Da bore jing 大般若經

Da bore boluomiduo jing 大般若波羅蜜多經, usually abbreviated as Da bore jing 大般若經 or Borejing 般若經, is the Chinese version of the Mahā-prajñā-pāramitā-sūtra. It is a comprehensive compilation of Prajñā ("wisdom") scriptures within Mahāyāna Buddhism.

The text was translated into Chinese during the Tang period 唐 (618-907) by Xuanzang 玄奘 (602-664). The entire work, completed in 663, comprises no fewer than 600 juan. Of these, the translation of 481 fascicles can be attributed to Xuanzang himself. The remaining passages are identical with translations in other Prajñā sutras, such as the Fangguang bore jing 放光般若經 by Mokṣala (Ch. Wuluocha 無羅叉, fl. 291) and Zhu Shulan 竺叔蘭 (c. 300); Dharmarakṣa's (Ch. Zhu Fahu 竺法護, c. 233–310) Guangzan bore jing 光贊般若經, Kumārajīva's (Ch. Jiumoluoshi 鳩摩羅什, 344-413) Moke bore jing 摩訶般若經, Xiaopin bore jing 小品般若經 and Jingang bore boluomi jing 金剛般若波羅蜜經, Lokakṣema's (Ch. Zhiloujiachen 支婁迦讖, 147-200) Daoxing bore jing 道行般若經 (Bore daoxing pin jing 般若道行品經), Zhiqian's 支謙 (3rd cent.) Daming du wuji jing 大明度無極經, and Bodhiruci's (Ch. Putiliuzhi 菩提流支, d. 535) Jingang bore boluomi jing 金剛般若波羅蜜經. The "Diamond Sutra" also belongs to the Prajñā sutras.

The sutra teaches that all conventional cognition and all objects apprehended by it arise from the coming together of causes and conditions (pratītyasamutpāda, Ch. Yinyuan hehe 因緣和合) and are therefore provisional and lacking true reality. Only through "transcendent wisdom" (prajñā, Ch. bore 般若), which negates attachment to conventional cognition, can one grasp Buddhist "truth" (zhenli 真理) and attain enlightenment and liberation. This doctrine forms a foundational theoretical framework of Mahāyāna Buddhism.

The entire scripture is divided into chapters that describe the four locations where the Buddha is said to have preached: Gṛdhrakūṭa (Ch. Jiufeng Shan 鷲峰山) in Rājagṛha (Ch. Wangshecheng 王舍城), Jetavana (Ch. Jigudu Yuan 給孤獨園), the palace of the Paranirmitavaśavartin Heaven (Ch. Tazizai tianwang gong 他化自在天王宮), and the Veṇuvana (Zhulin Jingshe 竹林精舍) in Rājagṛha. Furthermore, it comprises sixteen assemblies (shiliu hui 十六會), comparable to editorial divisions, and two hundred seventy-five sections, comparable to chapters. Among these, the Second (Erwanwuqian song bore 二萬五千頌般若), Fourth (Baqian song bore 八千頌般若) and Ninth Assembly (Jingang bore 金剛般若) embody the fundamental ideas of the Prajñāpāramitā scriptures. Among its sections, the Second Assembly, being of moderate length and complexity, circulated most widely.

The first five assemblies differ in wording but share the same meaning; all present a comprehensive and systematic exposition of Prajñāpāramitā doctrine. The sixth through ninth assemblies distill the essential points of the larger Prajñāpāramitā texts, expounding the doctrinal principle of the dharma-gate (famen 法門) of emptiness as non-attainment (wu suo de kong 無所得空). The tenth assembly records the Buddha's exposition to Vajrapāṇi (Ch. Jingangshou Pusa 金剛手菩薩) and other bodhisattvas on the profoundly subtle and wondrous purport of Prajñāpāramitā and the pure dharma-gate of all phenomena. This section displays features associated with Esoteric (Tantric) Buddhism (mijiao 密教).The final six assemblies discuss, in sequence, the Six Perfections (liu du 六度) or Six Pāramitās (liu boluomiduo 六波羅蜜多). The language of the entire scripture is elegant, refined, and fluent. It is not only a religious classic but also a literary work rich in philosophical depth.

The sutra's central teaching lies in explaining the principle that all dharmas (yiqie fa 一切法) are "empty in nature yet provisionally existent" (xing kong huan you 性空幻有). Emptiness in nature (xing kong 性空) means that all dharmas taught by the Buddha, that is, all phenomena, lack any real, independent self-nature. Illusory existence (huanyou 幻有) means that although all dharmas are empty of inherent nature, they are not sheer nothingness; phenomena still exist in a provisional, dependent way. Accordingly, all objects of ordinary, worldly cognition are regarded as products of dependent origination (yinyuan hehe 因緣和合), existing only in a provisional and non-substantial manner. Only by negating conventional cognition through "transcendent wisdom" can one grasp Buddhist truth and attain awakening and liberation.

In addition, the scripture teaches that Gautama Buddha possesses both a true body (zhenshen 真身) and a Dharma-body (dharmakāya, Ch. fashen 法身). The Dharma-body represents the ultimate truth (zhenli 真理) or "suchness" (tathātā 真如) sought by practitioners. Through the cultivation of the six methods of practice, namely the Six Perfections, sentient beings are able to achieve liberation.

The earliest Mahāyāna Prajñāpāramitā scripture transmitted to China was the Bore daoxing pin jing 般若道行品經, later titled Daoxing bore jing 道行般若經, translated during the Eastern Han period by Zhu Foshou 竺佛朔 and Lokakṣema 支婁迦讖. This text corresponds to the Fourth Assembly of the Prajñāpāramitā corpus and is traditionally known as the "Small Prajñā" (Xiaopin bore 小品般若). Soon afterwards, in the empire of Wu, Zhiqian 支謙 retranslated it as Da mingdu wuji jing 大明度無極經, originally titled Mingdujing 明度經. Separately, Kang Senghui 康僧會 produced another translation, the Wupinjing 吳品經, which has since been lost. Later, Dharmarakṣa 竺法護 translated the Guangzan bore boluomi jing 光贊般若波羅蜜經. Zhu Shixing 朱士行 travelled west and obtained a Sanskrit manuscript of the "Great Prajñā" (Dapin bore 大品般若). This was translated by Mokṣala 無羅叉 as the Fangguang bore boluomi jing 放光般若波羅蜜經, corresponding to the Second Assembly. In the Later Qin empire, Kumārajīva 鳩摩羅什 retranslated the "Great Prajñāpāramitā" (dubbed Dapin 大品) as the Moke bore boluomi jing 摩訶般若波羅蜜經, and the "Small Prajñāpāramitā" (xiaopin 小品) and the Diamond Sūtra (Jinfang bore jing 金剛般若經). In Northern Wei empire, Bodhiruci 菩提流支 translated this text, corresponding to the Ninth Assembly, anew. It was not until the Tang period that Xuanzang, in 663, completed the translation of the entire corpus as Da bore boluomiduo jing, describing sixteen assemblies of the Buddha. For this reason, this scripture is regarded as the grand synthesis of all Prajñāpāramitā traditions. In 982, during the Northern Song period, Shihu 施護 translated the Fomu shengchu sanfazang bore boluomiduo jing 佛母出生三法藏般若波羅蜜多經.

The founder of the Madhyamaka school (Ch. Zhongguan pai 中觀派), Nāgārjuna (Ch. Longshu 龍樹, 2nd cent.?), composed the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-śāstra (Ch. Da zhidu lun 大智度論) as a commentary on this scripture, elucidating the doctrine of emptiness as the true reality revealed therein. One of the founders of the Yogācāra School (Ch. Yuejiaxing Pai 瑜伽行派), Maitreya (Ch. Mile 彌勒), is traditionally said to have comprehensively synthesised the meaning of this scripture in the treatise Abhisamayālaṅkāra (Ch. Xian guan zhuangyan lun 現觀莊嚴論), expounding the path of practice and realisation taught by the text. Later, Asaṅga (Ch. Wuzhu 無著, 300-370) and Vasubandhu (Ch. Shiqin 世親, 4th cent.) each wrote a Commentary on the Diamond Sutra, Jingang bore jing lun 金剛般若經論, interpreting the Ninth Assembly of the scripture. Dignāga (Ch. Chenna 陳那, c. 480-540), drawing on the Fourth Assembly, composed the "Compendium of the essential meaning of the Perfection of Wisdom, the Mother of the Buddhas" (Fomu bore boluomiduo yuan jiyao yi lun 佛母般若波羅蜜多圓集要義論), which summarises the core purport of the scripture. In addition, treatises such as the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā (Ch. Zhonglun 中論), the Śataśāstra (Ch. Bailun 百論), and the Dvādaśanikāya-śāstra (Ch. Shi'ermen lun 十二門論), authored by Nāgārjuna and Āryadeva (Ch. Tibo 提婆, 3rd cent.), elaborate on the meaning of this scripture and propagate the Mahāyāna Prajñāpāramitā doctrine of emptiness. This illustrates the widespread popularity of this scripture in India.

The Three Treatises School (Sanlun Zong 三論宗), which takes the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā, Śataśāstra, and Dvādaśanikāya-śāstra as its core texts, directly inherits the tradition of this scripture. The Ninth Assembly, specifically the variant translation titled the Diamond Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra 金剛般若, became a foundational text for Zen (Chan) transmission of mind. The Tiantai School (Tiantai Zong 天台宗) used this scripture as the basis for its meditative practice (guanfa 觀法) and classified it under the "Universal teaching" (tongjiao 通教) within its Fourfold Teaching system (huafa sijiao 化法四教). Thus, the profound influence of this scripture in Mahāyāna Buddhism is evident across doctrinal, meditative, and sectarian developments.

Because of the scripture's length, Several synopses or summaries have been composed, such as Dayin's 大隱 Da bore jing guanfa 大般若經關法), Zhixu's 智旭 (1599-1655) Yuezang zhijin 閱藏知津, Ge Hui's 葛{鼎彗=}䵻 Da bore jing gangyao 大般若經綱要 and Ouyang Jingwu's 歐陽竟無 (1871-1943) Da bore boluomi jing xu 大般若波羅蜜經敘.