Interpretations of the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā in the Da cheng zhong guan shi lun

Abstract

　The Da cheng zhong guan shi lun 大乗中観釈論 (DZL) is a commentary on the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā (MMK) written by Sthiramatim, a scholar of the Yogācāra School. The DZL is considered a significant text because it is a commentary interpreted by Sthiramati, who is counted as one of the eight great annotators of the MMK by the Prajñāpradīpaṭīkā and the Akutobhayā (ABh). However, the DZL is preserved only in Chinese translation, completed by Wei jing 惟淨 and Fa hu 法護, and preceding studies on it are insufficient because of the translation’s inadequacy. Nonetheless, several peculiar similarities are found between the DZL and other commentaries. Therefore in this paper, I shall discuss such similarities by comparing each of the commentaries.