Special Issue: Buddhist Path, Buddhist Teachings: Studies in Memory of L.S. Cousins Author Affiliations: University of Sydney
關鍵詞
formation of Buddhist canons; transmission of āgama / nikāya collections; Gāndhārī manuscripts; Gandhāran text culture
摘要
The new Gāndhārī manuscript finds from Afghanistan and Pakistan, which date from approximately the first century BCE to the third or fourth century CE, are the earliest manuscript witnesses to the literature of the Indian Buddhist nikāyas or schools. They preserve texts whose parallels are found in the various Tripiṭakas, or what remains of them, preserved in other languages and belonging to various nikāyas, including sections of āgamas such as the Ekottarikāgama and Vana-saṃyutta of the Saṃyutta-nikāya/Saṃyuktāgama and anthologies of such sūtras, besides many texts that are not generally classed as "canonical", such as commentaries. These very early collections of texts raise questions concerning canon-formation, such as whether the Gandhāran communities that produced these manuscripts had fixed āgama collections and closed canons or whether this material witnesses a stage in which collections and canons were still relatively fluid and open, and whether these manuscripts, which span several centuries, witness a shift towards fixity. This paper addresses these issues and re-examines our understanding of the formation of the canons of the early Indian nikāyas in light of the new Gāndhārī manuscript finds.
目次
Overview of the new Buddhist manuscript finds 225 Relationship between the Gāndhārī texts and their parallels preserved in other languages 227 Limitations in our ability to fully understand this material 227 What the new manuscripts tell us about canon formation, the development of stable āgamas, and fixity 227 Evidence for the existence of āgamas 228 Oral transmission and fixity 236 Summary reflections 239 Note 240 Bibliography 241
