Mingkong’s Shengmanjing shuyi Sichao 勝鬘経疏義私鈔(SC) is a commentary on Prince Shōtoku’s Shōmangyo gisho 勝鬘経義疏(GS). When Ennin 円仁 went to China in search of the Law, he obtained SC on Mount Wutai and brought it back to Japan. Soon after, the SC was lost in China. The reason why the SC has not received due attention in Chinese and Japanese academic circles is that it has not been recorded in many Monk Biographies. In this paper, I discuss several conceptual issues in the SC, and clarify thits character as a commentary.
We know that although the SC is an annotation of the GS, it is not a detailed explanation, and it also offers some contrary views. Although Mingkong did not offer a fierce criticism of the GS, it can be seen that the author has the intention to change its interpretation.
