Shōmangyō gisho

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Shōmangyō gisho
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Description

Shōmangyō gisho (勝鬘經義疏; T 2185), attributed to Prince Shōtoku (574–622), is a commentary in Chinese on the Śrīmālādevīsiṃhanādasūtra. It is the first of the "Commentaries on Three Sūtras" (Sangyō gisho) traditionally ascribed to Shōtoku, alongside those on the Lotus and Vimalakīrti sūtras. According to the Nihon shoki, Shōtoku lectured on the sūtra for Empress Suiko, and the commentary is traditionally regarded as the earliest written work by a Japanese author. Its attribution to Shōtoku has been questioned by modern scholars. An English translation by Mark W. Dennis was published in the BDK English Tripiṭaka series (2011).
Reference
Shōmangyō gisho [勝鬘經義疏]. [Commentary on the Meaning of the Śrīmālāsūtra]. Chinese Canon.
Interconnections
1 Full translations
Prince Shōtoku's Commentary on the Śrīmālā-sutra-front.jpg
Books2011About this item
Taishō 2185

Volume 56

This work is a commentary on the Śrīmālā-sūtra (Taisho No.16), and is considered to be the earliest of the "Commentaries on Three Sūtras" (Jp. San-gyō-gi-sho) composed by Prince Shōtoku. The Nihon-shoki ("Chronicles of Japan") records that Prince Shōtoku gave a discourse on the Śrīmālā-sūtra for Empress Suiko. It is considered that Prince Shōtoku chose this particular sūtra as the subject of his discourse to the Empress probably because the protagonist of the Śrīmālā-sūtra is a woman, Śrīmālā, and Empress Suiko was the first Empress in Japanese history. The present work was then put together in book-form in Chinese at a later date. Be that as it may, there is no changing the fact that this was the first written work composed by a Japanese.

Source

Jp. Shōmangyō gisho (勝鬘經義疏), attributed to Prince Shōtoku. 1 fascicle. (Source: BDK America)
1 Classical commentary of
Gunabhadra-dakinitranslations.jpg
Classical WorksAbout this item
One of the more prominent sūtra sources for the Ratnagotravibhāga, this text tells of the story of Śrīmālādevī taking up the Buddhist path at the behest of her royal parents based on a prophecy of the Buddha. It includes mention of important concepts related to the teachings on buddha-nature, such as the single vehicle and the four perfections, or transcendent characteristics, of the dharmakāya. It also mentions the notion that buddha-nature, which is equated with mind's luminous nature, is empty of adventitious stains but not empty of its limitless inseparable qualities. In his commentary on the Ratnagotravibhāga, Asaṅga quotes this sūtra more than any other source text. In particular, it is considered a source for the fifth of the seven vajra topics, enlightenment.