The Upāsakaśila-sūtra, the Book of Bodhisattva Precepts mis-attribution?

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Leo Rivers
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The Upāsakaśila-sūtra, the Book of Bodhisattva Precepts mis-attribution?

Post by Leo Rivers »

The Upāsakaśila-sūtra, the Book of Bodhisattva Precepts mis-attribution?

I am confused. The translator Bhiksuni Shih Heng-ching in the BKD America translation says "It was translated by Dharmaraksa during the Northern Liang dynasty, A.D. 424 to 426

but the Sutra of the Upasaka Precepts, fascicle 1, 優婆塞戒經 webpage at https://www.sutrasmantras.info says: "Translated from Sanskrit into Chinese in the Northern Liang Dynasty by The Tripiṭaka Master Dharmakṣema from India" Dharmakṣema (曇無讖, 385–433)

...while at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharmarakṣa says: His family lived at Dunhuang, where he was born around 233 CE.!

I admit is have neither Sansrit nor Chines, and am easily confused to boot. :rolleye:

How am I getting this all wrong?
:namaste:

PS: a book and helpful citation I found:

MULLER, A. Charles. Exposition of the Sutra of Brahma’s Net. Vol. 11. Collected Works of Korean Buddhism. Paju, Korea: the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, 2012.
p. 20-21


the Sutra of Brahma’s Net
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q ... Q9IMYsvBiM
The opinion of most modern researchers, however, is that this text is not a translation by Kumārajīva of a chapter from a larger work, but instead a work
composed in China around 420, taking as its basis the various Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna vinaya writings available at that time and including Chinese indigenous moral concepts such as filial piety and so forth.
On the other hand there are also scholars who believe that although traditional Chinese moral thought can be seen in the text, it is originally an Indian text that was transmitted to China. Whatever position one takes in this debate, there is no doubt that the text is based in the same matrix as the mainstream Mahāyāna thought of
the
• (India) Mahāvaipulya Buddhāvataṃsaka Sūtra, "The Great Vaipulya Sutra of the Buddha's Flower Garland."
• (China) Dàfāngguǎng Fóhuāyán Jīng Chinese: 大方廣佛華嚴經, commonly known as the Huāyán Jīng (Chinese: 華嚴經), meaning "Flower-adorned (Splendid & Solemn) Sūtra.",
• as well as the Nirvana Sutra,
(India) Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra
(China) Dàbānnièpán-jīng;
as well as the Sutra for Humane Kings, and so forth. The extent of its agreement with the Huayan jing is such that the Sutra of Brahma’s Net is even regarded as its “concluding sutra” 結經.
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Zhen Li
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Re: The Upāsakaśila-sūtra, the Book of Bodhisattva Precepts mis-attribution?

Post by Zhen Li »

It’s Dharmakṣema. I’m not sure if they ever revised that publication but that’s a huge mistake. Good job spotting that.
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Leo Rivers
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Re: The Upāsakaśila-sūtra, the Book of Bodhisattva Precepts mis-attribution?

Post by Leo Rivers »

by Zhen Li » Thu Oct 14, 2021 10:11 pm
It’s Dharmakṣema. I’m not sure if they ever revised that publication but that’s a huge mistake. Good job spotting that.
Thanks! :cheers: I e-mailed BDK about this. Haven't heard back tho...


優婆塞戒經 Upāsaka-śīla-sūtra, 7 fascicles

Dharmakṣema (धर्मक्षेम, transliterated 曇無讖 (pinyin: Tánmó-chèn), translated 竺法豐 (pinyin: Zhú Fǎfēng); 385–433 CE) was a Buddhist monk, originally from Magadha in India,[1][2] who went to China after studying and teaching in Kashmir and Kucha.
He had been residing in Dunhuang for several years when that city was captured in 420 by Juqu Mengxun, the king of Northern Liang.
Under the patronage of Mengxun, Dharmakṣema took up residence in Guzang, the Northern Liang capital in 421.
As well as being a valued political adviser to Mengxun, he went on to become one of the most prolific translators of Buddhist literature into Chinese.
The colophons to translated texts attributed to Dharmakṣema, indicate that he was one of the few Indian scholar-monks
active in China who was sufficiently proficient in spoken Chinese to make the preliminary oral translations of Buddhist texts
himself without an interpreter,
although the further stages in the production of the translations were done by his team of Chinese assistants.
He was assassinated on the orders of his erstwhile patron Mengxun, for quasi-political reasons, on another journey to the West in 433.[3]
He translated 19 scriptures in 131 fascicles, including
• 涅槃經 Nirvana sutra
• 文陀竭王經 Wentuojiewang jing
• 悲華經 Karuṇāpuṇḍarīka-sūtra
• 大方廣三戒經 Trisaṃvaranirdeśaparivarta-sūtra
• 大般涅槃經 the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra, 40 fascicles in 421-430
• 大方等無想經 Mahāmegha-sūtra
• 金光明經 part of the Suvarṇaprabhāsa-sūtra, 4 fascicles before 430
• some chapters of 合部金光明經 Suvarṇaprabhāsa
優婆塞戒經 Upāsaka-śīla-sūtra, 7 fascicles
• 菩薩戒本 Bodhisattva-śīla sūtra)
• 菩薩地持經 Bodhisattvabhūmi or Sutra of a Bodhisattva's Spiritual States, 10 fascicles before 430
• 楞伽經, Laṇkāvatāra sūtra (lost)
• 大方等大集經 Mahāvaipulya Mahāsaṃnipāta, (Great Collection of Sutras), 60 fascicles in 420-426
• 佛所行讚 Buddhacarita, 5 fascicles.
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