The is a definitive edition of the Chinese Buddhist canon and its Japanese commentaries used by scholars in the 20th century. The name is abbreviated as "" in Japanese ().
Development The Taishō Tripiṭaka project was initiated by the Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies at Tokyo Imperial University. It was edited by Takakusu Junjiro, Watanabe Kaigyoku, and others. More than 300 people contributed to the compilation.
The editors were educated in both Japan and Europe and their goals included modernization and meeting European academic standards, in addition to creation of a resource for Buddhist practitioners. The project adopted several innovations of previous Japanese editions of the Buddhist canon, including punctuation, indexing, and collation. The texts were collated and verified against other versions of the canon, building on the work of the Reduced Print Edition, published from 1880 to 1885. It used a sequential numerical numbering scheme for texts, as did the Manji Edition, in contrast to the Thousand Character Classic indexing approach used by previous Chinese and Korean versions of the canon. The Taishō Tripiṭaka uses footnotes to indicate the origin of the texts. While most texts are from the Tripitaka Koreana, the Taishō Tripiṭaka uses a different ordering based on a combination of historical development and textual classification, abandoning the Chinese and Korean tradition of placing Mahāyāna scriptures first.
The Taishō Tripiṭaka includes an expanded number of Esoteric texts in comparison to the Tripitaka Koreana. These texts were sourced from manuscripts in Japanese temples. Several texts from Dunhuang manuscripts, found in archeological expeditions, were included. In addition, drawings and Japanese Buddhist literature is included in the Taishō Tripiṭaka.
Contents Volumes 1–85 are the literature, in which volumes 56–84 are Japanese Buddhist literature, written in Classical Chinese. Volumes 86–97 are Buddhism related drawings, includes drawings of many Buddhas and bodhisattvas. Volumes 98–100 are texts of different indexes of Buddhist texts known in Japan ca. 1930. The 100 volumes of literature contains 5,320 individual texts, classified as follows.
Volume Order Name Chinese(Pinyin) Japanese Sanskrit Description T01–021–151Āhán bùAgon-buĀgamaĀgama Section T03–04152–219Běnyuán bùHon'en-buJātakaBirth Stories T05–08220–261Bōrě bùHannya-buPrajñapāramitāPerfection of Wisdom T09a262–277Fǎhuá bùHokke-buSaddharma PuṇḍarīkaThe Lotus Sūtra T09b–10278–309Huáyán bùKegon-buAvataṃsakaFlower Garland T11–12a310–373Bǎojī bùHōshaku-buRatnakūṭaJewel Peak T12b374–396Nièpán bùNehan-buNirvāṇaThe Parinirvāṇa T13397–424Dàjí bùDaishū-buMahāsannipātaThe Great Collection T14–17425–847Jīngjí bùKyōshū-buSūtrasannipātaCollected Sūtras T18–21848–1420Mìjiào bùMikkyō-buTantraEsoteric Teachings T22–241421–1504Lǜ bùRitsu-buVinayaMonastic Discipline T25–26a1505–1535Shìjīnglùn bùShakukyōron-buSūtravyākaraṇaSūtra Explanations T26b–291536–1563Pítán bùBidon-buAbhidharmaSystematic Analyses T30a1564–1578Zhōngguān bùlèiChūgan-buruiMādhyamakaMādhyamaka Texts T30b–311579–1627Yújiā bùlèiYuga-buruiYogācāraYogācāra TextsT321628–1692Lùnjí bùRonshū-buŚāstraTreatises T33–391693–1803Jīngshū bùKyōsho-buSūtravibhāṣaSūtra Clarifications T40a1804–1815Lǜshū bùRissho-buVinayavibhāṣaVinaya Clarifications T40b–44a1816–1850Lùnshū bùRonsho-buŚāstravibhāṣaŚāstra Clarifications (sub-commentaries) T44b–481851–2025Zhūzōng bùShoshū-buSarvasamayaSectarian Teachings (Nichiren etc.) T49–522026–2120Shǐchuán bùShiden-buHistories T53–54a2121–2136Shìhuì bùJii-bu Cyclopedia T54b2137–2144Wàijiào bùGekyō-buNon-Buddhist Texts (Hinduism, Taoism, Manichaeism, Nestorianism, etc.) T552145–2184Mùlù bùMokuroku-buCatalogues T56–832185–2700Xùjīngshū bùZokukyōsho-buAdditional Sūtra Clarifications (influential Japanese sub-commentaries) T84 2701–2731Xītán bùShittan-buSiddhaṃSiddhaṃ Script (esoteric script imported to Japan by Kūkai) T85a2732–2864Gǔyì bùKoitsu-buAncient T85b2865–2920Yísì bùGiji-buDoubtful T86–97Túxiàng bùZuzō-buIllustrations (exegesis of standard Buddhist imagery, with inserts) T98–100Zhāohé fǎbǎozǒngmùlùShōwa HōbōSōmokurokuShōwa Treasures of the Faith (catalogs of scripture collections and canon editions)
Digitalization The SAT Daizōkyō Text Database edition contains volumes 1–85. The Chinese Buddhist Electronic Text Association (CBETA) edition contains volumes 1–55 and 85. The Fomei edition () contains texts in Classical Chinese other than Nichiren Buddhism.世界第一部漢文電子大藏經《佛梅電子大藏經》珍藏版
Volumes 56–84, although they were written in Classical Chinese, were composed by Japanese Buddhist scholars.
Notes
Bibliography Matsumoto, T. (1934), ""Taishō Shinshū Daizōkyō" oder kurz "Taishō Issaikyō"", Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft 88 (n.F. 13), No. 2, 194-199
External links
The SAT Daizōkyō Text Database at the University of Tokyo Chinese Buddhist Electronic Text Association (CBETA) NTI Buddhist Text Reader
Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai Japan provides some English translations (pdf) from the BDK English Tripitaka series. Bibliography of Translations from the Chinese Buddhist Canon into Western Languages Chinese-English Tripitaka with All Titles and Known Translations in English