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Notes on the Bhikṣuṇī-Vinaya of the Mahāsāṃghikas

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Abstract

In 1932 Sylvain Lévi published one leaf of the Vinaya of the Mahāsāṃghikas which had been found by Hackin in Bāmiyān in 1930.1 In 1934 Rāhula Sāṃkrtyāyana photographed in the Źva-lu Ri-phug monastery2 many leaves of manuscripts belonging to the Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya. The Chinese Tripiṭaka contains the following Vinaya texts of the Mahāsāṃghikas: Taishō no. 1425 Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya (vol. XXII, pp. 227–549a); no. 1426 Bhikṣu-prātimokṣa-sūtra (pp. 549a–556a); no. 1427 Bhikṣuṇí-prātimokṣa-sūtra (pp. 556a–566). The Vinaya consists of the following sections: (a) Bhikṣu-prāti-mokṣa-vibhaṅga (pp. 227a–412b); (b) Bhikṣu-prakínaka-vinaya (pp. 412b–499a); (c) Bhikṣu-abhisamācārika—dharma—s (pp. 499a–514a); (d) Bhikṣuṇí prātimokṣa-vibhaṇga (pp. 514a–544c); (e) Bhikṣuṇī-prakírṇaka (pp. 544c– 549a). The texts, photographed by R. Sāṅkṛtyāyana, have been edited in three separate publications. The Bhikṣu-prātimoksa-sūtra (44ff.) was published in 1956 by W. Pachow and Ramakanta Mishra.3 The Bhikṣu-abhisa-mācārika-dharma-s (50ff.) was published in 1969 by B. Jinananda.4 Roth’s edition of the Bhikṣuṇí-vinaya (80ff.) includes the Bhikṣuṇí-prakírṇaka and the uddānas of the Bhikṣu-prakírṇaka.5 The Bhikṣuni-vinaya consists of two parts: the Eight guru-dharma and the Bhiksuni-pratimoksa-vibhariga. The texts published by Roth correspond to the following sections of the Chinese version of the Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya: 1. Eight guru-dharma — Taishō vol. XXII, pp. 471a25–476b8; 2. Bhikṣuṇí-prātimokṣa-vibhaṅga pp. 514a–544c; 3. Bhikṣuní-prakírṇaka — pp. 544c–549a;4. uddānas of the Bhikṣu-prakírnaka — cf. pp. 426b, 442b, 446c, 455b, 464b, 478b, 483b, 485c, 488b, 493c, 495b, 496c, 497b and 499a. In the Taishō edition the Vinaya texts of the Mahāsāmghikas occupy 340 pages. The 174 leaves photographed by R. Sāṅkṛtyāyana correspond to 63 pages, almost one-fifth.

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Notes

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© 1974 D. Reidel Publishing Company, Dordrecht, Holland

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De Jong, J.W. (1974). Notes on the Bhikṣuṇī-Vinaya of the Mahāsāṃghikas. In: Cousins, L., Kunst, A., Norman, K.R. (eds) Buddhist Studies in Honour of I.B. Horner. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-2242-2_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-2242-2_8

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