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Kāśyapīya (
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
: काश्यपीय;
Pali Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, Pāli Can ...
: ''Kassapiyā'' or ''Kassapikā''; ) was one of the
early Buddhist schools The early Buddhist schools refers to the History of Buddhism in India, Indian Buddhist "doctrinal schools" or "schools of thought" (Sanskrit: ''vāda'') which arose out of the early unified Buddhist monasticism, Buddhist monastic community (San ...
in
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
.


Etymology

The name ''Kāśyapīya'' is believed to be derived from Kāśyapa, one of the original missionaries sent by King
Ashoka Ashoka, also known as Asoka or Aśoka ( ; , ; – 232 BCE), and popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was List of Mauryan emperors, Emperor of Magadha from until #Death, his death in 232 BCE, and the third ruler from the Mauryan dynast ...
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 ''Theravāda'' (; 'School of the Elders'; ) is Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed ''Theravādins'' ( anglicized from Pali ''theravādī''), have preserved their version of the Buddha's teaching or '' Dhamma'' in ...
''Mahāvaṃsa'', the Kāśyapīya were an offshoot of the Sarvāstivāda. However, according to the Mahāsāṃghika account, the Kāśyapīya sect descended from the Vibhajyavādins.
Xuanzang Xuanzang (; ; 6 April 6025 February 664), born Chen Hui or Chen Yi (), also known by his Sanskrit Dharma name Mokṣadeva, was a 7th-century Chinese Bhikkhu, Buddhist monk, scholar, traveller, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making ...
and
Yijing The ''I Ching'' or ''Yijing'' ( ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. The ''I Ching'' was originally a divination manual in ...
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 Mahāyāna ( ; , , ; ) is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, Buddhist texts#Mahāyāna texts, texts, Buddhist philosophy, philosophies, and practices developed in ancient India ( onwards). It is considered one of the three main ex ...
teachings by this time. In the 7th century CE, Yijing grouped the Mahīśāsaka,
Dharmaguptaka The Dharmaguptaka (Sanskrit: धर्मगुप्तक; ; ) are one of the eighteen or twenty early Buddhist schools from the ancient region of Gandhara, now Pakistan. They are said to have originated from another sect, the Mahīśāsakas f ...
, and Kāśyapīya together as sub-sects of the Sarvāstivāda, and stated that these three groups were not prevalent in the "five parts of India," but were located in the some parts of
Oḍḍiyāna (also: ''Uḍḍiyāna'', ''Uḍḍāyāna'', ''Udyāna'' or 'Oḍḍiyāna'), a small region in early medieval India, is ascribed importance in the development and dissemination of Vajrayana, Vajrayāna Buddhism.‘Uḍḍiyāna and Kashmir’ ...
, Khotan, and
Kucha Kucha or Kuche (also: ''Kuçar'', ''Kuchar''; , Кучар; zh, t= 龜茲, p=Qiūcí, zh, t= 庫車, p=Kùchē; ) was an ancient Buddhist kingdom located on the branch of the Silk Road that ran along the northern edge of what is now the Taklam ...
.


Appearance

Between 148 and 170 CE, the
Parthia Parthia ( ''Parθava''; ''Parθaw''; ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Medes during the 7th century BC, was incorporated into the subsequent Achaemeni ...
n monk An Shigao came to China and translated a work which describes the color of monastic robes (Skt. '' kāṣāya'') utilized in five major Indian Buddhist sects, called ''Da Biqiu Sanqian Weiyi'' (Ch. 大比丘三千威儀).Hino, Shoun. ''Three Mountains and Seven Rivers.'' 2004. p. 55 Another text translated at a later date, the ''Śāriputraparipṛcchā'', contains a very similar passage corroborating this information. In both sources, members of the Kāśyapīya sect are described as wearing magnolia robes. The relevant portion of the
Mahāsāṃghika The Mahāsāṃghika (Brahmi script, Brahmi: 𑀫𑀳𑀸𑀲𑀸𑀁𑀖𑀺𑀓, "of the Great Sangha (Buddhism), Sangha", ) was a major division (nikāya) of the early Buddhist schools in India. They were one of the two original communities th ...
''Śāriputraparipṛcchā'' reads, "The Kāśyapīya school are diligent and energetic in guarding sentient beings. They wear magnolia robes."


Doctrines

In Vasumitra's history ''Samayabhedoparacanacakra'', the Haimavatas (Kāśyapīya sect) are described as an eclectic school upholding doctrines of both the Sthaviras and the Mahāsāṃghikas. According to the '' Kathāvatthu'' commentary, the Kāśyapīyas believed that past events exist in the present in some form. According to A.K. Warder, the Kāśyapīya school held the doctrine that
arhat In Buddhism, an ''Arhat'' () or ''Arahant'' (, 𑀅𑀭𑀳𑀦𑁆𑀢𑁆) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved ''Nirvana (Buddhism), Nirvana'' and has been liberated from the Rebirth (Buddhism ...
s were fallible and imperfect, similar to the view of the Sarvāstivādins and the various Mahāsāṃghika sects. They held that arhats have not fully eliminated desires, that their "perfection" is incomplete, and that it is possible for them to relapse.


Texts

Some tentatively attribute the Gāndhārī '' Dharmapada'' to the Kāśyapīya school. An incomplete translation of the Saṃyukta Āgama (T. 100) that is in the Chinese Buddhist canon is believed to be that of the Kāśyapīya sect.Warder, A.K. ''Indian Buddhism. 2000.'' p. 6 This text is different from the complete version of the Saṃyukta Āgama (T. 99), which came from the Sarvāstivāda sect.


References


Sources

* Brough, John (2001). ''The Gāndhārī Dharmapada''. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited. * Geiger, Wilhelm (trans.), assisted by Mabel H. Bode (1912). ''The Great Chronicle of Ceylon''.
Pali Text Society The Pāli Text Society is a text publication society founded in 1881 by Thomas William Rhys Davids "to foster and promote the study of Pāli texts." Pāli is the language in which the texts of the Theravada school of Buddhism are preserved. The ...
. . Retrieved 27 Nov 2008 from "Lakdiva" at http://lakdiva.org/mahavamsa/. * Malalasekera, G.P. (2003). ''Dictionary of Pali Proper Names''. Asian Educational Services. . * Warder, A.K. (1970/2004). ''Indian Buddhism''. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. . {{Buddhism topics Sthaviravāda Early Buddhist schools