Zhūjīng yào chāo 諸經要抄
Essentials Excerpted from the Various Sutras anonymous (Dunhuang manuscript)
About the work
A single-juan anonymous Dunhuang Buddhist excerpt-anthology, preserved in the Taishō canon’s gǔ-yì bù 古逸部 at T85 no. 2819. The text consists of selected passages from major Mahāyāna sutras — opening with quotations from the Fó-zàng jīng 佛藏經 (T653, Buddhapiṭaka-sūtra) on the topic of monastic ordination and the proper relation between Buddha and disciple, then continuing through other canonical citations on monastic discipline, the bodhisattva path, and devotional practice.
Prefaces
The text has no preserved auto-preface or byline. It opens immediately with a citation from the Fózàng jīng: ”… in dispute. Śāriputra, such persons — I do not allow them to leave home and receive the precepts. Śāriputra, such persons — I do not allow them to receive even one drink of water as their offering. They should only diligently cultivate and study the markless samādhi. In the markless samādhi also taking marks — such a person comprehends that the marks of all dharmas are all one mark, namely the markless mark.” Followed by Fózàngjīng niànfó pǐn 佛藏經念佛品 (Buddha-Recollection Chapter): “Evil knowledge-friend 惡知識…”
Abstract
Authorship and date are unrecoverable. Like the other Dunhuang manuscripts in T85, the work belongs to the standard composition window of 600–1000 CE, preserved in Cave 17 at Dūn-huáng. The work’s structure — sutra-citations gathered topically, with each entry headed by sutra-name + chapter-name — is the standard monastic-pedagogical anthology format. The specific selection from the Fó-zàng jīng (a Kumārajīva translation, T653, treating monastic conduct and the prajñā-and-marklessness doctrine) suggests a doctrinal interest in the relation between meditation practice and vinaya observance.
The work is one of the smaller Dunhuang Mahāyāna anthology-excerpts, paralleling the larger and longer Dàshèng jīng zuǎn yàoyì (KR6s0026) and other anonymous Dunhuang digests. Its preservation in Cave 17 indicates its use as monastic-instructional or lay-devotional reading material in the late-Táng / Five-Dynasties / early-Sòng western frontier.
Translations and research
No substantial dedicated Western-language secondary literature located. See general Dunhuang-manuscript references at KR6s0026.
Other points of interest
The Fó-zàng jīng 佛藏經 (T653, Kumārajīva translation of the Buddhapiṭaka-sūtra, ca. 405 CE) is one of the more commonly cited sutras in the Dunhuang Buddhist anthology tradition, particularly for its severe critique of monastic indiscipline and its strong prajñā / anutpāda doctrinal framing — a combination that resonated with the late-Táng Chán and Pure Land devotional contexts in which these anthologies were read.