薩婆若の原語とその意味・序説(杉山二郎教授退職記念号)=Sanskrit Equivalents of sapore 薩婆若and Its Meanings : Introductory Remarks(Jiro Sugiyama Felicitation Volume on the Occasion of His Retirement)
This article is an attempt to clarify the original meaning of sapore (in Japanese, sabanya). Quite surprisingly, a leading Japanese scholars misread this word, which occurs in the phrase諸佛菩提薩婆若海of the jingang sanmei jing金剛三昧經,and confuse it with薩般若as employed by Won, hyo元曉in諸佛菩薩般若海of his Commentary on the Jingang sanmei jing金剛三昧經.The latter term is construed as 'the sea of prajna般若'or the origin根源of all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Sapore薩婆若'is a phonetic transcription of the Sanskrit word sarvajnata in the Astasahasrikaprajnaparamita (hereafter, ASSP), the earliest and most important text of the whole Prajnaparamita literature, and is usually rendered as 'omniscience'. In the original context of the ASSP, it refers to the other world or the celestial/paradisiac world (which I call 'world A'). in the pan-Buddhist two-world theory, this is the world transcending the real, earthly world of the living beings ('world B'). In the course of the historical development of the Buddhist Weltanschauung, the notion sarvajnata as the other world replete with immeasurable brilliant buddhadharmas finds its final from in the vajradhatu 'adamantine realm'金剛界.This is the mandalaor the aggregate of 'all Tathagatas countless as the sands of the Ganges' in the Sarvatathagatatattvasamgraha-tantra (hereafter, STTS), the main text of esoteric Buddhism in India, and it provides us with the ultimate framework on which the Buddhist idea of human life could and should be rebuilt. The transformation of the idea of world A from the sarvajnata of the ASSP into the vajradhatu of the STTS was a matter of historical necessity. This gradual transition can be followed by tracing the Sanskrit equivalents of薩婆若from sarvajnata to sarvajnajnana and passing through sarvakarajnana, a distinct stage reflected in the Pancavimsatisahasrikaprajnaparamita. In my paper, I also offer a survey of the historical development of the Buddhist thought and discuss the principles underlying my historical reconstruction. I also try to clarify the meaning of the sapore hai 薩婆若海in the Jingang sanmei jing as well as Won-hyo's sabore hai 薩般若海which actullay corroborate my notion of sarvajnata as the other world (world A).
