Magadibhashya: Restoring the Canonical Geography of Baozhou (Isle of Jewels / Sinhala-dipa) as the Authentic Realm of the Triple Gem through Pre-19th-Century Chinese Tripiṭaka Sources

Title: Magadibhashya: Restoring the Canonical Geography of Baozhou (Isle of Jewels / Sinhala-dipa) as the Authentic Realm of the Triple Gem through Pre-19th-Century Chinese Tripiṭaka Sources License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY 4.0) Keywords: Magadibhashya, Taisho Tripitaka, CBETA, Baozhou, Shiziguo, Jambudvipa Cosmography, Devanampiya Tissa, Sanghabhadra, Dotted Record 🏛️ 1. Executive Abstract This open-access academic exegesis (magadibhashya) utilizes exclusively pre-19th-century Chinese primary sources (Taishō Tripiṭaka / CBETA) to re-evaluate the geographical, linguistic, and historical transmission of early Buddhism. By bypassing 19th-century colonial-era geographic mappings, this study demonstrates two fundamental canonical facts: Jambudvīpa (閻浮提): In the ultimate (paramārtha) context of the Chinese Tripiṭaka, Jambudvīpa was maintained as a cosmological-spiritual framework (the human sphere of spiritual awakening where Buddhas manifest) rather than a secular, post-19th-century geopolitical landmass equivalent to modern continental India. Baozhou / Sinhala-dipa (寶洲 / 師子國): The physical, verified insular sanctuary where the Triple Gem was complete, where the sacred footprints were deposited, and where the unembellished original canonical text tradition (《梵本》 - Sakaya Nirutti / Pali-Magadhi) was preserved across generations is explicitly identified as 《寶洲》 (Baozhou / Isle of Jewels / Sinhala-dipa). 📜 2. Master Citation Record (Primary Chinese Sources) No. Primary Chinese Source Date / Author Canonical Evidence & Textual Proof 1 《高僧法顯傳》 (T51, No. 2085) 414 CE / 法顯 (Fa-Xian) Documents the insular geography in the Southern Ocean, the sacred footprint on Mount Lanka, and the retrieval of original 《梵本》 (Pali/Magadhi) manuscripts. 2 《善見律毗婆沙》 (T24, No. 1462) 489 CE / 僧伽跋陀羅 (Sanghabhadra) The anchor for the Dotted Record (眾聖點記 - 490 dots) tracing back to Ven. Upāli, explicitly recording King Devanampiya Tissa (天愛帝須). 3 《大唐西域記》 (T51, No. 2087) 646 CE / 玄奘 (Xuanzang) Confirms the national chronicle 《大史》 (Mahāvaṃsa), Mount Lanka (楞伽山), and the sequential lineage of historical Buddhist kings. 4 《南海寄歸內法傳》 (T54, No. 2125) 691 CE / 義淨 (Yijing) Explicitly confirms that 《師子洲》 (Lion Isle) is identical to 《寶渚》 (Isle of Jewels): 「師子洲者,即昔寶渚也」. 5 《大般涅槃經》 (T12, No. 374) Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra Establishes the ultimate canonical definition: 「三寶具足之處,即名寶洲」 ("The place where the Triple Gem is fully complete is named the Isle of Jewels"). 6 《俱舍論》 (T29, No. 1558) Abhidharmakośa Defines Jambudvīpa as a cosmological human realm of spiritual manifestation rather than a modern secular landmass. 7 《阿毗達磨大毗婆沙論》 (T27, No. 1545) Abhidharma Mahāvibhāṣā Distinguishes secular gemstones (世間寶石) from the ultimate spiritual gems (實寶) of the Four Noble Paths and Fruits. 📖 3. Main Research Sections Ⅰ. The Pre-19th-Century Research Methodology (Magadibhashya Protocol) Rejection of Colonial Geopolitics: Completely excludes modern 19th-century colonial geographic mappings and speculative alignments. Exclusive Primary Authority: Relies solely on 5th to 7th-century Chinese primary texts (Fa-Xian, Xuanzang, Sanghabhadra, Yijing) recorded directly from original manuscripts brought from the insular realm of Sinhala-dipa. Ⅱ. Chronicle King Lineages & Chronological Anchors Sanghabhadra’s Dotted Record (眾聖點記): In 489 CE, Ven. Sanghabhadra added the 490th dot in Guangzhou while translating the Samantapāsādikā, providing a precise, unbroken Vinaya timeline dating back to Ven. Upāli at the First Council. Phonetic Alignment of Historical Monarchs: 天愛帝須 = Devanampiya Tissa 差多伽摩尼 = Duttagamani (Dutu Gemunu) 伐多伽摩尼 = Wattagamani (Walagamba) 摩訶奢那 = Mahasena 摩訶難摩 = Mahanama Ⅲ. Deconstructing Cosmological Jambudvīpa vs. Physical Baozhou Jambudvīpa (閻浮提): Represents the overarching cosmological domain where Buddhas appear in the human universe—not a modern secular-political landmass. Baozhou / Sinhala-dipa (寶洲 / 師子國): The specific physical, geographical sanctuary (在南海之中) where the Triple Gem was fully established, where the authentic Pali-Magadhi text tradition (《梵本》) was safeguarded, and where the sacred footprints remain. Ⅳ. Paramārtha Exegesis: The Ultimate Meaning of "Gems" and "Miraculous Phenomena" Exclusion of Secular Gemstones: The Chinese Tripiṭaka explicitly separates worldly mineral gems (世間寶石) from genuine spiritual treasures (實寶). The Miraculous Gems (希有寶 / Abbhuta-Dhamma): Refers strictly to the Four Noble Fruits (Sotāpanna, Sakadāgāmi, Anāgāmi, Arahant) and the Eight Noble Disciples (四雙八輩) of the Sangha—phenomena found nowhere else in the world. Isle of Jewels (寶洲): Named so in the ultimate (paramārtha) sense because it served as the physical container where these noble spiritual fruits, the authentic Magadhi Dharma, and the Triple Gem were preserved in their purity. 🎯 4. Final Conclusion Primary textual evidence from pre-19th-century Chinese Tripiṭaka sources demonstrates that modern secular-geopolitical frameworks established during the colonial era are canonical misalignments. The original root of the Buddha's dispensation, the authentic source of the Tripiṭaka manuscripts (《梵本》), the continuous lineage of the Noble Sangha, and the manifestation of the Four Noble Fruits are canonically anchored to 《寶洲》 (Baozhou / Isle of Jewels / Sinhala-dipa) as the authentic physical repository of the Triple Gem. Manuscript Prepared for Open-Access Academic Preprint Archiving (Zenodo / CBETA / Magadibhashya Protocol).