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영어

According to the Catalog of Translated Sutras(譯經錄) , there were generally six translations of the Lotus Sutra into Chinese, and among them three are now extant. The earliest translation is the Jeong beophwa gyeong(正法華經) by Dharmarakṣa , which played an important role in the wide dissemination of the doctrines of the Lotus Sutra. Next came the Myobeop yeonhwa gyeong(妙法蓮華經) translated by Kumārajīva, which contributed greatly to the development of the Lotus Sutra faith and associated doctrines. Thus it was known as the representative translation of the Lotus Sutra, and, in particular, it became an important foundation of the Tiantai school of Buddhism. By contrast, Cheompum myobeop yeonhwa gyeong(添品妙法蓮華經), the latest of the three translations made jointly by Jñānagupta and Dharmagupta , did not receive much attention because it was deemed to be merely a revised version of the two scriptures mentioned above. However, I propose that there are some reasons to reconsider this prevailing assessment of the Cheompum myobeop yeonhwa gyeong. In terms its organization, the Cheompum myobeop yeonhwa gyeong combines the “Devadatta pum” chapter with the “Gyeon botap pum(見寶塔品)”chapter as in the Lotus Sutra of the Correct Dharma, but unlike the two preceding versions, places the "Dhāraṇī" chapter below the “Yeorae sillyeok pum(如來神力品)” chapter so that dhāraṇī would be used together with the spiritual power of the Tathāgata to protect and preserve the sutra. Moreover, like the Lotus Sutra of the Correct Dharma, it places the “Chongnu pum(囑累品)” chapter at the end of the sutra to entrust the Buddha's teachings to the faithful and to encourage their dissemination. Thus, this version shows an effort to be more faithful to the general scriptural organization of the chapters into introductory, main doctrinal, and disseminative sections that have emerged through the two preceding translations. In terms of its content, the Cheompum myobeop yeonhwa gyeong has collated the two preceding translations and emended the lacunae in translation by consulting the original text in Sanskrit. In this process, the translators reinforced the key doctrines and supplemented or removed incongruous content, and thus it may be said that the Supplemented Lotus Sutra of the Wondrous Dharma is a more complete scriptural version. In light of these considerations, the significance of the Cheompum myobeop yeonhwa gyeong lies, firstly, in the fact that it has emended the translated text by consulting a Sanskrit original text that is no longer in existence, and provides clues for tracing the origins of the Sanskrit Lotus Sutra. Secondly, it is the result of collating and emending the two preceding translations, supplementing and removing content in an effort to arrive at the complete version of the Lotus Sutra. That it does not have any major textual differences with the Myobeop yeonhwa gyeong only serves to show that it secures the completeness of Kumārajīva's translation.

한국어

현전하는 세 본 법화경 중에서 가장 후기에 역출된 굴다(崛多)와 급다(笈多) 공역 『첨품묘법연화경(添品妙法蓮華經)』은 앞의 두 경전을 합하거나 『묘법연화경』과 크게 다르지 않다고 평가되어 크게 주목받지 못하였다. 이러한 『첨품묘법연화경』에 대한 기존의 인식은 재고의 여지가 있다고 여겨진다. 경설체제에서 보면, 『첨품묘법연화경』은 『정법화경』과 같이 『제바달다품』을 『견보탑품』에 합하였고, 『다라니품』은 이전의 두 경과 달리 『여래신력품』 아래 위치하여 여래신력과 함께 다라니로 경을 호지 하도록 하였다. 또한 『촉루품』은 『정법화경』과 같이 경의 맨 끝에 두어 부처님 법문을 촉루 유통하도록 하였다. 경전의 내용면에서 보면, 앞의 두 경전과 비교하여, 경문의 빠진 부분을 싼스크릿트 원전을 통하여 교감하였다. 이 과정에서 중요 교설을 첨가하거나 증광하고 조화롭지 못한 교설을 삭제하거나 이동하므로써, 『첨품묘법연화경』은 한층 완성도를 높힌 경전편찬을 추구하였다고 할 수 있다. 이와 같은 점으로 볼 때, 『첨품묘법연화경』의 역출은 현전하지 않는 싼스크릿트 원전에 의한 교감이 이루어졌다는데 의의가 있고, 이전 역출된 두 법화경을 검토하고 첨가 삭제 이동 개역하여 완전한 법화경을 추구하였다는 것이다. 또한 라집본과 경문에서 큰 차이가 없어진 것은 첨품의 역출로 인해 오히려 라집역본의 완결성을 확인시켜주는 결과가 되기도 한다.