《維摩經》藏譯本周邊文獻考察

The Tibetan Version of the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa–An Investigation of its Related Literature

The Tibetan Version of the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa collected in the Tibetan Canon is, in addition to the existing three Chinese translations by Zhiqian, Kumārajīva, and Xuanzang, the only complete translation and was interpreted directly from a Sanskrit original. Owing to the fact that the syntax of Tibetan has a closer connection with Sanskrit than Chinese and that Buddhist literature usually was translated into Tibetan word by word, the Tibetan version has played a comparatively important role in academic studies. Since a Sanskrit manuscript was discovered and published in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century, many correlated studies conducted in the past need to be reexamined and their results rewritten. The study of the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa therefore proceeds in a key moment, at which when the already published research papers were examined, one would find that in most publications the Tibetan version was only referenced when its phrases or sentences were employed as evidences of certain arguments. Studies engaging in the investigation of the Tibetan version itself are seldom found. Utilizing resources of first-hand Tibetan literature as well as important second-hand research results, this paper discusses, in addition to the historical development of the Tibetan version of the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa and the developmental history of its modern research, the following important issues: fragments of the Dun-huang manuscripts and the translation of the Tibetan version, the title, the translator and the date, the chapters, other subtitles, influences, etc. Moreover, seven selected works were introduced and reviewed briefly. In the concluding remarks possible directions of future studies are recommended. Publications involving the Tibetan version of the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa are many. This paper focuses only on those of which the subject is the Tibetan version itself.