Not for the Achievement of a Savaka or Paccekabuddha

The Motive behind the Bodhisatta’s Self-sacrifice in the Paññasa-Jataka

Authors

  • Toshiya Unebe Nagoya University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/bsrv.v29i1.35

Keywords:

bodhisatta, jātakas, Paññāsa-jātaka, sāvaka, paccekabudha, self-sacrifice, Palm leaf manuscript

Abstract

In the Paññasa-jataka transmitted in central Thailand, there are as many as eight stories of self-sacrifice (ajjhatika-dana), where a bodhisatta declares that he carried out his self-sacrifice not to get the achievement of a savaka or paccekabuddha but to attain omniscience. Such declaration is rare in the Pali Nikayas and their commentaries. In the same way, parallel or similar kinds of stories in the avadanas or jatakas transmitted in Sanskrit and Chinese do not refer to the disengagement from the achievement of a savaka or paccekabuddha, with the exception of the story of Kañcanasara. Since the direct source of the bodhisatta’s declarations including the reference to the achievement does not seem to exist in the Pali Nikayas and their commentaries, there is a possibility that the bodhisatta’s declarations found in the Paññasa-jataka are derived from a very old origin which is shared with the story of Kañcanasara.

References

Barua, D.L., ed. 1979. Achariya Dhammapala’s Paramatthadipani: being the commentary on the Cariya-pitaka. Pali Text Society Text Series 18. London: Pali Text Society.

Cœdès, George. 2003. The Pathamasambodhi (edition prepared by Jacqueline Filliozat). Oxford: The Pali Text Society.

Cowell, E.B. and R.A. Neil, ed. 1886. The Divyâvadâna : a collection of early Buddhist legends. Cambridge: The University Press.

Crosby, Kate. 2004. ‘Theravada’, in Encyclopedia of Buddhism 2, edited by Robert E. Buswell, 836–841. New York: Macmillan Reference/Thomson/Gale.

Damrong Rajanubhab et al., ed. 1956. Paññasajataka chabap ho samut heng chat, 2 vols. Bangkok: Sinlapabannakan Press. (New edition in two volumes is published in 2006.)

Durt, Hubert. 2000. ‘Du lambeau de chair au démembrement: Le renoncement au corps dans le bouddhisme ancien’. Bulletin de l’Ecole française d’Extrême-Orient 87 (1): 7–22. http://dx.doi.org/10.3406/befeo.2000.3468

Fausbøll, V., ed. 1877–1896. The Jataka, together with its commentary, being tales of the anterior births of Gotama Buddha, 6 vols. London: Trübner.

Gethin, Rupert. 1998. The Foundations of Buddhism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Grey, Leslie. 1994. A Concordance of Buddhist Birth Stories. London: Pali Text Society.

Hikata, Ryusho. 1954. A Historical Study of the Thoughts in Jatakas and the Similar Stories, Oriental Library Series A.35, 2 vols. Tokyo: Toyo Bunko. [In Japanese]

———. 1961. Jataka Gaikan (A Survey of Jatakas), Padma Series 2. Tokyo: Suzuki Gakujutsu Zaudan. [In Japanese]

Horner, I.B. and Padmanabh S. Jaini. 1985/1986. Apocryphal birth-stories (Paññasa-jataka), 2 vols. London: Pali Text Society.

L’Institut Bouddhique, ed. 1953–1962. Paññasajataka: texte pali, Tome 1–5, Ganthamala X, Publication de l’École Superiéure de Pali, Éditées par les soins de L’Institut Bouddhique. Phnom-penh: L’Institut Bouddhique.

Ishino, Mikimasa, ed. 2008. ‘Dhammsondaka Jataka’. In Unebe 2008, 41–46.

Jaini, Padmanabh S., ed. 1981/1983. Paññasa-jataka: or Zimme pannasa (in the Burmese Recension), 2 vols. London: Pali Text Society.

Jayawickrama, N. A., ed. 1974. Buddhavamsa and Cariyapitaka. London: Pali Text Society.

Katsumoto, Karen. 2006. ‘Cariyapitakatthakatha and Bodhisattvabhumi: Inclusion of the Doctrines of Yogacara School in Pali Commentaries’. Buddhist Studies/Bukkyo kenkyu 34: 173–192. [In Japanese]

Katsumoto, Karen. 2007. Cariyapita-chushaku: Pali-genten zenyaku (A Complete Japanese translation of the Cariyapitakatthakatha). Hamamatsu: International Buddhist Association/Kokusai Bukkyoto Kyokai.

Kimura, Takayasu, ed. 1986–2009. Pañcavimsatisahasrika Prajñaparamita, 6 vols. Tokyo: Sankibo Busshorin.

Kurihara, Masakazu. 2011. ‘Worship of the Abandonment of the Body in Jatakas and Avadanas: Particularly in the Raja Candraprabha Jataka of northwest India’. Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies 59(2): 186–189. [In Japanese]

Lamotte, Étienne. 1970–80. Le traité de la grande vertu de sagesse de Nagarjuna (Mahaprajñaparamitasastra), 5 tomes, Publications de l’Institut orientaliste de Louvain 2. Louvain-la-Neuve: Université de Louvain, Institut orientaliste.

Manda, Michitoshi, ed. 2007. Comparative Study of Palm Leaf Manuscripts of Paññasajataka kept in Otani University with other Paññasajataka, 2 vols., Study result of the research project, Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C2), Project Number 13610024 (2001–2003). Tokyo: Tohokenkyukai.

Matsumura, Junko, ed. 1992. The Rasavahini of Vedeha Thera : Vaggas V and VI : the Migapotaka-Vagga and the Uttaroliya-Vagga. Osaka: Toho Shuppan.

———. 2003. ‘The Tale of King Dhammasondaka: An investigation into the source of the Rasavahini’. Kobe International University Review 63: 27–38. [In Japanese]

Ñanamoli, Bhikkhu. 1960. The Minor Readings (Khuddakapatha) and Illustrator. London: Pali Text Society.

———. 2010 (1956). The Path of Purification (Visuddhimagga). Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society.

Nishi, Akiyoshi, ed. 2005. ‘Ratanapajota Jataka’: Tanabe (2005a, 46–79).

Ohnuma, Reiko. 1998. ‘The Gift of Body and the Gift of Dharma’. History of Religions 37(4): 323–359. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/463513

———. 2007. Head, Eyes, Flesh, and Blood: Giving Away the Body in the Indian Buddhist Literature. New York: Columbia University Press.

Rhys Davids, C.A.F., ed. 1975. The Visuddhi-magga of Buddhaghosa, (first published in 1920). London: Pali Text Society.

———. 1996. The Minor anthologies of the Pali Canon pt. 1: Dhammapada: Verses on Dhamma and Khuddaka-patha, (first published in 1931). London: Pali Text Society.

Samuels, Jeffrey. 1997. ‘The Bodhisattva Ideal in Theravada: Buddhist Theory And Practice: A Reevaluation of the Bodhisattva-Sravaka Opposition’. Philosophy East and West 47(3): 399–415. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1399912

Senart, É., ed. 1882–1897. Le Mahâvastu (Mahavastu avadanam): texte sanscrit, 3 vols. Paris: Imprimerie nationale.

Sheravanichkul, Arthid. 2008. ‘Self-Sacrifice of the Bodhisatta in the Paññasa Jataka’. Religion Compass 2(5): 769–787. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-8171-.2008.00095.x

Skilling, Peter. 2006. ‘Jataka and Paññasa-jataka in South-East Asia’. The Journal of the Pali Text Society 28: 113–173.

Smith, Helmer, ed. 1978. The Khuddaka-Patha: together with its commentary Paramatthajotika I, (first published in 1915). London: Pali Text Society.

Speyer, J. S., ed. 1958. Avadanaçataka: a century of edifying tales belonging to the Hinayana (Bibliotheca Buddhica 3, Originally published by the Imperial Academy of Sciences. St. Petersburg, 1906–1909). The Hague: Mouton.

Sugimoto, Takush. 1982. ‘The Physical Devotion of the Bodhisattva: The Lotus Sutra and the Jataka Tales’. In The Lotus Sutra: its Cultural Aspects and Basis, edited by Keisho Tsukamoto, 39–75. Kyoto: Heirakuji Shoten. [In Japanese]

———. 1986. ‘Bodhisattva offering his own Body for a Verse’. Studies and Essays: Behavioral Sciences and Philosophy, Kanazawa University 6: 67–8. [In Japanese]

Takakusu, J. and K. Watanabe, eds. 1924–1932. The Taisho Shinshu Daizokyo/The Tripitaka in Chinese (=Taisho), 85 vols. Tokyo: The Taisho Shinshu Daizokyo Kanko Kai.

Tanabe, Kazuko. 1981. ‘ “Pannasajataka (50 jatakas)”’ found in Thailand, Bukkyo-gaku 11: 65–88. [In Japanese]

———. 1991. ‘Siricudamani-jataka of Paññasa Jataka’ In Studies In Buddhism and Culture: In Honour of Professor Dr. Egaku Maeda on His Sixty-fifth Birthday, edited by the Editorial Committee of the Felicitaion volume for Professor Dr. Egaku Maeda, 267–274. Tokyo: Sankibo Busshorin.

———. 2005a. Study result of the research project, Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C), Project Number 13610024 (2002–2004), edited by Kazuko Tanabe. Tokyo: Tohokenkyukai.

———. 2005b. ‘Paññasajataka Study in Japan.’ In Buddhism and Jainism: Essays in Honour of Dr. Hojun Nagasaki on His Seventieth Birthday, edited by the Committee for the Felicitaion of Dr. Hojun Nagasaki’s Seventieth Birthday, 181–190. Kyoto: Heirakuji Shoten.

Tin, Pe Maung. 1975. The Path of Purity : being a translation of Buddhaghosa’s Visuddhimagga (first published in 1923–31). London: Pali Text Society.

Unebe, Toshiya (ed.). 2008. A Study of Southeast Asian Buddhist Literature, Based on Pali and Thai Manuscripts, Study result of the research project, Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C), Project Number 17520046 (2005–2007). Nagoya: Nagoya University, Graduate Schools of Letters.

———. 2009. ‘Toward an edition of the Paññasajataka: Problems and solutions’. Thai International Journal for Buddhist Studies 1: 44–63.

———. 2012. A Study of Non-Canonical Buddhist Literature, Based on Manuscripts Preserved in Wat Ratchasittharam etc, Study result of the research project, Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C), Project Number 21520055 (2009–2011). Nagoya: Nagoya University, Graduate Schools of Letters. [In Japanese]

———. Forthcoming.Two Popular Buddhist Images in Thailand’. Proceedings of the International Conference: Buddhist Narrative in Asia and Beyond, vol.2, edited by Peter Skilling and Justin McDaniel. Bangkok: Chulalongkorn University.

Ver Eecke-Filliozat, Jacqueline and Jean Filliozat, eds. 2003. Sahassavatthuppakaranam, As a Contribution to the Royal Cremation Ceremonies of Phra Thammarajanuwat (Kamon Kovido Pali VI). Bangkok: Sangha Assembly of Region III.

Yoshimoto, Shingyo, ed. 2001. The Philological Study of Paññasajataka in Palmleaf Manuscript of Pali Language Kept in Otani University, Study result of the research project, Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B2), (1998–2000). Kyoto: Otani University.

Yoshimoto, Shingyo et al., eds. 2004. Paññasajataka: Thai Recension Nos.12–18, 22–39 kept in the Otani University Library: Transliteration from Manuscripts in Khmer Script. Kyoto: Pali Manuscripts Research Project, Shin Buddhist Comprehensive Research Institute, Otani University.

Downloads

Published

2012-07-13

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Unebe, T. (2012). Not for the Achievement of a Savaka or Paccekabuddha: The Motive behind the Bodhisatta’s Self-sacrifice in the Paññasa-Jataka. Buddhist Studies Review, 29(1), 35-55. https://doi.org/10.1558/bsrv.v29i1.35