The Ekottara Āgama (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

; ) is an early Indian Buddhist text, of which currently only a Chinese translation is extant (

Taishō Tripiṭaka The Taishō Tripiṭaka (; Japanese: ''Taishō Shinshū Daizōkyō''; “ Taishō Revised Tripiṭaka”) is a definitive edition of the Chinese Buddhist canon and its Japanese commentaries used by scholars in the 20th century. It was edited by ...

125). The title ''Ekottara Āgama'' literally means "Numbered Discourses," referring to its organizational principle. It is one of the four Āgamas of the Sūtra Piṭaka located in the Chinese Buddhist Canon.

Origins and history

A complete version of the Ekottara Āgama was translated by Dharmanandi in 384 CE, and edited by Gautama Saṃghadeva in 398 CE. Some believed that it came from the

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 Philosop ...

school, but more recently the

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 ...

branch has been proposed as well. Scholars such as Yin Shun, Zhihua Yao and Tse Fu Kuan consider the Ekottara Āgama to belong to the

school.Zhihua Yao (2012) ''The Buddhist Theory of Self-Cognition,'' pp. 8-10. Routledge. According to

A.K. Warder Anthony Kennedy Warder (8 September 1924 – 8 January 2013) was a British Indologist. His best-known works are ''Introduction to Pali'' (1963), ''Indian Buddhism'' (1970), and the eight-volume ''Indian Kāvya Literature'' (1972–2011). Life Wa ...

, the Ekottara Āgama references 250 Prātimokṣa rules for monks, which agrees only with the

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 p ...

Vinaya, which is also located in the Chinese Buddhist canon. He also views some of the doctrine as contradicting tenets of the Mahāsāṃghika school, and states that they agree with Dharmaguptaka views currently known. He therefore concludes that the extant Ekottara Āgama is that of the Dharmaguptaka school. According to

Étienne Lamotte Étienne Paul Marie Lamotte (21 November 1903 – 5 May 1983) was a Belgian priest and Professor of Greek at the Catholic University of Louvain, but was better known as an Indologist and the greatest authority on Buddhism in the West in his time ...

, the Ekottara Āgama was translated from a manuscript that came from northwest India, and contains a great deal of

Mahāyāna ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing br ...

influence. This may agree with the 5th century Dharmaguptaka monk Buddhayaśas, the translator of the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya and Dīrgha Āgama, who wrote that the Dharmaguptakas had assimilated the Mahāyāna Tripiṭaka (Ch. 大乘三藏). According to Venerable Sheng Yen, the Ekottara Āgama includes teachings of the Six

Pāramitā ''Pāramitā'' (Sanskrit, Pali: पारमिता) or ''pāramī'' (Pāli: पारमी), is a Buddhist term often translated as "perfection". It is described in Buddhist commentaries as noble character qualities generally associated wit ...

s, a central concept in the

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 ...

path, and in the Mahāyāna teachings. The Ekottara Āgama generally corresponds to the Theravādin Aṅguttara Nikāya, but of the four Āgamas of the Sanskritic Sūtra Piṭaka in the Chinese Buddhist Canon, it is the one which differs most from the Theravādin version. The Ekottara Āgama even contains variants on such standard teachings as the

Noble Eightfold Path The Noble Eightfold Path ( Pali: ; Sanskrit: ) is an early summary of the path of Buddhist practices leading to liberation from samsara, the painful cycle of rebirth, in the form of nirvana. The Eightfold Path consists of eight practices: ...

. According to Keown, "there is considerable disparity between the Pāli and the hineseversions, with more than two-thirds of the sūtras found in one but not the other compilation, which suggests that much of this portion of the Sūtra Piṭaka was not formed until a fairly late date."

Mindfulness of Breathing

A notable inclusion in the Ekottara Āgama is a discourse that includes meditative instructions on Mindfulness of Breathing given by the

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...

to his son Rāhula. In it, the Buddha gives Rāhula instructions on how he can practice this form of meditation to enter into

samādhi ''Samadhi'' ( Pali and sa, समाधि), in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditative consciousness. In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Ashtanga Yo ...

. After an unknown length of time, Rāhula enters samādhi, passes through the four stages of dhyāna, and attains complete perfection and liberation. Rāhula then returns to the Buddha as an

arhat In Buddhism, an ''arhat'' (Sanskrit: अर्हत्) or ''arahant'' (Pali: अरहन्त्, 𑀅𑀭𑀳𑀦𑁆𑀢𑁆) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved ''Nirvana'' and liberated ...

, giving a full report of his practice, his experiences in meditation, and the realizations that he has had. This discourse corresponds to the Theravadin Maha-Rahulovada Sutta in the Majjhima Nikaya (MN 62).

Influence on East Asia

In lectures, renowned Buddhist master Nan Huaijin frequently cited the Ekottara Āgama for its discourse on Mindfulness of Breathing, and lectures on Rāhula's report to the Buddha. He detailed the fine points of practice and the relationships that exist between the mind, body, and breath, including related exoteric and esoteric phenomena. Also discussed were the dissemination of this practice into various forms in the

schools of Buddhism in East Asia such as Zen and

Tiantai Tiantai or T'ien-t'ai () is an East Asian Buddhist school of Mahāyāna Buddhism that developed in 6th-century China. The school emphasizes the '' Lotus Sutra's'' doctrine of the "One Vehicle" (''Ekayāna'') as well as Mādhyamaka philosophy ...

, and into Daoist meditative practices.Shi, Hong
"The Conversations of Nan Huai-chin and Peter Senge"
. William Bodri.

References

External links

* Also available fro
Internet Archive

Translations of Ekottara Agama 17.1

* , translated from Taishō Tripiṭaka volume 2, number 125, p. 581b29 - 582c19 *
HTML
Translated from Taishō Tripiṭaka volume 2, number 125, p. 581b29 - 582c19

Translations of MN62, which parallels Ekottara Agama 17.1

* * *

* * * {{cite web , translator=Sister Uppalavanna , translator-link=Sister Uppalavanna , title=Advice to Venerable Rāhula — The Longer Discourse , url=https://obo.genaud.net/dhamma-vinaya/mnl/mn/mn.062.upal.mnl.htm Agamas Tripiṭaka