Korea Journal of Buddhist StudiesISSN:1598-0642(Print)불교학연구회

This paper aims to demonstrate the chronological position of a Dunhuang manuscript entitled Benyeyingluo-Jing-shu (『本業瓔珞經疏』, henceforth “S2748”), a commentary on a Chinese apocryphal canon Pusayingluobenye-Jing (『菩薩瓔珞本業經』), in the Dilun texts of the early 6th Century Northern Dynasty (北朝, Beichao). The results of this research can be summarized as follows:1) All the Buddhist canons quoted in S2748 are listed in Sūtra Catalogs of the Northern Dynasty. Among them, the Laṅkāvatārasūtra (Rulengqie-jing, 『入楞伽經』) translated by Bodhiruci in 513 AD has the latest date of translation. Thus the composition date of S2748 should be no earlier than 513 AD. It is also noteworthy that S2748 uses what are rarely found in the later Dilun School, such as Shanbipusa-Jing (『善臂菩薩經』) and Wujinyi-Jing (『無盡意經』). 2) As might be expected from a Dilun text, S2748 refers to Daśabhūmikasūtraśāstra (Shidi-jinglun, 『十地經論』) throughout the manuscript. Moreover, S2748 gives priority to the Daśabhūmikasūtraśāstra over the Pusayingluobenye-Jing in doctrinal explanations. 3) S2748 shares an almost identical paragraph with Shidilunyishu (『十地論義疏』), a representative text of the early Dilun School. Comparing these paragraphs seems to suggest that S2748 was written earlier than the Shidilunyishu. 4) The identical paragraphs of the two texts both state that “the first stage Bodhisattva out of ten stages can break the binding of Saṃsāra”, which was a soteriological doctrine newly adopted in the Dilun School. However, another passage from S2748 argues that it is actually at the seventh stage of the Bodhisattva path when the bindings of Saṃsāra would loosen. These conflicting statements clearly imply that their doctrinal system had not yet been fully organized at the time of S2748’s composition. 5) Another Dunhuang manuscript, Renwangbanruo-shixianglun (『仁王般若實相論』), shows an obvious correlation with S2748. These two texts are presumably founded in the same group though the Renwangbanruo-shixianglun seems to have been written before the Dilun School was established. It provides an interesting insight into the changing doctrinal identity of a certain group according to the propagation of new thoughts and soteriological devices.