Reopening the Maitreya-files – Two almost identical early Maitreya sūtra translations in the Chinese Canon: Wrong attributions and text-historical entanglements

Reopening the Maitreya-fi les
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As the Kaiyuan shijiao lu is an extremely well structured and 
meticulous catalogue, the same text appears under several head-
ings. We fi nd the Mile xiasheng jing 彌勒下生經 also in the section 
that lists the sūtra translations of which the translators are known, 
the texts extant, that belong to the ‘bodhisattva tripiṭaka catalogue’ 
and that are Mahāyāna scriptures translated more than once.
93
In 
the list be low, the texts II), III), and IV) are identifi ed as diff erent 
translations of the same text. Moreover, the catalogue explains that 
the text was translated six times in total, that these three are the 
only existing ver sions, and that all the others are lost.
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I) 
The 
Mile chengfo jing 彌勒成佛經 translated by Kumārajīva is said 
to be a diff erent sūtra from the three following ones. Further, it is 
also said to be the second of two translations, the fi rst translation 
being lost.
II) The Mile laishi jing 彌勒來時經 is said to be a translation by an 
anony mous translator, and the third translation of the sūtra in 
question.
III) The Mile xiasheng jing 彌勒下生經 is said to have also been called 
the sūtra on “Maitreya receiving the prophecy (vyākaraṇa)” (Mile 
shoujue jing 彌勒受決經). Its exposition starts with Śāriputra. The 
trans lation is attrib uted to Kumārajīva, and it is said to be the fourth 
translation of the Mile xiasheng jing.
IV) The Mile xiasheng chengfo jing 彌勒下生成佛經 translated by Yi-
jing 義淨 is said to be the sixth translation.
The Kaiyuan shijiao lu further lists those Mahāyana sūtras that 
have been translated more than once of which the translators are 
known but the texts lost.
95
Under this section we fi nd the seven teen 
pages long Mile chengfo jing 彌勒成佛經, also called Mile danglai 
xiasheng jing 彌勒當來下生經, which was translated by Dharma-
rakṣa. This text is mentioned as the fi rst (lost) translation of a Mai-
treya-text that was translated a total of two times. 
The catalogue further lists the lost translations of another Mai-
treya-text: (I) the fi rst anonymous translation called Mile danglai 
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Cf. T55, no. 2154, 595a8.
94
Cf. T55, no. 2154, 595b15–29.
95
Cf. T55, no. 2154, 626a5.

286
Elsa I. Legittimo
sheng jing 彌勒當來生經, (II) the second anonymous translation 
called Mile zuofo shishi jing 彌勒作佛時事經, and (III) the fi fth 
trans lation by Paramārtha / Zhendi 真諦 called Mile xiasheng jing 
彌勒下生經. These three translations are said to be the three lost 
trans lations of the sūtra that was translated a total of six times.
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Of great interest is the section of the Kaiyuan shijiao lu that lists 
those texts that were extracted from larger sūtras or collec tions.
97
The section has been divided into several subgroups. Under the 
sub category of texts belonging to the small vehicle, i.e. Āgama and 
Āgama-related texts,
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we fi nd the following informa tion:
The sūtra called Mile xiasheng jing 彌勒下生經 was extracted from 
scroll number forty-four. In this sūtra the Buddha is said to dwell 
in Śrāvastī (Shewei guo 舍衛國) and is asked by Ānanda to hold an 
expo sition. The text contains seven pages. It was extracted from the 
Chi nese Ekottarika-āgama (Zengyi ahan 増一阿含).
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Finally, one of the Kaiyuan shijiao lu’s most valuable sections is the 
‘Catalogue of what is contained in the Canon,’ the Ruzang lu (入
藏録) as it represents the detailed table of contents of the Bud dhist 
Canon of its time. Also in the Ruzang lu, data has been repeated 
as certain sections were re-entered in full length from elsewhere. 
The opening section of scroll nineteen deals with the sūtras, vinaya 
texts, and commentaries attributed to the great vehicle (dasheng 

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