The Understandings of Precepts of the Nirvāṇa Sūtra by Nirvāṇa School Scholars: Interpretations in the Northern and Southern Dynasties in China
2023 Volume 72 Issue 1 Pages 32-37
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2023 Volume 72 Issue 1 Pages 32-37
In the Nirvāṇa Sūtra（T.375）, juan 11, unique precepts that bodhisattvas have to maintain are mentioned, namely the wǔzhī zhījiè 五支諸戒 and the hùtā-jiè 護他戒. Hereinafter, the two precepts are referred to as the Nirvāṇa Precepts （涅槃戒）.
Zhìyǐ 智顗 （538–597） incorporated the Nirvāṇa Precepts into the Tiantai academic system as the Biejiao 別教 doctrine in his Dàběn sìjiào yì 大本四教義 （T. 1929）. In Zhìyǐ’s interpretation, the Nirvāṇa Precepts are treated as the precepts for Bodhisattvas. It can be said that this comprehension is in line with the theory of the Nirvāṇa Sūtra.
On the other hand, the Dà bānnièpán jīng jíjiě 大般涅槃経集解 （T. 1763）, which is said to have been compiled by Bǎoliàng 寶亮 （444–509）, shows that the explanations of the Nirvāṇa Precepts by various scholars of the Nirvāṇa school who had been active before Zhìyǐ do not unanimously agree. Slight ideological developments can be recognized among the various theories found in the Dà bānnièpán jīng jíjiě.
In this short paper, I wish to discuss the above from the perspective of exploring the ideological background of Tiantai doctrine cultivated in the late Sui and early Tang dynasties period. At the same time, I wish to mention a part of the development process of the view of Precepts in the Chinese Buddhist tradition.
