The History of Buddhist Thought c25.62

c25.62

The introductory verses of the *Daśabhūmika* end with the words, “let those desirous of enlightenment hear the *Daśabhūmika* uttered, which has been proclaimed as the pure middle course that avoids (the extremes of) annihilation and permanence.” These verses may be later than the sūtra itself, but evidently we have here an instance of the popular teaching going on at the side of the philosophical. The *Suvarṇaprabhāsa-sūtra* is a still more striking instance of the popular aspect. It contains the same four introductory verses as the *Daśabhūmika*, but with its own name substituted. This makes the line unmetrical, and implies that here at least there is an addition. The popularity of this sūtra is shown by the frequency with which it was translated into Chinese, Tibetan, and other languages, and these translations, with their changes and additions, allow us to see the growth of doctrine as well. According to the editor, Mr. Idzumi, it was first translated into Chinese about A.D. 412–426. This translation, like the Sanskrit itself, contains no explicit reference to the three bodies of a Buddha. In later versions a special chapter on the subject is inserted, and the rise of the doctrine can be certainly placed between the second and fifth centuries A.D.