The Jīn-gāng-bēi (金剛錍) was written by Zhàn-rán (湛然, Tan-nen, 711-782), the great scholarly master of Tiān-tái sect (天台宗) in the Táng period, who wrote commentaries on three masterpieces of Zhi-yi (智顗) and other his own treatises. The title of the work means “Diamond (金剛) Scalpel (錍)” in order to cut ignorance, and its main topic is the capability of becoming Buddha (仏性) or that of accomplishing enlightenment. It is a well-known assertion unique to the work that the capability of becoming Buddha is inherent in all beings, not only living beings but even inanimate objects. In this paper, the late Rev. Shimamura translated the text of the Jīn-gāng-bēi (included in the 46th volume of Taishō-shinshū-daizōkyō edition) from classical Chinese into modern Japanese, and annotated it with detailed explanations in appropriate places. In this issue (No.47), the second part (from Chapter 2(2) to Chapter 2(2)⑤ , in synopsis) of his study is published.
