BuddhistRoad Paper 2.2 "Tibetan Tantra and Chinese Esoteric Buddhism in the Melting Pot: A Study of a Chinese Recension of the Twenty-Eight Vajra Precepts"

This paper is devoted to an elucidation of the Chinese manuscript of the Jingang ershiba jie 金剛二十八戒 [Twenty-eight Vajra Precepts], which appear as part of a ritual manual located among the manuscripts from Dunhuang (敦煌) (P. 3861 (3)). This Tantric Buddhist text, in which the proper behaviour of a Tantric adept is set forth, was most likely transmitted via Tibetan Buddhism to the Chinese Buddhist community in Dunhuang in the course of the 9–10th centuries. The paper explores the history of the Twenty-eight Vajra Precepts as reflected in a number of Dunhuang manuscripts, and seeks to contextualise it as well as accounting for its usage in local Buddhist practice. A fully annotated translation accompanies the presentation.

Chinese Translation

本文致力于阐释《金刚二十八戒》的汉文写本, 该写本是敦煌文书中一部仪轨手册 (P. 3861 (3)) 的一部分. 这部密教文本规定了密宗修行者的行为举止, 很可能是在9–10世纪期间通过藏传佛教传播到了敦煌的汉传佛教界. 本文探讨了一些敦煌写本中所反映的《金刚二十八戒》的历史, 并试图分析其背景, 说明其在当地佛教实修中的使用情况. 本文完整译注了该写本.