Philological study on the use of the Buddhism lecture manuscripts and development of Buddhist sutra literature focusing on Dunhuang manuscripts

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K23056
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: 0102:Literature, linguistics, and related fields
• Research Institution: Otani University
• Principal Investigator: Takai Ryu 大谷大学, 文学部, 助教 (80711308)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-08-30 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: 維摩詰所説経講経文 / 祇園因由記 / 敦煌文献 / 写本研究

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study clarified the practice of sutra lecture manuscripts and the development of literature in Buddhism rites through Dunhuang manuscripts. There are many original manuscripts of 9th and 10th century in Dunhuang manuscripts, however most of Chinese classical documents have been transmitted by books, which alienated modern researchers to study manuscripts itself.
There are four Qiyuan Yinyouji manuscripts. It was one of the famous Buddhism stories and the four manuscripts of it had a lot to do with Vimalakirti-nirdesa Sutra lectures. The contents of them are different each other. Through the study of those manuscripts, I found out that its content was rewritten resourcefully according to when they were used.
There are also sutra lecture manuscripts for Vimalakirti-nirdesa Sutra. By studying three of them, I found out how they were used for sutra lectures and the Buddhism rites from the writing process and each condition of those manuscripts.

Free Research Field

敦煌学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

中国では、宋代以降徐々に版本が浸透していくが、唐代はなお写本による文献の伝承が主とされた時代である。しかし、中国の古写本は残存数が極めて少ない。敦煌文献は、そのような中にあって極めて特異な資料群である。今回の研究課題として取り上げた4点の「祇園因由記」と3点の「維摩詰所説経講経文」は、いずれも当時の敦煌の仏教界において主要な仏教文献として利用された文献である。それらの写本としての特徴を解明することは、写本時代における中国の文献と知の伝承の理解にも資する成果であり、当時の仏教と文学の実態を新たな角度から明らかにした意義を持つ。