Difference between revisions of "Long Discourses"

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== Indications of Sectarian Affiliation ==
 
== Indications of Sectarian Affiliation ==
It has been well documented through comparative study of parallels of known sectarian texts that the provenance of the ''Long Discourses'' is that Dharmaguptaka sect.
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It has been well documented through comparative study of parallels texts with known sectarian provenances that the ''Long Discourses'' was part of the Dharmaguptaka canon.
 
 
One example argument made by Bareau<ref>[https://doi.org/10.2307/1522634], Bareau, A. (1966). L’origine du Dīrgha-Āgama traduit en chinois par Buddhayaśas. Artibus Asiae. Supplementum, 23, 49–58.</ref> involved comparing the formulaic treatment of Ambapali's gift of her Mango Grove at Vaisali to the Buddha in the Mahaparinirvana Sutra. This episode only appears in DA 2 and DN 16 and isn't mentioned in the other four parallels to the same passage from other Buddhist canons. He shows that it indeed is a feature of the Mahisasaka line of canonical transmission, which is likely the progenitor of both the Dharmaguptaka and Theravada canons. His analysis proceeds by collecting passages from the Theravada, Mahisasaka, and Dharmaguptaka Vinayas, which contain parallels to the Mahaparinirvana passage. Each, however, is unique in that they treat the gift to the Buddha differently. He shows that the passage in DA 2 matches that found in the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya, and not the other two Vinayas. That the passage is an example of a doctrinal difference between these three schools makes the identification all the more certain, for it must be quite intentional that the passages are written the way they are in each sectarian canon.
 
  
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=== Gifts Made to the Buddha ===
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One example argument made by Bareau<ref>[https://doi.org/10.2307/1522634], Bareau, A. (1966). L’origine du Dīrgha-Āgama traduit en chinois par Buddhayaśas. Artibus Asiae. Supplementum, 23, 49–58.</ref> relied on a comparison of a passage from the Mahaparinirvana Sutra (DA 2) which depicts the laywoman Ambapali giving her Mango Grove to the Buddha. This episode carried an important doctrinal significance for three early sects of Buddhism: The Mahisasaka, Dharmaguptaka, and Theravada. This doctrinal divergence is one piece of evidence that all three canons are related, with the Dharmaguptaka and Theravada canons being descendants of the Mahisasaka line of transmission.
  
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The doctrinal issue was whether gifts to the Buddha were the same as gifts given to the sangha as a whole and whether any merit was gained from them. The Dharmaguptaka position was quite distinct and perhaps extreme compared to the other two canons. They believed the Buddha was not a part of the sangha he created and that any gifts given to him were the same as gifts placed in stupas or cetiyas dedicated to his relics. They could not be used by any other sentient beings and therefore would yield no merit to the donor. On the other hand, a donor would gain merit for gifts given to the sangha. Therefore, in the passage in DA 2, we find that the Buddha carefully instructs Ambapali to direct her gift to the sangha at large rather than to the Buddha. She then does so, saying the words that the Buddha suggests to her. This procedure, Bareau notes, is replicated in the case of Bimbisara donating the Bamboo Grove to the Buddha. Again, the Buddha tells Bimbisara to instead direct his gift to the sangha. Both of these episodes are found in the Chinese translation of the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya.
  
 
== Table of Contents and Parallels ==
 
== Table of Contents and Parallels ==

Revision as of 23:59, 23 February 2023

[intro TK]

Indications of Sectarian Affiliation

It has been well documented through comparative study of parallels texts with known sectarian provenances that the Long Discourses was part of the Dharmaguptaka canon.

Gifts Made to the Buddha

One example argument made by Bareau[1] relied on a comparison of a passage from the Mahaparinirvana Sutra (DA 2) which depicts the laywoman Ambapali giving her Mango Grove to the Buddha. This episode carried an important doctrinal significance for three early sects of Buddhism: The Mahisasaka, Dharmaguptaka, and Theravada. This doctrinal divergence is one piece of evidence that all three canons are related, with the Dharmaguptaka and Theravada canons being descendants of the Mahisasaka line of transmission.

The doctrinal issue was whether gifts to the Buddha were the same as gifts given to the sangha as a whole and whether any merit was gained from them. The Dharmaguptaka position was quite distinct and perhaps extreme compared to the other two canons. They believed the Buddha was not a part of the sangha he created and that any gifts given to him were the same as gifts placed in stupas or cetiyas dedicated to his relics. They could not be used by any other sentient beings and therefore would yield no merit to the donor. On the other hand, a donor would gain merit for gifts given to the sangha. Therefore, in the passage in DA 2, we find that the Buddha carefully instructs Ambapali to direct her gift to the sangha at large rather than to the Buddha. She then does so, saying the words that the Buddha suggests to her. This procedure, Bareau notes, is replicated in the case of Bimbisara donating the Bamboo Grove to the Buddha. Again, the Buddha tells Bimbisara to instead direct his gift to the sangha. Both of these episodes are found in the Chinese translation of the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya.

Table of Contents and Parallels

Below is a (work-in-progress) list of all the sutras contained in the Dirgha Agama.

Parallels listed in () are either only similar or they share templates with the subject but don't appear to be direct parallels.

Part DĀ No. Taisho No. Sutra Title Parallels
I. DĀ 1 T1.1 1. The Great Legend DN 14, SN 12.65, EA 48.4, T 2, T 3, T 4
DĀ 2 T1.2 2. The Sojourn DN 16, DN 17, SN 47.9, AN 4.180, Snp 1.5, Skt Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra,
MA 68, EA 28.5, T 5, T 6, T 7, T 1451
DĀ 3 T1.3 3. Govinda DN 19, T 8
DĀ 4 T1.4 4. Janavṛṣabha DN 18, T 9
II. DĀ 5 T1.5 5. Smaller Teaching on Origination DN 27, MA 154, T 10
DĀ 6 T1.6 6. The Noble Wheel-Turning King's Cultivation DN 26, MA 70
DĀ 7 T1.7 7. Pāyāsi DN 23, MA 71, T 45
DĀ 8 T1.8 8. Sandhāna DN 25, MA 104, T 11
DĀ 9 T1.9 9. The Gathered Saṅgha DN 33, DN 34, DA 10, T 12
DĀ 10 T1.10 10. Increasing to Ten DN 34, DN 33, DA 11, DA 9, T12, T 13
DĀ 11 T1.11 11. Increasing One by One DN 34, DA 10, T 13
DĀ 12 T1.12 12. Three Categories ?
DĀ 13 T1.13 13. The Great Teaching on Origination DN 15, T14, MA 97, T 52
DĀ 14 T1.14 14. The Questions Asked by Śakra the Lord of Gods DN 21, MA 134, T 15, T 203.73
DĀ 15 T1.15 15. Anomiya DN 24
DĀ 16 T1.16 16. Sujata DN 31, MA 135, T 16, T 17
DĀ 17 T1.17 17. Purification DN 29, AN 9.7-8
DĀ 18 T1.18 18. Personal Gladness DN 28, SN 47.12, T 18, T 99.498
DĀ 19 T1.19 19. The Great Congregation DN 20, SN 1.37, T 19, T 99.1192, T 100.105
III. DĀ 20 T1.20 20. Ambāṣṭha DN 3, MN 36, T 20
DĀ 21 T1.21 21. Brahmā’s Shaking DN 1, T 21
DĀ 22 T1.22 22. Śroṇatāṇḍya DN 4, MN 36
DĀ 23 T1.23 23. [Kūṭadanta] DN 5
DĀ 24 T1.24 24. Dhruva DN 11
DĀ 25 T1.25 25. The Naked Wanderer DN 8
DĀ 26 T1.26 26. Knowledge of the Three Vedas DN 13
DĀ 27 T1.27 27. Fruits of the Ascetic DN 2, EA 43.7, T 22, T 99.154-163
DĀ 28 T1.28 28. [Poṭṭhapāda] DN 9
DĀ 29 T1.29 29. Lohitya DN 12
IV. DĀ 30 T1.30 30. A Description of the World T 23, T 24, T 25
  1. [1], Bareau, A. (1966). L’origine du Dīrgha-Āgama traduit en chinois par Buddhayaśas. Artibus Asiae. Supplementum, 23, 49–58.