The Sutra of the Dialogue of the Girl Candrottarā (Candrottarādārikāvyākaraṇasūtram)
| 🤓 Admin Zone 🛠️ hidden to non-admins | |
Description
The Sutra of the Dialogue of the Girl Candrottarā was probably composed about the third or fourth century A.D., about the same time as the sequel to The Sutra of the Teaching of Vimalakīrti, which is known as The Sutra of the King Who Was Annointed on the Head (Ting-wang ching or Kuan-ting-wang ching).[53] The Chinese translation of the Candrottarā was undertaken by Jñānagupta of Sui, a North Indian monk from Gandhara, and by the Chinese monk Chih-te in 591. The Tibetan translation was begun in the ninth century by Jinamitra.
The text is mainly in prose with several long sections of verse. The Candrottarā has few discourses on Mahāyāna teachings, focusing instead on a series of dialogues between Candrottarā, Śāriputra, and various Bodhisattvas, not all of which have been translated below in their entirety. A noteworthy feature in the Candrottarā is the portrayal of Vimalakīrti as a rather weak individual who is afraid of threats from other men. In The Sutra of the Teaching of Vimalakīrti (Vimalakīrtinirdeśa) (see Chapter 6), on the other hand, Vimalakīrti is an immensely powerful Bodhisattva of unmitigated energy, who devastates the arguments of the monk Śāriputra. In Candrottarā, ("On top of the moon") Vimalakīrti's daughter, who is named Candrottarā, in an apparent reversal of roles with the Vimalakīrti of The Sutra of the Teaching of Vimalakīrti, has the same eloquence and incisive wisdom with regard to the Dharma as her father. The Candrottarā may be viewed as a sequel to the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa. (Paul, Introduction to The Sutra of the Dialogue of the Girl Candrottarā, 190–91)
