Kasyapiya
Encyclopedia
Kāśyapīya was one of the early Buddhist schools
in India
.
n monk An Shigao came to China and translated a work which describes the color of monastic robes (Skt. kāṣāya
) utitized in five major Indian Buddhist sects, called Dà Bǐqiū Sānqiān Wēiyí (Ch. 大比丘三千威儀). Another text translated at a later date, the Śariputraparipṛcchā, contains a very similar passage corroborating this information. In both sources, members of the Kāśyapīya sect are described as wearing magnolia robes. The relevant portion of the Mahāsāṃghika
Śariputraparipṛcchā reads, "The Kāśyapīya school are diligent and energetic in guarding sentient beings. They wear magnolia robes."
s and the Mahāsāṃghikas.
According to the Kathāvatthu
commentary
, the Kāśyapīyas believed that past events exist in the present in some form.
According to A.K. Warder, the Kāśyapīya school held the doctrine that arhats were fallible and imperfect, similar to the view of the Sarvāstivādins
and the various Mahāsāṃghika sects. They held that arhats have not fully eliminated desires, that their "perfection" is incomplete, and that it is possible for them to relapse.
Mahāvaṃsa, the Kāśyapīya were an offshoot of the Sarvāstivāda. However, according to the Mahāsāṃghika account, the Kāśyapīya sect descended from the Vibhajyavādins.
Some tentatively attribute the Gāndhārī
Dharmapada
to the Kāśyapīya school.
Xuanzang
and Yijing note small fragments of the Kāśyapīya sect still in existence around the 7th century, suggesting that much of the sect may have adopted the Mahāyāna
teachings by this time.
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...
in 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...
.
Etymology
The name Kāśyapīya is believed to be derived from Kāśyapa, one of the original missionaries sent by King Ashoka to the Himavant country. The Kāśyapīyas were also called the Haimavatas.Appearance
Between 148 and 170 CE, the ParthiaParthia
Parthia is a region of north-eastern Iran, best known for having been the political and cultural base of the Arsacid dynasty, rulers of the Parthian Empire....
n monk An Shigao came to China and translated a work which describes the color of monastic robes (Skt. kāṣāya
Kasaya (clothing)
Kāṣāya are the robes of Buddhist monks and nuns, named after a brown or saffron dye. In Sanskrit and Pali, these robes are also given the more general term cīvara, which references the robes without regard to color....
) utitized in five major Indian Buddhist sects, called Dà Bǐqiū Sānqiān Wēiyí (Ch. 大比丘三千威儀). Another text translated at a later date, the Śariputraparipṛcchā, contains a very similar passage corroborating this information. In both sources, members of the Kāśyapīya sect are described as wearing magnolia robes. The relevant portion of the Mahāsāṃghika
Mahasamghika
The ' , literally the "Great Saṃgha", was one of the early Buddhist schools in ancient India.The origins of the sect of Buddhism are still extremely uncertain, and the subject of debate among scholars. One reason for the interest in the origins of the school is that their Vinaya recension appears...
Śariputraparipṛcchā reads, "The Kāśyapīya school are diligent and energetic in guarding sentient beings. They wear magnolia robes."
Doctrines
In Vasumitra's history Samayabhedoparacanacakra, the Haimavatas (Kāśyapīya sect) are described as an eclectic school upholding doctrines of both the SthaviraSthaviravada
Sthaviravāda literally "Teaching Of The Elders", was one of the early Buddhist schools. It was one of the two main movements in early Buddhism that arose from the Great Schism in pre-sectarian Buddhism, the other being that of the Mahāsāṃghika school....
s and the Mahāsāṃghikas.
According to the Kathāvatthu
Kathavatthu
Kathāvatthu , translated as "Points of Controversy", is a Buddhist scripture, one of the seven books in the Theravada Abhidhamma Pitaka...
commentary
Atthakatha
Atthakatha refers to Pali-language Theravadin Buddhist commentaries to the canonical Theravadin Tipitaka. These commentaries give the traditional interpretations of the scriptures. The major commentaries were based on earlier ones, now lost, in Old Sinhalese, which were written down at the same...
, the Kāśyapīyas believed that past events exist in the present in some form.
According to A.K. Warder, the Kāśyapīya school held the doctrine that arhats were fallible and imperfect, similar to the view of the Sarvāstivādins
Sarvastivada
The Sarvāstivāda were an early school of Buddhism that held to 'the existence of all dharmas in the past, present and future, the 'three times'. Vasubandhu's states:-Name:...
and the various Mahāsāṃghika sects. They held that arhats have not fully eliminated desires, that their "perfection" is incomplete, and that it is possible for them to relapse.
History
The Kāśyapīyas are believed to have become an independent school ca. 190 BCE. According to the TheravadinTheravada
Theravada ; literally, "the Teaching of the Elders" or "the Ancient Teaching", is the oldest surviving Buddhist school. It was founded in India...
Mahāvaṃsa, the Kāśyapīya were an offshoot of the Sarvāstivāda. However, according to the Mahāsāṃghika account, the Kāśyapīya sect descended from the Vibhajyavādins.
Some tentatively attribute the Gāndhārī
Gandhari language
Gāndhārī was a north-western prakrit spoken in Gāndhāra. Like all prakrits, it is thus descended from either Vedic Sanskrit or a closely related language. Gāndhārī was written in the script...
Dharmapada
Dharmapada
In Buddhist legend, Dharmapada was the son of a great architect, who completed the construction of a temple in a single night to save 1200 craftsmen from execution, and then sacrificed his own life to prevent the story from spreading.-Legend:...
to the Kāśyapīya school.
Xuanzang
Xuanzang
Xuanzang was a famous Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator who described the interaction between China and India in the early Tang period...
and Yijing note small fragments of the Kāśyapīya sect still in existence around the 7th century, suggesting that much of the sect may have adopted the Mahāyāna
Mahayana
Mahāyāna is one of the two main existing branches of Buddhism and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophies and practice...
teachings by this time.
Sources
- Brough, John (2001). The Gāndhārī Dharmapada. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited.
- Geiger, Wilhelm (trans.), assisted by Mabel H. Bode (1912). The Great Chronicle of Ceylon. Pali Text SocietyPali Text SocietyThe Pali Text Society was founded in 1881 by T.W. Rhys Davids "to foster and promote the study of Pali texts".Pali is the language in which the texts of the Theravada school of Buddhism is preserved...
. ISBN 08-601-3001-0. Retrieved 27 Nov 2008 from "Lakdiva" at http://lakdiva.org/mahavamsa/. - Malalasekera, G.P. (2003). Dictionary of Pali Proper Names. Asian Educational Services. ISBN 81-206-1823-8.
- Warder, A.K. (1970/2004). Indian Buddhism. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 81-208-1741-9.