“Transference of Merits” on the Basis of the Profound Merit-Transference S?tra Told by the Buddha

• Main Authors: Yang, Ya Wen, 楊雅雯
• Other Authors: Shih, Yung Dong
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/35382752346898400597

碩士 === 佛光大學 === 佛教學系 === 97 === Abstract Transference of merits is considered an important religious practice in Chinese Buddhism. Over the time and place, the practice has diversely changed, especially for its “objects” to transfer merits to. During the Southern dynasties, there was a Buddhist text , the Profound Merit-Transference S?tra Told by the Buddha (《佛說甚深大迴向經》), catalogued by Seng You(僧祐) in the You Lu (《祐錄》) with no translator. According to the textual contents, the Buddha taught the practice of “profound transference” by cultivating the ten wholesome deeds, and with the merits gained from the cultivation to do profound transference of merits. This is much relevant to the “pure threefold circle” in the Vajracchedik?-pr?jn?p?ramit?-s?tra (《金剛經》), that is, no practitioner, no object and no way of such transference. Therefore, it is also called the “dharmat?” – transference of merits. Besides this Profound Merit-Transference S?tra Told by the Buddha (《佛說甚深大迴向經》), there are many Chinese Buddhist texts introducing different “kinds” of transference of merits, such as transferring for the advantageous rewards in the present life, or supreme goals in the future life by the practitioners and so on. The diversity of the types of transference of merits classifies the varieties of Buddhist texts prior to the Profound Merit-Transference S?tra Told by the Buddha (《佛說甚深大迴向經》), into supermundane or mundane kinds of Buddhist canonical texts. With such analysis, due to the profound teachings taught by the Buddha found within, the Profound Merit-Transference S?tra Told by the Buddha (《佛說甚深大迴向經》) is classified as the supermundane Buddhist text. This paper focuses on the detailed analysis of such types of merit transferences and insight of the Profound Merit-Transference S?tra Told by the Buddha (《佛說甚深大迴向經》).