Ēmítuó jīng zhíjiě zhèngxíng 阿彌陀經直解正行
Direct Exegesis of the Smaller Amitābha-sūtra, with the Correct Practice by 了根 (Liǎogēn, 纂註)
About the work
A single-juǎn mid-Qīng commentary on the Smaller Amitābhasūtra by the Pure Land monk 了根 Liǎogēn of Juéhǎisì 覺海寺 in Xiùshuǐ 秀水 (Jiāxīng 嘉興), with collation by his disciples Dázhì 達智 and Dáchún 達純 and the lay-Buddhists Dáběn Língjūshì 達本凌居士 and Dáqīng Chénjūshì 達清陳居士. The genre is zhíjiě 直解 (“direct exegesis”): brief paraphrastic gloss followed by practical-devotional guidance — the zhèngxíng 正行 (“correct practice”) component of the title refers to a daily ritual programme appended after the sūtra-with-annotations.
Abstract
The opening section provides a brief biographical-historical introduction to the sūtra: the work is described as having had two principal Chinese translations, the Chēngzàn jìngtǔ Fó shèshòu jīng 稱讚淨土佛攝受經 of 玄奘 Xuánzàng (Tang) and the present Ēmítuó jīng of 鳩摩羅什 Kumārajīva (the more popular). Liǎogēn provides a careful biographical sketch of Xuánzàng — his year of departure for India in 貞觀 3 (629), his sixteen-year journey through 150 countries, his return in 貞觀 19 (645) with 600 Buddhist scriptures — situating the Smaller Sukhāvatīvyūma in this textual history. The body of the commentary then proceeds through Kumārajīva’s translation phrase-by-phrase with brief Tiāntái-influenced gloss.
The doctrinal frame is Tiāntái-Pure Land synthetic, in the broad late-Qīng popularising mode — Liǎogēn cites the Wǔzhòngxuányì 五重玄義 framework but uses it as a pedagogical scaffold rather than as serious doctrinal commitment. The zhèngxíng programme appended at the end provides a daily devotional schedule with morning and evening recitation slots, a list of merit-transfer formulae, and basic ritual instructions. The dating bracket adopted (c. 1750–1820) covers the broad range of Liǎogēn’s plausible mature period; precise composition date is not preserved.
Translations and research
- Goossaert, Vincent. “Late Qing Buddhist Lay Movements.” In Modern Chinese Religion II: 1850–2015. Brill, 2016.
No dedicated monograph located.