Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra; Dharma preacher; Emperor Wu of Liang; Master Huisi
摘要
The story of bodhisattva Sadāprarudita’s search for Dharma in the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra has served to successfully shape the characters of the Dharma seeker, bodhisattva Sadāprarudita, and the Dharma preacher (dharmabhāṇakas), bodhisattva Dharmodgata. This narrative carried much information about the veneration of the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra in Indic contexts, and it also enthused Chinese Buddhists of the sixth century CE to create the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra written in gold calligraphy. Emperor Wu of the Liang organized pañcavārṣika assemblies centred on the lectures and veneration of the gold-calligraphy Sūtra, and the Tiantai master Huisi made a vow to create such a scroll around the same time. In the relevant accounts, Chinese preachers are always associated with the Dharma preacher Dharmodgata in the narrative, which in turn enhanced their authority in the contexts in which they operated. The narrative thus helped to promote the transmission of the text across the cultural boundaries in which the Dharma preacher, as the embodied agent of the Prajñāpāramitā text, played a significant role.
目次
Abstract 1 Keywords 1 1. The Worship of the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra in Early Mahāyāna Buddhism and the Narrative of Seeking Prajñāpāramitā 1 2. The Narrative of Sadāprarudita and Emperor Wu’s Gold‑Calligraphy Prajñāpāramitā 5 3. The Narrative and Master Huisi’s Vow to Create the Gold‑Calligraphy Prajñāpāramitā 10 4. Conclusions 13 Notes 14 References 16 Primary Sources 16 Secondary Sources 16
