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Pratyutpanna Samādhi Sūtra

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ThePratyutpanna Samādhi Sūtra(Sanskrit;traditional Chinese:Bàn chu tam muội kinh;;pinyin:Bozhōu Sānmèi Jīng;Vietnamese:Kinh Bát Chu Tam Muội) is an earlyMahayana Buddhistscripture, which probably originated between the 1st century BCE and 2nd century CE in theGandharaarea of northwesternIndia.The full title for this text isPratyutpannabuddha Saṃmukhāvasthita Samādhi Sūtra,which translates to, "Sūtra on the Samādhi for Encountering Face-to-Face the Buddhas of the Present".[1]

History[edit]

ThePratyutpanna Samādhi Sūtrawas first translated into Chinese by theKushanBuddhist monkLokaksemain 179 CE, at theHancapital ofLuoyang.[2]This translation is, together with thePrajnaparamita Sutra,one of the earliest historically datable texts of theMahayanatradition.

In 2018, the discovery of fragments of a birch bark manuscript in theGāndhārī languageand written inKharoṣṭhīscript[3]was announced by scholars Paul Harrison, Timothy Lenz, and Richard Salomon, who wrote regarding the dating of the manuscript:

In conclusion, the fragments of the PraS (Pratyutpanna Samadhi Sutra) clearly date from the middle period of Gāndhārī/Kharoṣṭhī documents, but as usual a more specific date cannot be proposed with any significant accuracy. The fragments could date from the first or second centuries CE, or possibly even from the first century BCE, since Gāndhārī manuscripts with similar characteristics have been dated by radiocarbon tests to BCE dates.[4]

The post-script of the same paper notes that as the article went to press, scholar Mark Allon brought to the authors' attention "another set of birch-bark fragments, possibly from the same scroll or set of scrolls, containing a large section of Chapter 9 of the PRaS,",[5]which the authors state will be included in a follow-up article in the future.

Contents[edit]

ThePratyutpanna Samādhi Sūtracontains the first known mentions of the BuddhaAmitābhaand hispure land,said to be at the origin ofPure Land BuddhisminChina:[6]

Bodhisattvashear about the Buddha Amitābha and call him to mind again and again in this land. Because of this calling to mind, they see the Buddha Amitābha. Having seen him they ask him what dharmas it takes to be born in the realm of the Buddha Amitābha. Then the Buddha Amitābha says to these bodhisattvas: "If you wish to come and be born in my realm, you must always call me to mind again and again, you must always keep this thought in mind without letting up, and thus you will succeed in coming to be born in my realm.

Pratyutpanna samadhi[edit]

The full practice developed byZhiyiis 90 days long.[7][verification needed]Lay practitioners often take a much shorter time. Any practice that exceeds one day requires a bystander called a dharma protector ( hộ pháp ) to look after the practitioner. The exercise includes constant walking or praying to Amitabha, sometimes accompanying or helped by the bystander. The practitioner should avoid sitting, laying, resting or sleeping during the period of practice. The bystander would warn the practitioner if he or she engages in prolonged resting. Very few Buddhists practice this.Shi Yinguang( ấn quang ) suggested that people should practice the much easier recitation of name of the Buddhanianfoinstead.[8][verification needed]But some buddhists have said that they feel healthier after the practice.[9][10][verification needed][11][verification needed][12][verification needed][13][verification needed]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^Buswell, Robert Jr;Lopez, Donald S. Jr.,eds. (2013).Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism.Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. p. 674.ISBN9780691157863.
  2. ^Shinko Mochizuki, Leo M. Pruden, Trans.; Pure Land Buddhism in China: A Doctrinal History, Chapter 2: The Earliest Period; Chapter 3: Hui-yuan of Mt.Lu; and Chapter 4: The Translation of Texts-Spurious Scriptures. In: Pacific World Journal, Third Series Number 3, Fall 2001, p. 241PDF
  3. ^Fragments of a Gāndhārī Manuscript of the Pratyutpannabuddhasaṃmukhāvasthitasamādhisūtra: (Studies in Gāndhārī Manuscripts 1) Harrison, Paul; Lenz, Timothy; Salomon, Richard. Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, v.41 (2018), 117 - 143[1]
  4. ^Fragments of a Gāndhārī Manuscript of the Pratyutpannabuddhasaṃmukhāvasthitasamādhisūtra: (Studies in Gāndhārī Manuscripts 1) Harrison, Paul; Lenz, Timothy; Salomon, Richard. Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, v.41 (2018), p. 123[2]
  5. ^Fragments of a Gāndhārī Manuscript of the Pratyutpannabuddhasaṃmukhāvasthitasamādhisūtra: (Studies in Gāndhārī Manuscripts 1) Harrison, Paul; Lenz, Timothy; Salomon, Richard. Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, v.41 (2018), p. 139[3]
  6. ^Harrison, Paul. McRae, John.The Pratyutpanna Samādhi Sūtra and the Śūraṅgama Samādhi Sūtra.1998. pp. 2–3, 19
  7. ^"Niệm phật phương pháp".Archived fromthe originalon 4 March 2016.Retrieved27 June2010.
  8. ^Bàn chu tam muội phi kim nhân khả hành
  9. ^Bàn chu pháp mônArchived10 May 2010 at theWayback Machine
  10. ^Thường tuệ pháp sư bế quan niệm phật cảm ứng lục
  11. ^Bái phật đối kiện khang đích hảo xử
  12. ^Bái phật yếu quyết
  13. ^Bàn chu tam muội cập hiện đại hành pháp hệ liệt tư liêu -- hướng vãng, ái nhạc bàn chu hành pháp đích đồng tu, nhất khởi lai học tập, thật tiễn hòa thủ hộ giá cá pháp mônArchived14 July 2011 at theWayback Machine

Bibliography[edit]

External links[edit]

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