マウリヤ王朝時代における仏教の伝播：第三結集・諸方教化両伝説の再検討=On the Spread of Buddhism under the Mauryas: Re-examination about the Legends of the Third Council and of the Converting of Different Countries
The present article is the re-examination of the two legends closely connected with the Mahinda legend which the author examined in his last article in this journal (“The Mahinda Legend, A Critical Study”, Toyo Gakuho, XLVIII-2). In the present article, he asserts that: 1. Moggaliputta-Tissa, who was attributed to the teacher of Mahinda, must have been one of a famous thera (a senior monk) belonging to the Buddhist monk community of Avanti (including Sanchi and Ujjeni), since his name was found inscribed on two relic-caskets which were unearthed from two sûpas around Sanchi. 2. The legend of the sending of the missionaries to various countries may not be based on the historical facts but must be a fabrication of the Ceylonese monks, who divided the outlying lands of India into nine parts and where the famous missionaries were known, they picked up their names (such as Majjhantika, Mahādeva, Majjhima), and where such missionaries were unknown, they created fictional names to fill the blank in the legend (such as Rakkhita, Dammarakkhita, Mahârakkhita, Mahâdhammarakkhita.) They also put these missionaries under the command of Moggaliputta-tissa to give this famous thera the honour of organizing the great missionary work. 3. For the monks of Ceylon, who insisted on the orthodoxy of their school, it might have been necessary to put the legend of the Third Council before the legend of the Converting of Different Countries. In this process, they altered the place of Moggaliputta’s activities from Avanti to Pâtariputra, capital of Maghada. He was made, also, the president of the Council and the spiritual teacher of Asoka. 4. The early Ceylonese Buddhism developed under the direct influence of the Buddhism of Western India especially that of Avanti. Later Ceylonese monks needed to prove the authenticity of their religion and made such legends as above-examined ones to assert that their Buddhism was introduced directly from the home of Buddhism, i. e. Magadha. The author’s opinion will be endorsed by the fact that the similar change of places is also found in the legends of Vijaya, the founder of Ceylon, and Mahinda.
