Early Buddhist Suttras

The Ghandaran (in Gāndhāri) Buddhist texts are the oldest manuscripts yet discovered, dating from about the 1st century CE. They are written in Gāndhāri, and are possibly the oldest extant Indic texts altogether. They were sold to European and Japanese institutions and individuals, and are currently being recovered and studied by several universities. The Gandhāran texts are in a considerably deteriorated form (their survival alone is extraordinary), but educated guesses about reconstruction have been possible in several cases using both modern preservation techniques and more traditional textual scholarship, comparing previously known Pali and Sankrit versions of texts. Other Gandhāran Buddhist texts—"several and perhaps many"—have been found over the last two centuries, but lost or destroyed.
The texts are attributed to the Dharmaguptaka sect by Richard Salomon, the leading scholar in the field, and the British Library scrolls "represent a random but reasonably representative fraction of what was probably a much larger set of texts preserved in the library of a monastery of the Dharmaguptaka sect in Nagarāhāra."
(http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract;jsessionid=1673A42600D30B6545689A743082C31D.journals?fromPage=online&aid=5670368)

The Nikayas and the Agamas are the early Buddhist suttras which contain what the Buddha had taught for 45 years, including His fundamental teachings about the Four Noble Truths, Dependent Origination, and No Self.  Many Buddhist scholars and historians usually consider these suttras the most authentic and reliable sources of what the Buddha actually taught.

After the Second Buddhist Council (100 years after the Buddha's demise), the first two schools Sthaviravada/Sthaviravadin (Thuong toa/Truong lao bo) and Mahasamghika (Dai chung bo) of the original Sangha continued to rely on these suttras to disseminate Buddhism orally.  Later, these first two early schools split into further divisions, and ended up numbering, traditionally, about 18 or 20 schools. 
The Sthaviras later divided into other schools such as the Sarvastivada (Nhat thiet huu bo) school and the Vibhajjavada (Phân biệt thuyết bộ, Sanskrit: Vibhajyavāda) school. The resultant Vibhajjavāda branch gave rise to a number of schools such as the Tāmraparnīya (later called Theravada), the Dharmaguptara school, the Mahisasaka school, and the Kasyapiya school.  The Mahasamghika was divided into: Ekavyaharaka, Lokottaravada, Bahusrutiya, Prajnaptivada, and Caitika.

The five Nikayas were not recorded in any written form even though they had been thoroughly reviewed and considered complete by the Tamrasatiyah (Đồng diệp bộ) sect, which belonged to the Vibhajyavada (Phân biệt thuyết bộ, the name of the Theravada school at the time) during the Third Buddhist Council.  These suttras continued to be orally disseminated in Sri Lanka by Mahinda until the Fourth Theravada Buddhist Council (83 BC), when they were recorded on palm leaves for the first time.

According to Robert Thurman, the term Nikaya Buddhism was coined by Dr. Masatoshi Nagatomi (Harvard University), in order to find a more acceptable and more neutral way than "Hinayana" to refer to the early Buddhist schools and their practice.  Nikaya is also a term used in Theravada Buddhism to refer to a subschool or subsect within Theravada.

The five Nikayas suttras include:

• the Dīgha Nikāya, the collection of long (Pāḷi: dīgha) discourses
• the Majjhima Nikāya, the collection of middle-length (majjhima) discourses
• the Samyutta Nikāya, the collection of thematically linked (samyutta) discourses
• the Anguttara Nikāya, the "gradual collection" (discourses grouped by content enumerations)
• the Khuddaka Nikāya, the "minor collection"

[Trường bộ kinh (Digha - Nikàya), Trung bộ kinh (Majhima - Nikàya), Tương ưng bộ kinh (Samyutta - Nikàya), Tăng chi bộ kinh (Anguttara - Nikàya), Tiểu bộ kinh (Khuddaka - Nikàya)]

During the Fourth (Mahayana) Buddhist Council, which took place around the second century AD under King Kanishkha, the Agamas, the Vinayas, and some Buddhist treatises were recorded in written form for the first time.

Āgama refers to a collection of discourses of early Buddhism preserved in Chinese. Sanskrit, Gāndhāri, and Tibetan translation.  Sometimes āgama is used to refer to a class of scripture.  Its meaning can encompass the Sutta-pitaka, which the Theravada tradition holds to be the oldest and most historically accurate representation of the teachings of  Buddha, together with the Vinaya-pitaka.
There are four extant collections of āgamas, and one for which we have only references and fragments (the Kṣudrakāgama). The four extant collections are preserved in their entirety only in Chinese translation (āgama: 阿含經), although small portions of all four have recently been discovered in Sanskrit, and portions of four of the five āgamas are preserved in Tibetan.

These āgama sutras correspond to the first four Nikayas (and parts of the fifth) of the Pitaka of the Pali Canon. In this sense, āgama is a synonym for one of the meanings of nikaya.  The āgamas have been compared to the Pali Canon's Nikayas by contemporary scholars in an attempt to identify possible changes and root phrasings. The āgamas' existence and similarity to the Sutta Pitaka are sometimes used by scholars to assess to what degree these teachings are a historically authentic representation of the Canon of early Buddhism.   Sometimes also the differences between them are used to suggest an alternative meaning to the accepted meaning of a suttra in either of the two recensions.

Sometimes the word āgama is used to refer not to a specific scripture, but to a class of scripture. In this case, its meaning can also encompass the Sutta-pitaka, which the Theravada tradition holds to be the oldest and most historically accurate representation of the teachings of the Buddha, together with the Vinaya.

In the 4th century Mahāyāna abhidharma work Abhidharmasamuccaya, Asanga refers to the collection which contains the āgamas as the Śrāvakapiṭaka, and associates it with the sravakas and pratyekabuddhas. Asaṅga classifies the Mahayana sutras as belonging to the Bodhisattvapiṭaka, which is designated as the collection of teachings for bodhisattvas.

There are four extant collections of āgamas, and one for which we have only references and fragments (the Kṣudrakāgama). The four extant collections are preserved in their entirety only in Chinese translation (āgama: 阿含經), although small portions of all four have recently been discovered in Sanskrit, and portions of four of the five āgamas are preserved in Tibetan.

The five Agamas include:
 The Dīrgha Āgama ("Long Discourses")/ the Dīgha Nikāya

 The Madhyama Āgama ("Middle-length Discourses")/ the Majjhima Nikāya
The Saṃyukta Āgama ("Connected Discourses")/ the Saṃyutta Nikāya
The Ekottara Āgama ("Numbered Discourses”)/ the Anguttara Nikāya
The Kṣudraka Āgama ("Minor Collection")/ the Khuddaka Nikāya

[TRƯỜNG A-HÀM  tương đương với TRƯỜNG BỘ – chép những bài pháp dài. 

TRUNG A-HÀM và TRUNG BỘ chép những bài pháp bậc trung.
TƯƠNG ƯNG BỘ tương đương với TẠP A-HÀM – chép những lời kinh có nội dung tượng tự nhau.

TĂNG NHẤT  và TĂNG CHI  – chép những bài sắp xếp theo con số. Riêng TIỂU BỘ KINH thì Pàli tạng mới có – ghi chép những câu kệ vắn tắt.]

As Walpola Rahula noted in his Gems of Buddhist Wisdom:

We must not confuse Hīnayāna with Theravāda because the terms are not synonymous. Theravāda Buddhism went to Sri Lanka during the 3rd Century BC when there was no Mahāyāna at all. Hīnayāna sects developed in India and had an existence independent from the form of Buddhism existing in Sri Lanka. Today there is no Hīnayāna sect in existence anywhere in the world. Therefore, in 1950 the World Fellowship of Buddhists inaugurated in Colombo unanimously decided that the term Hīnayana should be dropped when referring to Buddhism existing today in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, Laos, etc. This is the brief history of Theravāda, Mahayāna and Hīnayāna.

The Theravada school remained a presence on the Indian mainland long after its establishment in Sri Lanka, however. In addition, since the time of Rahula's writing considerable evidence has emerged indicating that Theravadins and Mahayanists interacted extensively in Sri Lanka throughout the first millennium CE, so any suggestion that there was no contact between the two would be incorrect.

Sources:
http://www.daophatngaynay.com/vn/kinh-dien/pali/12329-Khai-quat-lich-su-truyen-ba-kinh-dien-va-nhung-dac-diem-cua-kinh-tang-Nikaya.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinayana
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikaya
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_Buddhist_schools
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gandh%C4%81ran_Buddhist_Texts
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sthaviravada


 

Buddhist Councils

Three months after the Buddha demised (entered mahaparinirvana) around c. 400 BCE, His disciples had a meeting to preserve His sayings, and the monastic disciplines or rules.  This was referred to as the first Buddhist Council under the patronage of King Ajatasatru and with Mahakasyapa presiding at Sattapanni caves, Rajgriha (now Rajgir).  The suttras were recited by Ananda, and the disciplines (Vinaya), by Upali.  The Sangha decided to keep all the rules of the Vinaya, even the lesser and minor rules.

The second Buddhist Council took place around 100 or 110 years after the Buddha’s demise (c. 4th century BCE).  It was initiated by a monk named Yasa, who found the lax practices of the Vesālī monks, known as Vajjiputtakas, unacceptable.  This time the Sangha decided on what was truly the Buddha’s authentic teachings, and what was not.  Basically, they pointed out ten points related to precepts, which they considered  as newly added to what the Buddha taught.  There were two groups: those who refused to accept the ten points (the Sthaviras), and those who wanted to keep them (Mahasamghikas).  These were the first two separate Buddhist schools.  According to the traditional Theravadin account, the dispute arose over the 'Ten Points.' The specific ten points were:

1. Storing salt in a horn.
2. Eating after midday.
3. Eating once and then going again to a village for alms.
4. Holding the Uposatha Ceremony with monks dwelling in the same locality.
5. Carrying out official acts when the assembly was incomplete.
6. Following a certain practice because it was done by one's tutor or teacher.
7. Eating sour milk after one had his midday meal.
8. Consuming strong drink before it had been fermented.
9. Using a rug which was not the proper size.
10. Using gold and silver.

There are records of several possible Third Councils.  According to the Theravāda commentaries and chronicles, the Third Buddhist Council was convened some time around c. 247 BCE (some thought it was between 200 and 234 years after the Buddha’s demise) by Mauryan King Asoka with the monk Moggaliputta Tissa presiding at Pātaliputra (now Patna).  This time the focus was to authenticate Buddhist scriptures, and to discard all impurities that got mixed up with Buddhism.   The Council proceeded to recite the scriptures once more, adding to the canon Moggaliputta Tissa's own book, Kathavatthu, a discussion of various dissenting Buddhist views now contained in the Theravāda Abhidhamma Pitaka.  Emissaries were sent to various countries in order to spread Buddhism.  The first two separate schools now divided into about 20 sects.  The Sthaviras (Thượng tọa bộ) at that time was called Vibhajyavada (Phân biệt thuyết bộ), and received the King’s support.  Vibhajyavada was predecessor of Tamrasatiyah (Đồng diệp bộ).  It was the Tamrasatiyah that introduced the complete five Nikaya scriptures, which Prince Mahinda later brought to Sri Lanka, and which had been circulated widely there.  Another sect, the Sarvastivada (Nhất thiết hữu bộ), which did not receive the King’s support because it emphasized discourse analysis and debate rather than disciplines, also came from the Sthaviras (Thượng tọa bộ).  This sect spread to the northeast (Kasmira), and it gradually developed well in the northern regions of India.

As a result, the Buddha’s original teachings were interpreted in various ways by different sects.  The most famous of the missionaries, and the main focus of interest for these Theravada histories, was Mahinda, who travelled to Sri Lanka where he founded the school we now know as Theravada.   In addition, Hinduism gradually penetrated into Buddhism and caused many confusions.

The five Nikayas continued to be passed down orally in Sri Lanka until the fourth Council meeting was held at Aluvihata Village, Sri Lanka around 83 BC.  At this meeting for the first time three Nikayas were written down on palm leaves.

Another Fourth Buddhist Council was held in the Sarvastivada tradition, said to have been convened by the Kushan emperor Kanishka, in 78 AD at Jalandhar or in Kashmir. It is said that Kanishka gathered five hundred bhikkhus in Kashmir, headed by Vasumitra, to systematize the Sarvastivadin Abhidharma texts, which were translated form earlier Prakrit vernacular languages into the classical language of Sankrit. It is said that during the council three hundred thousand verses and over nine million statements were compiled, a process which took twelve years to complete. Although the Sarvastivada are no longer extant as an independent school, its traditions were inherited by the Mahayana tradition.

Under King Kaniskha, the Fifth Council Meeting was convened early in the second century AD.  The Mahayana school with its tripitakas (the Agamas scriptures, Vinayana, and Abhidharma) was said to have its origin in this Fifth Council Meeting.

The Fifth Theravada Buddhist Council of 1871 took place in Mandalay, Burma, in the reign of King Mindon.  The chief objective of this meeting was to recite all the teachings of the Buddha, and examine them in minute detail to see if any of them had been altered, distorted or dropped.  It was presided over by three Elders, the Venerable Mahathera Jagarabhivamsa, the Venerable Narindabhidhaja, and the Venerable Mahathera Sumangalasami in the company of some two thousand four hundred monks (2,400). Their joint Dharma recitation lasted for five months. It was also the work of this council to approve the entire Tripitaka inscribed for posterity on seven hundred and twenty-nine marble slabs in the Burmese script before its recitation. This monumental task was done by the monks and many skilled craftsmen who upon completion of each slab had them housed in beautiful miniature 'pitaka' pagodas on a special site in the grounds of King Mindon's Kuthodaw Pagoda at the foot of Mandalay Hill where it and the so called 'largest book in the world', stands to this day. This Council is not generally recognized outside Burma.

The Sixth Buddhist Council (the Theravada Buddhist Council of 1954) took place at Kaba Aye, Yangon (Rangoon), 83 years after the Fifth Buddhist Council.  It was sponsored by the Burmese Government led by the then Prime Minister, the Honourable U Nu.  He authorized the construction of the Maha Passana Guha, the "great cave", an artificial cave very much like India's Sattapanni Cave where the first Buddhist Council had been held. Upon its completion The Council met on 17 May 1954.  As in the case of the preceding councils, its first objective was to affirm and preserve the genuine Dhamma and Vinaya. However it was unique insofar as the monks who took part in it came from eight countries. These two thousand five hundred learned Theravada monks came from Myanmar, Cambodia, India, Laos, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Germany.  The late Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw was appointed the noble task of asking the required questions about the Dhamma of the Venerable Bhadanta Vicittasarabhivamsa who answered all of them learnedly and satisfactorily. By the time this council met all the participating countries had had the Pali Tripiṭaka rendered into their native scripts, with the exception of India.  The traditional recitation of the Buddhist Scriptures took two years and the  Tripitaka and its allied literature in all the scripts were painstakingly examined and their differences noted down and the necessary corrections made and all the versions were then collated. It was found that there was not much difference in the content of any of the texts. Finally, after the Council had officially approved them, all of the books of the Tripitaka and their commentaries were prepared for printing on modern presses and published in the Burmese script. This notable achievement was made possible through the dedicated efforts of the two thousand five hundred monks and numerous lay people. Their work came to an end on the evening of Vasak, 24 May 1956, exactly two and a half millennia after Buddha's Parinibbana, according to the traditional Theravada dating.

Source:

http://en.wikipedia.org

Why Celebrate?

Why celebrate

when innocent kindergarteners

are scared to death

going to school the next day

having witnessed friends and teachers lying still

in pools of blood

not knowing why

Why celebrate

when firemen responded to calls for help

and were trapped and killed by the caller

 

Why celebrate

when neighbors  fear going outside, 

for they can hardly trust one another

and dare not offer help to the helpless

This senseless, cruel world

engulfed in greed for money and arms race

all day long

snugs down in its comfy, fanciful bed

with wild dream indifference

in pitch-dark nights

Barbaric silence

of stony hearts

Echoes of praying

for a caring neighborhood

where parents may stroll

Echoes of begging

for a peaceful neighborhood

where children freely roam and chase one another

around the playgrounds

and in school yards

Resonance in caves

of pitch-dark nights

Why celebrate

not knowing when and where is next?

---------

Some 12,000 people are murdered in the United States with guns every year.
2012, a year doomed with too much gun violence

Ten Noble Characteristics Which May Be Found in A True Spiritual Master

  According to the Mahayanasutralamkara, a true spiritual master usually possesses the following noble characteristics:

1.      Discipline (Following the precepts assiduously and diligently)

2.      Serenity/calmness

3.      Peacefulness

4.      Possessing more noble qualities than (His/Her) disciples

5.      Tirelessness/Indefatigability (possessing great efforts)

6.      Mastering scriptures/Possessing a wealth of knowledge about the Buddha’s teachings

7.      Sincere concerns for others/Loving kindness

8.      Possessing a thorough understanding of reality

9.      Skillfulness in teaching/training disciples

10.  Freedom from fear and frustration or despair

Source:

Universal Vehicle Discourse Literature (Mahayanasutralamkara) (Treasury of the Buddhist Sciences) by Lobsang Jamspal, Robert Thurman and the American Institute of Buddhist Studies translation committee. American Institute of Buddhist Studies. New York: 2004: ISBN 0-9753734-0-4

For more information, please go to “A True Buddhist Practitioner and/or Master” blog entry on February 28, 2012.