《八大人覺經》=Eight Realizations of Great Beings Sūtra; 八大人覺=Eight Realizations of Great Beings; 釋真可=Zibo Zhenke; 釋德清=Hanshan Deqing; 釋智旭=Ouyi Zhixu; 釋續法=Guanding Xufa
This thesis surveys commentaries to the Ba Da Ren Jue Jing 八大人覺經 (Eight Realizations of Great Beings Sūtra) written by Ming-Qing monastics and explores the historical context in which the monastics wrote their works, their motivations for doing so, as well as how the works were disseminated.
The Eight Realizations of Great Beings Sūtra is concise, clear and profound. It can be consulted and practiced by anyone without a master’s guidance, and its meaning can be apprehended directly. Looking at the historical context of the development of Chinese Buddhism, the Eight Realizations of Great Beings Sūtra was first recorded in the Zongjing Mulu眾經目錄 catalogue, compiled by venerable Fa Jing釋法經 in the Sui dynasty. In subsequent dynasties, i.e. the Tang, Song and Ming dynasties, the sūtra can be found recorded in sūtra catalogues. But not until the late Ming and early Qing (1586-1690) did monastics start to write commentaries on the text. It appears that before the Ming dynasty, the sūtra was not particularly favored by Buddhist literati.
The relevant six works written by Ming-Qing monastics include: Shi Ba Da Ren Jue Jing釋八大人覺經 , Ba Da Ren Jue Jing Ba 八大人覺經跋 and Ba Shike Ba Da Ren Jue Jing跋石刻八大人覺經 (by Zibo Zhenke釋真可（1543-1603）) ; Ba Da Ren Jue Jing Ba八大人覺經跋 (by Hanshan Deqing釋德清（1546-1623）) ; Ba Da Ren Jue Jing Luejie八大人覺經略解 (by Ouyi Zhixu釋智旭（1599-1655）) ; and Guanding Xufa’s 釋續法(1641-1728) foreword and first chapter in the Ba Da Ren Jue Jing Shu八大人覺經疏 .
In the Ming and Qing dynasties, eminent monastics promulgated the Eight Realizations of Great Beings Sūtra with unprecedented vigor. The causes, conditions and context of this renewed and variegated interest in the sūtra in the seventeenth century form the focal point of this study. In addition, the study seeks to sort out the recording of the Eight Realizations of Great Beings Sūtra in various sūtra catalogues through successive dynasties, and to clarify the sūtra’s terminology with regards to the ‘Eight Realizations of Great Beings’.
This thesis reviews sūtra catalogues throughout the dynasties, organizing the various titles used to refer to the Eight Realizations of Great Beings Sūtra and the records of the sūtra’s translators. Furthermore, this study collects the translations of and commentaries on the sūtra written by monastics throughout history. Lastly, it examines the commentaries on the Eight Realizations of Great Beings Sūtra by four Ming-Qing monastics, their historical background, the context of their writing and the ways their works were used to teach the Dharma.
