Applying the Principles of Textual Criticism to a Comparison of the Pali Digha-Nikaya and Chinese Dirgha-agama in the Payasi sutta (1)=Articles : Diverse Topics and Issues ; Applying the Principles of Textual Criticism to a Comparison of the Pali Digha-Nikaya and Chinese Dirgha-agama in the Payasi sutta (1)
Digha-Nikaya; Dirgha-agama; Textual Criticism; Comparison; Payasi sutta
摘要
This article examines the comparison of the Payasi sutta in the Pali Digha Nikaya (DN) with its parallel sutra from the Chinese Dirgha agama (DA) by applying the principles of textual criticism. The comparison of the Nikaya and the agama allows us to identify significant similarities between them and evaluate these differences so as to support the conjecture of some people concerning the content of early Buddhist canonical texts. The differences are examined by a method based on two assumptions and four approaches to Buddhist textual criticism. The first assumption is that if all text versions were alike, reciters of the oral tradition from different sects would probably remember them from the same message or source, possibly the original message or a copy from the sect before the sect split off from its predecessor. The second assumption is that if other sutras or other kinds of evidence are in agreement with a given version, then the text of that version might be likely to be valid and logical or is probably reasonable. Firstly, the obvious differences will be examined in context through their own logical processes (internal consistency). Secondly, they will be evaluated against evidence from other Buddhist texts that have a corresponding sutra in, respectively, Chinese and Sanskrit texts (internal parallel evidence); followed by other texts, respectively, in Pali and Chinese (internal horizontal evidence). Thirdly, they will be evaluated against relevant Pali commentaries and sub-commentaries (internal vertical evidence). Finally, there will be an investigation based on external evidence or comparisons with non-Buddhist texts and both historical and anthropological evidence (external evidence). This paper also determines the factors that make the differences difficult to examine. This comparison study aims to show that the existing DA texts and all of the agama help us to confirm the early Buddhist message.
