The Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna - Daijō Kishinron

A Buddhist treatise. One volume. It is also called "Awakening of Faith" for short. It is said to be the work of the Indian Buddhist poet Ashvaghosha (2nd century), but it is probably written in the 5th or 6th century. There are two Chinese translations by Paramartha (Zhenji, Liang dynasty, China) and Sikshananda (Jishananda, Tang dynasty) (both are included in the 32nd volume of the "Taisho Shinshu Daizōkyō"); the Zhenji translation is generally used. Since ancient times, there have been many different theories about the author, translator, and circumstances of the work, and especially from the Taisho era to the early Showa era, there was a great academic debate about whether it was written in India or China. This is a famous work of Mahayana Buddhism that concisely discusses what Mahayana is from the theoretical and practical perspectives, from a spiritualist standpoint. It consists of five chapters: Chapter 1 "Cause and Effect" (the reason for writing the treatise), Chapter 2 "Foundation" (where the problem lies), Chapter 3 "Interpretation" (detailed theoretical explanation), Chapter 4 "Practice and Faith" (practice and faith), and Chapter 5 "Encouraging the cultivation of benefits" (encouraging the practice of the treatise and explaining the benefits). Although there is no evidence that the ideas in this book were adopted by Indian Buddhism, it had a great influence on Buddhist thought in China and Japan, and the number of commentaries that have been handed down to the present day reaches approximately 300.

[Kashiwagi Hiroo]

"A Study of the Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna" by Hiroo Kashiwagi (1981, Shunjusha) " "The Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna" translated by Hakuju Ui (Iwanami Bunko)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

仏教論書。一巻。略して『起信論』ともいう。インドの仏教詩人アシュバゴーシャ（馬鳴(めみょう)。2世紀）の作と伝えるが、おそらく5～6世紀の成立と考えられる。パラマールタ（真諦(しんだい)。中国梁(りょう)代）とシクシャーナンダ（実叉難陀(じっしゃなんだ)。唐代）による2種の漢訳が伝わっており（いずれも『大正新修大蔵経』第32巻所収）、一般には真諦訳が多く用いられる。本書の作者、訳者、成立事情などについては古来、異説が後を絶たず、とくに大正から昭和の初期にかけて、インド成立か中国成立かをめぐる学会の大論争があった。大乗とはなにかということを、理論と実践の両面から、唯心論の立場で簡潔に論述した大乗仏教の名著である。第1章「因縁分(いんねんぶん)」（論を著す理由）、第2章「立義(りゅうぎ)分」（問題の所在）、第3章「解釈(げしゃく)分」（詳細な理論的説明）、第4章「修行信心分」（実践と信心）、第5章「勧修利益(かんしゅうりやく)分」（本論の実習を勧めて利益を説く）の5章からなる。本書の思想がインド仏教において採用された形跡は見当たらないが、中国、日本の仏教思想に及ぼした影響は大きく、現在に伝えられた注釈文献の数は約300種に達する。

［柏木弘雄］

『柏木弘雄著『大乗起信論の研究』（1981・春秋社）』▽『宇井伯寿訳『大乗起信論』（岩波文庫）』

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例