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| EarlyBuddhism |
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| Buddhism |
*This list is a simplification. It is likely that the development of Buddhist schools was not linear. |
TheEkottara Āgama (Sanskrit;traditional Chinese:增壹阿含經; ; pinyin:zēngyī-ahánjīng) is anearly Indian Buddhist text, of which currently only a Chinese translation is extant (Taishō Tripiṭaka 125). The titleEkottara Āgama literally means "Numbered Discourses," referring to its organizational principle.[1] It is one of the fourĀgamas of theSūtra Piṭaka located in theChinese Buddhist Canon.
According to Tse Fu Kuan, "in 385 AD Zhu Fonian (竺佛念) completed a Chinese translation of the Ekottarika-āgama recited by Dharmanandin (曇摩難提), a monk from Tukhāra. This first translation, in forty-one fascicles, was later revised and expanded by Zhu Fonian into the Ekottarika-āgama in fifty-one fascicles that has since come down to us. Zhu Fonian probably added new material to his first translation and even replaced some passages of his first translation with new material."[2]
Scholars such asYin Shun, Zhihua Yao and Tse Fu Kuan consider the Ekottara Āgama to belong to theMahāsāṃghika school.[3][4][5]
According toA.K. Warder, the Ekottara Āgama references 250Prātimokṣa rules for monks, which agrees only with theDharmaguptaka Vinaya, which is also located in the Chinese Buddhist canon. He also views some of the doctrine as contradicting tenets of the Mahāsāṃghika school, and states that they agree with Dharmaguptaka views currently known. He therefore concludes that the extant Ekottara Āgama is that of the Dharmaguptaka school.[6]
According toÉtienne Lamotte, the Ekottara Āgama was translated from a manuscript that came from northwest India, and contains a great deal ofMahāyāna influence.[7] This may agree with the 5th century Dharmaguptaka monk Buddhayaśas, the translator of the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya and Dīrgha Āgama, who wrote that the Dharmaguptakas had assimilated the Mahāyāna Tripiṭaka (Ch. 大乘三藏).[8] According to VenerableSheng Yen, the Ekottara Āgama includes teachings of the SixPāramitās, a central concept in thebodhisattva path, and in the Mahāyāna teachings.[9]
The Ekottara Āgama generally corresponds to theTheravādinAṅguttara Nikāya, but of the four Āgamas of the Sanskritic Sūtra Piṭaka in the Chinese Buddhist Canon, it is the one which differs most from the Theravādin version. The Ekottara Āgama even contains variants on such standard teachings as theNoble Eightfold Path.[1] According to Keown, "there is considerable disparity between the Pāli and the [Chinese] versions, with more than two-thirds of the sūtras found in one but not the other compilation, which suggests that much of this portion of the Sūtra Piṭaka was not formed until a fairly late date."[10]
A notable inclusion in the Ekottara Āgama is a discourse that includes meditative instructions onMindfulness of Breathing given by theBuddha to his sonRāhula. In it, the Buddha gives Rāhula instructions on how he can practice this form of meditation to enter intosamādhi. After an unknown length of time, Rāhula enters samādhi, passes through the four stages ofdhyāna, and attains complete perfection and liberation. Rāhula then returns to the Buddha as anarhat, giving a full report of his practice, his experiences in meditation, and the realizations that he has had. This discourse corresponds to the Theravadin Maha-Rahulovada Sutta in theMajjhima Nikaya (MN 62).
In lectures, renowned Buddhist masterNan Huaijin frequently cited the Ekottara Āgama for its discourse on Mindfulness of Breathing, and lectures on Rāhula's report to the Buddha. He detailed the fine points of practice and the relationships that exist between the mind, body, and breath, including related exoteric and esoteric phenomena. Also discussed were the dissemination of this practice into various forms in theMahāyāna schools of Buddhism in East Asia such asZen andTiantai, and intoDaoist meditative practices.[11][12][13]