《華嚴經》四十卷本中的勇猛菩薩行──兼參八十卷本〈離世間品〉

The Vigorous Practice of the Bodhisattva in the Forty-Fascicle Huayan Jing with Reference to the Chapter on the “Other-worldly” in the Eighty- Fascicle Huayan Jing

This article analyzes the implication of the concept “vigor” 勇猛 and concludes that the term implies, brave, strong, perseverant, resolute and steadfast, fearless, endowed with great strength, nonretrogressing, dauntless, unconstrained ability, and zealous. After comparing the extant Sanskrit Gaṇḍavyūhasūtra found in Nepal and edited by Vaidya with the Chinese Huayan Jing of various translations, we conclude that:
1. The passages found in the Forty-Fascicle Huayan Jing containing the description of the inner and outer virtues of the Lord of Nectar show a combination of the Buddhist idea of the Wheel-turning Monarch and the Chinese idea of a benevolent emperor. These passages were not found in either the Sanskrit version or the other Chinese translations of the Huayan Jing. This indicates that the original Sanskrit version on which the Forty-Fascicle translated by Prajña is based is a different text from the extant Vaidya edition.
2. The terms “zealousness” 精進 and “vigor”勇猛 in the text were often used as a compound “valor-effort” 精進勇猛. The frequent use of this compound in the Huayan Jing suggests the translator took both Sanskrit and Chinese into consideration. The Sanskrit word “vīrya” (which means “vigor” 勇猛) literally means brevity, strength, and heroic deeds (which means “vigor” 勇猛). On the other hand, in the Chinese translation of Buddhist scriptures, the term “zealous” 精進 often signifies “exerting oneself zealously in cultivating wholesome qualities.” Thus, the compound “vigorzealousness” 勇猛精進 is used as a complete expression for demonstrating the highest vigorous mind in zealously learning and cultivating the Bodhisattva practice.