略本《般若波羅蜜多心經》重探:漢譯、譯史及文本類型 (Reinvestigation into the Shorter Heart Sūtra: Chinese Translation, History, and Text Type)

95 Pages Posted: 21 Jun 2017

See all articles by Sai Yau Siu

Sai Yau Siu

School of Translation and Foreign Languages, The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong

Date Written: June 18, 2017

Abstract

Chinese Abstract: 本論文從新角度探討(1)略本《般若波羅蜜多心經》(Prajñāpāramitāhṛdaya,下文簡稱「心經」)中文翻譯歷史及(2)《心經》之文本性質特點。文中共有四大部分:

第一部分探討中古中國之《心經》翻譯活動,並特別深入研究玄奘(602-664)譯本之翻譯史。本部分提出《心經》梵本很可能於隋代(581-618)由東天竺傳至四川地區,並在初唐翻譯成漢文。此外,文中會考出宋代(960-1279)以前一直被誤作《心經》異譯之經本。

第二部分探究《心經》之文本類型。透過比對梵、漢經本,文中提出一項新觀點,即《心經》其實是一種「真言、陀羅尼混合文本」,屬般若系經典之其中一種重要文類,同時指出《心經》梵本是《二萬五千頌般若》(Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā)之輯要及重寫本子,內含不同大乘經典之常用梵文語句。

第三部分進一步解說前部提出之《心經》文本類型,特別研究經文題目中「hṛdaya」一詞,指出內藏「咒文」之意思,兼以《十一面心咒》(Ekādaśamukhahṛdaya)及《不空羂索心咒》(Amoghapāśahṛdaya)之梵、漢文本佐證。

基於前文之研究成果,第四部分嘗試解答過去數十年具有爭議之《心經》問題,包括:經文之本質、文辭結構、經本內容、翻譯歷史及文本流布等等。

English Abstract: This paper provides new insights into (1) the history of Chinese translation of the shorter Heart Sūtra, Prajñāpāramitāhṛdaya in Sanskrit, and (2) the textual features of the scripture. It consists of four main parts as follows:

The first part discusses the translation activity of the Heart Sūtra in medieval China, with a special focus on the translation project launched by Xuanzang (602-664). This part proposes that the Sanskrit scripture was possibly transmitted from East India to Sichuan in the Sui Dynasty (581-618) and translated from Sanskrit into Chinese in the early Tang Dynasty. It also explains that some of the so-called “translations” produced before the Song Dynasty (960-1279) have been mistaken.

The second part explores the text type of the shorter Heart Sūtra. With a Sanskrit-Chinese comparative study, it suggests a new idea that the Sūtra is indeed a “hybrid text of mantra and dhāraṇī”, which is one of the core text types of the Prajñāpāramitā literature. It then argues that the Sūtra, an abridged and rewritten version of Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā, involves the use of different common Sanskrit expressions found in Mahāyāna scriptures.

The third part further analyzes the text type of the Heart Sūtra proposed in the second part by examining the word “hṛdaya”, which carries the meaning of “magic spell”, in the title of the scripture, with reference to the original Sanskrit texts and Chinese renderings of Ekādaśamukhahṛdaya and Amoghapāśahṛdaya.

Based on the key findings of the previous parts, the fourth part addresses the controversial issues about the Heart Sūtra over the past decades, including its nature, textual structure, content, translation history, and dissemination.

Keywords: Heart Sūtra, Buddhist Scripture Translation, Translation Studies, Buddhist Literature, Mahāyāna Buddhism, History of Medieval China and Central Asia

Suggested Citation

Siu, Sai Yau, 略本《般若波羅蜜多心經》重探:漢譯、譯史及文本類型 (Reinvestigation into the Shorter Heart Sūtra: Chinese Translation, History, and Text Type) (June 18, 2017). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2988543 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2988543

Sai Yau Siu (Contact Author)

School of Translation and Foreign Languages, The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong ( email )

Hang Shin Link
Siu Lek Yuen
Shatin, Hong Kong
China

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