Tagged: Madhyama-āgama
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Anālayo - Brahmā's Invitation (2011)
1In early Buddhist texts, the god Brahmā is incorporated through "inclusivism," being either satirized as a deluded creator or depicted as a subordinate protector of the Dharma. The most prominent example of this protector role is the story from the Pāli Ariyapariyesanā-sutta where Brahmā persuades the hesitant, newly-awakened Buddha to teach. This article highlights that this famous episode is completely absent from a parallel version of the discourse in the Chinese Madhyama-āgama. By comparing these texts and noting a similar pattern of absence in other parallel accounts, the analysis concludes that the story of Brahmā's intervention is likely a later addition to the tradition, rather than an original element that was subsequently lost. Therefore, this pivotal narrative, widely found in later texts and art, may not have been part of the earliest autobiographical account of the Buddha's awakening.
Anālayo - The Chinese Parallels to the Dhammacakkappavattana-sutta (1) (2012)
2This 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.