dharmagupta's unfinished translation of the "diamond-sutra"

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Dharmagupta's Unfinished Translation of the "Diamond-Cleaver" "(Vajracchedikā- Prajñāpāramitā-sūtra)" Author(s): Stefano Zacchetti Source: T'oung Pao, Second Series, Vol. 82, Fasc. 1/3 (1996), pp. 137-152 Published by: BRILL Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4528687 Accessed: 19/11/2009 00:55 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=bap. Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. BRILL is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to T'oung Pao. http://www.jstor.org

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Page 1: Dharmagupta's Unfinished Translation of the "Diamond-Sutra"

Dharmagupta's Unfinished Translation of the "Diamond-Cleaver" "(Vajracchedikā-Prajñāpāramitā-sūtra)"Author(s): Stefano ZacchettiSource: T'oung Pao, Second Series, Vol. 82, Fasc. 1/3 (1996), pp. 137-152Published by: BRILLStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4528687Accessed: 19/11/2009 00:55

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available athttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unlessyou have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and youmay use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use.

Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained athttp://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=bap.

Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printedpage of such transmission.

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

BRILL is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to T'oung Pao.

http://www.jstor.org

Page 2: Dharmagupta's Unfinished Translation of the "Diamond-Sutra"

DHARMAGUPTA'S UN}INISHED TRANSLATION OF THE DIAMOND-(;lHAVER ( VAJRACEDI>-

PRAJNAPA-SUTRA) 1

BY

STEFANO ZACCHETTI Universita degli Studi di Venezia-Ca Foscari

List of Abbreviations

JGNDJ = Dharmagupta (transl.), Jingang nengduan banruo boluomi jingiWldzl*n£Xtt , T. 238 (vol. VIII p. 766c-771c) S = Edward Conze's edition of the Vafracchedika-Prajnaparamita-sutra (in: Conze 1957 p. 27-63) tr = Edward Conze's translation of the Vajracchedika-Prajnaparamita- sutra (in: Conze 1957 p. 65-92) CSZiJ = Sengyou f$, Chu sanzang jiji, th =i Pet; T. 2 1 45 KYL = Zhisheng tZ, Kaiyuan shijiao lu, W3Xwtk; T. 2154 XGSZ = Daoxuan An, Xu gaosengzhuan, gHfz; T. 2060 T = J. Takakusu and K. Watanabe (eds.), Taisho shinshu daizokyo, Tokyo, 1922-1933 AdEfrfXi

Part I: The technique of Chinese Buddhist translations: an outline of its evolution from the second to the seventh century A.D.

One of the most interesting aspects of the history of Chinese Buddhism is the progressive development of a highly specialized technique of translation.

Since the earliest pioneering translations of the Late Han dy- nasty, through the whole history of Chinese Buddhism, the ren- dering of Buddhist scriptures was due to the collective work of translation teams.2

1 I want to express my sincerest gratitude to Professor Tilmann Vetter and Professor Erik Zurcher of Leiden University, who took the care of reading the first draft of the present article, suggesting many corrections and improvements. This article is a development of a part of my graduate thesis, The Chinese Transta- tions of the Diamond Sutra (in Italian), Universita degli Studi di Venezia, unpub- lished thesis, academic year 1992-1993. Research in the Netherlands during the 19961995 academic year was made possible by a grant from Venice University.

2 See Zurcher 1959, p. 31.

T'oung Pao LXXX:1I (C) EJ. Brill, Leiden, 1996

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138 STEFANO ZACCHETTI

The first documents describing one of these teams are two an- cient colophons3 dating back to the Late Han dynasty.

The most detailed of the two4 says: <<Banzhou sanmeijing on the 8th day of the second month of the

second year of Guanghe era [179 A.D.], at Luoyang, the Indian Bodhisattva5 Zhu Shuofo recited [it] (chu 1); at that time the Yuezhi6 Bodhisattva [Loka]ksema was translator (chuan yan zhe *=X) and transmitted [the translation] to Meng Fu, named Yuanshi from Luoang in Henan, [and to] Zhang Lian, named Shaoan, who, assisting the [two] Bodhisattva, wrote down [the translation] (bi shou *) ... >>

As far as we can induce from the sources we possess (especially colophons and prefaces collected in chapters VI-IX of CSZJJ), this tri-functional structure of translation teams (i.e. 1. the main trans- mitter who recited the original text; 2. the interpreter, who orally translated it; 3. the scribes, who wrote down the translation)7,

3 1)Colophon of the Dao xingjing Ait (T. 224; the earliest Chinese transla- tion of Astasahasrzka-Prajnaparamita suitra); in CSZIJ p. 47c 5-9. 2) Colophon of the Banzhou sanmei jing Q4 $`If (T. 417/418; the earliest Chinese translation of Pratyutpanna-samaidhi sutra); in CSZIJ p. 48c 10-15. The two translations were probably carried out at the same time by the same team of translators, led by Lokaksema and Zhu Shuofo *M4 (see Zurcher 1959, n. 67 p. 330). The two documents contained in CSZJJ are in fact later copies of Han originals (the first dates back to 255 A.D., the second to 208 A.D.; see Zurcher 1959, ibidem).

4 CSZJJ p. 48c 10-13. In quoting this passage, I follow the text emended and punctuated by Tang Yongtong (1938 p. 68). The colophon also mentions two later revisions of the text, carried out in 198 and 208 A.D. The other colophon hardly differs from this one. See also Paul Harrison, The Samadhi of Direct Encounter with the Buddhas of the Present: An Annotated English Translation of the Pratyutpanna-Bud- dha-Sammukhavasthita-Samadhi-Suitra, Tokyo, 1990, p. 259-260.

5 The term "Bodhisattva" was widely used as an honorific title in early Chi- nese Buddhism, especially referring to foreign translators. See Tang Yongtong 1938 p. 102.

6 Indoscythian. 7 A main variant of this scheme happened when the main transmitter's com-

mand of Chinese enabled him directly to supply the translation (see Fuchs 1930 p. 87). The first explicit mention of this way of translating can be found in Kang Senghui's t* preface to the Fa jing jing 9,W- (T. 322), which was translated during the Han dynasty by An Xuan Wt and Yan Fotiao BR (see CSZJJ p. 46c 5-6). Many great transmitters used to translate without resorting to a translator: such as Dharmaraksa (see Zurcher 1959 p. 69; a list of sources on Dharmaraksa's translations can be found in Zurcher 1959, n. 221 p. 343; actually for the first text produced by him Dharmaraksa had to resort to a translator: see below, note 8, item 1); Sanighadeva (see CSZIJ p. 72b 23-24; p. 73a 23-24); Kumarajiva (see his biography, CSZIJ p. lOlb 17; Sengrui's 1R85 preface to Da pin jing *

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DHARMAGUPTA S UNFINISHED TRANSLATION 139

hardly changed in the three centuries following the Han dynasty.8 Such a persistence of this particular organization is not mean-

ingless: surprisingly enough, in this early phase of Buddhist trans-

CSZiJ p. 53b 5); Buddhabhadra (CSZiJ p. 61a 65; but compare with note 8 below, item 14); Dharmaksema (CSZiJ p. 59c 22-23; p. 64c 27-28); and Paramartha (see, for instance, the preface of Abhidharmakosa T. 1559, vol. 29, p. 161b 12).

8 The following are the other documents (prefaces and colophons) of CSZtJ in which this organization of translation teams is mentioned (I shall list the date of each translation, its title, the names of the main translator and that of the in- terpreter; page numbers only refer to the passages of these documents which spe- cifically deal with the subject.)

1) 266 AtD. Xa zherl tiarlzi jing gkt<i+#£; Dharmaraksa; An Mrenhui t<,# and Bo Yuanxin M 7EM; colophon p. 48b 22-26.

2) 291 A.D. Fangguangjing9t; Wuchaluo SE>M,; Zhu Shulan ̂ *0512; colo- phon p. 47c 16-20.

3) 328 or, more probably, 373 A.D. Sho?llengyanjing ttt? Zhi Shilun t**? Bo Yan Mi; colophon p. 49b 19-29 (see also Tang Yongtong 1938 p. 389- 391).

4) 379 A.D. (>) Biqiani dafie H6fi:figt.t,; Dharmadhl; Zhu Fonian ,;; three documents (an initial 'inote9') a colophon and a final colophon); p. 81c 21- 22 (compare with CSZiJ p. lOa 2S29).

5) 382 A.D. (?) Si Ahan muchao E3Wt4g;; Kumarabodhi; Zhu Fonian and Buddharak,sa; anonymous preface p. 64c 13-15 (see TangYongtong 1938 p. 224).

6) 382 A.D. Mohe banrao chao jing t;#fi; Dharmapriya, Buddharaksa;

Dao An's A:t preface p. 52b 19-20. 7) 383 A.D. Abhidharmazzibhasa; Sanghabhadra, Dharmanandin (who wrote

down the Sanskrit text); Buddharaks. a; Dao An's preface p. 73c 3-8. 8) 383 A.D. Abhidharmasara; Sanghadesra; Zhu Fonian; Dao An's preface p.

72a 27-29. 9) 384 A.D. Poxami ji gtt; Sanghabhadra7 Dharmanandin and Sang-

hadeva; Zhu Fonian7 anonymous preface p. 71c 28-72a 5. 10) 384 A.D. Ekottaragama; Dharmanandin; Zhu Fonian; I)ao An's preface

p. 64b 10-14 (see also colophon of Sengiialuocha ji p. 71c 1-2). 1 1 ) 384 A.D. Sengyialuosha ji bgRt; Sanghabhadra; Buddharaks, a; colo-

phon p. 71b 25-271 there is also an anonymous preface p. 71b 17-20 (slightly dis- cordant: it states that Zhu Fonian was interpreter).

12) 397 A.D. Madhyamagama; Sangharaksa; Sanghadeva; Daocils XEM preface p. 64a 13-15^

13) 413 A.D. Dirghagama; Buddhayasas; Zhu Fonian; Sengzhao's * preface p. 63c 16-18.

14) 417 A.D. Mahaparanirvana siitra; Buddhabhadra; Baoyun t; colophon p. 60b 9-11.

15) 434 A.D. Za Apitan xin tk*.b; Sanghavarman; Baoyun; Jiaojing's postface p. 74c 5-7.

16) 436 A.D. Sramaladevasimhanada sitra; Gunabhadra; Baoyun; Huiguan's preface p. 67b 2-5.

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140 STEFANO ZACCHETTI

lations, command of both languages (that of the Indian original, and Chinese) does not seem to have been an essential require- ment for the main transmitters (those names normally attached to the translated texts in bibliographical sources). Instead, what re- ally was deemed crucial was their doctrinal insight into the texts to be translated. In fact, from the very beginning of the Sui dynasty, exegesis played an important role in the work of translation, dur- ing which the texts were normally commented upon by the for- eign master presiding over the team.9

From the beginning of the fifth century A.D., particularly with the great Indo-kuchean master Kumarajiva (350-413 A.D.), trans- lation teams greatly increased in size, turning into assemblies that were attended by great numbers of monks and lay devotees,10 and Buddhist scriptures, before being translated, were deeply anal- yzed and debated.11

However, toward the beginning of the sixth century A.D., there gradually emerged the tendency to establish small-sized teams of selected translators, under the direct control of the imperial court. This phenomenon, which in some respects anticipated the structure of Tang dynasty teams, was particularly evident in the translations produced in the last decades of the Northern Wei dy-

9 See Tang Yongtong 1938 p. 296; Wang Wenyan 1984 p. 131-139; Zurcher 1959 p. 31.

10 Starting with Kumarajiva, the sources quite regularly record the number of persons assisting the translations, and during the fifth century it is said often to have reached several hundreds, and sometimes thousands; see for instance CSZIJ p. 58a 9; 58b 12-13; 79c 2.

1 See Cao Shibang 1990 p. 100. The sources dealing with fifth-century transla- tions sometimes mention this kind of group exegesis. See, for example, Dharmaksema's biography (CSZJJ p. 103b 1-2), which states that during his trans- lations "... Several hundred monks and laymen raised all kind of questions ..."; in Huiguan's preface to the Fahua zongyao jing MY' 0;- (CSZJJ p. 57b 6-8), it is said that "... In the Great Temple of Chang'an gathered more than two thousand sramanas experts in exegesis from the four directions ..." to assist Kumarajiva's translation of Saddharmapundarika sitra, which was "carefully scrutinized [by Kumarajiva] with all [the present]" (yu zhong xiang jiu ORP). It seems that those debates had the very important function of establishing (ding 2, a term of- ten occurring in these sources) the definitive text of the translation, as we can clearly see in Huiguan's preface to Srimazladevisimhanada suitra (CSZJJ p. 67b 3-5): "... The foreign sramana Gunabhadra, holding in his hands the Sanskrit correct text, recited the Sanskrit sounds ... Shi Baoyun and other monks of straight con- duct, more than one hundred, checked the sounds and investigated the meanings in order to establish the text [of the translation] (kao yin xiang yi yi ding jue wen

t~ SH--i XtA 2m 3)

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DHARMAGUPTA'S UNFINISHED TRANSLATION 141

nasty (386-534 A.D.),12 when Buddhism had become the state reli- gion.

With the rise of the Sui dynasty in 581 A.D. the imperial control of the Buddhist church increased. This was also reflected in the organization of translations: translation teams were directly associ- ated with the imperial court, and the assistants of foreign masters were carefully selected.13 Also the internal organization of the teams apears to have evolved further in Sui times: the sources be- gan to record a somewhat more complex division of labour14 which, after further improvement, became the distinctive feature of Tang dynasty "new translations".15

12 The most representative among Northern Wei translators were Bodhiruci, Buddhasanta and Ratnamati (see Bagchi 1927 p. 246-260), all active during the first half of the sixth century A.D.. As Wang Wenyan (1984, p. 149) says, it is note- worthy that in some cases the translators worked inside the imperial palace, which very probably means that only a few specialists (monks or high-ranking offi- cials) were admitted to do the work of translation. In fact, according to some sources, as Cuiguan's preface to the DasabhuLmikasutra Adstra (translated in 508-511 by Bodhiruci, Ratnamati and Buddhasanta), T. 1522, vol. 26 p. 123b 1-5, and Tan- ning's preface to the Samdhinirmocana sitra (translated in 514 by Bodhiruci), T. 675, vol. 16 p. 655a 16-b4, only "about ten persons" took part in the work of trans- lation. Some translations carried out almost during the same period in Southern China also share these features. See, for instance, the biography of Safighabhara (active in 506-524 A.D. during the Liang dynasty), in XGSZ p. 426a 15-16.

13 When Yangdi (605-617 A.D.), the second Sui emperor, moved his capital to Luoyang, he also founded, inside the "Park of the Upper Grove" (Shanglin yuan j:t9), an "Office for translating the sutras" (Fan jing guan A ), "... selecting persons of outstanding talent" (souju qiaoxiu 4* ). See Dharmagupta's biogra- phy in XGSZ p. 435c 7-8. See also Wang Wenyan 1984 p. 150-151; Cao Shibang 1990 p. 105.

14 The most detailed description of Sui translation work is reported in Jinagupta's (or, more probably, Jianagupta's) biography, XGSZ p. 434 a 26-b3 (see also E. Chavannes, 'Jinagupta (528-605 ap.J.C.)", in: T'oungPao 6, 1905, p. 332-356; part. p. 349-351). Jnianagupta himself acted as the main transmitter ("principal specialist" 7jG ), assisted by Dharmagupta; two brothers, the laymen Gao Tiannu and Gao Heren, were translators; ten eminent monks "supervised the work of translation and examined the original meaning"; two other monks, Mingmu and Yancong, "compared again [the translation with] the Sanskrit text (chong duifan ben 14*)".

15 On Tang translation teams, see Cao Shibang 1990 p. 105-107. For example, in the team led by Xuanzang in 645 A.D. (see his biography by Huili and Yancong, Da ci'en si sanzangfashi zhuan ., b+ 1f4 T. 2053, vol. 50, p. 253c 19-254a 5) there were: 1) twelve monks in charge of "checking the meaning [of the translated text]" (zhengyi ); 2) nine who "composed the text [of the trans- lation]" (zhui wen g&l); 3) one expert in the "study of [Chinese] characters"

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142 STEFANO ZACCHETTI

The Sui dynasty thus was a crucial point in the history of trans- lation technique. What we can ascertain about this evolution is mainly based upon external sources (biographies, colophons etc.). There is, however, a notable exception - a document which allows us a closer look at this subject.

Part II: Dharmagupta's JGNDJ

The translaiion of Vafracchedika-Prajnaparamita-sutra by Dhar- maguptal6 (JGNDJ)17 is generally considered the most literall8 among the six Chinese versions19 of this Mahayana text. In fact it goes far beyond the normal concept of literal translation: it fairly resembles an interlinear version of the Sanskrit text. By way of in- troduction, a short quotation will bear evidence to this statement:

(zi xue t): 4) one who checked that the original Sanskrit text was correct (zheng fanyufanwen ttR.). The main functions were the first two, and the translation was carried out through the continuous cooperation of these two groups. 16 Dharmagupta's biography is in XGSZ p. 434c 23-435c 16. See also Chavannes 1903, p. 439-440; and Bagchi 1938 p. 464-467; Ui Hakuju 1979, p. 112- 122. 17 In KYL (p. 552b 26) this translation is quoted with a different title: Jingang duange bantuo boruomi jing iNlJ*JX t@£gt E. 18 Conze (1957 p. 4) says that"... Dharmagupta's Chinese translation ... sets out to reproduce the Sanskrit text with great literal fidelity". See also Guy Bougault, "Les paradoxes de la Vajracchedika: une connexion qui opere une coupure", Cahiers d'etudes chinoises, 8 (1989), p. 45-63; see p. 45. 19 Dharmagupta's translation is the fourth in chronological order, preceded by those of Kumarajlva (T. 235), Bodhiruci (T. 236), Paramartha (T. 237), and followed by those of Xuanzang (T. 220 IX) and Yljing (T.239). From the textual point of view, JGNDJ represents a late, rather expanded recension of the Vafracchedika. For instance, inJGNDJ a puzzling passage, not present in the earlier versions of the Sutra, can already be found, which states, among other things, that the Tathagata is a synonym of dharmoccheda (JGNDJ p. 770 a 9-12; S p. 48; it is also present in Xuanzang's translation T. 220 p. 983c 27-29). It is interesting to note that Conze, in his edition of Vafracchedika, omitted this phrase, holding that it was "a later addition which has crept into the text after 800 AD" (Conze 1957, p. 6; see also some critical remarks by Schopen, in L.O. Gomez andJ.A. Silk 1989, p. 97). In fact,JGNDJ provides a much earlier terminus ante quem of this addition.

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DHARMAGUPTA'S UNFINISHED TRANSLATION 143

(Sanskrit text)20 (JGNDJ)

Sacet Subhuite if o Subhuti

tesam bodhisattvanamm of these Bodhisattvas

mahasattvanam __1

Mahasattvas

dharma-samjnad pravarteta 2

dharma-notion could take place

sa eva tesam that indeed of them

atma-graho bhavet ... 23

self-seizing would be

Without the Sanskrit text it would probably be impossible to decipher this puzzling translation. Moreover, this by no means seems to have been Dharmagupta's usual style of translating.24

The explanation of the peculiar features of JGNDJ is to be found in biographical and bibliographical sources: no catalogue quotes Vajracchedika-Prajiinparamita-sutra among Dharmagupta's translations,25 and its first mention, in KYL (not in the catalogue

20 The Sanskrit text is quoted in E. Conze's edition (Conze 1957 p. 27-63; hereafter S); page and line number are indicated. From this work (p. 65-92) I have borrowed the translation of the quoted passages given in the footnotes. I have also added to the Sanskrit examples a word-for-word translation which, I hope, will help readers to checkJGNDJ quotations.

21 This straightforward rendering of pravrt- (here: "to take place", "to occur"), clearly based on the fundamental meaning of the root vrt- ("to turn" etc.), is actu- ally not peculiar to Dharmagupta alone. See for instance the corresponding pas- sage in the Xuanzang translation (T. 220 p. 980c 22-23).

22 S p. 31, 20-22 (tr. p. 69: "If, o Subhuti, in these Bodhi-beings, these great be- ings, a perception of a dharma could take place, that would be with them a seiz- ing on a self ...")

23 767b 26-28. 24 KYL (p. 551b 21-c5) attributes nine translations to Dharmagupta: T. 310

(vol. 11 p. 571b-592c; part of the Maharatnakuta-suitra); T. 415 (vol. 13, p. 830a- 871c); T. 716 (vol. 16, p. 830-837); T. 449 (vol. 14, p. 401-404); T. 1510 (vol. 25, p. 766b-781a); T. 1660 (vol. 32, p. 517a-541b); T. 1596 (vol. 31, p. 271a-321a); T. 1652 (vol. 32, p. 482-486); T. 25 (vol. 1, p. 365a-420a). Though rather literal, all these texts basically are written in the standard language of Buddhist translations.

25 See Da Tang neidian lu ;k*p T. 2149, p. 280a; KYL p. 551b-c; Da Zhou kanding zhongjing mulu *MU5ItIgA T. 2153 p. 382a-b. See also Ono Gemmyo (ed.), Bussho kaisetsu daijiten, Tokyo 1968-1975 (2d ed.), vol. III p. 499b; Bagchi 1938 p. 467.

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144 STEFANO ZACCHETTI

bllt in the short biography of Oharmagupta, p. 552b 26-28), says: ';Previously [Dharma] gupta translated the Laf racGhedika-Prajnapara- mita-sutra, one juanand Pu le jin$26 fifteen juan, [which] could not be polished.27 At the time of the Zheng usurpers28 [the two trans- lations] were abandoned, and there was not sufficient titne to re- sTise them. Nowadays their various parts are preserved in the capi- tal5'.29

JGNDJ thus is an unfinished translation30 which by a rare chance, has been included into the Buddhist Canon and handed down to the present day.

If we take a closer look at this unique documentS comparing it with the Sanskrit original text7 we can perceive, in spite of its ap- parent incoherence, an underlying rigorous formative principle: almost without exception, every single word of the Sanskrit text has been translated into Chinese,31 yet strictly keeping the same

26 In a note following the biograph,v (p. 552b 29-cl), Zhisheng, the author of KYL, states that this Pa le jing was a translation of the Lalatasistara, which already had been translated into Chinese by Dharmaraksa in 308 A.D. (see CSZD p. 48b 28; Pu yao jirtgi T. 186) and, later, in 683 A.D., during the Tang dynastyf was translated once more by Divakara (Fangdeng da z11uangyan jing t#XZgk T. 187; see Bagchi 1938 p. 50+505).

27 Lian fu **; perhaps 4;polished" is too vague, and fu § must be taken in the sense of 4'to reverse [the text]", i.e. to arrange the syntax of the translation ac- cording to Chinese grammar (see below).

28 Wei Zheng^ refers to the ephemeral dynasty founded at Luoyang by M;rang Shichong X.1:3E (?-621 A.D.) after the fall of the Sui empire, and suppressed by the Tang army in 621 A.D. See Sui shu 85 (ed. Zhonghua shuju, Beijing 1973, vol. 3, p. 1898);Jiu Tangshu 1 (ed. Zhonghua shuju, Beijing 1975, vol. 1, p. 11-12).

'i9 t1 X.+SiP9IJ*Jt§kt # > NciE tE > X*§ ' ^zi + N:1$> #gtE\. It is noteworthy that this passage is quoted s7erbatim from Dharmagupta's biography in XGSZ (p. 435c 17-18), the only difference being that in the latter no mention is made of the ltafracchedika, but only of the Lalitavistara. Since Luoyang was the center of the Zheng dynasty, this passage of KYL fits in with an anonymous note following the title of JGNDJ in the Taisho edition (p. 766c), urhich states that this translation dates back to the Daye era (605-617 A.D.) of the Sui dynasty, just when Dharmagupta was active at Luoyang (see XGSZ p. 435cS and Chavannes 1902, p. 440).

30 See also BTang Wenyan 1984, p. 333. For a general description of JGNDJ, see Ui Hakuju 1979> p. 122-127.

31 Generally speaking, the terminology of the JGDNJ is not too far from that of the former translations of the Vayrac(;hedika. Nevertheless it shows a certain ten- dency to make larger use of translation rather than of phonetic transcription of Sanskrit terms. Thus sometimes we find in JGDNJ odd renderings of words for

which normally transcriptions are used in Buddhist textsn such as wenzhe for

Srarasta (p. 766c 1), probably based on an etymology deris7ed from the root sru-

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DHARMAGUPTA S UNFINISHED TRANSLATION 145

position as in the Sanskrit phrase. This way of translating has pro- duced an odd, obscure mixture of Chinese vocabulary and San- skrit syntax. On the other hand, no word without an exact corre- spondence in the Sanskrit text was added to the translation. Thus, in order to maintain some basic distinctions expressed in the San- skrit text, Dharmagupta sometimes had to use Chinese mor- phemes as postpositional affixes (suffixes or even endings). In the following examples I shall confine myself to some regularly recur- ring phenomena.32

a) The form verb + ying 1E is systematically used in JGNDJ to translate Sanskrit gerundives.33

Examples 1) ... Na sa Subhitte

not that o Subhuti

Bodhisattvo Bodhisattva

vaktavyah ... 34 35

is to be called

2) ... Na laksana-sampada a . .

not from mark-accomplishment

Tathagato [the] Tathagata

(see M. Monier Williams, A Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, 1899, p. 1098). It is interesting to note that Dharmagupta himself, in other "nor- mal" translations, made use of a transcription to render Sravasti (Sheluoboxidi t-MERtf); see for example T. 716 (p. 830b 1), which was translated by Dharmagupta and his team at Luoyang in 606-607 A.D. (see its preface, p. 837b 10-12), more or less at the same time asJGNDJ. See also Ui Hakuju 1979 p. 125.

32 I shall not mention other usages in JGNDJ which, while probably based on the same principle, normally occur in Chinese Buddhist translations, like -deng W used as a pronominal plural ending (See Zurcher 1977, p. 184-185 and n. 24) or -

yi E in post-verbal position as a rendering of Sanskrit past participles or gerunds. See Zhu Qingzhi, "Hanyi Fodian yuwen zhong de yuandian yingxiang chutan" &&itmbtl3gFwiM1g, Zhongguoyuwen, 1993/5, p. 379-385; see p. 381-382 and p. 380.

33 See: p. 767a 3-4; 767a 8-9; 767a 10; 767a 14; 767a 16-17; 767a 19-21; 767b 1-3; 767b 6; 768a 25-27; 768c 7-8; 769a 16-22; 769b 14; 769c 16-23; 770a 24; 770a 29; 770c 3-4; 770c 7-8; 771a 9; 771a 16-17; 771a 19-20; 771a 23; 771a 27; 771b 4; 771c 3- 4.

34 S p. 29, 5-6 (tr. p. 66: "... He is not to be called a Bodhi-being..."). 35 767a 17.

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146 STEFANO ZACCHETTI

drastavyah ...36 37

is to be seen

b) In a similar way, Sanskrit verbs in the future tense are mostly rendered by the form verb + dang a .38

Examples 3) ... Eka-citta-prasadam api

One-thought-faith even

pratilapsyante ... 39 40

[they] will obtain

4) ... Te paribhphtaa .... They despised

bhavisyanti ... 41 42

will be

c) One of the most striking features of JGNDJ is the use of the personal pronoun wo R after verbs, as a first person singular end- ing.43

Examples 5) ... Katham cainam

How this too

dhrayami . . . 45

[I] bear [in mind]

36 S p. 30, 8-9 (tr. p. 67: "... Not by the possession of his marks can the Tathagata be seen").

37 767b 2-3. 38 See: 767a 7-8; 767b 21; 767b 23; 768b 20-21; 768c 19-20; 768c 23-27; 769a 3;

769b 3-4; 768b 6; 769b 15-16; 769b 18-19; 769b 25-29; 769c 1; 769c 7-8; 769c 14; 770a 3; 770a 7. Sometimes, however, we can find in JGNDJ dang ' in its normal preverbal position; see S p. 30, 16: ... kecit sattva bhavisyanti ... ("... There will be some beings ..."), andJGNDJ p. 767b 7-8: po you zhongsheng dangyou M4*CR4.

39 S p. 31, 9-10 (tr. p. 68: "... Will find even one single thought of serene faith

40 767b 21. 41 S p. 45, 1 (tr. p. 80: "... they will be humbled ..."). 42 769b 28-29. 43 See: 767c 6; 768a 22; 768b 7; 768b 24; 768c 22; 770a 23; 771a 17; 771a 23. 44 S p. 37, 21-24 (tr. p. 74: "... How should I bear it in mind?"). 45 768b 24.

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DHARMAGUPTA S UNFINISHED TRANSLATION 147

6) ...Aham I

ksetravyuthadn field-arrangements

46~ ~~~~4 ni.spadayi.sya-mi-iti ....... 46 ;X7

will accomplish unquote

It seems that no attempt has been made to render other end- ings of Sanskrit conjugation in this way, using postponed pro- nouns, except for one phrase:48

7) ... Yatha vadasi ...49 .Y, &50 as you say

d) Sanskrit locatives, even absolute, are often (though not regu- larly) translated as substantive + -zhong 43,51 without any preposi- tion.

Examples 8) ... Tasu Ganiganadasu .. .52 53

in those Ganges rivers

9) ... Imesv these

evamrfupesu sfutrantapadesu of such a form sutra-words

bh&syama-nesu ... 54 .?55

being spoken

46 S p. 35, 22 (tr. p. 72: "... I will create harmonious Buddha-fields ...").

47 768a 22. Note that in this case the future tense has not been rendered into Chinese.

48 This phrase also occurs one more time in the Sanskrit text (S p. 28, 8) with- out correspondence inJGNDJ, and another time in the latter (769a 2) but not in the former.

49 S p. 56, 8 (tr. p. 88: "... As you say..."). 50 771a 18. 51 See: 766c 1; 766c 6; 767b 9-10; 767b 12-13; 767b 15-16; 767b 20-21; 768b 4-5;

768b 6; 768b 17; 768b 21; 768c 20; 768c 22; 769a 3; 769a 9-12; 769a 14; 769c 6-7; 769c 13-14; 770b 17; 770b 19; 770c 17; 771b 7.

52 S p. 36, 19 ("... In those Ganges rivers ..."). 53 768b 7-8. 54 S p. 30, 18-20 (tr. p. 68: "... When these very words of the sultra are being

taught ..."). 55 767b 9-10.

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148 STEFANO ZACCHETTI

e) In rendering verbs of saying, the indirect object is regularly denoted by noun + bian &56 as in:

10) ... Bhagavan The Lord

ayusmantam Subhutim to "Life-possessing" Subhuti

etad avocat ... 57 g58 in this manner said

f) Adjective + guo A functions as a rendering of Sanskrit compa- ratives.59

Examples 11) ... bahutaramr

More abundant

punya-skandham ... 60 61

merit-amount

12) ... Asamkhyeyaih kalpair During incalculable aeons

asamkhyeyataraih .. .62 63

more incalculable

Other peculiarities ofJGNDJ are due to the fact that apparently all words of the Sanskrit text must have a corresponding term in the translation. Thus some Chinese words are used in a quite unu- sual way. Very common (recurring almost in every line) is, for in- stance, the curious use of ruo X to translate (besides, more nor- mally, sacet and va-) the relative pronoun yah.

Examples 13) Evam vastu-patito

So object-fallen

56 See: 766c 11; 767a 4; 767a 9; 767b 4; 767b 7; 767c 4; 768b 23; 768b 25; 768c 16; 769a 1; 769c 17; 769c 26; 770c 15; 771a 22.

57 S p. 28, 7 (tr. p. 66: "... The lord said to the venerable Subhuiti ..."). 58 767c 3-4. 59 See: 767c 21; 768b 16; 768c 14; 769b 10; 769c 2; 769c 3; 771b 8; 771c 10. 60 S 58, 10-11 (tr p. 90: "... A greater heap of merit ..."). 61 771b 8. 62 S p. 45, 7-8 (tr p. 81: "... During incalculable, quite incalculable aeons..."). 63 769c 2.

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DHARMAGUPTA S UNFINISHED TRANSLATION 149

Bodhisattvo drastavyo Bodhisattva is to be seen

yo

who

vastu-patito64 [having been] object-fallen

danam parityajati65 66 a gift gives

14) ... Na-asti dharmo there is not a dharma

yas which

Tathagatena desitah ... 68

by the Tathagata has been taught

Besides the features listed above (those which occur fre- quently) no other "suffixes" or "endings" can actually be detected in JGNDJ. This suggests that Dharmagupta is very unlikely to have had the intention of systematically representing Sanskrit morphol- ogy in Chinese. Those strange phenomena ofJGNDJ seem, on the contrary, to have a more practical function: in fact he tried to translate in this way only those morphological features which mutatis mutandis (i.e. arranging the text according Chinese stand- ard syntax) were normally represented in Chinese Buddhist trans-

64 This expression, which has been translated by Conze as "fallen among things", is actually rather obscure. The translations by Kumarajiva (T. 235 p. 750b 29c 1) and Bodhiruci (T. 236, p. 754c 18; verbatim followed by Yijing T. 239, p. 773c 9), and Paramartha's more interpretative translation point at a gnoseological meaning of vastu (= "object of perception"). Bodhiruci renders this phrase as tj It& : a ffifT$ ("The Bodhisattva [who] devotes himself to giving gifts, having his mind based on objects").

65 S p. 42, 15-17 (tr. p. 78: 'just so should be viewed a Bodhisattva who has fallen among things, and who, fallen among things, renounces a gift"). It should be noticed that all the Chinese translators of Vajracchedika here interpret danam parityajati as "[the Bodhisattva] gives a gift". In fact parityaj- seems to involve, in this context, the idea of "renouncing (some goods in order to give) a gift". I am indebted to Prof. Vetter for this suggestion.

66 769a 28-29. 67 S p. 32, 13-14 (tr. p. 69: "... There is no dharma which has been demon-

strated by the Tathagata . 68 767c 7-8.

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150 STEFANO ZACCHETTI

lations. This is the case with ying f and dang X, which are often used, in the normal pre-verbal position, to render the Sanskrit ge- rundive and future tense.69 Hence "suffixes" and "endings" of JGNDJ only had the very practical aim of preserving some linguis- tic distinctions with respect to the final version of the translation. Perhaps this could explain why no use of the "ending" -wo R has been made, when the Sanskrit text itself has a first person pro- noun, thus allowing Dharmagupta to insert R in its normal preverbal position, without sacrificing the principle of word-to- word translation (though with some exceptions: see above, exam- ple n. 6: but compare p. 770a 29).

For example: 15) ... Tesam

Of them

aham

nanabhazvam citta-dharam the various thought-streams

prajanami 70 71

know

Another possible instance of "economy" of linguistic distinc- tions made by JGNDJ is the use of shi UI and shi tit, which, when

69 See, for example, S p. 28, 3-5: the gerundive ... katham ... statavyam ... How ... should stay ...") is translated inJGNDJ (p. 767a 2-3) as ... yunhe ... zhuying... ( fl and as ying.unhe zhu ( fIW ) by all other Chinese translators of Vajracchedika (see: T. 235 p. 749c 9, T. 239 p. 752c 12-13; T. 237 p. 762a 15; T. 220 p. 980a 15; T. 239 (p. 772a 5-6).

70 S p. 51, 17 (tr. p. 85: " ... Of them I know, in my wisdom, the manyfold trends of thought").

71 770b 20. Theoretically one cannot exclude that, in this case, the absence of the -wo R ending is due to variant reading in the original Sanskrit text of JGNDJ: in fact the Gilgit manuscript of the Vajracchedika at this point has a wrong variant reading (Jadnyas, which does not agree with the subject aham, instead of Prajeanami; see G. Schopen, "The Manuscript of Vajracchedika found at Gilgit", in L.O. Gomez and J.A. Silk 1989, p. 103 and n. 17 p. 138) which, if it was also present in Dharmagupta's own original text, given his way of translating the JGNDJ, would have resulted in this rendering zhi 0. But this seems unlikely to be the case: JGNDJ is based on an original text which often diverges from the Gilgit manuscript (see also above, n. 19), and it is thus hard to believe that it could share with the Gilgit manuscript a reading which, as Schopen says, is "clearly wrong". After all translation, no matter how mechanical, always is a somehow more conscious action than mere textual transmission.

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DHARMAGUPTA S UNFINISHED TRANSLATION 151

they directly involve a certain idea of temporal location, are nor- mally used without a -zhong + ending,72 even when they render Sanskrit locatives, as in:

16) ... ekasmin samaye ... 73 74 at one time

Many features of JGNDJ, odd as they may seem, are explained, as Wang Wenyan has pointed out,75 by a passage of the Buddhist chronicle Fozu tongji ieE76 T 2035 (p. 398b; see also Fuchs 1930, p. 101-102), which describes the organization of the Song dynasty "Translation Bureau" (yi jing yuan glg-),77 actually a di- rect offshoot of the Sui and Tang translation teams.78

After having listed 1) the "director of translation" (yizhu 4t), 2) those who "checked the meaning [of the Sanskrit text]" (zheng yi 1), 3) those who "checked the [Sanskrit] text" (zheng wen i), and 4) those who "transliterated [the Sanskrit text into Chi- nese characters]" (shu zi J), the text says:

fifth were the scribes (bi shou 1), [who] translated Sanskrit transcriptions into Chinese words; sixth [those who] composed the text (zhui wen MSC),79 turning the Chinese characters in order to form meaningful sentences ....80

A following note provides a further explanation:

"For instance, [the text drawn up by] scribes would say: zhaojian wuyun bi zixing kong jian ci 8 Now [i.e.

72 See: p. 766c 3-4; 766c 7; 766c 9; 767b 8; 767b 12; 767b 14; 769a 8-9; 769a 11- 13; 769b 7-8; 769c 2; 769c 6; 770a 4; 770a 7. Some exceptions (mostly absolute locatives) are: 767b 9; 769c 6-7; 769c 14; 770c 17.

73 Sp. 27, 1. 74 766c. 1. 75 Wang Wenyan 1984, p. 333. 76 By Zhipan , (13th century A.D.). 77 See T. 2035 p. 398a. The 0M was established in 982 A.D. at the capital

Kaifeng. 78 See Fuchs 1930 p. 103, and Cao Shibang 1990, p. 106-107. 79 Fuchs 1930 p. 101 renders it as "Textzusammensetzer". 80 T. 2035 p. 398b 12-14. L:EJh ! EMM1 Of* M91-CP a 81 Quotation from Prajnaparamitd-sitra; very likely renders the phrase:

vyavalokayati sma pancaskandhas tamsca svabhzvasunyan pasyati sma (quoted from E. Conze, Thirty years of Buddhist studies, London 1967, p. 150); "He [i.e. Avalokitesvara] examined the five skandhas and saw they were empty of own-be- ing". Note how this sentence resembles those of JGNDJ!

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152 STEFANO ZACCHETTI

after having been composed] it says: zEaojian wayun jie kong i> %i:M*a. On the wholeS the Sanskrit word order is often inver- ted [in comparison with Chinese] ... so characters and sentences need to be reversed in order to be in accordance with Chinese lan- guage".82

JGNDJ clearly proves that this technique of translation was al- ready fully developed as early as in the Sui dynasty. The transla- tion has been stopped exactly at the stage which in Fozu tongi is called bi shou ;S2. Therefore the Sanskrit terminology has been totally translated into Chinese (even to a larger extent than in normal completed translations, see above, n. 31), while the syntax is still that of the original text. Rather than a deliberately superliteral translation, JGNDJ thus constitutes a unique document for the history of Chinese Bud- dhist translation technique.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Bagchi P.C. 1927, Le canon bouddhique en Chine, tome Ier, Paris Bagshi P.C. 1938, Le canon bouddhique en Chine, tome IIeme, Paris Cao Shibang WH:g l 990, Zhongguo Fojiao yijing shi lunji @g"FEt - , Taibei Chavannes E. 1903, ;'Note sur divers ouvrages relatifs a l'Inde qui furent publies en Chine avant l'epoque T'ang", B.E.F.E.O. 3, p. 430-441 Conze E. 1957

Vajracchedika-Prajnaparamita-sutra edited and translated with intro- duction and glossawy, Roma, ISMEO, Serie orientale vol. XIII Edgerton F. 1953, Buddhist HSb77d Sanshrit Grammar and Dictionary, 2 vols., New Haven

Fuchs W 1930 "Zur technischen Organisation der Ubersetzungen Buddhis- tischer Schriften ins Chinesische", Asia Major 6^ p. 8s103 Gomes L.O . and J.A. Silk (eds) 1989, Studies in the Literature of the Great Vehicle: Three Mahayana Buddhist Texts, Ann Arbor Tang Yongtongj%,lb 1938, Han Wei liangJin nanbei chao Fofiao shi,

iwF#1k#J Ft, Shanghai Ui Hakuju FtSbX 1979, Daijo Butten no Kenkyu

y<***tOXfft,, 2nd ed., Tokyo Wang Wenyan :ES ig 1984, Fodian Hanyi zAi yanjiu 2wt,, Taibei Yu Liming *2> 1993, Fodian wenxian yuyan Ct<; f « , Chengdu, Bashu shushe Zurcher E. 1959, The Buddhist Conquest of China, Leiden, EJ. Brill Zurcher E. 1977, '4Late Han Vernacular Elements in the Earliest Buddhist Trans-

lations",JournaloftheChineseLanguageTeachersAssociation, 13,3 (Oct. 1977),p. 177-203

82 T 2035 p. 398b 1615: tEei; > M>E:ZE84ttZ tH +tk**- -agEStt t t1XWt+29.