The Transmission of the Lamp: Early Masters.

·期刊原文
The Transmission of the Lamp: Early Masters.
Translate by Sohaku Ogata. Foreword by Paul F. Schmidt. Wolfeboro

Reviewed by Ding-hwa E. Hsieh
Philosophy East and West

Vol.44 No.1

Pp.180-183 Copyright by University of Hawaii Press

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P.180

In the abundant Ch'an literature of the Sung period
(960-1279)inchina, the Ching-tech'uan teng-lu (Recordof the
Transmission of the Lamp [Compiled during the] Ching-te
[Era]) (hereaftercited as CTL)is the oldest and historically
most influential of the "transmission of the lamp"
(teng-lu)texts. Compiled by Tao-yuan of the line of Fa-yen
WEN-1(885-958), the text was presented to Emperor Chen-tsung
of the Northern Sung in 1004, the first year of the Ching-te
era,and published under imperial partonage in 1011. Its thirt
fascicles narrate chronologically the lives and teachings of
the significant figures associated with Ch'an Buddhism, from
the legendary Buddhas and ancient patriarchs to the heirs of
the Fa-yen lineage in the tenth century--altogether 1,701
persons of about 52 generations. The CTL consists of about
1,700 "public cases" (kung-an),each containing the encounter
dialogues (chi-yuanwen-ta)between Ch'an masters and their
disciples. For the later "public cases" anthologies, the
sayings and doings of the eminent Ch'an masters recorded in
the CTL were the main sources.

P.181

Sohaku Ogata(1901-1973), about of Chotokuin, Shokokuji,
of Kyoto, had been engaged in the translation of Tao-yuan's
text,but he did not finish the whole task before his death.
The present translation, which was made from the Taisho
Tripitaka(1928), based on the Yuan edition of 1317, is
therefore of only the first ten tascicles, one-third of
Tao-yuan's text. Preceded by a translation of the preface
written by Yang I (974-1020),Ogata'sbookisdivided intoten
prts:

1. the seven ancient Buddhas and the early fourteen
patriarchs of India;
2. the late thirteen patriachs of India;
3. the patriarchs of China, from Bodhidharma, the
twenty-eighth patriarch of India, to Hung-jen(600-674)
, the fifth patriarch of China;
4. the enlightened masters of the Niu-t'ou School founded
by Fajung (594-657) and of the Northern School led by
Shen-hsiu (606?-706) ;
5. Ch'an masters of the Southern School, beginning with
the sixth patriarch Hui-neng (638-713)and ending with
Ho-tse Shen-hui (684-758) ;
6--10. Dharma heirs of Nan-yueh Huai-jang (677-744),from
Ma-tsu Tao-i (709-788) and his followers to the heirs
of Ma-tsu's disciples--Po-chang Huai-hai (749-814) and
Nan-ch'uan P'u-yuan (748-834), and so forth.

On the whole, Ogata's translation can hardly be
considered a grade contribution to scholarship. First of all,
he does not provide his readers with a detailed introduction
to the CTL and its author, Tao-yuan. Secondly, there are no
notes or scholarly apparatus which might indicate Ogata's own
critcal research on the text. thirdly, the accompanying
annotation to certain spec ifit Ch'an terms or expressions is
insufficient and hence further hinders the reader's
understanding or appreciation of this significant Ch'an text.
In addition, not only are there too many misprints and
mechanical errors, but also many words are mistranscribed by
Ogata. To mention just a few of them: Fa-yung of the Niu-t'ou
School (p.89) should be read as Fa-jung; Shen-hui of
Ho-che(p.184) should be Shen-hui of Ho-tse; Master Yu Chuan
of Shao(p.278) should be Ju-yuan of Shao(see T
2076.51.260c29) ; Ch'ien-wei of Ch'ien(p.322) should be
Ch'u-wei of Ch'ien (T 51.269a8); Mount Ch'un-nan should be
Mount Chung-nan; of(the Buddha) is misread as fu; hung(red)
is misread as kang; ta (big or great) is sometimes mistaken
as t'ai; chueh(enlightenment) is mispronounced as chiao; and
so forth.