The Faju jing 法句經, initially translated by Zhu Jiangyan 竺將炎 on the basis of a text brought to the Wu 吳 kingdom by Weizhinan 維祇難 (*Vijitananda) in 224 CE and subsequently revised and edited Zhi Qian 支謙, is a remarkable example of a hybrid translation. According to the information contained in a preface thought to have been authored by Zhi Qian himself, we learn that the translator supplemented the initial translation with substantial material drawn from one or more additional sources. In this paper we examine two verses from Zhi Qian’s hybrid translation that had been considered in previous scholarship to lack parallels in any known version of the Dhammapada or Udānavarga. On the contrary, it has been possible to demonstrate that these verses have a wide range of parallels not only in the Sanskrit Udānavarga but in other Buddhist scriptures as well. A close examination of the occurrences of these parallels in other Buddhist texts strongly suggests that Zhi Qian drew them from a Sarvāstivādin or Mūlasarvāstivādin source, adding them to a pre-existing chapter (Chapter 22, “On the Buddha”) contained in the text originally brought by Weizhinan, which surely belonged to a different Buddhist school and may well have been recorded in a language similar to Pāli.
目次
The Production of Zhi Qian’s Hybrid Dharmapada 217 The Structure and Content of Zhi Qian’s Translation 219 An Unidentified Verse in Zhi Qian’s Faju jing 223 A previously unidentified Sanskrit parallel 224 Other parallels to Zhi Qian’s verse 229 Zhi Qian’s previously unidentified verses in their larger context 236 Excursus: The 700- and 900-gāthā Texts and the Sources of Zhi Qian’s Translation 238 Editorial License: Zhi Qian’s Attitude toward his Scriptural Sources 243 Conclusions 244 Appendix An Additional Exegetical Etymology: Bhikṣu > Chujin 除饉 246
