A Study of Chinese Commentaries on the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment

Abstract

The Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment, also known as Yuanjuejing 圓覺經 or, in full, Dafang guangyuanjue xiuduoluo liaoyijing 大方廣圓覺修多羅了義經, is a mindfulness meditation sutra with a particularly high reputation that has been the subject of a great deal of annotations and commentaries throughout the history of East Asian Buddhism. However, hitherto, the literature has not systematically organized and studied these annotations and commentaries. The aim of this paper is to organize the Chinese commentaries on this sutra from the 8th to the 17th centuries systematically and tointroduce the different situations by the commentaries produced by different schools of Buddhism. Briefly, these works mainly include the commentaries by Weique 惟愨, Wushi 悟實, Jianzhi 堅志, Daoquan 道詮, and Tsung-mi 宗密 during the Tang Dynasty (618–907); the commentaries of the Huayan 華嚴宗, Tiantai 天臺宗, and Chan 禪宗 schools during the Song Dynasty (960–1279); and the literal interpretations and collected commentaries produced during the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368–1912).