Difference between revisions of "Agama"
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[[Agama]] | [[Agama]] | ||
− | [[阿含]] (Skt, [[Pali]]; Jpn [[Agon]] ) | + | [[阿含]] (Skt, [[Pali]]; Jpn [[Agon]] ) [[Agamas]]: They are a class of [[scriptures]] from the early [[Buddhist teachings]] contained in the [[mahayana]] [[Tripitaka]] that correspond to the [[suttas]] ([[sutras]]) of the [[Pali canon]]. |
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+ | Literally the term means that which has "come down" as these are considered to be the actual [[sermons]] given by the [[Buddha]] during His [[lifetime]]. | ||
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− | "Teachings handed down by [[tradition]]." In [[Buddhism]], [[Agama]] was originally a generic term for [[Shakyamuni's]] teachings. After the rise of [[Mahayana]], however, it came exclusively to mean the [[Hinayana]] teachings and [[scriptures]]. The only surviving [[Agama]] [[scriptures]] are a [[Pali]] version in five sections and a {{Wiki|Chinese}} version in four sections (called the four [[Agama sutras]]). The [[Pali]] [[Agamas]] constitute the [[sutra]] section of the [[Pali canon]] and were set down in [[writing]] around the first century B.C.E. [[Theravada Buddhism]] has handed them down in their entirety. See also [[Agama sutras]]; five [[Agamas]]; four [[Agama sutras]]. | + | "Teachings handed down by [[tradition]]." In [[Buddhism]], [[Agama]] was originally a generic term for [[Shakyamuni's]] teachings. After the rise of [[Mahayana]], however, it came exclusively to mean the [[Hinayana]] teachings and [[scriptures]]. |
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+ | The only surviving [[Agama]] [[scriptures]] are a [[Pali]] version in five [[sections]] and a {{Wiki|Chinese}} version in four [[sections]] (called the four [[Agama sutras]]). | ||
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+ | The [[Pali]] [[Agamas]] constitute the [[sutra]] section of the [[Pali canon]] and were set down in [[writing]] around the first century B.C.E. [[Theravada Buddhism]] has handed them down in their entirety. See also [[Agama sutras]]; five [[Agamas]]; four [[Agama sutras]]. | ||
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− | In [[Buddhism]], the term [[āgama]] is used to refer to a collection of discourses ([[Sanskrit]]: [[sutra]]; [[Pali]]: [[sutta]]) of the [[early Buddhist schools]], which were preserved primarily in {{Wiki|Chinese}} translation, with substantial material also surviving in [[Sanskrit]] and lesser but still significant amounts surviving in {{Wiki|Gāndhārī}} and in [[Tibetan]] translation. These [[sutras]] correspond to the first four [[Nikayas]] (and parts of the fifth) of the [[Sutta-Pitaka]] of the [[Pali Canon]], which are also occasionally called [[agamas]]. In this [[sense]], [[āgama]] is a synonym for one of the meanings of [[nikaya]]. | + | In [[Buddhism]], an [[āgama]] ([[Sanskrit]] and [[Pāli]] for "[[sacred work]]" or "[[scripture]]" is a collection of Early [[Buddhist scriptures]]. |
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+ | The five [[āgamas]] together comprise the [[Sūtra Piṭaka]] of the [[early Buddhist schools]]. | ||
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+ | The various schools had different recensions of each [[āgama]]. In the [[Pāli]] [[language]] [[Sutta Piṭaka]] of the [[Theravada]] school (in the [[Pali Canon]]) the term [[nikāya]] is used in place of [[āgama]]. | ||
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+ | [[Āgamas]] of various schools are preserved in {{Wiki|Chinese}} translation, and portions also survive in [[Sanskrit]] and in [[Tibetan]] translation. | ||
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+ | ==Meaning== | ||
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+ | In [[Buddhism]], the term [[āgama]] is used to refer to a [[collection of discourses]] ([[Sanskrit]]: [[sutra]]; [[Pali]]: [[sutta]]) of the [[early Buddhist schools]], which were preserved primarily in {{Wiki|Chinese}} translation, with substantial material also surviving in [[Sanskrit]] and lesser but still significant amounts surviving in {{Wiki|Gāndhārī}} and in [[Tibetan]] translation. | ||
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+ | These [[sutras]] correspond to the first four [[Nikayas]] (and parts of the fifth) of the [[Sutta-Pitaka]] of the [[Pali Canon]], which are also occasionally called [[agamas]]. | ||
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+ | In this [[sense]], [[āgama]] is a {{Wiki|synonym}} for one of the meanings of [[nikaya]]. | ||
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+ | Sometimes the [[word]] [[āgama]] is used to refer not to a specific [[scripture]], but to a class of [[scripture]]. | ||
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+ | In this case, its meaning can also encompass the [[Sutta-pitaka]], which the [[Theravada]] [[tradition]] holds to be the oldest and most historically accurate [[representation]] of the teachings of [[Gautama Buddha]], together with the [[Vinaya-pitaka]]. | ||
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[[File:Shishosazen.jpg|thumb|250px|]] | [[File:Shishosazen.jpg|thumb|250px|]] | ||
− | In the 4th century [[Mahāyāna]] [[abhidharma]] work [[Abhidharmasamuccaya]], [[Asaṅga]] refers to the collection which contains the [[āgamas]] as the [[Śrāvakapiṭaka]], and associates it with the [[śrāvakas]] and [[pratyekabuddhas]]. [[Asaṅga]] classifies the [[Mahāyāna sūtras]] as belonging to the [[Bodhisattvapiṭaka]], which is designated as the collection of teachings for [[bodhisattvas]]. | + | In the 4th century [[Mahāyāna]] [[abhidharma]] work [[Abhidharmasamuccaya]], [[Asaṅga]] refers to the collection which contains the [[āgamas]] as the [[Śrāvakapiṭaka]], and associates it with the [[śrāvakas]] and [[pratyekabuddhas]]. |
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+ | [[Asaṅga]] classifies the [[Mahāyāna sūtras]] as belonging to the [[Bodhisattvapiṭaka]], which is designated as the collection of teachings for [[bodhisattvas]]. | ||
History | History | ||
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According to the MacMillan {{Wiki|Encyclopedia}} of [[Buddhism]] (2004): | According to the MacMillan {{Wiki|Encyclopedia}} of [[Buddhism]] (2004): | ||
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− | It is clear that, among the [[early schools]], at a minimum the [[Sarvāstivāda]], [[Kāśyapīya]], [[Mahāsāṃghika]], and [[Dharmaguptaka]] had recensions of four of the five [[āgamas]] that differed at least somewhat. The [[āgamas]] have been compared to the [[Pali Canon's]] [[nikayas]] by contemporary [[scholars]] in an attempt to identify possible changes and [[root]] phrasings. The [[āgamas]]' [[existence]] and similarity to the [[Sutta Pitaka]] are sometimes used by [[scholars]] to assess to what degree these teachings are a historically authentic [[representation]] of the [[Canon]] of [[Early Buddhism]]. Sometimes also the differences between them are used to suggest an alternative meaning to the accepted meaning of a [[sutta]] in either of the two recensions. | + | According to [[tradition]], the [[Buddha's]] [[discourses]] were already collected by the [[time]] of the [[first council]], held shortly after the [[Buddha's]] [[death]] ... [[Scholars]], however, see the texts as continually growing in number and size from an unknown nucleus, thereby undergoing various changes in [[language]] and content ... |
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+ | It is clear that, among the [[early schools]], at a minimum the [[Sarvāstivāda]], [[Kāśyapīya]], [[Mahāsāṃghika]], and [[Dharmaguptaka]] had recensions of four of the five [[āgamas]] that differed at least somewhat. | ||
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+ | The [[āgamas]] have been compared to the [[Pali Canon's]] [[nikayas]] by contemporary [[scholars]] in an attempt to identify possible changes and [[root]] phrasings. | ||
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+ | The [[āgamas]]' [[existence]] and similarity to the [[Sutta Pitaka]] are sometimes used by [[scholars]] to assess to what [[degree]] these teachings are a historically [[Wikipedia:Authenticity|authentic]] [[representation]] of the [[Canon]] of [[Early Buddhism]]. | ||
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+ | Sometimes also the differences between them are used to suggest an alternative meaning to the accepted meaning of a [[sutta]] in either of the two recensions. | ||
[[Doctrines]] | [[Doctrines]] | ||
− | According to some interpretations in the [[Theravāda]] school, it is not possible for there to be two fully [[enlightened]] [[buddhas]] at the same [[time]]. However, in [[Mahāyāna]] [[traditions]], the {{Wiki|concept}} of contemporaneous [[buddhas]] is common. According the [[Mahāyāna Mahāprajñāpāramitā Śāstra]], which is associated with the [[Vaibhāṣika]] [[Sarvāstivādins]], in the "[[Śrāvaka]] [[Dharma]]" ([[āgamas]] and related teachings), "the [[Buddha]] did not say whether or not there are contemporaneous [[buddhas]] in the [[ten directions]]." In the [[āgamas]] preserved in {{Wiki|Chinese}}, the {{Wiki|concept}} of contemporaneous [[buddhas]] does indeed [[exist]]. This is found in the extant [[Dīrgha Āgama]], the [[Saṃyukta Āgama]], and the [[Ekottara Āgama]], in which the [[doctrine]] of contemporaneous [[buddhas]] is mentioned many | + | According to some interpretations in the [[Theravāda]] school, it is not possible for there to be two fully [[enlightened]] [[buddhas]] at the same [[time]]. However, in [[Mahāyāna]] [[traditions]], the {{Wiki|concept}} of contemporaneous [[buddhas]] is common. |
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+ | According the [[Mahāyāna Mahāprajñāpāramitā Śāstra]], which is associated with the [[Vaibhāṣika]] [[Sarvāstivādins]], in the "[[Śrāvaka]] [[Dharma]]" ([[āgamas]] and related teachings), "the [[Buddha]] did not say whether or not there are contemporaneous [[buddhas]] in the [[ten directions]]." | ||
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+ | In the [[āgamas]] preserved in {{Wiki|Chinese}}, the {{Wiki|concept}} of contemporaneous [[buddhas]] does indeed [[exist]]. | ||
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+ | This is found in the extant [[Dīrgha Āgama]], the [[Saṃyukta Āgama]], and the [[Ekottara Āgama]], in which the [[doctrine]] of contemporaneous [[buddhas]] is mentioned many times. | ||
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[[File:Statue4.jpg|thumb|250px|]] | [[File:Statue4.jpg|thumb|250px|]] | ||
− | The {{Wiki|Chinese}} [[monk]] [[Xuanzang]] noted that the [[doctrine]] of the [[mūlavijñāna]] ("[[root consciousness]]") was contained in the [[āgamas]] of the [[Mahāsāṃghikas]]. [[Xuanzang]] studied [[Mahāsāṃghika]] [[abhidharma]] in [[India]], and considered this [[doctrine]] of the [[mūlavijñāna]] to be [[essentially]] the same as the [[Yogācāra]] [[doctrine]] of the [[ālāyavijñāna]] ("[[store consciousness]]"). | + | The {{Wiki|Chinese}} [[monk]] [[Xuanzang]] noted that the [[doctrine]] of the [[mūlavijñāna]] ("[[root consciousness]]") was contained in the [[āgamas]] of the [[Mahāsāṃghikas]]. |
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+ | [[Xuanzang]] studied [[Mahāsāṃghika]] [[abhidharma]] in [[India]], and considered this [[doctrine]] of the [[mūlavijñāna]] to be [[essentially]] the same as the [[Yogācāra]] [[doctrine]] of the [[ālāyavijñāna]] ("[[store consciousness]]"). | ||
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− | There are four extant [[collections]] of [[āgamas]], and one for which we have only references and fragments (the [[Kṣudrakāgama]]). The four extant [[collections]] are preserved in their entirety only in {{Wiki|Chinese}} translation ([[āgama]]: [[阿含經]]), although small portions of all four have recently been discovered in [[Sanskrit]], and portions of four of the five [[āgamas]] are preserved in [[Tibetan]]. The five [[Āgamas]] are: | + | There are four extant [[collections]] of [[āgamas]], and one for which we have only references and fragments (the [[Kṣudrakāgama]]). The four extant [[collections]] are preserved in their entirety only in {{Wiki|Chinese}} translation ([[āgama]]: |
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+ | [[阿含經]]), although small portions of all four have recently been discovered in [[Sanskrit]], and portions of four of the five [[āgamas]] are preserved in [[Tibetan]]. The five [[Āgamas]] are: | ||
[[Dīrgha Āgama]] | [[Dīrgha Āgama]] | ||
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− | The [[Madhyama Āgama]] ("[[Middle-length Discourses]]," [[Zhōng Ahánjīng]] [[中阿含經]], [[Wikipedia:Taishō Tripiṭaka|Taishō]]26) corresponds to the [[Majjhima Nikāya]] of the [[Theravada]] school. A complete translation of the [[Madhyama Āgama]] of the [[Sarvāstivāda]] school was done by [[Saṃghadeva]] ([[僧伽提婆]]) in the [[Wikipedia:Jin Dynasty (265–420)|Eastern Jin dynasty]] ([[Wikipedia:Jin Dynasty (265–420|東晉]]) in 397-398 CE. The [[Madhyama Āgama]] of the [[Sarvāstivāda]] school contains 222 [[sūtras]], in contrast to the 152 [[suttas]] in the [[Pāli]] [[Majjhima Nikāya]]. Portions of the [[Sarvāstivāda]] [[Madhyama Āgama]] also survive in [[Tibetan]] translation. | + | The [[Dīrgha Āgama]] ("[[Long Discourses]]," [[Cháng Ahánjīng]] [[長阿含經]] [[Wikipedia:Taishō Tripiṭaka|Taishō]] 1) corresponds to the [[Dīgha Nikāya]] of the [[Theravada]] school. |
− | [[Saṃyukta Āgama]] | + | |
+ | A complete version of the [[Dīrgha Āgama]] of the [[Dharmaguptaka]] ([[法藏部]]) school was done [[Buddhayaśas]] ([[佛陀耶舍]]) and [[Zhu Fonian]] ([[竺佛念]]) in the Late {{Wiki|Qin dynasty}} ([[後秦]]), dated to 413 CE. | ||
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+ | It contains 30 [[sūtras]] in contrast to the 34 [[suttas]] of the [[Theravadin]] [[Dīgha Nikāya]]. | ||
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+ | A "very substantial" portion of the [[Sarvāstivādin]] [[Dīrgha Āgama]] survives in [[Sanskrit]], and portions survive in [[Tibetan]] translation. | ||
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+ | ==[[Madhyama Āgama]]== | ||
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+ | The [[Madhyama Āgama]] ("[[Middle-length Discourses]]," [[Zhōng Ahánjīng]] [[中阿含經]], [[Wikipedia:Taishō Tripiṭaka|Taishō]]26) corresponds to the [[Majjhima Nikāya]] of the [[Theravada]] school. | ||
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+ | A complete translation of the [[Madhyama Āgama]] of the [[Sarvāstivāda]] school was done by [[Saṃghadeva]] ([[僧伽提婆]]) in the [[Wikipedia:Jin Dynasty (265–420)|Eastern Jin dynasty]] ([[Wikipedia:Jin Dynasty (265–420|東晉]]) in 397-398 CE. | ||
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+ | The [[Madhyama Āgama]] of the [[Sarvāstivāda]] school contains 222 [[sūtras]], in contrast to the 152 [[suttas]] in the [[Pāli]] [[Majjhima Nikāya]]. Portions of the [[Sarvāstivāda]] [[Madhyama Āgama]] also survive in [[Tibetan]] translation. | ||
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+ | ==[[Saṃyukta Āgama]]== | ||
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+ | The [[Saṃyukta Āgama]] ("[[Connected Discourses]]", [[Zá Ahánjīng]] [[雜阿含經]] [[Wikipedia:Taishō Tripiṭaka|Taishō]] 2.99) corresponds to the [[Saṃyutta Nikāya]] of the [[Theravada]] school. | ||
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+ | A {{Wiki|Chinese}} translation of the complete [[Saṃyukta Āgama]] of the [[Sarvāstivāda]] ([[說一切有部]]) school was done by [[Guṇabhadra]] ([[求那跋陀羅]]) in the Song [[state]] ([[宋]]), dated to 435-443 CE. Portions of the [[Sarvāstivāda]] [[Saṃyukta Āgama]] also survive in [[Sanskrit]] and [[Tibetan]] translation. | ||
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[[File:Taishizou-wood-nara.jpg|thumb|250px|]] | [[File:Taishizou-wood-nara.jpg|thumb|250px|]] | ||
− | There is also an incomplete {{Wiki|Chinese}} translation of the [[Saṃyukta Āgama]] ([[別譯雜阿含經]] [[Wikipedia:Taishō Tripiṭaka|Taishō]] 100) of the [[Kāśyapīya]] ([[飲光部]]) school by an unknown translator, from around the [[Wikipedia:Three Qins |Three Qin]] ([[Wikipedia:Three Qins|三秦]]) period, 352-431 CE. A comparison of the [[Sarvāstivādin]], [[Kāśyapīya]], and [[Theravadin]] texts reveals a considerable [[consistency]] of content, although each recension contains texts not found in the others. | + | There is also an incomplete {{Wiki|Chinese}} translation of the [[Saṃyukta Āgama]] ([[別譯雜阿含經]] [[Wikipedia:Taishō Tripiṭaka|Taishō]] 100) of the [[Kāśyapīya]] ([[飲光部]]) school by an unknown [[translator]], from around the [[Wikipedia:Three Qins |Three Qin]] ([[Wikipedia:Three Qins|三秦]]) period, 352-431 CE. |
− | + | ||
+ | A comparison of the [[Sarvāstivādin]], [[Kāśyapīya]], and [[Theravadin]] texts reveals a considerable [[consistency]] of content, although each recension contains texts not found in the others. | ||
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− | + | ==[[Ekottara Āgama]]== | |
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− | Partial [[āgama]] [[collections]] and independent [[sutras]] within the {{Wiki|Chinese}} [[canon]]. | + | The [[Ekottara Āgama]] ("[[Numbered Discourses]]," [[Zēngyī Ahánjīng]], [[增壹阿含經]] [[Wikipedia:Taishō Tripiṭaka|Taishō]] 125) corresponds to the [[Anguttara Nikāya]] of the [[Theravada]] school. |
− | Small groups of [[sutras]] or independent [[sutras]] within the [[Tibetan canon]]. | + | |
− | [[Sutras]] reconstructed from ancient manuscripts in [[Sanskrit]], {{Wiki|Gandhari}}, or other ancient [[Indic]] languages. | + | A complete version of the [[Ekottara Āgama]] was translated by [[Dharmanandi]] ([[曇摩難提]]) of the [[Fu]] Qin [[state]] (苻秦), and edited by [[Gautama Saṃghadeva]] in 397–398 CE. |
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+ | Some believed that it came from the [[Sarvāstivāda]] school, but more recently the [[Mahāsāṃghika]] branch has been proposed as well. | ||
+ | According to {{Wiki|A.K. Warder}}, the [[Ekottara Āgama]] references 250 [[Prātimokṣa]] {{Wiki|rules}} for [[monks]], which agrees only with the [[Dharmaguptaka Vinaya]], which is also located in the [[Chinese Buddhist canon]]. | ||
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+ | He also [[views]] some of the [[doctrine]] as contradicting {{Wiki|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]]. | ||
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+ | 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. | ||
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+ | The [[Ekottara Āgama]] contains variants on such standard teachings as the [[Noble Eightfold Path]]. | ||
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+ | According to [[Keown]], "there is considerable disparity between the [[Pāli]] and the {{Wiki|Chinese}} versions, 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." | ||
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+ | ==[[Kṣudraka Āgama]] or [[Kṣudraka Piṭaka]]== | ||
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+ | The [[Kṣudraka Āgama]] ("[[Minor Collection]]") corresponds to the [[Khuddaka Nikāya]], and existed in some schools. | ||
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+ | The [[Dharmaguptaka]] in particular, had a [[Kṣudraka Āgama]]. | ||
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+ | The {{Wiki|Chinese}} translation of the [[Dharmaguptaka Vinaya]] provides a table of contents for the [[Dharmaguptaka]] recension of the [[Kṣudraka Āgama]], and fragments in {{Wiki|Gandhari}} appear to have been found. | ||
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+ | Items from this [[Āgama]] also survive in [[Tibetan]] and {{Wiki|Chinese}} translation—fourteen texts, in the later case. | ||
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+ | Some schools, notably the [[Sarvāstivāda]], [[recognized]] only four [[Āgamas]]—they had a "[[Kṣudraka]]" which they did not consider to be an "[[Āgama]]." | ||
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+ | Others—including even the [[Dharmaguptaka]], according to some contemporary scholars—preferred to term it a ""[[Kṣudraka Piṭaka]]." | ||
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+ | As with its [[Pāḷi]] counterpart, the [[Kṣudraka Āgama]] appears to have been a miscellany, and was perhaps never definitively established among many [[early schools]]. | ||
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+ | ==Additional materials== | ||
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+ | In addition, there is a substantial {{Wiki|quantity}} of [[āgama]]-style texts outside of the main [[collections]]. These are found in various sources: | ||
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+ | Partial [[āgama]] [[collections]] and {{Wiki|independent}} [[sutras]] within the {{Wiki|Chinese}} [[canon]]. | ||
+ | Small groups of [[sutras]] or {{Wiki|independent}} [[sutras]] within the [[Tibetan canon]]. | ||
+ | |||
+ | [[Sutras]] reconstructed from {{Wiki|ancient}} [[manuscripts]] in [[Sanskrit]], {{Wiki|Gandhari}}, or other {{Wiki|ancient}} [[Indic]] [[languages]]. | ||
Passages and quotes from [[āgama]] [[sutras]] preserved within [[Mahayana Sutras]], [[Abhidharma]] texts, later commentaries, and so on. | Passages and quotes from [[āgama]] [[sutras]] preserved within [[Mahayana Sutras]], [[Abhidharma]] texts, later commentaries, and so on. | ||
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+ | Isolated phrases preserved in {{Wiki|inscriptions}}. For example, the [[Ashoka]] pillar at [[Lumbini]] declares [[iha budhe jāte]], a quote from the [[Mahaparinirvana Sutra]]. | ||
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+ | In [[Buddhism]], an [[āgama]] ([[Sanskrit]] and [[Pali]] for "[[sacred work]]" or "[[scripture]]") is a collection of Early [[Buddhist scriptures]], of which there are four, which together comprise the [[Sutra Pitika]] of the [[Sanskritic]] [[early schools]]. | ||
+ | The various schools had different recensions of each [[agama]], and the four [[agamas]] parallel the first four [[collections]] ([[nikāyas]]) of the [[Sutta Piṭaka]] of the [[Theravadin]] school's [[Pali Canon]]. | ||
− | + | [[Āgamas]] of various schools, primarily the [[Sarvāstivāda]], are preserved in their entirety in {{Wiki|Chinese}} translation, although portions survive in [[Sanskrit]] and in [[Tibetan]] translation. | |
</poem> | </poem> | ||
{{R}} | {{R}} | ||
[http://www.dhammawiki.com/index.php?title=Agama www.dhammawiki.com] | [http://www.dhammawiki.com/index.php?title=Agama www.dhammawiki.com] | ||
[[Category:Buddhist Terms]] | [[Category:Buddhist Terms]] | ||
− | + | {{PaliTerminology}} | |
[[Category:Agama]] | [[Category:Agama]] |
Latest revision as of 06:34, 13 December 2015
Agama
阿含 (Skt, Pali; Jpn Agon ) Agamas: They are a class of scriptures from the early Buddhist teachings contained in the mahayana Tripitaka that correspond to the suttas (sutras) of the Pali canon.
Literally the term means that which has "come down" as these are considered to be the actual sermons given by the Buddha during His lifetime.
"Teachings handed down by tradition." In Buddhism, Agama was originally a generic term for Shakyamuni's teachings. After the rise of Mahayana, however, it came exclusively to mean the Hinayana teachings and scriptures.
The only surviving Agama scriptures are a Pali version in five sections and a Chinese version in four sections (called the four Agama sutras).
The Pali Agamas constitute the sutra section of the Pali canon and were set down in writing around the first century B.C.E. Theravada Buddhism has handed them down in their entirety. See also Agama sutras; five Agamas; four Agama sutras.
....
In Buddhism, an āgama (Sanskrit and Pāli for "sacred work" or "scripture" is a collection of Early Buddhist scriptures.
The five āgamas together comprise the Sūtra Piṭaka of the early Buddhist schools.
The various schools had different recensions of each āgama. In the Pāli language Sutta Piṭaka of the Theravada school (in the Pali Canon) the term nikāya is used in place of āgama.
Āgamas of various schools are preserved in Chinese translation, and portions also survive in Sanskrit and in Tibetan translation.
==Meaning==
In Buddhism, the term āgama is used to refer to a collection of discourses (Sanskrit: sutra; Pali: sutta) of the early Buddhist schools, which were preserved primarily in Chinese translation, with substantial material also surviving in Sanskrit and lesser but still significant amounts surviving in Gāndhārī and in Tibetan translation.
These sutras correspond to the first four Nikayas (and parts of the fifth) of the Sutta-Pitaka of the Pali Canon, which are also occasionally called agamas.
In this sense, āgama is a synonym for one of the meanings of nikaya.
Sometimes the word āgama is used to refer not to a specific scripture, but to a class of scripture.
In this case, its meaning can also encompass the Sutta-pitaka, which the Theravada tradition holds to be the oldest and most historically accurate representation of the teachings of Gautama Buddha, together with the Vinaya-pitaka.
In the 4th century Mahāyāna abhidharma work Abhidharmasamuccaya, Asaṅga refers to the collection which contains the āgamas as the Śrāvakapiṭaka, and associates it with the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas.
Asaṅga classifies the Mahāyāna sūtras as belonging to the Bodhisattvapiṭaka, which is designated as the collection of teachings for bodhisattvas.
History
According to the MacMillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism (2004):
According to tradition, the Buddha's discourses were already collected by the time of the first council, held shortly after the Buddha's death ... Scholars, however, see the texts as continually growing in number and size from an unknown nucleus, thereby undergoing various changes in language and content ...
It is clear that, among the early schools, at a minimum the Sarvāstivāda, Kāśyapīya, Mahāsāṃghika, and Dharmaguptaka had recensions of four of the five āgamas that differed at least somewhat.
The āgamas have been compared to the Pali Canon's nikayas by contemporary scholars in an attempt to identify possible changes and root phrasings.
The āgamas' existence and similarity to the Sutta Pitaka are sometimes used by scholars to assess to what degree these teachings are a historically authentic representation of the Canon of Early Buddhism.
Sometimes also the differences between them are used to suggest an alternative meaning to the accepted meaning of a sutta in either of the two recensions.
Doctrines
According to some interpretations in the Theravāda school, it is not possible for there to be two fully enlightened buddhas at the same time. However, in Mahāyāna traditions, the concept of contemporaneous buddhas is common.
According the Mahāyāna Mahāprajñāpāramitā Śāstra, which is associated with the Vaibhāṣika Sarvāstivādins, in the "Śrāvaka Dharma" (āgamas and related teachings), "the Buddha did not say whether or not there are contemporaneous buddhas in the ten directions."
In the āgamas preserved in Chinese, the concept of contemporaneous buddhas does indeed exist.
This is found in the extant Dīrgha Āgama, the Saṃyukta Āgama, and the Ekottara Āgama, in which the doctrine of contemporaneous buddhas is mentioned many times.
The Chinese monk Xuanzang noted that the doctrine of the mūlavijñāna ("root consciousness") was contained in the āgamas of the Mahāsāṃghikas.
Xuanzang studied Mahāsāṃghika abhidharma in India, and considered this doctrine of the mūlavijñāna to be essentially the same as the Yogācāra doctrine of the ālāyavijñāna ("store consciousness").
There are four extant collections of āgamas, and one for which we have only references and fragments (the Kṣudrakāgama). The four extant collections are preserved in their entirety only in Chinese translation (āgama:
阿含經), although small portions of all four have recently been discovered in Sanskrit, and portions of four of the five āgamas are preserved in Tibetan. The five Āgamas are:
Dīrgha Āgama
The Dīrgha Āgama ("Long Discourses," Cháng Ahánjīng 長阿含經 Taishō 1) corresponds to the Dīgha Nikāya of the Theravada school.
A complete version of the Dīrgha Āgama of the Dharmaguptaka (法藏部) school was done Buddhayaśas (佛陀耶舍) and Zhu Fonian (竺佛念) in the Late Qin dynasty (後秦), dated to 413 CE.
It contains 30 sūtras in contrast to the 34 suttas of the Theravadin Dīgha Nikāya.
A "very substantial" portion of the Sarvāstivādin Dīrgha Āgama survives in Sanskrit, and portions survive in Tibetan translation.
==Madhyama Āgama==
The Madhyama Āgama ("Middle-length Discourses," Zhōng Ahánjīng 中阿含經, Taishō26) corresponds to the Majjhima Nikāya of the Theravada school.
A complete translation of the Madhyama Āgama of the Sarvāstivāda school was done by Saṃghadeva (僧伽提婆) in the Eastern Jin dynasty (東晉) in 397-398 CE.
The Madhyama Āgama of the Sarvāstivāda school contains 222 sūtras, in contrast to the 152 suttas in the Pāli Majjhima Nikāya. Portions of the Sarvāstivāda Madhyama Āgama also survive in Tibetan translation.
==Saṃyukta Āgama==
The Saṃyukta Āgama ("Connected Discourses", Zá Ahánjīng 雜阿含經 Taishō 2.99) corresponds to the Saṃyutta Nikāya of the Theravada school.
A Chinese translation of the complete Saṃyukta Āgama of the Sarvāstivāda (說一切有部) school was done by Guṇabhadra (求那跋陀羅) in the Song state (宋), dated to 435-443 CE. Portions of the Sarvāstivāda Saṃyukta Āgama also survive in Sanskrit and Tibetan translation.
There is also an incomplete Chinese translation of the Saṃyukta Āgama (別譯雜阿含經 Taishō 100) of the Kāśyapīya (飲光部) school by an unknown translator, from around the Three Qin (三秦) period, 352-431 CE.
A comparison of the Sarvāstivādin, Kāśyapīya, and Theravadin texts reveals a considerable consistency of content, although each recension contains texts not found in the others.
==Ekottara Āgama==
The Ekottara Āgama ("Numbered Discourses," Zēngyī Ahánjīng, 增壹阿含經 Taishō 125) corresponds to the Anguttara Nikāya of the Theravada school.
A complete version of the Ekottara Āgama was translated by Dharmanandi (曇摩難提) of the Fu Qin state (苻秦), and edited by Gautama Saṃghadeva in 397–398 CE.
Some believed that it came from the Sarvāstivāda school, but more recently the Mahāsāṃghika branch has been proposed as well.
According to A.K. Warder, the Ekottara Āgama references 250 Prātimokṣa rules for monks, which agrees only with the Dharmaguptaka 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.
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 contains variants on such standard teachings as the Noble Eightfold Path.
According to Keown, "there is considerable disparity between the Pāli and the Chinese versions, 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."
==Kṣudraka Āgama or Kṣudraka Piṭaka==
The Kṣudraka Āgama ("Minor Collection") corresponds to the Khuddaka Nikāya, and existed in some schools.
The Dharmaguptaka in particular, had a Kṣudraka Āgama.
The Chinese translation of the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya provides a table of contents for the Dharmaguptaka recension of the Kṣudraka Āgama, and fragments in Gandhari appear to have been found.
Items from this Āgama also survive in Tibetan and Chinese translation—fourteen texts, in the later case.
Some schools, notably the Sarvāstivāda, recognized only four Āgamas—they had a "Kṣudraka" which they did not consider to be an "Āgama."
Others—including even the Dharmaguptaka, according to some contemporary scholars—preferred to term it a ""Kṣudraka Piṭaka."
As with its Pāḷi counterpart, the Kṣudraka Āgama appears to have been a miscellany, and was perhaps never definitively established among many early schools.
==Additional materials==
In addition, there is a substantial quantity of āgama-style texts outside of the main collections. These are found in various sources:
Partial āgama collections and independent sutras within the Chinese canon.
Small groups of sutras or independent sutras within the Tibetan canon.
Sutras reconstructed from ancient manuscripts in Sanskrit, Gandhari, or other ancient Indic languages.
Passages and quotes from āgama sutras preserved within Mahayana Sutras, Abhidharma texts, later commentaries, and so on.
Isolated phrases preserved in inscriptions. For example, the Ashoka pillar at Lumbini declares iha budhe jāte, a quote from the Mahaparinirvana Sutra.
In Buddhism, an āgama (Sanskrit and Pali for "sacred work" or "scripture") is a collection of Early Buddhist scriptures, of which there are four, which together comprise the Sutra Pitika of the Sanskritic early schools.
The various schools had different recensions of each agama, and the four agamas parallel the first four collections (nikāyas) of the Sutta Piṭaka of the Theravadin school's Pali Canon.
Āgamas of various schools, primarily the Sarvāstivāda, are preserved in their entirety in Chinese translation, although portions survive in Sanskrit and in Tibetan translation.