Mahāsāṃghika - Knowledge

2511: 2703:, but in a way that is different from the vinayas of the Sthavira branch. According to this study, the earliest vinaya material common to all sects simply depicts Devadatta as a Buddhist saint who wishes for the monks to live a rigorous lifestyle. This has led Ray to regard the story of Devadatta as a legend produced by the Sthavira group. However, upon examining the same vinaya materials, Bhikkhu Sujato has written that the portrayals of Devadatta are largely consistent between the Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya and the other vinayas, and that the supposed discrepancy is simply due to the minimalist literary style of the Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya. He also points to other parts of the Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya that clearly portray Devadatta as a villain, as well as similar portrayals that exist in the Lokottaravādin 2118: 1265: 902: 781: 586: 594: 2188:, because they did not personally hear the Buddha proclaim the Greater Vehicle. Among those who believed these sutras, there were some who did so because they had personally heard the Buddha proclaim the Greater Vehicle and therefore believed these sutras; others believed them, because it can be known through logical analysis that there is this principle ; and some believed them because they believed their masters. Those who did not believe did so because these sutras were self-made and because they were not included in the five 1400: 1326: 890: 6782: 1664: 6793: 2800: 2299: 4191: 4178: 2533: 58: 4089:"Buddhist Monastic Discipline: The Sanskrit Pratimoksa Sutras of the Mahasamghikas and Mulasarvastivadins"; Charles Prebish. Volume I of the Institute for Advanced Studies of World Religions Series. University Park: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1975, 156 pages. First Indian Edition, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1996. (This is only a translation of a small part of the Vinayas, on its own it is nearly useless.) 4168: 2451:, it is "clearly" the case that the Mahāyāna teachings originally came from the Mahāsāṃghika branch of Buddhism. Warder holds that "the Mahāyāna originated in the south of India and almost certainly in the Āndhra country." Anthony Barber and Sree Padma note that "historians of Buddhist thought have been aware for quite some time that such pivotally important Mahayana Buddhist thinkers as 2274:. Guang Xing states, "several scholars have suggested that the Prajñāpāramitā probably developed among the Mahāsāṃghikas in southern India, in the Āndhra country, on the Kṛṣṇa River." These Mahāsāṃghikas had two famous monasteries near Amarāvati and the Dhānyakaṭaka, which gave their names to the schools of the Pūrvaśailas and the Aparaśailas. Each of these schools had a copy of the 643:, and it is explained that the schism resulted from the majority (Mahāsaṃgha) refusing to accept the addition of rules to the Vinaya by a smaller group of elders (Sthaviras). The Mahāsāṃghikas therefore saw the Sthaviras as being a breakaway group which was attempting to modify the original Vinaya and to make it more strict. 2668:

There are also fewer stories in general in the Vinaya of the subsidiary school, the Mahāsāṃghika-Lokottaravāda, and many of them give the appearance of badly connected obvious interpolations, whereas in the structure of the Sthavira recensions the stories are integrated into the whole scheme. In the

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in the 7th century CE, the Mahāsāṃghika schools had essentially disappeared, and instead these travelers found what they described as "Mahāyāna." The region occupied by the Mahāsāṃghika was then an important center for Mahāyāna Buddhism. Bareau has proposed that Mahāyāna grew out of the Mahāsāṃghika

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A doctrine ascribed to the Mahāsāṃghikas is, "The power of the tathāgatas is unlimited, and the life of the buddhas is unlimited." According to Guang Xing, two main aspects of the Buddha can be seen in Mahāsāṃghika teachings: the true Buddha who is omniscient and omnipotent, and the manifested forms

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Similarly, the idea that the lifespan of a Buddha is limitless is also based on very ancient ideas. The Mahāparinirvānasūtra states that the Buddha's lifespan is as long as an eon (kalpa) and that he voluntarily chose to give up his life. Another early source for the Mahāsāṃghika view that a Buddha

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in 416 CE, and the completed translation is 40 fascicles in length. According to Faxian, in Northern India, the vinaya teachings were typically only passed down by tradition through word of mouth and memorization. For this reason, it was difficult for him to procure manuscripts of the vinayas

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Paramārtha also wrote about the origins of the Bahuśrutīya sect in connection with acceptance of Mahāyāna teachings. According to his account, the founder of the Bahuśrutīya sect was named Yājñavalkya. In Paramārtha's account, Yājñavalkya is said to have lived during the time of the Buddha, and to

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parallel version is the most prominent evidence for the ancient source of the Mahāsāṃghika view of the Buddha. The sutra mentions various miracles performed by the Buddha before his birth and after. While the Pāli sutta uses the term bodhisattva for the Buddha before his birth, the Chinese version

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Some Buddhist historical sources mention that the cause for schism was a dispute over vinaya (monastic rule), mainly the desire of certain Sthaviras (elders) to add extra rules to make the vinaya more rigorous. Other sources, especially Sthavira sources like those of the Sarvastivada school, argue

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The Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya recension is essentially very similar to the other recensions, as they all are to each other. The Mahāsāṃghika recension differs most from the other recensions in structure, but the rules are generally identical in meaning, if the Vibhangas (explanations) are compared. The

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and Mahāyāna teachings. In the 6th century CE, Bhāvaviveka speaks of the Siddhārthikas using a Vidyādhāra Piṭaka, and the Pūrvaśailas and Aparaśailas both using a Bodhisattva Piṭaka, all implying collections of Mahāyāna texts within the Mahāsāṃghika schools. During the same period, Avalokitavrata

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Dessein also mentions that the school probably also had a Bodhisattvapiṭaka, which included material that "in all likelihood consisted of texts that formed part of the early development of the bodhisattva path as an alternative career to that of the arhant, perhaps serving as a foundation for the

4075:"The Fundamental Teachings of Early Buddhism: a comparative study based on the Sūtrāṅga portion of the Pali Saṃyutta-Nikāya and the Chinese Saṃyuktāgama", Choong Mun-Keat, Wiesbaden : Harrassowitz, 2000. (Contains an account of Master Yin-Shun's theory that the Samyukt'Agama is the oldest 2686:

three = six in the Ma-L) seems to better represent what would be expected of a root formulation which could lead to the variety of confused formulations we see (presumably later) in the other recensions. The formulation of this rule (as an example) also reflects a semi-parallel formulation to a

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also taught that the Bodhisattva was subject to the law of karma. If one attained arhathood, he was free of the karmic law; and once the arhat died, he entered nirvāṇa never to return to the world of saṃsāra. But living in the cycle of saṃsāra, the Bodhisattva was bound to the law of karma. In

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In the Mahāsāṃghika school this Arhat recited completely the superficial sense and the profound sense. In the latter, there was the sense of the Mahāyāna. Some did not believe it. Those who believed it recited and retained it. There were in the Mahāsāṃghika school those who propagated these

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and studied Mahāsāṃghika abhidharma with them for several months. On the basis of textual evidence as well as inscriptions at Nāgārjunakoṇḍā, Joseph Walser concludes that at least some Mahāsāṃghika sects probably had an abhidharma collection, and that it likely contained five or six books.

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Scholars have generally agreed that the matter of dispute was indeed a matter of vinaya, and have noted that the account of the Mahāsāṃghikas is bolstered by the vinaya texts themselves, as vinayas associated with the Sthaviras do contain more rules than those of the Mahāsāṃghika vinaya.

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According to Paramārtha, the Bahuśrutīya school was formed in order to fully embrace both "conventional truth" and "ultimate truth." Bart Dessein links the Bahuśrutīya understanding of this full exposition to the Mahāyāna teachings. In his writings, Paramārtha also indicated as much:

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use the principle of contemporaneous bodhisattvas to demonstrate the necessity of contemporaneous buddhas throughout the ten directions. It is thought that the doctrine of contemporaneous buddhas was already old and well established by the time of early Mahāyāna texts such as the

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Regarding the issue with Mahadeva's doctrine, this seems to have been a later doctrinal dispute within the Mahāsāṃghika community (which happened after the schism). The followers of Mahadeva seem to have been the precursors of the southern Mahāsāṃghika sects, like the Caitikas.

2150:, and were divided over whether the Mahāyāna teachings should be incorporated formally into their Tripiṭaka. According to this account, they split into three groups based upon the relative manner and degree to which they accepted the authority of these Mahāyāna texts. 2502:

schools, and the members of the Mahāsāṃghika schools also accepted the teachings of the Mahāyāna. Additionally, the extant Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya was originally procured by Faxian in the early 5th century CE at what he describes as a "Mahāyāna" monastery in Pāṭaliputra.

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has stated that there can be found Mahāyāna ontology prefigured in the Mahāsāṃghika schools, and has offered an array of evidence to support this conclusion. Bareau traces the origin of the Mahāyāna tradition to the older Mahāsāṃghika schools in regions such as

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Modern scholarship therefore generally agrees that the Mahāsāṃghika vinaya is the oldest. According to Skilton, future historians may determine that a study of the Mahāsāṃghika school will contribute to a better understanding of the early Dhamma-Vinaya than the

1531:) which held that a moment of consciousness (citta) can be aware of itself as well as its intentional object. This doctrine arose out of their understanding of the Buddha's enlightenment which held that in a single moment of mind the Buddha knew all things. 1804:) Buddha, who across his countless past lives developed various abilities such as omniscience (sarvajñana), the lack of any need for sleep or food and being born painlessly without the need for intercourse. The text shows strong parallels with the Pali 2769:

region and further south. In the 7th century, the existence of multiple Vinaya lineages throughout China was criticized by prominent Vinaya masters such as Yijing and Dao'an (654–717). In the early 8th century, Dao'an gained the support of

2201:. After Yājñavalkya emerged from this samādhi 200 years later, he discovered that the Mahāsāṃghikas were teaching only the superficial meaning of the sūtras, and therefore founded the Bahuśrutīya sect in order to expound the full meaning. 2490:, and so on. He then cites the Bahuśrutīyas and Prajñaptivādins as sub-sects of the Mahāsāṃghika that may have played an important role in bridging the flow of Mahāyāna teachings between the northern and southern Mahāsāṃghika traditions. 1698:

Of these texts, their Vinaya was translated into Chinese by Buddhabhadra and Faxian between 416 and 418 CE in the Daochang Monastery in Nanjing, capital of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. In this text, their Abhidharma is defined as "the

1516:) belongs to the Mahāsāṃghikas. Every branch of these clearly drew the distinction between the mundane and the ultimate, came to emphasize the non-ultimacy of the mundane and thus facilitated the fixing of attention on the ultimate. 2673:

rules also, the phrasing (though generally identical in meaning to the other recensions) often appears to represent a clearer but less streamlined version, which suggests it might be older. This is particularly noticeable in the

1707:). This suggests that the early Mahāsāṃghikas rejected the abhidharmic developments that occurred within Sarvāstivāda circles. As is the case with their Vinayapiṭaka, also their Sutrapiṭaka seems to have consisted of five parts ( 4086:, Taipei, Taiwan: the Corporate Body of the Buddha Educational Foundation, 2006. (Gives further evidence for the Anga-theory of Master Yin-Shun and the theory that the Samyukta-/ Samyutta- is the oldest organising principle.) 1365:) being limitless, the length of his life being limitless, never tiring of enlightening sentient beings and awakening pure faith in them, having no sleep or dreams, no pause in answering a question, and always in meditation ( 2179:

In this school, there were some who believed these sutras and some who did not. Those who did not believe them ... said that such sutras are made by man and are not proclaimed by the Buddha, ... that the disciples of the

2444:, some scholars of Buddhism have looked to the Mahāsāṃghika as the originators of Mahāyāna Buddhism. According to Akira Hirakawa, modern scholars often look to the Mahāsāṃghikas as the originators of Mahāyāna Buddhism. 1502:) truth. For the Mahāsāṃghika branch of Buddhism, the final and ultimate meaning of the Buddha's teachings was "beyond words," and words were merely the conventional exposition of the Dharma. K. Venkata Ramanan writes: 2423:

during the second half of the 2nd century CE, in a Mahāsāṃghika environment, probably in one of their centres along the western coastal region such as Karli, or perhaps, though less likely, the Amaravatī-Dhanyakaṭaka

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states that the Buddha had way more knowledge than what he taught to his disciples. The Mahāsāṃghikas took this further and argued that the Buddha knew the dharmas of innumerable other Buddhas of the ten directions.

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Buddhist Philosophy and Meditation Practice: Academic Papers Presented at the 2nd IABU Conference Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University, Main Campus Wang Noi, Ayutthaya, Thailand, 31 May–2 June 2012

4069:"Vinaya-Matrka — Mother of the Monastic Codes, or Just Another Set of Lists? A Response to Frauwallner's Handling of the Mahasamghika Vinaya"; Shayne Clarke. Indo-Iranian Journal 47: 77-120, 2004. 1027:), they possess nothing impure and are entirely provided with organs and members, rather than developing gradually. When they enter a womb, Bodhisattvas also take on the appearance of a white elephant. 2223:

Some early Mahāyāna sūtras reference wealthy female donors and provide evidence that they were developed in the Āndhra region, where the Mahāsāṃghika Caitika groups were predominant. The Mahāyāna

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Material things last a long time and so go through transformation (as milk turns into curds), but mental factors and consciousnesses do not because they have a swift production and cessation.

4072:"A Survey of Vinaya Literature"; Charles Prebish. Originally, Volume I of The Dharma Lamp Series. Taipei, Taiwan: Jin Luen Publishing House, 1994, 157 pages. Now published by Curzon Press. 1475:, which describes the doctrines of the Mahāsāṃghikas. These two concepts of contemporaneous bodhisattvas and contemporaneous buddhas were linked in some traditions, and texts such as the 3833: 2210:

teachings, and others who did not propagate them. The former formed a separate school called "Those who have heard much" (Bahuśrutīya). It is from this school that there has come the

829:, the robes of fully ordained Mahāsāṃghika monastics were to be sewn out of more than seven sections, but no more than twenty-three sections. The symbols sewn on the robes were the 1461:

contrast to this school the Mahāsāṃghika held that the Bodhisattva has already sundered karmic bondage and, therefore, is born in durgati out of his own free will, his deep vow (

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The credit of having kept alive the emphasis on the ultimacy of the unconditioned reality by drawing attention to the non-substantiality of the basic elements of existence (

1441:, it is stated, "The Buddha knows all the dharmas of the countless buddhas of the ten directions." It is also stated, "All buddhas have one body, the body of the Dharma." 810:, contains a very similar passage corroborating this information. In both sources, the Mahāsāṃghikas are described as wearing yellow robes. The relevant portion of the 1471:

The concept of many bodhisattvas simultaneously working toward buddhahood is also found among the Mahāsāṃghika tradition, and further evidence of this is given in the

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Like the Mahāyāna traditions, the Mahāsāṃghikas held the doctrine of the existence of many contemporaneous buddhas throughout the ten directions. In the Mahāsāṃghika

2091: 1560:) and so forth to apprehend, thus awareness can apprehend itself as well as others. This is like a lamp that can illuminate itself and others owing to its nature ( 2757:

In the 7th century, Yijing wrote that in eastern China, most people followed the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya, while the Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya was used in earlier times in

2392:. The Śātavāhana rulers gave rich patronage to Buddhism, and were involved with the development of the cave temples at Karla and Ajaṇṭā, and also with the Great 1822:

1465, p. 900b), translated into Chinese between 317 and 420, is a Mahasamghika Vinaya work which also provides a history of early Buddhism and its schisms.

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and Charles S. Prebish, the best date for the first schism and the creation of the Mahāsāṃghika as a separate community is 116 years after the Buddha's nirvana.

4066:"The Earliest Vinaya and the Beginnings of Buddhist Literature"; Frauwallner, Serie Orientale Roma, 8. Rome: Istituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente. 2734:

that were used in India. The Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya was reputed to be the original vinaya from the lifetime of the Buddha, and "the most correct and complete."

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are produced which soil it that it is said to be defiled. But these defilements, not being of the original nature of the mind, are called adventitious." The

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The Mahāsāṃghika school diligently study the collected sūtras and teach the true meaning, because they are the source and the center. They wear yellow robes.

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Xing, Guang. An Enquiry into the Origin of the Mahasamghika Buddhology Authors. The Indian International Journal of Buddhist Studies, 2004, n. 5, p. 41-51.

1192:) which serves as the support (dsraya) for eye-perception and the other sensory perceptions, like the root of the tree is the principle of the leaves, etc. 4932: 1341:

to the Mahāsāṃghikas (Ekavyāvahārika, Lokottaravāda, and Kukkuṭika), twenty concern the supramundane nature of buddhas and bodhisattvas. According to the

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The Mahāsāṃghikas held that the teachings of the Buddha were to be understood as having two principal levels of truth: a relative or conventional (Skt.

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with the Mahāsāṃghika branch of Buddhism. He states that 200 years after the parinirvāṇa of the Buddha, much of the Mahāsāṃghika school moved north of

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in the early 5th century CE at a Mahāyāna monastery in Pāṭaliputra. This vinaya was then translated into Chinese as a joint effort between Faxian and

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with the Mahāsāṃghikas, and concludes that the Mahāsāṃghikas of the Āndhra region were responsible for the inception of the Tathāgatagarbha doctrine.

2621:(Matrix) which is also found embedded in the Vinayas of several of the Sthavira schools, suggesting that it is presectarian. The sub-sections of the 2320: 2142:, wrote about a special affiliation of the Mahāsāṃghika school with the Mahāyāna tradition. He associates the initial composition and acceptance of 2047: 4112:"Saiksa-dharmas Revisited: Further Considerations of Mahasamghika Origins"; Charles Prebish. History of Religions, 35, 3 (February, 1996), 258–270. 5851: 2357: 6075: 3840: 2254:

with patronage of Mahāyāna sūtras. Epigraphic evidence at Nāgārjunikoṇḍa also provides abundant evidence of royal and wealthy female donors.

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also discusses this theory, and cites the sutra passage which the Mahāsāṃghikas drew on to defend it. The passage is quoted by Vasumitra as:

4103:"The Pratimoksa Puzzle: Fact Versus Fantasy"; Charles Prebish. Journal of the American Oriental Society, 94, 2 (April–June, 1974), 168–176. 605:. Traditions regarding the Second Council are confusing and ambiguous, but it is agreed that the overall result was the first schism in the 4292: 3988: 784:

A Chinese Buddhist monk in a yellow robe. Chinese Buddhist monks often use the same color robes that some Mahāsāṃghika sects used in India.

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of the Sthavira derived schools. However, their structure is simpler, and according to recent research by Clarke, the structure follows a

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Dessein, Bart (2009). "The Mahāsāṃghikas and the Origin of Mahayana Buddhism: Evidence Provided in the *"Abhidharmamahāvibhāṣāśāstra"".

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that the main cause was a doctrinal issue. They blame a figure named Mahadeva with arguing for five divisive points, four of which see

4135: 4157: 894: 4106:"A Review of Scholarship on the Buddhist Councils"; Charles Prebish. Journal of Asian Studies, XXXIII, 2 (February, 1974), 239–254. 1477: 1361:, expounding all his teachings in a single utterance, all of his sayings being true, his physical body being limitless, his power ( 438: 1871:

However, other sources indicate that there were such collections of abhidharma. During the early 5th century, the Chinese pilgrim

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subschool itself claimed to be of the 'Middle Country', i.e. Ganges Basin region in the north of India. The Mahāsāṃghikas and the

6667: 6119: 6322: 4302: 4109:"Theories Concerning the Skandhaka: An Appraisal"; Charles Prebish Journal of Asian Studies, XXXII, 4 (August, 1973), 669–678. 2554: 1314: 631:

Andrew Skilton has suggested that the problems of contradictory accounts about the first schism are solved by the Mahāsāṃghika

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in general in all the recensions. Yet the formulation of certain rules which seem very confused in the other recensions (e.g.

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work by a figure known as Harivarman (250–350). Some scholars including A.K. Warder, attribute the work to the Mahāsāṃghika-

4485: 4327: 3483: 2361:, indicates that these texts were first circulated in South India and then gradually propagated up to the northwest, with 1767:(337–422 CE) contains proto-Mahayana elements and "reflects the nascent formation of the Mahāyāna Dharma teachings." 6662: 1850:, Volume 17, text No. 807) is a text preserved in some Sanskrit fragments as well as in Tibetan and Chinese translation. 726: 6559: 6109: 4204: 3531:

Tse-fu Kuan. (2013). Legends and Transcendence: Sectarian Affiliations of the Ekottarika Āgama in Chinese Translation.

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His body does not grow tired, ill or old, and is not affected by cold or heat, it only appears to have these qualities.

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features of the Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya recension which suggest that it might be an older redaction are, in brief, these:

2336:, along with four major arguments for this association. Anthony Barber also associates the earlier development of the 1682:(Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya) provides some insight into the format of this school's textual canon. They appear to have had a 4405: 3009: 2774:, and an imperial edict was issued that the saṃgha in China should use only the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya for ordination. 2580: 6652: 2562: 2099:

speaks of the Mahāsāṃghikas using a "Great Āgama Piṭaka," which is then associated with Mahāyāna sūtras such as the

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Bodhisattvas, because they want to help beings become perfect, make vows to be reborn in bad destinations (durgati).

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There are no indeterminate (avyakrta) things (dharma), that is, there are no dharmas that are neither good nor bad.

528:) represents the oldest Buddhist monastic source. While the Mahāsāṃghika tradition is no longer in existence, many 4129: 2661:

represents the earliest collection among the Nikayas / Agamas, and this may well imply that it is also the oldest

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In the 6th century CE, Paramārtha wrote that the Mahāsāṃghikas revere the sūtras which teach the Tathāgatagarbha.

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Manuscripts and fragments that have survived from this monastery's collection include the following source texts:

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work. Chinese sources mention that he was initially a Sautrantika teacher who later lived with the Mahāsāṃghikas.

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Although Faxian procured the Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya in India and had this translated into Chinese, the tradition of

3554:"Abhidhamma Pitaka." Encyclopædia Britannica. Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2008. 6818: 6674: 6327: 6129: 6020: 5965: 4538: 2558: 2347: 6644: 6342: 6025: 4317: 4150: 17: 6227: 6099: 6070: 5772: 431: 4097: 4063:

Mahasamghika and Mahasamghika-Lokuttaravadin Vinayas in Chinese translation; CBETA Taisho digital edition.

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closely related rule for Bhiksus which is found in a more similar form in all the Vinayas (Pc64 in Pali).

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The Mahāsāṃghika Lokānuvartanā sūtra makes numerous supramundane claims about the Buddha, including that:

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Lin, Qian. Mind in Dispute: The Section on Mind in Harivarman’s *Tattvasiddhi, University of Washington

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and related texts, Stephen Hodge estimates a compilation period between 100 CE and 220 CE for the

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The self-presence of mind is bright. It is soiled (i.e. darkened) by adventitious secondary defilement.

5657: 2073: 635:, which is the earliest surviving account of the schism. In this account, the council was convened at 6657: 6470: 6460: 6332: 5315: 4895: 4656: 4631: 2771: 2730: 1126: 613:

and the Mahāsāṃghika nikāya, although it is not agreed upon by all what the cause of this split was.

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schools). Wayman has outlined eleven points of complete agreement between the Mahāsāṃghikas and the

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Treatise on the Elucidation of the Knowable, The Cycle of the Formation of the Schismatic Doctrines

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teachings were first developed by the Caitika subsect of the Mahāsāṃghikas. They believe that the

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have heard his discourses, but was in a profound state of samādhi during the time of the Buddha's

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He did not really suffer and struggle to attain enlightenment for six years, this was just a show.

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is said to have found a Mahāsāṃghika abhidharma at a monastery in Pāṭaliputra. Furthermore, when

1836:(Taishō Tripiṭaka 125) to belong to the Mahāsāṃghika school, though this is still up for debate. 733:. This Caitika branch included the Pūrvaśailas, Aparaśailas, Rājagirikas, and the Siddhārthikas. 602: 506: 424: 38: 3992: 2722: 2471:, among many others, formulated their theories while living in Buddhist communities in Āndhra." 2396:

at Amarāvati. During this time, the Śātavāhana Dynasty also maintained extensive links with the

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In their view, the Buddha is equipped with the following supernatural qualities: transcendence (

1309:. This points to the idea that the Buddha was already awakened before descending down to earth. 532:

look to the Mahāsāṃghika tradition as an early source for some ideas that were later adopted by

6709: 6549: 6217: 6187: 5960: 5911: 5752: 5700: 5695: 5457: 5278: 5175: 4927: 4922: 4671: 3484:

Mahāsāṃghika and Mahāyāna: An Analysis of Faxian and the Translation of the Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya

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According to this source, some of the key doctrines defended by Indian Mahāsāṃghikas include:

934:, Ch: 異部宗輪論) of Vasumitra (a Sarvāstivāda scholar, c. 2nd century CE), which was translated by 498: 486: 257: 248: 211: 5039: 1427:

He never gets hungry, he only manifests this in order to allow others to gain merit by giving.

780: 585: 6714: 6684: 6265: 6197: 6030: 5945: 5940: 5864: 5859: 5777: 4307: 3502: 2013: 1969: 1333:, India. The Buddha statue is flanked by bodhisattvas Padmapani (left) and Manjushri (right). 1187: 5330: 1981: 6737: 6704: 6689: 6207: 6104: 6050: 5935: 5874: 5842: 5837: 5822: 5807: 5797: 5762: 5675: 5367: 5290: 4593: 4533: 4282: 4249: 4199: 3106: 1973: 187: 75: 6577: 5192: 5061: 4987: 4863: 4601: 3156:, pp. 97-101. Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai and Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research. 1016:

The Buddhas remain in all directions. There are Buddhas everywhere in the four directions.

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Zhan Ru also notes that the Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya (Chinese: Mohe Sengqi Lü) translated by

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According to Zhihua Yao, the following Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya texts are extant in Chinese:

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Lamotte, Etienne, History of Indian Buddhism: From the Origins to the Saka Era, p. 189.

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and related texts, seems to indicate a region in southern India during the time of the

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Skorupski, Tadeusz. “Consciousness and Luminosity in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism.” In

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The sphere of neither identification nor nonidentification (naivasaṃjñānāsaṃjñāyatana)

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came to China and translated a work which describes the color of monastic robes (Skt.

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originated amongst the southern Mahāsāṃghika schools of the Āndhra region, along the

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The own-nature of the members of dependent origination (pratītyasamutpādāṅgasvabhāva)

1556:). Schools like Mahāsāṃghika hold the following view: It is the nature of awareness ( 1508: 1445: 1065: 1034: 986: 798: 606: 460: 234: 229: 5729: 4523: 4423: 2369:

gives a more detailed account by mentioning the points of distribution as including

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in the 3rd century as a product of the Mahāsāṃghikas of the Āndhra region (i.e. the

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The Concept of the Buddha: Its Evolution from Early Buddhism to the Trikaya Theory.

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The Concept of the Buddha: Its Evolution from Early Buddhism to the Trikaya Theory.

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The Concept of the Buddha: Its Evolution from Early Buddhism to the Trikaya Theory.

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The Concept of the Buddha: Its Evolution from Early Buddhism to the Trikaya Theory.

3138:(Ecole Fransaise d'Extreme-Orient, 1955), Chapitre I 'Les Mahasanghika', pp. 55-74. 3102: 2743: 2087: 1910: 1898: 1527: 1452:) in order to help liberate other sentient beings. As described by Akira Hirakawa: 826: 692: 564: 514: 464: 362: 284: 126: 5512: 2665:

too. (N.B. this does not necessarily say anything about the age of the contents).

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Echoes from an Empty Sky: The Origins of the Buddhist Doctrine of the Two Truths.

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as a lesser kind of spiritual attainment (which still has ignorance and desire).

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Xing, Guang, The Lokānuvartanā Sūtra, Journal of Buddhist Studies, Vol IV, 2006.

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His body and mouth does not get dirty, he only makes a show of cleaning himself.

513:. The Mahāsāṃghika nikāya developed into numerous sects which spread throughout 374: 6752: 6455: 6305: 6087: 5667: 5647: 5567: 5256: 5246: 5180: 5017: 4503: 4366: 4132:(input by Abhisamacarika-Dharma Study Group, Taisho University); GRETIL Archive 4083: 3984: 3426:

Buddhist Sects of the Small Vehicle (Les Sectes Bouddhiques du Petit Véhicule),

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was ordained in the Mahāsāṃghika lineage. However, because the Tibetan Emperor

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He was not produced through union of father and mother, but magically produced.

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The Buddha’s heart never tires of converting living beings by awakening faith (

745: 730: 722: 152: 2460: 2419:), or a major portion of it, together with related texts were compiled in the 1914: 1626:(phenomena, realities) which were unconditioned or unconstructed (asaṃskṛta): 1610: 1444:

In the view of Mahāsāṃghikas, advanced bodhisattvas have severed the bonds of

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The Mahāsāṃghikas advocated the transcendental and supramundane nature of the

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Encyclopaedia of Indian Philosophies, Vol. 8: Buddhist Philosophy 100-350 AD.

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in their canon, and Paramārtha wrote that the Bahuśrutīyas accepted both the

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His feet never touch the ground or get dirty, his footprints are only a show.

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through which he liberates sentient beings through his skillful means (Skt.

493:. They were one of the two original communities that emerged from the first 6612: 6597: 6567: 6517: 6507: 6349: 6144: 5637: 5472: 5350: 5138: 5133: 4960: 4831: 4706: 4167: 2751: 2696: 2515: 2437: 2287: 2159: 1993: 1892: 1880: 1691: 1457: 1358: 1273: 995:

The Tathagata answers questions without thinking (or reflecting on things).

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doctrines, writes that it has been determined that the composition of the

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Power, Wealth and Women in Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Gaṇḍavyūha-sūtra

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was not accepted as canonical by the Mahāsāṃghika school. The Theravādin

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Cessation obtained through discriminative cognition (pratisaṃkhyānirodha)

1388: 1330: 1285: 1020: 914: 906: 764: 688: 636: 617: 549: 525: 311: 172: 6572: 5032: 3451: 2464: 2214:. That is why there is a mixture of ideas from the Mahāyāna found there. 6527: 6485: 6361: 6167: 6092: 5706: 5690: 5652: 5632: 5527: 5502: 5410: 5345: 5325: 5071: 5002: 4873: 4756: 4726: 4661: 4611: 4269: 4259: 4232: 2131: 1906: 1859: 1623: 1576:), but it can be contaminated by adventitious defilements. Vasumitra's 1393: 1281: 946: 889: 574: 545: 537: 106: 5547: 4543: 3972:

Buddhist Saints in India: A Study in Buddhist Values and Orientations.

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Buddhist Saints in India: A Study in Buddhist Values and Orientations.

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Buddhist Saints in India: A Study in Buddhist Values and Orientations.

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means a section or chapter in a collection organised by subject; the '

2298: 1800:. It is considered a primary source for the notion of a transcendent ( 1789: 1663: 1654:

The own-nature of the members of the holy path (ārya-mārgāṅgasvabhāva)

1525:

Some Mahāsāṃghikas held a theory of self-awareness or self-cognition (

544:", "transcendentalism"), the idea that there are many contemporaneous 6502: 6475: 5642: 5517: 5229: 5145: 5022: 4912: 4885: 4878: 4841: 4798: 4761: 4528: 4493: 4460: 4435: 4390: 3839:. lecture delivered at the University of London, SOAS. Archived from 3834:"On the Eschatology of the Mahaparinirvana Sutra and Related Matters" 2758: 2700: 1989: 1980:, have been discovered at the site, and these are now located in the 1864: 1050:) faculties consist of balls of flesh, therefore only consciousness ( 793: 752:, "can be traced to at least the third century BCE, if not earlier." 652: 510: 379: 192: 6275: 5111: 4965: 4731: 4513: 4382: 4374: 2609:

sections of the Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya are generally equivalent to the

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Cesation due to absence of a productive cause (apratisaṃkhyānirodha)

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According to Vasumitra, the Mahāsāṃghikas held that there were nine

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Dignity and Discipline: Reviving Full Ordination for Buddhist Nuns.

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The Buddha Nature: A Study of the Tathāgatagarbha and Ālayavijñāna.

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Translated from the French by Gelongma Migme Chodron (2005), p. 56.

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The Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya is extant in the Chinese Buddhist Canon as

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The lower part of the yellow robe was pulled tightly to the left.

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