Āgama (Buddhism)
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Āgama (Buddhism)
In Buddhism, an āgama (आगम Sanskrit and Pāli, Tibetan ལུང་ (Wylie: lung) for "sacred work"Monier-Williams (1899), p. 129, see "Āgama," retrieved 12 Dec 2008 from "U. Cologne" at http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/MWScanpdf/mw0129-Akhara.pdf. or "scripture"Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), p. 95, entry for "Āgama," retrieved 12 Dec 2008 from "U. Chicago" at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.0:1:2582.pali.) is a collection of early Buddhist texts. The five āgamas together comprise the '' Suttapiṭaka'' of the early Buddhist schools, which had different recensions of each āgama. In the Pali Canon of the Theravada, the term ''nikāya'' is used. The word ''āgama'' does not occur in this collection. Meaning In Buddhism, the term ''āgama'' is used to refer to a collection of discourses (Sanskrit: ''sūtra''; Pali: ''sutta'') of the early Buddhist schools, which were preserved primarily in Chinese translation, with substant ...
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Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late Bronze Age. Sanskrit is the sacred language of Hinduism, the language of classical Hindu philosophy, and of historical texts of Buddhism and Jainism. It was a link language in ancient and medieval South Asia, and upon transmission of Hindu and Buddhist culture to Southeast Asia, East Asia and Central Asia in the early medieval era, it became a language of religion and high culture, and of the political elites in some of these regions. As a result, Sanskrit had a lasting impact on the languages of South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia, especially in their formal and learned vocabularies. Sanskrit generally connotes several Old Indo-Aryan language varieties. The most archaic of these is the Vedic Sanskrit found in the Rig Veda, a colle ...
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Pre-sectarian Buddhism
Pre-sectarian Buddhism, also called early Buddhism, the earliest Buddhism, original Buddhism, and primitive Buddhism, is Buddhism as theorized to have existed before the various Early Buddhist schools developed, around 250 BCE (followed by later subsects of Buddhism). The contents and teachings of this pre-sectarian Buddhism must be deduced or re-constructed from the earliest Buddhist texts, which by themselves are already sectarian. The whole subject remains intensely debated by scholars, not all of whom believe a meaningful reconstruction is possible. "Early Buddhism" may also be used for considerably later periods. Name Various terms are being used to refer to the earliest period of Buddhism: * "Pre-sectarian Buddhism" * "Early Buddhism", * "The earliest Buddhism", * "Original Buddhism", * "The Buddhism of the Buddha himself." * Precanonical Buddhism * Primitive Buddhism Some Japanese scholars refer to the subsequent period of the early Buddhist schools as ''sectarian ...
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Dirgha Agama
The ''Dirgha Agama'' is one of the Buddhist ''Āgama (Buddhism), Agama''. It corresponds to the ''Digha Nikaya'' of the Pāli Canon. A Chinese language, Chinese translation of the text attributed to the Dharmaguptaka school is included in the Chinese Buddhist Canon. This translation was completed by Buddhayaśas and Zhu Fonian in the Late Qin dynasty, dated to 413 CE. This recension consists of 30 sūtras in contrast to the 34 suttas of the Dīgha Nikāya of the Pali Canon. The original Sanskrit text of the Dharmaguptaka recension is lost. However, in the 1990s, extensive fragments of a Sarvastivadin Sanskrit recension of the Dīrgha Āgama text were discovered.''Between the Empires: Society in India 300 BCE to 400 CE'' by Patrick Olivelle. Oxford University Press, 2006 pg 356 Portions of the Sarvastivadin recension also survive in Classical Tibetan, Tibetan translation. Translations The Canonical Book of the Buddha's Lengthy Discourses, Vol. I (BDK America) The Long Discourses ( ...
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Sutta Nipata
The ' () is a Buddhist scripture, a sutta collection in the Khuddaka Nikaya, part of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism. Sections The ''Sutta Nipāta'' is divided into five sections: Uraga Vagga ("The Chapter on the Serpent") Cūla Vagga ("The Minor Chapter") Mahā Vagga ("The Great Chapter") Atthaka Vagga "The Chapter of Octads" Parayana Vagga ("The Chapter on the Way Beyond") Context Some scholars believe that it describes the oldest of all Buddhist practices. Others such as Bhikkhu Bodhi and K. R. Norman agree that it contains much early material. In the Chinese Buddhist canon, a version of the Aṭṭhakavagga has survived. Fragmentary materials from a Sanskrit version of the Nipata also survive. The Niddesa, a commentary in two parts on the contents of the Atthaka Vagga and portions of the Parayana Vagga, is included in the Pali Canon as a book of the Khuddaka Nikāya. This commentary is traditionally attributed to Śāriputra, and its pres ...
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Dhammapada
The Dhammapada (Pāli; sa, धर्मपद, Dharmapada) is a collection of sayings of the Buddha in verse form and one of the most widely read and best known Buddhist scriptures. The original version of the Dhammapada is in the Khuddaka Nikaya, a division of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism. The Buddhist scholar and commentator Buddhaghosa explains that each saying recorded in the collection was made on a different occasion in response to a unique situation that had arisen in the life of the Buddha and his monastic community. His translation of the commentary, the ''Dhammapada Atthakatha'', presents the details of these events and is a rich source of legend for the life and times of the Buddha. Etymology The title "Dhammapada" is a compound term composed of ''dhamma'' and ''pada'', each word having a number of denotations and connotations. Generally, ''dhamma'' can refer to the Buddha's "doctrine" or an "eternal truth" or "righteousness" or all "phenomena"; at its ...
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Dharmaguptaka
The Dharmaguptaka (Sanskrit: धर्मगुप्तक; ) are one of the eighteen or twenty early Buddhist schools, depending on the source. They are said to have originated from another sect, the Mahīśāsakas. The Dharmaguptakas had a prominent role in early Central Asian and Chinese Buddhism, and their Prātimokṣa (monastic rules for bhikṣus and bhikṣuṇīs) are still in effect in East Asian countries to this day, including China, Vietnam, Korea, and Japan as well as the Philippines. They are one of three surviving Vinaya lineages, along with that of the Theravāda and the Mūlasarvāstivāda. Etymology ''Guptaka'' means "preserver" and ''dharma'' "law, justice, morality", and, most likely, the set of laws of Northern Buddhism. Doctrinal development Overview The Dharmaguptakas regarded the path of a śrāvaka (''śrāvakayāna'') and the path of a bodhisattva (''bodhisattvayāna'') to be separate. A translation and commentary on the ''Samayabhedoparacanacakr ...
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Mahāsāṃghika
The Mahāsāṃghika (Brahmi: 𑀫𑀳𑀸𑀲𑀸𑀁𑀖𑀺𑀓, "of the Great Sangha", ) was one of the early Buddhist schools. Interest in the origins of the Mahāsāṃghika school lies in the fact that their Vinaya recension appears in several ways to represent an older redaction overall. Many scholars also look to the Mahāsāṃghika branch for the initial development of Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. Location The original center of the Mahāsāṃghika sect was in Magadha, but they also maintained important centers such as in Mathura and Karli. The Kukkuṭikas were situated in eastern India around Vārāṇasī and Pāṭaliputra and the Bahuśrutīya in Kośala, Andhra, and Gandhara. The Lokottaravāda subschool itself claimed to be of the 'Middle Country', i.e. Ganges Basin region in the north of India. The Mahāsāṃghikas and the Lokottaravāda subschool also had centres in the Gandhara region.The Ekavyāvahārika are not known from later times. The Caitik ...
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Kāśyapīya
Kāśyapīya (Sanskrit: काश्यपीय; Pali: ''Kassapiyā'' or ''Kassapikā''; ) was one of the early Buddhist schools in India. Etymology The name ''Kāśyapīya'' is believed to be derived from Kāśyapa, one of the original missionaries sent by King Ashoka to the Himavant country. The Kāśyapīyas were also called the ''Haimavatas''.Warder, A.K. ''Indian Buddhism''. 2000. p. 277 History The Kāśyapīyas are believed to have become an independent school ca. 190 BCE.Warder (1970/2004), p. 277. According to the Theravadin ''Mahāvaṃsa'', the Kāśyapīya were an offshoot of the Sarvāstivāda. However, according to the Mahāsāṃghika account, the Kāśyapīya sect descended from the Vibhajyavādins. Xuanzang and Yijing note small fragments of the Kāśyapīya sect still in existence around the 7th century, suggesting that much of the sect may have adopted the Mahāyāna teachings by this time. In the 7th century CE, Yijing grouped the Mahīśāsaka, Dharmaguptak ...
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Sarvāstivāda
The ''Sarvāstivāda'' (Sanskrit and Pali: 𑀲𑀩𑁆𑀩𑀢𑁆𑀣𑀺𑀯𑀸𑀤, ) was one of the early Buddhist schools established around the reign of Ashoka (3rd century BCE).Westerhoff, The Golden Age of Indian Buddhist Philosophy in the First Millennium CE, 2018, p. 60. It was particularly known as an Abhidharma tradition, with a unique set of seven Abhidharma works.Westerhoff, 2018, p. 61. The Sarvāstivādins were one of the most influential Buddhist monastic groups, flourishing throughout North India (especially Kashmir) and Central Asia until the 7th century. The orthodox Kashmiri branch of the school composed the large and encyclopedic ''Mahāvibhāṣa'' ''Śāstra'' around the time of the reign of Kanishka (c. 127–150 CE). Because of this, orthodox Sarvāstivādins who upheld the doctrines in the ''Mahāvibhāṣa'' were called ''Vaibhāṣikas.'' According to the Theravādin '' Dipavamsa'', the Sarvastivada emerged from the older Mahīśāsaka school; b ...
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Bodhisattva
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools as well as modern Theravada Buddhism, a bodhisattva (Pali: ''bodhisatta'') refers to someone who has made a resolution to become a Buddha and has also received a confirmation or prediction from a living Buddha that this will be so. In Mahayana Buddhism, a bodhisattva refers to anyone who has generated ''bodhicitta'', a spontaneous wish and compassionate mind to attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings. Mahayana bodhisattvas are spiritually heroic persons that work to attain awakening and are driven by a great compassion (''mahakaruṇā''). These beings are exemplified by important spiritual qualities such as the "four divine abodes" (''brahmaviharas'') of loving-kindness ('' metta''), compassion (''karuṇā''), empathet ...
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Mahayana Sutras
The Mahāyāna sūtras are a broad genre of Buddhist scriptures (''sūtra'') that are accepted as canonical and as ''buddhavacana'' ("Buddha word") in Mahāyāna Buddhism. They are largely preserved in the Chinese Buddhist canon, the Tibetan Buddhist canon, and in extant Sanskrit manuscripts. Several hundred Mahāyāna sūtras survive in Sanskrit, or in Chinese and Tibetan translations. They are also sometimes called ''Vaipulya'' ("extensive") sūtras by earlier sources.Drewes, David, Early Indian Mahayana Buddhism II: New Perspectives, ''Religion Compass'' 4/2 (2010): 66–74, The Buddhist scholar Asaṅga classified the Mahāyāna sūtras as part of the ''Bodhisattvapiṭaka'', a collection of texts meant for bodhisattvas.Boin-Webb, Sara (tr). Rahula, Walpola (tr). Asanga. ''Abhidharma Samuccaya: The Compendium of Higher Teaching.'' 2001. pp. 199–200 Modern scholars of Buddhist studies generally hold that these sūtras first began to appear between the 1st century BCE and ...
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