Sutra on the Eight Good Qualities of the Sea (Hai Ba De Jing) 海八德經

Translated by Kumārajīva in 1 scroll.

Colophon

海八德經 後秦 鳩摩羅什譯 共 1 卷 Sutra on the Eight Good Qualities of the Sea (Hai Ba De Jing); translated by Kumārajīva in the Later Qin in 1 scroll.

Notes

Relation to Pāli text and date 402-412 from Lancaster (2004, 'K 779')

English Translations

None

Summary

The Buddha, during a gathering by a river, declines to recite the precepts due to the presence of impure individuals. He then describes the ocean's eight virtues, using them as analogies to illustrate the virtues of his teachings. These virtues include the ocean's vastness, its adherence to tides, its containment of treasures while rejecting impurities, its acceptance of all rivers while maintaining constant volume, and the uniformity of its saltiness. The Buddha concludes by stating that his teachings possess similar virtues and will not recite the heavy precepts anymore from then on. (AI generated)

Primary Source

Kumārajīva, trans., 《海八德經》 'Hai Ba De Jing,' in Taishō shinshū Daizōkyō 《大正新脩大藏經》, in Takakusu Junjiro, ed., (Tokyo: Taishō Shinshū Daizōkyō Kankōkai, 1988), Vol. 1, No. 35, Accessed 2016-07-09, http://tripitaka.cbeta.org/T01n0035.

References

  1. Lancaster 2004, 'K 779'.
  2. Nanjio 1883, p. 161.

Collection vocabulary analysis