Re-examination of the Old and New Layers Theory of Hōnen’s Sanbukyōshaku: The Formation Process of the New Layer of the Text

Abstract

It has been pointed out that Hōnen’s Sanbukyōshaku 三部経釈 (Notes on the Three Pure Land Sūtras) consists of two layers of texts: the original part written by Hōnen himself, called the kosō 古層 (older layer), and sections added later, called the shinsō 新層 (new layer). Extant versions of the text are understood to be a mixture of these two layers of writing. In this paper, I focus on the part of the text titled “Daikyōshaku” 大経釈 (Notes on the Larger [Sukhāvatīvyūha] sūtra), and examine the process of its formation by comparing it with citations of this text found in the writings of Hōnen’s disciples. As a result of my examination, I conclude that the later additions to the text underwent multiple steps until arriving at the present version of the text.