Zuochan sanmei jing

Zuochan sanmei jing (坐禪三昧經, T 614). "The Sutra on the Concentration of Sitting Meditation". A meditation manual compiled by Kumārajīva based largely on Indian sources. Some portions of the text have corresponding Indian originals, but there is no single text in any Indic language that corresponds to this manual in its entirety. Nor is there a known version in any other classical language. Kumārajīvaʼs Chinese version is the only full text of this manual available.

According to the BDK America editors:

The Sutra on the Concentration of Sitting Meditation summarizes the methods of spiritual training employed by a number of Indian practitioners. Before the introduction of this sūtra into China there had been some practice of Ch’an in China, but it had all been based upon Hīnayāna methods. This sūtra, on the other hand, describes Mahāyāna methods as well as Hīnayāna methods, and so clarifies the relationship between the two. This led to the development of the practice of mental concentration called chi-kuan in the Tiantai School and the birth of the Chinese schools of Chan. Thus one can say that this sūtra exerted considerable influence in later times.

According to Bhante Dhammadipa, although the text is called sūtra, "in fact it is a typical treatise on meditation, which may have been compiled and taught by the translator himself."

Translation

• Yamabe, Nobuyoshi; Sueki, Fumihiko (2009), The Sutra on the Concentration of Sitting Meditation, BDK America. Publisher's page (PDF available)

Further reading

• 坐禪三昧經, Digital Dictionary of Buddhism (to sign in, see DDB sign-in)
• Bhante Dhammadipa (2015), Kumārajīva's Meditataive Legacy in China, Spirituality Studies. PDF version