Prince Shōtoku's Commentary on the Śrīmālā Sutra

Prince Shōtoku's Commentary on the Śrīmālā Sutra

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Taishō 2185
Volume 56

This work is a commentary on the Śrīmālā-sūtra (Taisho No.16), and is considered to be the earliest of the "Commentaries on Three Sūtras" (Jp. San-gyō-gi-sho) composed by Prince Shōtoku. The Nihon-shoki ("Chronicles of Japan") records that Prince Shōtoku gave a discourse on the Śrīmālā-sūtra for Empress Suiko. It is considered that Prince Shōtoku chose this particular sūtra as the subject of his discourse to the Empress probably because the protagonist of the Śrīmālā-sūtra is a woman, Śrīmālā, and Empress Suiko was the first Empress in Japanese history. The present work was then put together in book-form in Chinese at a later date. Be that as it may, there is no changing the fact that this was the first written work composed by a Japanese.

Source
Jp. Shōmangyō gisho (勝鬘經義疏), attributed to Prince Shōtoku. 1 fascicle. (Source: BDK America)

Citation	Dennis, Mark W., trans. Prince Shōtoku's Commentary on the Śrīmālā Sutra. BDK English Tripiṭaka Series. Moraga, CA: BDK America, 2011. https://bdkamerica.org/product/prince-shotokus-commentary-on-the-srimala-sutra/.

Contents

• A Message on the Publication of the English Tripiṭaka, NUMATA Yehanv

• Editorial Foreword, MAYEDA Sengakuvii

• Publisher's Foreword, John R. McRaeix

• Translator's Introduction, Mark W. Dennisxiii

• Conventions for the Translationxix

• Prince Shōtoku's Commentary on the Śrīmālā Sutra

• Introduction
  • The Contents of the Sutra3
  • The Title of the Sutra3
  • The Three Divisions of Buddhist Sutras4

• Part I. Commentary on the Introductory Teaching
  • The General Introduction7
  • The Specific Introduction9

• Part II. Commentary on the Main Teaching
  • Chapter One: Praising the True Merits of the Tathāgata13
  • Chapter Two: The Ten Main Ordination Vows21
  • Chapter Three: The Three Great Vows29
  • Chapters Four and Five: "Other-Practice"30
  • Chapter Four: Embracing the True Dharma31
  • Divisions of Chapter Four32
  • Chapter Five: The One Vehicle51
  • Part Two of the Sutra's Main Teaching93
  • The General Explanation94
  • Chapter Six: The Unlimited Noble Truths94
  • Chapter Seven: The Tathāgatagarbha97
  • Chapter Eight: The Dharma Body107
  • Chapter Nine: The Concealed Truth: The Meaning of Emptiness109
  • The Specific Explanation111
  • Chapter Ten: The One Noble Truth112
  • Chapter Eleven: The One Refuge115
  • Chapter Twelve: The Distorted Truths117
  • Chapter Thirteen: The Intrinsically Pure121
  • Chapter Fourteen: The True Children of the Tathāgata128

• Part III. The Propagation of the Teaching 
  • Propagation of the Teaching 1: The Buddha Returns to Śrāvastī131
  • Propagation of the Teaching 2: Transmitting the Sutra131
  • Propagation of the Teaching 3: The Sixteen Names for the Sutra132

• Notes135

• Glossary137

• Bibliography151

• Index157

• A List of the Volumes of the BDK English Tripiṭaka (First Series)167