Pātimokkha; Pātimokkhavisodhana; Pali Grammar; Buddhist Law; Buddhist Philology; Haṃsāvatī; Myanmar
摘要
The present article examines a Pali legal text called the Purification of the Pātimokkha (Pātimokkhavisodhana), an unedited 17thcentury commentary on the Pali Bhikkhu Pātimokkha, the code of rules of conduct for Buddhist monks. According to its author, this work was composed in Haṃsāvatī, present-day Bago in lower Myanmar. Following a careful survey of Pātimokkha manuscripts from different regions of the Southeast Asian peninsula, mainly Haripuñja (northern Thailand) and Rāmañña (the Mon country), and drawing from earlier vinaya commentaries and grammatical treatises, the Purification provides a series of original philological and text-critical arguments in order to purge discrepancies, errors and interpolations in the Pātimokkha. By resorting to elaborate grammatical reasonings, the author establishes a supposedly flawless text that is suitable for a legally valid recitation. The Purification can be perceived as a rarity, for it does not directly touch on legal matters, yet its position amidst other vinaya works seems undisputed. This article discusses the methodology of the Pātimokkhavisodhana and problematizes the categorization of this treatise by considering both its grammatical and its historical background.
目次
Abstract 93 1. Introduction: The Overtones of Legalistic Pali 94 2. The Purification of the Pātimokkha (Pātimokkhavisodhana) 99 2.1. Subject matter 99 2.2. An imperial Pātimokkha? 100 2.3. Comparing Pātimokkha Manuscripts 102 2.4. The three meanings of the title 105 2.5. The Purification and the gaṇṭhipada literature 106 3. Method and style of the Purification 107 3.1. Manuscript sources 107 3.2. Method of analysis 108 3.3. Scriptural matters 110 3.4. Reconstruction of scribal errors 112 3.5. Authorities 114 3.6. Dealing with discrepancy 116 4. Conclusion 117 APPENDIX 1 The Grammatical Style of the Purification 119 APPENDIX 2 A Case of Contamination 120 Acknowledgements 121 Abbreviations 122 References 123
