Yijing; Mūlasarvāstivāda vinaya; Chinese translations; excavated manuscripts; circulation
摘要
The Tang dynasty monk Yijing who went abroad to India for the Dharma was a famous translator of Buddhist scriptures. After returning home from the southern seas he successively presided over four Buddhist translation centers. His work of translating Buddhist scriptures is summarized as ‘comprehensively translating the Tripiṭaka with particular contributions to the vinaya division.’ Some of Yijing’s translations of vinaya works have not yet undergone a final examination. The extant texts present problems such as textual errors with some also having been lost. However, these Chinese translations of vinaya works did not at all exist largely uncirculated. Some were excerpted and others became popular in the form of excerpted scriptures given the touching stories included in them. From the eighth to the early eleventh century, Yijing’s translations were also copied in regions such as Dunhuang and Xinjiang, the farthest they spread to being the region of the northern Caucasus. The characteristics of Yijing’s translations and the important value of his translated vinaya works await thorough research.
