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The ''Ugraparipṛcchā Sūtra'' (''The inquiry of Ugra'') is an early Indian
sutra ''Sutra'' ()Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indian literary traditions refers to an aphorism or a collection of aphorisms in the form of a manual or, more broadly, a ...
which is particularly important for understanding the beginnings of
Mahayana Buddhism Mahāyāna ( ; , , ; ) is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices developed in ancient India ( onwards). It is considered one of the three main existing branches of Buddhism, the others being Thera ...
. It contains positive references to both the path of the
bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, '' bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal nirvana or ''bodhi'' in ...
and the path of the arhat, the latter of which was denigrated as a lesser spiritual path in later
Mahayana sutras The Mahayana sutras are Buddhist texts that are accepted as wikt:canon, canonical and authentic Buddhist texts, ''buddhavacana'' in Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhist sanghas. These include three types of sutras: Those spoken by the Buddha; those spoke ...
. It also emphasises solitary
spiritual practice A spiritual practice or spiritual discipline (often including spiritual exercises) is the regular or full-time performance of actions and activities undertaken for the purpose of inducing spiritual experiences and cultivating spiritual developm ...
s instead of community-based ones much like the very early '' Rhinoceros Sutra''.


History of the sutra

While no version in an Indo-Aryan language survives, extant versions of the ''Ugraparipṛcchā Sūtra'' include three Chinese translations ( Taishō Tripiṭaka 322, 12.15a-23a; T 323 12.23a-30c; T 310 0 11.472b-480b), a Tibetan translation, and a Mongolian translation based on the Tibetan version. The ''Ugraparipṛcchā Sūtra'' was one of the first Buddhist texts to be brought to China and it was apparently very popular as it was translated into Chinese six times between the second and fifth centuries, appearing first as ''Dharma Mirror sutra'' () translated by An Xuan and Yan Fotiao during the Later Han and then by Dharmarakṣa during the Jin Dynasty. In the Chinese canon it is part of the Ratnakuta collection. It was also widely known in India, being one of the most quoted texts in both the '' Daśabhūmikā Vibhāṣā'' (''Commentary on the " Ten Stages Sutra"'' attributed to
Nagarjuna Nāgārjuna (Sanskrit: नागार्जुन, ''Nāgārjuna''; ) was an Indian monk and Mahayana, Mahāyāna Buddhist Philosophy, philosopher of the Madhyamaka (Centrism, Middle Way) school. He is widely considered one of the most importa ...
) and
Shantideva Shantideva (Sanskrit: Śāntideva; ; ; ; ) was an 8th-century CE Indian philosopher, Buddhist monk, poet, and scholar at the mahavihara of Nalanda. He was an adherent of the Mādhyamaka philosophy of Nāgārjuna. Abhayadatta Sri also li ...
's ''Śikṣāsamuccaya'' (8th century). Jan Nattier has suggested that it is likely the text circulated in
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 ...
circles early in its history.


Content of the sutra

The central themes of the ''Ugraparipṛcchā Sūtra'' are the practices of the householder (''gṛhin'') and those of the bhikṣu (''pravrajita'') and bhikṣuṇī (''pravrajitā''), stressing the importance and superiority of the latter group. The sutra promotes the
bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, '' bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal nirvana or ''bodhi'' in ...
ideal as a difficult, strictly monastic path, taking thousands of lifetimes to complete and suited only for the few. It also does not mention any other central Mahayana doctrines or place its teachings in opposition to what would later be classified as " Śrāvakayāna" teachings. Because of this, scholars such as Jan Nattier believe it dates to an early period in the development of Mahayana Buddhism. The position of householder is seen as highly disadvantageous to religious practice in comparison to the life of a ''pravrajita'' and householders are urged to ordain as soon as they are able. In the ''Ugraparipṛcchā Sūtra'', the practice of living as a forest (''āraṇyaka'') bodhisattva is seen as preferable to being a village monk: Even when the bodhisattva enters the towns and cities to preach he must "keep a cave-and-forest mind, as when he dwells in his hermitage."


Contents

Practices of the Lay Bodhisattva #Opening Salutation #The Setting #Ugra's Inquiry #Going for Refuge #The Refuges, Repeated #Good Deeds #The Bodhisattva's Perspective #The Eleven Precepts #The Bodhisattva in Society #The Faults of the Household Life #The Benefits of Giving #Thoughts When Encountering Beggars #Detachment from People and Things #Cultivating Aversion for One's Wife #Cultivating Detachment from One's Son #How to Interact with Beggars #The Triskandhaka Ritual #When Monks Violate the Precepts #When Visiting a Monastery #Contrasts between Household and Renunciant Life #When Visiting a Monastery, Cont'd #The Ordination of Ugra and His Friends (version 1) Practices of the Monastic Bodhisattva #The Renunciant Bodhisattva's Practices #The Four Noble Traditions #The Noble Traditions and Other Ascetic Practices #The Virtues of Wilderness-Dwelling #Interacting with Other Monks and Teachers #The Pure Morality of the Renunciant Bodhisattva #The Pure Meditation of the Renunciant Bodhisattva #The Pure Insight of the Renunciant Bodhisattva #The Ordination of Ugra and His Friends (version 2) #How the Householder Can Live as a Renunciant #Dialogue with Ananda #The Title of the Text #The Final Reaction of the Audience


See also

*
Mahayana sutras The Mahayana sutras are Buddhist texts that are accepted as wikt:canon, canonical and authentic Buddhist texts, ''buddhavacana'' in Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhist sanghas. These include three types of sutras: Those spoken by the Buddha; those spoke ...


References


Bibliography

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External links


An English translation by 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha
{{Buddhism topics Mahayana sutras