The Scripture on the Explication of Underlying Meaning

by Xuanzang, John P. Keenan (Translator)

This text is a new translation by Prof. John P. Keenan of the second century Samdhinirmocana Sutra, a foundational Yogacara (Consciousness Only) text, which is also the basic sutra of the Fa-hsiang School. (Taisho #676) [Ch: Chieh-shen-mi-ching] [Jp: Gejinmikkyo]

Genres: Buddhism

136 pages, Hardcover

Published May 31, 2006

About the author

Xuanzang (Chinese: 玄奘; Wade–Giles: Hsüan-tsang; c. 602 – 664), born Chen Hui or Chen Yi (Chen I), was a Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveller, and translator who described the interaction between China and India in the early Tang dynasty. Born in what is now Henan province around 602, from boyhood he took to reading religious books, including the Chinese classics and the writings of ancient sages.

While residing in the city of Luoyang, Xuanzang was ordained as a śrāmaṇera (novice monk) at the age of thirteen. Due to the political and social unrest caused by the fall of the Sui dynasty, he went to Chengdu in Sichuan, where he was ordained as a bhikṣu (full monk) at the age of twenty. He later travelled throughout China in search of sacred books of Buddhism. At length, he came to Chang'an, then under the peaceful rule of Emperor Taizong of Tang, Xuanzang developed the desire to visit India. He knew about Faxian's visit to India and, like him, was concerned about the incomplete and misinterpreted nature of the Buddhist texts that had reached China.

He became famous for his seventeen-year overland journey to India, which is recorded in detail in the classic Chinese text Great Tang Records on the Western Regions, which in turn provided the inspiration for the novel Journey to the West written by Wu Cheng'en during the Ming dynasty, around nine centuries after Xuanzang's death.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[mercy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The scripture is wondrous but the translation is lacking. There is another more precise translation at 84000 of the Tibetan recension.