Buddhism suggests that it is possible to investigate the nature of reality ourselves; but to do so one needs to differentiate definitive teachings from those of interpretable meaning. William Magee’s book, Paths to Omniscience, discusses a number of topics related to the interpretation of scripture according to Dzong-ka-ba, Jam-yang-shay-ba, Nga-w?ng-bel-den, and other great scholars of the Geluk world. Paths to Omniscience also addresses the Geluk approach to the practice of hermeneutics. Even within the lineage itself, scholars have not always agreed about interpretation of scripture. Paths to Omniscience describes intricate maneuvers enlivening the spirited controversies of these emminent Lamas. Paths to Omniscience also includes translations of thirty annotations from Nga-w?ng-bel-den’s Annotations for (Jam-yang-shay-ba’s) "Great Exposition of Tenets". These annotations show how diverse and wide-ranging a great commentarial author can be in his treatment of the basic text. Far from being mere footnotes to Jam-yang-shay-ba, the Annotations can instead be viewed as a seminar on his Great Exposition of Tenets.
This study reassesses an old problem in the history of Chinese Buddhism, the origins and nature of the Zengyi ahan jing 增一阿含經 (Taishō 125). It does so by a close investigation of the Chinese translation of the Ekottarika-āgama at the end of the fourth century and of its most important witness, the Fenbie gongde lun 分別功德論 (Taishō 1507). It is argued that the latter document, whose original title was Zengyi ahan jing shu 增一阿含經疏, should be seen as an unfinished commentary to the newly translated collection, produced within the original translation team (including Dao’an 道安, Zhu Fonian 竺佛念 and the Indo-Bactrian master Dharmananda) during the tumultuous end of the Qin秦 empire of Fu Jian苻堅in A.D. 385. This reconstruction yields further insights into the cultural origins of the Chinese Ekottarika-āgama, and its broader significance for the history of Buddhism.
作者簡介
Antonello Palumbo is Lecturer in Chinese Religions at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London