Bahusrutiya
Encyclopedia
Bahuśrutīya was one of the early Buddhist schools
, according to early sources such as Vasumitra
, the , and other sources, and was a sub-group which emerged from the Mahāsaṃghika sect.
, a 6th century monk from central India, wrote that the founder of the Bahuśrutīya sect was named Yājñavalkya. In Paramārtha's account, Yājñavalkya is said to have lived during the time of the Buddha, and to have heard his discourses, but was in a profound state of samādhi
during the time of the Buddha's parinirvāṇa
. After Yājñavalkya emerged from this samādhi 200 years later, he discovered that the Mahāsāṃghikas were teaching only the superficial meaning of the sūtras, and therefore founded the Bahuśrutīya sect in order to expound the full meaning.
Piṭaka in their canon. The translator Paramārtha
, a 6th century monk from Ujjain
in central India
, wrote that the Bahuśrutīyas accepted both the Hīnayāna
and Mahāyāna
teachings. According to Paramārtha, the Bahuśrutīya school was formed in order to fully embrace both "conventional truth" and "ultimate truth." According to Sree Padma and Anthony Barber, the Bahuśrutīya understanding of this full exposition included the Mahāyāna teachings.
According to Vasumitra, the Bahuśrutīyas considered the Buddha's teachings of impermanence, suffering, emptiness, anātman
, and Nirvāṇa
to be supramundane, while his expositions on other subjects were to be considered mundane.
Like some other Mahāsaṃghika sects, the Bahuśrutīyas believed that arhats were fallible.
text from the Bahuśrutīya school. This abhidharma is now contained in the Chinese Buddhist canon
, in sixteen fascicles (Taishō Tripiṭaka 1646). Its authorship is attributed to Harivarman, a third-century monk from central India. Paramārtha cites this Bahuśrutīya abhidharma as containing a combination of Hīnayāna and Mahāyāna doctrines, and Joseph Walser agrees that this assessment is correct. Ian Charles Harris also characterizes the text as a synthesis of Hīnayāna and Mahāyāna, and notes that its doctrines are very close to those in Mādhyamaka
and Yogācāra
works.
The Satyasiddhi Śāstra also mentions a Bodhisattva Piṭaka in the Bahuśrutīya canon.
The Satyasiddhi School taught a progression of twenty-seven stations for cultivating realization, based upon the teachings of the . The Satyasiddhi School took Harivarman as its founder in India, and Kumārajīva
as the school's founder in China. The Satyasiddhi School is counted among the Ten Schools of Tang Dynasty
Buddhism. From China, the Satyasiddhi School was transmitted to Japan in 625 CE, where it was known as Jōjitsu-shu (成實宗). The Japanese Satyasiddhi school is known as one of the six great schools of Japanese Buddhism in the Nara period
(710-794 CE).
Early Buddhist schools
The early Buddhist schools are those schools into which, according to most scholars, the Buddhist monastic saṅgha initially split, due originally to differences in vinaya, and later also due to doctrinal differences and geographical separation of groups of monks.The original saṅgha split into the...
, according to early sources such as Vasumitra
Vasumitra
Vasumitra , was the fourth King of the Sunga Dynasty of Northern India...
, the , and other sources, and was a sub-group which emerged from the Mahāsaṃghika sect.
Etymology
The name Bahuśrutīya means literally "those who have heard much," meaning "well-learned." The Chinese translation for the name of this sect, Duōwén-bù (多聞部), literally the "much-heard sect," also corresponds to this etymology. Vasumitra's history, the Samayabhedoparacanacakra, records the following explanation of the name and characteristics of the Bahuśrutīya sect:- 廣學三藏 Broadly studying the TripiṭakaTripiṭaka' is a traditional term used by various Buddhist sects to describe their various canons of scriptures. As the name suggests, a traditionally contains three "baskets" of teachings: a , a and an .-The three categories:Tripitaka is the three main categories of texts that make up the...
- 深悟佛言 And profoundly comprehending the Buddha's words;
- 從德為名 It is by these virtues that they are referred to
- 名多聞部 By the name, the "Bahuśrutīya" sect.
Origins
ParamārthaParamartha
Paramārtha was an Indian monk from Ujjain in central India, who is best known for his prolific Chinese translations which include Vasubandhu's Abhidharmakośa...
, a 6th century monk from central India, wrote that the founder of the Bahuśrutīya sect was named Yājñavalkya. In Paramārtha's account, Yājñavalkya is said to have lived during the time of the Buddha, and to have heard his discourses, but was in a profound state of samādhi
Samadhi (Buddhism)
In Buddhism, samādhi is mental concentration or composing the mind.-In the early Suttas:In the Pāli canon of the Theravada tradition and the related Āgamas of other early Buddhist schools, samādhi is found in the following contexts:* In the noble eightfold path, "right concentration" In Buddhism,...
during the time of the Buddha's parinirvāṇa
Parinirvana
In Buddhism, parinirvana is the final nirvana, which occurs upon the death of the body of someone who has attained complete awakening...
. After Yājñavalkya emerged from this samādhi 200 years later, he discovered that the Mahāsāṃghikas were teaching only the superficial meaning of the sūtras, and therefore founded the Bahuśrutīya sect in order to expound the full meaning.
Doctrines and canon
The Bahuśrutīya school is said to have included a BodhisattvaBodhisattva
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is either an enlightened existence or an enlightenment-being or, given the variant Sanskrit spelling satva rather than sattva, "heroic-minded one for enlightenment ." The Pali term has sometimes been translated as "wisdom-being," although in modern publications, and...
Piṭaka in their canon. The translator Paramārtha
Paramartha
Paramārtha was an Indian monk from Ujjain in central India, who is best known for his prolific Chinese translations which include Vasubandhu's Abhidharmakośa...
, a 6th century monk from Ujjain
Ujjain
Ujjain , is an ancient city of Malwa region in central India, on the eastern bank of the Kshipra River , today part of the state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the administrative centre of Ujjain District and Ujjain Division.In ancient times the city was called Ujjayini...
in central India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, wrote that the Bahuśrutīyas accepted both the Hīnayāna
Hinayana
Hīnayāna is a Sanskrit and Pāli term literally meaning: the "Inferior Vehicle", "Deficient Vehicle", the "Abandoned Vehicle", or the "Defective Vehicle". The term appeared around the 1st or 2nd century....
and Mahāyāna
Mahayana
Mahāyāna is one of the two main existing branches of Buddhism and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophies and practice...
teachings. According to Paramārtha, the Bahuśrutīya school was formed in order to fully embrace both "conventional truth" and "ultimate truth." According to Sree Padma and Anthony Barber, the Bahuśrutīya understanding of this full exposition included the Mahāyāna teachings.
According to Vasumitra, the Bahuśrutīyas considered the Buddha's teachings of impermanence, suffering, emptiness, anātman
Anatta
In Buddhism, anattā or anātman refers to the notion of "not-self." In the early texts, the Buddha commonly uses the word in the context of teaching that all things perceived by the senses are not really "I" or "mine," and for this reason one should not cling to them.In the same vein, the Pali...
, and Nirvāṇa
Nirvana
Nirvāṇa ; ) is a central concept in Indian religions. In sramanic thought, it is the state of being free from suffering. In Hindu philosophy, it is the union with the Supreme being through moksha...
to be supramundane, while his expositions on other subjects were to be considered mundane.
Like some other Mahāsaṃghika sects, the Bahuśrutīyas believed that arhats were fallible.
Satyasiddhi Śāstra
The , also called the , is an extant abhidharmaAbhidharma
Abhidharma or Abhidhamma are ancient Buddhist texts which contain detailed scholastic and scientific reworkings of doctrinal material appearing in the Buddhist Sutras, according to schematic classifications...
text from the Bahuśrutīya school. This abhidharma is now contained in the Chinese Buddhist canon
Chinese Buddhist canon
The Chinese Buddhist Canon refers to the total body of Buddhist literature deemed canonical in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese Buddhism...
, in sixteen fascicles (Taishō Tripiṭaka 1646). Its authorship is attributed to Harivarman, a third-century monk from central India. Paramārtha cites this Bahuśrutīya abhidharma as containing a combination of Hīnayāna and Mahāyāna doctrines, and Joseph Walser agrees that this assessment is correct. Ian Charles Harris also characterizes the text as a synthesis of Hīnayāna and Mahāyāna, and notes that its doctrines are very close to those in Mādhyamaka
Madhyamaka
Madhyamaka refers primarily to a Mahāyāna Buddhist school of Buddhist philosophy systematized by Nāgārjuna. Nāgārjuna may have arrived at his positions from a desire to achieve a consistent exegesis of the Buddha's doctrine as recorded in the āgamas...
and Yogācāra
Yogacara
Yogācāra is an influential school of Buddhist philosophy and psychology emphasizing phenomenology and ontology through the interior lens of meditative and yogic practices. It developed within Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism in about the 4th century CE...
works.
The Satyasiddhi Śāstra also mentions a Bodhisattva Piṭaka in the Bahuśrutīya canon.
Satyasiddhi schools
The Bahuśrutīya maintained great popularity in Chinese Buddhism, and even lead to the formation of its own school of Buddhism in China, the Satyasiddhi School, or Chéngshí-zōng (成實宗), which was founded in 412 CE. As summarized by Nan Huaijin:The Satyasiddhi School taught a progression of twenty-seven stations for cultivating realization, based upon the teachings of the . The Satyasiddhi School took Harivarman as its founder in India, and Kumārajīva
Kumarajiva
Kumārajīva; was a Kuchean Buddhist monk, scholar, and translator. He first studied teachings of the Sarvastivada schools, later studied under Buddhasvāmin, and finally became a Mahāyāna adherent, studying the Madhyamaka doctrine of Nagarjuna. Kumārajīva settled in Chang'an, which was the imperial...
as the school's founder in China. The Satyasiddhi School is counted among the Ten Schools of Tang Dynasty
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
Buddhism. From China, the Satyasiddhi School was transmitted to Japan in 625 CE, where it was known as Jōjitsu-shu (成實宗). The Japanese Satyasiddhi school is known as one of the six great schools of Japanese Buddhism in the Nara period
Nara period
The of the history of Japan covers the years from AD 710 to 794. Empress Gemmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō . Except for 5 years , when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capital of Japanese civilization until Emperor Kammu established a new capital, Nagaoka-kyō, in 784...
(710-794 CE).