This paper argues that Lingbian’s 霊弁 Huayan jinglun 華厳経論 can serve as a window through which some continuity and discontinuity between Indian Buddhism and Chinese Buddhism are revealed. On the one hand, the commentary on the Daśa-bhūmika-sūtra in Lingbian’s Huayan jinglun was evidently influenced both in form and in content by Nāgārjuna’s (Chi. Longshu 龍樹) Shizhu piposha lun 十住毘婆沙論 (*Daśa-bhūmika-vibhāṣā-śāstra). For instance, the commentary’s explanation of the “Ten-good-paths” and of śīla basically follow the Shizhu piposha lun. On the other hand, some other places in the Huayan jinglun introduce new ideas of the Sanju jingjie三聚浄戒 and Tathāgatagarbha, which do not appear in the Shizhu piposha lun, and moreover, some parts of the Huayan jinglun were also influenced by translated Indian Mahayana classics such as the Pusa dichi jing 菩薩地持経 (Bodhisattvabhūmi-sūtra) and Lengqie jing 楞伽経 (Laṅkāvatāra-sūtra).
