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The DOI matches its Crossref record, with a small difference in title or year; 6 of the 6 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; none of the 13 sources its claims cite is checked for support yet.

Ten Virtues of Loudly Invoking the Name of Amitābha: Stein Tibetan 724 and an Aspect of Chinese Nianfo Practice in Tibetan Dunhuang

Open access
Silk, Jonathan A.·2021·Journal of the American Oriental Society
DOI 10.7817/jameroriesoci.137.3.0473
Open this paper in CoChat — free accountOpen PDF

Abstract

Stein Tibetan 724 was earlier identified as a list of virtues of the Buddha Amitābha. A new reading of the document and identification of its Chinese source allow its re-identification instead as a list of the virtues of invoking the Buddha Amitābha in a loud voice. The article offers a corrected transcription of the manuscript, presents and examines possible sources, and suggests the most plausible proximate original for the Tibetan translation, briefly exploring the practice of loud invocation as a Buddhist practice in medieval Dunhuang.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

This article re-edits a short Dunhuang Tibetan manuscript, IOL Tib J 724, and argues it is not a list of Amitābha’s qualities but a Tibetan rendering of a Chinese list of ten advantages of loudly calling Amitābha’s name. It identifies the likely Chinese source as a commentary on the Smaller Sukhāvatīvyūha, the Amituojing tongzan shu, and situates the practice in medieval Dunhuang.

Key findings

  • The manuscript, one folio side measuring 37 × 6.5 cm (shelfmark IOL Tib J 724, folio ka 78), was previously misread as ten qualities of Amitābha; the Tibetan phrase *a mye ta pur* transcribes Chinese 阿彌陀佛, so the heading concerns recitation of Amita Buddha.
  • The Tibetan list matches a Chinese ten-item list in the Amituojing tongzan shu (T. 1758 [XXXVII] 341c13–16), a commentary on the Smaller Sukhāvatīvyūha wrongly attributed to Kuiji; the ten items include casting off sleep, terrifying Māra, voice reaching everywhere, pacifying evil-realm suffering, blocking external sounds, mental stability, energetic practice, pleasing buddhas, manifesting samādhi, and rebirth in a pure buddha-field.
  • Other candidates—Fazhao’s Gaosheng nianfo zan, the Nantianzhuguo Putidamo chanshi guanmen, and later texts citing a Yebao chabie jing—contain similar lists but differ in order, wording, or date, making the Amituojing tongzan shu the best immediate source candidate.
  • The manuscript may date to the Tibetan occupation of Dunhuang (roughly 780–850) or later (10th–11th century); the last line contains an unrelated zodiac list in a different hand.

Methods

  • Philological re-edition and translation of Stein Tibetan 724/IOL Tib J 724 using color photographs from IDP, correcting earlier transcription errors.
  • Comparison of the Tibetan text with Chinese canonical and Dunhuang sources, especially the Amituojing tongzan shu, with side-by-side alignment and proposed corrections to Tibetan readings.
  • Survey of related Chinese lists of loud nianfo benefits and their Dunhuang manuscript contexts to assess possible sources and broader practice.

Limitations

  • The paper states that whether the Amituojing tongzan shu was the direct source or an undiscovered intermediary existed is unknown.
  • It states that why the list was extracted from its Chinese context and translated into Tibetan remains unknown, and that saying it played some role in Dunhuang practice is not very informative.
  • The paper notes no basis for assuming an exclusively Pure Land association; dating is also uncertain, and the attribution of the Chinese commentary to Kuiji is rejected by earlier scholarship.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.7817/jameroriesoci.137.3.0473

Cites

6 of 6 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

0 of 13 cited sources checked · 0 supported · 0 flagged

  • Findingcitation

    A Tibetan-script transcription of the Chinese Nantianzhuguo Putidamo chanshi guanmen also exists.

    “However, what is most interesting about this text is not only that it is found in Dunhuang in Chinese, but that the Chinese text is also found in Tibetan transcription, highlighting its presence in a community which, while adhering to Chinese forms of Buddhism, nevertheless felt more comfortable in Tibetan script than in Chinese.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 3 sources checked
    • cites Pelliot tibétain 1228

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

    • cites IOL Tib J 1772

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

    • cites Takata 1988

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Findingreasoning

    Tibetan a mye ta pur is a transcription of the Chinese exclamation 阿彌陀佛.

    “This string of sounds, meaningless in Tibetan, is nothing other than a transcription of 阿彌陀佛, Modern Standard Chinese a mi tuo fo.”
    • Also stated in: § 4. T. 1758 [XXXVII] 341c13-16. · plain
      “Tibetan a mye ta pur must be understood as a transcription of the Chinese exclamation”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites Silk 1993

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

    • cites Laufer 1916 source
  • Findingown data

    The Yebao chabie jing (T.80) lacks any treatment of Buddha-name recitation or Buddha-mindfulness.

    “However, recitation of the Buddha's name, or mindfulness of the Buddha, is not included in the text, at least as we have it now.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
  • Findingcitation

    Certain works, none known to predate the Song, attribute the list to the Yebao chabie jing.

    “Some texts-but none that can be dated before the Song dynasty, so far as is known (according to Kaneko)-contain a passage attributing the list to a sūtra, as follows:”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Kaneko

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Premisecitation

    Stein Tibetan 724 was previously identified as a list of virtues of the Buddha Amitābha.

    “Stein Tibetan 724 was earlier identified as a list of virtues of the Buddha Amitābha.”
    • Also stated in: § Abstract · hedged
      “In 1993, as an appendix to a paper on a Tibetan poem in praise of the Buddha Amitābha found in Dunhuang, I presented the text of a very short manuscript, a single folio side, on which-I thought-were recorded ten qualities or 'virtues' of the Buddha Amitābha.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Silk 1993

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • It may state two separate claims as one. 8
  • Probably not a substantial claim. 6

  • It may state two separate claims as one.

    Findingown data

    A copy of the Amituojing tongzan shu, though incomplete, has been found at Dunhuang, showing the text circulated there.

    “Whoever the author may have been, the Amituojing tongzan shu was certainly known in Dunhuang, with at least one, albeit fragmentary, manuscript from the site identified (kept in St. Petersburg, Д × 00684).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim.

    Findingown data

    The correspondence between the Tibetan text and the Chinese list in the Amituojing tongzan shu is very clear.

    “The correspondence between the Tibetan text-I would now say, the translation-and the Chinese-I would now say, the original-is very clear.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • It may state two separate claims as one.

    Findingcitation

    Several other works, including two Tang-era ones, contain the same ten-item list, and copies of those works have survived at Dunhuang.

    “For, the same list is found in a number of texts, two of which date from the Tang period, and manuscripts of these texts have also been recovered from Dunhuang; therefore they are known to have been available in the time and place in which our Tibetan text was written.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Kaneko 1976

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Probably not a substantial claim. The paper may give no reason why it holds.

    Findingnone given

    The syllable phur is Chinese, not Tibetan.

    “This is based on the wrong assumption that the syllable phur is Tibetan, when it is in fact rather Chinese (see below).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim.

    Findingown data

    The previous edition of the text was full of mistakes.

    “Now that clear color photographs are available on the IDP website (http://idp.bl.uk/database/oo_scroll_h.a4d?uid=690601914;recnum= 5576;index=4), I have re-edited the text, the earlier transcript of which contained many errors.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. It may state two separate claims as one.

    Findingown data

    The last line after the main text contains zodiac material, written in another hand with smaller letters and lighter ink.

    “The text transcribed here is followed on the last line by material I believe to be entirely unrelated, namely a zodiac.Already read by La Vallée Poussin, it appears to be in a different hand, the letters are smaller, and the ink also appears somewhat lighter in color:”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.

    Premisecitation

    Calling Amitābha's name in a loud voice became widespread in Chinese and Japanese Buddhist traditions.

    “The practice of loudly proclaiming Amitābha Buddha's name goes on to have wide currency in Chinese and Japanese Buddhism, as discussed by several scholars.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites Kaneko 1976

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

    • cites Nagai 1990

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • It may state two separate claims as one.

    Interpretationown data

    The Tibetan text is a translation of the Chinese list, and the Chinese list is the original.

    “The correspondence between the Tibetan text-I would now say, the translation-and the Chinese-I would now say, the original-is very clear.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • It may state two separate claims as one.

    Interpretationown data

    The Praise of Loudly Reciting the Buddha's Name ascribed to Fazhao includes the ten items, yet it probably did not serve as the Tibetan text's source.

    “both the presence of the rest of the poem and the significant difference in the tenth item make this poem an unlikely source for our Tibetan version.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • It may state two separate claims as one.

    Interpretationown data

    The Nantianzhuguo Putidamo chanshi guanmen has a list whose order and wording differ, which counts against it being the Tibetan text's direct source.

    “Here we see that the order of the items is quite different from that in our text (using the numbers of our text, we could say that here the items run 5, 6, 1, 7, 8, 2, 3, 4, 9, 10), and the wording here and there is significantly different as well, both arguing against a direct identification of this as the source of the Tibetan version.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • It may state two separate claims as one.

    Interpretationreasoning

    The listed benefits become intelligible if the practice is loud: it can rouse sleepers, frighten Māra, overpower other sounds, and so forth.

    “In this light, the virtues arising from this practice begin to make sense: a loud voice will wake the sleeping, terrify Māra, drown out other voices, and so on.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.

    Interpretationown data

    The zodiac material is unrelated to the main text.

    “The text transcribed here is followed on the last line by material I believe to be entirely unrelated, namely a zodiac.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • It may state two separate claims as one.

    Interpretationreasoning

    The manuscript could belong to the Tibetan occupation of Dunhuang (about 780-850) or to a later period, perhaps the tenth or eleventh century.

    “This fact in turn suggests that the manuscript may date to the time of the Tibetan occupation of Dunhuang, the period of roughly 780-850, although it might also be somewhat later, even as late as the tenth or eleventh century, since Tibetan continued to be used in Dunhuang through this period.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
13 of 13

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The Amituojing tongzan shu existed before the Tibetan manuscript IOL Tib J 724 was produced.

    “The source of this list is, I suggest, found in a work attributed (wrongly) to the Tang dynasty scholar Kuiji 窺基 (632-682), a commentary on the Smaller Sukhāvatīvyūha sūtra (Amituo jing 阿彌陀經), the Amituojing tongzan shu 阿彌陀經通賛疏.”
    “Whoever the author may have been, the Amituojing tongzan shu was certainly known in Dunhuang, with at least one, albeit fragmentary, manuscript from the site identified (kept in St. Petersburg, Д × 00684).”
1 of 1

Citations

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 5

  1. Dotson, Brandon, and Agnieszka Helman-Wazny. 2016. Codicology, Paleography, and Orthography of Early Tibetan Documents: Methods and a Case Study. Wiener Studien zur Tibetologie und Bud- dhismuskunde, vol. 89. Vienna: Association for Tibetan and Buddhist Studies, Univ. of Vienna.
  2. Gómez, Luis O[scar]. 1996. Land of Bliss: The Paradise of the Buddha of Measureless Light. Sanskrit and Chinese Versions of the Sukhāvatīvyūha. Honolulu: Univ. of Hawaii Press.
  3. Jones, Charles B. 2001. Toward a Typology of Nien-fo: A Study in Methods of Buddha-Invocation in Chinese Pure Land Buddhism. Pacific World: Journal of the Institute of Buddhist Studies, 3rd ser. 3: 219-39.
  4. Tanaka Ryōshō 田中良昭. 1965. Nantenjikukoku Bodaidatsuma zenshi kanmen to Shugyō saijō Daijōhō (modoki): Tonkō shutsudo Sutain-bon 6958-go ni miru Zen, Jō, Mitsu no kōshō 『南天 竺國菩提達摩禪師觀門』と『修行最上大乘法』(擬)：敦煌出土スタイン本六九五八號にみ る禪•淨•密の交涉. Komazawa Daigaku Bukkyōgakubu kenkyū kiyō 駒澤大學佛教學部研究紀要 23: 126-42. . 1980. Nenbutsuzen to kōki hokushūzen 念仏禅と後期北宗禅. In Kōza Tonkō 8: Tonkō butten to Zen 講座敦煌 8: 敦煌仏典と禅, ed. Shinohara Hisao 篠原壽雄 and Tanaka Ryōshō. Pp. 221-42. Tokyo: Daitō shuppansha. . 1983. Tonkō Zenshū bunken no kenkyū 敦煌禅宗文献の研究. Tokyo: Daitō shuppansha.
  5. Tōyō Bunko Chibetto Kenkyū Iinkai 東洋文庫チベット研究委員会, ed. 1984. Sutain Shūshū Chi- bettogo bunken kaidai mokuroku スタイン蒐集チベット語文獻解題目録. Vol. 8. Tokyo: Tōyō bunko.

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Metadata

Authors
Silk, J. A.
Affiliations
Leiden University (NL)
Corresponding author
Silk, Jonathan A.
ORCID
Silk, Jonathan A.
Venue
Journal of the American Oriental Society
Publisher
American Oriental Society
Published
2021-12-16
Volume
137
Issue
3
ISSN
  • 0003-0279 (ISSN-L)
  • 2169-2289
DOI
10.7817/jameroriesoci.137.3.0473
OpenAlex
W2774085696
Cited by
0
References
4
FWCI
0.00
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of the American Oriental Society (publishedVersion)
  • Leiden Repository (Leiden University) (submittedVersion)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Religious studies › Indian and Buddhist Studies
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History › Chinese history and philosophy
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History › Eurasian Exchange Networks
Keywords
Amitabha, virtue, Dunhuang manuscripts, Tibetan translation, transcription, Buddhist practice, Pure Land Buddhism

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