Some notes on language in the Chinese Versions of the Saddharma Puṇḍdarīka Sūtra

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to compare versions of the Saddharma Puṇḍdarīka Sūtra in Chinese. The study found that the Saddharma Puṇḍdarīka Sūtra has been translated into many Chinese versions, three of which exist in the present: Dharmarakṣa’s,  Kumārajīva’s, and Jnanagupta & Dharmagupta’s version: this last being a supplemented version of Kumārajīva’s and therefore not a new translation. Among the Chinese versions mentioned above, Kumārajīva’s is the most popular. A comparison between Dharmarakṣa’s and Kumārajīva’s version reveals many differences, particularly in numeral usage, transliteration of proper names, use of religious terms, four-character phrases, continuous reduplication, precise description, use of colloquial sentences instead of archaic ones and descriptions of certain narratives. Kumārajīva’s version compiled in the Great Piṭaka of Emperor Qianlong, the Northern Piṭaka of Emperor Yongle, the Korean Great Piṭaka and the Taisho Great Piṭaka are slightly different. As for word usage, there are two main differences: use of the same word with different writing and use of different words with different meanings. As for the context of the sutra, it is found that certain verses of Chapter Twenty Three of The Former Deeds of Bodhisattva Medicine King in the Korean Great Piṭaka and the Taisho Great Piṭaka do not exist in Kumārajīva’s versions in the Great Piṭaka of Emperor Qianlong and the Northern Piṭaka of Emperor Yongle. It is assumed that these verses may have been later supplemented. The comparison between the Chinese versions of the Saddharma Puṇḍdarīka Sūtra not only contributes to the study of the sutra but also to the study of Chinese used in the Chinese version of the Saddharma Puṇḍdarīka Sūtra.