Qǐxìn lùn shūjì huìyuè juànshǒu 起信論疏記會閱卷首
Front Volume to the Combined Reading of the Commentary and Records on the Awakening of Faith by 續法 (Xùfǎ / Bótíng, 會編)
About the work
A one-juǎn prefatory volume (juànshǒu 卷首) to the larger 10-juǎn Qǐxìn lùn shūjì huìyuè KR6o0120 (X45n768), produced by the early-Qing Huáyán-school revivalist 續法 Xùfǎ (Bótíng) (1641–1728). The catalog meta entry has no listed author for this front-matter volume separately, but the work is the integral juànshǒu of the larger compilation by Xùfǎ.
Structural Division
CANWWW does not register Xùzàngjīng entries; the parent text is KR6o0078 (T32n1666). The companion main work is KR6o0120 (X45n768).
Abstract
The volume contains the editorial apparatus for the Huì-yuè: a fán-lì 凡例 (editorial conventions), a yuán-qǐ 緣起 (origin), a kē-pàn 科判 (structural outline), a “biography of the five [Huáyán] patriarchs” (五祖傳), an abbreviated record of the treatise’s author (論主略錄, i.e., Aśvaghoṣa) and of the principal commentator (法藏 Fǎzàng — 記主略錄), a Dharma-characteristic numerical key (法相數), and a “True/False Arising-and-Perishing Dharma-Characteristic Diagram” (真妄生滅法相圖). The kē-pàn maps the structure of the composite huì-yuè across its 10 juǎn: juǎn 1 covers the prefaces and the title-analyses; juǎn 2–10 covers the running text of the Qǐ-xìn lùn divided according to the standard Huáyán scholastic kē-wén.
This juànshǒu is essentially the front matter required for orienting a student to the huìyuè as a study tool — a standard front-end for a major scholastic compilation in the Huáyán tradition. Composition window: Xùfǎ’s mature career, 1670–1728.
Translations and research
- Gimello, Robert M. “Apophatic and Kataphatic Discourse in Mahayana.” Journal of Indian Philosophy 4 (1976): 117–148. — Background on Huáyán kē-pàn method.
- Hamar, Imre, ed. Reflecting Mirrors: Perspectives on Huayan Buddhism. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2007. — Background on early-Qing Huáyán revival.
- No further substantial secondary literature located on this specific volume.
Other points of interest
Xùfǎ’s project of producing a unified huìyuè of the shū (of 法藏) and the jì (of 子璿) for the Qǐxìn lùn is parallel to his other Huáyán-revival activities — he undertook similar editorial-comparative compilations across the entire Huáyán doctrinal corpus. The juànshǒu is part of that systematic project, providing students with a single integrated reading-key.
Links
- CBETA
- DILA Authority (Xùfǎ): A001959