Book Review: "The Earliest Vinaya and the Beginnings of Buddhist Literature," by Erich Frauwallner; "Volume VIII of Serie Orientale Roma," by Giuseppe Tucci
This article reviews the theories presented by Erich Frauwallner in his volume, The Earliest Vinaya and the Beginnings of Buddhist Literature (1956). The primary concern of Professor Frauwallner's work is to illustrate that the Skandhaka texts of the various Hinayana sects all trace back to a common, root text accepted by all the schools with preserved Vinaya traditions. While his main thesis stands up well to the rigors of scholarly criticism, his elucidation of the origin, authorship, and particulars of the root Skandhaka text makes several claims which, though representing an innovative genius rarely equalled in Buddhology, are exceedingly difficult to substantiate. The article indicates that Frauwallner's understanding of the rise of the Buddhist sectarian movement (focusing on a development of Przyluski's notion that the Buddhist sects owed their origins to the missions of King Asoka) tends toward unreliability, particularly in his inability to link two important sects (the Mahasamghikas Mulasarvastivadins) to the missions at all. The article concludes that despite its failings, Frauwallner's exhaustive use of sources, ability in most cases to uncover the less than obvious, and presentation of materials no more than summarized elsewhere, establish the work as a most valuable contribution to Buddhology.
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Theories Concerning the Skandhaka: An Appraisal 669
