Dàrì jīng jiàozhǔ yì 大日經教主義
The Meaning of the Mahāvairocana-sūtra’s Teaching-Master by 曇寂 (撰)
About the work
A single-fascicle doctrinal-summary treatise on the medieval-Shingon Teaching-Master question, by Donjaku 曇寂 (1674–1742), the Edo-period Shingon scholastic. The header is explicit: “Shamana Donjaku has composed” 沙門曇寂撰. The work is the Edo-period systematic-doctrinal summation of the medieval Teaching-Master doctrinal-disputational tradition.
Abstract
Authorship. Donjaku.
Date. Within Donjaku’s mature career, early to mid-18th century.
Content. The work opens with the programmatic statement of its two-part structure:
“Now, to make clear the meaning of the Mahāvairocanasūtra’s teaching-master, there are two kinds [of approach]. First, distinguishing the ancient positions. Second, presenting the present author’s discrimination. Within the first, there are also two: first, distinguishing the positions of the other gates; next, distinguishing the position of [our] own school. First, on distinguishing the positions of the other gates…”
(今將明遮那經教主義有二種。一辨古説。二申今按。初中亦二。初辨他門説。次辨自宗説。初辨他門説者)
The work proceeds with scholastic-systematic clarity:
- Survey of the ancient positions — both within the medieval Shingon school and from the rival schools (Tendai, Kegon, Hossō).
- Survey of the Shingon-internal positions — across the major medieval scholastic-lineage traditions.
- Donjaku’s own settled position — the present author’s discrimination, distilling the proper Edo-period Shingon scholastic position.
The work’s structural-doctrinal compression makes it a useful introductory-survey text for the medieval Teaching-Master doctrinal tradition, suitable for use as a reference for Edo-period and modern Shingon students.
Significance. As an Edo-period systematic-summary of the medieval Teaching-Master doctrinal tradition, the work is part of Donjaku’s broader project of doctrinal-exegetical revival of the medieval Shingon scholastic heritage. It is studied alongside his more extensive Vajraśekhara-sūtra and Mahāvairocana-sūtra sub-commentaries.
Translations and research
- No Western-language translation located.
- Ryūichi Abé, The Weaving of Mantra (Columbia, 1999).
- Standard Edo-period Shingon-school sources on Donjaku’s corpus.