Tagged: Canon formation
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Anālayo - The Chinese Parallels to the Dhammacakkappavattana-sutta (1) (2012)
1This paper analyzes Chinese parallels to the Dhammacakkappavattana-sutta, focusing on Mūlasarvāstivāda and Sarvāstivāda versions, and reveals significant variations from the Pāli canon and among the parallels themselves. Some versions, such as the Saṃyukta-āgama discourse and the Sarvāstivāda Vinaya, omit the teaching on the two extremes and the explanation of the Four Noble Truths, focusing exclusively on the "three turnings" applied to each truth. Other versions present the teachings as separate components; for instance, the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya includes the two extremes and the three turnings, but places the detailed explanation of the truths only after Kauṇḍinya's initial awakening. The author argues against the theory that the Four Noble Truths are a late addition, proposing instead that the shorter texts are intentional extracts from a longer, multi-part discourse, and that the Mūlasarvāstivāda and Sarvāstivāda traditions considered the teaching on the "three turnings" to be the central element that set the wheel of Dharma in motion.
Collins - On The Very Idea Of The Pali Canon (1990)
2Steven Collins argues that the Pali Canon should not be seen as the pre-existing foundation of Theravāda Buddhism, but rather as a product created by the Mahāvihāra monastic lineage in Ceylon during the first millennium A.D. as a strategy for legitimation. This development was driven by a rivalry with the competing Abhayagiri monastery, which accepted a wider range of scriptures. The Mahāvihāra monks established their authority by creating a closed, exclusive list of texts defined as the historical "Buddha's Word" (`buddhavacana`), committing these texts and their commentaries to writing, standardizing their interpretation through figures like Buddhaghosa, and authoring historical chronicles (`vamsa`) to construct a singular, legitimate line of succession. Collins concludes that while the *idea* of a fixed canon was ideologically crucial for establishing this orthodoxy, in practice, the religious life of Theravāda cultures has always drawn from a much broader selection of canonical and non-canonical works, making the concept of the canon more significant than its specific textual contents.