Ēmítuó jīng lüèzhù 阿彌陀經略註
Brief Annotations on the Smaller Amitābha-sūtra by 續法 (Bǎitíng Xùfǎ, 錄註)
About the work
A single-juǎn annotated reading of the Smaller Amitābhasūtra by the early-Qīng Huáyán-school master 續法 Bǎitíng Xùfǎ 柏亭續法 (1641–1728), the principal restorer of the Qīngliángzōng 清涼宗 (Huáyán) tradition in the Qīng. The text is markedly briefer than Xùfǎ’s longer Guānwúliángshòu jīng zhízhǐshū KR6p0012 on the contemplation sūtra and serves as its companion piece for the smaller sūtra. The format is zhù 註 (brief annotation), not full shū 疏 (commentary): each segment of the sūtra is followed by a short Huáyán-doctrinal gloss, with extensive cross-reference to the parent Huáyánjīng 華嚴經 and to Fǎzàng’s and Chéngguān’s commentaries.
Abstract
The author’s preface frames the work in characteristically Xùfǎ terms: the practice of niànfó is at once “one mind producing the Buddha-thought” (yīniàn ér chéng fóniàn 一念而成佛念) and “one Buddha making manifest all Buddhas” (yīfó ér jiàn zhūfó 依一佛而見諸佛), a doubly Huáyán formulation that aligns Pure Land devotion with the Huáyán doctrine of yīduō xiāngjí 一多相即 (the mutual identity of the one and the many). The text reads each section of the sūtra through this Huáyán-Pure Land synthesis: the description of Sukhāvatī becomes a manifestation of the Huáyán Dharma-realm, the recitation of the name becomes the activation of the yīxīn fǎjiè 一心法界, and the merit-transfer becomes the Bodhisattva’s universal vow.
The dating bracket (c. 1690–1714) covers Xùfǎ’s mature commentarial period, parallel to the Zhízhǐshū on the Guānjīng.
Translations and research
- Hamar, Imre (ed.). Reflecting Mirrors: Perspectives on Huayan Buddhism. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2007.
- Wáng Lěi 王雷, Péng Jì-qīng jū-shì-fó-jiào sī-xiǎng yán-jiū. Beijing, 2017 — for the Xùfǎ → Péng Jì-qīng Huáyán-Pure Land lineage.