Two Sutras in the Chinese Samyuktagama without Direct Pali Parallels — Some Remarks on how to identify ‘Later Additions’ to the Corpus

Authors

  • Marcus Bingenheimer Temple University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/bsrv.v30i2.201

Keywords:

Saṃyuktāgama, Chinese Āgama, Nikāya, dating methods, canonicity, riddle, Jātaka, lay arhants

Abstract

23 out of the 364 sutras of the Shorter Chinese Samyuktagama (BZA: Bieyi zaahan jing T.100) and many more of the Longer Chinese Samyuktagama (ZA: Zaahan jing T.99) have no known direct counterpart in Pali, Sanskrit or Tibetan. These sutras are especially suitable to introduce common problems regarding the relationship of early Indian sutras and their Chinese translation. While usually the existence of an Indian parallel helps researchers to narrow down the range of likely forms of names and words, in the absence of Indian versions our understanding of translations and transcriptions becomes all the more conjectural. Agama texts without a Pali counterpart must also be suspected to be later additions to the collection and we have to deduce from form and content of the sutra as well as its position in the collection, when, where and why the text came into being. The article introduces these problems as they appear in two BZA sutras (153 and 184), both of which are translated below.

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Published

2014-01-01

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How to Cite

Bingenheimer, M. (2014). Two Sutras in the Chinese Samyuktagama without Direct Pali Parallels — Some Remarks on how to identify ‘Later Additions’ to the Corpus. Buddhist Studies Review, 30(2), 201–214. https://doi.org/10.1558/bsrv.v30i2.201