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窺基

Pronunciations

Basic Meaning: Kuiji

Senses:

  • (632–682) Usually referred to in Japanese scholarship simply as Ji 基 (See He, 2020). Also referred to as the Master Ci'en 慈恩大師, and Great Vehicle Ji 大乘基. A Chinese monk, a specialist in Yogâcāra 瑜伽行派, later identified as the founder of the 'Dharma-character school'  法相宗 (although he himself never identified a tradition by that name). A native of Chang'an, but of East Chinese ancestry. Entered the saṃgha at age 17 under the tutelage of Xuanzang 玄奘 at Hongfu Temple 弘福寺. At the age of 23 he was selected to serve at Daci'en Temple 大慈恩寺 and from the age of 25 began to work at Xuanzangʼs translation center, where he was to begin his deep relationship with the Cheng weishi lun 成唯識論. Xuanzang had first selected Kuiji to work together with Shenfang 神防, Jiashang 嘉尙, and Puguang 普光 assisting him in the translation and annotation of Vasubandhuʼs 世親 Triṃsikā-vijñapti-mātra śāstra 唯識三十論頌 and its Indian commentaries, but Kuiji ended up being his main collaborator in this project, the end result of which would end up being known as the Cheng weishi lun 成唯識論. While the precise extent of Kuijiʼs work with and influence on this project is subject to debate, it is clear that Kuiji saw himself as the authentic transmitter of Yogâcāra as understood by Xuanzang. Kuiji would go on to do further important commentarial work on this text, most notably the Chengweishilun shuji 成唯識論述記 and the Chengweishilun zhangzhong shuyao 成唯識論掌中樞要, in both of which he sharply criticized the interpretation of Yogâcāra promulgated by the Paramârthan 眞諦 transmission, favoring the new translations of the Yogâcāra texts done under the auspices of Xuanzang. Kuiji, who is considered by tradition to be the first patriarch of the Weishi (or Faxiang) school, wrote many other commentaries beyond the two mentioned above. His works on Yogâcāra included commentaries on:

    He also composed commentaries on works not directly related to Yogâcāra, including:

    and on Buddhist logic (Yinming ru zhengli lun shu 因明入正理論疏, T 1840).

    References:

    He, Huanhuan. 2020. “Whence Came the Name "Kuiji" Instead of Just "Ji"?”The Eastern Buddhist. New series 48 (2): 51–67.

    Li, Rongxi. 1995. A Biography of the Tripiṭaka Master of the Great Ci'en Monastery of the Great Tang Dynasty by Huili and Shi Yancong. Berkeley, California:  Numata Center. vol. 77 BDK English Tripiṭaka.

    Lusthaus, Dan. 2003. “Some Comparative Comments on the Heart Sutra Commentaries of Wŏnch'uk and K’uei-chi.” International Journal of Buddhist Thought and Culture 3 : 59–103.

    Weinstein, Stanley. 1959. “A Biographical Study of Tz'e-en.” Monumenta Nipponica 15 : 119–149.

    [Charles Muller; source(s): Ui, JEBD]
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    [Dictionary References]

    Bukkyō jiten (Ui) 168

    Bulgyo sajeon 91a

    Japanese-English Buddhist Dictionary (Daitō shuppansha) 174a/192

    Fo Guang Dictionary 6276

    Ding Fubao

    Index to the Bussho kaisetsu daijiten (Ono) 142

    Bukkyō daijiten (Mochizuki) (v.1-6)500c,1521b,1727a,3952a,4626b

    Bukkyō daijiten (Oda) 237-1

    Copyright provisions

    The rights to textual segments (nodes) of the DDB are owned by the author indicated in the brackets next to each segment. For rights regarding the compilation as a whole, please contact Charles Muller. Please do not reproduce without permission. And please do not copy into Wikipedia without proper citation!

    Entry created: 1993-09-01

    Updated: 2024-04-02