The Suttas on Sakka in Agama and Nikaya Literature – With Some Remarks on the Attribution of the Shorter Chinese Samyukta Agama

Authors

  • Dr Marcus Bingenheimer Dharma Drum College

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/bsrv.v25i2.149

Keywords:

Suttas on Sakka in Agama, Suttas, Sakka in Agama, Sakka, Agama, Nikaya Literature, Nikaya , Literature, Chinese Samyukta Agama, Chinese, Samyukta Agama, Samyukta

Abstract

This article is one of a series concerning the Shorter Chinese Samyukta Agama / Bieyi za ahan jing (BZA) (T.100). The series is in turn part of a larger project conducted at Dharma Drum Buddhist College, Taiwan, and currently hosted at: http://buddhistinformatics.ddbc.edu.tw/BZA/. The present article discusses the arguments that are advanced in favour of attributing the BZA to the Dharmaguptaka and Mahisasaka schools, analyses the different names of Sakra/Sakka and their etymologies found in BZA 35, and presents a translation of BZA 33 to BZA 42, the first ten of twenty suttas on Sakka in the BZA. Regarding the attribution we find that there is only one single passage that links the BZA with the Mahisasaka Vinaya. The comparison of Indian and Chinese forms of Sakka’s names clarifies some textual problems in the northern and the southern traditions. In the case of Purindada, this offers us a rare glimpse into how the early Buddhists had to ‘spin’ their texts when they incorporated the warrior god Indra into their pantheon.

Author Biography

  • Dr Marcus Bingenheimer, Dharma Drum College

    early Buddhist thought, Buddhist ethics, Buddhist meditation and ritual, Theravada/Mahayana similarities

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Published

2008-12-29

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How to Cite

Bingenheimer, D. M. (2008). The Suttas on Sakka in Agama and Nikaya Literature – With Some Remarks on the Attribution of the Shorter Chinese Samyukta Agama. Buddhist Studies Review, 25(2), 149-173. https://doi.org/10.1558/bsrv.v25i2.149