Hsüan-tsang's Translations and Works
Dan Lusthaus
The following
annotated bibliography is an abridged extract from an appendix to my book, Buddhist
Phenomenology (London: Curzon Press, 2000). Cf. that work for fuller
notations on many of these works, including a comprehensive listing of
available Western language translations and studies of these works.
A survey of
Hsüan-tsang's prolific translations demonstrates that he was anything but a
narrow sectarian. His translations cover the gamut of Buddhist literature
including: sūtras and śāstras of interest to Yogācāra; Madhyamaka texts; Pure
Land texts; Sarvāstivādin Abhidharma works; Tantric texts; a Hindu Vaiśeṣika text; works on logic
and epistemology; Abhidharma texts; Dhāranī texts; Avadāna texts; Mahāyāna
sūtras; Vaipulya sūtras; Sūtras concerned with pratītya-samutpāda, Buddha's
teachings just before his parinirvāṇa,
instructions to rulers; Pratimokṣa
texts; Prajṅāpāramitā
texts; his travelogue; texts devoted to Avalokiteśvara, Maitreya, Bhaiṣajya-guru (the Medicine
Buddha), Kṣitigarbha,
Amitābha; etc. His works are spread throughout the Taishō
edition of the Chinese Buddhist canon, which is organized according to literary
or sectarian type, demonstrating that he contributed to every genre. Some of
his translations, such as the Heart Sutra and Diamond Sutra, have
remained at the center of East Asian Buddhist study and devotion. Others, such
as his translation of the Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa sūtra, were overshadowed
by translations done by others. Some are very short works, others are of
unparalleled length (his translation of the Mahāprajñāpāramitā sūtras
fills three Taishō volumes! No other Chinese Buddhist text
comes close).
The list is
chronological. For some texts we have very precise dates, but for others there
is little or no information. There are some controversies concerning the place
or date of certain texts; some of these I have noted, others I have ignored.
For each work I
have provided the Chinese title; the number of fascicles; the Sanskrit title
when it is known (reconstructed Sanskrit titles are preceded by an asterisk);
in most cases an English translation of the title (if the meaning of the Chinese
title differs from the known Sanskrit title, or represents only one possible
interpretation of the Sanskrit, I have translated the Chinese); the Taishō
number (volume, followed by text number); the date and place of translation (or
where the text was completed); the original author; and annotations placing the
text in context. (Again, for fuller discussion, cf. Buddhist Phenomenology).
The short Notes
appended to many of the items in this list are intended not just to provide
information, but to stimulate further interest in Xuanzang's corpus. Anyone who
has a translation or summary or discussion (published or unpublished) of any of
these texts who would like to share it with others through this site is
encouraged to contact the webmasters, Dan Lusthaus or Charles Muller. In the
near future, on-line versions of these texts will be available through
hyperlink.
Year 645
1. Ta p'u-sa tsang ching 大菩薩藏經(20 fasc)
Bodhisattva piṭaka-sūtra.
(Sutra of the Scriptural-Basket of the Great Bodhisattva)
(included in T.11.310 [sūtra 12] secs. 35-54)
Hung-fu (Vast Prosperity) Monastery 弘褔寺
NOTE: Part of the Ratnakūta sūtra. The brunt of the Ratnakūta was
translated by Bodhiruci (706) and Dharmarakṣa
(313), though many other translators contributed selections. According to
Hsüan-tsang's biography, the last text he was asked to translate was the
complete Ratnakūta. He began, but sickness and old age prevented him
from getting very far. Since Ta p'u-sa tsang ching was the first text he
translated upon returning to China, that brought his work full circle.
2. Hsien-yang sheng-chiao lun sung 顯揚聖教論頌 (1 fasc)
*Prakaraṇāryavākā
(Exposition of the ārya Teachings, Verse Treatise)
T.31.1603 (cf. 5 below)July 8, Hung-fu Monastery
Author: Asaṅga 無著
NOTE: Asaṅga text
based on the Yogācābhūmi (see 10, below). Dignāga is said to have
written a commentary, titled Yogāvatāra, not extant, on its ninth
chapter.
3. Fo ti ching 佛地經 (1 fasc)
Buddha-bhūmi sūtra
(Buddha-Stage Sutra)
T.16.680 (cf. 30 below)August 12, Hung-fu Monastery
4. Liu-men t'o-lo-ni ching 六門陀羅尼經 (1 fasc)
Saṇmukhi-dhāranī
(Six Gates Dhāranī Sutra)
T.21.1360October 11, Hung-fu Monastery
NOTE: The Six Gates are the senses; Dhāranī, like mantra, is an enabling chant
or invocation.
5. Hsien-yang sheng-chiao lun 顯揚聖教論 (20 fasc)
(Exposition of the Ārya Teachings)
T.31.1602 (cf. 2 above)Oct 645-Feb. 646, Hung-fu Monastery
Author: Asaṅga 無著
NOTE: Asaṅga's
exposition on the verses of *Prakaraṇāryavākā
(2 above).
------------------------
Year 646
6. Ta-sheng a-p'i-t'a-mo tsa-chi lun 大乘阿毗達摩雜集論 (16 fasc)
Abhidharmasamuccaya-vyākhyā
(Mahāyāna Abhidharma Mixed-Collection Treatise)
(T.31.1606) (cf. 47 below)Feb. 7-April 19, Hung-fu Monastery
Author: Sthiramati 安慧
NOTE: Sthiramati's commentary (called Tsa-chi lun 雜集論 for short) to Asaṅga's Abhidharmasamuccaya
(called Chi lun 集論 for short). This is the only text by Sthiramati
translated by Hsüan-tsang. K'uei-chi wrote a commentary on it. The Tibetan
tradition attributes the Tsa-chi lun to Jinaputra.
7. (Ta-T'ang) Hsi-yü chi (大唐)西域記 (12 fasc)
(Great T'ang) Record of Western Regions
T.51.2087Hung-fu Monastery
Author: Hsüan-tsang 玄奘
NOTE: Written at the behest of the Emperor, this is Hsüan-tsang's travelog of
his journey through Central Asia and India, and remains one of our most
valuable records of those regions in the seventh century. Includes abundant
material on customs, Buddhist legends, population, etc. "Great T'ang"
signifies the T'ang Dynasty, and in a broader sense China.
------------------------
Year 647
8. Ta-sheng wu-yun lun 大乘五蘊論 (1 fasc) Paṅcaskandhaka-prakaraṇa
(Mahāyāna Treatise on the Five Skandhas)
T.31.1612April 4, Hung-fu Monastery
Author: Vasubandhu 世親
NOTE: A proto-Yogācāra work by Vasubandhu.
9. She ta-sheng lun wu-hsing shih 攝大乘論無性釋 (10 fasc)
*Mahāyānasaṅgrahopani-bandhana
(*Asvabhāva's commentary on the Mahāyānasaṅgraha)
T.31.1598 (cf. 18, 19)
April 10, 647-July 31, 649, Ta-tz'u-en (Great Compassion) Monastery 大慈恩寺
Author: *Asvabhāva 無性
NOTE: *Asvabhāva's commentary on Asaṅga's
Mahāyānasaṅgraha,
one of several versions of the Mahāyānasaṅgraha translated by Hsüan-tsang as part
of his effort to correct the misunderstandings among Chinese Buddhists derived
from Paramārtha's translations. The Mahāyānasaṅgraha, or She-lun 攝論 for short,
was a key text for Paramārtha's followers.
10. Yü-ch'ieh shih-ti lun 瑜伽師地論 (100 fasc)
Yogācārabhūmi śāstra
(Stages of Yoga Practice Treatise)
T.30.1579July 3, 646-June 11 648, Hung-fu & Ta-tz'u-en Monasteries
Author: Maitreya 彌勒
NOTE: This massive work, attributed in the Chinese tradition to Maitreya and in
the Tibetan tradition to Asaṅga,
served as the grand Yogācāra encyclopedia for Hsüan-tsang, who originally went
to India to procure a complete copy of this text. Paramārtha had done a partial
translation (T.30.1584).
A detailed outline of this
text can be found elsewhere on this site. Go there now
11. Chieh shen mi ching 解深密經 (5 fasc)
Saṅdhinirmocana
sūtra
(Sutra Explaining the Deep Secret)
T.16.676August 8, Hung-fu Monastery
NOTE: The Saṅdhinirmocana
is generally considered the first sūtra to present many of the distinctively
Yogacaric doctrines, such as vijñapti-mātra, tri-svabhāva, etc. It was
translated into Chinese many times, including by Bodhiruci (in 514, T.16.675),
Paramārtha (in 557, T.16.677), and Guṇabhadra
(in 435-43, T.16.678 and 679).
12. Yin ming ju cheng-li lun 因明入正理論 (1 fasc)
Nyāyapraveśa
(Introduction to Logic)
T.31.1630Sept. 10, Hung-fu Monastery
Author: Śaṅkarasvāmin
商羯羅主
NOTE: The first Indian Logic text ever translated into Chinese. It offers an
overview of Dignāga's logic. Ten monks wrote commentaries on this text that
were incommensurate. A Court Taoist, Lü Tsai, wrote his own applying yin-yang
and Chinese cosmological principles, which outraged the Buddhists, leading to a
crisis in the capital that only dissipated once Hsüan-tsang, questioned by the
Emperor, confirmed that Lü's commentary was erroneous.
-------------
Year 648
13. T'ien ch'ing-wen ching 天請問經 (1 fasc)
Devatā sūtra
(Questioning Devas Sutra)
T.15.593 April 17, Hung-fu Monastery
14. Shih-chü yi lun 十句義論 (1 fasc)
Vaiśeṣika-daśapadārtha
śāstra
(Treatise on the Ten Padārthas)
T.54.2138 June 11, Hung-fu Monastery
Author: Maticandra 慧月
NOTE: A Hindu Vaiśeṣika
text. Padārthas are the basic components of reality. Vaiśeṣikas more commonly list
nine, rather than ten, padārthas.
15. Wei-shih san-shih lun 唯識三十論 (1 fasc)
Triṃśikā
(Thirty Verses on Vijñapti-mātra
Treatise)
T.31.1586 June 25, Hung-fu Monastery
Author: Vasubandhu 世親
NOTE: The root text on which the Ch'eng wei-shih lun expounds. The
Chinese title would literally translate into Sanskrit as Triṃśikā vijñapti-mātra śāstra.
16. Chih-kang po-lo ching 金剛般若經 (1 fasc)
Vajracchedikā sūtra
(Diamond Sutra)
T.7.220 Ta-tz'u-en Monastery
NOTE: There are several Chinese translations of the Diamond Sutra,
including by Kumārajīva (401), Bodhiruci (509), Paramārtha (558), and I-ching
(703), but Hsüan-tsang's rendition became the standard in East Asia.
17. Pai -fa ming-men lun 百法明門論 (1 fasc)
Mahāyāna śatadharmā-prakāśamukha śāstra
(Lucid Introduction to the One Hundred Dharmas)
T.31.1614 December 7, Hung Fa Hall 弘法院
Author: Vasubandhu 世親
NOTE: Vasubandhu's enumeration of the Yogācāra One Hundred Dharma list, divided
up by categories.
An outline of this text, listing the 100 dharmas (by category) in English, Sanskrit and Chinese can be found on this site. Go there now
18. She ta-sheng lun shih-ch'in shih 攝大乘論世親釋 (10 fasc)
Mahāyānasaṅgraha-bhāṣya
(Vasubandhu's commentary on the Mahāyānasaṅgraha)
T.31.1597 (cf. 9 and 19) Northern
Palace 北闕 and Ta-tz'u-en Monastery
Author: Vasubandhu 世親
------------------------
Year 649
19. She ta-sheng lun pen 攝大乘論本 (3 fasc)
Mahāyānasaṅgraha
(Encyclopedia of Mahāyāna)
T.31.1594 (cf. 9 and 18) Jan. 14-July
31, Ta-tz'u-en Monastery
Author: Asaṅga 無著
NOTE: Paramārtha's version of this text by Asaṅga
had become very popular in sixth century China and its influence was still
pervasive in Hsüan-tsang's day. That Hsüan-tsang chose to translate complete
commentaries on the She lun 攝論 (9 and 18 above), including one by
Vasubandhu, before translating the root text indicates his purpose was to
replace misconceptions engendered by erroneous ideas introduced to China by
Paramārtha's translation. Before offering a different version of the text,
Hsüan-tsang provided authoritative commentaries undermining Paramārtha's
emendations.
20. Yüan-ch'i sheng-tao ching 緣起聖道經 (1 fasc)
Nidāna sūtra
(Sutra of Ārya Teachings on Conditioned Arising)
T.16.714 (cf. 34, 71) Feb. 17, Hung Fa
Hall
NOTE: A sutra on pratītya-samutpāda.
21. Shih-shen tsu lun 識身足論 (16 fasc)
Abhidharma Vijñāna-kāya
pāda śāstra
(Discourse on Consciousness Body)
T.26.1539 March 3-Sept. 19, Hung Fa
Hall and Ta-tz'u-en Monastery
Author: Devakṣema 提婆設摩
NOTE: The third text of the Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma canon.
22. Ju-lai shih-chiao sheng chün wang ching 如來示教勝軍王經 (1 fasc)
Rājavavādaka sūtra
(Sutra where Tathāgata Reveals Teachings to King Prasenajit)
T.14.515 (cf. 26) March 24, Ta-tz'u-en
Monastery
NOTE: Buddha teaches King Prasenajit how to be a good king. For Hsüan-tsang
this sutra probably had at least two implications. First, his Indian friend and
pivotal teacher was also named Prasenajit 勝軍 (see Chapter Fifteen of Buddhist
Phenomenology). King Prasenajit was Buddha's contemporary and alter-ego:
born the same day as Buddha, he inherited his own father's throne, unlike
Buddha who rejected his to become a mendicant; King Prasenajit eventually
becomes Buddha's disciple. Second, it provided a response to the Chinese
emperor who, due to military ambitions, had been pressuring Hsüan-tsang for
information about the territoritories to the West of China. The Hsi-yü chi
(see 7, above) was one response, providing detailed information on monasteries,
geography, and customs, but little that would be of military use.
23. Shen hsi yu ching 甚希有經 (1 fasc)
*Adbhūta-dharma-paryāya sūtra
(Sutra on Most Rarified Existence)
T.16.689 July 2, Ts'ui-wei Palace 翠微宮,
Chung Nan Mt. 終南山
24. Po-lo hsin ching 般若心經 (1 fasc)
Prajñā-pāramitā
hṛdaya sūtra
(Heart Sutra)
T.8.251 July 8, Ts'ui-wei Palace
NOTE: Full title: Po-lo po-lo-mi-to hsin ching 般若波羅密多心經. Translated many
times into Chinese, Hsüan-tsang's version has become the standard version. Very
popular in China, Korea and Japan, this version has been chanted daily
throughout East Asia by clerics and laypeople for over a thousand years. There
are many English translations.
25. P'u-sa chieh chieh mo 菩薩戒羯磨文 (1 fasc)
(Elaboration of On Conferring Bodhisattva Vinaya)
T.24.1499 (cf. 28) August 28,
Ta-tz'u-en Monastery
Author: Maitreya 彌勒
NOTE: This text is drawn from the Yogācārabhūmi (see 10, above).
26. Wang fa cheng-li ching 王法正理經 (1 fasc)
(Sutra of [Maitreya's] Correct Principles of Royal Rule)
T.31.1615 (cf. 22) August 31,
Ta-tz'u-en Monastery
Author: Maitreya 彌勒
27. Tsui wu-pi ching 最無比經 (1 fasc)
(Supreme Incomparable Sutra)
T.16.691 Sept. 1, Ta-tz'u-en Monastery
28. P'u-sa chieh pen 菩薩戒本(1 fasc)
*Bodhisattva-śīla sūtra
(On Conferring Bodhisattva Vinaya)
T.24.1501 (cf. 25) Sept. 3, Ta-tz'u-en
Monastery (or Ts'ui-wei Palace in 647)
Author: Maitreya 彌勒
NOTE: Bodhisattva Pratimokṣa
attributed in China to Maitreya, and in Tibet to Asaṅga. This served as the Yogācāra pratimokṣa, a routinely
performed communal confession for monks and nuns. The chieh mo (25,
above) expands on this root text.
29. Ta-sheng chang chen lun 大乘掌珍論 (2 fasc)
Karatala-ratna
(Mahāyāna Jewel in the Palm Treatise)
T.30.1578 Oct. 19-24, Ta-tz'u-en
Monastery
Author: Bhāvaviveka 清辯
NOTE: The first Madhyamaka text translated by Hsüan-tsang. The debates between
Madhayamaka and Yogācāra that were in full swing when Hsüan-tsang was at
Nālandā, focused on the teachings of Bhāvaviveka (representing Madhyamaka), on
the one hand, and Sthiramati and Dharmapāla (representing Yogācāra) on the
other hand.
30. Fo ti ching lun 佛地經論 (7 fasc)
Buddhabhūmi-sūtra śāstra
(Treatise on the Buddha-Stage Sutra)
T.26.1530 (cf. 3 above) Nov. 12,
649-Jan. 2, 650
Authors: Bandhuprabha 親光, etc.
NOTE: Contains combined commentaries on the Buddha-bhūmi. Since some of
the passages reappear in the Ch'eng wei-shih lun, some speculate that
these parallel passages should be attributed to Dharmapāla (though neither this
text nor the Ch'eng wei-shih lun explicitly does so). A Tibetan
translation of a commentary to the Buddha-bhūmi also parallels passages
in this text; Tibetans attribute that commentary to śīlabhadra, the head of
Nālandā while Hsüan-tsang was there.
----------------------------
Year 650
(first year of Kao Tsung's 高宗 reign as emperor. His father T'ai Tsung 太宗
had strongly supported Hsüan-tsang. Kao Tsung, who was attracted to Taoism and
the idea that he might be descended from Lao Tzu, continued the support, but
with less enthusiasm.)
31. Yin-ming cheng-li men lun pen 因明正理門論本 (1 fasc)
Nyāyamukha
(Gateway to Logic)
T.31.1628 Feb. 1, Ta-tz'u-en Monastery
Author: Dignāga 陳那
NOTE: One of Dignāga's basic texts on logic.
32. Ch'eng-tsan ching-t'u fo she-shou ching 稱讚淨土佛攝受經 (1 fasc)
Sukhāvatī-vyūha
(Sutra In Praise of the Pure Land)
T.12.367 Ta-tz'u-en Monastery
NOTE: Important Pure Land Sutra commonly known as the Smaller Sukhāvati
Sutra.
33. Yü-ch'ieh shih-ti lun shih 瑜伽師地論釋 (1 fasc)
Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra-kārikā
(Explanation of the Stages of Yoga Practice Treatise)
T.30.1580
Author: Jinaputra 最勝子
NOTE: Jinaputra's commentary on the Yogācārabhūmi (10). There is a
Sanskrit edition, translated into French by Sylvain L'evy, 2 vols., Paris,
1911.
34. Fen-pieh yüan-ch'i ch'u-sheng fa-men ching 分別緣起初勝法門經 (2 fasc)
*Vikalpa-pratītya-samutpāda-dharmottara-praveśa sūtra
(Sutra on The Primacy of the Dharma Gate Distinguishing Conditioned
Arising)
T.16.717 (cf. 20, 71) March 10, Ta-tz'u-en
Monastery
NOTE: Another sutra on pratītya-samutpāda.
35. Shuo Wu-kou ch'eng ching 說無垢稱經 (6 fasc)
Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa sūtra
(Sutra of the Teachings of Vimalakīrti)
T.14.476 Ta-tz'u-en Monastery
NOTE: This sutra - always popular in China because its hero is an enlightened
layman who outsmarts all of Buddha's highest bodhisattva disciples,
demonstrating that laypeople could reach higher attainment than monks - was
translated five times before Hsüan-tsang's version: Kumārajīva (406),
Chih-ch'ien (223-228), Dharmarakṣa
(308), Upaśūnya (545), and Jñānagupta
(591). Kumārajīva's version remained the popular one, due largely to its
literary merits.
36. Yao-shih (liu li kuang ju-lai) pen-yüan kung-te ching
藥師(流璃光如來)本願功德經 (1 fasc)
Bhaiṣajya-guru-vaiḍūrya-prabhāsa-pūrvapraṇidhāna-viśeṣa-vistara
(The Meritorious Original Vow of the Medicine Master [Lapis Lazuli Radiance
Tathāgata] Sutra)
T.14.450 June 9, Ta-tz'u-en Monastery
NOTE: An important sutra on the Medicine Buddha. In Japan Yogacara (Hossō) was
early on associated with the Medicine Buddha (Jp: Yakushi), and even today many
of the early Temples surviving in the Nara area have main halls with statues of
Yakushi, including the main Hossō temple, aptly named Yakushiji (Medicine
Buddha Monastery).
37. Ta-sheng kuang pai lun pen 大乘廣百論本 (1 fasc)
*Catuḥśataka
(Mahāyāna-Vaipulya One Hundred Treatise)
T.30.1570 (cf. 38) July 13, 650-Jan.
30, 651, Ta-tz'u-en Monastery
Author: Āryadeva 聖天
NOTE: A major Madhyamaka text by Āryadeva, Nāgārjuna's first major disciple.
38. Ta-sheng kuang pai lun shih-lun 大乘廣百論釋論 (10 fasc)
(Commentary on the Mahāyāna-Vaipulya One Hundred Treatise)
T.30.1571 (cf. 37) July
30, 650-Jan. 30, 651, Ta-tz'u-en Monestary
Authors: Āryadeva 聖天, Dharmapāla 護法
NOTE: Dharmapāla's commentary on Āryadeva's text, i.e., a Yogācāra commentary
on a Madhyamaka root text. Some passages from this text reappear in the Ch'eng
wei-shih lun..
39. Pen shih ching 本事經 (7 fasc)
Itivṛttaka
sūtra
(Original Events [of the Buddha])
T.17.765 Oct. 10-Dec. 6, Ta-tz'u-en
Monastery
40. Chu-fo hsin t'o-lo-ni ching 諸佛心陀羅尼經 (1 fasc)
Buddha-hṛdaya-dhāranī
(Sutra of the Dhāranī of the Heart of the Buddhas)
T.19.918 Oct. 26, Ta-tz'u-en Monastery
------------
Year 651
41. Shou ch'ih ch'i fo ming-hao (so-sheng) kung-te ching
受持七佛名號(所生)功德經 (1 fasc)
(Receiving Merit [produced by] the Seven Amitābha Buddhas)
T.14.436 Feb. 4, Ta-tz'u-en Monastery
NOTE: The honorific title, ming-hao 名號, is a standard epithet for
Amitābha.
42. Ta-ch'eng ta-chi-ti-tsang shih lun ching 大乘大集地藏十輪經 (10 fasc)
Daśa-cakra-kṣitigarbha
sūtra
(Ten Cakras of Kṣitigarbha,
Mahāyāna Great Collection Sutra)
T.13.411 Feb. 18, 651-Aug. 9, 652
NOTE: According to Nakamura, this sūtra was compiled by priests who spoke
Iranian languages.
43. A-p'i-t'a-mo hsien tsung lun 阿毘達磨藏顯宗論 (40 fasc)
*Abhidharma-samayapradīpika or *Abhidharmakośa-śāstra-kārikā-vibhāṣya
(Revealing the Tenets of the Abhidharma Treasury)
T.29.1563 April 30, 651-Nov.26, 652
Author: Saṅghabhadra
尊者眾賢
NOTE: This and the Nyāyānusāra (49 below) are two Abhidharmic
commentaries by Saṅghabhadra
(a younger Sarvāstivādin contemporary of Vasubandhu) translated by Hsüan-tsang.
This work criticizes Vasubandhu's Kośa (44 below) from an orthodox
Sarvāstivādin position.
44. A-p'i-t'a-mo chü-she lun 阿毘達磨俱舍論 (30 fasc)
Abhidharmakośa-bhāṣya
(Treasury of Abhidharma)
T.29.1558 (cf. 45) June 3, 651-Sept.
13, 654, Ta-tz'u-en Monastery
Author: Vasubandhu 世親
NOTE: Vasubandhu's most important pre-Yogācāra work, called chü-she lun 俱舍論
for short in Chinese (俱舍 in early T'ang pronunciation apparently transliterated
the Sanskrit sounds ko-sha). Consisting of verses (also translated
separately as 45 below) with exposition, the Kośa organizes and
condenses primarily Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma teachings, but not without being
critical, and hence adopting positions associated with other Buddhist schools,
such as the Sautrāntikas. It was this intellectual restlessness that eventually
led Vasubandhu to become a Yogācārin.
45. A-p'i-t'a-mo chü-she lun pen-sung 阿毘達磨俱舍論本頌 (1 fasc)
Abhidharmakośa
(Treasury of Abhidharma, verses)
T.29.1560 (cf. 44) Ta-tz'u-en
Monastery
Author: Vasubandhu 世親
46. Ta-sheng ch'eng yeh lun 大乘成業論 (1 fasc)
Karma-siddhi-prakaraṇa
(Mahāyāna Treatise Establishing Karma)
T.31.1609 Sept. 24, Ta-tz'u-en
Monastery
Author: Vasubandhu 世親
NOTE: This is an intermediate work of Vasubandhu that shows how his ideas were
developing since writing the Kośa but not yet thinking like a Yogācārin.
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Year 652
47. Ta-sheng a-p'i-t'a-mo chi lun 大乘阿毘達磨集論 (7 fasc)
Abhidharmasamuccaya
(Mahāyāna Abhidharma Compendium)
T.31.1605 (cf. 6) Feb. 11-April 3,
Ta-tz'u-en Monastery
Author: Asaṅga 無著
NOTE: An important Yogācāra treatise by Asaṅga,
called chi lun 集論 for short.
An expository outline of this text can be found on this site. Go there now
48. Fo lin nieh-p'an chi fa-chu ching 佛臨涅槃記法住經 (1 fasc)
(Sutra of the Abiding Dharma Recorded Just Prior to Buddha's Nirvana)
T.12.390 May 17, Ta-tz'u-en Monastery
NOTE: Offers an alternate version of the theory of 'degenerating Dharma,' in
which understanding of the Dharma declines in ten stages, each lasting for a
century. Since at the end of his stay in India, Hsüan-tsang had a vivid,
disturbing dream predicting that Buddhism would come to an end in India, this
sutra may have been particularly poignant for him.
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Year 653
49. A-p'i-t'a-mo hsun cheng-li lun 阿毘達磨順正理論 (80 fasc)
Abhidharma-Nyāyānusāra śāstra
(Abhidharma According with Reason Treatise)
T.29.1562 Feb.3, 653-Aug. 27, 654
Author: Saṅghabhadra
(尊者)眾賢
NOTE: Orthodox Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma treatise by the same Saṅghabhadra who wrote a
critical commentary on the Kośa (43 above). Longer and more
comprehensive than the Kośa.
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Year 654
50. Ta A-lo-han nan-t'i-mi-to-lo so-shuo fa-chu chi 大阿羅漢難提蜜多羅所說法住記
(1 fasc) Nandimitrāvadāna
(Nandimitra's Record of the Abiding Dharma Explained to the Great Arhats)
T.49.2030 June 8
NOTE: Excerpt - called Fa-chu li 法住立 (Setting Up the Abiding Dharma) for
short - from the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra
(cf. 48 above) in which Nandimitra recounts how Buddha, just before his Nirvana,
entrusted the Abiding Dharma to sixteen Great Arhats and their disciples,
charging them to protect and preserve it.
51. Ch'eng-tsan ta-sheng kung-te ching 稱讚大乘功德經 (1 fasc)
(Sutra on the Merit of Extolling Mahāyāna)
T.17.840 July 24, Ta-tz'u-en Monastery
52. Pa-chi k'unan to-lo-ni ching 拔濟苦難陀羅尼經 (1 fasc)
(Sutra of the Dhāranī that Carries One Over Suffering and Adversity)
T.21.1395 Oct. 15, Ta-tz'u-en
Monastery
53. Pa-ming p'u-mi t'o-lo-ni ching 八名普密陀羅尼經 (1 fasc)
(Sutra of the Dhāranī of the Universal and Esoteric Eight Names)
T.21.1365 Nov. 11, Ta-tz'u-en
Monastery
NOTE: Those who practice these eight names (Wondrous Adornment, Jeweled Ocean
of Merit, Immovable, Reality Cloud, Lovable Form, etc.) will never go to hell,
but when he dies, the Buddhas will appear to instruct him in Dharma. After his
death, he will be reborn in Maitreya'sTuṣita
Heaven. In East Asian tantra, a number of 'Eight names' practices are
associated with Maitreya.
54. Hsien wu-pien fo-t'u kung-te ching 顯無邊佛土功德經 (1 fasc)
Tathāgatāṇaṃ Buddhakṣetra-guṇokta-dharma-paryāya (sūtra)
(Sutra Revealing the Qualities of the Infinite Buddha-Lands)
T.10.289 Nov. 12, Ta-tz'u-en
Monastery
55. Sheng ch'uang pei yin t'o-lo-ni ching 勝幢臂印陀羅尼經 (1 fasc)
(Sutra of the Dhāranī for Bearing the Banners and Seals)
T.21.1363 Nov. 13, Ta-tz'u-en
Monastery
56. Ch'ih-shih t'o-lo-ni ching 持世陀羅尼經 (1 fasc)
Vasudhāra-dhāranī
(Sutra of the Dhāranī for Upholding the World)
T.20.1162 Nov. 24, Ta-tz'u-en
Monastery
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Year 655
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Year 656
57. Shih-yi-mien shen-chou hsin ching 十一面神咒心經 (1 fasc)
Avalokiteśvaraikādaśamukha-dhāranī
(Sutra of the Spiritual Mantra of the Eleven-Headed [Avalokiteśvara])
T.20.1071 April 17, Ta-tz'u-en
Monastery
NOTE: The Eleven-Headed Avalokiteśvara became associated with East Asian
Yogacara, especially in Japan during the Nara period (when Hossō, Japanese
Yogacara was dominant). Many fine sculpture examples from Nara depicting
Avalokiteśvara with ten small heads ringed around his main head can be found in
Japan today.
58. A-p'i-t'a-mo ta-p'i-p'o-sha lun 阿毘達磨大毘婆沙論 (200 fasc)
(Abhidharma) Mahāvibhāṣa
(The Great Abhidharma Commentary)
T.27.1545 Aug. 18, 656-July 27, 659
Authors: The 500 Great Arhats
NOTE: This huge work, crucial for Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma, fills an entire Taishō
volume. Consisting of 8 divisions with 43 chapters, it is a commentary on
the Jñānaprasthāna
(cf. 59) probably composed in Kashmir. The 500 Arhats, discussed in such
Mahāyāna works as the Lotus Sutra and Nirvana Sutra, and
venerated especially by Zen sects, were believed to have compiled the Mahāvibhāṣa four hundred years
after Buddha's Nirvana during a Council convened by Kaniṣka for that purpose. Two other translations
exist in Chinese: T.28.1546, tr. ca. 425-27 by Buddhavarmin, et al., originally
110 fasc., but 50 fasc. were lost during the Liang Dynasty; and T.28.1547 (20
fasc.), tr. in 383, by Seng-ch'ieh-pa-ch'eng 僧伽跋澄 (Saṅghabhadra or Saṅghadeva).
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Year 657
59. A-p'i-t'a-mo fa-chih lun 阿毘達磨發智論 (20 fasc)
(Abhidharma) Jñānaprasthāna
śāstra
(Treatise on the Arising of Wisdom through the Abhidharma)
T.26.1544 Feb. 14, 657-June 20, 660,
Yü-hua (玉華 Jade Flower) Monastery
Author: Katyāyanīputra 迦多衍可子
NOTE: The seventh volume of the Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma piṭaka, often considered -
along with the Mahāvibhāṣa
which is a commentary on it - the central canonical text of the Sarvāstivādins.
60. Kuan so-yüan yüan lun . 觀所緣緣論 (1 fasc)
Ālambana parikṣa
(Treatise Contemplating Objective Conditions)
T.31.1624 Ta-nei-li-jih Hall (Great
Inner Elegance Sun Hall) 大內麗日殿
Author: Dignāga 陳那
NOTE: A work on epistemology by Dignāga that had been translated earlier into
Chinese by Paramārtha.
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Year 658
61. Ju a-p'i-t'a-mo lun 入阿毘達磨論 (2 fasc)
Abhidharma-āvatāra-prakaraṇa
(Treatise on Entering Abhidharma)
T.28.1554 Nov. 13, Ta-tz'u-en
Monastery
Author: Skandhila 塞建陀羅
NOTE: According to Nakamura, Tocharian fragments and the Tibetan version of
this text suggest that Hsüan-tsang translated it "arbitrarily."
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Year 659
62. Pu-k'u'ung chüan-so shen-chou hsin ching 不空罥索神咒心經 (1 fasc)
Amoghapāśahṛdaya
śāstra
(Essential Scripture of Amogha's Ensnaring Spiritual Mantra)
T.20.1094 May 15, Ta-tz'u-en
Monastery
63. A-p'i-t'a-mo fa yün tsu lun 阿毘達磨法薀足論 (12 fasc)
Abhidharma-dharmaskandha pāda śāstra
(Treatise on Dharmas and Skandhas according to the Abhidharma Path)
T.26.1537 Aug. 20-Oct 5, Ta-tz'u-en
Monastery
Author: Mahāmāudgalyāyana (尊者)大目乾連
NOTE: The Fifth work of the Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma canon, traditionally
attributed to one of Buddha's disciples - either Mahā-Maudgalyāyana or
Śāriputra - but probably composed two or three centuries after Buddha.
64. Ch'eng wei-shih lun 成唯識論 (10 fasc)
*Vijñapti-mātra-siddhi
śāstra
(Treatise Establishing Vijñapti-mātra)
T.31.1585 Oct. or Nov., Yü Hua (玉華
Jade Blossom) Monastery
Author: Hsüan-tsang, traditionally ascribed to "Dharmapāla, et al."
NOTE: K'uei-chi's linkage of this text with Dharmapāla is problematic (see
Chap. 15 of Buddhist Phenomenology). This is the only translation by
Hsüan-tsang that is not a direct translation of a text, but instead a
selective, evaluative editorial drawing on several (traditionally ten) distinct
texts. Since K'uei-chi aligned himself with this text while assuming the role of
Hsüan-tsang's successor, the East Asian tradition has treated the Ch'eng
wei-shih lun as the pivotal exemplar of Hsüan-tsang's teachings.
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Year 660
65. Ta po-jo p'o-lo-mi-t'o ching 大般若波羅蜜多經 (600 fasc)
Mahā-prajñā-pāramitā-sūtra
T.5-7.220 Feb. 16, 660-Nov. 25,
663
Yü Hua Kung (玉華宮 Jade Blossom Palace) Monastery
NOTE: This massive work, six hundred fascicles filling three entire Taishō
volumes, includes such well known works as the Diamond Sutra, and is
one of the most complete collections of Prajñāpāramitā
sutras available. Hsüan-tsang considered abridging his translation to avoid
repetition, but was dissuaded by a dream, and thus translated the Prajñāpāramitā corpus in
toto.
66. A-p'i-t'a-mo p'in-lei tsu lun 阿毘達磨品類足論 (18 fasc)
Abhidharma-prakaraṇa-pāda
(Treatise of Classifications according to the Abhidharma Path)
T.26.1542 Oct. 10-Nov. 30, Yü Hua
Monastery
Author: Vasumitra (尊者)世友
NOTE: Second work of Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma canon; a compendium of terms,
categories, and positions.
67. A-p'i-t'a-mo chi yi men tsu lun 阿毘達磨集異門足論 (20 fasc)
Abhidharma-saṅgītī-paryāya
pāda śāstra
(Collection of Different Aspects of the Abhidharma Path Treatise)
T.26.1536 Jan. 2, 660-Feb. 1, 664, Yü
Hua Monastery
Author: Śāriputra (尊者)舍利子
NOTE: First work of Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma canon, attributed in the Tibetan
tradition to Mahā-Kauṣṭhila,
and by Yaśomitra (in his commentary to the Kośa) to Pūrṇa. Numerically groups
doctrines.
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Year 661
68. Pien chung pien lun sung 辯中邊論頌 (1 fasc)
Madhyānta Vibhāga kārikā
(Treatise on Distinguishing Between Middle and Extremes, Verses)
T.31.1601 (cf. 69) June 3, Yü Hua
Monastery
Author: Maitreya 彌勒
NOTE: The Verses of a key Yogācāra text, attributed to either Maitreya or Asaṅga.
69. Pien chung pien lun 辯中邊論 (1 fasc)
Madhyānta Vibhāga bhāṣya
(Treatise on Distinguishing Between Middle and Extremes)
T.31.1600 (cf. 68) June 12-July 2, Yü
Hua Monastery
Author: Vasubandhu 世親
NOTE: Expository commentary, attributed to Vasubandhu, on the verses of 68
above.
70. Wei-shih erh-shih lun 唯識二十論 (1 fasc)
Viṃśatikā-vṛtti
(Twenty Verses on Vijñapti-mātra
Treatise)
T.31.1590 July 3, Yü Hua Monastery
Author: Vasubandhu 世親
NOTE: One of Vasubandhu's most philosophically important Yogācāra works.
71. Yüan-ch'i ching 緣起經 (1 fasc)
Pratītya-samutpāda divibhaṅga-nirdeśa
sūtra
(Sutra on Conditioned Arising)
T.2.124 (Cf. 20, 34) Aug. 9
NOTE: A sutra on pratītya-samutpāda with some affinities to Majjhima
Nikāya 33, Mahāgopalaka Sutta.
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Year 662
72. Yi pu-tsung lun lun 異部宗輪論 (1 fasc)
Samaya-bhedoparacana cakra
(Treatise of the Wheel of the Different Divisions of the Tenets)
T.49.2031 Sept. 2, Yü Hua Monastery
Author: Vasumitra (according to Tibetan tradition)
NOTE: Overview of Twenty schools from the Sarvāstivāda viewpoint.
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Year 663
73. A-p'i-t'a-mo chieh shen tsu lun 阿毘達磨界身足論 (3 fasc)
Abhidharma Dhātu-kāya pāda śāstra
(Treatise on Body Elements According to the Abhidharma Path)
T.26.1540 July 14, Yü Hua Monastery
Author: Vasumitra (尊者)世友
NOTE: Fourth canonical text of Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma, concerned with
enumerating mental categories.
74. Wu shih p'i-p'o-sha lun 五事毘婆沙論 (2 fasc)
Pañca-vastuka-vibhāṣa
(Five Phenomena Vibhāṣa
Treatise)
T.28.1555 Nov. 18, Ta-tz'u-en
Monastery
Author: Dharmatrāta (尊者)法救
NOTE: An abhidharmic discussion of rūpa, citta, and caittas.
75. Chi chao shen pien san-mo-ti ching 寂照神變三摩地經 (1 fasc)
Praśānta-viniścaya-prātihārya-samādhi sūtra
(Sutra on the Samādhi of Singularly Radiant Spiritual Alterations)
T.15.648 Feb. 1, 664 (or Feb. 12,
665), Yü Hua Monastery
Year 664
76. Chou wu-shou ching 咒五首經 (1 fasc)
(Mantra of Five Heads Sutra)
T.20.1034 Feb. 2, Yü Hua Monastery
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77. Pa-shih kuei-chu sung 八識規矩頌
(Verses on the Structure of the Eight Consciousnesses)
Author: Hsüan-tsang 玄奘
(Date uncertain)
NOTE: This text written by Hsuan-tsang (as opposed to translated) is not found
in the Taishō, though a commentary on it by P'u-t'ai 普泰 that
reiterates the root text is found at T.45.467-476, entitled Pa-shih kuei-chu
pu-chu 八識規矩補註. It covers similar topics to the Ch'eng wei-shih lun,
but organized somewhat differently. An English translation of Hsüan-tsang's
root text by Ronald Epstein can be found on his Web site: <http://online.sfsu.edu/~rone/Buddhism/Yogacara/BasicVersessontents.htm>