The Publishing Activity of the Huayan Society and Their Influence in the Northern Song Dynasty: The Huayan jing in Eighty Volumes as an Example

Abstract

This paper shows that the Da Foding shoulengyan jing 大仏頂首楞厳経 and the Huayan jing in eighty volumes 八十華厳 in the Sixi canon 思渓蔵, are formatted in a special form, i.e. 15 characters per line, since they are based on the separately block-printed editions published by the Huayan Society 華厳結社 at Longxing Temple. The Longxing Temple （later renamed Dazhong Xiangfu Temple 大中祥符寺）, the base of the Huayan Society in Hangzhou, is known to have published and disseminated the Huayan jing in eighty volumes from the first year of Chunhua 淳化 （990） to the third year of Xianping 咸平 （1000） and the Da Foding shoulengyan jing in the Dazhong Xiangfu 大中祥符 period （1008-1016）. Although little known until now, the sūtras published by the Huayan Society of Longxing Temple had a significant impact not only on separately block-printed editions in civil society but also on the Sixi canon.