Yogācāra School Treatises and Commentaries (法相宗章疏)

About 法相宗章疏

Japan · by 平祚錄

1,704 · about 6 min

The *Hossōshū Shōsho*, compiled by the Japanese monk Heizo in the late Heian period, is a significant collection of texts for the Japanese Hossō school. This work systematically organizes the commentaries and sub-commentaries on the sutras and treatises of the Hossō tradition, encompassing the teachings of Yogācāra (Consciousness-Only), discourses on the nature and characteristics of all dharmas, and outlines for spiritual practice. It reflects Japan's inheritance and development of the Yogācāra thought from the Tang Dynasty. As a model of Japanese Buddhist sectarian literature, it holds not only core value for the study of the history and doctrines of Japanese Hossō Buddhism but also provides crucial documentary evidence for the history of Sino-Japanese Buddhist exchange, occupying an important position within the East Asian Buddhist intellectual system.