Dàshèng èrshíèr wèn běn 大乘二十二問本
The Twenty-Two Questions on the Mahāyāna, Original [Text] anonymous (Dunhuang manuscript, fragmentary)
About the work
A single-juan anonymous Dunhuang Buddhist scholastic-question manuscript, preserved in the Taishō canon’s gǔ-yì bù 古逸部 at T85 no. 2818. The text is structured around 22 doctrinal questions on Mahāyāna doctrine — primarily concerning the relation between Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna (śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha), the bodhisattva path, prajñā, upāya, śūnyatā, the categories of liù-rù 六入 (six entries), the dharma-self-emptiness, and the bodhisattva’s transformative compassion. The text is substantially fragmentary, with many missing characters indicated by □ in the source — typical of Dunhuang manuscript damage.
Prefaces
The text has no preserved auto-preface or byline. It opens directly with the first doctrinal exposition (paraphrased, with reconstructed lacunae): “Seeing that there are five aggregates □ dharma-grasping □ the world □ □ if deep □ □ □ □ nirvāṇa, not delighting in dwelling in the world to ferry across the various beings — this is therefore the conduct of the śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha. If at the first arousal of mind cultivating □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ before the realm cultivating the markless dharma, leaving all marks — completely no obtaining, comprehending the emptiness of person and dharma — therefore not attached □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ comprehending the emptiness of dharma — therefore not delighting in nirvāṇa, not turning toward the conduct of the śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha □ □ □ emptiness, able to leave the ordinary person and the two vehicles □ □ □…”
Abstract
Authorship and date are unrecoverable. Like other Dunhuang Buddhist manuscripts, the work was preserved in Cave 17 at Dūnhuáng and recovered in the early twentieth century. The 22-question framework suggests a scholastic-question text in the wèndá 問答 (“question-and-answer”) genre — a standard form for monastic doctrinal pedagogy from the Yúluò Tàmó 圜悟達磨 conversations onward through the Tang-Song period. notBefore = 600, notAfter = 1000 (the standard Dunhuang-manuscript dating bracket).
The doctrinal substance — the Mahāyāna’s superseding of the two-vehicle (er-shèng 二乘 = śrāvaka + pratyekabuddha) path through the bodhisattva’s simultaneous comprehension of śūnyatā and refusal to enter nirvāṇa — is standard mid-Tang Mahāyāna scholasticism, plausibly drawn from the Yú-jiā shī-dì lùn 瑜伽師地論 (Asaṅga’s Yogācārabhūmi, T1579), the Dà-zhì-dù lùn 大智度論 (T1509), or the Wéi-shí èr-shí lùn 唯識二十論 (Vasubandhu’s Viṃśatikā, T1590) tradition.
Translations and research
No substantial dedicated Western-language secondary literature located. See general Dunhuang-manuscript references at KR6s0026.
Other points of interest
The “twenty-two questions” framing is a typical scholastic-pedagogy structure; comparable question-numbered Mahāyāna doctrinal texts are preserved in both the canonical (e.g. Dàshèng yìzhāng 大乘義章 of Huìyuǎn 慧遠 the Suí, T1851) and Dunhuang manuscript traditions. The fragmentary state of the present text precludes detailed reconstruction of its specific doctrinal positioning.