Fanwangjing 梵網經

Fanwangjing 梵網經, full title Fanwang jing Lushena Fo shuo Pusa xindi famen jiepin 梵網經盧舍那佛說菩薩心地法門戒品, also called Fanwang Pusa jing 梵網菩薩戒經, Fanwangjing Pusa xindi jing 梵網經菩薩心地品, Fanwangjing Pusa jie 梵網經菩薩戒 or Pusa jiejing 菩薩戒經, is a vinaya text (monastic rules). It was translated from the Sanskrit original, the Brahmajāla-sūtra, into Chinese in the Later Qin empire 後秦 (384-417) by Kumārajīva (Ch. Jiumoluoshi 鳩摩羅什, 344-413), with a length of 2 juan.

The first fascicle describes how the Śākyamuni Buddha, while abiding in the Fourth Dhyāna (di si chan 第四禪, a status characterised by profound stillness, inner peace, and equanimity), raises and leads the great assembly to the Lotus Treasury World (Lianhua taicang shijie 蓮華臺藏世界), where they behold Vairocana Buddha (Ch. Lushena Fo 盧舍那佛). Śākyamuni asks by what causes and conditions all sentient beings can accomplish the Bodhisattva path of the Ten Grounds (shidi zhi dao 十地之道), what characteristics the resulting fruition possesses, and Vairocana Buddha then expounds the forty stages and methods of practice by which Bodhisattvas cultivate the path.

The second fascicle recounts that after receiving this teaching, Śākyamuni manifests his descent into the world, his birth, renunciation, awakening, and preaching of the Dharma (fa 法) in ten places. While in the palace of the Heavenly King Maheśvara (Ch. Moxishouluo Tianwang 摩醯首羅天王), he observes the net-like banners of the great Brahmā kings (Ch. Dafan Tianwang 大梵天王) and, inspired by this vision, teaches that the innumerable worlds are like the meshes of a net, each world distinct, and that the gateways of the Buddha's teachings are likewise so. Śākyamuni then descends from the heavenly palace to beneath the Bodhi tree (puti shu 菩提樹) in Jambudvīpa (Ch. Yanfuti 閻浮提), where he again expounds all the Mahāyāna precepts that the Vairocana Buddha continually recited at the time of his initial arousing of bodhicitta (putixin 菩提心, awareness of awakening), namely, the ten Major Precepts (zhongjie 重戒) and the forty-eight Minor Precepts (qingjie 輕戒). Finally, fourteen verses state that those who receive and uphold this Dharma obtain five kinds of benefit, thereby encouraging its circulation.

The first fascicle primarily describes the forty practices (forty methods) pertaining to the Bodhisattva precept stages. These include the Ten Initial Aspirations (shi faqu xin 十發趣心), Ten Nurturing Minds (shi changyang xin 十長養心), and Ten Adamantine Minds (shi jingang xin 十金剛心), comprising thirty minds in total, as well as the Ten Grounds (Pusa shidi 菩薩十地), culminating in the stage of equality of fundamental nature (tixing pingdeng di 體性平等地). The second fascicle enumerates the specific precepts that Mahāyāna Bodhisattvas should observe: the Ten Major Precepts (shi zhong jie 十重戒) and the Forty-eight Minor Precepts (sishiba qingjie 四十八輕戒). The Ten Major Precepts include killing (sha 殺), stealing (dao 盜), sexual misconduct (yin 婬), false speech (wangyu 妄語), using intoxicants (gujiu 酤酒), criticising the Four Assemblies (shuo sizhong guo 說四眾過), self-praise and blaming others (zizan huita 自贊毀他), miserliness and misuse of property (qianxi caifa 慳惜財法), anger without repentance (chen bu shou hui 瞋不受悔), and slandering the Three Jewels (huibang sanbao 毀謗三寶). In China, special importance has traditionally been placed on reciting and studying the second fascicle that explains the Bodhisattva precepts. This section is commonly known as the "Brahma-Net Bodhisattva Precepts" (Fanwang Pusa jieben 梵網菩薩戒本) or the "Brahma-Net Bodhisattva Sutra" (Fanwang Pusa jiejing 梵網菩薩戒經).

All extant versions of this sutra are attributed to a translation by Kumārajīva. However, the book catalogue Chu sanzang jiji 出三藏記集 does not record this scripture. In the Zhongjing mulu 眾經目錄, the Fanwangjing is listed under the category "Various vinaya texts of doubtful authenticity" (Zhonglü yihuo 眾律疑惑). This indicates that even before the Tang period 唐 (618-907), the book was already classified as apocryphal. Moreover, the preface of the version in the Korean Tripitaka (Liben xu 麗本序) states that the Sanskrit original of this sutra comprised 112 fascicles (or 120), a claim that likewise appears questionable. According to modern scholarly research, the doctrinal framework of the first fascicle derives from the system of the Five Patiences and Forty-one Stages (Wu ren sishiyi wei 五忍四十一位) taught in the Renwang bore jing 仁王般若經 (T0245). The second fascicle of the Fanwangjing synthesises materials from several earlier texts, such as the Pusa dichi jing 菩薩地持經 (Bodhisattva-bhūmi-sūtra), the Youposai jiejing 優婆塞戒經 (Upāsakā-śīla-sūtra), and the Pusa shanjie jing 菩薩善戒經 (Bodhisattva-śīla-sūtra).

At the same time, the Minor Precepts appear to be directed at the monastic administration system established during the Northern Wei 北魏 (386-534) in which a saṅgha overseer (sengtong 僧統) was appointed, and monks and nuns were officially registered, reflecting a particular political stance taken by rulers toward the Buddhist order. Such institutions did not originally exist in India. Accordingly, some scholars have argued that this sutra is not a translation from an Indian Sanskrit original, but rather a work compiled by Chinese monks.

Early manuscript copies discovered at Dunhuang 敦煌 include an ancient version with a postscript dating from the early Southern Qi period 南齊 (479-502), suggesting that the text may already have been in circulation by the late 5th cent. From the Tang period onward, the sutra came to be highly valued as a Mahāyāna vinaya text. It eventually became the most authoritative scripture for the transmission of the Mahāyāna precepts in Chinese Buddhism and was accepted across all major Mahāyāna schools.

The Japanese monk Saichō 最澄 (767-822) regarded this scripture as representing the precepts of the perfect and sudden (yuandun 圓頓) Bodhisattva path, while treating Yogācāra (Ch. yujia 瑜伽) and related precepts as provisional (quan 權) Mahāyāna precepts, thereby emphasising the fundamental distinction between the two systems. Since the spread of this interpretation, the sutra has received even greater attention and reverence within traditions such as the Tiantai 天台宗 and Pure Land 淨土宗 schools.

Major commentaries that explain the entire sutra include: the Fanwangjing guji ji 梵網經古跡記 and Fanwangjing Pusa jieben zongyao 梵網經菩薩戒本宗要 by Taehyeon 太賢 of the Korean state of Silla 新羅, Zhixu's 智旭 Fanwangjing xuanyi 梵網經玄義 and Fanwangjing hezhu 梵網經合注, Jiguang's 寂光 Fanwangjing zhijie 梵網經直解 and Deyu's 德玉 Fanwangjing shunzhu 梵網經順硃. Major works that annotate only the second fascicle include Fanwang Pusa jiejing yishu 梵網菩薩戒經義疏, expounded by Zhiyi 智顗 (538-597) and recorded by Guanding 灌頂, Fazang's 法藏 Fanwangjing Pusa jieben shu 梵網經菩薩戒本疏, Mingkuang's 明曠 Fanwang Pusa jiejing shu shanbu 梵網菩薩戒經疏刪補, Shengzhuang's 勝莊 Fanwangjing Jieben shuji 梵網經戒本述記, Huiyin's 慧因 Fanwangjing Pusa jie zhu 梵網經菩薩戒注, Hongzan's 弘贊 Fanwangjing Pusa jie lüeshu 梵網經菩薩戒略疏 and Shuyu's 書玉 Fanwangjing Pusa jie chujin 梵網經菩薩戒初津.