㮈國王悟辟支佛緣 — Conditions for the King of Vārāṇasī
- Fǔxiàng Sūmó wù pìzhīfó yuán 輔相蘇摩悟辟支佛緣 — Conditions for the Minister Sūmā
- Yuèài dàchén wù pìzhīfó yuán 月愛大臣悟辟支佛緣 — Conditions for the Minister “Moon-loving”
- Wáng-shè-chéng dà-zhǎng-zhě wù pìzhīfó yuán 王舍城大長者悟辟支佛緣 — Conditions for the Great Householder of Rājagṛha
- Bōluónài-guówáng Yuè-chū wù pìzhīfó yuán 波羅㮈國王月出悟辟支佛緣 — Conditions for King “Moon-rising” of Vārāṇasī
- Jūshèmí-guówáng Dà-dì wù pìzhīfó yuán 拘舍彌國王大帝悟辟支佛緣 — Conditions for the King “Great Sovereign” of Kauśāmbī
- Jūshèmí-guówáng wù pìzhīfó yuán 拘舍彌國王悟辟支佛緣 — Conditions for [another] King of Kauśāmbī
- Bōluónài-guówáng Qīn-jūn wù pìzhīfó yuán 波羅㮈國王親軍悟辟支佛緣 — Conditions for King “Trusted-Army” of Vārāṇasī
Abstract
The Taishō text opens “辟支佛因緣論卷上 / 失譯人名今附秦錄” and is attributed to the lost translation tradition of the Qín period. Each section presents the past-life conditions through which the protagonist gradually accumulated the merit and insight necessary for pratyekabuddha-attainment, a path that — unlike the bodhisattva path — does not require teaching others. The doctrinal frame is broadly Mahāsāṃghika or Sthaviravāda avadāna literature: the protagonists encounter signs of impermanence (a withered tree, a dying king, a falling fruit) and reflect themselves into liberation. The Sanskrit (or Prākrit) original does not survive, and there is no Tibetan parallel. The text has parallels with passages in the Apadāna of the Pāli canon, the Pacceka-buddha-apadāna in particular, and with sections of the Avadāna-śataka. It is one of the smaller and less-studied texts of the Taishō Lùn-jí division but is of literary interest as a witness to the development of the pratyekabuddha-narrative tradition between the avadāna literature of the early common era and the more elaborate Mahāyāna re-readings of the same figures.
Translations and research
- Kloppenborg, Ria. The Paccekabuddha: A Buddhist Ascetic. Leiden: Brill, 1974. — The standard monograph on pratyekabuddha literature; uses the Pì-zhī-fó yīn-yuán lùn extensively.
- Wiltshire, Martin G. Ascetic Figures Before and in Early Buddhism: The Emergence of Gautama as the Buddha. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, 1990. — Discusses the pratyekabuddha category.
- Anālayo. “Paccekabuddhas in the Isigili-sutta and Its Ekottarika-āgama Parallel.” Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies 6 (2010): 5–36.
Other points of interest
The text is notable for its emphasis on royal protagonists: six of the eight stories are about kings, suggesting a homiletic context aimed at royal patrons (a common feature of avadāna anthologies of the late Mauryan / early common era). Its inclusion in the Taishō Lùnjí rather than the Bēnyuán (avadāna) division is a Taishō editorial decision rather than a reflection of the work’s content.
Links
- CBETA
- Dazangthings date evidence (417): [ T ] T = CBETA [Chinese Buddhist Electronic Text Association]. Taishō shinshū daizōkyō 大正新脩大藏經. Edited by Takakusu Junjirō 高楠順次郎 and Watanabe Kaigyoku 渡邊海旭. Tokyo: Taishō shinshū daizōkyō kankōkai/Daizō shuppan, 1924-1932. CBReader v 5.0, 2014. https://dazangthings.nz/cbc/source/1/