Important Knowledge in the Pure Land Teaching
淨土小常識
173 - Upholding Sutras and Amitabha Buddha’s Name ( continued 3/ 6)
There were three parallel translations of the Amitabha Sutra, of which two survive today:
(1) Versions Prior to Master Shandao
Master Shandao was a renowned monk of the early Tang dynasty. Before his time, in the Sui dynasty, Master Zhiyi’s Commentary on the Meaning of the Amitabha Sutra also uses the wording “hearing the Name spoken by these Buddhas,” not “hearing the names of the Buddhas.”
This shows that the earliest versions of the Amitabha Sutra used the wording “hearing the Name spoken by these Buddhas.” It was likely only after the Song and Ming dynasties that copying errors caused the text to become “hearing the names of the Buddhas.”
(to be continued tomorrow)
173 持經持佛 (續 3/ 6)
這可以試著從三方面的角度來作探討。
（一）善導大師以前的版本。善導大師是唐初有名的高僧，比他更早的隋 朝智者大師《阿彌陀經義記》所用的版本，也是「聞是諸佛所說名」，並非「聞諸佛名」。可知最早的《阿彌陀經》在這裡的經文是「聞是諸佛所說名」，並非「聞 諸佛名」；到了宋明之後，或許筆誤，而成為「聞諸佛名」。
Namo Amituofo!
