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INTRODUCTION
It is strikm2 that ai far back as 1859, i.e., OVN a century
ago, the attent ion of European scholars was dmwn to lhe
appearance of Buddhist sects in IndIa, mentioning their names
wi thout, however, any comment. 'the earli est article was
written by St. Julien, ' lisle, diverses des Doms des dilthuil
secles du bouddhisme' in the JournalAsfatique, 1859. This was
followed by M.V. Vassilief in 1860, Drs. Rhys Davids and
Oldenberg in 1881, H. Kern in 1884 and I. P. Minayeff in 1884
(vide for details, pages 11-13)ofthis book,
h was after the publication of the translat ion of the Chinese
version of Vasumit ra's treatise on eighteen sects of Buddhism
in India by Prof. J. who happened to be a Lecturer
in the CalcUll a Uni\'ersity and also a colleague of the present
writ er, in the Asia Major, vol. II {I 925} supplemented by the
Tibetan texts on the eighteen schools by Bbavya and Vinitadeva
entitled Nikiiya-Medal'jbhaliga and Samayabhedoparacanaciuaa
respectively.
It should be noted that Vasumit ra's treatise had three Chinese
translations:
(0 'Shi-pa' pu' -lun, ascribed either to Kumfuajiva(401-1l ) or
to Param:irtha (546-69).
Oi) Pu' -chi,i-l un, ascribed t o Paramdrtha. This translation.
according to Masuda, appears to be more accurate.
(iii) ascribed to Hiuen Tsang (662), is regarded
by Masuda as the best of the translations.
There were four scholars, beari ng the name of Vasumitra:
(1) Vasumitra of Kani!ka's Counci l and one of the authors
of the Mahavihha$a.
( ji) Vasumitra of the Sautrdntika school.
(iii ) Vasumitra, who appeared a thousand yea rs after Buddha' s
pHrinibban3, and
(i v) Vtlsumitra of t he sc:hool, from whom HiueD
Tsang learnt the Sarvastivdda doctrines.
It is curious that (If the hooks and articles menliontd
on pp. '11] refers ttl such an impon3m Pul i Abhidhamma Itxt
as the Kal,\6lHl IIJIII published in 11I97 and its commentary in
1889 and the former work's t::nglish translati on by Mrs. C.A.F.
Rhys Davids entitled Points ojComrol'ersy (1915) .
The antiquity of the ll."alht1Mtlhlf tradi tionally goe, bact to the
days of Emperor Asoka, under whose auspices the Thi rd Bu:!
dhist Council was held with Tissa as its president.
The special features of this book He that
(i) it presents the doctrines of the opponents, i.e. , an elt position
of the doctrines of a part icular non-Theravada school:
(ii) it allows him to stale hi s arguments as well as
(ii i) to quole in their support the stat ements of Buddha, occur-
ring in the Nikayas or elsewhere in any Pi!akan text.
After giving full scope to the opponents for the grounds of
their views, Moggali putta Tissa, the president, refuted them fr om
the standpoint of Theravada by counter-arguments as well as
with the help of quotations from the Buddhavacanas.
The contribution of the present author not only in maki ng
an analytical study of the treatises of Vasumitra, Bhavya and
Vinitade,,'a but also the Kat/iil'atthu and its commentary by
as well as the Abhidharamakoia-vyiikhyii, an eltcel-
lent editi on of which has been published by Prof. Wogihara of
Japan and the Sammiriya-nikiiya siistra translated from Chinese
by Prof. Venkataraman of the and The Gilgit
ManuM:riprs, llI , edited and published by the present wri ter, can
taining the original MUiasarvastivada Vina-ya, and also the
Jnanaprasthana Sutra partially restored from Chinese by Santi
also of the ViSvahharati.
This book ends with an Epilogue, in which an attempt hn
been made to show how Mahayanism developed as a nalural
consequence of the ' "iews of the Mahilsanghikas and as a deve
lopment of the nebulous conception of Bodhisatlva and Buddha
kayas in the Dil'yii\'{Jdiilla and Avadiilla-salaka, ascribed to the
and also asa reaction to the realism of the Sarva-
st iviidins, and how graduall y Mahayanism surpassed Hinayan-
ism both in popularitv and propagation.
To this book has been added an Appendix containing a s)-'nop-
sis of the ancient geography of India as described by Hiuen
Tsang; it al so throws li ght on t he dispersal of Buddhist stOlts in
India along wi th :1 brief account of the Buddhist sects as
vii
given by [-tsi ng and the localities where these were existing a!
his time, i. e., balf a century after Hiuen Tsang's visi t to India.
In fine, I should like to thank my learned friend, Sri K. L.
Mukhopadhyay, M.A. for suggesting the appropri ate title of
the book, which helpe:d me to confine my attention exclusively
to the Buddhist Sects in India. I should mention that I ha"e
deri ved much benefit from the Histoire du Bouddhisme ir.dil'll
(louvain, 1956) of Prof. E. Lamotte, who bas also published
many other valuable worh on Mahayana Buddhism, util ising
exhausth:c1y the Chinese versions of the lost Sanskrit texts.
I al so thank my ;; tudenl Dr. Miss Ksanika Saha Ph, D. for
preparing the I ndexes.
Dun
,
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
"
ABBKI>\'IAnUNS ,1
I Political Background from Ajatasatru to
Mahapadma Nanda
II Sources and Account of the
Second B u d d h i ~ t Council 11
III
Disruptive Forces in t he Sangha 34
IV Sources and Classification of S(!cts 48
V The Mahasailghikas 57
VI Doctrines of Group II Schools 98
VII Doctrines of Group III Schools 12\
VIIl Doctrines of Group IV Schools 181
IX Doctrines of Group V Schools 211
Epilogue 218
Appendix: Hiuen Tsang and I-tsing on the
dispersion of Buddhist Sects in India 261
INDEX 291
1
POLITI CAL BACKGROUND
FROM AJATASATTU TO MAHAPADMA NANDA
The of the First Buddhist Council took place soon
after the mah,iparinirv'-qla of Buddha (486 !l.c.) in the eighth
year of the reign of king Aj<i.tasattu, who ruled for.n years fmm
49] B.C. Ajatasattu extended hi.;; father 's dominion heyond
Mflgadha and ruled over Ailga, K isi and t he ;;t atesofthe
mnfedenlcies.
1
The Buddhist traditions are unanimnm in stnliflg
t.hat Aj<i.tasattu in his early days was not very well.di'pmeo 10-
wards Buddha and his rel igion, hut later on, mind
nna he hecame a [mtmn of Ihe religion, supporting
cd!y the session of the Fint COllncil.
III the !\fahfirfllIISQ c('mmenl:Jry
2
anrl thr. ,lfniijll,6'j,lIiilaknl[!a
3
(henceforth ahhreviated as M m:'--.) , Aj:lt!l,;1ttu's entilusill sm
f;)r rendering service to tlw new religi,)I1, is referred t o but
t here i, no cvilience 10 show his inTcre,T in Ihe propnr,:1tiOIl of
the religion.
UD.\YIIlH.\DDA (461-445 B.C.)
According to tbe Buddhist and Jaina t raditio:1s, though not
according to the Ajat asattu was succeeded by hi, son
Udayibhadd3. He ruled for 16 ye:HS 461 The Mmk. says
that like his father llC was not only enthusiastic about t he:
See Buddhist Il1dia, C 1. I: H.C. Ravcilflild huri , Po/i/ica/ HiJlDry uf
fl/1('imllna'ia, 3rd cd , p, 140. p. 604,
2, lr'l th.c (p. (45), it is pDinted Ollt that
l':paireoJ Ih: IS greal mOna\leneS of R:ljag;lha.
), M"",,., p. 603.
"!IT '! ",,;:fl;lqffir tf'.Tir:
,
lfI'lilq) tt
4. Raychillldhuri .op. al., p . 143.
Aj:ltlsaltu

10 )'ean llceon.lins 10 the .\(",1;. , p. rrof. Chalto ..
10 him a pHioo of '-5
2
BUIlDHlS1: SECTS t o'( Di UI .\
reli gion but also had the :<.ayillgs of Buih.lh;;. collected.' In the
S;lmc Icxt
2
asain, it stated Illat religiun would declint: arl er
Buddha's death, the kings would be with one another,
and the monks woul d busy with various scc"lar
matters find fault with one a.nother and la!.: k in self-rest raint. The
monks' and men would be demomiised, illlillige ill false disputa-
tions, a nd become jealous of one anothcr. The non-Buddhists
would gai n the upper hillld ,md tilt: people would revert to
Dra hmanism and take to t.illing awJ other evil
pract ices. If these mutually cOll lradic\ury statements of the
Mmk. be considered along with II Ie disut"e! silence of the CC}-
loncse chronicles about the uf UJayibhadda, it seems
tha i the ca use of Buddhism fo ulJu li llie favour with the king.
The te" t ,Idds t hallherc wo uld, however, be some good men,
gods and beings other thal\ human, who would continue to
worshilJ the relics. "lid thougb the reli gion would be on the
Wilne, there would l.Ie al !ea,l dghl distinguished monk,' with
Rah ula as the chid IU prole!.:l it.
SU' stoll I writes tlmt L1II;: guadiitnship o f Buddhism was entrust-
ed by Ihe Tcm,:her 10 (Malia) Kasyapa, who in turn assigned it
kCl:ently Prof. K. Ch:1l10padhY;lya has Clll e,IIon of
succession of the kingi or Magadha IHriv:d at the conclusion that
was (ln 3Iternati\": mrme of Udayi as Sr;:llika was of Birr.bislra anJ
Kllm/ia of ISo:e J>roc. oj fhe Illdial: l/'1I1)I"1 COI;g"eSS, Lahore,
19.J.O. PI" 141)..7). Prof. Blram"!i1,ki1' i<JclLlifll:S Danlaka "'ith Nlgada5.1ka. Cr.
Di.,.,i,."diinll , p. 369.
l. Almk., p. 604.
UJIT" ;:cr.TUW !.1<f; Tma- : I
""f.iClJS fel!:T "' ;JlJcr: I
I
liffi -nlJQifcr II
2. Aim!.., P[I.
3. The or gi\'Cll In Mmk .. p. 64 : Is:u rollows ;-
Sii,;pul r;\. Maud!;aiyliyana, Mutli\kii:iyurll, Subh(lli, Rlhuia, N",nJ,J,
Bhadrika, K u.,hi(l;)
I bM., 11. I II : Si\ri;lut-a. Piodola
dvaja, !tahuin, Mahak.MYlpa, A.n;mda .
4. Obernullcr's Tla"s/at;rm of BII'SIOf/' S History of B'ldrlilislII (hmce
[mIll abb,,, v'.L l<:J <I. RuSlUn), II . p,l:!/!.
POLITICAL DACKGROUl' D J
to Ana nda. Bot h Kasyapa and Ananda passed away durine the
life time of Aj<i.tas3nu , r\ nanda charged his disciple Stil,l3v:isika
to protect the religion after his demi se and 10 ordain, in course
01 lime, Upagupta of Mathura. He foretold t hat, accorcling
to the prophecy of t he Teacher, Upagupta would hecome
a Buddha but n ot with a ll the characteristics of a Samhurldha.
Just before his demise, Ananda a lso ordained 500 Brahm:mi -
cal a nchorites' with Madhyant ika at their head, commissioning
to him the propagation of t he religion in Kashmir. The episode
01 Madhyantika a nd his acti\'i ties in Kashmir do not however
.lind any men t ion in the Ceylonese chronicles. '
(445-437 B.C.)
Ud:iyibhadda, after n reign of 16 years (46 1445 H. C.), was
succeeded by his son Anuruddha, wbuse peri od of reign as well
:'IS that of hi s son Mu!)4a was ver y ::ohun, bei ng only 8 )'ears in
:'1 11 , 445-437 \l. C. !n t he Div)Q.'uc/ulla' king MUlJQ.a is described
<"IS the son of Udiiyibhadda, and 110 mention is made of Anuru-
ddha. In t he Ariglillara Nikiiyu, ' king is mentioned as
:'Ipproaching bhi kkhu I'arada orl lhc deat h of his queen Bhadda.
He listened 10 n diicourse or bhikkhu Narada dehvered at
Pfqali pu tta on the impermunello..:e of worldly beings :tnd objec ts.
I n t he Jaina lradition preserved in the PariSi,r{apafl'GlI (eh. vi),
it is Slated thai u prince ill lhe guise of a Jaina novice
kI lled Udii.yin. Pro f. ChattopaJhyaya surmi ses that thi s novice
might be king MuQQa".'
SACAD,\.MI'''' (437-413 D.C.)
King MUI)Qa was by his son Nagrui iisaka, who
fuled for 24 years, With Nagadaseka ended the rule of the line
of kings that commenced with Bimbisara . In t ho Ceylonese
1. D;"I"I;I"II&)"" , p 369.
2. A;'/fulfafil, Hr, PP. 57f.
3. K. Chatt opadhyaya, up. dl.
4. (p. 369) says thai ",as K:lka\;uQi. In
rh<) Ahk';"",killil nnd Dlv),rJ l'a(/li na, Ihe line of ki ng, is as fo ll ows :_
Bimbi , ;i raAjlt:lil truUdriyi bh"L, .. M Wilda. Kakav;1 ml-Sahlli ' T u!akucl-
,\tl h.i Lnarrja]a. rr:t ,en 'IJ if N:l !ldn. IJ i ndus!l
1
BUDDH.I ST SEen IN INDIf,
chronicles. all the successor;; of Bimbisara arc described as p;lIri-
cidal (plIlI/:hlifaJ..aralll so) ; how far thi s statement is reli able n:-
maim to be e .... am!l1ed, but it seems that the Hudcthi sts were nul
in much favour of til esc kings, and evide:ltly. as the Mlll k. sa y,
\ .... 15 on the wane all along this period of about h;llf
a century. tvladhyillitika"s departure t o Kashnm :I ud hi" :Htcmpl
to prop3gale Buddhi sm iar away from Magadha is also an ill-
direct hint at the unpopularity of the religion in the uf
its origin.
SI SIJNAGA DYI'ASTY
The throne of Nag:uJisaka was usurped by hi s SiSti.
naga, \ .. ho according to till;: tradllion preserved in the Urw/'c-
l'ihiira-al1hakuth?i, was tIlt: of a Li cchuvi prince of Va is:ili by
a courtezan. ' As he \\as <luupteu b) a minister, he came t o be
known as a minister' S son. According to u b le tradition prescn' -
cd in the Mii!a!Qlikttra-l'u((lw, Sis unagu hnd hi s residenct' Et
Vai sali , t o which place he later transferred his capital from
Rajagaha, He ruled for 18 (41 3-395 n.o.) and is sai d to
have humbled Pradyuta dynasty of As fur as
t he testimonY of the teltU is cOl1ccrned. no incident
o f note occurred in history of Buddhi sm during his
reign.
.vas wcceeded by his son K:1IMoLI (395367 B.C.)
of the Ceylo nese chronicles or K:\ kavaroin uf Ihe Purii(las.
Many scholars a re of the opini on that the t WO IUUles arc of the
sa me person. T he Alokiil"adullo places K:"t k,1\'ar!)in Jflcr
Mund<l and makes no menti on of wltik the M ailJuiri-
speaks of ViSoka as the successor or Si;unaga. Ta ra-
has confused t he Emperor with and made
Visoka a son of the former. In the KatMvorrhll-U! !lulkatl;ii (p. 2)
Kii!:i soka is called simply The oUlsl,muing cvcn t that
took place in the hi story of Buddhism duril1@, his reign is the
session of the Second Buddhist Council (.n't' i"p-u).
1. I. p. 1
:2 Raych.1ucl hur)'. PoliliCJ! Hinol>' of Ancitlll India (henceFOlt h
abbrevi at eC as I ' HAl) (1932). p. 147.
POLITICAL llACKOROUNO
5
According to the MohtlbodhitQI/l.Jo, KarUoka was succeeded by
his len sons: Bhadrasena, Mangura , Sabhai'ljaha,
Jala ka, Ubhaka, SaMjaya, Koravya, Nandivardhalla, and Panca-
maka, simultaneously for 22 ycars (367-34.5 D.C.) but
in Ihe PurdfJos only o ne is menti oned, riz., Nandi-vardhana. This
tradilion, however, is not corroborated by other Buddhist sour-
ces, according to whkh, KalMoka or \\-as succeeded by
his son .sOrasena, who reigned for 17 years. l
5urascna supported the of the fOllr quarters f or th ree
years and olfered a hundred ki nds of reqUisites to all rai/yo;
existing o n t he face of the ear!:1.! n.rami tha make; Arhat
Saoavasika and Arhat Vasa contemporarics of Siirasena and
refr rs 10 the appeamnce of Mahadeva and his five propositions
during his reign.
Si"l rJ sena was succeeded by Nanda, who, according to Tara.
was Surasena's son. The Afmk.4 says that king Nanda
was pow.erful, mai ntained a la rge army and made
p um h IS capitaL He, it is snid, acquired wealth through magical
means. On the basis of t!"le following stanza in the /IIm,<.:
... r;- I

hyas\\ia1
5
remarks that Nanda was at first a minister of the
prcvious king and that he bf!longed to a low family but was the
leading man of the communit y. l1lrough unexpected acquisition
of wc:!lt h he became the king of the country. He entertained the
] C31Jed Uij rascna in the Mu"'shoJllI-,-a"..sn. cr. Mmk , p . 61 1.
-u;;rr miR: I
2. T;mJdtlr,,s Gesclu"cllII' des B"ddhisnflU, p. 50.51. The
restoratIon from Tibetan may wdl be $Orasena instead of Yinscna Cf M-,'
p.611. . . " .
roN 'f>TU mrr I
'i$i'Il <fW1:TU II
3. Schiefner. op. cit .. P. 52. King came of t!"l e Lio:havi Irihc.
4. Mmk. ,pp.611.12.
!i. ImjNrial HiS/IJry of Indi<J, p. I.t
6 BUDDHIST SECTS JI' I;:';DIA
in KMi for many years,l King Nanda was surrounded
hy BrahmaQft ministers, on whom also he bestowed wealth. At
the instance of his spi ritual teacher (KalyiiQamitra), I,e offered
several gifts 10 the cailyos built on Buddha's relics,' King
Nanda ruled Jor 20 years and died as a true Buddhist at the
age of sixty_six.3
During the reign of king Nanda. Naga spoke hifhly
of the five propositions of Mahii deva, whi ch led to the appear-
ance of fDur sect5.f. In this connection, reference rna} be to
the statement of Taranalha to the effect Ihat during the reign
of Asoka (i.e. Kai flSoka) there a Brahm31).a Vatsa in
Kashmir. "'ho was learned but very wicked. He took pleasure
in preaching tbe Almaka t heory, t ravelled all over the count ry
and made the simple people accept hi s teaching and caused a
in the Sangha.& It is a well-known fa:;! that th:
Vato;ipulri)'as' were one of the four sects, and probably this
school came into existence at an earlier date bot was reccgnized
ao; a school at the time of king Na nda.
Tnranatha as well as Bu-ston speak of the successor of
as hi s son Mahapadma. who, they state, was devoted
to and the monkt,t Kusumapun with all
the necessaries of life.? They further Slale that Vararuci and
Pii l) ini, who were hIS father's ministers. cont inued to be hiS
but Vararuci was hated and ultimatel y killed by him,
Ai fl n atonement for th: si n of killing a Brahmaoa, 24 mOn:lS-
were erected by him. During his reign, TAranal ha states,
Sthiulmati. a disciple of Naga,8 co used further divisions in the
Sanehfl hy propagati ng hi s teachers propositions.
Rllichaudhury and other scholars place king afte, the
rei gn 0 - the sens of KahHoka. Jayaswal, on the basis of the
1. Schicffl tr, op. ci/., p. H.
2. Mmlc,pp. 611.1 2.
3. Mmk .. p. 612.
4. Schi:fner, fJP. cil .
S. Ibid.
6. 1 he pr,)pcunden of the Al.ln,, !o.a lho::ory rna ntai ne(j that a soul paSSlli
frum UlI: exi ' lcnc:e to Thi, theory "a. by Ruddha .
7. op. ci/ , D ..
R See above. p. S.
POLITICAL DACKGROUND
7
Umk., places Suras:na after KalHoka. It may be that Siirasenn
was all ot her name of Dhadrasena, the first son of Kdliisoka. in
lht: hi story of we know t hut. after the sessi on of the
Council during the reign of Kli liisokD., dissensions urose
:H the Buddhist Saiigha. five proposi tions we re
n::gil rded by Vasumitra and Bhuvya il.$ the main cause of the
Mabad,::va was foll owed by Niiga, who, in his turn,
lVas followed by Sthiramati in the propag.ation of Ihe five propo-
sitions . In view of this succcssion of teachers. it is quite probable
tlwt KliliiSok:\ was by and Sur:lsena by
N.mdil. Bu-stont writes that troubles arose in th,: Buddhist
Sangha 137 years after Buddha's parinibba'fla. This dute coin
eides wi th t he reign of Nandll and therefore his information
also cf TiiraniHha th"t Surascna inte rvened between Kul tHokll.
and Nanda, apfXars to be authentic. It is quite li kely t hot the
Tibetan historians mistook the name Mahaplldma Nanda (or the
names of two p.::rsonages. Nanda and Mahapadma, and m!lde
the laHer a son of the former. It may be that king ?'-Ianda took
the appellation Mahapadma sometime the commencement
of his reign.
The Mlllt. and the Tibetan historians fur nish us wi th interest-
ing informat ion regarding the time and activities of the famous
grammarians Pal)Lni and Vararuei. Regarding Piil)ini, the texts
mention that he was born at Dhi rukavana in th: west (probably
and that though he was a Driihmal;la, he was strongly
Incl med to the Buddhist faith, and that he attained proficiency
in grammar (SabJa.iCi st,a) t hrougil the graee of Avalokite!vara.
He composed the well-known and ultimately
attai ocd SrJI"akabodhi. The date of Pal)ini is placed by Weber,
Maxmtiller, Keith. and several other scholars between 350 end
300 and this is prisety t he period duri ng which king
NatlUa I hence the contemporan:: ity of Nanda and 1'a I;Imi,
as SIHlt:d by Buddhist writers, seems to be correct.
Regarding Vara ruci , our informat ion is thllt he wa5 an erudi te
scholar and started writing explanatorv k'is!raJ on Buddha's
Prof. Belval kar' ha s colited eVIdence to show
J. Bu_s!on. II, p. 76.
Z. S." H"I'IS 3[ OmlIlIllGr, rl'. I], 27. 8!1

BUDDHIST IN INDIA
that Vararoci W2.S another name of Klityayana of the Aindra
School of grammarians, which school, Taraniitha says, was
believed to be earlier than the school. To thi s school
also belongs Kaccayana's PEHi grammar. Vararuci's interest in
writing exegetical literature is also referred to by Belvalkar,l In
view of all these references, it may be stated t hat Vararuci was
also 2. contemporary of king Nanda and pal).ini and that he, li ke
his famous names3ke MahiJcaccayana, specialised in writing
commentaries on Buddha's enigmatic expressions. from the
above accoum. it may be conduded that dissensions tn Ihe
Buddhist Sangha commenced in the reign of Kiilasoka and
multiplied during the rei gns of Surasena and Mahlipacl ma
Nanea.
Principal Centres of Buddhism
The uames of monks and the geographical information furni sh-
ed bv l lie accounts of tile Second Council throw some light on
the of tbe area which came under the inllucnce of the
Buddhist Cbunk The leading monks of the time were
as eigbt, viz., Sabbakami, Salha, Revala, Khuiiasobhito.,
Vasa, Sambbiita Si l,lavli.5i, Yasabhagamika and
T he fi rst six were disciples of An:mda, while the remaini ng
two of Auuruddha. Ananda died during the later part of the
reign of Ajiita!attu, and so his disciples at the time of the
Second Council were well advanced in age. Sabbaknmi W;lS then
the Sanghatthera but Revata was the recognized lender. In the
Sauskrit tradition, Sambhuta SRQavasi is given prominence as
he, accordi ng to t his t radition,. wat selected by ADDnda as the
monk to take cbarge of tbe religion after l1im. In the Chinese
traditions, be is shown as laking the leadi ng part in the delibe-
rat ions of the Council. The VaiSti.lians were monks of the
eastern countries (piicinaki), so nl so were Sabbak:i.mi, S:i.l ha of
I. J/J/d., p. 84,
2. Bu-stOD (II, p. 93) giv" a slightly
Kuhjita. Aji ta, SambMta, Revata.
different SA4ha.
POLITICAL BACKGROUSD
9
S:ihajiiti,' Khujj asobhila and In Du-slon's
ac.:ounl, Sabbakiimi is said to have been n:sitling at Vaisa1i.
Hiuen Tsang states that Khujjasobhita bdungetl to Pa!lliiputra
Salha hailed from Vai5ftl i. It will be ubsuveli that Salha
of Sahajiiti or Vais5.li was at in an iudtxisive mood. King
KaliiSoka, also like SiilIm, was al first ill favour of the Vaisii.-
li l!lS, but lat er on, at the: illh:rveutiull uf his sister Bhikkhunl
Nanda, he bci:ame inclined tuwanJs the Wcsleru:rs. In the early
history of Duddhislll, Vaisa li h ucsnibt:d as a town seething
with non-Dudd histic thinker:) aud as a r.:enlre of the followers of
Nigut:l!ha N.i!apuila. HeliCe it il; 4uite in keeping with the
traditions of the coulllt'y tha t nun-orthodox Buddhists should
find a footing there.
Vasa, the most acti ve figure in the account and the one who
sHlrted the commutiull, hailed, according to Hiuen Tsang, from
Kosala. He left Vilisa[j for Kosa mbl , where he organised a
pllfty with siAty monks of Pi!v;} (P"Jveyyak<\)8 and eight y moni<s
of :\vant i, all uf Lhe Western countries.' He proceeded with
them first tu Sambhiita S<\l)av:\S1 of and met him a[
Ahogatiga.
6
Accompanied by him they went to meet Revata,
nnothe- r Wt:!>terner, belonging to Ks na uj and met him a i Soreyya.
The fourth Western monk was Sumana, Thus we see that there
l. SOl)aka, al.",unJin!l 10 Bu-stOIl II p. 93. SahajA.[j is identifted with
Bhita, 9 miles, S.S.W. ft<1m Sir John Iden[i fi es
with Bhi la on the basis of [he ins:rip[ion; '1. Hiiadhi Sahajll ti ye
nlglilma'. '. N. N. Ghmh, Earl)' His. of I\.'au$ambf. p. 89.
2. 1I1.1-S1on (p. 93) &iycs the following gcographH;al informllIlon ;_
( i) Sarvak>'il'1in of Vaii;\U
( ii) Yajas or Dhlnita
(i ji) Stl4ha or Sol;laka
(iv) Dilanika ofSil)'lkl1SY3 (in SQC: Przyluski, Le COl/elk de
Rifj agal",. P 286)
(v) Kubjna of P;\!alipuI Ta
(vi) Ajila ofSrulI:hna
(vii) SambhOll of
(,i ii) Revala ofSaha.IAti
J. P'.1lheyyaka is another reading,
4. V""/)<llIh"pp"t.U$/II( p. 166; Pu..: .. himika yC"J PlveyyakA..
Ahog.1.naa is a I:lountllin near Ihi' of the Gnnliles, Moagllli-
puna resided there just before [he Third Coulle.l, !ICe B. C. Law,
Gtog. oJ t.;o,-Iy Buddhism, p. 40.
10 BUDDHI ST SECTS IN l:-OOIA
was a clear geographical divisi on among the monks. The
opposition 10 the Vaisal ian practices was started by Yasa or
Kosala, and 5\Wported by Rcvuta of Soreyya (Kanauj), Sambhiha
5a.lJaVaSi of M:nhur<l, and Sumana, whose native place not
memioned anywhere. This testifiei 10 the fact that the m..,nks
of the western countries., viz. Avant!, Malhura were
morc orthodox in their observance of the Yinaya rules as adopt-
ed by the Theravadins. In the del iberatiuns of the Coullcil,
Sabbak:1ml, though the Sar'lghauhem, was not gilll:lI the: lead,
and this also pro\'cs the lack of his" whok-hcartetl support to
the agitation started by Vasa. Sa!ha's allilUUt, as lIu:utioned
above, was at firs t indecisive and similar probably was also the
view of Khujj aiObhita of PAlalipulra.
Prof. PrZyluski also has noted the geugraphil.:;d division of
monks in his COllclle de RJ}agrha (pp. 308-09) amI r>:JlJarked that
there were definitely three centres, viz . Vaisali, f KlIu!ii.mbi and
MarhurA. KauSdmbi and aU Soutn-western i,;uulIlrics became
later on the sea l of the TheravMins, while Malhurii. and t:le
nonh-weitern count ries of the Sarvastivadios. TIlt: Westernerscf
this were therefore the group ormunks wllO came to be
later on known as the SthavirAs and SarvaslivZtuins, "hile the
Easterners, who had their seat at Vagali, wert: Mailasang-
hikas and their offshoots. Whatever have the
differences between the Easterners and tht: Wo; stelners, it ;s
apparent that Buddhism was pre\alent al tilt: lime all over the
central belt of India from AvantI' to VaiSiili 'tl lli from Mathura
to KausAmbf. The chief centre of it seems ..... as
shifted at that time from RAjagrha to Pil\aliputra, which also
became the seat of the rulers. The also made
pa!alipulra their chief centre.
I. KaJUmhi identified with the ruins at Ko,am, 38 miles from
Allahabad abo\'c the Yamlllli. Watters, 11 , p. 15.
In the San'dst ivida Vinaya account of tbe KauSimbi dispute, one parly
is as Val silian and the other Kaultmbian.
2. Vaidll is identified willi Besarh 1[\ the MuzaffarpurdiSlri(:I of Dellar.
J. Avant! in anelent times was dlvloed. inlo 11"0 parli. ('e northern parl
lIith lis capli nt al UJcni is id.:nlifio;u wilh Malwa.
4. Set I II/ra.
C UA?TER If
SOURCES OF THE SECOND BUDDHIST COUNCIL
Pali : Cullavagga XII ; Mahavarp;;a [V, Dlpavarpm [V & V;
Samantapasadikii, MaMbodhivamsa,
Sanskrit : p.
Sinhalese: Nili:ayasatigraha
Tibetan; Uul-va (XI. 323-330 ; MulasarvAstivad:t Villdya.
translated by W. W. RO-;<ilill : Bu-ston's History ur
Buddhism translated by E. Obermiller; Tammilha's
History 01" Huddhlsm transhted into German by A.
Sc hiefner.
Chinesz : (if Mahasaitghlka Vinaya found at Pl1.!3liputra by
Fa-hien translated into Chinese by Buddhadattd ami
Fa-hien in 416 A.D. it does not ment io n all the ten
defections but only the most Important ones.
(i i) Mulasarv3.st lvada Vinaya (Ksudrakavast u) translated by
I-tsing in 710 A.D. It mainly preserves tbe tradition.
(iii) Recitation in four parts: School of the Oharmaguprakas.
translated into Chinese by Buddhayabs and T.:hou-ru
nien in the 5th century A.D.
(iv) Recitat ion of the Vinaya translated by
Buddhajiva, a Kshmirian DJonJc, in 424 A.D. Fa-hien
came a copy of the original Vinft)'ft in Sanskrit in
Ceylon. It was problbly in Pali, al it closely followed
the Cullavagga XII.
!.
'if rn 1
l1Htr-rr,f-1! 1f'n:I'TRl: II
If) w;r:rrr 1
hr!ff<lT I t
tllTf'fT '{MUfl'ltN l1Trn9' it :f!!{T 1
t:rTif;' 11
12
BUDDHIST SECTS it. INOlA
(v) Recitati on of Chc-song-liu (Vi nilya in ten secti ons Da5iidh-
ytLya) of the Sarvj,tivada school, translat ed by
PUI.lY<l triUa, Kumarajiva, and Vimalulqa.
It m:ty be mentioned that the Villaya tc.l:ts of Saryasti.
vada and Mulasarv.i.stivada are very close to each odler
as far as the account of Second Council is concerned:
It is definite that Kcn-pcll-chou-yi- l:.ic;-ycou is older
than Villaya. The latlt:r J'I;:VI;:als a
)cctariall :.piLi l. il llt:.\Uy dcvclupt:d, alld the :opi! it of the
t";(pail:.iull of Buut.lll i:'111 wh;:n it .... (1.) far iH.lvanct:tl in
prupagation.
(vi) The m:count of llie Vinaya-matrklj sutnl t:u.
1463 k. 4, p. 819). This wurk appertains to the Haimavut a
sect and is preserved ouly in Chi nese transla tion of
about the end of t he fourth and beginning of the fift h
Century ,\.0.
(vii) Vasumi1r:l, Bhavya and Vi nftadeva, translated by J.
Masuda in .'\sia Major, "01. Ii. Vasumitra's treatise has
one TIbetan and three Chinese translati ons of Kum<1.rajiva
(40:!H2), Para manha (557-.%9) and Hiuen Tsang (662).
Koue-ki, a disciple of Hiuen Tsang, wrote a commentary
on Para martha' s {remise. ParamArthl was the most
learned Indian Imssiona ry, who went to China to propa-
gate t he religion. He was as intell igent as Kumaraj iva.
Ki- tsang, a monk of Part hian origin, being the son of
a Parthian merchant settled in China and the Chinese
mother of Nan-kin' s. He traced . he o;igiu of seen from
the beginning to Ihe end. He wone it commentary on
treause on Ya$umitra.
,\/odt:rn 'Yorks 0 11 Ihe S('cond Coullcil .-
W. Wassil ief, Der BuddhiSlIlllS (1 860) ; T. W. Rhys DJ.vids and
H. Oldenberg, Vinoya Piraka (S. B. E.) ( 1881); H. Kern, Manual
of BII(k/hism (1884, 1891); I. P. Minayeff, Buddizmu (1884); H.
Oldenberg, Buddhistische S/lidien il/ Z . D .. \J.G., LIl ( 1898); S.
Beal , Vil/ara of the: Dharmaguplakas; Louis de la Vall ee Poussin
(1905) in E.R.E .. IV, 179-84, arid in Le Museon, vi, 30-37 ;
Francke, J.P.T.5. (1908). W. Geiger, Introduction to
Muhii ralJlsa; R. C. Majumdar in B. C. Law Buddhistic Studies
i ECOND BUDDHiST COUNCIL 13
Volume; Paul Dcmi6'illc, The Origin of Bllddnisl SectJ' ill
Mdallges chinois bauddhiqllcs vvL I; M. Hofingcr, tlude sur Ie
Guneile dt: VaW,!j in Le ... fl. S(:OII, vol. XX ( 1946) ; A Bareau,
LeJ' sectes bOllddiliqlles du Pet it Vclriculc (1955).
TRADITI ONAL ACCOUNT 01' 1'H ;<: n:COND
BUODIII.5T COU:-;CIL
In the account of the Vinaya texts. (he deviat ions in the
ci plinary rul es have been diiCussed, but apart from these
devia tions_ there were a few doctrinal disputes, which ere as
:-
The dissidents challenged t he Sthaviravadins claims that
were perfectly pure in physical and ment al acl ivil ics as
well in the knowledge of the hi ghest Truth, i.e. they were fully
emll nci pnteo_ They assert ed t hat the Arhat s had four
with an additi onal it em about the reali za tion of the
Truth by lin exclamat ion "Aho". These <i re known as the
five points of Hence, Ihe reasons for hol dillg
the session of the Secon(l COllncil were two, d isciplinary and
doctrinal Both of them are beine ta ken up for in
Ihis chapler. 'The account of CU"(1\,ogg(1 follows :_
Some of the VRiJ ian monh ofVaisii \i Illlo\\eda" lawful certain
rules, which were not in conformi ty wi t h l he rules of the
Piitimokkho_s'l/to Vasa of while ;1\ happened
to notice the and strongl y prOle-sl ed "' eainsl Ihem. At
this attitude of Vasa, t he Yajji:m monk> excluded him from the
Sangha by ukkJrepa"I)'Q-kamma (at"t of excommunication). Vasa
then m:.ade an appeal 10 the laity, but il was of no rlva il and
he had to flee from the counlry to hi s native place. From there
he attempted to form a group of monh, who mpporlc<t his
"iews. Hesentmessengers lOlhc monh of P:i!heyya and Avanl i.
and he himself went to Ahoga nga, Ihe residenct!' of Samhhiita
SaQav3.si. There he was joi ned by si xty theras of Pil!hcyyJ. and
eight y thera,> of Avanti, and gradually by severa l other". T hey
.nil decided to meet Sthavi ra Revala of Soreyya, who wa" Ihen
the chief of the S[uigha. Before they could reach Soreyya.
Revata became aware of Vasa's mi ssion ann for Vaisali
Rnd the meeting of Rev:ll a wil h olher monh took place at
14
BUDDHIST SECTS 1:-1 JNtllA
Sahajati. The Vais:i.li:m monk>, in order to fore,tall Ya,a's
plans. approached Revuta at Sal1njati with robes ard gif'"
but failed to win him over to their side. OT Srthajat i was
at fi rst wavering between the two hilt ultimately he
sieed with YHa. The Vajjian monks, h('ing Ilnsuccessful in this
attempt C'f theirs, approached kine KiiJasoka at Pupphapura,
and permaded him to bdieve that the monk" of t he western
countries were making a sini,leT move t" get possession of the
Teacher's Gandhakiit; in the M;lh:lvanavihara at Vaisali. The
king at first took up their came. hilI bter on changed his mind,
it is said, <'.1 the of "ister who was a hhikkhuni.
The !;ession of the- COlm,i1 WIiS held M with 700 mem-
bers, but as there W.1S uproar riuring the deliberations it
was decide:! to refer the matter to a hody of referees cllnsisting
of eight members, from the and four fmm the east
ern countries. This was d<:'ne hy uhhfihikfi (voting) as described
in the Piitimokkha. The findings of the which were an
against the Vaisaltan monks, wert'; f'J1:lced heJore the larger body
constituting the Council and were confirmed.
The Ceylonese chronicles cootinue the story and write that the
findings were 110t accrptcd by ali the Va.isalian monks, some
of whom held another Council and included in it all monks,
arhats and non-urhats, und decided matters according (i)
th:ir own light. This ussembly was called Mahusangha or
Mahiismigiti.
Time and Sile of the Council
All ti".e traditions state that a Council wa, held ahout a cen-
tury (110 or 137 years) to Sllppre<;s certain
un-Vinayie acts practised by a group of monh of Vaisali. The
Council was held at Vaisali, but the tr:lditions differ about the
name of the monastery Wh("T(", ,cene of the session was laic.
In Pili the name of the monastery is given as Viilu",fi!iin:a, and
this is corroborated by the Vinaya.
1
According
to Bu-ston, the name flf the mcmastery W2.S KU!iulnapura,2 but
1. Wallers, 0p. Ci t. , II, p. 73.
2. Bu-slon, II, p. 96.
SECOND BUDDHIST COUr,'CIL 15
it is not corroborated by any other tt"xt. Bu-ston probably
confLL<;ed the capital of the province wit h that of the se310fthe
Council, or it may be that the Mahasai1ghikas, after their defeat
in the Vaisalbn Council, held another Council at Palaliputra.
No President
A remarkable feature of the Council is that it did !lot ekct
any President. Dy the ubbahika process a body of referees eOIl-
sisting of eight monks was formed to go into t he questions of
dispute, and eae;, tradition gave prominence to its favoured
monk. Thus, we set:: that though SabbakamI is t:ecogllized as
the Sanghatthera, the Piili tradition accords [ 0 Revuta, a Wes-
terner, the leaden hip of the Council,' !lU-stOIl gives prominence
to Sabbakami and Khujjasobhit<l (Kubjih.). I n view of these
differcnces regarding the leading monk, we have to concl ude
that there was no elected President and t he business was carried
on by a Committee, with fOUf monks of the western countries
ond four monks of the eastern regiOn>. IIenee, Venef.lbles
.sabbakami, Sii!ha, Khujjasobhita and VA5abhagii:nika were
Easterners, while Venerable, Revata, Sambhuta SaQaviisi, Yasa
and Sumano Westerners.
The tell ur/.Vinayic acts
All the earl ier sources agree in stating that the main busines>
of the Cnllocii to examine the validity of the ten un-Vinayie
acts performed by :1 section of t he Vaisalian monks, but there
exists a wi,ie divergence of opinion in their interpretation>, but
it is cifficult tr) liecirle which of to us should be
,accepted. Those that llppe:lr more pbusible He ulentioned
here.
The ten un-Vinayic acts with their interpretntions. us found
in the Pali texts, are as follow,;:
(i) kappa or th: praetic!;'! of ,;alt in a horn
for use when needed, which contravened, aceorliing to lhl:
l. The Dharmaguptakas, Mahi;asakas, SanastivAdim follow the Pali
{ra<Jition.
Ib
BUDDHIST SECTS fro.:
Thc:ravada view. the rule against storing of articles of food
(el Piicitti)'o 38),
(N) DI'wigtdo kappa or the practice of L.1.king food after
midday, lit. when the shadow (on the stm-dial) is two digits wide
(c[. Plic. 37).
(iii) Glimantaro kappa or the practice of going to a neighbour-
ing village and taking a second meal there the same day, com-
mitting thereby the offence of over-eating (rJ. pac. 35).
(il) Ariisa kappa or t he practice of observance of IIpuSUlh{Jl'
in different places within the same parish (.rill/Ii) (prohibitcll in
the Mahiil'agga. 11. 8. J).
(\.) AliI/mali J..appa or the practice of Jk"rfunnillg a ll ecdesia5-
tic.al ftc, and obtaining its sanction aftt:fw;mh (!.:onlrast
1'088, IX, J. 5).
(vi) AdWIa hwpa or tho;: pr<l!.:li-:t: of using precedents as
authority.
Amulirilu kuPfJ'J or Iho;: prm:lk";: of drinkin$ milk-whey
afll:r ureal P,k. 35).
(I'iii) JU!Ugil!1 p,ifllm or tho;: practice of drinking pllm-juice,
whidl fl:nIR:llliug Lilli is nUl yet toddy (against pac. SI ).1
(i:c) Allusuka", lIi J{,[unufl' or the praclice of using a border1ess
shed to 011 (wntrary 10 Pllc. 89i.
(x) J,itarijpurujatUlll or the practice of accepting gold a nd silver
(prohibi ted in Ni.\"sugg. 18).'
011 t he basis of the tradition preserved in the MUla-
Sarvibti vada Vinaya, enumera tes the underment ioned ten acts.
Pruf. L. de la Vallee Poussin translated the same from the Dull-a.
l. cr. ViIlOl)'Q (Gilgi t mq, Ci)urQI"QSIIi p. 142.
-:ro !ffcw:q "!,.=r1 t qf<>fl'k'l&ll{ I
"'" ""!'"ii,,; .mOl"",,! I '" f",""
1Ol11l1lHl: t
2. For a discmsiol on tile of lhe Minayeff,
Rrchc.-chts etc., I. pp. 44-50.
The fil'St Ihree ruJesaJl! relautiolls mlde by Buddha of the more stringent
ruks, reg:udlng thll storal!l' of food and e,:uing 10 suit Ibll conditions cr"lI(d
by famine in V .. s.ali. The pcoplc of Ves.,\1i continued to ob;crve the re:m:ed
rules though they were atrO.l!.l ted later by the Theraviidins in their Vina)'o.
The order (If enume.aliull hi.!) for the conven enee of
comparison with the P::t.li list .
SECO;.lD BUDDHIST COUNCI L
17
Both the translations of Obermiller and L. de la Vallee Poussi n
are reproduced here:-
(i) Using the sacred salt: (Obermiller) Mixing the salt that
is to be kept for life-time with that which is used in general
makes it thus an object of use.'
(L. V. P.) Mixing salt consecrated for life-time with food
appropriate to the moment.' _ .'
The Dharmaguptas llnd the MahiSasakas offer qUite a diffe-
rent interpretation. According to them. the word sil1gi is Srliga
(I-era) ... ginger and !o/Ja = salt. Their interpretation is to "mix t1:e
food With sal t and ginger.'"
(ii) Taking food ',.,.ith ' ....0 fingers: (Obermiller) The food that
has been left (from a previous meal) they eat, taking it wi th
two fingers.
(L. V. P.) Eating food of botl, kinds, not being a remainder,
with two fingers.'
(iii) Eating on the way: (Obermill er) The monks, having
gone a yojana or a half, assemble and eat on the pretext that
they are travelling.
(L V. P.) Having gone a yojana or ahalf-yojena, and having
eaten food in troop, rendered the meal in troop legal by reason
of the journey,
(il') Admissio.'I of a mixture: (Obermiller) The monks mix a
drol)i1 measure of mi lk with as much sour milk and drink it
at undue time.
( t. V. P.) After agitating a full meesure (&o(la) of milk
with a full measure of curd, and then eating the preparation
out of
I . Cf.Gilg:l Ms. Vol. III, I't. i ,
t c/. M ,. vi. J. 1-
2. !t:dian A"tiuWlry. 1903, pp. ' 1,1()4.
3 Ibid.p.9t _
4. Dtlannaguptas: "deroAation from sobr iety as if, fOf c.umple, a !!Ionk
afler In ample repast . forgetting the rule of gocd conduct, bc&3n to takc
food .... ith tym fingen and to Ctll the food remaining."
The Mahl<lIsakas, "'0 eM 11 seconrl !;1ne afler having ri'<"ln before
taking a sufficie[lt meal."
5. The Dharmlgupta; and MahiSlilakas say: "\0 drink, beyond the time
allowed, Il. mixtu..., of ere:lm, bUller, hOl,ey and sugar."
IS
BUDDHIST SECTS Il'>: ll'\DIA
(,) Taking illIoxicQtilrg drink: (Obermiller) The monks take
wine in the manner of n leech that sucks blood and having drunk,
excuse it on th;; ground of illness.
(L V. P.) Drinking fermented liquor with a sucking act ion
like leeches. rendering it legal by reason of illness.'
(vi) Making a new rug: (Obermiller) T3.king a new tug
without stitching it by a patch of t he so-called Sug3ta span
taken f rom thc old one.
(L. V. P.) Not having patched their"new mats with a border,
a Sugat a'scubi t hrond, from the old mat.!
(vii) &8gill: gold and silver.' (Obermiller) The monks nnain!
an a lms-bowl with fragrant spices, put it on the head of a Sru-
mnQa, on a table Of n seat, or in a narrow passage at the four
cross-roads, and proclaim: "This is a sublime vessel, ii you
deposit your gifts in it and fill it, you are to reap great merit."
(L. V. P.) Ta king al ms-bowls such as were round, pure and
sui table for ritual, anoi nting them with perfumes, fumigating
them with inccnsc, adorning them with vurious fregrant fl owe rs,
placed on the head of a monk over a cushion went about the
streets and cross-roads, crying as follows: "Here, ye
"pcopk, who have come from variou5 towns and countries. end
ye wise people of VaiSiili ! this piltra -is a lucky one, to give in it
is to give much, or whoever shall fill it will obtain a great
fruit, a grea t advantage, a great activity, a great development,"
[As far as the seven un-Vina;.'ic acts, mentioned above,nre con-
cerned, alt the Vinaya teXIS, incl uding those of the MahHiisabs
nnd the Dharmaguptas agree, though t he) have differed in inter-
pretati ons, which hcve all been pointed out.p
(viii) Digging groU1I<J: (Obermiller) It is admis-
sible for monks to livc by agriculture. (L V. P.) They may live
by turning up the soil with their own hands.
On this un-Vinaytc act, the comment of the Sarvastivlidins
stands al one, nnd thi s seems to be due to careless Sanskritization
I. Ac,or<linl! to the MElhiilsak"" it is a quo'tion of intoxicating liqllor,
which had become fermented.
2. Accordin\! to the Mahi i,Hakas, 10 make for oneself a mat of undcter
dimen$ionl; Ihere is no question of frinl-'.
3 Aecordinlj: to the DharmagLtptas, thc VajjipJUzkas think: f1eir con
duct mlly be justified b} that "this has been done from time
,immcmorinl. "
lffiCO!'>D BUDDHIST COUNCI L 1q
of aci'.J(la by achinna, unconsctously changtng the root car to c!1ld.
Hence tbe lflterpret3.tion o/lered by the SarvaSli vadi ns should
be lelt out of account.
(ix) ApprOl'illg: (Obermiller) The dissidents p: rform re1igiom
function:;, and at the same lim: flersuade the in auend_
ance to approve t he samdL. V. P,). The Venerahle Ones
monks) havi ng approved, do ye count it as approved, callc;erl The
resol utions of the incomplete Saligha to he approved hy the
monh of the parish.1
Bu-ston or Obermiller was mi sl=d by the Tibetan rendering
of Ihe Sanskrit word of/umodana, WhIC;', Ihough derived from
the root mud, does not carry the meaning of ' rej oice' . AnUn/o-
dana in pal; means 'acquiescence to a n act done by t he Sangha
lfl one's absence'. This is also an Instance of the anomaly of
converting a Prakeit word into Sanskrit. It is not known what
the original Prakrit word was, but evidently the Palists made it
al/ulnari. In any case, the interpretations offered by the dillennt
Vi naya {exts are similar, i,e .. getting an ecclesiastical act perform-
I!d in an incomplete :lssembly and approved later by the a bsen-
tce members.
The a nd t he S.1rviistiVlidins have bot h omitted
iil'umkappa of t he Pali list. It that these schools induded
all the irregularities commi ned by the Vajjian monks rela ting to
the performance ... f in a regular or irregular
assembly wlhin tlflllmodanii Imppfl, whi le the Ther,wiidins (Pilli)
a:ld the nharmaelt ptas have split it lip into two: r,/lIImati and
iii-usa. T'le D hllfnmell f'J Ill S, it will be nnted, int erpreted (harD-
kappa cti fTe rently_ They 'Ilate that "in the iiviisa, besides
the regul ar lICf", the in'lova tQr<; ac::omr lished ot hers."
( X) t".r:c/amalion of astfJllisllmefll: (Ubermil ler) The monks of
Vaisall perform religio us observances and at the same time
admit such exclamations as alto.
I. The support the Pili interpretation while Ihe
Mahi ii'lsakas .ay, "In the accompli shment of an ecel esial tieal a:t to call
()thers ()IlC by one afterwards to hear the
20
BUDDHIST SBCTS IN IXDL-\.
Perhaps in order to keep tle number of at kn.
the and the Sarvtlst iva.dins borrowed um plIiJlt
from M3hadeva's fi ve and made it the first or ltu: ir viI::
" Exclamation of a{IO."
(L. V. P.) The monks of havi ng renderel.1 Io.:gal th:
exciam2ti on alta performed an ecclesiastic;;! 1 acL illegall )" in
an incompl ete or complete Sangha or legally in an incomplete
Sangha.
The int erpretation given in t he Vinaya of the Sarvustivfidins is
a laboured one and appears more or less a or the: pre-
vious un-Yinayic act of the Vajjipuuakas.
T he exclamation of aflo bas been di scussed in the: Kul ll'haft"/{
(xi. 4) under the heading: ' l dmTl dllkkJ:an Ii' viJCUfTI bI"jsatQ 'ida!!,
dukkhan ri' nc':(l il'!1 pOl'Oltatr fl.'
A comparison of the two li sts ( Pall and Sanskrit) shows that
both the tradit ions have woriced on a common originallisl,
which was probably in Prakril and dcfiOltely neither in Piili
nor in Sanskrit. This is stated on the basis of the change noti ced
in the wO,rds: singil o/Ja, and allwnali. Tile anomal y of
iiriisd C3nnot beexplained. As regards the remaining six items,
the interpretations of bot h the schools are acceptable.
In connection with the ten deviations in the discipl inary rules,
it is necessary to recount the tradit ion preserved in the Maha-
smighika Vinaya,2 translated by:vl, Hofingcr from Chinese into
FrellCh. It runs as follows :-
The Pitakas of Buddha's teachings were rehearsed by 700
monks, at Valuka Smigharama in VaiSali. The monks of
VaiSili used to address the donors (diinapati) in these words:
"Respe:ted brothers, at the time when Bhagavan Buddha was
Jiving, we received two meals in a day, robes, service and adora-
ti on. After his parinin-ii!Ia, who will lake care of us, we have
I . Se.! lrifrll.
2. Mahiil'Os/u (cd of Sen.an. p 2) with Ihe ... ortls that il is I'IC
Ii!>t book of the Vmaya of the Lotottaravadins, a vf the Maha-
&aitghik;u.
F2-hien (41 4 .... n.) p rocured a transcr ipt of the original Mahil\ anghika
Vina}a and it into Chmese two years later, Vide Takakusu, ReCQrds
ojlltt: Buddhisl UC'{igiol! by 1- 13/"$, p.
BUDDHIST
21
become orphans, and so we req'Jest to give silver to the
Satigh(\. As weare Buddhist friars, you should give to the Sangha
one, tWO, up to ten Kiinii{l(ltlas. "
On the day or Uposa:ha, donors put large sums into the oasin
placed at the crassi ng of roads. The monks collected tltt: con-
{tilts, And ailer divIdi ng t hem according t o the number of bltik-
distributed the same among t he Danks present. In way
came (he turn of the Vinayadhara Vasa, and he was oITt:n:d his
s;':ue. VAsa enquired, " Wherefl'Or:l was this money cUl lti ng?"
They replied, "We received money as wel! as medicim:s." Vasa
retorted thaI it was wrong; it was not TIII::Y rCl>lied
"You are slandermg the Sangha by these words, Yuu should
uerefcre be excommunicated by urklepallr),a kam:un (act of
excom:nun ica tion) .
After thIS was done, Yasa went to the Venerable D:tgaba!a,
who was then r<:siding in Mathura and told him t!tal he had
been excommunicated by utkjepani }'akarmall. said,
Why :hd you submit to it? There was no reason for yvur sub-
miSSIon, " ya.sa said. ' The Vil/aya Pi!aka must rt:hearscd,
Huddhl'S law must not be allowed to oe destroyed." To the
question where lhe Counci l should be hel d, replied
that It should be held at the place where the ueviations had
occurred.
Then tIle Sailgha of 700 monks assembled rrom lhe regi ons
of Mathura, Sill}l:<asya, Ka.nyakubja, Sravasli, Sakela and other
place)) of Madhyadda, The Sangha was composed of those who
received directly from the mouth of the one or two
sections of the VinaY!l Pi!Gka as aliO those whu heard it from
the mouth of his direct disciples, the Snivakas. There were also
common men (PithagjIJ/los), sath,as/ trail'idyQs' and
ba{aprJptas and - ill all iOO members .
They assembled at valuka SatJ.gh<1nima in Vai sali. At this time
Lil under trainin .
Lit . completd tnin.ng. i.e., who ha.e become orllO'5
3 lil. the three kinds of '<ncwledac vi! (a) Knowledge of
dlll)kha, 1l11i tya and am'itman. (b) Knowledge of former births, (c) Knowledge
0( the deslruction of one's own impulities.
4. Lit. highcr knowlcdgc, or power, Yi!., cliyyalrulrii.
jXlr<lcil1ajM.na, pril yctliw;b;itlu . I1lli, l oJdhi, ",lIaparydy)-jr.!'Ina.
22 nUDDl-IIST S ECTS IN INDIA
MahakiiSyapa, Upali. Ananda. etc. were parinirvrla, and so
Vasa became the pre;;ident of the Council. First, he put the
question 10 Assemblv that who would rehearse the Villa.ra
Pilako? The bhiksus replied that Venerable Dasabala should
rehearse it. Then Dahbala said, "Venerables, there are the
Sthaviras, who may not like the session of the Council." The
replied in the affirmative and said thut they were Stha-
viras, who were designated" by Buddha as Upiidhyayas endowed
with 14 dharmas and the foremost ofth05e as the Vinayadhara."
The said, "You have heard the Vinaya Pitaka from the
mouth of B\lddha, you must therefore rehearse the Pitaka."
Dasabala said, "When YOll enjoin me to rehearse the Pilaka,
you should approve what conformed to the Law, and if
thing is discordant. you musl interrupt me, We are anxious to
show to the Law, which conforms to artha (sense) and
not to that '.'.'hich does not conform to the arilla." All was then
settled and approved.
Then Dasabala began to reflect where the assembly should
be held. He came to the conclusion that it should be held with-
in the limits (simii) of the place where the deviations had occurr-
ed. He then pointed out that there were nine precepts, \l.hich
must be observed. These were:-
(i) Four Parajikils of the ['ratimo,i;,<a-sulra.
(ii) are permitted to ask for a soup-basin, robes,
medicines, if they needed them. but they must not ask
for gold and silver.
Five propositions oj Mahiide!'a
Vasumitra, followed by Bhavya and Vinitadeva, writes that
on account of the tive propositions propounded by Mahiideva,
the Sangha became divided into two schools, Mahiismighika and
Sthaviraviida. the five propositiom are:-
The Arhats
I. are subject to temptation (cr. Kl'u. 11. I: Al1hi arahato
riigo tin
2. may have residue of ignorance (cf. Kw. It 2: Alfhi
arahalo Ii n
B UDDHIST COUNCIL
23
3. may have doubts regarding certain matters (eL KI'U. II. 3:
At/hi araharo kahkhii ti?)
4. gelin knowledge through other's help (cL KlU. II. 4;
At/hi arahato paral'iriiraoii Ii?)
5. The Path is attained b)' an exclamation (as " alia" cf. KI'u.
II. 3&4&XL 4).
PHamarthagives an c..ccount of the Second Council which has
been translated by Paul DemieviHe (Melange:.- chinios el boud-
dhiqlle.l, I):
The Second Council was held at Pataliputra, ! 16 years after
Mahiiparinirl'iil)a. during the reign of Asoka (perhaps Ka!asoka).
The members were "II bhihus (i.e" not necessarily Arhats).
The president of the Council was (lit. tears). In the Council
the controversy provoked by Mahadeva led to the division of
the Sangha into two schools. Sthavira and Mahasanghika.
Mahadeva's heresy was twofold. On the one hand. he wanted to
incorporate all the Mahaya na siitras into the Tripitaka, and on
the other he attrihuted to the Arhats imperfections,
such as douht, certain of ignorance, etc. Paramiirtha
did nOl condemn the Ja rter enti rely, as he ucognized the imper-
fectiom of Arhats as trlle and part.ial!y false. He was
inspired by the Mahayanic moml which contained in
essence more particuhuly the Viji'ianavarla view,. He was a
fervent supporter of Vijiiiina,;iida.
It is said that Mahadeva many nnrlauthoriz-
ed his disciples to compose treatises, as they thought fit, and
they should also refute the objections raised bytbeir adversaries.
so that the conservati ves, i.e., the Sthaviras might be disposed to
admit the authenticity of the Mahayiinic tradition. Paramartba
seems to be neutral and sophistic on the point. He had re-
course to the expedient of conciliating both the yal/QS and
attributed to Buddha three kinds of interpretations. PlIrnmartha,
in order, perhaps, to spare the good name of Emperor Asoka,
said. according to the MnMl'ibhiifii, that Mah:3deva was support-
ed hy the queen of Asoka, by whom the opponents of Mahi-
deva were thrown into the Ganges. By their supernatural power
they then flew to Kashmir.
It is said that after Mahideva's death, the two of the
Sangha became united by holding a fresh purifying (he
24
nUDDHIST SECTS IS I:'DIA
scriptures and modifying those introduced by Mahadeva after
examining them anew. Paramiirtha, however, writes that it
produced verit ahle schism, separating the two completely.
In the Vihhiisii sllch rapprochement is not mentioned. After
the Second Council, the dissidents moved to the north of

It WflS pointed OUi at the beginning of this chapter that some
of the Chinese translations of the original texts in Sanskrit
mention that the cause of the schism of the Sangha was not
merely the ten deviations in the disciplinary rules but also in the
doctri"nal matters, relating to the cbims of the Sthaviraviidins
that the Arhat;; were perfectly which were challeng-
ed by the MahflsaiJ.ghilr:as and their s,ll h-sects. The dissidents held
the five views mentioned above.
The Therav;ldins emphatically deny that an Arhat, who is free
from attachment (vUariiga), can be to temptation. The
opponent s, as shown in t he KWJ., dr!lw a subtle distinction bet-
ween a Sa-(-Sans. Sva-) tlhamn/akusala-arhat and a Para-
dhammakusalo-arhal, t he former, accordi ng to the commentator,
is a Paniial'imlltta and the latter nn nhhatobhiigavimutta, that
is, the knowledge of the former i; confined to his own personal
attai nment s while that of the b tt er iii extended to others' attain-
ments his own. In the Piili texts the Ub!Jatobhiigal'/mutta
is not regarded as to the Paiiiiiivimutta: the only dis-
tinction made between the two is that the former has samathii-
bhinivesa1 and realization of eight vimokkhas.
2
while the latter
has ripassamibhinivl!sdi and rellli7.a.tion of only four jhanas.
4
but
as far as the question of raga or O.ruVIl is concerned bOlh the
classes of must be regarded as completely free from it.
The subtle di5tinction dlllwn hy the opponents is therefore of no
a'\Juii according to the Theravli.dins.
1. S(lInallw leads to concentration of thoughts and eradicalion of
attachment (,.ag{J). Cf.Aligufraro, J, p. 61: riJgafirilga Cl!fovirr.<#ti.
2. For the eight Virr.okkhas, sec Appendix.
3. Vipa5Sl1na leads to and removal of ignorance. U.
!lara, I, p. 61 : a.iJiaviriiga paiinavimlltli.
4. Cr. Aspects, pp. 250, 276. See Majjhima, I, p. 477 amI MURUral"a-
piiraT)i, III, p. 188; Puggata' pun,alli,14, 72.
SECOr..U BUDDIU,T CQUz.;CIL 25
The ne>:t twO points, that lin llrhnt may have ignorance (i.e.
Qlilic(laand not arijjii) linn. dOllht (kailkliii or l'ill;ati). are also
vehemently opposert hy the Thera'\Jii.dins on the ground that one
caOllOt be an ar:mt hI'; got rid of Ql'ljjii and I"icikiccho
and develop<,d rerfect vision free from impuritie, (virajam l'Ua-
mala1J1 llhamn/arakkhwll) after having dispersed all his doubts
(kalikhli Wl[wya.'lti wMa}
The oppl'nents, as pre<;ented in the Kl'u . in this case also
dr<tw 11 di<;{inctinn hetween a Sadhammakusala-arhat and a
Pllfadhllmmakusala-arhat, saying that both the classes ofarhats
may nO! al'ijjo in regllrd to the the theol")' of causa-
tion, etc., or l'icikicciUl ahout Burldha, Dharma and Sangha or
the aho.ence of will, htlt the former mil.y haveaiinii(lu and kailkhri,
say. regares the nllme and bmily of an unknown man or
wom.1n or of a tree. It be noterl here that the opponents
do not mean (omniscience) hut just paradlwm-
/ltG/la(1n - an intellectual power attained hy the IJhhatobhaga-
vimutta-arhats, hy which power they Clln know many things out-
side Arguing in this way the opponents maintain
that a section of the llrhllts, i.e., the Plliiiii'\vimllttas or Sad ham-
makusala-ar'mts hllve ignomnce (aiiiiiiQa) relating to things or
,qualities other Than those belonging to himself.
The ,>arne argu ments and lire aclliuced in the
next discussion reillting to aulli araha/fl parm'iliirflfJa ? The word
pararitiira(Jii perplexed our translator Me. Shwe 7.11n Allng.l
The diseu;;sion in the KlU. reveals that the word mellns that an
arhat develofls faith in the TriralOa or llequire;; knowledge of the
truths, etc., not by himself but through the instruction of his
preceptor, in whom he has firm faith. The oppose
the contention of Ihe opponents, saying that An arhat is vUa-
lIIolra and is possessed of dlrammacnkkhu and so he does not
require parm'ifiil"lIrii. The opponents before that a
.. mhat requiresparavfliiro(lii whi le P!lra-dharn-
makusa[a-arh;lt does not.
I. by See POilifS of lire ConrrOl'Crsy. p. 119. Buddha-
Sho.
a
'Hites: yasmti yeSifJ1 Uni vatthum pare pakasenli acikkhanti
Ie,,,,,, at thi ;>a,avili11al!" Ii.
Ci'. Ma.ud;o p. 24 : "gain spiritual perception the of alhers {I iI.
<eIlligb{er.ment Ihrou\lh others)", '
26
BUDDHIST SECTS II'>
Another statement of Vasumitra relating to the Arhats, namely,
"one who is krtakrtyah (= Pali: katakaraolyo) does net take
any dharma to himself i.e. has no attachment ror worldly
things" is echoed, I think, in tbe Kvu. (XVII, 1 & XXI. 2) in
these terms: attlli ora/Jato pufifiopac':lYo fl? and uruhii "usa/aciffO
parinibbayatl ri. T he Theravadins agreeing with 1I11: Mahasanghi-
kas contend that the ciuo of Arhats goes papa and
pUfJ),a, ku:;ala and akusala, kri)'a and vipaka, to speak of
them as acquiring merits or demeri ts is absun.l. The opponents,
the Andhakas, however, contend t hat Ihe Arhats perform roany
good deeds, e.g., make gifts, worship caityas and so forth, and
remain always self-possessed (sma sampajiifW) t:VCllil t thetimc of
his parinibbdna, and so he does collect merib and passes away
with kusalacitta.
Neither the above discussions in the Kathiil'attlru nor the terse
statements of Vasumitra help us much in finding out the real
difference between the Andhakas and the Theravadins about the
position of an Arhat. The Malui.yana Works point out the distin-
ction thus: Arhats, who are perfect Sravakas, get rid of only
kidrll'arQlJa. i.e., the veil of impurities consisting of raga, do sa,
moha and vicikiccha but not of jlieyiimra(UI,
i.e.. vei l which conceals t he Truth - the veil which can
onb be removed by realizing the DharmaSiinyata or Tathata.
1
It i:; the Buddha alone, who is perfectly emancipated and who
has both kldii)'aralJa andjneyol'aralJa removed. That the Maha-
sailghikas appear to be groping to get at this clear distinction
will be evident from two other topics in the KI'u. but
not referred to in Vasumitra's treatise. The topics are,-atill i
kinci saiiiiojanGJrl appahiiya parinibbiinan ti l (XXII. 1) or
tappattiti? (XXI. 3). To these the Mahasailghikas replY.ln the
affirmative saying that an arhat is nikkilesa (free from Impun-
ties') and d'oes attain parinibbana or arhatta but as he is not
of all that is Buddhavisaya (domain of Buddha' s know-
ledge), it must be admitted t hat some sai'iii.ojanas are left in him.
Thi;; opinion may be taken as a hint that the arhats do not
remove the jiieyiiraraf}G.
1. For detaIls, sec Aspects, Pi>. 3,ff.
SECOND )'JUPl)I-IIST COUNCIL
27
'There llrc a few subsidiary di,cussions in the Katiliiwuhu
relating to Arhats. These are gh'en here briefiy:-
IV. I . Householders cannot become Arhats - Thera)'{idins.
But householders like Vasa. Vttiya, Setu became
Arhats - UttarapalllOkas.
IV 2. No onc is born a;; Arhat - Tlicral'.
But there arc Upahacca-(uppa,iia)-parinibbayi Arhats
- UI!arap.
IV 3. All dharmas of Arhats are not anasa\a, e.g. their
physical body etc. - Thera).
Bur Arhats are amisava (free from asavas) - Utfariip.
IV 4. In the Arhat stage. only arhattaphala is acquired
- Thcml'.
But all the phalas are possessed by the Arhats
_. UUar?ip.
IV. 5. An Arhat is cha!upekkho (see App.) -Heral'.
Rather. Araha chahi upekkhihi samannigato
- Uaarfip.
IV. 10. All sai'inojanas are gradually destroyed and not by
Arhattamagga alone - Therav.
But by the destruction of all sanP,ojanas one becomes
an Arhat - Andhakas.
XVIJ 2. Arhats may have untimely death as arahatghataka is
mentioned in the Buddhavacanas -
But as one cannot become an Arhat before the karmic
etfects are exhausted, an Arhat cannot have untimely
death - Riijagirikas and Siddhatlhikas.
XVll 3. Arhats do not die when in imperlurbable meditation
and devoid of kriyacitta - Thera\' .
But did not Gautama Buddha pas, away immediatdy
after arising from the 4th jhana - Uttariip.
Dr. Bareau (Les Secres etc. p. 64) after studying the Chinese
commentary Kouie-ki has commented on the five propositions
thus :-
(a) Seduction of Arhats: An Arhat may discharge semen in
sleep on account of dreams caused perhaps by spi rit s; for such
menta! weakness for which the Arhat is not responsible, may be
treated in the same manner as one treats physical excretions
like urine, saliva, etc. In the Kathiiratthu (ii. I) it is stated "auhi
28
DUDDHIST SECTS IN l:-nlA
araha!o .mkkal'i.VlUht Ii." The Slillu schoob, according to
contend that there urc bhikkhus. who claimed
arhatship in the belief tint they had attained thut stage, but
actually they had not attained it. Again, there ure bhikkhus who
claim arhatship falsely.
Ib) ignorance: l'snOTllncc attributed to un Arhat is not
(e) Dnllnf: nescience (ol'idyii). the first term in
formula of c.luwlion (po{fcca-wlIlIIpplico). The doubts of an
Arhat do not relate to the teach.;ngs of Buddha. An Arh:II',
ignorance or doubt relates 10 his inabi lity to tell the name
fami ly of a person, or of a t ree, orherh and so forth, bttall'>e he
is not omniscient like Buddha \Kru. XX. 3).1
(d) Requiring olher's ""'I': This point is a150 in the
manner, i.e., an Arhat may get himself acqtwirtccl
with the name of a person, or family, or a tree, or n herb frnm
l\nother person.
Exclamation "Ahq": This is explained as that it is not
llIlllsuai for a medit."llor while df.'veloping the firST med t;ltion
which is associated with reasoning
and reflection (I'icara) to make an exclamation when he
tn2t life is misery (dllkkha). But. it be noted that since
an Arhat is not in the first stage of medi tation, t hisexpbnation
is far-fetched.
I. Kyu. Af}hakathii. p. 189: Arahli sabbarp Buddh:lvisayarp
Dnjfinati. Arahato 3abbai,nuta-nill.liibhavena p:t!ised!lo b.lo nn
avijj a.vicikicchanaT]1 appahanena.
Watters
1
collected some information about the life of Maha-
deva from the Abhidhorma dbhiisii-liistra (ch. 99).1 According
to this work, Mahadev:i was the son of a Brahmin merchant of
Marhun, .. He had his ordin:lti:ln at Kukkutarima in P:l!al iputra.
By his zeal and abilit ies. he soon became the he'.Jd of the
Buddhist establishment there. The ruling king was a. p:llron and
friene of Mah:i.deva. With his help he was able to oust the
senior orthodox monks and es tablish his five dogmas as men
tioned above. Yuan Chwang records that at the instance of the
reigning king, an a.sembly of monks was summoned. In Thi,
assembly the senior brethern, \VIIO were Arh:us, vot ... d
l. \"alters,op. cit., I. pp. 267-68.
HlST SECTS IN INDlA
)15, acrording to
:khus, who claimed
ned that st age, but
: are bhikkhus who
an Arhat is not
first term in the
The doubts of an
Jjdha. An Arhat's
tell the name and
.0 forth, because he
bo e;o;plaincd in the
liJllsdf acquaint ed
'1:, or a herb from
I as that it is not
the fIrst meditation
casoning
1lI when he realizes
: lioted that since
m, this expiimatioll
U!l Buddha\-is<lya,p
patisedho kata na
tIll: life of Maha-
. 99) .1 According
:titlllin merC:lallt of
'um3 ill
11(: the head of the
was a patron and
able to OU5t the
dogmas as men-
the instance of the
wmmoned. In this
i:ats, voted against
Regions (lnd Localities intereited in rhe affairs oj the Second l1uddhiJt Cotmd/ ill Ihe IradiriofIJ of different SeCls
Theraviida
(Cullavagga)
VcsaJi
P iitheyya
Ahogailga
SaJllkassa
KalJ.oakujja
Udumbara

Sahajiili
AYami
Kosambi
D;;kkhil.lapatha
Soreyya
MahiSiisaka
vinaya
Dharmagupta
vinaya
Sarvastiviida
vinaya
M iilasarviisti-
.. ada vinaya
Vaisflli
Pitheyya
Ahogailga
Mathura
Vuisuii
Pa!heyya
Ahogailga

Ki"U:lya kubja
Vaisali
Mathura region
SarnkaHa
Vai siili
AggaiapllTa
Kausambi
Alavi
Po-ho river
Pataliputra
Sahaja
Dekkhan
Kosala
Pa!aliputra
VaSayagriimika
Srughna
Tohoei
Sukhavihiira
Sahaja
StlulViras of the Western CO/111/rirs, who took part in
the Secufla COimcil
Slha\'ira Mahisasaka Dharmagupta Sarv,\5tivada Miilasarvasti-
vada
ReVilla
Sambhiita
S<"ll.1 aviisi
Yasa
Sabbakimi
Sumana
Salha
Khujjasobhita
Vasa'ohaga-
mika
1
same
J
Pou tcho
tsong
P'o-cha-lan
Tch'ang fa
same
Pou-teho-
suo-rno
p'o-cheon-
ts'uen
same same
Ki-ichosuu Kiungan
mi-lo (KuJjila)
P'oye.k'ie P'o-tso
Ami (1)
Ajtai
Mahiisa-Qghika
vinaya
VaiSiili
Sni.vasli,
SCOSD DUDDHIST COUNCIl. 29
the five dogmns. which, however, were supported by a large
Ilumlxr of Don-Arhat bhikkhus.
The Chinese pilgrim, it will oh,crved, mentioned batt, the
five dogmas and the few un-Vi,uyic nets of the Vaisalian
<IS the cause of the Council nn:! cleavage of t he Sangha. The
compLier of the Katha"(ltfhl, \Vas lIWilre of the five dogmas,
whieh w<!re attributed by to the MahfLsailghikas.
e:ln be no therefore tl:nt the statements of
Vusumitra and 0\1er5 were auth=ntie. The Dlpal'allIsa also
3tutes th:l! the seceders introduced alterations in the
(IS we;!.
M. Hofinger,l after stud ring all the Chinese sources dealins
with the Second Buddhist Council, arrivcd <! t thc following
conclusion:
The Counci l of VaiSAli is not a fiction. The sources that we
have (It present are revised and amplificd versions of a Yery old
tradition. It may be htld that the scssion of th: Council t00"
place at an epcch about n ccntur) after Duddha's puriflinii(IU,
i,e. , about 386 I1.C., in the tC:lth of Kalii soka's reign. A
conflict arose about the discipliliary rules lxtween the rdLgicux
residing at Vaisiili, the Vcijiputtakus; and the rest of the COUl-
munity of Buddhis, India. The account of Ihe controversy is iden-
tic!\1 in all the Vinayn tC)lts and it assumes the existence of a plC-
canonical or proto-canonical account Ycry dose to the time ur
The exaggerntcd age of a fcw Theras and the
natural events do not discrcdit thc auth:ntici ty of the Coullcii.
Some accounts created u'chronological 3nom.lly by not disting-
uishing Kalasoku from l)hnrmEisoku.
The progressive growth of tradition m,lY well be divided
ir'Jt o two courses, which weri: indcpcr'Jdent of each other. The
first is representee by the accoun t of the Mnhiisailghika Vinaya
find the by the oceounts in all the othe r Vinuya te ... ts. The
singul . r original is eastern nnd the others a common de-
velopment, i.e., a secession between the easterners and the west-
erners. The later version, Sthnvirn-Survitstivitdn introduces new
divergences in their t raditiol1s. The agreement of thc Inter vt"rsions
may be thus :--
Elude SUr ,"""elle I." YoiJiili. p. 249.
BUDDHIST SECT S INDIA
Cullavagga XII and MahiHs::t k1'l Vinllya hllvr; direct affini t y.
simi larly i".:}ve Dharmagupta :lncl Hilimilvata Vi naya hut a litt!.c
leis the Sarvast ivli(la Vinll)ll. It II p[lr:ars strange Ihal t he Miila-
sarv:1."livada version to the Sar\';lstivada version. It
former older Ihan t he Chronologic:llly,
traditions may be Ihu,,:-
Eurliest- Mahasanghika and Mulasarvastivida
Eorlier - Dha rmagupta
Next - Sthavira and Mahisisaka
Lotest - Sarv:i.st ivi da :lnd Hai mavata.
In this r.:onm::r.: tiulI, it I:' worth whil e to recount t he countries
included in thl: pt::n::glitlali ons of Buddha. Buddha travelled
northwards up 10 Malhura, and his missionary work: was confin-
ed mainly to the largt:: tt::rI itory of the Ganges ba5in. The Sar-
vastivldi n;; prt::rt:: rrt::u Malllum while the and Mnhi-
the s() uth w..::,tt:: nl a1'l.::a . III between t hese two regions
was the h:tbilal uf l ht:: Dharmaguptas.
M. Hotinger adduced evidences and arguments 10 estab-
li sh the authenticity of the session of t he Second Buddhist
Council. The only addit Ion t hat can be made to it is that a cano-
nical text like t he Kalhtil'ortllu di scussed. the doct rines of the
different sects. Still s!ronger are the evidences furni shed by the
inscriptions so fa r di scovered.
The question that should be next is whether the
schi sm was due 10 the in Vinaya rules only or to tbe
fi ve dogmas of Mahadeva or to bot h. It seems t hat both the
causes were responsible for t he schism, because both of t hem in
dicate Ihe advent of the brond divi sion of Buddhism into Hina-
yiina and Mahayana, t he lalter favouring the Bodhisattva prac-
tices e"en at the S<!crificc of Vinaya rules,e.g. fulfill ing the WIshes
of an individual even by saCrificing the Vinaya prohi biti ons. The
Mahasltighikas were t he forerunners of the advent of Maha-
yii nism. In the Maltiil'asru, the first b:JOk of t he Vinaya of the
Lokottaravidins, a branch of the Mahasailghikas, contains
many Mahayanic t races, to which reference will be made in due
course in another chapter,
Now t he question that ca n be raised is: To which of the two
causes is the schism mainly due! Ih!! SCCQilj alternati ve is
SECOl<O l.IULH)HIST COUNCIL
'I
prefcrable, 35 it indicated the advent of Milhayanic
The two traditions mlly be explainect thus:
The division of monks beBlln with the of "pinion
rega rding the intc-rpretlltion of thc ten Vinaya rules during the
reign of Kalasoka, i.e . . some lime hefore t he appc:lrance of
Mah:idel':l (or Nae;l).! i c. it was about half a century laler.
Mahadl;!va or Naga, proponnded the five dogmas during the
reign of King Nflnda. disci ple St hiramati propagated it
further. As Ihe fact that Ihe tradition of the breach of
len rul es in Ir e Vinaya texts and the Ceylonese chr<>
nides the tradition ahout Mahadeva's five dogmas apJ>C'<l rs in the
Tibet:ln and ver!;ion!; of t he treatises of Vasumit ra.
Paramartha anrl other on the doct rines of sects. It may
therefore be sta Ten t hal t he Vinayn texts. being concerned only
with the di,ciplinary of the reli gion, passed over the doc-
trina l differences. while Va!;umitra and other wri ters, being more
concerned with rloctrinal differences than with discipli nary rules.
it unnecessary to repeat the ten un-Vinayic acts: of
the Vrti"''1 li an monks. The sources of information for the CcyJo-
chronicles, being the Vinaya texts , passed over the doctri-
nal Yuan Chwang. bei ng an annali st. was mterested
in hoth and di scipli nary rules. and so he recorded the
divergences in rellard to both. It is quite probable t hat the
began wi th di sciplinary rules and, in course of time. in
corpora ted matters of doctrines.
It is apparent from the tenor of th.e ten un-Vinayic rules and
the five dogmas of Mahadevu. t hat the Vais:ilians wanted a
certain amount of latitude and freedom i n the interpretation and
observance of the rules and to introduce into their organization
and general governance a democrat ic spi rit. which was gradually
disappearing from the Sangha. The eJL:c1usive power and pri\ileges,
Which the Arhats claimed for themselves. were looked upOn
1. In Tiiranarha (S:hiefner) Nt'taa is described asa di'iCiplc of MahAdeva,
and Sthiramati a disci ple of Naga.
2. The Vaisalian monh were celled Vajjiput1akas in the r ail In
lh" AI)!/u/lara Nikllya ( I, p. 230) il is uoticed that a Vajji l' ultaka monk
approll'hcd Buddha tc: ling him that it wo uld be difficult for him 10
the 250 of Ill" Piilimllkklta
32 3UDDHI5-: 5!;CT S I" I"DIA..
with and disfavour by the Vaisalians, (who preferred a
democratic rule to a monarchical government). The claim of the
Arhats to become the exclusive members of important
Council> nnd to arrwe at decisions, which were bir,ding on tllc non-
Arhals could not appe:ll to the Vajjians _ a clan imbued with a
democratic spirit. The five dogmas of Mahideva 31so indicated
th!!! the J\rh:lts were not all fully perfect persons as WM the vie5
of the orlhodo); Theravadim, and that the Arhats IUld a few
limitations. The Vaisalians refused to be bound down by the de-
cision of the Arhnts, and so t hey com-ened a Council of both
Arhats nnd non-Arhats, calling it a Mahasangiti and agree-d to
abide by the decisions of the enhrged assembl y. This new body
belic'{cd sincerely that the decisions taken by them were in
conformity with the instructions of the Teacher.
EJfHl 011 rill' Sr1Iigba
Some of the Vaisaliall monks sepumted themselves from the
5a11gha of the Elders or the Orthodox, the Theras or Stha\iiras,
aud organized a new one of their own. calling it II Mahas:u'Igha,
from which they Clme to be known as MahasDnghib.s. From
this time the cleavage in thO! Sangha became wider and wider,
uilimately gi"ing risc to as muny us eighteen or more sub-sects.
The Thera or Sthaviravadins were split up into eleven sects and
remained as l linayanic throughout their e"istenee while t he
MalJasanghikas m,camc divided into sc\'en subseets, gradually
up their lIinayanic doctrines Dnd paved the way for thc
appearance of Mahayftnism. On:c the disruptive forces were
ill motion, the S:l1igha could not rcmuin a single whole. Sect after
sect came into cxistcncc on slight of opi ni on COIl-
ccrning doctrine!!, discipliMr) ru lcs nnd even cutting. dyeing and
of robes (Cr. Wultcn, YIIQI1 Chli'm/g, i . p. 151),
In view of thc gcncrul mutual agreement of the different
tradItions. the sessi on or the Second COllneil should be taken as
authentic.
The only point which requires further evidences is the da:e of
the Council and the natne of the klllg under whose uUipices the
Synod wus held. The Ceylonese chronicles givc K;ilftsoka as the
n.!1nC of the king. Kuliisoka succeeded Sisunaga and is identified
BUDDI1HIT COUNCtL
with Kiikavaroin of the PuriilJQS. In view of the fact that
nagn transferred his capital to Vais:ili it is not unlikely that his
son continue to make Vaisali his royal seat and take
in the affairs of the Sangha existing in his capi tal. If
KaltiSoka be accepted as the ro}al patron of the Synod. the dale
nf the session should be put about a century after Buddha's
demise. Kern has questioned the statement of the Ceylonc5c citro.
niele .. about the age of the monks who took a leading part in
the deliberatiolls of the Synod, and has pointed out that the
names do not include any of the list of teachers gi ven in the
fifth chapter of the Mahiil'aJnsa, Since Kern's apprehensions are
not baseless, we should take t he statement of the Mahii ramsa
' that some oi Ihe monks lived al the time of the Buddha' with a
certain amount of caution. As far as the line of teachers is con
cerned, Kern overlooks the fact that it is a list of succcs,ion of
the spiritual tcachers of Mo.gga liputta Tiss<l and not a list of the
Succession of the Sanghall heras. Kern' s conclusion that the
Second CouDcil "preceded the schism but had no connection
with the Mahfisanghikas" seems to be his personal conviction
and nOI based on any evidence, and so is his remark that Asoka
was fi rst designated as K5bHoka, and then with his changed at-
titude towards Buddhism. he was Dharmasoka. Vasu.
mitra places the session of the C'Ouncil the reign of
Mahiipadma Nanda. This statement is probably due to the
confusion made b)' Va SUll1 ttra that Mah.1deva's five propositions
were the main and actual cause of the schisl1.
CHAP'IER III
DISRUPTIVE FORCES IN TIlE SANGHA
Though the Order of monks ( SoligIJa) was orga ni sed on a
<I!=mocratic basis, Buddha felt that after hi s demi se there might
be diSC0rd among the monks. In the .\lahiiparinibbdllasurranla
(i6- 77) Buddha told his disciples that as long as the monks
ad hered to the practices ment ioned below, the Sangha \\ould
thri\'e and not decline. These were-
(I) Avoid fruitl ess talks,
(2) Hold assemblies as frequently as possible.
(3) Perform all ecclesiastical acts in concord (somoggii).
(4) Listen and be respectful to the senior monks, 'particularly
to the head of the Sangha.
These four instructions implied his anxiety about the well-
being of the Sangha in rutu re. During hi s life-time there were
two when a spli t in the S:lIi gha became imminent, but
he did not regard them as actual dissensions. The fi rst took
place when he was at Kosambi on account of a minor difference
of opinion between the Dhommadlwras and the Villoyadltoros, l
and the ot her was the one initiated by Devadatta that the monks
l'ihould lead a more austere life.:
I n the Nikii yas and early texts also, there appear :J. few
references to the possibility of discord in the Sangha and the
condemnation of sanJ!habheda as onc of the fh'e extrcme offences
li ke patricide. matricide, and so forth. In the Vin:lya, there r:.re
directions as to when l\ dissension among the monks Sh0Uld be
regarded as a regular or an irregular JUligllabl/l!da. In the account
of the First Counci l also, a ri ft is noticeal)le in the lute in the
M";,,h-ull1!U. x; Majillima,
Kosambivatthu. I n thcGilgit ms. of the M ,iIUs{/rVlisl;vlida V;II(1)"II, the
StoT) rema ins substantially the same with slight \'armtions in
.(I etails.
2. C"ilumgga, vii. J. 14; I, p. 34.
DISRUPTlVE IN THP. ""NOH"
35
refusal of Thera PuralJa of DakkhiJ)agiri to accept in 1010 the
{Cll ts adopted by Mah<i kassapa and his followers as BuddhavQcQlla.
His insistence on the introduct ion of a few discipli nary rules
clearly shows a lack of unanimi ty among the monks immedi ately
after Buddha's death (see infra, p. 39 n.).
The Tradition of Kc.lOmbr
At Kosambi, there were two teachers, one a Dhammadhara
and the other a Vinayadhara, bot h imparting inst ructi ons in
their respective to two different groups of st uden ts. One
day the Dhammadhara teacher committed a very light offence
through inadvertence and when pointed out, he expressed regret
for it, but this was talked abo ut by the Vinayadha ra teacher
among his students and lay devotees. The students lind IllY
admirers of the Dhammadhara teacher became offended at thi s
provocative att itude of the Vinayadhara teacher and his foll o-
wers, and ther.: was a sharp cleavage not only between the two
groups but al so between thei r respective lay devotees. Buddha
intervened, and at fi rst failed to make up the difference aod it
was out of sheer disgust that he preferred to retire to forest
to be ;erved by an elephant than by the quarrelling people of
the world. At this attitude of the Teacher, the quarrelling
teachers, student s and lay public carne to their semes and settled
their dispute. This episode cannot strictly be called a saligfJa-
hilMa, but it shows the possibility of dissension in the
.sangha.
The episode of iJel'adatfa
The epi sode of Dcvadalla is almost a !;aiigJ:ab!ieda though it
IS not recognized as such in the Vinaya.
1
Devadatta was an
I. Yuan Chwang 'Mites that he saw three Buddhist monasteries in
Kllroasuvarl).a, \\here, in accordance I'rith the teaching o f OC\'lldall a, milk.
produc1s wcc uut takcn as food. Walfers, II. pp. J',II, 192. I- lsin states
mitk ,. art unlawful food. StC 1-I, i"8, p. 43 ; Mill was not
Included in menu.
36
BI..LlDHI5T IN I NDl ,\
ad'/o<atc of mort 3ustere and requested the Teacher to
make the following five rule. compulsory for all monks. :-
Th3t the monks
(i) should live in the forest;
(ii) subsist solely on doles collected iTom door to door ;
(iii) dress themselves in picked up from dust-heaps:
(iv) dwell always under il tree and '1cver under a roof:
(v) neHT eat fish or fle"h.
Buddha could not agrre to Devadatta's proposals. He
more in person's own inil i:Hive than in obligatory rules. and so
he left to the monks t he nption of observing the rest rict ion;.
There the provisions of IlIlIjtailgas (rigorous practices), but
these were not compul,\ory for all monks. There were
among Buddha 's direC'! some dhiital'iidins (praclisers of
dhutangas). Tnis was 100 much for Devadatt a, who departed
to Gayfi sisa with a number of disciples, who supported him. It
said that at the instafl('", of Buddha. Szriputta and Moggalhina
later ,""on tho-m over to Rllddha's side.
sratements in the Nikiiyos
Onc.': Cunda and Ananda approachetl with the ne ... s
of the de:lth of NigalJ!ha Na!aputta ami apprised hIm of the
quarrels that immedmtely f ollowed his among his disdph::s.
Buddha assured them that among J iscipies there WilS no
di sagri:ement as fa r as his fundamental teaching. of
the 37 BodlripakklliJa dhammas: l:oneemcd. There might
be after his death, he said, some diffen::llces of opinion relating
[0 abhidhamma (Qlireka-dllam!1;a = poinl> of
ajjitajira ($ubstdmry rules of livelihood) l.nd
(extra of dIscipline) but these :>hould be trcuted as UOlm-
portant (apPOJIIQuaka), but there be nny differences
{elati ng to tile fruits (pha/a). path (magga, palipadil) or the
1. Viz. (il four sQliparrhiinaJ.- (ii) four swmnilppadllrlllu'; liii) rUL f
iddlripJdai: (iv) fh-c ;nd,IYaJ; Iv) five balUi; (vi) bOjj/r(JIIgU:
eighcfo!d p;lCh. See Dftha, ".i, Xl, MaJj/rima, II , pp_ n. 101, IOJ; LIlIl/a-
vurura (Biu!. Ind.), PI'. 14-37; in JPTS .. 1904-05, PD. 71, 7S_
/l,JolrQ""'u'parti, W
2. Al/has,lIilll. p. 2.
OISRUPTI VE FORCES IN THE SA:IoOIiA
37
congregation (sarigho). it would be a matter of regret a nd might
naml the people.
l
In di Hererlces concerning minor matters such
as those menti oned above. his instruct ion was that the errmg
monks should be politely pOinted Out that the, puttin" a
di(f=rent interpretat ion on a text, and that in the interest of
Sangha, they should gi ve It up ror practical purposes. He
suggested that II sane and reasonable membcr umong the erring
monks should be selected for the In the SQligltiidist!sa
or the similar instructions
(rifle rules 10-1 I) with t he addition t hat If the erring monk: or
monks do not Change thei r VIews, he or they should be treated
as guilt y or the Sailghadisesa offe nce. In the A!igl<tlorat there is
11 reference [0 :\.IHnda complaining to Buddha that Anuruddha's
di SCi ple H11hiyo was in the habit of picking quarrt.'ls among the
monks and causing di sscmion :n the Sangh:t while hi s teacher
would not say a word to him. Huddha pJCJllcd .\n:tnda by
sH.ymg that Anur uddha had never interfered in Sangha matters.
and that alJ such di sputes had so fa r been settled by hi mselr or
Sanputta and MoggaUana.
Failing to make up differences by pOlite persuasion Uuddha's
instruction was to take resort to the seven methods or settlement
in the Majj/lima NikiiJQ and t he
P(irllllokkha. UuJdha altribu\ed all quarrels to the seJlish moti ves
of the monks or t heir posseSSIOn or c;! rtain Wicked qualities. He
h.!ld out the prospect of a itc'lppyand glOriOUS life like that or
the gOd. Brahma to a monk in his aller-life as the re,ult of any
act of hIS that 1V0uid sene to re-umte the groups of monks
separated from one another, while he declared that the monk
SOlVing dissension among hi s brethren, was doomed to perdi tion
for an 'Ieon.'
Dtjin1r;ofl of Swighuhh/tuu
Every or flifTert!nce of o('linionli among the hhi kkhus
I"'as not eharacterizecf hy Rudflf,a ali a It is
_J. MaJi/rima, II . i). 245: cr. Dfzl!a. III . P. 117f.
1. Majj!/bra. II, pp. 238_39.
1. ,!ngltl/ura, II, p. 239.
See Ihe chapter on PlirinwkhQ
j. Atiglilrara, V. pp. 73. 73; CufiaWJ{fgn, vii. 5,
38 BUDDIEIS'r ECTS I]': [N"OIA
described in t he Vi'1nya "For not only is a formal
putting forward !lnn. voting on the false doctrine essential to
schism as dislincl rrom mere di sagreement. but the offendmg
bhikkhus mus! he Quite aware that the doctrine so put fort h
was wrong, or at let.s! rlouhtful, and also that the schism result-
ing from his ael ion wOllld he or probably be disastrous to the
Dhamma. I n other worn!', the schism must be brought about
delibeatel y by pl'Hing forward a known to be false, or
at least doubtful , or wi th the express intention or object of
injuring thereby the Ohamma."l This defi nilion obviously
reprcsenls the opinion of the conservative school, the Thera-
viidins, who usually lonkeci upon all those who differed from
them with suspicion and ascribecl an evil moti ve to the holding
or dissentient views_ It i;: very likely that the dissenters held an
honest opinion that t hei r views were nevoid of any evil motive
or injuring the Dhamma. It will , Thererore, be apparent rro;n a
neutral standpoi nt that evil intention not an essential factor in
sQlighabheda. The essentials are :- (I) helief in a dissentIent
religi ous view regarding either one or more points of faith or
discipline; (2) acceptance of Ihe dis<:enting view by eight or more
rully ordained monks; (3) the divi sion taken among the afore-
said eight or more monks must show a majority on the side of
the d,ssenters. When the disunion confined to eight moaks.
it is called SQ/ighoriiji. This restri ction In the number form-
ing t be essential or sQ/ig/mmji shows that it mi ght at any
moment develop into a !aJighabhedn, hy drawing an additional
monk into the difference, Of course. h(Jllajitie belief and the
presence or regul ar monks are nece;Silry requisites.!
Differences ill the First Coundl Pruceedirtgs
In the proceedings or the Firs1 Couuo.;i l it will be obscn'cd that
Mahci.lcassapa wa, keen on securing the approval of all t he
I . Maf.iiI't1gga, (h .. l; Yinaya Tuu(S.B.E.), pt. iii. p. 271 n.
2. Cul/aWlggn, vi i, S, I ; MiJinrklpaiiha. p. 103 : ",,"0 Ilyman Clln
a schism, nor a sister of the order. no one umkr pJ=paratory
nor e. novice of ei ther II must be Il bhikkhu undu no disabilily, whn
in full communion and co-reside-m" (S.II F. . vol. XXXI' , p. 163).
n1SR\1PTl VE FORCES IN THE SANGHA
senior monks, particularly of Gavampati and PuraQa, for the
texts settled by his Council as Buddhal'OCQIIO,1 Gavampati
remained ncutral, i.c., he did not wholeheartedly accept the
proceedings of the Council as timl , while Pura[J3 e'<pressed hii
inabilit> to accept the same as the words of the Teacher,2 He
furth""r insisted on the incorporation into the Vinaya orthe
eight rul es relating to food,S The Mahisasaka Vinaya not onl y
upheld these eight rules as pointed out by Prof. Przylush
4
but
also special recognition to PUfli[Ja as one or the foremost
teachers of the time.
All these te,timonies dearly indicate that the 5eeds of dissen-
sions had zl ready been sown in the Sangha during Buddha's
lire-time and that these sprouted forth in full vi gour in the second
cenlUry after Buddha's demise.
5
II
PROBABLE CAUSES FOR DIS5.1!.NSIONS IN THE SANGllA
III the precnl illg chapter, il has been shown that disruptive
\It:re alrt:ilJy at work withill the Sallsha duri ng and
illllllt:uialdy ant:r BuJJha's lire-lillie. Oil scrutinizing Ihese and
tht: ur l he BuJJhist Churt:h as prescnted in the Nikayas
awl t he Vinaya, we may n:ganl the follul'.iug facls as the prob-
abk rur Jhsensiun ill lltt: Sa6gha ;-
AhsP1I('p nf 'hI' Suprpmp_JlPad nf , flp Churt'fl
Budd ha thought that the presr;ription of hea\'y punishment
for schisms in the Church would check them effectively and that
his Dhamma and Vinaya were comprehensh'e enough to keep
L A1B, I, eh. xx;;.
1. ClIllaWlgJltl. xi, 1.11.
-'. The ei&ht rules (as lrar.sla:ed by Suzuki from Ch.nese) are :_
COoking food indoors; (iil COoking indoors; (ii i) cooking food of
une S ow.n accord:. (IV) taking fOO<l of oncs own accord; (v) rtc'C1Ylfill food
"'.he, 111 Ih= (>'i) " .. "yi,,1S fuuU home ;n .,:ompllancc
Ih., w.sh "f Ihc giver; ("ii) h.wing miscellaneous fruili; :lnd (viii )
eating lhinl(' l!TOWn in a pond.
4. Przylmki, U COl/ciie tit- Rajag' !>"
Sec '''Ira. Ch. VII.
40 BUDDHI ST mcTS IN INDIA
intact the religion establi shed by him, obviating thereby the
appoi ntment of the supreme religious hea d. He relied on the
unaided of dhamma and vinaya, and directed that his
teachings would be the Teacher after his death.' Vassakara
asked Ananda whdher any bhikkhu had been specified by
Buddha as one who would after hi s death become t he leader or
men under whom everybody woul d Seek shelter. Ananda ail s
wered in the negative. He asked agai n whether any bhikkhu had
been sekcted by the Saliglza as would become their leader, etc.
To this also Ananda answered in the negati ve. Vassakiira was
curious to know the cause of the concord prevailing in the
Church in spi te of there being no leader (lit. refuge) . Ananda
replied, "We are not wi t hout a refuge (appa /isara{l ii ), dltammu
is our refuge. T here is a trealise called Piitimokkha which has
been formulated by the omniscient Teacher and which aU t he
monks living in the same parish (g(imakkhefla) have to reci te in
a monastery where they assemble on t he uposarlJa days. Should
t here occur any difference or doubt in the recitatIon, the bhik-
khus prescnt explain them in 2.ccordam:e With the dham',w
(hence they have dhamma as their refuge)."2 In answer to another
quest ion put by Vassakara, Ananda expl ained that though there
was no supreme head of the fraternity, yet t hen:: was in each
parish a qualified head who was respeC"ted by the monks under
his charge and whme guidance was strong enough to keep the
great many parishes remain together in religious concord. This
conversati on makes it clear that each pari sh was under the
cont rol of the seniormost and the best qualified monk that the
parish could alford.!
In the Patimokkha assemblies, the monks interpreted the
subtle expressions of the Teacher in different ways and int ra
duced additional matenals in t he inter!)retrt t ions, and passed
in the name of Buddha. This happened in most of the
parishes scaUercd over t he whol e of northern India. There was
none at that lime in the whole of the Buddhist community who
could resolve the numberless divergences into one uniform
whole and convert t he t hreatening centrirugal forces t hen at
I. Digha. II, p_ 114 : Yo maya dhtJnomn ca l'illayo ,'U desilo paliilallo so
' 0 mam' IlCCo),Flla Sal/hll.
l. Majj/lllllo, Ill , pp. 7((.
DISRt:PT1VE FORCES IN TH!: SA:i<GH .....
41
work into centripeta l tendencies. conducive to t he well-being of
the whole 8a ngba.
Mahakassapa made an attempt to remedy t his defect of the
Saligha as a whole by conveni ng a Council, but, as we have
shown above, (p. 39n.) he, too, was not full y successful.
S)"J({"/II 0/ Wtciu/izUliQn in differellt branches 0/
Buddhist lileralure
The Pa li l iternture is repl ete with terms li ke (i) SWlantikas
or of (or the Sulla-pital::a); (ii) Vina)'adJwras
or fir the rules of disci pline (Vinaya_pi!aka), (iii)
or verit'd in miitikli ( - abhidhamma); (iv)
Dlwmmt1kathikas or t he_ preachers of the Buddhist doctrine.} In
the A!!hakathfi ag:!i n, :! ppear further terms like DIghabhiif:1aka
an.d _ (reci ters of the Dlgha and Majihimo

t"me days, when writ ing was hardly used for recording the
sayl and rliscourses of Buddha, the means for presen' ing and
handing them down to posterity was recitati on and memorization.
This w:!s a kin to the method that had been in vogue in India
from t he e!lrliest Vedic period. Among t he Buddhists we find
that the memori2ing of different portions of the Pitaka was
to different sets of bodies separated from one' another
10 of time and beari ng names descriptive of their
.acqul sltlons.'
In the flccount of the FiBt Council it will be observed that
Ananda was requested 10 reci te the Sunas while Up<ili the
I. In Mdtdpa';,,{bbUII<' S/tflWltu( Dfgllll, 11 p. 77; i1 Is enjoined
the hhikkhllS t hat should Offff due to the Sulf",",,",'arQ or
&ngha ptI . - 0 r
Ion s '!"<J:;akrJ (the head of lhe whn be bhikkhu nf
g landing and expenen,e for the weltbeing of Ihis Sangha. See also
Allguflara, I V, p. 21: V, p. 353.
. 2. Childers in his Paff DirtiOllUr), (s.v. saligha) says thai a
UlU:alty I P .
Kassa '"" liS t I t of an assembly. He cites, for imla"ce,
al the then $a/ttlhauhero li S the PrC3idcnt of the ri nt COll ncit He
. pOints OUt thai a $a1'l lj:hatlhera n(lt the who the
or alned Sabbaklmin. who WIS the longest UpaSfll/ljXIlI!1f1 bhikkhu. was
-1101 the PreSt dent of the Second Council.
3. D'glta, II. p. 125: AngMfara. I, 5: . 117.
42
BUDDHIST SECTS IN INDIA
Vinaya. This would not have been the case if Ananda or Upali
was not generally famed for proticiency in the particular bran-
ches of the Pitaka. Elements of such specialization can be
noticed in t he that took place between the dhammaka-
thikas and the vinoyadharas,l Colleagueship in studies gave r ise
to unity among the dhammakatlzika> on the one side and the
I'inayadhara; on the other in such a significant method thai each
group made the cau,e of one indiVidual member its common
cause and took sides in the dispute.
his inter=sting that arrangements of beds and seats wert:
made for the residence of the bhi kkhus.! Dabba Mallaputta,
it is said. made such an arrangement that the bhikkhus, adopting
the same' course of study (sabhliga), resided at the same place in
order that the -SurrGnlikas could recite suttanias among them-
selves while the Vinayadharas could discuss the rules of
li ne with one another, and the Dhammakathikas coul d deal wi t h
the nutters of doct rine. Instances are not rare of a feel ing of
rivalrv among these bodies, each member of which wished liml
was plea;;ed to see the body, to which he belonged, take
dence over other bodies in occupying a seat or in taking foou,
in assemblies or in thanksgiving after a meal.
These separate bodies, which. existed for a parlicular fU!ll:liuil
necessary for the whole Buddhist community, e.g., the
ation of a panicular portion or the by regular recltatlUlIs,
imbibed, in course of time, doctri nes which could be looked
upon as peculiar to the body holding them and in this way,. the
body developed into a separate religious school of Buddlmm.
Such instances are found among the Theravadim, who had
developed into such a schooL from the Vinayadllara)", the
I. Smn Vii., I,p. 15; PapaiiUlsi.dar:i, D. 79.
2. Virlaya, IV. 15.4. (S.B.. xiii, p. 339). "On Ihe PavaralJa day the
greater DHI of t he night has Dassed away while the bhikkhus were in con-
fusion: the bhikk"hus were reciting the Dhamma, those Vf:r:s-cL.! ill
were propounding lho:: those vo::ncd in Virulya were discus,ing the
ViDaya, the Dhumma preacher. were talking the Dhamma.
In the S",n. Vii .. I. D. 15, it is Slated that the memorization of the
Mlljjhima-ni/:iiya, Samyu//a-nikiipa and Aligullaranikiiya was entrusted .to
Sadputta, Mahakassapa and Anuruddha respectively and their
disciples.
J)JSRUPTIVE FORCES IN TH E SANGt!.\ 43
from the Su(tamQ.}, the Silrvastivadins from the
AbhidhalIllllikas and the Vaibhasikas from the
Grouping aroulld flO/ed teachen
The crystallization of bodies happened not only for the
preservation of literature but also for the grouping of monks
around a noted teacher. BLlddha gave prominence to some of
his disciples by extolling them for their attainment of proficiency
ill certain' branches of the Bud:!hist dhamma.
1
Of them the
following may be mentioned ;- (i) Siiriputta. the foremost of
the highl y wise (ma/:iipaliiiiil1arr.); (ii) Mah.1mogga1l3na, the fore-
most of the possessors of miraculous powers (id:lhimanliinam),
(ii i) Anuruddha, the foremmt of the possessors of divine eyes
(dibba.cakkhukiill<1I1l): (iv) Mahiikassapa, the foremost of ihe
followers of dl;iitQ precepts (dhurfll'iidiin<1I1l); (v) Mah.tiini-
putta, the foremost of the preachers of d'Jamma (dhammakathi-
kiillam); (vi) Mahakacciiyana, t1".e foremos t of the expositors
(sairkhiltCll a bhii5irassa viltlriirena att!Jw!1 \'ibhajanlaJ1am); (vii)
Rflhula , the foremost of the studen ts ('sikkhiikiimiinam'); (viii)
Rcvata Khadiravaniya, the foremost of the forest-reclu:;es
(iiraiiiiikcl1iim): Ananda. the foremost of the vastly learned
(bailussllriinam); and (x) Upali, the foremost of the masters of
Vinaya (villayadhariillam).
Buddha indirectly pointed out to his new disciples the precep-
tor most suited to each in view of his particular menta! leanings.
This practice led to the grouping of students aroun:! a teacher or
his direct disciples, hence the remark dhiituso satta 5Q/!l sundanli
wmentj2 on the principle that like draws like. In the Saftlyutta
Nikiiya," we read often chieftheras, viz. , Sariputta, Moggallana,
Mahflkoghita, etc., each having ten to forty dIscipLes under his
tutelage. Buddha on a certain occasion pointed out thaI the
group of hhikkhus formed around each of these theras was
pos,es:;ed of the s:lme speciaL qualifications as those that
characterised the thera himself. Thus the bhikkhus under
Sariputta's tutelage \l;ere mal:iipwiiiiil'antii, those ur,der l\1ahii-
!. Vtnaya, II, PI.'. 75, 76.
SU!;IYlllfa, 11,1-'. l!P.
J SalJ/JIIt/a. 11. tm 1
BUDDHIST meT:> I::>: INDIA
moggalhlna's were m!lhiddhikii, those under were
dilMariitlli. the founders of the KiisYllpiya sect.
YU:ln Chwang nOlieed about n thousand years late r that on
auspicious d3ys t he Abhidhammiklls wor5hippcd Sfl riput rll, the
Vinayi; ts Upa li, the Srdmlll.leras Riihula, the Siitraists Pun:1Il
MaitrayalJiputru, the Sllmit.dhists Mahamoggulliina, the
bhikkhUl:Jis .\n:lIlda. the Mnhu}o. ni sts Manjusri and other
Bodhis.'lttvas.
1
I n the first four classes of bhikkhus, Ihc aforcsaid affinit y bet-
ween them und their lendcrs is ob\ ious. In thc nClit three
classes, the affinit ), existed nil the same, thouh it may not be
apparent on the fnee of il. For the Samadhists followed I'vI nhu
moggalliinn he was the masler of iddhi pal' excellel/ce,
whidl could be obtained only through sanui dM, and the
bhik khur;lis followed Ananda because to him thc order of nuns
owed its origin.
The principal POilllS of re:>emblance between the followe rs a nd
their preceptors were t he li es that bound them together, but
these were the which constituted the features by which the
ehier qualit ies of the preceptors were di sti nguished. These
di stincti ons nmong them did not lie in any differences of
doctrines, which t hey professed but in the degrees of proficiency
atta ined by each. in parlicular aspects of Duddhistic .JfidhufI{i. Dul
the divisions, thouSh not proceeding from radical differences in
doctrine, grew stereotyped in coune of time, and fus ion between
them later beea'lle an impos!oibili ty due to the cent rifugal tenden-
cics they natur,llIy developed as separate bodies. Thus the
division which had originated wi thout any doctrinal differences
graduall y gave rise te the latter and grew into full-fledged
schools.
I.c.'iluc/(' ({/lonnl ill Di.rciplim:
It has nlready heel rnemioncd in connection with the episode
of Devad:ltta
2
that BlHIJha allowed :1 eerlai n amount of latitude
to his disciples in the ohservance of Vinaya rules. He laid more
Wanen. ruan Cinl'IlJlg. I, p. :'02,
2, Sec ubovc. p. 35 36.
DISRUPTI\'E FORCES IN TilE SAi'GHA
OJ] mental than on physical discipline. I n his discussion
with Up.Hi, a by di 5ciple Na!aputta. he pointoo out
that Ill: consi dered as more important than
in culture.
1
In the Afahitparilliblxillu.Jlltta. his dirt'Clion
reganling the abrogation of minor disciplinllry rules c1e;trly
revC"alcd his viewpoint in regard to extcrnal In shorl.
in I is e5timation, pmi,iii and ciua practices were far more impor
rum thin :.110 obsefvanees.
3
H: r.;:a lized the vlLlue of d,e 1<llIcr
for the newadeplS, but thai was not t he be-all and the end-all
of scheme of cult ure. From the history of the growth
or the Vinayn eodc it will be observed how he mnut:
COIlCes5ion anet concession for the physical comforts of
ui5cip1es. lIis code was not a hard-and-fast one. He lUau\::
ellcep!iol1s in favour of the who were ,Ll a
by reason of the locality in which they residct!. l u
the border countries ( paccal/rima jal/apada) su..:h as Avalili. lIlt:
converts were f.;:w and intractable. hence, Buddha at the
of and PUI.H).a Mantfmipulla made some e-,eeptiutl."> ill
thei r f,Lvour in regard to the rules for formati OIl of an assl'!lIbly
for ord'lining monks and Ihe u.'e of Ie.L thermade ,1111.1
,Irticles prohibited to the bhikkhus dwelliLl in tIll' Miudlc

Part icdarl y noticeable is :-ais repl)' to the Vllijiputtak,L monk
who expressed his difficulty in all the 250 rules uf tllt:
Piifimokkha. Duddha saij that he \\ ould Ix s3t isficd if tILt:
bhikkhu would practise t he three viz., w(J/,;:.i!a. ulilJidflu
and adhipm1,ui, by which he meant the mi nute observance of lIn:
di sci pline envisaged in the a!!haligikulllagga.
Austerities made optiollol
From his personal experiences Buddha rxommended to his
discipl ':s the middl e path which cschcwc:d austerilies as a means
I . Mujjhimo, I, p. 372f.
2. Uigha. II. p. 154.
EM8., VI.
LMn., I , ch. XVI.
For boundaries, see B.C. Law, Gcogr(/[.hy of Early Buddhism; ViwYII
J. PI' Divy",wdilllll, p. 2 1.
6., Maijhi!llu. 11. p. H. ;., 9. Cr. OhA., I, p. 334 : Sekho ti ;',\1 11 Sil.hikkh;l.
ajhtpannasi kkhii Ii imii SOT!l)1aui-
"di'1' katvli <lr"h .. .
40 BUDDHI ST
of attaining the goal. Buddha, who himself led a life of severe
austeri l}' W:lS convinced that a lone could never f'Jlm
his. mission. ' For thi s reason, au,tere do not i n
his disciplina ry code
2
but there is ample evideilce t o show that
Buddh:J. praised thOiC ascetics who took t o the dhii/(l precepts.3
He yielded t o the strong tendency of those ci iscipl:!s, who ':Ieliev-
ed in t he efficacy of austerities a nd could not be sal isflcri wi t h
a religion barren of such pract ices. Mah:tkasiapa, one of his
most fa .. ourite disci ples, was an advocate of austeri ties, and it
was difficult for the Teacher not to c0mpiy with t he wishes of
disciples like him. The sys:em of living a forest-li fe, therefore,
came into vogue in the early days of and so there are
in the Vinaya special rules for the iiraii/iakat who were required
to at tend the fortnightly Pafimokklw assemblies, though at the
,3mc timc they were c"(cmptcd from many formalit ies.
Failh instead of //Ioral obS(!flYJl1ct's
It Cl nnot be cxactl} determined when firm fai th in Buddha,
DhamlJlO and Sa/ig/io came to be recognized as a means to the
attainment of NirviilJu. In the VOj/hiipomasulta, so much empha-
sis is laid on it that a monk, having firm faith in the Tr;r(Jl/la.
is exempted from observing even the rules of food. This .I"II UQ
furt her shows IhH a monk, taking to fai th, needs not p:actise
the sIlas as recommended for the geilera1ity of monks.
4
In \iew of \\-hat has been staled abo\e, we may condude thaI
strict observance of the Vinaya rules was Dot in the Teacher's
mind, though after his demise his disciples made the most of the
same. In fact. they became more and more ritualistic and failed
to use common diSCretion. A slight deviat i,m from t he Vinaya
hms made them si nners, such violations of (he law
1. Majjhima, r, p. 17.
ViIlQ)'C, V, 131, 193-
AI!/III/ara, III , p. 344f.
Majjhl"lIl, J, p. 26.
See also a"dnlti.flic Srudil's(p. 329) for detail ed tre;j!mer. t by Dr. S.M.
8arua.
V1SRUFTI VE fORCES D( TaE SANGHA
47
mattered little ill spiri tual advancement. Thc protcst ruiscd
by the had untowa rd in it. ond
the Thcravadi n:., we may 5a)" magntficd It . \Vc do not mea n to
justIfy laxit} io uiscipline, but when discipline ends in litend and
of a sct of rules, onc hilS the ri gh t to
examine thellI on meri!.
CHAPTER IV
SOURCES AND CLASSIFICATION OF SECTS
Dr. Bnreau
1
has dealt with the different tradi tions of though t
conl"erning the origin of sects chronologically, thus :-
I. The firs t epoch _ Sinhalese tradit ions in the Dipalolll.'O l4th
rentury ..... 0 .). in his introducti on to the commen-
tary on the Klllltiil'utflw added six sects to the li st of Dlpa"GlIIsa.
viz., R;-.j:IBiribs. Siddhatthikas. ?ubbaseliyas, Apa mseliyas.
Haimavata, :lnd V;ijiri y.l. grouping the ti rst four under t he
Andhabs. He attri ;,ut ed a of views to the Utt:mipatha-
leas. Hctuv:i dins :lnd t he Vetullakas. Perhaps the Haimavatas
and were iIlduded in the Uttarapatha kas. In the tradi
tion arc mCIHiont'd Ek:lbboharikas. Parliiatti y3di ns. and Bahus-
of the northern branch of the Ccti ya v.idins. who helonged
to the southern branch of the Mahasanghik:1s.
II. Tile second epoch-The S:ll)lInitira tradition of Bllt\Yya
placed t ile Hnimavatas under the Sthaviu group. and identified
HelUviidins with Sarv3stiviidilH. It followed the Sinhalese tradi-
tion in its conce ption of the sub-sects of the M;lhfls..'lllghikns.
III . The third epoch _ Kashmiri:lll traditi on:
(a) .<iirl!)/11l"a-paril'!ccltii- siilrll of the Mnhasanghik;J. s. The
oriin::!l text is not aV;lil ;lble. It'> Chinese t ra nslation was
made bet ween 327 and 420 A.D.
(b) SalJlo)"a-b/i e(/opaI"GCOII{l("uf.;r(l of Vasumtru of t he Sarvas-
5ellool. It olle Tibet.ln trUll sbt ioll und three
translat ions of about 400 ..... D. In t his t rudi tion
Haima"ata is included in t he Sthuviru groll p.
(c) M(IIijuiri-parip!cc!ui -srlfra a'l;lilubleoli ly in Chinese trans-
lati on made in 518 .\.D. by Suilgh:.ipi .. b . In thi s Ie,"" the
Haimavatas appl':.IT as a n offshoot of SJrviistivodo. This
text se1!ms to h:' 'I1: many errors if its list be compured
with t hat in Ihe /lfahii" J"IIlpatfi. In this tradi tion, the
of the afe enlarged by the
I. u .. L,.{ S,','/,'< ft/l /,,'11/ 1','11;"/11,' ( BErEO . [')jt.) , I'l'. 161
liN!) CLASSI FI CATION OF SECTS
49
addition of Lol::ottaravada, Apardaila, PUr\'aS:li la and
Uttarasaila.
1
Vi nitadeva and the a uthor ofthe B./1/k,fUI'QI:iigra{J!cc!u! divided
the eighteen sects int o five groups, thus: . .
I. & H. Mah:isanghikas comprising PiirvaSall a. AplraSUila.
Haimavata, Lokottara\'iida and Prajfiapti vac.ln.
ill. Sarvastivadins compri si ng Mulasarvastivada , K;"Uyaplya,
Mahisasaka, Dharmogupta, Bllh usrutiya, TilmrasaFya and a
section of the Vibhajyavada.
IV. S:immitiyas comprising Ka urukuUaka, Avantaka and
V:it>iputriya.
V. Sthaviras comprisi ng Jetavaniy:!, Abhayagiriv3sin, a nd
Maha\ ihara viisin,
Viniladeva' s information and classificati on evidently point to
a posterior date. He indudes some of the later schools in his
enumeration and omi ts some of the older schools, which Were
probably extinct by hi s time. e.g. , the Ekavyavaharib, Gokulika,
Dharmouariya, and Bhadrayanika. Particula rl y noticeable is
hi s incl usi on of t he Ceylonese sects like Jetav:l niya
l
(i. e. Sag-dlika
of the MahihoqlSa, v. 13) A bhayagirivasin
3
(i.e. Dhammarucika of
the Malliil'mfl .w, v. 13) and Ihe Ma h,ivihara vasin. The Jetavaniya,
it will be noted, come into existence as lat t' as the reign of
(51h century A.O.).
Taranatha in his 42n<.l chapter (KIITU BerrachlulIg Simles
dt'/" I'ie, furnis ll es us with very important identi fications
01 the different names of schools a ppea ring in t he li sts of Bhil \'ya,
Vasumitra, Vinitadeva and others. After reproducing t he several
li sts, he gives the fall owi ng identifications:
(I) Kii syapiya = SU\larsaka.
Oi) Sl1IJ1l.:riintil adin"'" Uttariya -= Tn mraMl\ iya.
{iii } = Schools of Mahndeva.
(iv) Lokou<lmvii da _ Kaukku!ika.
(\, ) is a ge nera l name oi the Mahiisailghikas.
I. fbresII.or. "it., p. 1M.
2. J'a'l'SQIf/'apnakiisblf. p. t75: SJlcsl il<ii nAma
Jetnvana1.'aSIllO bhikkhu.
J. IUd. 1! ....as III Ceylon dudnH the rei gn of Vat!aglimar)i.
" . S.: hidne-. op. dt., pp 210-74.
;0 BUDDHIST SECTS IN I NDIA
(VI) KuurukulJaka, Vatsiputriya, Dharmottariya, Bhadra-
and Chlnnaganka held almost similar viewi.
1
These IderHlficatl ons help to trace the of
the Xm/rii ra1l:w. Thi s school shoul d be iden t iti ed with t hc
Ullar iyas of Uhavya and the S.lTfLkriintivfidins of Vasumi tra or
S:lIpkrantlkas of the Pci h texts. The Sal}1kdlltivadins were also
" nown as the r.lmrasal iyas on account or their copper
colOUTed robes. Uut or these Tamrasfi{iyas or Ull ariipalhakas
or Sfllpknimiviidins or arose Saulninlikas, who
3TC orten in the Sa/"mda,..l-dIlGsOIigrolla
ami simi lar 011er works of t:,c Brahmanic schools of philosophy.
A compari son of the dilTcrcnt lists or Schools sho ws that thei r
groupings qui ;e agree wi t h one another. The Mahflsanghka
brr,nchcs may be sub-divided into two grou ps. The earlier (or
the lirsl) group comprised the original Mahiisallghikas, B avya-
vnh:-lrik:IS and Cnityakas or Lokottara'l adi ns. According to
Ttramitha, Eknvynvn 11arikas and the Ma kas were almost
idcntiClll. The chicfecnlre of this group was a t The
lati:r (or the second) group of Schools came into exist ence long
afte r the Mnhilsa nghikas. They became wi dely known as the
Saiki Schools or liI<.' and made their chief centre at
AmarfLvati :In:l N:iS[Lrj unikol)c;la. With t hem rna} be classed t he
and Prajiiapti vadins, as in doctrinal m:ltters the
former agreed rr. ore wi t h t he Saila Schools than with the Mah,i-
sanghi kas. whil e Ihe latter had its o rigin as a protest against the
doct rines of the Bahusrutiyas.
The third group of Schools is formed by the ea rlier
sabs, :md Sar\'asti\'fldins with the later Mahisfl sakas Dha rma-
I Taral1 .1ltll lell, liS rllrlher lhll during 1he of Lhe 1';)1:1
C'"l:n .<e hnob onty "crt I..no"n . The' e"'er.: :
(I) S,1111mill Y:l eO"1l'ri.ing .1nd K3ur"I",lbb
ri) M:lhl"l'r mj!hika ;md L(>tol1arav,)da .
(ii) S;lrv;hl viu!:. compri.ing T:imraSflliya Jild Sarv[1'1 v[lda . The forme r
Oc\:;1I11t: kil own a, OUi of whi ch dc ..eloped the Saulr;inlika
Schol,l . Ma'mla', re wn);; ; again'l Ih:l l of Loul . (1c 1;1
y"lI cee ,hili lhe preceded the Sec A.I.'n
'H"i"'' p. (,7fn
2 To rhe bc:lddcd the Yeli\lyaka, and Ihe
10 lhe KUfhlivlI/{hll .
SOURCES ANI) r. 1.ASSIFl C.\TIO:<.' 0 1' 51
gu ptakas, Kasyapiyas, Saijlkr.intikas or Cttani pa thakas.
1
or
T:lmrasa!iyas.
Thcfourth group comprised Ihe V:ljjiputt:l kas or
wi t h Dharmottari yas, Bhad rayanikas, and
Sammitiyas. a nd also Kaurukullakas. In this group, pnlctically
all the schools merged in one, Ii:: .. t he V:ltsiputriyus, ot herwise
known a s the Siirpmitiyas.
The last, the fi ft h group but the cl ri .est in origin. was the
Thera vii da which, as Vinitadeva says, formed a group with
the Ceylonese sects, I'i::., Jeta\'aniya, Abha yagi ri\{l sins and
M ah:i vi hiiraviisi ns.
Prof. Lamotle in Ilis Hi.'Otoire dll BOliddflisiIIl' Inditn (p. 578)
furnished us with a ta bular statement of the geographical
di st ribution of the several schools on the basis of inSlTiptions
di scovered so far. Aceordillg to thi s statement, the schools,
divided into several grou ps inour scheme, ,Ire rcorodu<:ed here.
I & I I
Comprising Mahasanghikas and its sub-sects Pun'osuil u und
Aparasail.l (also known as Cait yika), Haimllv(l tu. Lokotl nruviidu
a Ild Prrjnapt ivada. T he Sa ib schools are collectivel y known us the
AnrlIJabs, \\.hich incl uded R:ijagi ri k:lS and Sidclhntlhili us
I & /I MO//(it"'lRhiko
I. Mu hasaghiya (Konow, p. 48): Li on Capilal of
Mathura cen. A.n.).
2. Muhasa rpgiliga (KOII U\N, p. 170): Warda li Vase, )"ca r 51
of (ca. 179 I\. f) .).
3. MohiLsaghiya (Luden, 1105) . Karle Cave of t he )"ear 18
of G:lutarniputra Si.itakarl) i (Circa 106-130 ..... D.).
4. Mnhastghiya 1106); Karle C.we of t he year 24
of Puloma (ca. 130159 A,D.).
5. Ayirnharpgha (EI . XX, p. 17) : Pillar of [\' agarjuI11ko(lQa
of lhe year 6 of M:i thariputra of the
Ik jvilku dynasty (ca. 250-2i5 A.I).) .
S 1 Saul,;l"lika "s an nnme for
or Sec Masuda . 1I(a /If"i"", IJ , p . 67 fn. The
Saulranllhs arc catted UUar;\pathakas in lhe KhfhIJullllr" See IlIlm.
' 2
l IUOPHI <;-r SECTS I N I NDJ'"
6. Ayi ralmgha ( fl, XX. p_ 10) Pill ar of
(ca. 250-275 A. U.).
Piirl'tJSoila and Aparasaila
1. Puva(s)diya ( El , XXIV, p. 259) : Pillar wil h Daarmacakra
of probable dete uf Vlsi)!hiputra
Pu\oma (ca. 130-159).
2. Puvaseli ya ( An. Rep. AS I, 1923 24, p. 93) : AI\i1ru
( Kis tna nist.) .
3. Aparumahiivinaseli ya (El. XX. p. 17):
Nfi garjuniko1)i) :t
Vi rapururld'l tta
PilillT of t he year h of
(ca. 250-275) .
4. Apara mah,l vinascliya ( El, p. 19) : Pii1ar of l'\{lIifi
r
juni.
kOI)c,ia of lhe: year 6 of the same ki ng.
5. Aparamahavmasel iya (EI , XX, p. 2 1) : T.empl{' of Nfl ga-
rj unikoQQ3 of t he year 18 of the sa me kln g_
6. (Apa) rasd iya (El. XXVI[, p. 4) : Slab of
forme rly, = Bardamana of to.emy
(VII. 1, 93).
7. (Liiders, 1020 with the correcti on in fHQ,
XVIII 1942. p. 60): Ka nher; Cave, date as aoo\l: .
8. (Luden 1250) ; Amari\ vali sc ul pture, dat e
as 3 00VC.
Caityiktl or
I. Cetl kl ya 1248): Inscribed of Ama r;i"3"Oti' S09
f
j
ttl e reign of PulQm:l (C.I .
2. Celika (rvt url i, No. 33, p. 278)
slah of Amara v:l ti
3. Celiyav:tJ11daka (Li.iders, 1123) :
sc ulpture of Amanivali
4. Ceri: wa mda ka (Liiders, 1263) :
of Ama nivali
5. Cctib of (Luclers, 1250)
sl..' ulptu re nf Amar3vati
(da t<" :'I!> aoovc)
(dn)
(do)
6. Ja\likiya (Ui<lers, 1244) Pillar of Aman'i vati
(du)
(do)
AND CLASSI FICATIOS OF SECTS
7. Cetika (Uldcrs, 1 130) : Nasik l:a VC
8. Cetiya (Ludcrs, 1171) : J unnar Ca\ e
9. Seli ya (LUders, 1270) : Pillar of Amarii. vati
\0, Mahfl va nll. !;Cliya 1230) do
11 . Ma huvnnasela (Liiders, 1272)
sculpt ure of Amarii vati
Ha:mii ralu
l
53
(d o)
(d o)
(do)
(do)
(do)
I. Hema vata ( Luders, 156) ; Crysta l casket of Sonil ri sl Dpa
of Sunga epoch, (2nd cent. ll .C )
2. Hcma vat a (Luders, 158): Steatite casket of Sona ri sl upa
2 of Sunga epoch (2nd cent. D.C.)
3. He m:l\1lla 655); Maj umdar. 3 : Steatite casket
of Sanci s I'lpa . Suirga epoch (2 nd, cent. B.C.)
GrlJllp IJI Sarl'ii..,t iWida
Comprising Mfl la s:l TVastivAda, Kasyapi ya, Dharm,lgupt a.
O"l husrutiya, and a sect ion of Vibha jY<l v;ida.
Sl1rvasriviida
I & 2. SarvaSlivatra ( Konow, p. : Ma thura Lion Capital
( 1st cent . . ,.D. ).
3. S;:mustival in ( Konow, p. 137) : Sha h ji ki- I.lher; (Shrine
of Ka uiska) (ca. 128-1 51).
4. Sa[rvastiJvada ti (Konow, p. 145; : Zeda Pill ar of
(circa 128. 151).
5. Sa rvastivad ll (Konow, p. 155) : Coppe r S{llpa of Ku rTum
(ca . 128- 151).
6. Sa rvastivadin ( Konow, p. lUi) : Inscri bed of
1)hcri wi t hout date.
1 Re. lIuimu.atru : scholars who dealt with these 5el:1S di ffer in their
opinions. While some pt ace t he Haim(1valas as a s<.:v-M, ... l of the
leas. them a monll t he JUbseclS of the S ,u,,>Sli.iid"" $.
54 BUDDHIST SEcn I N INDIA
1. Sarv.i sli viidio (Liiders, 9: 8-19) : Buddhist statue of Kaman
(no date).
8. S:Hv:i.sti vi'ldi n (Liiders, 929): Buddhist ba lustrade of
Sarnaln.
9. Sllvasthi::li ya (LUders, 125): Buddhist stalue of Mathura
without dale.
Ktlsyaplya
I. Ka . . (KoDow, p. 6J): Inscribed pottery of Takll t-i&hi
(no da le,.
2. KaS3via (KollOw, p. 88) : Ladle of copper or' Tax]!a, gin
of lSparakka probably Aspavarma, vassal 01' Azes II
(ca. 5 19 A.D.).
3. (KOllOW, p. 89) : Copper Jadle of Bedadi in the
kingdom of Vrasa (no date).
4. (Ka now, p. 122) : A jUg of Pal. Wi J)beri
(no date).
5. KaHapiya (Ltiders, 904) : Buddhist cave of Pabhosi of
the year 10: probably t hc fifth Sunga.
6. So\'asa kz. ( llice- n. 1106) : Karle Can: of the YC<lr 24 o f
Puloma (ca. 13(}"159).
Bahuirulfya
I. Bah a ka (Konow, p. 122): Jar of Plila!u Qheri
(no date).
2. Bahusutiya (/. XX. p. 24 : Pillar of Nag:irjuDikor.H,Ia o(
the reign of Miithariputra (ca.
250-275).
J. Bllhusutiya (EI. XXI. p. fi2): Pilla r of
of the year 2 of Ehuvula Santam[lill I I of the
dynasty (end of the 3rd century).
Viitsipurriya
I. Vatsiputrika (Liiden, 923) : Buddhist Pi lla r of Sarnath of
t he Uupta epoch (4t h cen.)
5OURCf. S AND CLA!SIFICA TION OF SECTS 55
M4ht.fiisaka
I. Malii (sa) sa ka (EI, XX, p. 24) : Pilla r of
of the yea r II of Enuvula SamamOla II of the
tlYllusty (end of t he 3rt! cent.).
2. Mahisasa ka (/. I, p. 238) : Pillar of Kura at Salt Range
(Panjab) of the reign of Toram:ina Shah Jauvia
(end of t he 5th cent.).
Saufriintiica
I. SUlalPlika (Lii ders, 797): Pilla r of Bharhut of the SlIliga
epoch (2nd cent. A.O')'
2. SuWika (LUdc rs, 635) : Sanci of the epoch.
J. SUliilikini, Satatikini (Liiders, 352, 319): Saild of the
SUliga epoch_
Dlwrllloltar')'t'I
I. Dhamutariya (l.iidcrs, 1094-95): Gift oi two pillars to
the DharmOll!lriya school of Sllrparaka (without
date).
2. Dhammullariya (Liiders, 1152) : Junll il f Cu\e (no d.lte).
Bhadrariilll),Q
I. (Bhildaya)l1iya (LiidcTS, 987) : Kanhed or the reign
of Yaj ibsr i SatakarQi (ca. 174-.203).
2. 8 hadraj:lI1iJja (Liiders, 1018): Karlhcri Cave (without
date).
3. 8 1ladlivaniya (li.iders, 1123): N.uik C ave of the year 10
of Pulomii (cu. 1:10159).
(Liidcrs, 1124) : Nusik CilVC of the 19
22 of Pul omu (t-a. 1,10.15'1).
56 aUDDHISl' SECTS IN INDIA
Sarnmalfya
I, Sammitiya (Ludcrs, 923) Buddhist Pillar of Sarnath of
t he Gupta epoch (4th cenL).
Sinhalese Therul'ada
I. Tambapa(rp)lJaka (EI, XX, p. 22) : of Naga
o rjutlikol)Qa of the year 14 of Virn-
of the dynasty (ca. 2S0-275).
THE MAHASANGHIKAS
History of Sch{){!i:. 0/ CrQf<{Js J &: II
Tht first two groups in emr scheme included the Mahii-
!oatighikus LInd their sub-secK SC'lnning the various t radi tions
about the appearance of the "lib-sects, it is found that Va.u-
1I1i tra nnd Bhavya agree wIth the Kathiiratllm as far as !he
three sub divisions are if the name Cetiya be rC.I!;arded
as alternative to Lokou::truvilda. In the Malu;I'rulu which is an
avowed text of a hranch of the Mahasanp;hi-
kas, worship of Cai tyas is given prominence. It will not ,
tnerc:fon:, be wrong to say that the Lokottaravadins were also
called Caityukas.
Sometime tlft er tne of three sub-sects,
there came inlo ell. islem;:e two more viz.. Bahusru
liya und Praji'lUptiviida. According 10 Vnsnmitra and Bhnvya,
these out of the Mahiisarighikas direct, while in the
KotlllimttlU/ and the Ce)'lonese traditions, they lire made sub
of the Gokulikas. Ihough the latter did not appear
to have becn an important sect at any time. The doctrines of
these two later sub-sects are allied to those of the Maha-
sanghik<ls ami of the Snrvasti\iidins.
The Mahii.s<uighikas have in importance llnr! popularity
not so much by the subseets mentioned above but hy the sects
which !;:ame into ell.istcnce at 11 later period, i.e., the Sai lll
schools of Vasumitra nnd Bhavya and the Andhabs of the Pali
traditi on. The two writ ers mentioned above speak of three Saila
schools, viz., Caitya, Unura and Apara, while in the Pllli tradition
appear nve names; Hemavillika, Rajagirik.a , Sic1dhatthika.
Pubbllsci i)a and ApDrnsel iya. Tho\lgh the Pali tradition is parti
ally corroborated by Vinitudeva's lisl, it has been fully
out by the inscriptions di scovered at and
Amaravati (Dhanllku!aka)1
I infra.
58
The $aHa schools of later days threw the Mahasaflghikas mto
the shade. It seems that the earli er Mahasanghikas were not
concent rated in one centre as were the Sailas. The former were
st;attcn;:u allover N. W. india, Bihar and Western India, whi le
the: wcr: concentrated at Sripuvata and Dhanakataka (in
Glintur The inscriptions indicate that a magnifi cent
Caitya erected here and its grandeur and sanctity att racted
devotees from places all over Indi a and Ceylon. According to
the inscriptions, menti oning the names of the ruling kings, the
date of erection of the Caitya should be placed about the 3rd or
4t h century A.D.
The first group of seclS, viz., the Mah.isai'lghikas, Ekavyava-
hil rikas ami the Caityakas (or u,kottara'ladins) had generally
common d\,K; lrines with minor differcnres which have not been
mi nutely distinguished by Vasumitra. A'S regards the second
group of viz., the Sailas Of the Andhakas, the
and Prajiiaptha.dins, Vasumltra has equa lly been si lent. It is in
the Karhi'ivutlhu that we find that a Jarge number of doctrines
na"e bn atlributed to this group, and after analysing the doc-
trines, it appt:ars that this group accepted some of t he doctrines
of Sarvastiv<i.da . It is proposed to discuss t he doctrines of the
fir st and :;ttund groups separately.
Li fcrofI.Jl'e
In the DtpOl'UIllSa
1
it is stated t hat the J\.! ahasanghikas not
only int roduced t he ten new Vinaya rules but also propounded
new doctrines contrary to the established onego At the Mohii-
Mli/glli held by them at they made allerations in the
Sulra and Vil/oya Pi/akm, as also in their arrangement and
interpretut ion. They did not include, in the eollecl ion,2
Parifiiro, AbhidhammappakaralJQ, Pa{i.Jombhidiimnggo.
and the Jiilakas. The importance and accuracy (l r their decision
are supported by the modern cri tical wri lers.
a
The Paril'iira
(palha), int ended as a manual for the bhikkhus, was no doubt a
t Dlpuli(l//lSO, t h. iv.
2 IlJid., v. 32-38.
J Rhys DaviCls, Hibbert Utl","f, p. 41; Ottlcnlx:l'jt's Intra. 10 Ihe
"',"/Ulya TeXIS, I, p. XXXIV.
THE MAIlAsANGIIIKAS
59
composition or a mudl lata Uale. The It:;>.!:>
developed ufler the l:uu!ll: il uf Vdlili andublallled thell nlla!
in the third Syllud held d uring ASuktt'", reigu. ' the
works, the Pu! i\u/IIhhillJIIlIIIU!:U, Nidde.lu aml.lhe Ju(uJ..os, wel e
added to tile Canon IOllg, aetcr III llie
of the P(lIiSlIlIluhidiilllagsu, it should been wduded III the
Pi!aka, while the NiddO:Ml which is an old
mentalY on the SutW-nil'ii{u along with the wh ich IS
al so a commentary on theeanonical Jiitaka book, were excl uded
rrolll the l:ol1(:{; t ion. . .
frolll <1 11 dlese a$ mentioneo above, It IS
that like the Theravidins and the the
hau a complete canon of lh:i r in. its t hree
to the (.;<lnOI1 or the Mahasanghlkas ar: found
ill the diKovelcd at A maravdti and. N
Ou the pillar of an out(r railing of the Amuravall t here
M\: tv.-o inscriptions, one of which of as
Vilw}'f1dhaw' and the other of the monks or as
These di$t in(.;tly impl y the :xl.tence,. ilbout
the begillning of the era, of a Vinuya Pi[aka 11l th<lt
reg,ion. .
There .lIe simi l" r to the Sulra Fi{ako abo, and III
gre<ltcr details. In an insCript ion' Oil one of the sl abs fo und neM
t he (.;enlfil l stupa of Amaravat i, t here is a reference to monk
of Muhavll ilil sii lii. as SWf1YI4ta-bliii(IUka (not .as
fead by Burgess) . In Nagiirjunikol)Qa appear the m-
script ions in t he i\yaka pi llars C
1
and Digha- ,\ /(IjIIlIl1U-PW/l-
('lImii t II!..:. u-o.mka- J"iicak iillllm, Drghc.- M ajilillla-nik iiyadhan:lIll , !JI'
gila-AI ai!llma-pallli/a-lIuir uka_ae.wlkal(leakiillam .. n d Drgha- ,\ lu-
These ki!vC no room ror about t he
existence of a Su({u-PiIakll in at least threc Nlkayru;: /}(gha,
Majjhima and SWf1YU({(l.
There abo occurs the expression Paiica-mu{uka, which is LI\
irregular form of P(.Ilka-miirrikii (Puli IIUlfikii). The term
1 Oldenbcrl!, op. dr., p. u)liv.
2 \.lurgess, lJ",JJh!sl SI UptlS of Ama,,j>'(.ll/ 1111;/ JII1I8UY)"QPtJu (Arch. S,-r.
uf 5. Illdia). p. J1.
J t"'d., p. 102
4 Ibi,I . p. 9t ' PI(l.le xlviii, 3SJ see p. \05.
60 BUIJDiIIST SECTS 11\' INDIA
"matlki." denotes the dCluikd contellts of an Abhfdhamma text.
It is used also to indicate a complete Abhidhamma text. Hence,
it mny be that the term "Pur}lcamiitukii" refers to five
and not seven, of the tl.bhidhamma texts. Perhaps the two texts
omitted art the POIIMillG and Ihc Kalhul"utthu. which were later
added to the Abhhllrumma texts. Among the Vinnya texts enlisted
in Nenjio' s Catalogue there arc four works with nUll!kii as n part
of their titles, though none of them belong to the Muhiisonghi-
kas.
1
Prof. Pnyluski writes' that the Mnhasuilghikns hud II parti-
cular fancy for the number "five", especially in connection wi th
the Vinnya te..:ts. Matrka used by the ancient compil ers to
denote the jlillaya Pi/aka as much as the Abhidhamma Pi/aka,
hence the word "Palllca-miituka" of thc inscriptions may wcll
mean the Vil/aya Pi/aka of the Mahasanghikas, whose text also
had five divisions like that of the other schools.
fa-hien (41 4 A.D.) came across a complete transcript of the
Mahasanghika Vinuya at Pli.!uJiputra and translated it inlo
Chinese two years luter.3 In Nunjio's Catalogue arc mentioned
two Yinaya texts of Ihis school, viz., Mahiisunghika-vinaya and
(No. 543). Fortunately there is the
original which is the fi rst "olume of t he Vi/IQya
Pi/aka of the Lokottara"iidins, a branch of t he Mahasanghikas.
It corresponds to that part of the Pali Vinaya l'i!aka. which gives
an acco unt of Duddha' !t life and his formation of t he fi rst Sailghil.
By Buddha' s life the compiler of tht: Mahiil'astu meaDt not
merely his present life but also the events of hi5 past Jives, by
reco ullting which he showed t hai a particular event in this life
was onl y a repetiti on or result of the past. The account is divid-
ed into three like Nidiina-kathii of the hi.takas, the
fint dea ling with his exi:.tertCe:. al the time of D1paitkara ami
utllel Buddhu5, the second with his life in heaven, ami
tht: tliinJ with hi s presenl life, agreeing mostly with tht: COIlIt:fl(S
I i'rz)" lu,ki , L" Co"(:!i,, de Rujagrha, 1>. 212.
Z fbid. rn H7.
] M. in Elude sur Ie cOllcde de Yaisiili, chapler I V, tip.
48 has MaMulIighika Vina)"a int o French, reproduced in English
by me in the uf Second Lluddhist Counei ' . Sec above.
H.-cords of ril e Ihdd'IISt /(IIIXloll '-IS[lIg p. U.
4 Sen .. r'" editi on, p . 2.
THE IJARASAJ>lGH!KAS
GJ
of the Pilli Muliiilugga. Apart from a few rules re!ating 10 ordi_
nation, it has nuthing to do with the di,ciplinary m:lttecs. It
contains a few PrakrLt versions of the sutras of the Nikiipas.
Slltta-
lI
lpi1ta, Dlrullllllapada and u few other texis. It is more a
collection of Jii[akas than a tC"(1 on Vinuyu. Winternitz thinks
that its datt: uf composition should be pl:u:cd between t ne 2nd
century Il.U. ami t he 41h century A.D.'
Langllagi! of the J!uhiisairg/llka-Pi/aka
tells us thm rhl' M:lhasar'tghikas claimed Mahiika-
syap:l a, their founder, t1e language of their was
Pr:"tkrit, The language of th ... Mnhiil'a.\/u,3 especi:lll y of its po=try
purtion, is Illixed Samkri t anil which may weI! be Prakril
or qU:lsi-Sanskrit :lnd pure nnd the Srltra-pltaka was
into Jgllfnas instead of Nikityas. The southern j!.TOU!J
preferred to divide the Slitm-piplka illlo Nik:\yas and adopteJ
the Pr:lkril iangllage inste::ld f"lf Pali.
Principal seats of the S(/II . 0/s
Yuan states t hat the mlljorityof inferior brethren
at Pit!aliputra established the Mahiisruighika school. Fa-hien. as
stated "bove, found Ine Vinaya of t his school It Piilaliputra,
so it may be concluded th3t t he chief centre of this school W<lS
<It P:it aliputra, I-tsing (671-695 A.I). ) tell s us that t he Maha-
sar'tghikas were found if! his time mostly in Mligadha, and a few
in Li ta and Sindhu (Western India) and some in a few
places' in Northern, Southern and E:tstern Indi a.
s
Before I-tsing,
both Fa-hien and Yu::m Chwang nad in these loc;ilities come
- - - Sec W,nter";; itz, History (If Intiitll l LiIt'rlJlurt'. II. p . .!39; A. c. Law, A
of Mal/uw.l/lI, 1930.
2 RQidc. In;:i r own language. 11" Slon adds, In 27
Frinlle<;. and lheir badge 11 lIu-SIOIl . [I. 11. 100. Cj. Csoma
Kornsi, JAS8., 1838, p. 134; Wassiljcw, Der 8l1'JdhislIIlI.f, p. 294-9S: Eilers
HilIU/."""'<; of Chin<,sl' p 88.
1 Sec Keith. Fortword 10 B. C. Law's SIll/I}' oj thr Malw1"{/sl/J.
4 WaHers,op. cil., 11. PI>. 261,269.
(Jp. cit. , p. xuii i.
BUDDHI ST SECTS IN Ir>:O IA
the adllerenls of Lhis school though not so fre::t uent ly as
those of the others. The earliest epigraphical nOl ice of Ihi lO
school is found in the ins(.;riptiun on the Mathura Lion Capilal
(Olhout 120 H.G.),' mentiolli ll g that it hed a very strong oppo-
nent in Duddhila, 8 n adherelll uf tht: Sarv<1stiv;\da school.
AI Andarab in Afghanislall a ll oJ its neighbouring places (hcre
were a lso some foll owers of Ill is st: huol. During the reign of
one Ka magulya oJ epusiLt:d some reli cs of Budd ha in
t he Wardak vase and presented lhe sa me to the teachers of the
Muhiisallghika The vault whidl eontainel1 t he relic-vasc
WIIS built by the father of KalUagulya." At Andarab, which was
three days journey from the ctluuLry or Ihe Wardaks. Yuan
Chwang found the adherents of t his in t hree
T here was another centre of lilt: st:hool at Karle, in the
B,unbay Presidency, famous for lht: large<;c Md Ct nest cavc-
telllple, which still stands as a meulOrial of its past glory. ' In
cuve-tcmp!c there arc two one reeord;ng the
gil"! of the village Karajaka by Gauw.miputra S:ila k:lrQi 10 t he
monks of the Valuraka cave! for t ht: support of the monks of
the Mnhtlsllli ghika seet,1 and t he otlu::r of Ihe lillle of V.Histi-
pll tru Siri Pul unui )"i the gift of a ni necell ed Hall to
thi: Sli me sect by an inhabitant of AuLila rna. : Though the
Mahlis:llighikus did not receive lIIudl att ention from the
Buddhi <t writers und donors., the Kark I:a\es show tha t t he
Sl!ct won a greal popularity in Ihat p ....111 of the Bombay Presi
dency where t he cnves exist; for the ravi:- lrrn ples
could not have been so ric hly decorated will1 such fine speci me ns
of sculptural and urchitect ural beuuly. I b ridmess a nd existence
prove thn t t,lerc WUi a series of dUlion. t hro ugh cent uries
to clI:press their rcligi() us zeal alll.l devotion to Ihe
M:"Ihas:tilghikas in Ihe nc.it woly thai thei r resources cou ld
provide.
6
r.. I . IX, I'P. t3!J. 141, 140.
2 1::.1 . XI. D. 21 1
) See f()r its Ile<;cription Fcrgu;;S01'S Indian a",{ Ea!It'm Arrhi.'t'rl"rt'.
pp. 117f; r c rgu .......'" :.md Cn"t' Temples (Jj Indio ... p,) 2J2f.
E/I. Ind., VII . pp. Mf.
S /hM., pp. 71f.
f, Il urge",. U",;'/fli ,./ SItI,wS of A m(mi 'Vlli atlll /('/(/(oF1fH'/a tA "h. Su r.
of S. I ,Il ia), p. J 12-1J.
6.1
Thc obove inscripti onnl evidences rcl :l te to the Mah'-Isafl_
ghilms ulont', who, it :lppears from t he evi den::c.5, were !.I.:atlcrcd
probably in small groups in a few localities of Nonh-wt.,tcrn
and Eustern Indi:J. , ;.tnd had their mai n centre at P.i!<I !i IJutra or
Kusumra pura.
J ust as Bodh-Gaya grew up 011 Ihe bank of the Nerailj<lrft as
an (ally cenlre of Theravad<l <illlj a place of pilgrimage ror the
Bull dhists. so <I lso did Amani vali (extending to Jaggayape!a)
alld Nagarjuniko(u;l a all t he bank of the (incl uding lIS
tribut ary Paler) become a il.our bhi ng centre of Ille off-shoots 01"
the in the first l:J: ll tu ry B.C. or i\ . IJ . md t urned
in to a place of pilgrimage for t he BuoJdhists of kll er days.
On the basis of t he style of sculptures and paleographic data.
Burgess agreeing with Fergusson hel d that t he of
the Am:travati '> tOpa was commenced in the 2nd cent ury n.c.
and later enla rged and decorated with addi t iona l sculptures, the
latt'st of which was the great railing erected a litt le before 200
A. D.
I
[t wa s some l ime after the complet ion of t he .4.ma rj v::. 1i
stopa th:at the stOpas at Jaggayapeta and came
into existenc;:. their da les being. according to Burgess and Vogel ,
lhc Jrrl or 4th l"Cntury A.I).' This est imate of d:lte
ald the menliofl of the ki ng called Mag.ha r:put a Si ri
data ( ... Sri M<1!h:tri-pulra Sri Vira r uru5a-daUa) of t he Iks"/:Hu
uynasty3 arc based on palt'ographlc eVIdences. The inscriptio ns
UII lhl! A),T1ka-pillars al Nagarjunikol)Q3 contain not Oli ly th c
IIJIIII! uf the king but also or hi s father Si d Ehuvu!a
CiqllollnOla. It appe:trs frolll the inscript io n thH the r rincip.lI
donol of the subsidiJry st ruct ures of the '>It1pa was
sister of king CtlrntamOla. and the p2. tcrn al a unt (piTllc/ul), lat er
011. Pl"llb;lbly mother-in-law. of t he king Siri Vi rapurisadat;l .G
J knee, 111( Lime of thc II1scriptions, mentioning the name of the
kings a ll d is .lrd or 4th cCI,tury A. D.
E. / ., XX, p. 2
RClikT alsigll<; 3rt! ecnlltry n. to Ihe reign of Ef..
XX. D. 2 Quolin" ' "d. A"I.. XI (tll!!2). Pr>. 25M
.1 1':. I . Xx. ("I. 3
4 Ibid.
5 AJi{f Major. II. flf"l 18.34.
6"
DUDDIII S'T SECTS I S U<il I) IA
It shoul d h<' remembered t hat Ihe period ment ioned here relates
\0 the subsidiary struct ures or t he main sti1pa. ,wd not to the
st Opa itself t he MlIh;i ca itya. wh ich must assiined t o a n
earlier period .
It is evident thererore thnt the off-shoots of the
viT., t hc Caitya (\nd Snila schools, migrated to t he GUn t l l r
di strict from Pillaliputru t hrough Orissa and made t hei r , eule
ment in thaI in the 2nd cent ury H. c. During thc
of four or five of thei r residence t here, Ihey @radu<l l1y
extended t heir monllsterie5 In t he neighbouring hill s.
The offshoots of this school, the Lokottaravadins ;md eait ya-
kas. in other words. t he Soila schools, we know from the
inscript ions of Amu riivuti a nd NagarjunikoD9:1 , est;lblished
themselvcs a long t he banks of the KrsD;t wit h se veral monas-
leltcs 1000:a l<:d on t he differen t bilh ull around.
[11 short, t he earlier (i.e. t be fm>! grou p ) loclll ed
at P[It a liputra wit h adhere nt s scatt ered lo ll over Nort hern and
Nortl;-western India , whil e the luter schools (i.e. t he set'ond
glOup) were comcnt ra tcd in the sout h, having thei r ch!ef ce ntre
iu ti lC Gunt ur on the bunks of t he
T .....o branches 0/ ,Iu:
The Mah:i salihibs migra ted from Magadha in two st re:lms.
one t owards t he nort h and t he other rowards t he sout h. The!
norther n, ra ther, the north_western .. ecl ion bter becrt me sub
divided into fi ve. viz., Ka ukulibs or Kau
r ukullukus Bahusru tiYlI s, Praji'iapl iv.i dino;
on IICCO UIl ; of minor doctrinal ti ifTere nces :l mong t hem. Their
olT, hoot t he Lokott a ravlldins, devel opec1 l(,:l1l ings
a nd in f;lct prepa red t he grounrl for t he ad\ ent
of the Mahii yana school. in hi s c,"l mment Ol ryon
the Karhamu flll, disti ngui shed M:lh::i.s:uigh,b" hy t he wo rds
,,("/:at"('(' Mahiisarghiktj" implyi ng thereby Ih:1I :1 11 Ma h.h:ui ghikas
did not subscrihe 10 the same or it might he t hat he
rcfcrr<!d bv " ekaccc" either to t he or to the
sout hern b'mnch of the Mahli sai1ghibs. [ n the Ktlll1al'orrllll,
the views discussed are mostl y of t he Mahft s;l1i ghika s. who
migrated t o the sout h. settled down in the Andhra Pradesh
THE '-! AH.4.sANGHIKAS
ti5
around AmaravaU and Dhanyak:a!<1 ka. Their sub branc hes
concentrated at dwelli ng on the mountains
around. These were the Pubbaseli yas or Uttaraseliyas, Apa ra-
seJi yas, Siddhatthikas, Rl1jagi rikas, and Cail yikas. collt:Cli vdy
designated as the Andhakas by in the inlfouul.: (ilJll
to his cummt:nlary 011 lhe Kathll pal1llu. Of the northern Mah<1-
sat'l ghikas hI: menti oned the names of Ekabbohiiri kas, Gokuli ka s.
Pafiihtlt ivauim anu Bdhussut ika, but i n the KarMfl1f/11II thei r
views have not been referred 10 spedfieally, perhaps t hey origi-
nal.t:u after the o f the KarlltJI'all!lU.
In the KUlhlh'au liu there is a discussion of t he views of the
Vetu lyakas, who were in fa,'o ur of the Mahflya nic doctrines.
Of ti ll: two branches of the Mahasat'l ghikas, the nort h-western
brcHlch ueified and Buddha and held t hat the
Absolute (Reality) was indescribable (anln accllrya). It nei t her
t:Abts lIor non-exi sts, It is devoid of all attributes (slIffifcu'l). It is
wi t hout origin and decay. Th: Andhra group was more
Hinayanic in its vi ews with a sli ght trace of Mahaya ni sm. This
di st inction of t he t ..... o groups will be a pparent from their
uur.; t rinal views a s well as fro m their geographical locat i')n,
l.I isc ussed hereafter.
GEOGRAPHICAL DlSTRI BUTION OF THE T WO GROUPS or
MAnASANGH!KAS
(0) Nor th-wtsttm 01' the Earlier Grortp
Fa-hi en (5th century A. D.)' found t he Ma hasanghikas at
pa!aliputra. Hiuen Tsang (7th century A. D.) I remarks t hat <' t he
maj orit y of inferi or brethren a t began the Maha
sanghika !.Chool" . I-uing (671-695 A.OY tells us that the
Mahasanghikas were found at his time mostl y in Magad ha, a
few in and Si ndhu ( West ern Indi a) and some in 9 few
pl aces in nort hern, eastern and southern Indi a. ' In these loca
li t ies bot h Fa.hien and Hiuen Tsang eame across t he
Legge, Fahelll, in IHQ .. VII, p. 644-45
2 Yuan Chw(mg, I, p, 26':1
J Taka lrusu, I-tsing, p.
66
BUDlJHI ST tN I NDI.A
()f this school t hough not so frequent!y as those of ot hers. In
the (Cflinese trans!.) it is stated t hat
they resided at U4Qi yaD3 along with the $arvastivadins, MahiSa-
sakas Dharmaguptas and K:isyapiyas (see Bareau, op. cit.),L
earliest epigraphical not ice of this school is found III
t he inscri pti om of the Mathu ra l ion Ca pital (about 120 O,C.),2
mentioning that it had a very st rong opponent in Buddhi la, an
adherent of the $arvast ivilda school. At Andarab in Afghanis.tan
and its nei bhouri ng places there were some followers of t he
Mahas.:ui ghikas. Duri ng the reign of one Kamagulya
deposited some relics of Buddha in the Wardak and
dedicated t he same 10 the cart;! of t he teacheri of t hiS school.
The v[luh which contained the relic vase Wll S built b)' the
father of Kamagulya.
s
At Andarab, which was three days'
journey from the count ry of Wardaks, Hiuen Tsang found t he
adherents of t his school in t hree monasteries,
Of the three writ ers, v asumitra, a havya and, Vinit:ldeva,
VDsumitra has been identified by Prof. with the aut hor
of the },fahiil'ibhil,il during the reien of Vasumitra has
devoted more att ent ion to the doctri nal ,'iews of the northern
group of the Mah:isanghikas than to . of .the sout hem
group. He put together the views of the
vuharikas, Lo1.: ott nrav6.dins, and Kaukku\lkas, and attflbuted
to them as many as fort y-eigat views wit h addit ional nine as
later differenti ated doctrines. The nell.t two schools which receiv-
ed his attention were the Bahusruliyas and Prajnaptivudins,
who also belollged to the northern sroup, attributing 10 them
nine doctrines while he dismi ssed the southero schools (Cuttya,
UUDru und Aparnsailas) wit h three views.
Just the reverse was the attitude taken by the compiler of Ihe
KaliliiY(:lftlili. In this l i!lI.t, sixteeD doctrinal views (l rc attributed
I Bareau, "p. cit., p. 51) ,"! u01il1il the opinion of Lin Li Kou:n' g, who
writes there were two sects of the Mahi\sanJthikas: (i) The Mllhfls::ilghikas
proper unreforn:ed reprcsenli!lg the old liberal Mahayi:Jic [canin!s, clai:Jli ng
ori;;in from the Sthavirns or Yatsi putri}"3s. But such clear cut divisien is nol
approved by Bareau. E. J., IX, pp. 130, 141, 146
2 E.r .. XI,p. 211
3 W:ltttl"l. "p. dr., 11, pp. 261, 269
4 Asl!l Mtljcr, II , p. 7f.
67
\0 the Mahasailghi kas in gen: ral while farly-one "iews to the
Andhukas, compflStng Pubbaseliya, .I\paraseliya, R<ijagirika,
Siddhatthika wi th additional t hi rt y-t hree special doctrines of
Pubbasel iya and thirteen of other schools.
The career of the off-shoots of this school, however, took a
different course. They were mdnly located in Oll e country,
Andhra Pradesh, for which they were given the collective name
of the Andhakas in the Ceylonese chronicles. We have seen
above that their names appeared more than once in the Amara-
vati and Nag:irjunikol)Qa inscriptions.
In the Pali t radi tion appear five names: Hcmavatika, Raja-
girika, Siddhall hika, Pubbaseliya and Aparaseliya. Though the
Pali tradition is pa rtially corroborated in Vinitadcva's list it has
heen fully born! out by the inscri ptions unearthed at NagflTjuni-
kOIJ9a and Amaravati (Dhanakataka). making exception of the
MahiSasaka, a branch of Sarvt'tstivada.
Out of the twelve names of the Pali tradition, we come across
seven in Ihe Nagarj unikol)<;ia inscri ption. This testimony con-
fi rms t he authenti city of the Pali tradition. Vinitadeva replaced
.t3ahusrutiya by Praji'iaptivt'tda; othe rwise, he agreed with the
traditions preserved in the Pali texts and the insctiptions. The
5llia schools in later days surpassed the MahasaIighikas in
populanty. It appears that the earlier MahilsaIighikas were not
concentrated at Sri parvata and (i n Gunt ur dis-
tticl). ]n the inscriptiom is mentioned that a magnificent Caitya
was erected here and its grandeur and sanctity att racted devotees
from places all over India and Ceylon. According to tile inscrip-
ti ons, the Caitya was erected some time about the 3rd or 4th
century AD.
(b) Soutnem or Later Group
The southern group of the Mahasailghikas migrated from
PataliputfU to the Andhra couDi ry t hrough Knlinga, where
Hiuen Tsang saw the monasteri es of the Mahayanist Sihavi ra .
Perhaps he refers by this nome ncl ature to a sect adheri ng to
the diSCiplinary rules of the Sthaviras but having Mahayanic
leanings - a characteri stic which may be attributed to the !laila
schOOls. Unlike the northern group of the Ma hf,sa nghikas, the
southern group was concentrated in the Guntur di strict around
Amar ;ivati. Jaggayapeta and NagarjunikolJ9a. The inscri ptions
68
BUDDIII5" sI'.c.n IN INOlA
(Jrd or 4th century A.O ) :If Amanivati and Nagarjunikol)Qa
furnish us with the names of t he following ;;eets
(i) Hamghi (Burgess, op. cit., p. 105)
Ayira-haghana (EI., XX, pp. 17, 20)
(ii) Caityika (Burgess, op. cit., pp. 100. 102)
(iii ) Aparamahdvanaseliya (El., XX. p. 41)
Mahavanaseliyana (Burgess, op. cit., p.
(IV) Puvasele (EI. , XX, p. 22)
(v) Rajagiri-nivasi ka (Burgess, op. cit., p. 53)
({bid., p. 104)
(vi) Sidhat hikli. (Ibid., p. \10)
(vii) Bahusuli ya (EI. , XX, p. 24)
(viii) Mahisasnka (Ibid.)
Except the last two, the rest :I re all sub br:mches of the
Mahasanghika school.
All these evidences arc obvious pointer> to the cleavage
between the two groups of the MahiisaIighikas, i.c .. (i) the
of the north being the earlIer ones with liberal
disciplinary views and Mahiiyanic leanings and (ii) the Maha-
sanghilcas of the south, i.e., of Andhra, claiming their origin
from the Sthuvi ras and Vatsiputriyas. Lin Li KOU3Ug is al so of
this view though Dr. Bareau does not fully approve of the
same.
Doctrines of the NOrlhern Group of the /If a/!iisanghtkas
Vasumitra has put together all the common views of the Maha-
sanghikas, Lukottaravadins and Knukku!il:as. Paramartha (557-
569 A.D.),1 il fullower of the Vij Mlnnvada. school was one or the
most learm'd transl ators of Vnsumitra's trcalise on sects viz.,
Samayabheooporacana-cakra. The literal meanings of the names
of the secls, as given by Paramartha are:
(i) MuMsarighikas_Those who did not distinguish Arhats
from nOIl-Arhats, i.e., from in t he dc-libe;a-
lions of an eeclesill5tical (lssembly, the of which, as a
matter ur course, were large in number.
1 L"orlglne sec/rJ' /Jouoidhi'lli d'aprrs by Pnul Demii" il1e
in AUltmgts dim;is bout/dlliq"", I, 19J 1. U _
THE :\IAHASAt>;"GHIKAS 09
(ii) EAav)'arahiirikaJ_ AIl dharmQs nrc conventional and,
hem:.:, unreal, and the Absolute is OrlC but rare tmd accidental.
(iii) Lokollaral",7da =- AII worldly (laukika) dharmus un,: unn:alj
the real dltarmos are supra-mul:llalle.
(iv) Kallkkll!ika = Doubt or suspkiou ilbouL c:vt:rytl.ing. TIle
nume is derived from KaukrtJ'a - uuubL lL /xlie.:u tltat out of
the three pi!akas. only one was reliable. lL the Abhidhamma
a. it contai rled the actual instructil.Jm of BuuJha. Logic is t he
onl} means for auaining the summum bOllllm. Observance; of d!5-
clpli nary' ruks is ]1ot obligalory as thc::.e J u nol fit in always
with the moral ideals of a Bodhisallva.
Jt has been stated above (vide p. 49) on the basis of the works
of Bhavya, Vinitadeva and VasuU1itra, that Ekavyavah&ri ka was
another nllme of the Mahlisanghi ka and that Kaurukullika held
almost the S1l me views as those 01 the Vatsiputri}as.
P2.ramartha states that the three sub-sects o f the Mahasanghi-
kas, n3med below, held certain special views. These are as
follows:
The Ekavyavaharikas held that all composi tes were unreal and
fictitious while the absolute was contingent (i.e., dependent on
sOmethlOg else).
The Lokottaravadins held ihat while all mundane d"armas
were unreal, the supra mundane dltarmas were real. This point
WJS not irl the ambit of Mahayana. Para mart ha explai ns it as
the .. iew that stands between 5finya!a (the transcendental reali ty) ,
Tathlt<i (thatness) and Amala-vijiiana (puri: Prof.
Dcmicville thinks tha t nei ther the text of nor that of
Paramartha is quite clear on thi s point.
The Kaurukullikas held the view that of the Tripitalca the
Abhidharma alone contained the real teaching of Buddha; the
other two pifllkas dealt only with the monastic rules. This school
di.d not consider that the attainment of the summum bon1lm
With freedom from all disci plinary was t he sole object
of a Buddhist mon),- This was in conformity with the practices
of a Bodhisattva. This s::hool also denied the importanct of
stud} and preading as well as of the practice of meditation.
The Bahurutiya school preferred a syncreti sm of Hina}aoa
and Mahayana. They affiliated themselves to the Satyasiddhi
70 BUDDIl IST SECTS IN INDIA
schoall of Hari var man. One branch of thLS school cSlabli s!led
dist inction between real and un real, absol ute and comentional,
paramiirlha and San1v!ti. It recogn ized KatyaYaI)ipUira of t he
Sarvasti,,;ida setaol as its pat ron.
The Bahusrutiyas were in favou r of syn::rctism of the views of
Hinayana and Mahayana like the Satyasiddhi school of Hari
varman. Jt seems necessary, therefore, to state here briefly the
views of the Satyasiddhi school. Harivarman was the founder of
the school about 900 years after Buddha's He was a
Sail khya teacher. He became a disciple of Acarya Kuma ra-
labdha of Kashmir, the propounder of the Sautni!lt ika school of
teachings of about lhe 4th/ 5t h century A.D. The Sarvastivadim
denied the real exi stence of soul (iitman) and admitted the reality
of the dharmas (objects) in their noumenal state. Harivarman
modified t his view of the Sarvlistivadins as well as (he ex t reme
Siinyata doctrine of Nagarjuna, t he founder of the Madhyami ka
school of thought, ano arrived at t be foll owing conci us:ons:
The Sar\'astiv:idins taught aniitman of a person, i.e., the doc-
trine of non-ego. They held that the fi ve skandhas jointly or
severall y had provisional exi stence, as t hey were the products of
causes and condit ions (helll-pratyaya) and on that account,
essentially unreal (iullya). He examined t he noumenal state of
from three standpoints :
(a) provi sional or nO'umenal existence;
(h) existence of dharmas in rea li ty; and
(c) a bsolute unreali ty of dharmas wit h t heir following
corollaries :
(a) t hat only phenomenal existence of all objects. includi ng
ego of an individual, is unreal;
( b) noumena l existence of obiects as t hey appear to our senses
is unreal ; and
(c) aU dharmas, i. e .. four elements (eart h, water, air, fire) ha\'e
noumenal existence as they are combined by ('olour, smell, taste
and tOllch.
Mind and mental properties (cWa, cai!tadharmas) have only
provisional or noumenal existence.
71
Ag:!in, since atom and mind can be analysed. t hey are unreal
(.fU1I}'tl). This is the transcendent al t ruth of Hariva rman.
COflceptiolf 0/ Buddha
In the oi t he Theroviidins is mentioned
that Buddha attained and t hat he did not seek Nib-
bii.w. He sought Smllyak SambllddhallOod in order to propound,
preach and promulgate hilho;:rlo unknown religious and philoso-
phical views. He became a St:t:r and the highest Truth
or the Keal it} - the Trut h .....as so deep and subtle that
he was at first hesitant to (ho;: same to the people at large.
as it would do more ha rm to them than good. lie stated
SabbabhibhO sabbavidQ'ham aslui,
sabbesu dhammesu anupali llo.
AhaT]l hi araha lake, ah<lfT\ anuttaro,
eko' mhi sammdsambuddho ' smi njbbuto.
[I am the ali-conqueror, I am omniscicnt, J am untouched by
all worldly objects. I am perf("ct in thu. world; I am a Teacher
incomparable; 1 am the only enlightt:nt:u, tranquilized and have
exti nguished everything].
Such may well be the basis uf tile Mahiisanghika
conception of Buddha.
Buddha, it is said, at the intervention of Br2. hmii, decided to
preach his doctrines in a modified form for uo;:ndit of t he
mediocre searchers after Truth to enable them 10 achieve their
desired end. This modified teaching consists of the four Aryan
truths (Ari}'usaCl'as), Eightfold path (AUhQ/}gfka-maggu), and the
Law orCausation (Pa!icrasamuppada), the of
fint di scourse. The M3hayanists took tile above I.h:dsion of
Buddha to est ablish tbei r thesis that only an omniSl'iclil Buddha
could realize the highest Truth and that his \o\'ho heani
the first discourse (DflammacakkapPQ\'Ollana-surlU).
kno",n as the Sravak3s, who could attain pcrfl"t:tioil (urllUlllUvd)
only by observing t he instructlons contained in tho: Jiseoursc ,
in other words, they could realize only absence of illdivldual
soul (aruJlta and not t ht: Il unexistem,..
I Moll""'''' .. , I, p 1 i I .
72 B UDDHIST 1:'10 INI)I,o\.
(dllorma-siillJ'atii) or sameness (tol/uill'a) of all phenomenal beings
and Objects.
The Theravadi ns and Sarvastivadi ns along \\jth their offshoots
conceived of Buddha as a human being, who attained perfec-
tion (BuddltaJrood) and became omniscienl al Bodhgaya. Until
tben he was subject to all human frailties common to a pious
and meri tori ous person. The MahuS..' uighikas did not subscribe to
thi s view ::'5 they contended that how could one who was the
beSt of all beings in merit and knowledge in his existence
just prior to his birth as Prince Siddhartha, become an ordi-
nary human being. Hence his apprarance in Ihe mortal world
was only fict itious in order to foll ow the ways of the world
(lokiinuar/ollo). He had achieved all the perfect ions in his
vious existences as a Bodhisattva.
The Mahiisanghikas, therefore, attributed to Gautam:J. Buddha
not only supra-mundane existence but al50 all perfections and
omniscience from his so-called birth in the womb of Queen Maya.
and not from his attainment of Bodhi at Bodh Gaya: It should
be noted that the Manasatighikns had in mind Buddh3.
G3.u tama of Saba lokadJratu. and not the countless Buddhas of
th: in numerable lokadhiitus as conceived by the Mahayii ni sts.
The Mahasmighikas and their offshoots mention specifically
that
(I) Buddha's body is ent irely (lokollara). The
eighteen dhiifliS are bereft of impure dharma.. The vocal, physi
cal and mental act ions (karman) are di ssociated from impurities
The body has nothing wordly (fallkika): it
is purity only (oniisrovo-miitra) and indestructible.
l2) Hi s material body (RiipaJajyQ or NirmiiQa-kiiya) is " un-
limit ed" as a result of his unlimited past merits. Paramfirtha
explains "unlimited" as " immeasurable" and " innumerable".
It can be eit her large or small , and it can also be of any numl>er.
In hi s created body (Nirmiil,laka)'o) he can appear an)'where in
the uni verse,
The KatMI'atthu (XVII. 1 & 2) throws further light on the above.
It states that , according to the Vetulyakas, t he doctrine that the
Buddha does nol live in the world of men neither should he be
located anywhere and it is his created form (abhinifllmito jino)
that delivered the religious discourses. The Thera ... iidins account
73
for this heresy by saying that it is due to the literal but wrong
intcrprclUtion of the passage: Bhagol'ii loke jiiW 10k, salJlbmidha
Joka/!! abltilJhuyya l'ihorali lmllpalifto Jakel/a Ii (Buddha, born and
enlightened in this world, overcame this world and remaine.d
untocchcd by the things of the world (-Sa,l' Nik., iii. 140)- ThiS
is supplemented by furt her discussions in the KI'II.,(XVHL J, 2 &
XXI. 6) rel(l.ting to the heresies, al so a ttributed to the
viz., .Va j'Olwbba/ll , "Buddha Dhagarti mamu.ulloke anniis1 Ii ( It
should not be said that Buddha lived in the world of men-
XVIII. I); Sabbii disa Buddha tilthalltl ti l (Buddhas e:d sl in
corners of the world _ XXI. 6) and Abhi.,imnllll'l:a desito Ii t
lhe
di scourses nre delivered by created forms - XVJlI. 2). T hese
show that accordins to Ihe opponent s of the Theravlldins the
Buddha i oomipresent and, as such, beyond the of
location in any particular directIon or sphere and t hat all the
preachings of Buddhism have been done by the apparitional
images of Buddha.
With hi s usual nai vely Buddhaghofa under$tood the VelUlyakai
as holding the opinion th.3I Buddha remained always in the
heaven, where he was before he came to this world. The
di scuisions in the Kurhfll'otthu lS llso the terse statement of Vasu-
mitra leave no room for doubt about the fact that the Maha-
sanghikas (especially their offshoots. - the Vetulyakas and the
Lokoltaraddins regarded Buddha as transcendental. Masuda=
sugSests that the sambllOgakii)'u of Buddha is referred to in t he
heresies but the t ime of emergro'Oce of the concepti on of sambhoga
ko)'a is much later, From the discussion in the Kafhiil'olthu (XXL S)
concerning "atthi Buddhiill(P/1 Buddhehi /lflliitirekal ii ti .. l .... hether
mutually differ ?), it seems tha t the Andhakas (another
offshoot of the Mahasluighikas) were '>till concerned with the
samhllogakiiya and had not yet arrived at the conception of the
Dharmuktiya. says that the Andhab. hold that
Buddha. differ from one a nother in some qual:ties other than
I This is the opinion or the nrly. accordinz 10 tI:e

Z /'.iasudas opinion, ho\\cver, can be supponcd by the fact that in the
Ma/ui vU)'lu (I, p. 169) Buddhas kii)'Q is equated wilh lIif),ar!dakii),u
illlo by pur) which is also the rendering of
nl) AJJN<lS, pp. 117,
74
HUUI.IHIST SECTS IN INUIA
attainment like satipaUhiina sammappodhiina, etc., t he or6odoll.
s.chool. holding that Buddhas may differ in respect of sarf/':J (body),
0)'11, (length of life) and prabJuil'Q (radia nce) but not in regard
10 the attainments mentioned above. The discussion in the K.-u.
(XXVII. 3) shows that the Cttariipathakas held the VLews that
Buddhas could have no karu'}ii (compassion) and t hat
body was mace of DndsrovQ dharmas (pure elements).
(3) Buddha' s length of life (a)'u) is unlimited on account of his
accumulated merits. He lives as long as the sentient beings
l iVE" _
(4) Buddha's divine power (tl!jas. prabhiil'O) is unlimited. He
C3 n appur in one moment in all the worlds of the universe,l
(5) Buddha is never tired of enlightening sentient and
awahning pure faith (IJii uddha-sraddha) in them. The Chinese
e.xplains t hat Buddha's compassion is
limItless and so In order to enl ighten beings interminably, he never
enlen into Nifl'iio,la.
(6) As his mind i;; always in meditati on, Buddha neither sleeps
nor dreams.
(7) Buddha call comprehend ever) thing in one moment (eka.
Iql1(jikacitta). Hi s mind is like a minor. He can answer any
question simultaneously without refl ection. fn the Kaihii l'altll1l
(v. 9) this doctrine is attribu ted to the Andhakas, who contend
that Buddha has knowledge of all prescnt matters (sahba.rmill1
iiiir;lom al,hI Ii).
(8) Buddha is always aware that he has no impurities (k.rayi.
jiiiina) and that he cannot be reborn (aNulpiidojifiina).
What ha'i been stated above finds corroborat ion in the Maflii.
vastu in ornate language thus: The Bodhisattva in hi s last
tXi;tence as Siddltartha Cautama is selfborn (llpapjj{hlka) and is
not born of parents: he sits cross. legged in the womb :l nd
preaches therefrom to the gods, who act a. hi s protectors ; while
in the womb he remains untouched by phl l'gm and such other
mailers of the womb, :'Ind he Ollt of the womb by Ihe
right side without piercing iLl He no (kiimfl) ;lnel
Rlihu!a was als.o self-born.
t Ma},iiWlstlJ, 'I, p. t68
2 Ibit!. p.
75
Buddha' s acquisit ions arc all supramunu:\!u;: (lukolta,-a)l and
cannot be compared to anyt hing worldly. His spiritual practiccs
arc suprlmundane and so are his merits, eVtH his bodi ly move
ments suell as IVai king. standil1g, silting and lying arc also
supramundanc. HIS eat ing, his putting UII lObeS and such olher
acts are :t1so sllpra mundanc. It is for following t he ways of the
world (loklillUI'OTtolla) t hat he ;hows his lryupathas. His feet
arc clean, stIli washcs them. Hi s mOUI!! like t he lotus,
still he cleanses hi s teeth. His body is 1101 touched b)' thc sun
or wind or rain. still he PUiS on garment and lives under a roof.
He cannot I.ave any di sea5c and still he takes medi cine to cure
himself.l
In the AhflidlwrmakoJa and il'; V)'iikh)'Q.
3
it is said thaI,
according to the Mahasatlghikas, Buddhas "'ppear at the same
time In morc than one world and that they are omniscient in the
sense that they know all dharma:.- at the sarr.e time. The former
si:! tement appea rs also in the Katflal'atlhu (XXI, 6). In the Kalhll
rattl/u and the Ko.fa, no special doctrines about the Bodhisatt va
conccptlon are attributcd to the Mahiislinghikas.
Buddha follows thc ways of t he world just as much a$ he
follows the transcendent al T.h.ere is nothing common bet-
ween Him an:! the being; of the world. If the 01
Buddha be admitted, then it follows Ihat the length of hi s lile
should be unlimited and that he need not be subject to sleep or
dream as he could hav.! no fatigue. As he is ever awake how
can he ha ... e dreams? Tn the AfaJ.iiparin;bbanastJtlu it is staled by
Buddha himself that if he wished he could live for a kalpa.
b
This
shows that e\lcn t he early BucdhislS believed that Buddha was
lokolfara.
The lokOllaru concept ion appean only ill the introductory
IlJid., I, I'. 159.
2 For thc t>eauuful inspirinl: a('('''1 nl , r,,::u'I I'IC Ma;ui '"1Isll:. I.I>P. 167.70.
3 Koia. iii. 200; ix. 254
4 Mal/(il"aSill, I, p. 168 :
Lo kAnu\larfanAl]l Bu:ldt:;l "nuI'artanli
yath:!. toko.;Ua,alll pi. Cf., J, p. 159.
5 Dill"", II , p. IOJ: y"S5:l kas,,,ci catt1ro <1\
Itappa."."..1 tillheyya brJl.'ivasCSlIU va
76 BUODIiIST SEcrs IN INDlA
portion of t he <Iud so it is evident that the was
origin:lily Hir.nyanic and thaI, in course of time, the introductory
cha pters were added by the Lukcuaravndins. In the main text,
the doct rines menti oned are Hinayanic. e.g., the four
truths. t he eightfold pfll h, Ihe law uf causation (pratftyasamutpada).
impermanence of conslituents uf a bei ng nonexistence
of ;oul ( ami/mall), theory of tho;: cITcct of past deeds tkarma). the
Ihirt y seven dhnrmas lee- ding tu Bodhi
bod/iyOligas) and so forth'. is no ment ion of tbe non-exist-
ence of phenomenal objects (dhurma1unYGfii), of the three bodies
of Buddha (trilciiya) and tilt,: two veils regarding the
impurit ies and the Trutll (klda <l lld jiie)'Q). 1 he only Mahay:i. nic
doc trines, viz., t he four stagl:s of the practices or Bodhiwttva
(coryas), the tcn gradual spiri tual Stages (dasablllimi), cO\Jnt less
Buddhas and their s pheres(k,etras) appear more as
la ter additions than as iml:gral plrB of the texc
2
Conception of Dorlhhal/l'U
The conception of Bodhisattva found in the lIfahii l'(Jstll has
be('n stated above. There arc somc ado.litional materials in the
works of Vasu:ni tra, Bha,yo. ar.d Vinitau(va. These are stated
below.
Al t he outset it s hould be nOled that the various sects of the
.I\-L.tl.i,hanghikas knew only of one Bodhisanva - t he previous
of Siddhiirtha Gautama, who had to pass through
uumerous existences In order 10 attain Buddhahood, a fact
ted by the Theravii dins also. Hence the views mentioned here
refer only to the Hodhisattva stages of Galltama Buddha.
(i) The Bodhisattva takes any form of lower existence (durgoti)
for enlighteni ng t he bei ngs of the ",orld.
s
(ii) The Bodhi suttva cntcn mother's womb as a white
I I\tllliiil"OSfu, II I, p. 3313]
2 I (,id., P 44-<19
3 Mahii>'Qlru, I , p. 345
elephant symbolical of hi" great physical strengt h combined wilh
soft ness, It is not an illtcrm(!d illte (antariibhUla) but may
be regarded as a created (If[m,;W) form.1 In the Kathiil'otrlm
(hence-forth abbrevillted KWI.) (XIV, 2) the view auribut cd to
the 5ailas is that the Bodhi!'atlvn ' s sit org:tns app;!ar simulta-
neously whi le he is in the womh. He dces not pass through the
embryonic stages (kalala. arhuda, pdi and gha na).
(ii i) The Bodhisattva in his mind no tr:lce of desire, hutred
and mdic! (kama, vyapiida and vihirps;"i. stllT'jiiiV
Are (/\('rog" beillg.f?
If, according to the Mahassnghi kas, Budchas:He lokottaro and
]f the Buddha (Siddhartha Gaut ama) is only acreated form (NiT-
of real Buddha, the Bodhi satt' as also ca nno: be
aver::.gc bt'ings - they must also be 1n Vasll-
mllfa's (BaTeau ap. cit., p. 26 1) the following accour;t of
Dodhisatll'as, attributed to the Muhasal1ghibs is given;
T he Bodhisattvas do not pass through the embryonic stages.
They assume the fOfOl of whili: elephants when they enter their
mot hers' wombs and come out of the same the right The
abovc opinion IS the natural outcome of the legendary helief
that came to be woven ar ound Gautama Buddha about a cen-
tury after his demise. In the th= Bodhisattva
placed not onl y within a crystal casket in the womb but while
I]] that state he is said to have been preachi ng his dharma to
the heavenly beings that fl ocked 10 him. The story of the whi te
elephant seen by Queen Maya in a dream at t he time of her
conception and the birth of the Bodhi sattva by bursting through
the ri ght side of his mot her's womb is a pure legend and needs
no CommeDt.
Tbe only doctrine that can be described as Mahayanic is that
Bodh]sattvas take birlh out of their own free-will in an)' form
1 Ibid., p. 335-37
2 Ibid. , II, p. 363; IJI, p. 6S
3 Ibid., I, 15354
4 Bareau, QP, clr., pp. 58f. , quoting the View. found in the works of
Vuumitrn :lnd Viniladc.a with c:ommen:s.
5 lnlitavlllllrQ (A. S. edition), p.73.
73 SECTS IN INDiA
of existence for impartir.g his c;harma to t he sentient bri ngs
according to the lauer's form uf existence. This idea is well
rlevc10ped in the Jiitakas, Sik,iisal1;uCCQ.1O and BOfihicllryiJl'atiira.
This topic has been l:iken up for di,cussi(m in the KI'I/. (XXIII-3)
thus :
"BOlIIti:;atlo iuariyakiill111kiirikaitcfII "inipiitQ111 gaccilarT ri.o,
In t his t he ViCW3 of the Mahiis:uighikas ae ignored ;
Bodhis:lttv3 is tret- ted us un cvernge human being, wi".o throueh
c;o:;crt ions nttnined Bod hi.
In t he Niyiilllokkantikat/rii (KUI. IV. !S; XII. 5,6; XIII. 4) also,
the views of the Mahasa ilghlkas are Ignored and only the
Theraviida view is presented thus: " here an: two ntr1mas
(guides) : (i) sammalfaniyiim{J (right plth or guide) and (ii)
micchaltaniyfima (wrong path or gUide). I he lirst rerers to the
practice of pure moral laws (bralimacorfya) and to that of the
eightfold pat h (a{!hmigikamagga) leading to sanctifjcdtion
(nibiJiifla); it also implies t he fullilment of the six or ten perfec-
tions (p(iramis or {)(irami/Js b) the Hodhisattvas The sond,
i,e. micc"atfaniyiima, means the commis;;ion of immoralities and
offences incl uding t:1C most heinous ones liilullliorlyal(omma)
leading to existences in hells. Practices Dot -included in either of
the above ' two are called undetermme,j or
(an/yaw). Tn the expressed above, any Srav3ka can be a
sammattolliyiima though he may not be a BOdhisattva. The
Thera ... adi ns do not recognize the Hodhlsattvas JS superior in
attai nment to t he Sriivakas. In the matter of bra!lIl1acorlya and
I=ractice of ariyamagga, they do not make any di stinction
between a Sr:hab and a lJodhlsaltva.
In the LaiJkiil'aliira and SiirriUmihifa and a few
other Mahayiinic works, however, it is repcrctedly stated that a
person b)' t he development of Bod:,iciua becomes a
(IIiyara) Boc:jhisatlva. who, by fulfilment of the Piiramiuis and
practice of the vadOlls forms of ascclic;sm, ultimately becomes
a Buddha. Sidd hartha Gau tama, 111 olle of his previous existen-
ces as JOlipala ma(1ava, did, as a mailer of facl, devclop Bodhicitia
:'.t the time of Kassapa Buddha, and then through several exiH-
enc(!s he fulfilled the plirGmiuis and had recou rse to all possible
. adhaniis (medita ti ona] and attained perteclion.
THE UAIIASANGHIKAS
79
The Andhaka, took the opposite view and IIsscrtcd 011
bU5is of the pasmge in the Majjhilfla Nikayo (II. p. 54) thut he
became II Srlll'Oka of Kassupa Buddha ; KasSftpo, ul:am
i\nundn, bhagavali brnhmaeariyam acarirp. sumbodhayii Ii etc.
(K\u. p. l8S).
Buddha's TCQ/:hillgl
After dcalinp; with the personali ty of Buj dha, t he Mahasan.
ghikas comend that the super-divi ne Buddha did not deliver anv
discour:.\!s to !lis disciples. The views are as foll ows-'
(i) Though Buddha is always ill samridhi, sentient beings think
that they have heard discourses from him in well-constructed
sentence;. The commentat or explains Ihat words fl ow from
Buddha's mouth spontaneously, and lhese have been eolle<:ted
as discourses.
In thc KI'II. (XVIII . view j<;, ll llrihulell I., t he
and i<;, ('xplni ned in t he"e wnrlls, " Rudllhena Bhagavatu na
desito" In ."upp(lrt of Ihi" contention they argue t h:lt Abhi .
dharma prellchecl to Mii.yii in Tii vatir(1sa he:l \'en and lhe
gist Wlt<;, eiven to Siiripillta 10 dcvelop it. They furl her contend
that whatever r\ nrtnda hertn1 wa." from t he created bodv
(nirmalJakAY;t or of Buddha. (2) Ry
or word (.fohda) Rurldha can expound all doctrine".
The two views mentinnoo are, however, contradicted by
the nex t two "iews :
(3) All of Buadha's preachings dea l on Iv with DJrarmacakra
(\"'heel of Law), his first discourse was at Sarnath but
the el<piains t hai his dharma referred only to the
eradicati on of desire, etc. ; wlwtever may be Slated by Him
expresses the truth only (yath6rt/:a).1 All sutr:1S of Buddha have
(definite or din'cl meaning) as opposed to I/e)'iirtha
(mdlfCct or impl ied meaning).
In the Kl'lI. ( II. 10) the discussion resting with the topic;
t cr. M. \'r., )1. 49 .. ; vyavalm;lrarn anUrilya param.'1nho nn dd"a!e.
PlIt",,,,,rllw salya Ihe highest tru:h while s(J I!'Yrli-I(lf)'a meanS so-
zalJcd Irmhs as used in every.day hy the in aeneral. For detailed
see my A!petIS, pp. 216 tf.
n UDDUI ST SECTS IN" IN"DIA
"DuddhaS5(\ Bbagavato vohi\ro 10klltt aro ti" reveals that the
Andhakas, 10 whom the a':love opi nion is held tha t
Duddha's actions (I'olliiro) are lokl/ffm'a (supramund'lfle). but
tbey are looked upon as Jokiyu (mundane) or lok!lftura (supra-
mundllne). Me. Shwe Z.\I\ Aung prefers to confine the ,.ensc of
tbe word \'Ohiiro to and we think th,t there IS good
reason for it.
I n V.lsumit ra's t reat ise, an opinion of this nature is atlributed
to the \1aha;;arghikas in contraSI to the San'astivildins,
the .;iitras (or preached by Buddl):! afC al: perfect In
t hemselve, (lifUIrlha). Since Buddhas slX'ak of notl?in
g
but
dhmma (doctrines), their teaching is concerned only IYjth
miirlhaJut),a (paral/1olt/'asucca), i.e., not with Sf.II!,,!tIJ'arr
a
(mnillwtisacca) . The paramiirrhasalya cannot be. nurmally
exprc)scd by words. It can be explained only by sl len:e or at
the most by an exdam.ation - which id:a, I think, is
in Vasumitra's treatise thus: " The Buddha ea ll exp?und all t ne
doctrines wit h a single utteranee and that thel'e is nothing which
is not in conformity with the trut h il1 what has beeD preached
by t he World-honoured ooe,"l 111 the
of the SUll<IhamwplII.l(imfka it has been shown that for \t<\\lHlll;;
up deluded beings in his doctrines, BudJ ba d.id l(Cours\:
vari om expedients which were comentional, I.t:., unreal
(It' .lamml/ti) , and that through teachi ngs ht: kd t he dduJo;u
beings t o the trut h-parallliirtha. So it follows t hat.all his teadl-.
iugs collected in the f'ifakos afC mcre!) UI' SUfI/IIIIIII
(conventional). and t hey a re therefore not his real t;: ..
Among the olher a ttri butes of lukullurll BuJJh<l,
Vasulllltra's t reathe speaks of hi $ powcrs (bulus)8 a) unlilnited
1 Asia Major, II, p. 19.
2 Arperts cIC., p. 193.
3 The ten balas lTC;-
I j"I/Uli _ .
2 Sabj,(Jllhag,lm;n;pu,ipuduI/I janiiri.
3 Anell:ad/JaluIf/ nill!tidilailim lokil/TI janiili.
<I SalliifUllTl r:{lIIiidhlmulrikr!,Ul1fl j iinal i.
S Parasmtiina1fl porapulga!dIlCIf/ (ndriyo-f<lropariyaltmp ),alnii-
l!huUJr'f! paliiniiti.
(; AIiIJlldlf",up<J,C" i'PU.""lIWII' flrlUJV
TII & WAH.iUANGIIiKAS
81
while Ihe A/alliiraSiu of hi s five eyes (cak,ru3)1 as uncommon
and excelling those of Pratyckaouddhas, Arlrats and
others. This p'}rt icular topic-tatlliigat abalal/l sjj vakasiidh{iralJolI
ij has been lake-n up for discussion in Ihe X VII. (II I. I). but
strangely enough the position taken by the compiler of the K IIU.
is not t hat of a Theravii.di n but that of {\ Lokottaravadin
Mahasm'lghi ka hUI aeilmsl the Andhakas, i.e., the SlI ila schools.
In Vasumi tra's t reat ise this topic a ppears in a sl ight ly different
fOrln.
The Ther3vaci ms do not regard Buddha liS lokollara but
attribu te t o him almost [1.11 thc powus and qualities of a luka-
/tara Buddha, anrl this discussion reveals one of sueh instam.:t:s,
The ten special halas (powers) of a Tat h:tgatu appear no, u!lly
in the Mahdla.rt1l (i , pp. 159-60) but a lso in old Pii ri works
the Majjltima Nikii}'(1 (i, pp_ 6;) IT_). The contenti on of the
Andhakas i., that is a certain degree of d iffcrencc lxl wt't:1I
the aml l he Arhau regarding the acquisit ion of the tt: n
bolar, and, ' lI ch, Buddhas and Arhat$ Ilrc not on the same
level (asadltiim(IaI1I). In the Mahii\'a3tu and the r flli works this
view i; ac:cepled wilh this reservation that Buddhas are .)uTI'dkil-
riljiiu, i.e" they PDsseSS a complete a nd dctailed knowlt:ugc of
evcrything, whi le a n Arhat can a t the most h!lve know-
ledge.' The P;ll i school, i.e., the Theravndins, holds that as fa r
as vimulli is conC! roed, there is no difference bctween a BullJha
and an Arhat, and tha t Buddhas are superior to t he Arhats v!lly
on account of the f:1 ct thM the former is n promulgator of a new
religion and philosophy and the laller is ollly a foll uwer ur 'he
same.
1. j!ulllul'imokkl1i1sumiiJhi.wmrlpallTnaql su';kii<!s(>IfI "OcJ,j"'''I' "vflhtJ-
110'11 yalhCbh,Jla'I1 pajdnar(.
untkufiltila'TI pubbenivasu'll onuswral l.
9. dlb!Je1/Il cakkhunii sallt' pQjsati cavamdnt upopajjo7llufe elc.
10. ';.lawi!'UII' 1..;',')'01 ani1sovolfl ct' loviml/!Iirrr ili"ht' va
SO>""" obhiiiii,; u;xlJi''''JlUJiu ,.;harall.
By eyes, Ihe ..,leans 311 the fivt, viz , m';/71s4("ok,u di.yoG. , pfujilric,
dharmac, and buddhuc. .
2. d. Cy ., P 62:ThAnAtMnAdini hi savak3 parle,ella jAnanli. TaIbA-
Galli "iI'PuJ"u"a itl. Tani uddesato sAdhllraQlIni; niddes1to asMh1ra(lAni ...
nili desalQ zabbiikflM. isoyul"", Jlikkhlpat l. cr. M IR., f. p. 158:
cr. AS{HCts, p. I Ofi fn. 1. See Sal'f1yullo, Ttt, p . 66.
8'2
CUIICt'pIiO<I of Arhat.f
In view (,I' sl:ch opinion the pcrsonnlityof Buddha, the
coulrl not agree to the high spirilUal stllt us attri -
buted by the Thf'ravarlins t o lile Arhats fo r they argued that the
Arh:,[s rca tisl!'d only h:.tlfthe Truth. viz . absenccof indi\'idual
soul (pudgnln-srmYrl lil) nd not the ab)cnce of both the indi\'id uat
soul ;lI1d (he worlrlly objects (dharma-sunyata) as held by the
Mahflyii ni su. Thi 'l i<; :llso described as omniscience.
The Arhat , according to the TheraVl'\l1ins, is fUllyemanl;ipatcd.
HI! is in possession of t he excellent gOll (sadau!w). i.:' free- from
2ttAchmcnt, hal n.'tl and del usion (l'rrarl1go I' fladoso I' fWllluli o).
free from all impurities (kIIT1IaSQL'o) , relieved of his of
(ohirabhiiro). He has done all that is to be don!: lKatQ-
kara(/fyo) and he will have no more existence ('Itlparam iu/rulfiij"a).
He has also acquired clear vision about origin and lknty of
beings and objects. He has got rid of all doubts abuut
the Trim/nfl, lion-existence of and the law of causation. He
has visualized the Truth without the help of others (no parul'i((j-
and has attJ.i ned perfect knowledge of Ihe four stap:s of
sanctific:lIion (cawmogga-l1ii(/U) but not omniscience or Salll)uk
Jambuddhal!'o (K l"u. c)' . p. 67).
This point w:)s first T:lised by an erurlire monk Mahlidcva at
the Subsidiary Second Buddhist Synod hdd at pataliputra. The
five propositions were acecpred by the inc!uding
the Andhakas, Bahuhutiyasand the H:limwlltas. The fhe propo-
5itioO& have already been disclIss{'d in Chapter II (Second
Buddhist Council).
In the Katltij"attllll-atrhaklllltii writes that a
section of tne Mahiisanghikas and their o/fshoots asserted on the
basis of the first iour propositions of Mahadeva that the Arhats
or the have sonte Imperfections. i"he Uttarapathakas
regarded some of the I\rhats as impostors.
There is another :lItribute derogatory to the Arha'''. The
MahilSlu'tghikas and some sects of the orthodox eroup, like
the Sarvastivadins and the Sammiti}"a.s, hold that Arhat .. are
subject to retrogression (P::.rih:iyati :lra. h:'l Ii : KVII. i . 2).
THE
.3
Tt.e or t ll\: who oppose the
above \iew, holJ!; tlJ<1l ArJ lilb bay!;" no d .. m.:e of retrogression
(8. 37;1 V. 35") and runller that Olle ba s donc all that
is to be dUIlt" (krt a-krtya. (B. 28; V. 26), i.e. , an
Arhat or A;dba. who lias passed through all the M.: ges of
spiritual plOg!t"SS, ca1lnut hav," .:I ll,. attachment for an olljeet
or a
Hence ,111 the adherents of t he Mlh:iS,Ulghika, school were
not 01" the same vIew about the status of an Arhat.
The Kmhii var;11II (II. 1) discusses the Question. " Allhi Arahato
ti The i.e .. the Mahasangi1ikas
state that the discharge of semen of an Arhat is a physical
natural discharge like urine, excreta. etc. Tt.e_ SthavilC.v:idins
cOlls:der that such a statement amounts 10 a e.:llumniation of
an Arhat.
S rota-iipulllrakas
Besides Arhathood, the Mah<lsanghikJs hel d views
abou t the stat us of the Srola-ipannakas. The preparatory stage
of Srola-apannaka is called the Auh.:lmaka. It is also
described as the Gotra-bhiirni, for which the Mahayanisls
also use the term The prep,lratory
stage leads to the comprehemion of the four Truths for
whIch it is deSignated as Samyakt\"a-niyama. This
t he cr05sing of the Hate 01 a common man
Jana =>0 puthujjana).
The Mahasarighikas hold tbat
(i) a srota-ii pannaka has no ({'trogression as he eets rid of
the ten fetters (saTJlyojanas) (B. '::0). He comprehends mind and
jts nature (B. 29). He can practise meditation. He reg.uds
suffering (dukkha) as a means for acquiring kn1lwledge
leading to NirV31J3 (8. 33, 34). He can stay in the
stage for 3 long time ( 8. 35). He cannot commit any of the
five deadly sins (anantaryas) (8 . 40).
I. B_ Bareau. ussectes etc.
2. Y - Yasumitra in Asia Major II
84
BUDDHI ST SECTS IN INDIA.
The eigilt 1>tages an!
(1 /2) Sotil palti-magg,l!!ha and phalu!)ha
(3/4) Sakad5gami'lll. 1l11d ph. (as above)
(5/6) Anugumi-m. alllJ pil a. do
(1/8) Arahatia-lll. aud pha. Il u
Alld Ihe tell fttters a rc
(a) viciki ba, kama-
nlga and pratigha.
[Belief in t he heresy of soul or indi viduality, Jack of fai th in
Triratna, graspi ng after ril es and ceremollles, strong desire
for rebi rth In t he mortal worl:J, and rcvcngefu!neis. J
(b) rupar5ga, ar li parfiga, mana, a uddhatya, and 3vidya.
[Strong desire for rebirt h in t he heavens, or in t he higber
heavens (arupa), pride, arrogance, and ignorance of Truth.J
The M<'.h<isailghikas accept that a srota-fip:lllna is lIi )'Gto
and bence, is not subject to
but a sakadagft mi or an anitgiimi may ret rogress but not fur:
ther than the sOlitpanna stage, for some of the adept s in t he
two stages may have dormant passion (alluJoya) , which may
develop into actual (pari)'I/IIIIGI/a)1 passion and th us bring a bout
the fall.
Rega rding the srota-apanna, Vasumitrll furt h;:r states:
l f Ihe sotapannas cannot commit t he deadly sins (inanfUr-
yw), cnn t hey commit t he sin of kill ing beings (pU(liirip(ilu) ill
these words : Diulli.fOmparlllo puggalo .w/ici cea jil'ilii
Iwupqyii Ii ? A SOlap.;nnJ. is a. person with right view(I{i!fliiJaffl'
PUlI/IU), 11ence, according to the Theravadins, he cannot COIll-
mit the sill of killing (pu(IQtip!i(Q) or such other offences, not
to spea k of the five extreme liJ.:e matricide or pa rricide.
and Paryavasthanas of Srota-apatti maggat[h3
(dormant and pervading passion of a person i n Ih::: eight h stzgej
are now being dealt with.
I AIlI/la)"a Ihal which lies in l he mbd In a 1:IICnl wilh Ihe
possibihty of ils coming into appearance, if it an clrccli-'e impul se,
while padyu!{hii/la means JIS actual In mind wahoul how.
ever a \:vrl\::;ponJiug in I:,c "()Ltd. Fu, f",I Ler J Clails, see
infra.
35
In the XI'II. (Ill. 5): Aftltamakassa
l
pliggalassa di!flllpariYI1!!'II'l.
110,,1 pahfnall (i ?
[Has a person in the eigh th stage put an end to pervading
wrong views.]
According to the Alltlhnka.t. an adept. who is in the eighth
stage i.e., sota?aui-m:lggaUha and not )'et sOlapanna, gets rid of
the appearance of wrong views., belief in ri tes and ceremonies
and lack of fai th in Tr irat na (dinhipariyunhana. si labbala p.
(lod viciki.ceha-p .) hili not of the dormant passions (a nusayas),
which may become M'live (uppaj jissuli) if they recei ve an im-
pulse. The Andha bs hy drawing thi s dist inct ion between
and holci that an Allhamaka may not
get ri d of tile th ree (1liI/So1)'(/S ann consequently remain away
from the souipann:t stage for a long lime.!
The Katltih'arrhu also discusses the following twu allied
<!llributed to the Pubb<lscliyas c: nd the UtI:tr:ipathaka. :
(I) Di/J/l iY.Jmpanno puggalo sw1cicc:u jfl"il ii I"Qropq},ii
Ii ? (Xl1.7 - Pubbaseliyas).
lean a person, possessing the r ight view, commit the sin
<If killing?J
(ii) Difi";sampQIIIIUSSa puggalassa pallIna duggatl /;? (XI I.
8 - Uttanipathabs).
[15 a person, the right view, free from birth in a
lower form of existence? ]
By the first " iew the Pubbaseliya5 mean that a person hy
having .fQlllllliidi!!hi does not get rid of hatred ("OSO), hence
he ca n commit the si n of killing-a view asserted by t he Ult ara-
thllt a person wit h right view (sammiidillhi) ca nnot
be reborn in lower form of existence; t he Theravadins point
out that it may be so, but he may have desi re (IG/Jltii) for
objects and bci nss belongi ng to the lower forms of existence.
There are, in Vasumitra, two stntementj relat ing 10 onu.flJ)la
I. The al/half/ak.as arc Ihlb!; who have just 5tcPJXd inlo Sotiipanu_
hood, which i! the eighth (If the 10W<'lit stage in the of sanct iication.
I"or the of Ihe term and ils dlslinction rrom pariyuUhiina 5Ct
aoo\e.
2. .' \ !lhama b-PJggalas have >addha bul not saddhindriya-Andh.1ka.
86 BUDDHIS1' SECT> IN INn ! \
and parycI'osrl/5nQ which will clear up the above pr'l l:lem
further
til Anuiayas (dormant passions or latent bias) are neither
mind (c/lta) nor mental (caitasika) dhamas. and again .hey
never become the object of thought (aniilamballa) . (R. 45;
V. 2.)
Oi) Allusaya is different from parYaL'{Jst!uino (pervacl ing
passion) and "ice versa. It must be sai d that amdayo not
comblOC (samproyujatf) wi th cit/a whereas paryal'ostJriina does.
Relating 10 the above topics, Ihe KVII. has,
(i) AIlIIS!J)'ii aniirammo(lii ri ? (IX. 4) and citt(ll'ippoyurrii 1
(Dorman: plssions are without any basis and arc di ssociated
from mind.)
Oi) Ali I/soya lJvytikatii Ii (XU)
(Are dormant passions neutral, i.e., neither good nor bad?)
(iii) Ali/io kJlllurlJgilnusayo (J'iI1a,iI kc!mariigapar;)'lIf lhfillcn Ii ?
(XIV. 5)
(Is the dormant passion of attachment di ffe rent from the
pervading passion of attachment 1)
(iv) PariYUf!hiinam cirral'ippa),uttan til (XIv. 6)
(Is pervading passion dissociated from mind ?)
Masuda offers the following int erpretati on ftom the ' Shucni:
Thealudo),as afe really hljlls (germs inborn in the mimi) of
raga and other pa3sions. They remain dormant unless leAd ted
by the corresponding impll1!1e. They remam always in til e mind
even in kusalacitta, so they are dissociated from the mind a nd
do flot require any object (iilambllnG) for support. Wlilell the
anu.saya is excited by a impulse, it paryava-
sthana (pariYUl\hana) and as such becomes a mental function
(caitasika), and then only it beNmes an impurity and dugs the
way to spiritual ,TOwth . The interpretati on. given (lbove is
corroborated by the Kru. A.l The Theravtidins, howt.: ver, do
not distingui sh between and kamar,igap:triyuH_
bioa and maintain that as the anusayas ore included in the
I. A..,]"I . 117 : Tanha yesam n1ma ci uli vippayutta ahetuk:A
avyakatl len eva aniirammal)il Ii ladrlhi pi c' "Vil
cklcclnan ca Utt arapathaklinam (Kvu. X. I)
T HE MAJIAMNOHIKAS
'h
e alo:khandha they art.: all But accunlillg
sarp ar , ." ( kl . - 5) ''"
I Andhakas s()me mentul I,hSpOSlllOIlS salll 131<1
tIe '(w,.th ba<is) and MJIllt: arc ami.ralllJ11al.la (without
sarllmmal)iI - . .
b
()
1 but not ,;0 iIfl: tilt! Iemallll llg four khandhas.
as s ,
F
(
" above dIscussion it is apparent that t he nnusayas.
rom I.e . . h :)od
according to the Andhak.as, are avyakata,l I.e., nelt er g .. ,
bad and consequently they arc dissociated from mtnd
and also causeless (ahetuka). The tn
th" third dtscussion assert that anusayas arc dIfferent from
but in the fourth , the the
contend that are al so cmavlppayuttas,
howevef appear to be contradictory. Vasumltra says that tho
pariyutthanas according to these schools arc ci ttasamprayuttas,
so we dismiss the statement of the KVII: as
"The world in its variety originates out ot aClions (karma).
which a::cumulate on a(.'Count of anusayas. In the abs'!
alll/Sayas karma is not capable of producing a new
( plI/wrbJI:na). Consequently the root of Mel'a or rebirth IS
karma. in other words, allusaya. With these words Vasubandhu
opens the fifth book of KoSa." (See Kosa, V. p. I). ,
The Samlstivadins like the Theravadins regard parya-
l'aSlhiillo and kfdtl as same, the only di sti nct ion bemg
alll/SCr a is subtl e, while is manifest, st:tte of raga,
dosa, moha. elc. . .
Kosa too deals wi th the prnblem under diSCUSSi on. VIZ .
whether or not allu,Sor u (e.g. lciimariigillluSaya) is a dharma
by itself dissociated fro'm minn, the flNipri of etc.?
The answer of the in the negr,tlve hh t hat 01
the Theravltdins. The former qutlte ao;: their a uthClTit y the
prasl!uinu-sutra, in which anu,fa),o 10 he .1ssnci ated ":Ith
mind (citlosampral'llklo). They assert that OIlIlfnyot are Idesas.
and hence they cannot b!lt be citL') .
In Ihis connection the Kosa refers to the opinion or the S:lutr:in-
.i).: :I". who hold th:u a/lUsaYll is different fro" k/(!ia H1(\s much ai
1. KII,,. I' "07 : S.L!l\khlrnkklurodho ck(tdclO d ramm;l Qo,
all l ramm.'1Qo.
, The Andhaka;, it ll) ):1 Ih! a"j'j;l Y.\i a;
an.! tre:l1ed ttlc c r. DhamlnQ;!lI,i,U'J
1

cklldeso
88
DUDDHII;T SECTS I S !!<IDI A
it is nei ther associated with, nor dissociated from, mimi heC';mse
it is not a drol:ra apart; it is a saki; left in certain individual.;
by the previously existing kfe/as and has the power of rerroduc.
ing further kldas. According to the Sautnintikas. klesQ, when
non-manires:, is rmusaya and when manifest. an act, it is
pal)'Owlslhiina (KoSo, V. p. 7),1
TIle A/!hamakas have Saddhindriya
(dominant faculty of jailh)
Vasumi tra does not menli on thi s view among the doctrines
of the Mahasaitghikas. hilt it is stated in the KI':I. that accord-
i ng to Ihe Andhal:as, QUllflnI(JknssQ pusga/asra nat/hi saddhin-
mil'oll Ii (Il l. 6), pt'fson in the eighth stage not possess
dominant faculty of fai th '1]. i. e. the at!ham3'kas may develop
saddltii , l'iriYQ, etc. hut dn not acquire saddhindrjyo, "iri)'il1driyo
etc., a distinction which the Theravadini are not preparec! to
admi t. The Andha kas mea n that saddhindri ya or vi riyindriya,
etc. is a faculf)' forming a part of the mind while saddha or
viriya etc. is only a passi ng phase of the mind.
Abhisamaya or Realization Of the FOllr Truths
l ike the Theravadins the Mehlisanghikas hold t hat the
real ization of the four trut hs (ori)'O!occas) ta kes place sinml-
taneously in a moment (c/'::ok,fOl'Jika B. 23; V.ll) and not gr2.-
d'Jaily, as held by the $arvlis!ivlidins. They argue that the
moment one realizes the nature of suffering (dl/Mha), one
comprehends also its origin and decay (.fomudoyo, lIirodha) as
also the path leading to suffering (margo) . The four truths are
sub-divided into fifteen thus:
(i ) dul;1kha (sutfering), (ii) anitya (impermanence), (ii i)
(absence of phenomennl objects), (iv) amitmaka (non-
existence of soul), (v) somudaya origi n). (vi) pra-
bhava (origin), ("ii) hetu (cause), (viii) pralyaya (conditioc),
(ilt) nirodha (cessntion), (x) Ml nt ll (quietude), (xi) pral)ita
(excellent), (xii) (liberD.tion), (xi ii) miirga (pnth to
I . For exhaustive treatmmt of Anubyal, S'" La1 Vall k Pouss; n' s
AbhidharmakoSIJ, V.
2. Asia Mejor, II, p. 22 fn. {Masuda's Origin and Doctrines of Early
Indi an Buddhist Schools. See also AbhidharmakoJo. Chap. \' 1. 1 he :Slrvfi
stiYA<! ins have I!. different of the &i.\leen UP!5. See "'/ro. .
89
liberation), (xiv) nyaya (logical reason). (xv) pratipaui (proceed-
ing). (xvi) nairyaJ)ika (fi nal emancipation).
Realization 0/ Duhkha leads to Abhisamaya
In Ihe Kafhf<,'atlhu (xi. 4) "Jdal}l dukkhan ti"
bh:isato
(I) "Idarp duHhan ti " nal;lllQl pavattali ti and III Vnsu-
mitra.'s treatise the exclamat ion of "Aho vata dul;lk ham
iti" is recognized by the Andhakas as a means to the
real ization of Ihe Four Truths. The exclamation of the
\\.ords "this is suffering" leads to the realization that
existence in this world is misery.
(2) Dukkhiharo massailgal}l maggapariyantan Ii (XI'II. ii,
6). (Suffering is Ii food or a means leading to perfection
in t he eightfold path).
(3) Samapann3ssa althi vacibhedo ti (Km. ii. 5) (Can a
meditator utt er an elteJamation 1).
(4) Sam5.panno saddarp SUI;I3.ti Ii (Does a meditator hear
sound 1).
All these four views are mentioned in Vasumitra', treatise
(8. 31 -34- V. 29-32).
The Theravadins agree to (1)/(2) but oppoie (3);(4).
'1 he fou r truths are based on the keyword "dukkha" , t he
watchword of the Teacher. -lhe three truths refer to its
ongin, decay and their causes. Huddha laid the utmost emphasis
on the realization that worldly existence, being evanescent and
substanceless, is misery, as it unde rgoes change every moment
and ends in death. hence one should seek exit from t he cycle of
births and attain NirvAl)a, t he eternal renlity. Without the
reOl lizat ion of the baSIC fact that existence m the mortal world,
even in heaven, is undeSirable, one cannot but tnke resort to
renunciat ion of the worldl y Itt"e in order to practise moral
precepts, meditational exerCIses and various other means leading
to t he attainment of perfect knowledge (prajfhl). Hence the
above two views 3rc acceptable to the Theravadins also.
The other two views raise t he question whether a meditator,
practising anyone of the four jhAnas (dhyanas), particularly the
fi rst, which is not free from discursive thoughts (l'itakka) and
determi nation (ricara), can utter an elc1amation like "Aho
90 B UDDHl n $ECrs ,:<; INOlA.
dukkham iti"l or hear sound, say, of a lightning.' The
kas contend that medit:ltors in the first dhyana do not the
stage whim all the orgam of become wholl y inactive a nrl
cannot pertdve anything. The Theravadi ns do not in lend t o
make such a dist inct ion.
Abhisamaya by magga-bhiivQnii
(Realization of the Four Truths through spiritual
progress in the l our stages of sanctification)
In the Buddhist texts Magga (-marga) bellrs IwO diffe rent
meanings. These are:
(I) Ma.l!p;a - eip;htfold path of the Dhammacakkfppavat--
lana-sulta.
(2) Magga _ Four st ages of >anctificatifln le:lrli ng to
Nibbina. vi z., Sotapatti , SflbHiflgflmi, Ana-
gami and Arahalta.
In tile present discussion of the Mahds[lIighikn view, the
JifTen:nt kinds of magga s havc b:cn used indiscriminatdy.
these were meant for monks highly advanced spirit'Jully.
The Mahasaflghikas and a few other sects state that matter-
(rura) is an associate of the magga (Le. SoHipaui , etc.) (B. 55).
In the Kvu. ( X.2) "Maggasamailgissa rUpl'll maggo' is ex-
plained thus:
Ri ght speech. right action and right means of liveli hood are
3.ccordi ng to the above-mentioned sects, matter (rupa). Hence
riipa is al so a for progress in a magga (i.e. Sotapatt i etc.).
The contend that observance of five or
ten precept!; (sila) i!; also an aid to the spiri tual progress.
l. cr. K . lX, 9: Opinion of th;: Sabbaso vitakkaynto
vic:irayato vitaklrovippMro Ii? The Cy. on II YlI.",A
vaeisamkh1rt' Ii VUltli tasm1 sabt>3.SO vilatkayalo vical1lyato anlarmso
mar,odhll1uPPlvauikale pi vilakkavippharo saddo leva Ii. Cf. Ma.ijhillla,
J, p. 301.
2. cf. ".11., XVIII, 8: Sam! panno sadd21Jl slU).l ti Ii. As it has been laid
by Buddha thai sound is a hindrance 10 the tlrst jhana and thai rises
from Ihe Jllan:! by an sound, inferred there
from Ihal one ;n meditmion hellr nll",rl
91
In lhe K VII. (X.6) it is statd Ihat "maggas:lmangi dvihi silchi
snr'lannagato' , i.e., :l monk spiritually advanced is {HSOClated
with moral observances, which may be disti ng'.lis:,cd as worldly
(Io:'dya) and supra-mundane or spiri t ual (lokollara).
Both the views are opposed by the Theravadil1s, who do not
reeognize that Ihe first three items of the eighlfold path are
loki\a and net lokottara.
Tile Mahasanghikas fLlrthc r contend Ihat lin adept, in spi te
of his five senseperceptions, can progress along the spiritual
path (B. 24, 25). In t he Kl"u. this has been discussed:
Ii) Quid maggabhiil'allii fi (X. 3).
(In spile of the five S(nse-p.=rceptions, can a person progress
along the spiritual path ?).
iii) kl/soIa ti pf fi (X. 4), and
(iii ) Pmicaviiili(il)ii siibhogii (X. 5) (The fh e sense perceptions
may be )l;ood or bad and are associated with mental enjoyment
(sabhoga).
The Mahii.:;anghikas on t he basis of the statement of Dha
gavan, " /d," Q, bhikkllOl'e, bhikklm cakkillu;o flipO,,' dina nimi!ta
ggiihl hali 110 Ilimittaggiiht IIeli ti setella saddOlf' ele.,
contend that a person using t he fi ve sense-organs may undertake
spiritual pf3ctices (ma.'!Kab/Jri vanal by graspi ng or not grasping
the characleri,tics of the object seen or heard and directing his
mind towards nibblillo. The Theravadins a:gue that, if through
paFicol'iillifi!,o one at tains sotapatti ane other maggas, then t he
pajjcol'iti fimlo and maRpa should be of the same category, but
the former is pre'sotapanna (Joki)"o) and the latter post
sot;ipanna (lokutlora). the former has an object as basis (scl'a-
tll:uka) and the latter is without any b.1sis (ol'atthuko). In this
way, the Thera'l,idi ns <uguc that on accou nt of the function of
the five one does not attain nibMllo.
The Mahlisaflghikas argue further that the five or six p.::reep.
tions (viiliiilQ. as) may be productive of either attachment (smiga)
or aetachment (viraga) (B.24; V. 22). Mind (citta) by its nature
remains pure and refulgent It becomes
impure by the advent of itrpurilics (kilesas) (B. 44 ; v. 41).
In fhe KI'Il (If L 3), it is argued as against the Andhakas tha t
if an individual has a ciua free from impurities (vitar[lga), he
needs not exert furi hcr for attai ning emancip:uion.
92
BUDOIIIST SECTS IN ISOlA
Thefe are two ollu::r views (8. 78, 79), which speak of root-
consciousness (miila-vijii illla) as th<:: basis of the five or six
sense-organic vijilanas (i.e. t.:akJ, etc.). Thi s mul avijMoa
correspondiog to sublillliual consciousness (bhavaflga-d ua)
before it becomes actual L:UDscio1Jsness like desire, hat red, etc.,
is called pravl ui-yij ii aua. it is to be d:stingui shed from desires
(vii sunii) which pc'I"VilUC tbe mind. These two views nnlicipare
YOEiicflra doctrines. I
The Mahasanghikas also contend thai a spiritually advanced
adept <I !1a. ining the power of controlling thoughts (balapatto
vasibMto) can also conlrollhe thoughts of others (B. 74). In
the Kmhiivulthu (XVI. 1), in its "Paro parassa cinarn niggahati
Ii" , it is pointed out that the in terpretat ion is wrong. The
adept acquires t he power of self-control and does not or cannot
control others' thoughti. III support of this, the followi ng state-
ment of Buddha. is relied upon:
Allnnfi va katam p,lpalfl attami. samkilis!illt i,
:Il1flni't ai.:at:up pa pam attana va visuiihati ,
Suddhi usuddhi paccattaJ)l u iiiillO <liiilalji ti.
commiued by cneself sufTeriug to one's own self.
Evils not committed by ouc5df make ouc's own self pure.
Purity and impuri ty are owu ; none else tan puriiy
another.)
The Mahfi sanghikas fu rther hold that the fi ve or six sense-
perceptions (viji\:inas) exist together both i n t he material and
non-material spheres (Rupa and Arupa dhat us) (8 . 25; \' .23).
Right J'iew &- Faculty of faith
In Vasumitr.:l ' S treutise it is 5t lltcd that Ihc Mahasanghikas
hold the views that
(i) Then: is nei ther laukika-samyagdrHi (right view) no r
(faCulty of faith) in a comnon man.
The correspondlOg passages of the Kl'u. are,
(i) Naf(hi purlmjjanas.I Q 1;(1(1011 Ii? (XX, 2);2 and
J:" . cr. L V. Poussin, Vlj iillparimiilf(;{ii-; iddhi, pp. 17S-79, 184n., 186.
2. Allri buled to lhe o nl y.
THE
9J
(ii) NO/1M lol.:iyw!lsaddhilldriyali t i? (XIX, 8). 1
J he of the Theravadins is thal a laymall ul ay have
kno\-\J edgc (panna) and fai th (saddJul ) of a kind whic:l Ina) be
from t hose of an arya, but puli ,iii and :.addl J5, which
the common man pos;esses, are ill to pu,itiilldrZl'a and
saddhmdri)'Q by an arya. II may be l ilat Lilt: common mlln'
pai illa or niilJQlfJ is confined to girts, prtt:epb. sacrifice (,Iu/la,
sUa, caga), etc., Le., worldly affairs, and dues not e"tend to the
comprehension of the higher (Iokult:lw) subj ects like
paths (maggas) and fruits (phalas), hClIce, dl:l. ording to the
Themviidins, there may be !oklya palllfllldriyu aud .wddiu"Jriya.
Re. llldriyas (Organs of sense) :
Cakkhuniiriiptlqlpassarr Ii (KI':!' XVIII. 9). (Sentient surfaces
of the cyeg see).2
In the Ku!hfll'althu (XVIiI. 9), the Maluls:uighikas arc saij
to ha ll e held the view t hat the organs of sense perceivc directly
and not by their perceptive faclJJty (vij,iana) . This is the
view of the Vaibha,ikds (vide Kosa, tfans!., i. p. 81-82). The
Saila schools and the Thcravadins hold the opposite view
(see infra).
Re. APfalisQl11khya-nif odha (Emancipati on without knowledge) :
(Koso, transl, ii. p. 280) .
The Buddhists admi t t hai there are two kincl e; of "ir()dha: one
attained by means of know1edee (pffll i mmkhYli) and the ot her
by complete removal or aU impllriliee; which calise rebirth. and
not by knowledge (aprotisfllpkhylf) . The Mah1isaftgbikas hold
that the latter is palciid abhii)'a (subsequent ah!;cnce) 0: dllarlllQS.
One is not reborD by virtue of t he spontaneolls destruct ion of
dhormas.'
Re. Klda-blja (Gcrm of impurit ies) :
The Mahasailghikas state that .Idesa-bljil is a dharma distinct
ftom kleiil (Koso, V, p.7).
1. Tn the Cy. it is attributed to the HetuvAliins and and
they mean all the five indri yas: saedhA, viriya. SlI. ti,snmlichi and
2. That the eyes see and notlhe is olso the opinion of the
1.
3. Kuja (tlalls1.) , vi, p. 185 fo.
94 flI'DDHr'T SECTS Il'I 1,,0111.
Rt. A.Hi-riida :
The M::Ihas:lI' ghikas Ol zintain as agai nsl the Sar,,;istivftdins
th:l.t Ihe exists but not Ihe past and the fut ure .
Rf'. Viifiarti tSi gns of inlimacon) :
The Ma has .. 'lIighikas hold that rijliapli is :l Isa an act (Koso.
iv, p. 3).
Olher Doctrines
Some of the doctrines am ibuted to the Mahasanghikas in the
Kalhiirorrhu only arc as foHows :
(i) Restraint (iOIFI'IUO) or unrestraint (asollll'Grc) of the
organs of sense should be treated as action (kammaV The
Thcravadins regard il as non-nction; their contention is that an
action should be defined as actual functioning of the five OfjlanS
of sense by mind ('('tami). KI'II XII. 1.
(ii) All actions (f'1bhmfl kall1malll) are ;Jcromp<ljned by
results (uII'Iluika). The Thenlviidins contend that as ('efann i" the
source of all act ions,2 and as [here are avyiikata (neither eoad
nor bld) and (ll'ip,ika (unaccompained by any result) cittllS, 3
there must also be avy;\kata and avipaka k amrnas. Hence all
actions are not accompanied by results. Xnl. x rI. 2.
(iii) Sound and other iiyalanas (spheres of t he organs or
;ense) are also results of actions (kammasso karoflo IIppmlf/o'!, ) .
I n st.Ort, all non materials (anipadhommfJ) are products of
actions (kammasafJIllf!Nim;) .-Kl"u., XII. 3 & 4.
(iv) Acquisition of moral purit y is not mental (.II/am
aa/asika" tij . rIadl "0 citlollllpori l"altl til. KIU. X. 7, 8.
The Mahasanghi kas imply by the above oplOion that pUrity
10 speech (samrna vaea), in actions (samma kammanta) and III
means of livelihood (samma ajlva) is a corporeal property and
as such, non-mental and requires no arammalJa I he
M. mean that the observance of silas transforms the bOdily
l. :f. KoJii, (iranI.). iv, p.52.
2. CelOnAhaJIl kammaQ"l vadAmi-Allhos., p. 135.
J. S",o; Dlmmmo!otl{oJ.li, pp. 87 if.
4. ;f. Koi<J, (Ir:lnsl. ), i. p. 69-70.
5. ,u .. I. p. 422.
95
const ituents of a bei ng in such a wey that it can no longer
commit any \\rong. i. e" cannot tc elussr/a.
(v) The collection of silas (mor:.! l i. not
as<;ncinted with mind (ciflal"ippa),uuam sflopacayom). K\"II. X. 9.
cxplain5 this as due to mi sappTchcn5ion of the
of the passage in the Salilyuua " ikiiya (I . p 33): . ..frama-
r()plJ IUllrJfO/H.i ye jonii, fej alll sadci pwillOlll f/Cl I'o(N/:at; (the merits
uf Ihose who plant parks ;101.1 wo;,ds illcreasc ut all times).
(vi) .\1ogga5amailgissa rfipaf/I maggo li.1 KI"U. X, 2.
(In the person practising the path, the body is
included) .
(vii) Uagga.mlllwigi ([Iflli sTIehl stlmQllniigaro KI'II. X. 6.
(A practising the path is endowed with
dOll ble morality (i.e. worldly and uJlworldly).
(vii i) Vhhiatrj sf/all ri. KI'It. X. 10 (Acls of intim:l. t iof) are
virtues).
(ix) AI,i,I"alri dU.)5Ilafl ri. Kvu. X. II. (Acts not in t imating
a moral purpose are immoral).'
Since !"lila, according 10 the M. , muSt be a positive action, and
not mere res!ramt (safJ1vara), so any niinatlj (intimation) by
means of body or speech is sila. Sllutation, rising to welcome,
folding hands, etc. are Silas. The .\1., in of their opinion
that there may be accumulation of demerits without the asso-
ciation of mind (ci/lQlippaYUf(OIll apl/iillopccayoIP), contend
"that acts not iniimaling a moral purpose are immoral."
(x) cirtavipPo)lIttatfl. KI'u. XI,3. ( Insight is disso-
ciated from mind).
(xi) ligate iiii11OIipPoyulte ciue I"(lttamtille 1/0 l'af IO-
bbil1l 'iiii{I/ ' ti. KI'u. XI. 2. (One should not be called 'il:il)i'
I. Trans!. "That the frame of onc who is practisinil the eightfold
path and has attained one of Ihe four mai/(/s (i. c. Soti1pani, elc.) is includ-
ed 10 that pa[h." P(}il1/J of C(}mro,ersy, p. 244.
2. Tm"'.t. 'ThH one who is engaged in the path Is praCIlsing a double
morality." iMd., p. H8, Vis",., p. 6 : S!lcnll sOldpallna-sakad4gAmi-
k"raonm pakasital]l hoti . hi .1Ic.'11 Ii VIIUO,
latM sa kad"gami.
3. Dh(Jmmosa/igo1Ji, p. 60.
BUDDHI ST SECTS IN
(posscs>ed of insight) t hough his <l,i,jl;fJU (spi ri tual ignorance) is
gone but his t houghts arc not conj oiJlt:u wiLh insight).
In tbis controversy iiii!1a means (illsight of the
adepts, who a rc in one of the foul' maggas). Tilt: M. l:untend
thai a t the moment wh:n an adept has cakkhuviiliiiil)a, etc. he
cnnnothavc maggaiiul)a. In other W(IIUS, they mean tu say thatil
is only when an adept develops maggaih'llJ3 amI al rests hi s sens::
perceptions (vini\';il)a) that he may be dc!>CrilJo;:u as 'M1)I"
hence iiitl)ll is n OI associaled wi lh ntilld (dna _ vii"riHi.I.la).
(xii) A..io:II!olomiilolll pa!i5amfaftlJl( f...ll.wlwl/lilrm ri.l KI':/.
XIV. 1 (A basis of impure thoughts is Lu a basis
thut is pure, and conversely).1
The VI. contend tha! as the same Object may be the cause of
both ruga (attachment) and I' lraga (dela::hment) and as one
muy follow the other immediately, it may be stated t hat kusala
is the onamarapaccaya (cont iguous cause) of :!. kusala and rire
versa. The Th. point out Ihat cult i,'alion of must be
made deliberately (yoniso manasikarato) whi le that of akusala mula
does not require any such (ayoniso manasikiirato),
anll that nekk.hallllllasaiiifa l renunciat ing thought) does
not always follow kiimasaiiflii (worldl y t hought) and rice r er sa.
and so kusalamOh cannot be regarded generally as the conti-
guous cause of akusalamula and I'ice )'ersa.
(xii i) Paccayatii I'QI'allhilii Ii. KI'II. XV. I. (One pheno-
menon can be related to another in one way only).
The M. now enter into t he pro!:llem of paccayas. There a re
twenty-four kinds of pacc3yas, viz., hctu, aramm:U)3., adhipali,
sahajata, anantara. They raise the question whether one
ooject can be placed under two or more kinds of paccayas, or
whether one can be rela ted to another by one relation only.
The Th. hold that one may be two kinds of
e.g., l'iriya may be bot h adhipari and sailajiila; I'imorpsii may he
both hem and cdhipati. The M . do nol Sub3crlbe 10 this view.
s
I . "Thai a basis of bad thOIlShl is cor.se(."1,1t ive to a ba!is of iM"
ar,d convel""!ely. Pi)illis O!ColI/fOversy, p. 282.
2. cf. Tikapal/hisr.a, pp. 168 fr.
J. See AulJus., p. 9; DukaJNllfhmw p. J ; Pail/II 0.( CO/llrovi'rJY.
pp. J;l(l...92; B.,ddhi4/ pp. If.
THP. MA.llASANOHIKAS 97
(xiv) Avijjo pacco)'o pi .{Cll1lkharii, na ra/raMalll " sam
kl/lira pacca),ii pi a\;Uo fj" '.1 KI"II. X V. 2.
This view of the M. is only :l corollary t o the previous onc.
The M. hold that avijji\ is t he hew (cause) of saqlkhii ra .:Ind as
sllch there cannot he :l ny other rtl:uion between the two. The
Th., however, arglle thrll :l'/ ijjii. and s:l'llkh:1ra are related to
elch other hnth as hew (cause) and sahaj:ita (co-existent) or
annam<li'ii'ia (reciprocal) cause . hence it may be stated t hat
.<:llfTI khara are iahajfl lap:1Ccaya of avijja, and rice yerm.: In the
Vihhango ( pr. 1511 fT.) the sampayutta (associated) and ai'ina-
(reciprocal ) rel:llions bet ween any 11110 consecutive links
of the chain of causation have been exhaustively dealt wi th,
showing clea rly the att itude of the Therav:idins to the problem.
(xv) Lokuttoranoql dhamlllOllQ1rl jarumurUl..lUtrJ IQkllffaral1l.
KI'II., XV. 6 (Decay o.nd death of supramulldane beings or
objects are also supra mundalle).
(xvi) Paro parassa ctUQITI K VII., XVI. I.
The Mahasarighikas hold that the spiri rually advanced monks
devel op the power of controlling ot hers' though ts.'
(xvii) lddhibalena samanl/figaro kappam tiflhey),a.
KVII., XI. 5,
On the basis of Buddha's statement , those who have
iddhipiida (higher powers) may live for an :leon if they so wish.
The Maha.s<lrighikas Sla te that hy means of higher altaiu1l1cnts.
one can extend his life up to a
I. "Thill uggregatc:s are condi tioned by z,noram:e, it should nOl
be said lhlll iSllorance is by .aggregates." Puill($ af COl/tr(} \"'Ny,
p.294.
2. cr. Maphi/tla Nikdya, I. 54-SS : avijji hav",
dayt!; a\ljjA; al'" Digha Niko),a, II, p. SS-S1: nAmarilpm.
"allluOpapllCClya viMAQan ti.
3. \r. above, r . 9'l.
'I. cr. ,\(uhiijJ>l";",bWiluJut/a, p. 117.
CHAPTER VI
DOCTRINES OF GROUP II SCHOOLS
::;".11. \ SCHOOLS, PRA]NAPTiV,\DIKS, B."'HUg){UTiYAS
AND \'ETULYAKAS
In discussing the doclrines of the Saila and other ,chools,
Vasumitra has mixed them up with the Mahasanghika" pmhably
with that section of the Mahasarighikas that is dislinguisheri in
t he Kathill'atthu-aUhakathil as ekacre .Uahiismighikil. It is on the
basis of the Kal!Jfrmuhu that we have distinguished the doctrines
of the la ter Mahasanghikas. whose views may be taken as identi-
cal with those of the Saila and other schools, ::lnd put them
together in the following pages.
L Is Bllddha hllman ?
In Vasllmitra' s Ruddhas are de,cribcd as /vkotro.ra
(supramunda ne), anli HS sllch they are made of al10.rral'a dlwrmas
1
(pure objects), and nre withollt ,leep nr dream, which is a con-
comitllnt of siisrm'a dharmas. Rllddhfl., have llnlimited riipakiiyos
(material bodies), powers (bolos), length of life (iiyu), etc.
In the Kathiil'ollhu (xvii. 1,2) the above doctrines are attribut-
ed to the Vetul ya};:as, according to whom Euddha does not live
in the mortal world. Nor should he be located anywhere; it is
his created form = rilpa-kaya i ,e" abhinimmifo jir.o)
that delivered the religious discourses. The Theravadins account
for heresy by saying that il is due to the literal but incorrect
comprehension of the passage; Bltagawi loke Jaro loke sambu-
ddho Ivkam abhibhuyya I'jharot; anupalilto lokena ti (Buddha,
1. Masuda readers it ai "nosasravl dharmas." The rendering shoJld
be dharmas;' i.e" Buddhas are embodiment 01 pure dharmas
viz., samldhislc., prajflaslc., viml.lklisk., and vi,"uklijii:inadada-
nask., not or rilpa. vcdanl'l, ilQi'iild., s'{lI'1khirl'l and vini'\(II;1a, which are slsr:ova
. See my A,,,relO (If Mnlr(iyiina B"dditi.fm and iT" Refalian 10 fIir.Il)'(;/la
(henceforth indicated as Aspects), D, 108.
1
r
DOCTR:r;ES OF GROUP II SCHOOLS 99
burn amJ enlightened in this world, overcomes thi5 world and
untouched by the things of the world, Salll, Nik. iii, 140),
Tilis is supplemented by further discussions in the Kathorartfm
(wiii. 1,2; ;>;xi . 6) rdat ing to the heresies, which are also attri-
lJUted to the Vetulyakas, "iz., "110. rattabhallr Buddha Bllagavii
rnunussa{ake !flliisf Ii" (it should not be said that Duddha lived
in the mortal world--Kvu., xviii. 1); sahba disii Ouddhii riflhantl
Ji"1 (Buddhas (:Xist in all earners of the world-Kvu., xxi. 6) and
auhinitflfllitlCl,a desiro ti (the discourses are delivered by created
forms-KI'u" xviii, 2). These show that, according to the 0PPO-
Ilents of the Theravadins, Buddha is omnipresent and beyond
the possibility of location in any particular corner or sphere, and
that all the discourses were delivered by the apparitional body
(Jf Buddha.
with his usual naivety understood the Vetulya
kas as holding the opinion that Buddha always remained in t he
Tusita heaven, where he dwelt before he came to this world". The
discussions in the Kathiil'althu as as the terse statements of
Vasumitra leave no 100m for doubt abolll the fact that t he
(especiall)' their offshoots, the Vetulyakas and
the Lokottaravadins)rep:arded Buddha as transcendental. Masuda
suggests that the refulgent body of Buddha
is referred to in the heresies but the time of emergence of the
conception of mmbhogakaya is a matter of controversy,2 From
the discussion in the Kathavatthu (xxi. 5) "atthi Buddhanarn
Buddhehi hinatirekatii Ii" (whether Buddhas mutually differ?),
it seems that the Andhakas were concerned with the Sambhoga
kaya and had not then arrived at the conception of the Dharma
kaya. Buddhaghosa states that the Andhlkas hold that
Buddhas differ from one another in certain qualities other than
the attainments like (alert mindfulness( sammappa-
dhana (right exertion) etc .. the orthodox holding that Buddhas
1. This is the opinion of the Mahiisail2hikas only, accordinll to the
Kalhiivallhu.
2. Masuda's opinion can be supported by tne fact that in the Mahiivauu
{I. p. 169) Bud.dhas kayo is equated to nifyanda-kiiya (resultant body) ren-
dered into by paJ .1""1, ",hid, b abo lil" r""de,iJJ8 of SamMoxu-
kriya; see my Aspe!!" etc., p. 117, 120.
100 BUDDHIST SEC'S IN I .... DIA
may differ in respect of body, length of life and radiance (k:i.}3.
ayu, pabbava) but not in regard to t he attainments
above. The discussion in t he Katha,vatthu (x'/ ii i. 3) shows that
the UU3rap:!.Iha k2S hold t he view t hat Buddhas can have no
compassion (karuoa) and that Buddh,i"s body is made of pure
objects (anasravadharmas). In the Mahiivastu (i. pp. 167-681the
conception 01 supramundane (lokonara) Buddha appears
thus:
Transcendental are the practices of Bhagav2n, and so are his
meri ts (kubla-mUlas). his eati ng, drinking and other dai lY acti-
vities. He follows the '"a:ii of the world just as much as he
follows the transcendental ways,' He makes a show of standing,
walking, si uing and lying (i ri yapat has). but he never gets ti red.
He washes bis feet or body. though there is no dirt: he cl eanses
bi s mouth. though it smells like a lotus. He eats t hough he has
no hunger. and so fort h. These arc all due to his being an em
bodimentofthe effects of good acti ons.2 There is nothi ng in
common between Him and the aeings of the world. Everything
of the great n i is transcendental. including his advent into the
world. '
Ir the transcendence of Buddha be admitted. then it rollows as
a matter of course t hat hi; length of life would be unl imited and
that he would not be subject to sleep or dream. as he would have
no fatigue. and one who is without sleep and ever awake has
nothi ng to do with drea m. It is won h noti ng here that even in
the Pali sill/aS such as the Mahiiparinibbiinasutta. there are hints
to the effect that Buddha. if he wishes. can extend lifelimit
up to a kalpa or the end of a kalpa.
4
tbus revealing t ha t
the transcendental conception took rooti in the minds of the
Buddhists at a very earl y dale.
In t he Karlriil'allilu.
6
the discussion of the topic Budd,'/Ussa
Bhcgarfl/o rohiiro lokl/traro ti reveals that the Andhaka . to
I. cf. Kvu .. XVJ!I. 4; Bhagavato ucciirapisstvo ni'liie
gandhajll.le adhiaa!)Mli ti _opinion of some Andhaka and Ut!arap<l thakns.
2. 1. p. 10>1. cf. Lank/i. pp. 2l!, 34.
3. "''''M., r, p. 159.
4. Dfgho, 11, 1'. 103; ),ana
kaopam vA tit thcyya vii.
Kvu., II , 10.
DOCTRIN"ES OF GROUP n SCHOOLS
101
whom Ihe aboYt: opinion is ascribed. hold t hat Buddha's actions
(l'oharo) ar.: lukuuara and that t hey a rc trented as lo.lciyo (mun-
dane) anu lukoltara (supramundanc) according as t he of
the action is lukiyu or lokottara. Mr. Shwe Zen Aung pre!ers to
Ihl: sensc or' the word '\'ol,aro" to "speech', and we think
that it means "conventional tcaching".1 in Vosumi tra's treatise
an ooillion of this nature is attributed to the Mah3s:uighikas in
to the Sarvasti,,ii.dins, VIZ .. the siltras (or discourses)
prc:tdtl:d l}y Buddha are all perfect in t he.msehes
Buddha, spcl!k of nothing but dharma (doctrInes); as such their
teal:iJilig is concerned only with paramdrtha sarya (paramaltho-
SatTa). i.e., not wit h sal/1vflisarya {sammutlsacca).3 The pilra-
l111irlhwwlya (annot be normally elt presscd by words, It cll.n be
I.!ltDtaiuctl only by sile nce or at the most by In exclam:ltIon-
w';idl idea. I think, is expressed in Vasumitrn's trc:ltise thus :
Buddha can c}l.pollnd all the doctrirle3 with a single utterance
aud there is nothi ng which is not in conformity with the truth
iu what has been preached by thc World-honoured One."1 In
tlte: of the Saddharmapuf./lartka it . has
been showrl Ihat for training up deluded beings in his
Buddha had recourse to various clip<:dients whieh were false.
i.e., unreal (.fall ll'''; or sammllli). and t ltat t hrough such te3ch-
ings he led t he beings to t hc Iruth - paramarrl:a. So it
follows that all his teachings collected in the Pilakas ur merely
salln'rti or samlllllti (conventional) nnd t hat t hey ore not therefore
his real tC[lchings.
5
According to the Mahas;lnghikas, Vasumitra j Buddhas
have both k,a}'ajiiiilla and ollUtpiidajiiiina' always present in
J. Vynrahtira.
2. cr. !.{. Vr., p. '191.
3. Paramiirlha.<t1IJa means the truth while salflvrt(-saIYQ rr.eans
the conventional lruths as used in cI'er)day usage by the people in gcneral.
For detailed treatment see A.peas, pp. 21 6 If.
4. Asia Ma,ior, II . p. 1>1.
5. Su: A'pt,, p.
6. (a) K,oyajil iina of the fact that 1111 !he t'i.mV"I are
destroyed;
(b) AnUlpiiiJajliiino means cognizance of tile fact (hat onc will not be
reborn again. cf. KoJIl, VI, 67; A(fhasiililli, p. 54. cr.
p. lOti rn, I.
102
BUDDHIST 5I.:CTS I N I NDI A
their minds, the Sarv:istivadins holding that all Arhats may have
k:ayajniina, but a few only have QlllItptiJajiiiinoj the Theravadins.
however, do not make any such distinction.
Amollg the other attributes of thi s lokotlara Buddha, \'asu-
mitra's treatise speah of his powers (bolas)' 3i unlimited while
tl:e .Hahiivastll spea ks of his five eyes (cakiUS)2 as uncommon
(asiidhiiroIJa) and eKcelling those of Pratyekabuddhas, Arllnfs
and others. This particular topic _ t ct!uigalaba/(lftJ siJPflknsii-
Ii - has been taken up for discussionin the Kadliil'alJlw
(iii. I), but strangely enough the position taken by the compiler
of the KathfH'otthu is not that of a Theraviidin but that of a
Lokottuuvlldin Mahiisulighika as against the Andhakas. Le.,
tbe Saila schools. In Vasumitra's this topic appears in
a slightly different form.
The Thenl.V!ldins do not regaru BudJha as Jukollara but attri-
bUlt to him almost all the powers alld qualitie3 of a /okottara
Buddha, and this discussion reveal s om: of sudl instances. The-
len spc::ial balas (powers) of a Tathl1gala not only in tile
MahiJrasru (i. pp. 150-60) but also in olu P<i.li worb like the
Ma)jhima NlktJ)la (i. pp. 60 fT.). The contenliun of the Andha-
kas is that there ii a certain degree of different:e b.:twee-n Bud-
dha!; and regarding the acquisition of the leu balas, and
thai Buddhas and Arahats are not therefore on the same level
I. The len are;
(.\{ahiil'lIstll, pp. 1':;9-60; Kalhavallhu and Majj/lima Nfktlftl).
I . Thtlnulhii'larp jill/iiI' ....
2. Sabballhlll{llmillipulll'udml' ja.,ari.
3. Anl!kcdharuq. nlina;Jll/jtll'" (Qk""1l Janati.
4 . SntlillUlf11 milliidhimuttika{amj4I!iili.
5. PcraS!lttiifl{l'ft parapuggdiilltlm i'ldriYfl-"paropariya/tcm ya!hii-
bllii/am pajivuJ/i.
6. Atltiinligil/apuC(uppanlliina", Ite/uso vipiikom }dna/i.
7. JMllal'(tr.akkhlliwr;Cidhiw,,,,'itmI/1lla,,, vQr;ha-
/ta/1f ya/hiibbu/lI/1f paj';nii,i.
8. plih/wniviiSltf11 anUJsarali.
9. Dibbtna salle faSS'!l/1 IIpcpajjan;iine elC
10. Asaviinatf! anaI(H'iltf! cllovlmlllli", paF.ifiil'imulliql va
d.'wlnme sa:!C1Ifl abJtiflilii upascmpajja vihura/i.
2. By eyes, the text means all the fi ve, VIZ., mtif!lStlCaklf,l, prajifac .
dharmac. , and bt.ddllac.
DOUTkINES Of' ORour If SCHOOLS 103
(asiidhiir/ll.UJJp). In the Mahiiv(lJ(u and the PaIi works, this view
is accepted with this reservation thai Buddhas are sarviiktirajiia,
i.e" tile), possess a complete and detailed knowledge of ever)'-
thing. while an Arhat can at the most have sectional knowledge.
1
The Pali school, i.e.. the Theravadins hold tllat as far as rimuui
is concerned there is no difference between a Buddha and an
Arhat, and that Buddhas are superior to the Arhats only on
account of the fact that the former are promulgators of a new
Dharma while the Arhats are only followers of the same.
1
II, Are Bodhlsattl'as l1J!eragr bdllgJ'?
If, according to tile MahasanghiL.:as, are /"kotlara.
ond if t he Buddhas that we pllfJlZljjllnas knnw of are only
the created forms of tile real Buddha, the also
cannot be average human beings - they mmt also be
supramundane. ]n Vasumitra's treatise is given the following
occount of the Bodhisattvas. The Bodh.isatt vas, do not pass
through the embryonic stages. They assume the form of white
elephants when they enter their mothers' and come
out of the same by the right side. The llbove opinion is
the natural outcome of the lengendary belief thflt clime to be
wovcn around the person of tbe great Teacher about a
century after his actual existence. In the Lafi rnvistnrtl ,' the
Bodhisatt ... a is placed not only in a crystal casket put within the
womb but while in that state he is &aid til ha'ie been preaching
dharma to the heavenly beings that Rocke:! around him. The
stor} of the white elephant by Miya in a dream at the
time of her conception nnd the birth of tile Bodhi,fluva hy
bursting through the right side of ' the mother's womb is tno
well known to ne.:d any comment. The incorporation of these
legends in tile doctrines of the Mahisailghikas and of t heir
offshoots $how5 tllat the Bodhisattva eonception of the Maha-
yanists was yet in the process of development.
I. cr. XVII. C7 . p. 62: Th1nalMnli4ini hi dVHA padf'$ma jA1arui.
nippadf',t'nn ilL n.ni u:ldesato niddC'l3to as!dhl-
r:Joilni nlddc$;.llo sabb.:ikirrav.'su)'alal/l $Indhaya palikkhipati. cr. M/Il ., 1,
p. 158; cr. Aspecls, p. 106 fn. L
2 This argument is adduced In the Kvu. also Sam. Nlk., III, p. 66
3 UlIl/Ov{ltara, Ch. VI, 1' . 73 (of A.S.D. edilion).
104
3UDDHI ST SECTS IN INO ' "
The only doctrine that can be descri bed as Ma J.Ayanic IS
that take birt h out of Ihex own free wi ll In any
form of eXistence for imparting their teachings to t he sentient
beings of IhIt p:uticular form of existence.' II is well illustrated
in t he /Illakas and developed in later Mahiiyan:l works like the
Slk: c'isomucca)'Q and the Bodl1lcaryiil'atiira. '1 his t opi c has
been laken up for discussion in the Kilrl:iimtthu (xxiii. 3) :
Bo(Uzisatto issariyakiimakarikii';efu l'illipiltaJtlgacchalf ti - bUI the
arguments put forward completely ignore the standpoint of Ihe
Mahflsanghikas and attempt to show the untenabi lity of the
opponent's proposit ion by treating the Hod hisattva as nothing
but a n average huma n ade pt, toihng along t he path towards the
attainment of bodhi.
In the nipilllOHolltikathii
2
(K l'u., vi. 8; xii, 5, 6: xiii . 4) the same
attitude is revealed by the Therav5dins. By nil iima, the
... adins understand sammottaniyiima and micc/jalfani viima the
former being the practice of brahmacariya, (purit y of conduct)
and (path of sanctification) indudi ng, for the
Bodhisattvas, the fulfilment of piiramis, leading to emancipa-
tion (Le. sam),akn'a Or sammat/a, and the latter the commIssion
of heinous crimeS (Jl1anlarlyokamnw), leading to hell (i. e. mith-
),iilra or micchal1a).' In the sense as expressed above any
Sravaka can be a sammat/ani),iima, and he not be a Bodhj-
sattva. The Theravadins do not recognize the Bodbisau ms as
superior in auainments to the and in the matter of
brolmlat"oriya and practice or they do nol want
to make any distinction between a Sra\"aka and a Bodhisattva.
In the Lankiira/tira and Asanp:a's Sulrii/ankiira and similnr
othe r Mahayana w(lrks, however. it is repeatedly stated that a
person by the development of bodhicilto btcomes a niyalo
Bodhisattva. i.e .. through the rulfilment of paramis and practice
of the various forms of asceticism, he ultimatel y becomes
a Buddha. Siddhartha Gautama, in one of his previous births
as }(ltip<ila-mlll;luva, did, as 2 matter of fact, develop hodlJi-
cjrta at the lime of Kassapa Buddha and loen through several
1. Masuda. 1'. 21.
2. Stepping inLo the path destined to reach Nibbana
J. KIU., pp. 78, 14): Ime dve {/rape/I' Q Q//;;o niyiimo nUlI1a /la/1M.
DOCTRI:<ES OF GROUP II SCHOOLS
105
existences, he fulfilled the paramis and had recourse to all possi-
ble sfiC/hmws, whether Bmlllh.slic or non-Buddhistic and ulti-
mately attalDed perfectioll. He even beCllmc disciple of Ajiira
Kalama and Rudraka Ri"unaputra, whose doctrines are (reated
as heresies in the Bra.IJm!Jjala J.lld other 51,tlay. In Mahayana
texts emphasis is laid lIlure on bodhici((a than on brahm(l-
cari}a and ari}'amagga. In llie Kat/;(i1'atlnu discussion, the
Mahay3.mc sense of m)'Ola is igllorcd and the Theravnda sense of
sCl1l1l1altalliyama is kept in view. In the Katliaral/fllI Viii. -1),
it is argued that to speak (If a lIiyOla iruraka or borihisaftl'a as
having become a sammarta is iIIogicaLl The differi!nce of
opinion rcsts really on the interpret ati on given to the word
lIlyata in Mahayana texts as aguim.L that given by the compiler
and commentator of the KOI/J(Jvallhll. In spile of thc above
interpretation of niyiima and attitude ur the Theravadins, thc
M"haydnists contended that Gautama Buddha in his bodhisattva
existence did not become a disciple of Buddha. In
support of their contenti on they cited the IUS lilt' iiC[l -
"yo aulli, :;adlso me no vijjali etc. The strangely
enough, took the opposite view and asserted thaI he did be-
come a Sravaka or Kassapa Buddha, and dted thl: from
the l\1ajjhima ,vikiiya (ii, p. 54): Kassapo, aha/II A,'amla,
\'ati brahmacariJ'alfl acari/j1 wmbodhiiylJ II
According to the '1 heravadins, the Bodhi sa nvas us a
of as enVIsaged in the Sii/riifonklJra :lI1d LOlikfil'uriiru,
do not exist. The individual, who happens to become Buddha,
is called a Eodhisattva in pre\ious existences : ust to disti n-
gui sh him as a being supenor to an average one; by calli ng him
a Bodhisalt\'a the Theravadins do not attribute 10 him any
special virtues unatta inable by a sravaka. The Mahlsanghikas
or the Andhakas do not subsCTlbe to the above view. According
to them, an mdlvidual, from the moment he develops toc/:/{-
cillO, becomes a Bodhisatllo and IS destined (myora) to become
a Buddha and follow a career whICh is qUi te different from that
of a sriiraka. The career of t he former is morked more by love
and compassion for the sutfering beings thun by path-culture
I. Na lIiyula!SlIlliyiimokkumcllu'I' /osmiJ asudwakilll If. 1\,.,.. p. ]43.
2 K,'u, p. 2&1.
106
BUDDH IST SI!.CTS IN INDI A
while that of the !a tlet has mure uf path-cult ure and s(idholliI
than uercise of mend and karu(fii.
II I Are Arnats fully pmanciPQt ed ?
According to Vasumi tra, Bhavya and Vinitadeva. the seces-
sion of the Mahlisaitghikas from the Theravadins happened on
accoUnt of the five points of Mahadeva. Four of points
relate to the qualities attainable by an Arhat. According to
the Theravlidins only. one who is fully emancipated is called an
Arhat,- he is anupafto sadattho vItariigo viradoso I'itamoho
khr!IQJQI'O ohifabhiiro katakara1Jfyo niiparam itrhatriiyti Ii (in
possession of the excell ent goal, free from attachment, hatred
and del usion, in short, all impurities, relieved of the burden of
khandhas, accomplished aU that is to be done and freed from
further existence). He has also acquired clear vision of [he
origin and dest ruction of beings, got rid of all doubts (kalikhii)
about the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha, non-existence of soul
and the law of causation. and realizej the truth without the
help of others (na par opitiirafJ.ii}1 and attained bodh; which,
however, is cat umof(ga-iiiina
2
and not sabbafiiiIJtaiiiilla _ the
bodh; of the Buddhas.' . The Theravidins do nO{ the
failings
4
which are att ributed to the Arhats by the Bahu sr utiyas.
the Saila schools and the Haimavat as. The fail ings are thus
enumeraled in Vasumit ra's treatise :
(I) Arhats can be tempted by others;
(2) They still have ignorance;
(3) They still have doubt;
(4) They gain knowledge with other's (hel p). &
IV. Can there be rnrogresSion of Arhl1rs, Srori1pclIlIl1S
and other PhaillSlhru?
The following views regarding the possibility of retrogression
of Arhnts, Srotapannas and other phalasthas arc attribll1ed in
I . See$upra.p.23.
Z. The c.uumaggas : wlApo.!ti, anig.m; and "rahllll'l.
3. See Kvu. , A. , p . 76.
4. For lhe discussion "Parihiyali arahi arahatt.1ti" sec supra, p. 27.
5. Masuda, pp. 24, 36, 38, 53; cr. JRAS., 1910, pp. 41323. For
silion and discus;ion of the fOllT failings. see above. Ch. II, pp. 24 rt'.
OF GROUP II S(;HUUJ..S 107
Vasumitra's treat ise
1
to a section of the Mahasailghikas and
some of their sub-sects:
(i) From t he gOl f3bhfimidharma Ihere is in all stages Ihe
of
(ii) A Srottlp:lOna has a chance of ntrogression while
an Arha t has not.
Till: abo\'e two ,'iews are discussed in the Kalhlil'auhll under
the IUpic; Pariltayati araM arahattii Ii ? (1. 2).
It will be observed that the Kl'u. does not attribute to the
Ihe above views about the retrogression or
and Srotapannns. According to Ine
Ihe Kl'lI. says an Arhot has while II. Srolapanna
has nul, while Vasumitra t.1kes a contrary view, above (ii).
Vasumilra 5ays thaI the former opinion is held by Ihe Sarviisti-
va.dins and other schoob. points nut that t his
opinion is held by one seetion of the and not
by ali, and 50 Vasumilra may have referred to the views "or
that sectiun, according to whom, the Arhats may hut
nOI Ihe:: SrotapannD.s."!
All the ::.cll ool5 advocating the view that arhats
hold, as ::.lalt:u ill the Kltl ., thut the Soti'lpannas have no retro-
gression. Thi:s, however, contradicts the statement of Vasllmitra.
3
All Ihese S4:hools accept that n soHlpanno is m)Qto .wmhodhi .
a1ld hence is not subject to ret rogression, but a lillka-
dagl1ml ur un a tlagami may retrogress but not further th:m the
iot;)pa nna stage::. for some of the Ddepts in the.t" stages may
hay!! unumyu, which may develop into pariYUf/hiilltrl and there-
by bring about their rall - an argument which will be
m:;\l ill connection with the AnhDmak3s. In regard 10 these two
stag!!s the Kl'u Vasumi tra's (no. ii) .
Regarding Ihe srotapannas, Vasumitra
S
further states thai ,
(i) they are capable of knowi ng their own n:'lInre
(sl'abhlil'a) through their citta and Cai faS;ka dharmaf ;
I. Muud-;, p. 12.
2. K1'U. A., p. 35: SammiliyA Sabballhiv.1dino ca
MabllsanghiU arahato parihanim icchati.
3. 5i:e Masuda, p. 27. .
4. :sec p. 114 In. 1
5. Sec above, p;>. S5 f.
leo BUDDHIST IN INDIA
(ii) they can also altain perfection in the dhJ'iiIlQs;
(iii) they are liable to commit all sorts of offences except
the five iinantarlkas (i.e. matricide, parricide CIC.)
In the Xl'll. we do DOl come any controversy rdati ng
to the first two top:cs. This silence may be interpreted as accept-
ance of the 1 .... 0 views by the Theraviidi ns. As regards the
thi rd topic, we may take into consideration the controversy:
Dilthisampanno plIJgolo sllncfcca ;Hit;aJll .it vilii I'OroprJ')'ii Ii?
(see p. 18). A sotapanna is a person with right ,-jew (dillitisam ..
pallno), hence. according to the Theravadi ns, he cannot commit
killing or similar other offences, not to speak of
the five extreme offences like matricide or parricide. VaSllmitra
perhaps speaks of the opinion of that section of the
sanghikas, i.e., the Andhakas. which contemplates the retro
gression of the SOlil pannas, while the KI'u. very likely speaks of
the other section, according: to which the Sotapannas do not
retrogress.
There are in Vasumitra's treatise two other statements. which
also rel ate to the Srompannas. They are:
(i) When one enters into the samyaktl'l1lIyiima.one may
be said to destroy al1 saf1l.l'ojanus.
1
(ii) None of the dharnuiyal anas! can be known or under
stood : they can be at tained (onl y by those Arya
plldgalas above the d:lrianamirg o j.
The KI'u. contribUtes no di scussi on on the above two points.
The Therav<idi ns also cannot but subscribe to these views.
V. Are ' here "ll/o,.{dl, salllyagdo li alld sOl1lyak-iroddhendriya?
Along with the above we rna} discuss the allied topic word-
ed t hus in Vasumitra's treatise :
(i) There is neither laukikasamyagdn!i (worldly right
view) nor laukikasraddhendriya (worldly faculty of faith).
The corresponding passages of the Kvu. are :
0 ) Na/lhi pUlhujjanossa iint)o71 Ii? (XX. 2):3 and
l. Th= lhree salTlYojanas are : Jllabbmaparumasa. vicikicch". and
micrhMilflJi.
2. The are vedan", s<llfIjfii'l, and ${iIfISkiira. These are
spheres of mlllla. cr. Abili. /(0$11, p. 46. Also lhe field of ol}jects 01 idcaltOll.
DJwmmQSIII;g,,/j/, 58, GG etc.
1. Al1ribLlled t o the only.
DOCTRINI::S OF CROUP II SCHOOLS 109
(ii) HQlthi lokiyaYfl .mddhindriyan ti? (XIX. 8).1
The argument of the Theravadi ns is that a layman may have
panna and :saddhii or a ki nd which may be different from those
of an adept, but paima and !'(Jddha that he possesses develop
into paiiii;ndriya and saddlJindriyo. It may be that tile layman's
paii/ia or is confined to dana, si la, d.ga. etc., i.e, lokiyz
affairs and nOI extend to t:ae comprehension of lokuttara
subjetts li ke truths, m3.ggas and phalas. According to the
Theravadins, therefore, there may be lokiya pr.Tliiindriya and
saddhindri ya.
VI. Is utterallce of dukkha pouible ill meditaliOlI
and does it help realizatioll of mullS ?
To the two statements of Vasumitrn, namely, (i) The path is
real ized by utterances and (ii) Even in the state of sam<ihi ta
one ca n utter corresponds "samiipam;assa auit; \'acrbhedQ
Ii" of the Kathiiratthll. It is explained by thus:
According to the Saila schools, an adept, while he is in the
first jhana (meditation) and on the point of attainl il ent of the
Sotapattimagga. gives out in some cases an exclamation like
"aho dukkhan ti."2 The adherents of the Saila schools account
for this by that in the first jhana. there is l'iJaH:OJicara,
and because of l'ilakka,iciira there is vac!sa'1lkhii ra.
3
i.e., dis-
cursi ... e and discriminating thoughts cause Yoca l activil Y, hence
there is Ihe possibility of a in the first jhllna uttering
the word ' dukkhl' , The Therayadins contend that as all physical
act ivities of a meditator are s:t at complete rest, his giving OUI
an exclamation is an impossibility .
Along with the abo\'e we should take into considerati on the
other tbree doctrines of the Mahasanghikas presented thus in
1. AI1Tibutec! ill II"" Cy. 10 t he HelUvadlns a nd .. r.d lhl:J
all the five indrt yas, $addhll. viriyn. sat i, samadht ond pail",i.
2, d. VillaYIl. I, p.I S, in 'upoddutn'l' vlltn bho upassQ'
ttham vala bho.'
3. cr. XVII IX 9: Opinion of lhe ... : "ee 1"1 . Qt). fn I.
4. cr, Kvu .. XVIII. 8 : See p. 90. (n . 2.
110
Bl)D!>Hlsr ' ECTS IN I N'HA
Vasumilra'; treatise:
(i) The ('If !'ulfering can help (the process of
realization of the path) ;
(1 1) SufTering a man 10 the path;
(iii) Suffering (a kind nf) food (iihara): and
(iv) Through pmjiiri is destroyed and final
beatitude is atTaineri.
The corresponding expressions in The Kathii,'Qjlhu afe as
follows;
(i ) " /daJtf dukkhall I;" '"ficO'll bJ"is(J1tJ "idal1l (/"kk!/On
Ii" papallali ? (XL 4) .1
(ii) DllkkMhi'iro nlQgsailglll,r moggapori)'tipannall if ? (11.6) .
(Repeated utterance of 'dukkha' induces and is a
factor of, and induded in, the Path).
Both these statements appear in slightly different from
what has been stated by Vasumitra. The Anrlhflka" anel the
hold that when :l meditator realizes within hi<:. inner-
most heart that the world is full of mffering and is not worth
living in, he exclaims, "aho vata dukkhaI]l!" Then and there
his insight penetrates into the first truth, "idaI]l duHhlln
Ii," as a re:>ult of which he attains the Solli pmti.
magga. So "dukkha" may be called an '''ahara'' (food) in res-
pect of the realization of the path as also an "anga" (limb) of
the Sot:i.pattimagsa.
According to the fourth doct rine mentioned above, as
Masuda explains (illkkha can be removed not by means of the
observance of moral precepts (silas) and practice of meditat ion
(snmlldhi) but by knowledge of the truth, causal law, and
allalld oi beings and things of the worl d. It is the basic teaching
of Therovada. and so no reierence is made to it in the XIII.
VII. HOk- Vijfliinasjunclion?
The following opi nions are attributed by Vasumitra to the
Mahasanghikas :
ei) Beings of the Rupa and Arupa dhiitus pOSiess all the
six senseperceptions
---;---,=-::-c
I. See p. R9.
2. Or ifa4vijhiif13kaya or the sroup of !ix
DOCTRINES OF GROUP II SCHOOLS
III
(ii) The five "ijMnaS conduce bUlh 10 attachm:nt (saniga)
and freedom from auar.:l!mcnt (.'iraga).
(iii) The rupendriyas (organs of sense) are nothing but
lumps of flesh; the eyes do not colours, the cars do
not hear sounds, the nose does not odours, the
tongue does not taste flavour, and the body do:s not
feel touch.
The KI'u. deals with these topics thus:
(i) Sa!iij'alaniko auabl"h'o riipadlrotuya Ii ? (VIII. 7).
(ii) Parie' erayatona kama lil (Vlll4).
(iii) Cakkhulta riipaf11 passan ti ? .. pe ... kiiye"a phollha.
bbalflplrusarl Ii ? (XVIII..9).
In the discussion relating t o the six ayatanas (spheres of the
<organs of sense:l, the Kvu. state, that the Andhakas take the
expression rupf mOllomayo sabbmigapaccafigl alrrllindriyo Ii
literally :.nd thaI there are in the Riipldhatu all the sh
indriyas :.nd fiyatanas with thi s difference from the Kam!l-
dhatu, Ih:.! out of th: six ayatanas three, viz .. ghana, rasa and
pho!!hllbba do not hut their nimiUas, i.e., the subtlest
formi , uist.l Tn the Abhidhamma texts it is stated that the
beings of the Ritpanha.lu have five khandhas and six (and not
twelve) a)atanas, while tho!'e in the Anlpadhatu have four
khandhas and two ayat.anas (manayatana and dhammayatana
only).'
Relating to the third point, the Kvu. contradicts Vasumitra
,llnn saY" that it is the Mah:hanghikas who llold the opposite
view, viz. , the eyes see colours, ears hear sounds, etc. by con-
ceiving a paridacakkhu, Il suhtle e)'e, which has not aot the
power of avajjana (re:1ection) lib cakkbuviiiiiaoa but possesses
metely troc power of knowing (patij:i..niiti) objects. In thi s case
.also, shall we account for the contradictions by sayini that the
opinion of 'ekacce mahisanghika' is represented by Vasumitra
while the opinion of the 'anne mahasanghika' is noticed in
the Kalhiivalthu.
3
The Therayadins and a section of the
1. Vlbhariga. p. 4O'i : In KAmRclhAtu there are cakkhAyatana and
Opllyatana, so!i'iya!ana and saddAyatana, etc., in an, Il'ietve Ayalanas.
Jlibhatiga, pp. 405-07.
3. Sec inj,".
112 SJ;;CT5 IN Ir-IDIA
Mahasailghikm: hold thaI the eyes, ears etc. are mere material
conveyer" of perception, the cakkhuvii'ifi.aQ.a, sotaviiirdl).:1, etc.
are the actllal percipients. in other words, eyes, ears etc. belong
(0 the rilp:lkhrmdhll, which is material. while cakkhuviilii:lI):1 ,
etc. helong 10 the Ylniifll,wkhandha, which makes a being aware
of the things arollnd il.
VIII. How many avyiikaras are there?
The opinion arthe Andhakas that "there is nothing which is
indeterrnina'Jle" (avyalcrta) bas been explained by Masuda as
that the Andhakas admitted only two natures of things, good or
bad and not a third, i.e. neither good nor bad. This interpreta-
tion does not appear to be sound as in the Buddhi5t texIS the
three natures 01" are accepted generally. The
refer to those problems which Buddha left unansweud as
any answer 10 them whether in the affirmative or in the negative
would mislead the e!lquirer, or he treated the question as absurd
end unanswerable. These avyakata problems are always men-
tioned in a stereotyped form in all Buddhist texts, whether
Hinayana or Mahayana.! Nagarjuna has utilised these problems
in his Madhyamoko-kiirikii to establish the Mahiiyiinic concep-
tion of Sunyata. If we accept Vasumitra's statement as corre:t,
we shall have to say that the So.nyata conception was known to
the Mahiisailghikas, and so to them the so-called avyakata
problems were not avy<i.kata (inexplicable), but this way of look-
ing at the statement of Vasllmitra seems to be too far-fe!ched
and so, it may be regarded lhat Vasumitra's statement is not
complete. Perhaps it refers to the problem discussed in the Klu:
di!!higatolJ1 avyiikalO'l ti? (XIV. 8),- whether a person holding
one of the erroneous views can be regarded as avyiikata i.e.,
neither good nor bad. The answer of the Theravadins is that
the holder of anyone of the views is wrong, hence akusala,
and c"nnot be avy5.kata as supposed by the Andhakas and
Uttarapathakas.
1. SlSSa!O loko. lolo: a"lavl loko, "nantad. loko: la'J1 jh"nl .
tarn sarllarp, aillla'll jivarn ai'li'llnl sariram: hot r Tathaj!a!o marana,
na hoti Tathiigato pararp mafa!)a; hoti ea na hOli Tath..'igaro pararp marana
n'eva ho:i na nl hoti Ta!hagato paraJjl nlafaoa.
01" GROUP II SCHOOLS 113
IX. Hol<' mally Asa'fl.l"k! tadIIGrmas are there?
In the Piili texts, as also in the Abhidfwrmakoso (or the Sarva-
stiviidins) the three asaJpskrtas are (0 Prati,aI]1khy;}nirodha,
(Ii) Apratisarp.khya-nirodha and (iii) Akasa. The Andhakas
increase them to nine by adding the four iiruppas
I
and iir)'amiir-
giiligikafl'a.
i
Excepting the nirodha of two kinds, all other
asarpskrtas of the Mahasailghikas are not as such by
the Theravadins, whose argument is whether eacn of
asatpskrtas is of the sa:ne nature as Nibbana, if not, they are
saQlskrtas. Strangely enough, the Kru. goes so Car as to say that
akiisa is not asarpkhata. The attitude taken in the KVII. (Vi. 2,
4,6; XIX. 3, 4) is that Nibblna is {(if.lal}l lenam aCClltal!l OIl1(Jtal!J
(escape, refuge, infallible and immortal) so each of the seven of
asarpkhatas, even every member of the formula of Pa!icca-
samupparla, each of the four phalas must be lemll!1 acrutafll
amatal}I, otherwise, they arc sarpkhatas (constituted). :! The
Mahiisailghika5 interpret, as presented in tile Km. , that the
asarpkhata is that which is unchangeable (iinetija) but not tal)arp
lenarp, etc. In regard to the causal law, they rely on Buddha's
statement: arijjii paccaya bhikkhal'e sOlfl.fchiirii., IIppiid,i I'Q
TOliTligatiindltl alluppiidii J"ii Tathiigatiillafll !hitii va sii. dhfiru
dhOlllllla!ihiJatii dhamlllGlJiyiimatli idappaccayauj etc., and point
out that by asal)lkhala they do not mean the links separately
but the unchangeable la ..... (a) of the origin of an object through
a cause, and (b) of the unchangeable nature of dhammas, un-
disturbed by appearance (uppiida) or non-appearance (anuppada)
or continuity (\hiti). As for the iiryamiirgiiligikofl'o, the Kvu.
explains that the Pubbase1iyas regard as asarpkhata the fact of
attainrllent (patti' oj" a magga or phala by the removal of certain
mental impurities (kilesapahiinatj1) and not the maggas or
I. The four fu UI'POI, ;lIe:
( i) Akiiiu,unUya:ana;
(ii) Viji'lananamayalana;
iii i) i\kificanyayatana; an()
(iv) Nil. rpjfiaya til. Ila.
Cf. K05a, iii, p. 77.
:'. In the Afu.iJ"'mu Nik'ipl, (I. p. J01) il eli,l,,,,,;ll) ll".l
cffhmigiko mOflga i, 'IIiHwto.
114 BUDDHIST sr:CTS I N INDI A
phalas by This, Vasumit ra corroborates by usi ng
the t erm nuirgii ligika: ra i.e. ,)flip/; of a marga and not si mply
marga, In t he KI'II . there arc a few other disCll'isions relating t o
the uUl}lkh:ltas, to which we shall revert while dealing with the
Mahis:lsakas.
The remaining three opinions of thi s group of schools, viz.,
(i) There is no intermediate state of existence (Glllard-
bl/ara),
tii) Phenomena exist neit her in the past nor in t he future.
and
(Ii i) The nature of mind is pure in its origi n : it becomes
impure when it is stai ned by tigamukarajas and
IIpakle.fas.
a rc in accord with those of the Theravadins.
1
Both of these
school s do not admit that between death and rebirth there is
any intervening period, in which the subtle khandhas wait for
the selection of parents of the next stale of existent-e. The Kvu.
says Ihat the opmion of the opponents is formed through t he
mi scomprehenslOn of the meaning of the word 'amara-
parinibbayi'. We shalJ revert to this topic while deal ins
wit h the Sammill yas, wit h whom, the COIllmentator the
Pubbasehyas agrce.
As regards t he opinion that the past and future exist - the
cardinal doctrine of the Sarv<'lstiv<'ld ins, to dealt wit h herc-
aner, both t he Tbernvadins and the Mahasalighikai arc ::01-
phatic in t heir protest against it.
Thethird point roiscs an important problem, Ihal is 10 say, whe-
ther Ihe mind at t he beginning was pure (l r nOi . Tne Theravldin;
are decidedly of opinion t hat pubbakoll (b:!,C.inning) and O/HIre. -
kOll(cnd) ofbcinJ!s are unknowable, and as such they have not
gone into t he question whether the mind is pure at any time
before the att ainment of 1' ;1111111;. This doctrine of t he Mohil.-
saJi ghikas had it s full development in the idealistic philosophy
of Yog.icl ra, in which the A/a)'GIijRiil/a. the store-house of pure
consciousness, gcts contaminated wit h worldly objects through
jlldriyal'ijliiillas and mentally creates a world around it. It is by
l. Cf. Alfhasti/ulI, p. 68 ; Ciltum upakkil esehi upakili nham.
I
DOOTRINES OF GROUP" Sr. H OOT .q 115
rhe removal of this mental creation that a person regains the
alayal'jJiiallQ in its pure original form and becomes an emanci-
pated being.
Special doctrill(' s of the Saila Sc/JooiJ
Vasumi l m has attributed the foll owing doctrines speciull y to
t he three Saila schools:
('J Hodh' ",,,,", a<c "'mse bdngs and may be bom in
the lower states of e'<. istencc;\
(i i) Offerings made to a caitya ' are not necessari ly of
great
The above doctrines are in direct contrast to those of a sec-
li on of the Mahasallghikas and t he Piirvai,dlas or Caitvakas.
Vasumitra evidently had in mind only the later Saila schools,
viz., Aparasaila, C:tityaSaila and Uttai.ls<l ila, and not the
PiirvaSaila.
Regarding the origin of CaityasaiJa a nd Utl :t raSfl illl !';c1nol",
Paramartha
l
writes that two hundred ye<l rs rifler RIl c1d hll's
a sc:ond Mahadeva appeared wit:l hereticHl views.
He slipped into t he church stealthi ly (i .e. became a stt'J'f1SflI1T-
l'iisika) by ordaini ng himself. This event gave occasion to fresh
cont roversies among all t he brJ.nches of the Stha"ira and
Mahiisanghik:l schooli, part icula rly on the qUMlion of the
val idity of ordination given by an :learya, who is himselr not
regularl y ordained. The Mahasll.llghikas who were in agreemml
with the Sthaviras in this matter, excommunica tt'r.1 Mahadeva _
At thi s, Mahadeva got enraged and retired to another mountain
and started the CaitYaSaila and l"lt ll ruSa.i la sc hools.
The Caityasailas therefore should be disti ngui i hed rrom the
Caityakas, who were identical wit h t he LokottaravAdins or the
and were of earlier origin. The Cai tya kas and
1. See SI<pra.
2. In the MahilvaslU and the Nagi\rjunikO(lQIl inscription erection, deco-
ration aml wUrll'llip of cailyas find prominence. for whil.:h, 11 lhe
name Caityah has been applied to lhe school. c r. KNa, iv. 12\.
J. PlIlll /:()riKinp J.(Juddh'fjut.f in MI/a"kfJ chinoi.
et iJouridhiq/lfs, vo!.l, 1931-32.
116
DUDDHI ST SE': (; T5 11\ l M)/A
PUfvasailas are referred 10 in the Nae:irj unikol.lQu inscripti on$;.
and nOl the later Saila schools mentioned aho' c.
in Niigiiljlllliko(/(ia il/scripriollS
In t he l'iigJ.rjunikuJ:u;la i.ISt-Tipti uIlS, tlJerc a rc a fe w incident al
remarks to Buddha il.1lI1 NirvU\l il . These probably apply
to the conceptl OIl S ll t hl by lht: Punasail as or Cailyakas.
Budd ha is dc)Crilx-d here j ila-riiga-dosa-lIIo!Ja (one who has
altachmcllt, il l-will auJ udusiun) and dhi1lw'orapari-
gall/ fa (possessed of t he e.'.ct:lklll dliiitu) , and the donor expects
as a result nfhi s or her lIlt:rils which he or she can transfer
to Iii:; or lu:r rdalh'c::. and frie-nds -an art icle
of faith not ill till: P;Uj works where auadfpa
t he maxim. The fruils e.\pected a re: (i) religious
mcnts for hUllSdf, n: itlti vo;s am.! fricmls, rcsuIIJng in their
happiness ill th is wurld am[ thl: m:x.t (uMaY'l-{oka-hita-slIklu/I'a-
hllniiya) ,_ a llIerit w/lidJ us of the XrI th
cri ption: en bii{lflU cle!"'I1)( ;)"<1111 me hldurikl1)"f! IJ'O'l1 me !xUa-
(t ik(lyr: Ii and (ii ) (nirviz:wdom) for himself or
hcrscJr. '
The rCl.'Ordillg of thl;: view tizat gifts may bring happiness to all,
but oaly to om::.c:lf, deserves our careful consider:nion.
The distinction drawn ill lhis way is rather unco:nmon and is not
made CV(!l i ll thl: inscr;ptivn rel:ordi ng the gifts of the Queen of
Vana\iisi t o the or in the long inscription of the
Si nha!e.sc UOIlO!".'
Then the dlultlf l"ura-parigo/t(ra or 1I /I"I1(lG-mmpaFI_
Jtlt!ljJlidol..a raise the plcsumptiv/J thai lhe Andhaka conception
w,;!. s different fmlll that of the Ther:.lv,iJins or thr:il'
su!J-SC\.;t t he MahiSasakas. III the Kuriu7ll1frhu, are two
eolltroversies (ix. 2; \ ix., 6), rc:a ting to tll(' Wl1l"tTtiCi1 or
as prevailing among the TIll;: vitw ani"iOJt -
cd to t he l'u bba seliyas is the A''''''Uf'll(l(J ( ... Nin;ri(d;Z) , is
" all o::'ject of Ill ought of J pc-non not yet fr:e rlOl/1 bo,u.l;.ge. " !
I . Ep.lnd. , XX, pp. 16, 18-21 ; ' Iuano" or " ap'no'"
2. Pl'. 'm!. XX, p . 24.
3. Ibid. , p. 22.
4. /o.l n. Rhys Davids. Poi/rls of 'he COlllrorerJ),. pp. 231.)3.
DOCTltI '>I; S 01' GROUP II .CHOOI. S
117
and :he other attributed to the AnJI",kas is that "the N ibb{ilta-
dhiilOl is kllsgia (good)" in the ill which mental states a re
spoken of as kllsala (good), and are faultless stmes.' Both
these 5wtcmcnts bear the impli(.;;Hioll t hat the Pubbascliyas or
the Andhakas conceived of Nirrul)a as a 'positive faultless
Slate'- a conception which (.; /:i ll hardly be accepted by tl:e
Therav1dms, who speak of rcal lLilig Nibbano. wi thin one' s own
self by the wIse (paCCQHlJI!1 redi/ (J/AJ(ll'iliiillhi) a nd not of grD.Sp-
mg the same as some obja:t protl ucing pure
Special doctrines of the Bahulrutf)"Qs
RegnrdlOB the speci"l of the Babusrutiyas, the
Kat/l(iluIIJw is silent. Thoueh Ihi" school belonged to the
Mahasanghika group, it ac(''''plef! , according to Vasumitra.
many \'iews of Vasumit ra adds that it held
that Budd ha 's teachings to Qllityaui, duhkha, Si"mya.
a;;iillllQII and suffering, non-cxistence of
objects, absence of soul , <Inti the ultimate goal) are lokortara
(upramuad:lDe), while his on topics other than those
mentioned above <lre !ar!kiK:a
J
(mundane).
In Pali texts t hc fi nd exercises connected wilh
maggaJ and pI/alas are usulll[y regarded as lokottara and the
!al/kika.
This school, according to Pammurlha, attempted a syncretism
of Hinayi na and MabftY:'ln::l ::lnd attributed two mcaninJ!;s,
probably nlliirthal (direct meaning) and ne)iirtha' (indirect
t . Ibid., p. JJIl.
2. See Majjhima NikuYII, I. p. If : MCiapariy3.yasUl1a.
3. Masuda, pp. 35-J().
4. cr. SanrlidlririiiQ-Wlrll, p. 78 :
<:!l"f'l""fif llr-:Hn I
<l"Wvt 'l'f: riu"Jff.:r. I I
Cf. lvi. V,., p. 43 : I ifia"lJ ;"-00:
<in; 'fuU'lIl: I I q

( I'" Iii 1'1,1 Im[l!Ifo1 (lc'lf"l
rnr"",.fq.,'"'l"1 f.!fWT,' . .".,., , I
S..e Prof. Vidhusekhar Sastrfs Sandhi.bhd/o in IHQ., IV. p. 295.
118 BUDDI1IST SCTS I I'! I /'.:D1-...
meaning) to the teachings of Bllddha. It adopted t he Sur)',,
siddhISiistra of Harivarman as its mai n text. This school is
mentioned in the Nagarjunikol)l,ill inscription.
Special Doctrir.es of ,I,e
Regan.liug lin: :,p;:ddl doctrines of the Prajliaplil'{ir//lIs, I Vasu-
miua H;:1Il3J k) thal Iheyagreed ma in ly wi th t.'l ahasal'lghi kas
(Le. !att:1" Mahasar'lghikas). They held in addition the following
upinioln:
(i ) Skalldhaj and are not concomitant ;
(ii) The twelve are not rC.II;
(iii) Either allainment of arya-mclrgfl or death is depen-
dent on kamla.
The Praji1aptivadins, as Para manila tells us, il ppeared some
time after the Bahusrunyas, and di stinguished themselves as
The main di!Tcrence between
Prajilaptivddins and Bahusrut iyas is that the former, partl y li ke
t he MahAyAnists, held the view that Buddha' s teachings
embcdied in the Pi!aka should be di stingui shed as nommal
(prajiiopti) , conventi onal (saqlvrti) and causal ("('t uphola). This
school, as against the Bahusrutiyas, agreed more wi th the views
of the Mahasanghi kas than witb those of the SarvastivUdms.
2
Special Doc/rines of the Riijagirikas OIld Siddhallhikos
In the Kat/tal'atl/III, but not in Vasumitra's t reati se, certain
special doctnr.es have been attributed to the Riijagirikas, and
SiddhaUhitas. To the former are attri buted the foll owing:
( i) ,valthi ked dflammii kellici dltammehi sIJ/;gahilii or
sampoyuttii (VII. I. & 2).
rhere is no such t hing as a quality attached or adhering to
another, e.g., oil in mustard seed. feeling in percepti on. and so
forth."
(Ii) NatOli cnasiko dhammo (VII. 3).
This is a coroll ary to the previous view. It says that cilia
(mind) only functiom, and there are no other mental state.
associated with It.
1. Thi s school came inlo 2,00 year, after the MlIhbaflghi kas
(Ktlsa, v. P 24).
2. !itt Dcmi i!vllle tip. cit., p. 4950.
J. Cf. The IQPic:s 'Qf the Dlrtlt .. -katltd, (P.T.S.).
DOCTRI;>IES OF CROUP II SCHOOLS
119
(iii) Cnasiko dlloml1l0 d(lnan ti (VU. 4).
(iv) Ito tll/meno tattna riipenti (Vll . 6).
By the iormer it means that gi ft is not materi al; the mind for
making a gift is really glvmg. By the laner it hol ds that merits
are accumulated, and tha t a person enjoys its fruits in aftei-life
on account of such accumulation.
(v) Paribfmgallla}'UlfI puifilaql 1"O/JOti (VII. S,.
The accumulat ing merit s can go on increasing (by renew)1 of
gift s of robes and other art icles to monks, and so fort h).
(vi) Nat/hi craha/Q alai/an,aceu (XVII. 2).
Arhats cannot die unt imely. j.e., their deat h is also subject to
the influence of kam:a.
1
(vii) Sabhal!l ida"l kalll'IIarO (XVU. 3).
Everything is subject to karma.
(viii) Kappa!!lw kappOII' li!!lieY,l"a (XliI. 1).
A being d:st incd to live for un "con lives (or an aeon as one
consigned to purgatory for committing smi.g.hnbheda.
SpEcial Doctrilll!s oj Ihe Vew/ I"okas
In the Kctillil'attillf, the following doctrines are attributed to
the Vetulyakas only :
(i) No "Buddha Bhogal'ii mall/usa.lok;> at!/r{isi "
(XVIII. I).
This point has been discussed above.
(i i) Na va fl abbom "/Jutldl:assa dil/nom IIIaIJapphail1'l'
hot; " (XVII . 10).
As Buddha does not exist as a it is to
say that .!!ifts to Buddha produce great merit.
(iii) No ratlabba", ' sQ/pgho dak khi(Ia/!' pa!iga!,hiW".
(h') No rutlabhQl}l "sa1tfgho (Iakklli(w'l'
( ...) No rattabbwfl " sa1f'gho bhuiijali pil'ati khi;tlat; iii)'oli".
(vi) No I'QltabOOI}l " sa1flg:,assa dillllalll ma!lappl,ala'!J IlOli"
(XVII. 6-9).
All the four opinions :lrc of t he same import. The question
rai sed herc whether Sangha is a body of individuals, who have
I. D:lsed on statement; A.IIII11Whli ,mill'; ,,,ko. K' /I., p. 5.t6.
120
BL'DDIlIST SI>CTS INDIA
attained lIIogga and phala (fruits of sanctification) or Sangha
is identical with maggaphafa. This school holds that
does not exist ap"rt from mcggapno/a and so it is not proper
to say tbl Sangha receives gifts, or purifies them, or enjoys
or a gift made to a Sangha isproductivc of great merits.l
L cr. Millmtapailha p. 9' f.; KoJo. iv. 32; ahu '""c L. de L:t Vallee
I'oun;n', paper on La doctrine tkl Mt /t:"Iles chi"ol" ., hctd-
"'Mil''''''' Vtlt I , fl. M r.
nOCfRINES OF GROUP III SCHOOLS
THE MAHISASAKAS, SARVASTIVADINS, DHARM,tGUPTAK .... S, AND
OTIlER SCHOOLS
The third group of schools. according lu the I\lli tradition
-comprised the MahiQ1sasa!.:as and their ufTshoou, viz., Dham-
maguttikas. Sabbatthivadins. Satikantikns, and
Suttavlidins. According to thiS tradition, the Mahirpsii.snklls were
the earliest to from tht Therav:lua among its
OU! of the Mabimsiisakas developed the Sabbatlhivadins and
gracually the other schook
Vasumitra puts the appeamnce of sub-sects uf this group u
little differently. Accordmg to him, Sarv3sIhada branched off
first from the Sthaviravuda, and from the ialler appe.:lfcd the
MahiSasakas, Kusyapiyas and StrptrantivAdins, ullcafter another
at the interval of a centllry. OUt of the Mahlsa:sakas developed
the Dh:lrmaguptakas.
Compnring the two traditions, it will be observeu Ihat the two
lists ngrce, excepting the first appearance of lhe MahuJlsii'laka.
es staled in the Pal i texts. This anomaly may be t:.>.plained thU3 :
A reference to Ihe doclrir.es of this school revt'ills that t here
were 1\\'0 Mahisa:;nka schools, one earlier and LILt: ether later.
missed the earlier M:lhBasakas while t:llulllcrating the
sub-sects.l He, however, points out that the earlier MahHiisakns
agreed more wi th the Thera\'udms whi le t he with the Slr-
v.istivildins. It may be that the Pall tradition ;1\\'RIC of the
r.ul ier dl\'isioD only of the MahiSisakas. and so n .. tmally placed
their origin before the Sa r\'iiSli\'ad;ns.
The Earlier AlahiNbakas
The 'lTltiqui ty of Ihe Mahrsflsakns goes back 10 the time of t he
tirst Buddhist Council, hence its origin is anterior (0 tll:lt of the
1. infra.
122
BUDDHIST SECTS IN INDIA
Mahasanghlkas. Thl: Vinuya texIs or the Theravadins (in Pali)
record Ihe differences or oplruon of the Mahisiisal.:as and t he
Dharmaguptakas- rel ating to seven rules according to the Mahj -
si sakas, and eight rules according to the Dharmaguptakas - bet-
ween Maba kass..'l pa and PUnil,l3 ofLJakkhil),agiri (near Rajagrha).
The Mahlsasaka VlOaya attached special importance lothe p!rson
ofPurat)3, who ioslsted on a second rehearsal, which, a:cordmgto
this school, was compiled wllh by Mahii kassapa, by the mcor-
poration in t he Vmaya of the seven relating to food. This
shows clearly that Puni.on and hiS fol lowers formed a group by
themselves. thougn probably not yet known by t he de signatIOn.
Mahl sasaka. Prof. f-'rzyluskl has discussed this in his work Le
COl/cite de Riijagrha (pp. 311) If) on the basis of the MahISasaka
and Dharmagupta Vinaya te1lts in Chinese.
He writes that the episode of Pural)a of Oakkhioagiril ill the
account of the tirst Council noticcs the ditJerence belwc:'":11 the
Theravadi ns and the Mahisiisakas. In coune of time, th2. { group
of monks, whi ch held Puntoa in high esteem, formed the MahI-
sas<l ka school by including his seven rules nOl accepted by
Mahakassapa in his Vinaya code.! In the Mahisasaka Vina}3,
t he second place of seniority is accorded to PUriil)a, the be
ing given to KaUlJ.9inya. The M:thiSiisakas as,ert that after the
deli berati ons of the First Council were finished the were
once more recited for the approval of Pura(la, accepted t \e
same after adding his StVen rul es.
Regarding the geographical expansion of the schoo!, Prof.
Przyluski points out t hat (i) Pural)a refers to t he people of
Mahisaka; (ii) that t he a lternati ve name of thi s school Ma id
vantaka;3 and (iii) that the Vinaya text of this school was found
by Fa-hien in Ceylon.
On the basis of these facts, he states t hat the line of expanSIOn
of t his school was the SUme as that of the Theravada, i.e., al ong
t he KauS5. mbi-Bharukaccha axis and that it gradually extended
I. " PUrii\H' Utlllt.""Un,: U<lns It by ";;ud", he mears Dakkhinil-
giri, which i, {fatl v n()t in Ihe $() uth.
2 See above, eh. III, p. 39, rD. 3.
3. TAraniilha in Geschfchte (PP. 175, 27J) s;xaks of Ihe Avantakas
a; an offshoot of Ihe Samrt1ltiyas.
DOCTRI NES OF GROUP III SCH OOLS
123
up to the: countries, and lhat it bec,\ me p:!.rticularly
popu:ar ill il nd Avanti. and uhim.l tci y T<'ach ..d
Cevloll.
Pro:. PI"Z) IU5ki's suggestions are supported by the N:i giirjuni-
kUIII,1.J ill 5cripl ions., in \\hich it is st:;.ted tha t the queen of Vana-
vasi t:n:ctcd a pillar and a monaster} :l.t Nas:irjuniko::I(;b for ihe
bcm:fi t of the adiryas of the Mahis:isa ka S!Ct.1 V:m:!.\ asi cones-
punlh to North Kanu ra. There is also a village Coined vanavasi
in Ihe Shilllvga Distri ct 0:' t he Mysore State anJ lies 011 Ihe
bordt.: r vf r..1ysorc t erritory and North Vunav;"isi is also
a il e oi the countrics, whieh the of Asob:s rcigll visited,
am] it wa5 from this country t hat u muflii /hera called Callda-
gUll,1 w.:nt to Ceylon at the invitation of Duq hagfuna l)i to take
pall il l the celc:bratiom for the mahiitillipa. Hence, it
m;IY be concluded that the M uhiSI1sakus became popular in Vana-
i.c., in North Kanaru and Mysore, and prob.lbly had some
rullower5 in Ceylon, as this school n);;rced with the TheraviiJins
in fundaillcntal doctrines and disciplinary rules. In shor t, this
had its sphere of influence in south west ern In:l i:1 and
Ct:ylon.
The Kathul"atthu has not a worn to soy nbout the doctri :Jcs
of l!ichool. This silence, t hough a evidence, confirms
our supposi ti on that t he Theraviid ins hod lillie or no diffc re1ce
with t he Mahisasakas as far a$ their doct rines were concerned.
Vasu rui tra furni shcs us with the fo11owing information regarding
the doct rinel!i of this school.
Doctrines of the earlier Mahrsi1Jakas
Thc M<lhis;lsakas rejected the "Sabbam allhi" uf the
Sarv1l.stivadim
3
and held that the present only exists. Tht:y lII ade
it more emphatic by Slating that all ,rol1ukt1ros at CI'Cf}
l . P.1. XX, 1'. 36; d. El. 1101. r I r, 1' . 117: Vikramcillkadevararita. V, 23:
Ma/u;,'(JItlm, XII, 31; XXIX. 42; B. C. Law, Geogra{;hYQj Early Buddh'ml,
p.66.
2. cr. Prz.ylusky, 01'. cil., pp. 325, Avanll and
...,a-nome COUlltrieS on 1he we!!.
3. FOI' Suv,bti>,iida view';,
124 BrDOIUST suC"r s IN INDIA
moment and thai entrance into the womb is the beginning, and
death is the cnd, orhuman lire. The material constituents of the
sellSe-organs as 3150 ciTra and cajlllsikas are subject to change.
In other words, there are no rcal elements.
They do not enter into the quest ion or Buddha's attributes
and probably like Ihe Theravddins hel d Buddha as an average
human being.
Regarding Arhats, t hey st:lIc th:lt (i) a srot:ipan na has a chance
or retrogression while an arhat has not, and that (ii) arllats do
not perform meritorious deeds. Both or opinions nre direct-
ly opposed to those of the Sarvilstivudins and are parti y in
agreement with Ihose of the Themvlidins.
Re. Sumyakrl"OnyeJmo, the MahrMbakas have nothing lo sa y,
Tiley sl<: lc against the opinion of the Sarvasliviidins thal Ihta"t: is
110 del"u who leads a holy life.
Re. Aflupubbub/zisomoyo. the hold views cont rary
to those or the Sarvastiviidins. They state that the four truth,
are to be meditated upon at one and t he same time.
Re. JIJii/:o, they hold, as against : be opinio!l of t he Thera-
vlldins, that transition from one jhana to another is immediate
(KI"lI., XVIII. 6).
Re Puthujjana. etc., t he held the following views
in agreement with the Sarvastiviidins e)[ cepting the last:
0) An average man is ;Ible to destroy raga and pratiglm in
the Kamadhiitu.
(ii) Thcre i, laukikasamyagdmi (ri ght view of a worldly man),
(iii) There is no laukikaJraddhendrJ)'a (raculty or faith
obtained by a worldly man). This is di.cussed in the KI'U., XIX.
8 (see abo,e, p. lOS).
Re. Alluso}o 2nd PaT}o)"Qsthiillo, the opinions of the Mahisa-
sakas are directly opposed to those of the Sarvastiviidins and the
Theravadins and are in agreement with of the Mahilsail-
ghi kas:
(i) Anuia}a (dormant passion) is neiiher ciua (mind) nor
caJ/asika (mental).
(ii) Anl/saya is differen t from pervading passion (parYQ\'os-
r/liina).
OQCTRI!'lES OF GROl:P III SCHOOLS 123
(Ill) Aflusoya is never an object of thought (olliJlambulla).
(IV) A11I/ioya is dissociated from mimi (ciutJ- I'isampruyukw) .
(v) Paryal'asth{1f1a is ass(X.iah:d with mind (tiflu-sumpru-
yUkta).
All these have been dissussed in the Karhiil"arthu in connection
with the doctrin(!s of the schools of Group 11 above).
Re. Meditotion & Smrt)"upasrhiina, the only difference between
the MahiSasakas and t he Sar\'astividins is thlt the former do
not recognize any Iokouaradhyiilla. They agree wi t h ,he Sarvasti-
vadins in holding that all dlUl"lrras (m<i. rgailga..'9 are included
in the four smrtYllpasfluinas (appl ication of mind fu lness).
Re. VijiiiillQ. the Sarvastiv:idi ns state that the five l'iiliJl/as
(perception denved by the organs of sense) engender raga
(attuchment) btlt not viraga (detachment). The MahiSt.sak:is
consider this unreasonable alld hold that these conduce both
to sariiga and Both the schools agree in holdill!1: that
the SI)[ l'ijiir'iIlOS co:nbinf with I"ilorka and "feura.
Re. ASWllSJ:rta & AlI1orlibfJal"O, t fle views of the
are all opposed to those of the Sard.stilladi ns:
(i) There are nme unconstituted dlWfmas, but
the list is different from that of the
(i i) There is 110 intermediate stale of existenL'e (oJllof(ibll(Jl"(1).
(iii) There is nothing which can transmigrate from all.:!
eXistence to another.
There are a fcw other opimons, whicll arc also:c0Ilt r.IT} to
those of the Sarv;l,tivJdin5, viz.,
(i) No heretic can gain the five supcmalUral powc rs.
(ii) Good Karma cannot become the cuusc of
In addll ioD 10 the above, the MahiSdsal.::as hold the following
two views:
(i) Though Buddha is included in the Sangha, a gifl made
to Buddha is more merit orious than that to the Sat)l!ha.
(i i) BuddhayiJna and .<ircll'akoydna have tile
tioll (vfmukri) .
I. Pratisamkhya nirodha, ApratiS3.mkhyl nirodha. AkHa. Analrnan.
Kufal.dharma-tal l::atA, Akubla-dh.ta, Avylkrm(]h. tJ,
Pra titl'a-samutpJ.da-ta.
126
OUODHIST SECTS 1:-" I NDI A
The Later Malri fiisukas
It h.l alre:lcy been pointed out th:ll there were two
of Mahis;is:.Ik:u, on'! ... :trlier :l11d . b:- other later_ The' vit:w.;
above were held by e:l rlicr school. The !:llpr
accept the c:ldinal doctri nes i,Jf t hat
and fut ure e)(ist. ) nd :nsert that dhlll :.s li nd
in their st:\:e :Irc present, so :11"0 the
(fIlIlS(l)"a,f (dormant pa ssions). They :ldd that I he e:l rt h lasts
for :\eons. Tbcy agr-:e with th" in tlflholdi ng
that t [;;!rc is (llllariiMOI'{I bet weC'n tWO exist-
enc\:s). The hter M:.lhi<cisak:t.s. theftfon.', in
a"n-cmcnt wi t!' thc Sarvasti\oadins the earl;"r
,
wl!re \\illl t he T hera vadins,
Saniistil'iida
In t hl' int rmJuctory note (p. 122 f.) appearance. geographical
distribuliclll , langua{;c and li ,crature . 1:1d doctrines of Sarvasti-
h:\Ve heC'11 t..'ealt wi th. The group of (Stha-
vintv:ldill<;.) WflS into eleven or more sects, of which
SMV;lstil,f. rlim and t he Sammitiyas be-came prominent, the
were t he Miila-sarvi'lsli\.idi ns, KiisyapiYJs, etc,
S:.\n<'ls\i\;lUa a Hinay{i na with its pi!!lkas in
S'\lbkrit. Tin; ElllUpean dubbeJ it .. a school up-
holding Rcali, m'. The doctrines of . ilis school wen: sub-
to vdH:lln.: nl cri ticism by Mahflyii na pl-.ilosophcrs like
N;lgarjuna, A,(1ilga. Ar)au:va a nd others, who uphcld 'N"OIl -
realism' (JiIIlYQIJJ ur ' Idealism'
The Sa rv..isti vadi ns selected MJthura as the venue of t heir
early <lctivi,ies and it was from this place that they fanned
out to Gandh5ra and Kashmir and uhilll ately to Central A,ia
and China.
The legend abeutthc s('l('ction of as the rendezvous
of the
Emperor Awka, :lcclJnJillg 10 the Ceylunese chronicles, Illet
the leading ur the ti me. Moggaliputta Tiss<l, an
orthodox Tht:rav-.1u,lI. Tlie t hird Buddhist Synod W:lS held
DOCT P. I!"lU OF OI\OOP HI SCflOOLS 127
hi s chairmanshi p. monks, who did no; SLlh<;(Ti ,e
to t he doctrines of were c<.m,c!!cd to !cnvc P;'I!a-
liputra, the scene of the Synod, T I'e), wcnt first to Mat hura.
AboLlt t he int roduct ion of Buddhism, the tra di t ion.
in the Miilasanrlsti!"(ida Vi!laya1 :l i> also in the of
the is as foUows:
Bhllgllva n Buddha while traversing Ihe SUf<l Sl: na I.:uuntry,
reached Mothura where he a gre:n fl"'(1:51 un a hill
called UrUn1U1.1r)n. He predicted that a hundred )'l'a rs after
demise, two rich brothers Nlqa a:ld Dha!,\ wuull1 bui ld
there t he which would become <l congenill
place for meditalion of monks, seeking quictude ( .ollwflza)
and insight (lijlaf )'an(/). At that t ime t here would be a spice-
denIer, whose SOil UpUgUptfl would be as great a p leacher as He
himself was, without however the physica l !>igll, of a Buddha.
He would be ordained by a of Ananda
and would be the Inst of t he dhmll;a-preJcltcn. In the Divyu-
I'adlilla (p. 348) it is stated .hat Buddha made the forecast about
the advent of Upllgupta. Si!nakaviisi wouh.! hi s spi nlual
prece ptor but there is also the tr'lditiull illal ro.l achyandi na
(Ma dhyfi ll liku, ordai ncJ Upagupla. The episode of
Vas:\lInd:ltla is ,;; ivcn II promi ne nt place ;11 all t he biographies
of Up:lgupw.
Upagupta occup:ed a very high place in (he hierarchy of t he
Sarv3stillada school. In the Abhidharmakosul'pikhyii (T l. 44)
Upngupta is said to have composed the NeJrpadasii.l'tra, His
opiniom lI"t!rc valued as those of the Sarvastiv[ldills or the
of Mathura. I n conclusion, it may be Slated that
Upagupt:l was not only a versat ile preacher but also a n import-
am \\THi!r of t he school of Mat hura .
The wide popular!ty of the S,lrv:ist iv;ida put into shade all
ot her ;;nJ thlt, part iculn rly, for i ts propagation all
over India :md in countric .. olU5ide India, li ke Cen.
t ral ASia and Ct,ina. Its o rigm !';hoilid be pl:.1c;:d some tim.:
1. Gilgil M);S . III, pt. i.
2. A'J'II'"VU/f-tdJlIlm by in 506 A,D. Ff,
tranl. PrzyluSki, Ugcllc.c de /' (mprrt'llr A;Qka.
128
BUDDHIST SECTS 1:-: I:-.rOIA
after LII\; and the Maha5anghikus. There is no
doubt that it branched off fro m the Mahiiftsakas and not from
tile Thernva::lim directly as stated by Vasumitra and
writers of later days. Tile Sarvdst lvAdi ns should bc dIstin-
guished from lhe M;jl asnrvastivadins,1 who probabl y
certain doctrines of the Sarvastiviidins, as also from the Valbhu-
in which nam:: this school was later known from the
ti me of
Vasubandhu in his Ablr idharmakosa, has the Kashmir Yaibha-
more in view than the curly SnrvAstiviidins. This is due
to the fact that the became more popular from the
of KaQi ska a nd became predominant in Kashmir and
Gandhfuu.' Tile popularity of t he carl y Sarvastividins was
l:ollfined to Nort hern India around Mathurii, where it had
ils origin.
PmI'. Pn::yl uski
'
the origin of the Sarvastivadu school
ill lin.: s roLl pi ng of monks, shown in the account of J. he s.:cond
Cuuncil. lie S:1.)'5 thai the monks colkcted by Yd a luiled
waill ly from of w'l ich one was KauSii mbiAvant i
and lIlI; other M .. tllLl r:1. The fonner developed int o Thcr .. v5d ..
aw..! Mahihl sa ka sch00ls ",hile the l'lller into Sarv.istiv5.d .. , <Iud
bUill W,,; IC OllP,)scJ to t h.: centre W,l S il t
Pii!aliput ca ,\lu1 Vais.ili ,lI1d at;1 bIer d:lle in the Andhra province.
If we tu r n to the ur lcac:lcrs (iiciirrl[l llf<llllfl :JJ"(i ), as
giv."n in almost all tracitions. pre'l.'f\'eJ in Tibetan. it
wi ll b ... nh-.erved t hat ;tfter SambhiHa SaO:IV351. th.:
1. t Hins of Ihe Sec T"wkusu,
""i iiHiv, 7. t4. 20.
2. In Klshmir were bot h VaibhiHbs alIi! Salllrlnl k.\\ (ye villaya '
vidadJY'll.o The lal ler ar: in the
KoslI-Vr.;kItF; {VII i . ;2)..Is were a.so \\ ho
lIVed Klshmir 10 in the Koia:1'I Valb!I ;} )'!..""'.
3. !'rot". W(>I", (JPTS., p. I I) thai the S3f vii!!tiviiJilu
wcl'e 11$0 in I h<l Vibh'i.' Ka<hmiri;1t1 and <I;II1>"h. " i1n,
"fl.-:r wl11pi i:l lion of t he MoI/:(j,-{/J/ui",i edip>ed lhe 1,IHer and be
came knowll or !i lll ply Vaibh;:.ik:;ls.
4. Pr l) cp. cit .. I), 30S.
DOCTRINE'I Of GROUP HI SCHOOLS
129
is recorded differentl y rrom that in Pali. Bu-:; Ion
l
and Tara-
nat hal tell us that Ylahakassapa entrusted the gua rdi ll nship 01 the
Sangha to .i\nanda, whoi nturn entrusted the same to Sambhula
Siinavasi. The latter gave over the guardianship to Upagupta
of It is well known that in the Sanskrit Avadanas,
Upagupt a i;; made the spiritual adviser or ASo ka as against
MoggaJiputn Tissa of the Pali lell: lS. This al so lends support to
the vi ew that Mut hLl ra became the first centre or the SaniiSli-
vadi ns soon after the Second Council, and t hat it was frOll
Mathura that the influence of the Sarvasti vfldins radiated all
over Northern india, purtiwlarly over Gandhara and Kashmir.
The propagation of Buddhism in Gandhara and Kashmir has
an independent history of its own. Both the Pali and Sanskrit
traditi ons state that Madhyiintika (Majjlrantika) was responsible
for the propagation of the religion in these t wo counlries.
Madhyantika was a di sciple of Ananda and so he was a coo-
temporMy of Sambhuta s,at:Lavasi and senior to VpJgupta,
Madhyantika is recognized as a teacher by the Sarvastivadins.
That Madhyamika preached Sarv<ist..i vlida Buddhism in Kashmir
is corroborated by Ihe testimony of Hiuen Tsang, who tells us
thai Asoka not only sent Buddhist monks to Kashmir but al so
built monasteries althat place.
a
He writes that during Asoka's
rei gn there was in Magadha 'a subtle investigator of niima-riipa
(mind and matt er). who put his ell:traordinary thoughts in a
treatise which laught heresy' . An attempt was made to drown
these monks into the Ganges, but they saved themselves by
fleeing to Kashmir where they settled on the hills and in the
valleys. On hearing thi s, Asoka felt remorse and requested them
to return, and on thei r refusal, buill for them 500 monasteries
and "gave up all Kashmir for the benefit of the Buddhist
church.'" The fact underlying this story is that the " invesl i-
gators of mind and matter" were none other than the Sarvasll-
v;'idins, whose prtncipal tenet is that ndma and rupa are real and
are divi sible into 64 elements, which exist for ever (sarvatn asti"
1. See Bu-s:on. If, p. 108. He derived hi s information from the Vi/layg-
Ir. /lldra/(a of the MClla!arvd5l lvadim.
2. Than3tha, wa, Followed by Dhitika.
3. Watters, I, p. 269.
4. Walters, I. tl. 267.
130
BUDDHIST SECTS I!" L-':OIA
and It ii fo r this vie" that they had t he appel lation of Samhli-
vada. Then the statement that they resorted to the hills and
valleys of Kashmir corroboTll tcs the flight of the Sarvastiva.din
monks to the nonn in Kashmir.
Hiuen Tsang must have fallen into confusion in regard to the
name Mahadevi. There were in all likeli hood two persons of
thi s name, "one an influential abbot of who
preached the Deradlila-siitra, and the other a monk who intro-
duced the tenets relating to the imperfections of an Arhat.2
Mahadcv3 the Invest igator of mind and mott er must have been
a Sarvastiviitlin while the other Mahadeva, who attributed im-
perfections to an Arhat. was a Mah:isailghika.
1
Hillen Tsang
further confused the The ravtldins with the Mah:i.sailghikas when
he wrote t hat ASoka suppor ted the Mahasangilikas against the
Theravadins, and that 500 ArhalS left a nd propagat-
ed Ihe Sthavira school in Kashmir, while the majority of the
inferior brethren at Pataliputra began the Mahasanghika schoo\.4
The Mah3.mlighikas, as we know, lived originally at Vaisali
laler o n passed on t o the south, making their principal centre lfl
the Andhra country at Dhanakat aka (present Guntur District).
The stateme nt that Aoka became repentant lat er on and
that he wanted th: monks who fled t o Kashmir to return to
Magadha may be a n indirect reference to the fact recorded in
the Divyiivadiina4 and Asokiivadiina& that Asoka made an
attempt towards the end of his life to reconcile the monks of
the di fferent schools of Buddhist thought by convening a coun-
dl t o which he particularly invi ted the monks livi ng at Tamasa-
vana in Kashmir. The Ceylonese chronicles maintain a discreet
silence over this incident, a nd this is not unusual in view of the
sectarian spiri t permeating the chron icles.
The Sarvasti vadi ns also claim Aoka as t heir patron.
ignore t he name of Moggaliputta Tissa and put in its stead the
name of Upagupta as the spi ritual adviser of Aoka. The
l. Ill , )79.
2. Watters, I, p. 268.
3. See above. P. 22.
4. Wauers, I, p. 269.
j. Di,yii., p. 391). IA., 1895, PI'. 241 If.
U(Jl;1 UYU.tlUUp III SCHOOLS
131
Avadilna lilerature
l
of the SarvastivauiliS is full of episodes
dealing with the life and munificence of Asc ka. n.ranatha also
speaks of his lavi sh gifts to the Sarvastivilua monks of Apanin-
taka Kashmir and Tukhtlra. ' Kalha'.la
'
writes that Asota not
only bUll! Srinagari but also covered and Vlt astra
with numerous stupas, one of which was high t hat ils plOna-
de could not be seen. Yunn Chwang noti(.;l:u fOUf Asoka t opes,
each of which contained relics of Duddha's body. The Av<idanas
record that towards the end of his life liberality to the
Buddhist monks was carried 10 such au eAtl:nt Ihat hi s grandson
who was in churge of his refused to carry
out his commands and evcn reduced his food to a myrobalan,
hal f of which was the last gift made by him to the Buddhist
Smi.gha.
Through the activities of the Sarvastiv.ttitns, Kashmir became a
centre of Buddhist philosophical and was, according to
T!tran:i.tha, also the scene of the aeti"ities of VatslI, the pro-
pounder of the Atmakn theory (pudgu/al'l1da) and the founder
of the Vatsiputriya or Summitiya school. '
Geographical Expunslon of

During the retBn of Asoka the Stlrvastivadins uid not find a
congenial home III Pa!aliputra, i. e. in Magadha <lnd migrated
t o the north. They founded two one in K<l shmir under
the leadership of Venerable Madhyantika ant1 lhe other at
Mathura That ofVencrable Upagupta. M<luhyantika was
the direet of Ananda while Upagupta was the disciple
of Sal)avasika, who was also a disciple of Anam.la. The Sarva-
I. Prof. Przyluski wriTes in his LegeNie de r Emf)f!reur Asoka, Pfl . I OJ,
117 thaI II council of 30,000 monks was held by his sourcn of in'orm_
1I1ion being the Ai.>/o.OI'udiJno and TaranAtha.
2. p. 38.
3. S:ein, I, P. 19.
4. It has been restored by Schiefner u but il may "'SO be
Dllanada or Sampadi.
S. Sec Glfgit Ms., vot. I, Intro.
Ii. Schiefner, p. 44. Se.: Jll/ra.
132
BUDDHIST SECTS IN INDIA
sti,ftdins can therefore claim Ananda as t heir patriarch, but
Bu-stonl stat es that Ihey cl aimed as t heir founder Vcncrabk:
" renowned for his de\otion to discipline." III the
Rah ulabhadra is menti oned a:. a
tem:hcr. The Theravacti ns were tirs! divided into 1""0 :.ccts,
MahilJlsasaka and Vajjiputtaka (V<iuiputnya). From the funner
appeared the Sarv(istivadins. Siil].a .. asika was very when he
oniained Upagupta at Mathura. Tile time of the onglO or the
Sarvi\stivadms should therefore be placed about 150 year:. after
Buddha's demise. According to Vasumil ra's Sama},oblte,Jupa-
racanacakra, the branched off SliJaviras
m the 3rd century after Buddha's deml!>C. T hiS daLe IS cunobo-
rated by Bhavya. Vinttadcva and I-tstng. Hsing speaks. of
four main di\'isions of the Sangha, vil., Sarvastiv;\da, Slhavlfa,
Sammitiya and MahlisanghikJ.. The JiionaprasrhiillQsiwu
Kfltyayal).iputra contended that the objeclS in present lbo':.lr
pastness and futuri ty. It was refuted by Moggaliputta In
the Ka/Mil'oflhu. It was for this reason perhaps that
supported the cause of the Sthaviravadins, and conscqul:uHy
the Sarvastivadms left Magadha and went LO
Mathura and Kashmir.
There are a few inscriptions dating from the 2nd to the 4th
century A. D., attesting to the presence of the Sarva.s tiva.dins in
Mathura, Peshawar, Kashmi r and Baluchistan. There were a few
Sa rv3stiv<1dins at Sravasti
3
and Benaras (Sarnath). The earilCSI
of the three inscriptions (1st century B. c.) was found at
Matbura (Mathura Lion Capital) of the lime of Ranjuvula and
S04asa. It runs as follows:
(a) The chief queen of Kajula, daughter of
Prince Kharoasta, mOlher of Nanda Diaka along with othe rs
established at this site, which was just outside t?e consecrated
boundary the relic of Bhaga.van Sakyamum.the
Buddha, erected a stone-pillar crowned with a hon, and bUll1 a
1. Bel -Sian, JI, p. 100.
2. Abhld/,urmui....,j,,"yJl.:hya, pp. 114, 719.
J. Amona the done.es the Suvaslivadins do nOI appear in
theSe! Mahal lma.Q1l inscription (sec E. I ., VI II, fl. 111 : IX, p. 29l.
4. ASR., 1907-08. p. 13.
DOCTRINES or GROUP III SCHOOLS 133
monastery (saiighariima) for the acceplilnce of the monks of the
four quarters, particularly, the Sanaslivudi ns.
(b) In the reign of K}l!trapa Soc;hisa, son of Mahak:5ll trapa
Rajula, Udaya, a di5Ciple of Acarya Buddhadeva, along wit h
Prince Khal amasa and Maj a as assenting parries (on:lllux!akii)
made the girt of a cave-dwelling (gllha-)tihiira) to Budd hi la of
Nagarata for the acceptance of the S3w.istivadi n monks.
(c) In the reign of SOQ3sa, the gifl of land was
made to Acarya Buddhila of Nagara ka, who refut ed Ihe argu-
ments of tbe Mahasailghikas. (t::nding with the ,,"ords) Adora-
tion to all Huddhas, lJharma, Sangha, and to the Sakas of the
Saka country, etc.
The above mentioned inscriptions distinct ly prove t hat the
early Saka rulers were supporters or Buddhism, particul arl y of
the Sa rvastivadins, one of whose centres of activity was then at
Math ura. Buddhila, a teacher, must have ea rned
a great reputation as a disputant for defeating some Maha-
sarighika teachers in philosophica l controversies, and was the
recipient of gifts from distinBuished personages. There is also
the men lion of another great teacher called Acarya Buddhlldeva.
At Sravasti (Set Mahet) has been found an elliptic clay sealing
mscnbed with the name of " Buddhllueva" in the lale Gupta
SCfl pt (ASR. 1907-OK, p. 128). Yasomitra in his Abhidharma_
KOSo)'J'iiklryfi (V. 26; IX. 12) refers to Sthavira Buddhade\'a as an
:lulhorit)' on Sarvastivada doctrines and state) that one of his
preceding teachers wa) Sthavira Nagasena, who was a contem-
porary of King Menander. Buddhadeva interpreted the Sa rvasti-
y;lda doctrines as implying that "all exists (sanmtitva) as relative
{anyarlllin}otlriit l' a, Kosavyiikhyii. p, 470)." It is mther
rISky to Identify t his Buddhadeva with Duddhadeva of Ihe in-
scription, for It was a common practice among the Buddhist
monks to have identical appellations.
There is ,mother inscript ion at Mathura (Buddhist Image
of the time of (II J A. 0.), in which the
of a Bodhisattva image is att ributed to two nu ns, both
of whom were disciples of Bala, a master of Tripi\aka.
une of the nuns, Dhanavati, was a sister' s daughter of
Buddhami tra, also a master of This inscrip-
t Ion e\,luently refers to an image of Siddhiirtha Gautama before
134 BUDDIII ST lSl':(;TS 11'< INI.IV\
his of bQdhi, i. e., u Hinnyill1ic image. The preceptor
of the nun is described as D student of the Tripi!ak:t, attributed
only to the Hinn)dnists. Thai Bala was a Sarv3stivadin is esta-
blished by two other inscript ions discovered at viz.,
(a) Set Mahet Stone Umbre ll a Staff, nnd (b) Image inscrip.
tiom of I, which bur the same text. During t he reign
of (78 101 .... D.) the gift of an umbrell a and a itaff,
with a Dodhisatt va (image) was mnde by Bala and a
disciple of and these Iwo were install ed in the
promenade (cankroma) around the Ko.usambi kii !i. which was a
part of the Jetavaniinlrna a nd where probabl) Buddha was stay-
ing when he admonished the monks of KauM\ mbi. A similar
!!ift was made at Sarnatn by Bala (Sarmith Buddhist
Image inscription of I). tind these were also installed
in the cailkroma used by Duddbu for his meditation. The gift
was made by Bala. wishing to share his meri ts wit h hi s parents,
his disciples, wi lh another monk coiled Buddhamitra as also
with Vanaspara and Kharapallann. Both Bala and
BuudhaHlilra were Sarv.:\stiviidins, hence it can be inferred that
at SamaIl I also resided a fe ..... Sarviistivadins during the reign of
0 11 tilt: sOulh side of the Jagat Si ngh Stupn, the
insl:ripliull was discovered on the topmost step of Ihe
stone .lai rs "al:li.ryyiinal}l Sarvastivacli narp parigrahe." Dr.
Vogel lI lis Illseri plion to the 2nd century A. D.t This
inscription is n:pea ted on a "rail surroundi ng the old stiipa in
Ihe soulh dapd uf lht: main shrine." The second in$cription
on the ASokan pillar at 8amath, menlioning the nome of
was probubly dedicated to thc Sarviistivadin$, which
appellation was unfOrlunately obliterated. The third inSCription
on the same pilla r 115 folloW5: "iiearyyiiniHp. 8l.lmmiti-
yAnAI]l. parigrahe ValsiputriyaJ}.arp.."2 From these ci tations of
Ihe t .....o secls, S<lrvibtivada and SammitiYa, it may be inferred
Ihat the Sarvasti vadi m uccupied a strong posi tion at Sarnoth up
to the 2nd l:entury A. u. and that thereafter the Sammitiyas
atlain::d greater populalilY. The two sect) might have lived
IOgether for some lilllt:, but in any case by Hiuen Tsang's time
I. ASR., 1907-611. p, 73.
2. Sahni, Co/Ulo)/I'fI< .. j S",.""," ."/uleum, p. 30-31.
OF CROUP 111 SCHOOl 135
the Sarvastivadins left the place, leaving there the monks of
the Sammitiya school only.
The find of an inscription of the Kushan period in pure P<ili
1
leads us 10 conclude that the Sthaviravadins also re5ided there
at a very early date, perhaps before the SanastivAdins attained
rrominence.
Very likely the prollressive career of Ihe Sarvastivadins had
a r.ctback for some lime during the reign of (187-151
R.C.. ) as is evidenl from the DivyQ)'tJdiilla. a text of thi s school.
Hul the several donations made during this period by the devo
lees prove that it was professed by a large section of the people.
Its revival came with the invasions of the Graeco-Hactrians.
Sakas. Pahlavas. Panhians and Yavana>. The Milindapaiiha,
tht o,igmal of which was in Sanskrit. very likely belonged to
this schooP The existence of thi s text shows that the Graeeo
B[lctrian kings like Menander were interested in this religion.
Its complete revival touk place during the rei gn of the Sakas.
:lnrl the popularity of thi s sect reached its climax in the reign
of
Fa.hien (.lIQ.414 A.D.) noti ced the existence of this school
at Pil!aliputra whi le Yuan ChWaD& (629-645 A.D.) found it
"chieAy in Kashgar, Udya na. and several other places in the
Northern Frontier, in Matipur, Kanauj, and a place near
Rajagrha and aim in I-tsing came across the adherenh
of thi s school in T..a!a, Sindhu, Southern and Eastern India,
Sumatra, Java, China, Cent ral Asia and Cochin China.' From
the above it apparent how widely popular was this
school all over Northern India and outside India, bul little
known in Southtrn lind We<llern India.
I. The Pall inscripuOIl reads as follows :
Cauari imlilli bhilo.kl"i\oc ariyasaccAni
KQlamani c3.u4ri--dukkhalTl ariYlI<:IealfTl
dukkhlS3mudayam ariyasaccam dukkhanirodhum ariyasae=at)1
dukkhani-odhaglmini en pa!ipada. ariynaccafll
2. i:'t , 12 ed.). p 7(11 refers to Nlsasena.
ns piinakQ.s,/iQ';fa.
3. JPTS., (Pwr. 1904 05, p. 71: Lcgse' s Fa-him, p. 99.
JRAS . 1891, p. 420: Tabku;u, / .,$1"11. pp .
4. I- Isin,. 11tro.
136 BUDDHIST SEcn IN I NDlA
Bus!on's in/ormarirm about the School
Accordinl,l to Bu-ston, the founder of this school was Rahula-
bhadra of Ihe caste "renowned for his devotion to
discipline." The mantle worn by members of thi s school
had 25 10 29 fringes, and th:ir badge had an utpaJa (a lot us). a
j :wel. and the leaf of a tree.
1
He further writes. "just as lhe hi&her classes establish the
mundane laws and customs of a country or race, in a similar
manner the Sarvastiviidins. as they spoke in Sanskrit. the lan-
guage of the higher daises, represent the foundation of the other
sects,"!
It cannot be definitely stated whether Bu-stOD had in mind the
Sa rvasti ':adi ns or the Miilasar ..
LAnguage and Literature
The Tibetan traditions corroborated by the recent finds of
manuscripts in Eastern Turkestan and Gilgit leave no room for
doubt about the fact that the Sa rvast ividins adopted grammati-
cal Sanskrit (and not mixed Sanskrit) as the medium of their
li terature and that they possessed a complete canon of thei r own
in three divisions Surra, Vinaya and Abhidharma. The sub-divi-
sions of these three Pilakas were also substantially the same as
these in Pali.
Our main source of informat Ion regarding the literature of this
school is Chinese and, occasionally, Tibetan versions of th: Tri-
pi!aka, supplemented by t he find of manuscripts in Central Asia,
Eastern Turkenan, Gilgit and Nepal, and by quolations found
in works like the Laliral'istara, Mahiilastll. flfMhyamika-I'!tti,
SUlriiiOl'lkiira of Asailga, Divyavadiina, Abhidharmakasa with its
BhiiiJlQ and V}'tikhyii. It may be questioned whet her the inform-
ati on avail able about the literature of this school are of the San'lis-
tivadins or of the Muiasarvastivadins. For the present it is not
1. 8u'510n, II, p. 100. For fllrl her mformal illn. sec Watters, Yuan
Ch,.-anl, I. p. 149-'0.
2. 8u-Slon. II, pp. 99-100.
3. Hi uen Tsanl SillIes Ihat the Sarv.1slivtldi"s had a l)Cculiar mode of
weui"g :In.1 cnl (1 l1rin& 1heir robes not approved by the rollo .... ers of
$chool$ (Wallers, I, PI', ISO ff. Takaku;u,
onr.TRINES OF GROUP III SCUOOU 137
possible to distinguish between the two, but it seems that the
.3.gamns were common to both, so also were the Abhidharmatexts.
It is only in regard to Vinaya and few Avadana text s that there
might have been some differences.
Agama
Silrras: The Siitra-Pifaka of the Samhthtldins was divided
into Agamas corresponding to Nikayas of the pali sthuul.
There wt're four Agamas called Drrgna, Madh),ama, SUfJ1yuiau
and Ekotfara, In the Koja there are references to the Kludruku,
which implies by the exislencr of a K.rudrokiJgama too. p rof. Ala-
numa has compared the Agamas in Chinese with the Pili Nika.
yas
l
In delail and has come to the foll owing conclusions: The
Dlfght1gama contains 30 s(1n as as against 34 of the DIgha NikiJra,
Of the 13 suttas in the fim volume of the pali Dfgha Nlkt.ya, 3
only 3re omitted in the D(rghilgama viz., Mahi1fl (no. 6), /iJ/lya
(no. 7) and S,jJha (no. 10). All the suttas of the other twO
volumes are contained in this Agama and a few in the Madhyam-
agama. The order of arrangement of t he sCHras in the Agamns
and Niklyas differs widely, e.g., Mahiipadanc is the first SUlea in
the Agama in place of Ofahmajiila of the Nikdya, In the Agama
the series of sutras is as follows: Mahiipadiina, Malliiparinibbiina,
MahiJgorinda, Janavasabha, Agganiia, Cokkal'otti, Sfhaniida,
Ptlybsl, Udwmbarika-Slhaniida, Sailgiti, Dasuttara, Mahiinidiilla,
Sakkapafiha, IWika, Siflgii/ol'iida, Piisiidika, SampaJiidanfya,
Mal/('isamaya, Ambaflha, JJrahmajiila, Kii/adanta,
Keva!Ta, Kassapa-sfhantlda, Tel'ijja, Siimal1iipna/a, Po!!hapiida,
Lohicca, The A..gama contains two other suttas.
Of these sOlras, fragmenu of the A!iiniirr)'Q and SOligfti have
been disco,"ered lD Eastem Turkestan,2 and quot ations from the
Brahmajiila and SarigUi appear in tbe Abhidharmako5a.
The relation of tbe sut ras of the Madhyamiigama to those of
the Man hlma Nikii)'a is as fOllows : Of the 15:l suttas in the:
I. The C(}mparatil'e Catalogue 0/ Chil/ere .:fgamas & Ptili Nikiiyas.
Japln (1929) .
l . Hoc;r"k, lI-tw,us.-dp/ kmuins ui Buddhist l:aJle'Il
T"rk""nll .
138
BUDDHIST SECTS IN INDIA.
v?lumes of the ,Wajjhima, only J!J are omitted in the Agama,
VIZ., Cufasaropama (no. 30). Mahiisaccoka (no. 36), Siileyyako (no
41) , Veraiijaka (no. 42), Kandaraka (no. 51), Jrvaka (no. j.5),
(no. 57), Abhayarlijakutndra (no. 58).
60) , (no. 71), GhQ!amukha (no. 94),
Cankl (no. 95), Vase!!ha (no. 98). Sangiirava (no. 100), Poi/cal-
taya (no. 102), Kinlf (no. 103), Sunakkhatta (no. lOS), Alillpada
(no. IJhaddekaralta (no. 131), In the AfadhyallHguma,
there are III all 222 sutfas, 1:12 of which correspond to the suttas
in tbe Angutlara, JO to the suUas in t he St1l!lyutta, 9 to those in
th: lJfgl!Q and lhe rest to the suttas in the MajJhima. There are
a few 01 these SUltas 10 Pall not found in th: Agama, while a few
stray suuas correspond to passage In the SUflanipdta, Thera-thert-
giithfi and Vina)'a In view of the mixture of the
suUas from two 0, three l'ikayas in thi s Agama, we can hardly
expect much 2greement m the order of the arrangement of the
siitras.
Fragments of two sutras of the Madhyamiigama, viz., UptJ/{
and Suka, have been discovered in Eastern Turkestan.'
The agreement between the Smnyukra Agama and Sa'11I'Urta
is si mil ar to that of the Madllyamiigama and Ma.i.Jhima
Nlkaya. The (Sec. I) of the two Pitakas has mueh
in common but not the (Sec. 11); the 8th and 9th
chapters .01' viz., Sama\labriihmol;lo and Antarapeyylila
are wantIng In the Agama, while Ihe 1st and 5th chapter (Bud-
dha and Gal/aparl) show marked dili'erences. In the same Section,
Dhiiru and other Samyuttas are almost pllssed over
In the .Agama, but there is. much that is common in the follow-
ing nve SQJf1yuttas: Anamatagga, Kassapo, LakkhofJo, Opammaka
and 1n the Kliandlla-vagga (Section Ill ) of the Agama,
the lollowmg s0ftlyutfas are wanting: Okkantika, Uppada, Klesa,
Siiriputta, Niigo, Gandhobbakiiya, Valtiha, Vacchagoua and Ji/ana.
In the Sa!iiyatna-ragga (Section IV) , t he following are absent:
Mawgama, Moggollana, Asankhora, Sammappadhana, Billa and
whil e major portions of the Maggo, Indri)'o, and Sacca
are OI mHe!.!.
TIl!; as it exists in Chine5e, is divided into SO
1. Hoernlc. cp. ril .
DOCTIlINE901' oaoup ITT SCHOOLS 139
sections and incorporates a large number of suttas of the Ailgu-
tlora Njkiiya and a few of the other tex ts. There are also a few
sutras whi ch have no parallels in Piili.
A fragment of the Srof}asima of this Agama has been dis-
covered in Eastern Turkestan, while Prof. Sylvain Levi
traced a few quotations from thi s Agama in the SQ/riilmikiira of
Asanga.
1
and identifi ed the following fragments in the colkction
of Griinwedel: Kokanada- j iura (- Anguttara, Y, pp. I
Alliit/wpif}t/ada (- Anguuara. V. pp. 185-89); Dlrghanakha !iutra
( - Majih"ma, I , pp. 497-501 ); Sarabha-siHra ( '" Aiigullaro, I, pp.
185-88); Parirriijako.Srhal'ira.riiIra and BrfjllmOfJoJatydJti siltra
( - Aligu!tora, II, p. 185)-are all included in the Chinese trans-
lation of the Samyuktiigama. t
The Ekollarfigama and the Aitgutlara Nikiiya have very little
in common. This is partly due to the fact that a large number or
the suttas of the Aliguttara is included in the Modhyama and
SOlflyukta Axamas. The Pali text is much more exteosive than
the Sanskrit, and it seems that the growt h of t his part 01" the
Pi!aka took place independently of each other. From Akanuma's
comparative studies, the following sutras may be pointed out as
being more or less common in the two Samacitto ( I, Pl'.
61-9), (I, pp. 132-50), BraltmafJa to LOl;ophola (I, Pl'.
155-258), CoHo (fl. pp. 32-44). MUlJloriija (Ill, pp. 45-62),
NivarQ1;a (lll, pp. 63-79), JghOta (Ill, pp. 185-202), Deva:ii to
MaM (III , pp. 329-420) Avydkata to Maltii (IV, pp. 67-139) ,
Galtapati (IV, pp. 208-35), Sadlta (Y, Pl'. 92112), Upiisoka (Y,
PP 176-210) , Jiilfusso'Ji (Y, Pl'. 249-73), and Anussa(i (V, Pl' .
328-58). This is not an exhausti,e li st, for there are st ray agree-
ments in other sectioIl s as well.
A fifth .o\ga ma was not recognized by the schools other than
the Theravii.da. J n the Divylivadiina (Pl'. 17, 331, 333) and else
where the Agamas are referred to as AgamaCOlIi!!ayOlf/. In the
Nagarjunikotu;ia inscri ptions also, four Nikiiyas are mentioned
and not fi ve. The Piili Khuddako Nikiiya is really a collection not
of discoun;es, short or long, but of a number of independent
treatisei, which could not be included in any of the four Nik:iyas.
1. s..-c: Winlerni!l., 0/1. CIf. D. 234 ro.
2. TOllflg /'ao, Y, p. 209.
14{J BUDDHIST SECTS IN INDIA
By Khuddaka, the Palisls probably meant "other works" or
"miscellaneous works:' Though the Sarv:istivadins did not have
fmh Nikl'lya, they hed a few texts like the Udiinal'argo, Sri/ro-
nipQta (Auhaka and PiiTa,rana fagga.!). Slha";ro-giithii, Dharma-
puda, VfmiJnm'oslu, and BuddhaI'Q/psG, which came later on to be
colleclivtly called K; lIdraskiigama (sec above).
VlnoyQ
Yilloya teXI$ : Our informUlion about the Vinaya IcxU of the
Sarvastivndins is derived solely from the catalogues of
canonical literature. In Nunjio's Catalogllc, appear the foll OWing
titles:
<i) San.asth-iida-'I'illQyo-miil! kii, translated by Salighavarman
(445 .... D.): To.isho xxiii, 1441; 1132.
(ii ) Sarl'ustiw?ida-l'illaya-vibhiisd, translator unknown (350-431
A.D.)= Taisho xxiii. 1440; Nanjio 1135, 1136.
(Ii i) Sarviistiviido-rinayo-swigroho, compilt:u by Jioamitra, t rans-
lated py I-tsing (700 A.D.) ; Nanjiu 1127.
(IV) Da.J&lhyiiya-fimJya-nidiiflu, tramilalt:u by (be-
ing the preface to the Du.iUdhJ'uyu-'inaya). Nanjio 1\ 44.
(v) DaJiidhytl)'o-rh,uyu-!Jhik,lu-prurimok:a, translated by
KumAraji'l.-a (404 A.O.) : Taisho xxiii, 1436; Nanjio 1 [60.
(vi) DuJiidhyiiyu-I'inuyu-bhik jUnl-prOtlmok,a, compiled by Fa-
yin (42{)-479 A.V.) ; Taisho 1431; Nanjio 1161.
(vii) DuJJJhyuyu-vlnayu or the Sarv:tstivada Vinaya, translated
by PUl)yalara together wit h Kuma.rajlva (404 A. D) :
Tabhu .'lAi ii , 1435; Naojio 11 15,
The principal text of the Survastivadins was the Dasadhyli)'a-
l 'inaya. Fa-hien writes that he came across a Sarvastivada-vinaya
in verses, but the Chinese translation of the Dasiidhyiiya-l1'/Iaya
attributed to the Sa rvlistivlidins is in prose. The DaSiidhyiiya
(faisho ed., xxiii, 1435) is divided into 14 sections, It opens with
the eiBht sections of the The ninth section deals
with ''Seven dharmas" , \Ii:., iik:iipoda, P!),fadha, popatiesanii, I'ar
lol'tisa, camUJI'oslu, bhai/ oj,..avasluand chara (moral precepts, fort-
nightly ceremonies, confession, dwelling in the rainy season, use
of leather-shoes, use of medicines, and robes). The tenth section
contains "eight dharmas," viz., Ka{llina, Kausambr, Campii,
I
(
\
OOCT"R1NES OF GROUP III SCHOOU 141
POIJ{lu!ohila k a, Sangillil'asNaparil'iisa, Pal icchiidano, SayaniisclIQ
and Asamu(/dciirika-dharma (rules reo making of Kathina-robes.
dispute at KauSambi, events at Campa. deeds of P<iWulohit aka
monks, atonement for Sanghavasesa-offences, concealment of
irreligious acts, rules regarding bed and seat and proper conduct
of monks).! The eleventh section entitled "S8f[l}UHa," i.e" mi s-
cellaneous rules, deals with dMto and other extraordinary pre-
cepts observed by some monks. The twelfth section is devoted
to Bhikl Ur,Jf priitimokso containing. as it does, 8 PiJriijikti, 17
SOlighiil'oie,ii, 30 Nail;.sargikd, 78 Pdyonrika, 8 PrcitiddanI}'u and
A.,qa-dharma. The thirteenth section re-arranges the preceding
rules in the koltara style, from one to eleven dharmas. The
concluding section. the fourteenth , contains Upii/i-pariP!ccha, a
well-known text on disciplinary rules.:
The text contains almost all the chapters of the Vinaya of the
Thera,iidins and the Muiasarvbtiviidins, and appears to be a
much shorter 'iersion of the text of the latter. From t he tit le,
one expects ten chapters, but act ually there are fourteen, and so
we ha,,e to assume that fOllr of the fourteen chapters were later
addItions or were originally treated as supplements. The 11th,
13th and 14th chapters are no doubt later addit ions, but it is
difficult to ascertain the fourth addi ti onal chapter. A close study
of the Chinese translation along with Sanskrit text of the Mula-
sarv.ii.stivudins will reveal the actual posi ti on.
Miilasarvdslivdda Vinaya
As Slated above, we rely on the Cbinese versions of the Sarva-
stivada literallire incl uding the Vinaya Pi!aka. In this connec-
tion, it may be mentioned that a large portion of tne original
Miilasarvastivilda . Vinaya was discove red at Gilgit and edited
by me after collating it with its Tibetan versIon. It may be ass um
ed that the Vinaya texts of Sarvastiviida and Mlitasan'asli -
v1l.da were not very different from each other. From t he Mula-
sa rvastivada text, it appears that the MUiasan'astividins also,
I. See Bodl,isat/va-prnllmoksa-sillfa, IDlto., f). 3 (I HQ .. vB 2)
2. For further detail., $tt introduction to Ihe MUlasarvlstiv;]da-vin(lya,
(iI/gil Mss, vol. lit, pt. i i,
142
BUDDHIST SOOTS It> 11'>01.\
like the Lokottarvadins, whose first ViMya text is the Mallii-
vaslu introduced many episodes relating to the past and present
Iiws Guutama Buddha. The chapteN of this Pitaka that have
been published (Gilgit Manuscripts, Vol. III) are as follows:-
i. Pravrajya-vastu (fragmentary)
II. (do)
iii. Pra,-aral)a-vilStu (do)
IV. Varsa-vastu (do)
v. (including the Srol)u-Kotikaqla avadana)
VI. (also in fmgments)
vii . Civara-vast u (complete)
viii. Ka!hina,-as\u (do)
ix. Kosambaka-va.t u (do)
x. Kanllu-vastu (do)
xi. (do)
}Iii. Pudgala-vastu (do)
xiii. Parivasika-vastu (do)
xiv. (do)
xv. Oilier unident ified vaslus, in fragments, the last of
whidl is Sarllghabhedaka-vastu.
Ahl:idlrarma
The Abhidharma literature of the Sarvastivadins is fairly ex-
tensive. Apart from the well-known seven text" and the famou5
Vibhiisa sastrllS of the this schoo! had to its credit
a fe""; other works written by Vasubandhu,
Sarpghabhadm, nharmatriita and Dharmottara. None of these
valuable works are available in original Sanskrit except the
Abhidharmako.ia. its bhihpa and vyiA.!Jya of Yasomitra. The
Vyiikhyii is no doubt a mine of information and contains most
of the philosorhical topics discusscd in the Abhidharma litera-
ture of the Sarvastiva.dim. It may also be regarded as a qlJintes-
sence of the Abhidharma texts. For a general idea of the
several t.exts at the present moment. we shall have to depend
.on the valuable analysis of the Chinese translations of the texts
made by Prof. Takakusu in the JPTS. 1904-05, and the notes
given bll Prof. Louis de la Vallee Poussin in his introduction to
the French translation of the Abhidharmakosa. With the publi-
DOCTRINES OF GROUP III SCHOOLS 143
-cation of the V),uk.hyJ it has become possible to comprehe nd
the terms amlnomendatures suggested by Takakusu on th:; basis
of the Chinese renderings and form a betler idea of the cont ents
of the texts. Tile texts claimed by the Sarviistiva.cins as
(';o[lstituting their original are follows:
1
-
(0 ltiiinaprasthilnusutra of Arya K5.tyayaoiputra with its
six supplements Va! viz.
(ii) PrakarUf;apiida of Sthavira Vasumitra
(iii) Viji:iinakiiya of Sthavira Devasarma
(iv) Dharmaskandha of Arya Sariputra
(v) PrajnaptiSiislra of Arya Maudgalya.yana
(vi) Dltiirukaya of Pilroa and
(vi i) Sangfli-paryaya of
(i) The Jiiiinaprasihiina.siilra is attributed to Arya Kiitya
yal)iputra. In the Kosa it is stated that the actual author of
the work was Buddha hut the arrangement of chapters and
topic!; were made by Katyayaoiputra and so its aut horship is
attrihuted to him. It was translated twice into Chinese, by
Gotama of Kashmir and Chu Fo-nien. in the 4th
century A. D., and by Hiuen-tsang in the 7th century. It is divid-
ed into eight sections. The fin;t section contains exposition of
](Jukikiigradlwrmas, jiiiina, pudgaia, sraddhii, ahrikalii. riipa and
its lak.wua,anarthaka ( ?), and cairasika (= best mundane topics, I
knowledge, individuali ty, faith and reverence, lack of modesty.
material consti tuents of the body and thcir characteristics,
anarthaka (1) and mental states). The second section details
the sUf]l)'ojal1as or defilements, which hinder the spiritual progress
of an adept, and t he Causes of defilements. The third section is
devoted to the acquisition of knowledge (jiiiina) (a) of doctrinal
matters by which a seklta becomes an asekha. (b) of right and
wrong views. (c) of the means of attaini ng six abhijiiiis, (d) of
the four truths and of the acquisi tions to be made in t he four
stages of sanctification. The fourth section details what may be
called evil works and acts with thei r consequences and also
1. Koia,t,9&11.
2. Kola iFr. tr3ml.), ;"Iro., p. XKX. See Infra, p. \44.
144
ltEr:TS IN rNnTA
explains vijnapli and ari.f!iapti.
1
The firlh section gives an ex-
position of n7paskalldha, i.e., the four con;ti tue nIS. and of those
originat ing out of t hem. bot h internal and external. The
section analyses the 22 illdriyas (predominant fac ult ies) and the
three spheres of existence viz., kiima. flipii and arlipa, and ex.
plains in detail the spars(mdl'iya, mula-Cflra, etc. The seventh
sect ion is devoted to t he mental states developed by an adept
while he is in samiidlti, a nd gradually advance; from Sakadag:i.rni
to An:igami stage. The last. the eighth section explains the fou t
smrlyupmfhiil/Qs, the vari oll s wrong views, a nd similar other
matters.
The alternative title of the JiiiinQ-prasrhiilla-sutra is A:!a-
gram/la, as it cont ains eight chapters, relati ng to Loukikiigra.
dhafl/;a ( = mind and mental states) which are considered to be
the best of worldly (klima and riipa dllii/II) matters. It secms
that thi s book corresponds to the in Pali . It
contains eight chapters: These are :
(i) Laukiklixradharmo = the best worldcondi tions;
(ii) iliaI/o", = knowledge of the nature of all worldly
objects :
(iii) Pudgaldb- of indi viduali ti es:
(iv) Snenogaural'ol/7 _ Sraddha _ Regard and firm faith
in the Triratna. Le .. Buddha. Dharma and Sangha:
(v) AhrlkYWIJ'" immodesty:
(vi) of the body. i.e .. Oilil)'lItii
( - impermanence, i.e .. bi rt h. old age and death):
(\'ii) Celanii . somceIaIlQ. odhiretollQ - idea, thinking. and
deep thinking:
(\-iii) Anarthakam= Perhaps. it means "indifferent, i. e.,
nei ther ,Dod nor
The second chapter deal s with
(i) Akllsala (evil acti ons and thoughts in general) ;
(ii ) SOl1lyojanulli =fettcr s of human life. are the
as Sal1lJ'ojaniini in P:ili :
l. , ....u1<l . I. t l.
Th. abov. enun' ernlion II n,1 j,\lcrprcl:ol ion are b.ls<d on the Sl O>l.ti!
of lhc reJeV:lflI Chine-it , ..... ! by S,\ nl i lIhiJ.:"! u or S:inli Ni lwan

DOCTRINES OF GROUI' III SCHOOLS 145
(iii) Sahacariram- fettersrelat i ng to the uf tll!: thr!:e
dhat us : K ama, RDpa and ArQpa;
(iv) Som'{J;r _ thc ways and methods Lo Ix: adupted by t he
denizens of the th ree Jhalus to geL rill of t[lI: JWI. yujwlIls
(fet ters) ;
(v) DaJa .. it enumerates all Lhe r.;ollr.;C"i vau[e
impurities of the denizens of the three
The rem lining six chapters have nut yet publislted by
Sa.nti Sast rr.
Dr. Barua mggests that the work (Jifill;oprus/hiinu'!>'ulru) ilia)
be paralleled 10 the pali text Pali.!ombhidllmagga.1 There may be
a verbal resemblance between the two text s, bLit the Jfltinupra
whiina is written more on the lines of th"'n on
those of PO/isombhiddmoggo. The title also suggests thaL the
work is expected to conta in topics leading to the highest knuw
ledge, which, in other words, is purity or emunr.:i patio n.
The second book is entitled Prakaral) aptJda. Its LlLilhunhip
is attributed to Sihavira Vasumitra, who. ar.;r.;on.!i ng lu the
Chinese tradit ion, composed it in a monastery at Puskalavati.
It was translated illl O Chinese by GUf,mbhad ra and Bodhiyasas
of Central India (4JS443 A. D.) and also by (659
A. D.) . The work is divided into eight chapters. The first ucfi nc:>
rllpa, citta, caitosikas, cittaripray uk los and asamskrtas' (material
constituents, mind. meni al states, nonmental states, and the
unconstltLited). The second deal s with the sa me topics as those
discussed in the last two chapters of the fourth section ur the
Jiiulloprastllul;osiitra, The third ell-plains the and
their spheres or act ion. while the fourt h defines severallt:rms,
such as d/rrltu, i1yarana, skandha, mahl1b1riimlka
3
(cf. KUJ'a, II,
23; III, 32), etc, The fifth chapter analyses the cmu.}uyuJ
(dormant passions), v.hi le the sill- th explains rijne)'o, unumeya
and QnasrQrod/rarmas (things to be known, to be inferrw, and
pure dha rmas). 1 he concluding chapter, the seventh, appea rs to
be an rndex, containing all the technical terms with thei r mean-
mgs rn short ,
1. Law, Hisrory 01 Piili Lil., I, p. 337.
2, See Infra,
3, Kda, ii, 61-6 2
14fi BUDDHI ST SJ'CTS I " I NOlA
The third book, Vijiiiillo-kiiya is attributed to Devasarmii,
who, according to Hiuen-tsang, compiled it at ViSoka neur
Smvasti, about a century arrer Buddha's death. It was translat-
ed into Chinese by Hiuen- tsang (649 A.D.). It is divided into silt
chapters. It contains an exposition of pudglJ/o. il!driya, cilia,
klda, rijiiiillo, etc. as given by Maudgalyaya na, enumerates the
different classes of beings, persons, ctc. , defines the function of
menIal states as hew (cause) and ii/ambollO (basis) of spi ritual
progress and also of mental states of a perfect (i .e., Arhat) and
an imperfect adept, 1 Prof. ?oussin remarks in hi s Etl/des
Asiol!qll es, 1925 ( i. 343-76) that the first two chapters contain
the cont roversies relating to the existence of past and futu re, and
of plldgala (soul).:
The fourth book is entitled Dharma.!ko.'ldllO. Its authorship is
attributed to Sariputra. It was translated into Chinese by
Hiuen-tsa ng (659 A.D.), In the colophon of the Chinese
lation t his text is described as "the most important of the Abhi-
dharma works, and the fountain-head of the Sarvasti vada
system." This book, it seems, appealed to the Chinese not for
its subtlety and depth of philosophical discussions as for it> com-
prehensiveness outlining the general course of spiritual training
prescribed for a Buddhist monk. This work can also be parallel-
ed to t he Visllddhimagga of Buddhaghosa. Its 21 secti ons are
as follows: Sik$iipadas or atiainmenH leading to Scota-
patti ; development of faith in the Triratna ; the fruits of the
four stages of sanctification, four iirya-pudfialas !amYak-sol11-
kalpa of the eightfold pJ.th; :ntainment of rddhipiitJas; practice
of smrIJUpasl!,iinas: expositi on of the iiryasol),as; four dIU'iinus;
four opromiiljo:>; four higher samiipallis (iirupyas). practice of
Maranii; exposition of bodhyoligas, and then an exposit ion of
indriyas, ii),QfOIIQS, skclldhas and dhiitlls. Its concluding chapter
explai ns the twelve terms of the formula of causation
(pra tEl yasa!1lut pada).
fifth book, Dhiitukaya, is attributed to PilrQa in the
Sanskrit and Tibetan texts, and to Vasumitra by the Chinese
writers. Prof. Takakusu remarks that the original Sanskrit had
1. vii, 12.
2. cr. JlQJiJ (Trans]), ii, p. 150 fn. Sec lIi/ra.
l>OCTJtI NES OF OROUl' III SCHOOLS
147
probably more than one recension. It translated
Chinese hy Hiuen-tsang (663 A. D.). The object of the treatise
is to ennmerate the dha rmas. considered as 'reats' by the Sarva-
stivatlins. The dharmas are classified under the heads: 10
mohiihhiimikas. 10 l:leia-mahiibhiimikas. 10 porittakleJas. 5 klesas,
'i drs/is. ctc. This cl assi fi cation differs sl:ghtly from that found
in Pali texts and the AbludharmakoJa.1 Prof. La Vallee Poussin
lhinks that this must be a "cry old text, which may be regarded
ra'i the source of the Pali Dhalukathii also, as it discusses the
wmpayutta and rippaYlitta rclations of the dharmas as has been
d ene in the Dharukafha.
The sixth book Prajiiaptis(lstrd is attribut ed to Maudgalya-
ya na. 11 was translated into Chinese at a very late date (1004-
\055 A. D.) by Fa-nu (=Dharmapula) of Magadha. The
Chi nese text is incomplete. In the Tibetan version this treatise is
divided into three parts. viz .. /okaprajifapfi , klirm.1apra;napli and
karmaprajiiapli. The lokaprojliapfi appears in a well-di.e;e,ted
form in the Abhidlwrmakosa (III). Prof. La Vallce p oussin has
analysed the first two Praji'iap fis in the b()utfdhiqlle
(pp. 275_350).2 In the lokaprajnapf j the ideas of
the Buddhists are given. in the kiirOtlGprajliapli the character-
istics that make a Bodhisattva are discussed, while in the karma-
praFlflpli there are enumeration and classification of different
kinds of deeds.
The seventh book SoiJgltiparyayo is at tributed to Maha-
b U$thila by Yasomitra and Bu-slon, and to Sa riput ra by the
wri ters. It was translated inio Chinese by
(660-663 A. n.). This text was compil ed. according to the intro-
ductory remarks, immediately after Buddha's death 10 avert
disputes among the di sciples regarding the Buddhist teachings
and rulei. The scene of this text is laid at P:I Vii.,
where dissemions among the Niga(ltha Nataputtas started after
the death of their teacher. It arranges the dr/armas, both doctri-
nal and disciplinary. numericall y in the Ekoltra style. i.e., grad-
uall y increasing the number of dharmas fr om one to tell. The
content3 of this text agree to a extent with those of the
SaiJglti and Dasuttara sIIlfontas
2
of the Dlghanikciya.
t. 10;"" 1,,11'0. p. xxni; If.
2. Cf. Dasottara-iOtra in (.lap. r<l.). 1" .
148 BUDDHIST SECTS IN II\' OIA
Be;ides these seven recognized texts of the Sarvastivadin
Abhidharmapitaka, there \\-'ere a few other digests and commen-
taries dealing with the topics of the Abhidharma. The exhaustive
commentary on the Jiiunapraslhiina-Sllfra was, of coune, t he
Mahii l'ibhii$a, compiled, according to Paramartha, by Klltya-
yal)iputra himsel f with the a5sistance of ASvagho$a of saketa.
Among the digests, the most important work is Vasubandhu's
AMidhurmakosa, which has got a blrli,rya written by Vasubatldhu
himself and a l'yiikhya wntten by YasomitTa. Then there are
t\\O other text s, viz., Abhidharma-Il}'iiyal1usara and AbNdJrarma-
samoya-pradfpika, attributed to Sarnghabhadra. an opponent of
Vasuhandhu. Sa Q1 ghabhadra wrote these works to refute some
of the the..es of Vasubandhu, especiall y ' hose which were in
support of Sautrantika views. '
There was an ea rlier digest called Abf!idharmaslira written
b)' Dharmasri. It contained eight chapters, viz., dhiilU, SallIS
kiira, anuioya, iirya, Fiiina, sallliidhi, miscellaneous iiistrQl'arga
or radavarga.'
Among other works of note belonging to t his school, we may
mention Siiriplllriibliadharma, Abltidharmiimrtasiislra of
Abhidharmaltrdaya of Dharmottara and Lokaprajiiapti-abhi-
dltarmaMislra of an unknown author.
Docrrilles
In the history of the secession of schools, it has been shown
that the Sarvistividins belonged to the orthodox group, which
is why there arc many points of agreement between the Thera_
vltdll and Sar'l:tsti vilda
I. Sabbam attlt;
The principal pomt of dIfference bet .....een the two schools is
that the Sarvastividim maintain the existence of 5 d/rarma.r in
their subtlest states at all times, whether in the past, present or
future, while th: Theravlidins deny any such existence. The
former accept the fundamental creeds or Buddhism, viz., anauo
and anicea orall worldly beings and objects, and their contention
J. For details sec La Poussin's Intro, to the KoirJ. p. lAiii.
01" GROUP Iii 3(l HOOUl 149
is that the b!ings and objroctsconslituted out oftbe dharmas at
a particular time are mhje::t to disintegration but not the
diwrmas themselves, which always exist in their subtlest states.
Vedallc, for imtallc:e, may be kuSala. akuiala or avyiikrta at a
particular tim"e and place bUI it exists at all times.
l
The Karhiivat1lIl.l (1.6) presents the ariuments and counter-
arguments of the Sarvastivfldins and the Theravfldins thus:
The Sar ...iistivildiM maintain that all dlzaramas exist but not
always and everywhere and in the same form. In reply to tbe
whether Ichandhas which are ail different by nature
exist uncombined (ayngam), they answer in the negative. This,
however, gives an opJlMtunity to the Theravadins to show the
fallacy that if all exist then b9th micchiidiuhi and sammiiditthi
shouldexi$t together. Then again by equating the past and the
future with the present, the Theravadins show that if the past
and the future exist then their roxistence should be predicated in
the same way as of the present} which the S. deny, sayine: that
the past and the fmure exist hilt not exactl y in the same form as
one would speak of the present .
The Th. have recourse to the second argument, saying that
let the 'present material aggregate' (paccuppaJll1arupa) be treated
as one inseparable object ; now, afler sometime bas elapsed, this
material agE!regate becomes the i.e. gives up its presentness
(paccuppan'nabhiiva), to which the S. agree; t hen in tbe same
way can it be that the material aggregate also gives up its
materiality (rupa-Mova) ? The S. drony the latter inferenoe,
reasoning thus - let a piece of whi te cloth be regarded as one
inseparable object; now, whron this cloth is coloured. it gives
up its whiteness (like poccuppannahhiiva, as in the former case),
but does it sive up ils dOlhness (like riipahlrlira as in the former
case)? This disarms the opponents. The Th., however, follow
up this argument of the S. by stllJrihiklJJJaya (pure IOiie) saying
that if the material aggregate (rupo) doe., not give up its materi
ality (rupabhlil'o)! then nipa becomes permanent. eternally existing
I. See Points of Appendix. pp. 37$-7.
2. UIUTllcnl is rep,;atcd will1 ciI.b of thc klu>ndhas.
l. C),. rilpllkkhandhena
150 SECTS IN I NDIA
like nibbiinQ-a concl usion not accepted by the S., as according
to the latter, rupabhiil'Q is different from nibbanabhal'a.
The next questi on put by t he Th. is, whet her the past (orlta)
gives up its pastness (alilabhii.,o)? The S. answer in the negative
hut tak(' ('are t o note t hat wlten they say that altlabhiil'Q e.xists,
they meall thaI ottiigatobhiil'O (futurity) and paccllPPoWliibhal'u
(flre,entness) do not exist like t he atflQbhfha, and si milarly when
they predicate c'(istence of Qlliigarablldva, t hey mcan atftabhiil'{l and
[JIl('wpponflab/!ol'a do not exi st like oniigatabhiil'O. This general
is then applied to each of the khandhas. The Th.
rnund up t he discussion by their USU:l! juddhikanoYQ ,ayi n,!! that
mila or atifabhdva would tben be the same as nibbiina or nibbana-
Mii va, a conclusion rejected by the S. T he Th. then take to
1'(1N1nasodhana (clearing up of verb31 errors), saying that (i) if
the of the past (alffa) and the non-past (nilt/ra) as also
of t he future (al/ligata) and the non. fut ure (110 clIldgata) is denied,
then the S. should not say that the past a nd the futuro exist: so
also (ii) if they do not acce pt t ile ident ity of atI/a, paccuppa,,"o
and aniiga/a,1 they cannot say that a/Ita and aniigala elt igL
The DCl!.t argument of the Th. is t hat if the: S. admit that
plIccllppanllOliil'lo ( present cognition) exists and it ha5 the
function of knowi ng things (pacclIpmmu111 liii(ICli!1 attlli, tena
nih/ma liiit;lakara'liya'll karoti) <lnd then why not shoul d the
atifoiiii(/Q und allaga:aiiiilJo, the e:l!.istence of ..... hich is affirmed by
the S. , hovc t he funct ion of knowing past a nd future things in
enalogy to that of puccuppattllaiiillla'l' The Th. consider t his as
i!logical lDd reject t he cont cnt ion of the S. that a(ltal.lI 1;11(10111
alth;.
The Th. now take up the insml'ces of Arhats, Am'lgami s, etc.,
<lnd show thnt according to the S.'s sta tement that otlta rllga
el!.ists in an Arhat, that arrta byapiJda exists in an Anag!lmi, and
so forth, an Arhat should be sorl1ga, an Anagami should be
I. By hav/Oitrecoursc to the discussion whethr Rulra /rot;. hull'a hotfl;
and hulra nu hoti, I/O /til hOlft;, the Th. shoo\' logie1l11y the umen-
ability of thi s assertion of the:S. (K"/I. p. t 25) ..
2. In the lext, this arSumcn! i. clabol'il1ed by tile uf Ihis
general nalemtnt 10 each of t he strue-orila'llI (paras 21-28) as al60 to hal/Ira
pcida, I1tlbbo, kayo. iVo. rejo and ,aYII (paras 47-4:1).
OOCTIUNES OF GROUP III SCHOOLS
151
bylJpannQ-Cirra, and so on, but this inference is not accepted by
the S.
The last argumen t resorted to by t he Th. is Ihat if the existem:e
of cmo, paccuppunllo and al/agota khandhas, dhtJtl/$, 11}'atanas be
admitted, then the S. sho uld say t hat t here are (3 x 5) or 15
khandha:., (3 x 18) or 54 dhal us, (3 x 12) or 36 ayatanas. ""hidl
the: S. reje(.;l saying lhat they ma y accept t he posi ti lJ n that atflu
or {miig(Jfa el!.isls from IJm: st.a ndpoint and does not exist fwm
another standpoint (arth! alUa'll or slylJ I/a at/tal!! ur nu
andgalul/ tl). The Th. lhen bring in their slIddlrrkonaya by dting
the imtan(.;c uf nlbblJna and e:itabl ish the fut ility of the asser t iolJ
uf t ht: S. thal lhe past and t he futu re exist. 8 0th the Th. and S.
then 4uO\c passages frum the SUlla Pi!aka in of thei r
tVll lefltiuus, one however remaining unconvinced by the other.
The following may be taken as lhe opinion of the S.
I . The past ami the future, as usually understood, do not el!.ist
though Lhey a re p<!rceptible in the present.! In the sa me sen e,
the lIon-pastfuture should also be taken as non-existent.
2. II is bhlJI'a of each of t he five khandhas, and not lhe khandhas.
lhat persists in t he past, present and future.
3. An object (I'asfu) may lose its pasme;s, presentnesi, or
fLiturity but not its object ness (vaSrUll'O) , but that objenness is
flot iut nt ica! with nibblJna or nlbblJllabMI'o.
4. An Arhat, e.g., has allra rlJga but he is not therefore to be
n:gardeu as sariigo' .'
The S. admi t impermanence (anilyata) of the constItuents
but t hey contend that the "dharmas" (or bhavas) of the past are
transmi tt ed into t he present and likewise the "dharmas" of the
future are latent in the present. This we may illustrate, bycitlOg
the eX:l. mple of a sweet mango - the past mango seed transmits
into the present its 'mangoness', if not the 'sweetness'; and,
si milarly, t he 'future mango' its ' mangoness' from the
present : the mango seed can never produce any ot her frUit
though there may be a change in the quali ty, shape and colour
I. E,g. ollliga:mr/ hu/l'u paCCI<PpoIIIIQI/I !tori but (lliniata is not identkal
with II(lCCUppmllla in the ordinar)' !tnse, though in paCClippanlla there is (the
dllarma of) Qllitgata so in sense pacClJppmllia ar.iig{[w.
2. cr. the views or re, ClIIIlJU)'a, pp. Solr.,
152
BUDDHIST SECTS IN INDIA
of the mango. The S. speak of a being in the same way.
According to them, a being is composed offi'le dharmas (not five
khandhas), viz" (i) citta (mind), (ii) cai/osika (menial statts).
(iii) repa (matter), (iv) l,j!iI1'7lprayukta-sQTf/SkllrtJs { Hates imkpeu.
dent of the mind),1 and (V) asaquk!tas (the Tilt:
1. In Vuurr-itra this appears also as a separate opinion of the S.; The
phmomcna j;({, iura, Jlhill. QllifyutlJ are citla->lsampray"'rllf bul i"cluded in
MJIf',skiiraskatldlw. One of these four items, viz., jara \S discl'&se:i in i'YU
(VII. 8) under the topk "jarnmamnarp yjpH:o ti" an npinion orthe Andha.
kas, the . , supportioK the OPpOsite "icYi that "jarlmaranalll" is nOI
l'jpQka.
2. These five are sub-divided into sevc:1tyfive thus :
I. ROpa ( 1): (a) Y/IOya (!i) (tI) fndriy>l (f) (c) aVI/ilapll el)
(i) IOpa (i) Co!klurindriya
(i i) bbda (ii) jrotrendriya
(lii) lI:andha {iii, Ahrioonddya
(iv) rasa (iv) jihvendriya
(v) sparia (v)
II. Citta (\)
III , Caitasihs (46) ;
(a) MilMb/tiinili.a (10)
{sarvQCiun-bhpvptvat, kia, II, p. 42)
(i) vechmA (vi) mati or prajiti
Iii) sarnjiii (vii) smrti
(iii) celani (viii) manaskilira
(iv) sparia (ix)
(v) chanda (x) sam60Jhi
(6) KuJulatr.QlWh/rimlka ( 10)
(i) jraddbll. <vi) alobha
(ii) vll')'a (vii) adveia
(iii) upelqi (vii i) ail irpsa
(iv) hrf (ix) pra! rabdhi
(v) apatriipya (A) apramada
(c) KltJa-ma/rdbhflmlka (6) (d) Ak"sala-maNibMimika (2)
(.J
(il moha (i) ah-lkMli
(ii) pramida (ii) anapatripya
(iii) klusidya
(iv) asAddh)'a
(v) slyAna
{vi) auddhaly"
Upakfda-bMim(ka (10)
(i) krodbn
( ii) rnralqa
(iii) militsarya
(I) Am;''U/,,-bl"'mili.u (8)
(i) ka.lkrtya
(ii ) middha
(iii) vitarlca
DOCTRlNl!:S 0.1' GROUr In M:UOOUI 153
five dharmas (not elements liS usually understood) persisl in a
being, t he present being the re.ml tll nt of the past. and potential
of the future. An adept affrr hecoming a so/lipanI/O remains so
in his following existence, prO'Jing thereby that his past dharmas
continue and the th ree sU'!'}'(ljana.f' remain ineffecti ve. It may be
argued by the Th. th:H the: three sal]l}YJjanas have altogether
disappeared; then the Sllrvastiv.idins may cite the instance of
Sakad:igamin as a iIIu<;tralion. A Sakad:igamin reduces
raga, dom and maIm to the: minimum, and in hi. following births
that stale continues, provine the conti nuity of past ' dharmas'.
Now we may pass on to the case of the Arhats. The Arhals. it
will be seen, become complelely free from rliga, OOsa and moflo,
but according to the Th., these nre destroyed for ever. but
according to the 5., these rnga, nOl a and moha persist though
in an ineffective form, and these may reappear and cause an
Arhat fall from Arhathood- a topic discus!.ed in the Kvu. (I. 2)
and attributed by to the S., viz., Pariha)'ati arahii
arahattii Ii '}1
IV.
(iv)
(v) prada&!
(.i) vihirp.\.l
(vii) up,iu!1ba
(viii) m!y;l
(ix) l4thya
(x) mada
Citla-viprayuk.ta (14):
(i) pn1pti
(ii) aprapti
(Iii) sabhd8'114
(iv) asarnjililcA
tv) ll5amjili-samipalti
( yi) nirodhl-samipaui
(\'ii) jivita
(iv) vicAra
(v) r8ia
(vi) pmtigha
(vii) ml\na
(viii) vicikitsl
('1m) jAli
(IA) uhit;
jari
(xi) anityat;l
(xii) mimakaya
padakiliya
(xiv) vyalljana-UYl
V. Asarnskrll (3): (i) Akiia
{II} praltsaq1khyl-nirodha
( lii)
See Rosel\berg, Di4 prob/tlm# .. 1'! phi!{ ... npM,.
RAiluta AhhidhQrrr.a-Iwia. Table lIt.
I. SIlkkiiYildif/hii silobtm/o/xmimtlJD. vicikic;M.
2. For its eAposilion, see ante, p. 101.
pp. 128-9.
154 DUDDHIS"[ SECn IN l1iO' ....
In Karit-as 25-7 of the firth Kosasthana of the Abhidlwf-
makosa,' there is a detailed exposition of t he main thesis of the
Sarvasti viidi ns, viz. , Sarram asti. The content ion of the S. that
the dharmas exist in the past, present and futu re rests on certai n
statements found in the :\gamas, one of which is as foll ows:
" Qllf'@Qdl<l''l '1 ' 'IC1't 1
I -qifFT8 ;nf'll'f<mr I
""'" ",1 mm. f.""", . ... . , .,m, I
{ R6pa (material constit uenlsof a being) , whet her pu t or future
is impermanent, not to speak of the present . A len rned Sran ka.
who real izes this, remains unconcerned with the past nipa. does
nOI rejoice at his fut ure Tiipa a nd e)terl s to rid his mind of the
present rupaj.2
On t he aut horit y or t his statement taken literally (kamha!ah).
t he S. contend t hat if the past rupa does not e'(i sl, t here was no
necessity of inst ructing an adept to re main unconcerned with the
same. In t he same way, it may be sad of the futu re and the

The same statement when interpreted yields a
furt her argument, viz., every I'l'j,ifjlla (percept ion, cogni tion)
requires the combination of two t hings, the and its
object. Now, one speaks of manol'ijli(i.'la (mental perception,
cognition) of past acts or things. This also impl ies t he existence
of past acts Qf objects. otherwise bow could there be mono
viPilina of the same. The same argument is appl icable to future
acts or objects.'
Then agai n, if there be no past, how can one speak of an effcct
due to past good or bad deeds . At the mome nt when the effect
is produced there is the I' ipiikahelu, which is past.
s
For reasons stated a bove the S. affi rm the existence of
I . Sell StcherbatskY. CelU/Ol Conccplirm rJj App<'ndix,
pp. 7&91: La V2l1ee Poussi n's Fr. trans!. of Koic. V. 2S-27; R:1hula 5Mkri
ly:lY3n3 Abhidh(mn'*oJa.
Theexpositioo given in the Kathiil'utlhll sDCaks of "hlrii";;,,)r.rf,,",,," or
Uharmll{rUa.
2. Cf. /II. Vr., p. 444; in j\luJJhima. iii. p. tn:
Atitam napp.a.!ikat'tkhe anagatam.
Yad a:ltnrp pahi:latTt tarn, ap!:lIt1an ea anli.gatarn,
t'3<:cuppann:1111 ell yo dhllmmlllJl 'altha la"ha
asal)lktlpparn tMp victvll m!nubrOha)'e.
j. Koia.ydkhyli (Jap. ed.), p. 468.
4 Ihid., p. 469.
S. Ibid., P 469.
OOCT RI!'.'ES OF GROUP III SCnOOLS
155
pust and future of drav)'os oll ly, and not of bhilva, 'ok,olJo or
Qlo.uha.
The Sarviistivudu cxponents, however. differed among them
5e!l'c5 and interpreted t he e;o;istence of bei ngs and o':>jects in t he
past, presc nt and fUlUre in thus: .
(i) DharnlEltri:itn states that the objects rema.1n t.he same and
undcrgo only modal t,;hanges (bltiil'{inyarhiitl'c), I.e. In form and
quality, giving rise to difJerent notions, such as. past, preseat and
fulure. A .thing ori ginates when il lake> new modes or
qU:llity nnd is destroyed when it abandons them. He cttes
insta nce of gold and ornaments m:tde out of It , as also of m.'
and curd, pointing out that the gold and thc substance of mIl k
remain the same, though hoth undergo cha nges in form and
quality by the addit ion or subt racti on of somet hing else. The
mod:11 ehangcs nre described as past, prescnt and fut ure, deca}
and and 50 forth. A certlin object gives up
mede- or form and quality and the pre;ent moOe.
it ubandons its pre9Cnl mode and altains the past mode .. 1f It
not be so, the future, and past objects would be entucly
diffcrcnt from onc anot her.
Vambandhu has criticizcd t his view (IS similar to t he SaIflkhya
doctrine of cvolut ion (pari1Iiima), admitti ng, however, the
fur.damcntal di ffc rencc bclwe;; n Surpkhya and
view that t;"c former upholds I.he existence of an eternal real, ty
(prak(ti) while Dha rmatrutu adhercs to the impermanent nature
of worldly objccts.
(ii) states that C\'ery phenomenal object
characteristics, viz" birth. old agc und dcath, and these eXist with
the object at all times. When a baby is born, milk is drawn from
the udder, or Ii gold ornamcnt is made. it earrieswithit the
two characterist ics, viz., old uSc nod deat h, which were extSllllS
In the baby, in mi lk or in gold ornument in \l. lateat form.
The presentness (prat),ulpanlla) is distinguished by Gho.'!3ku as
actual usc or applic:ltion (samudiidira) while t he ot her two, the
past and the future , arc distinguished as attainable (priip!i). The
inception of an object is called bi rt h or present, while t he other
two, (lId ugc and del th, which wiJ1 be fort hcoming, are fuwre.
When the baby grows old, or mi lk t urns into curd, or the gold
ornament is worn out, its old becomes while its
156 Sta; . s IN INDIA
incept ion become;; past and its ultimate decay future. By this
argument, Ghoiuka established change in characleristiC5
(Ink,wlJiinyathiitva). Dharmatriita deals with the object and its
form and quality (draJ'ya and bhiila) separately, while
takes Ihe two as inseparable.
argues that if the three characteristics
do not exist together and be completely separated (l'i)'l4ktol11
Jyat). then present cannot become past nor future ron become
present, and so he concludes that the three time-characteristics
exist together. He gives the following illustration: Suppose D.
man is attached to a woman; he is not i hereby whoU;-,
from other women. The att achmcnl is distinguished by him f\S
actua l applicat ion (samlJdiiciira) a nd the of hi s ultach-
ment to other women as attainability (priipti).1
Vasuhandhu criticizes the above view as u cross-mixture or
blending of time (ad/i),Qsal'(lkara) . He contcnds that a past object
or characteristic should not be regarded as possessing the ehura-
cteristies of present and future. In other words, attri-
buted three time-characteristics to onc object, which is illogical,
because one object c;tn hove onc time-characteristi c.
Again, in the casc of living beings (sattl"iikhya), the question
of attainability (priipli) may arise but it is Dot applicable to
material obj:eB (asarrriikbya), as a pitcher docs not take up its
hordness.
(iii) Vasumitra (1st century A.D.). author of Pariprcchii.
Paiical'aslUka and other trealises,2 states that obiects exist at all
the three times: past, present a nd (uture, and do not undergo
any change either in substance or in their form and quali ty or
in their us contended by Dharmatrata and
He holds that it is the activity or function (kiiritra)
that determines the pastoesi, presentness and futurity of en
object (arasIJuinyathiitl'a). When activi ty is taking place. e.g.,
when eyes function and see an object as it is in substance. 1Il
1. KV-Ju-v}<lkhyu (Jap. cd.), p. 470.
2. Thi$, according to Fa-pao, is the opinion of Sa1T1&hnbhlldra.
Accordin(t to P'ou-kcun, this opinion is also cxpressed in the V;blrr;,ii . cr.
KoJarydkh)a, p. 470.
J . AbhidhQrmakoJa (lap. cd.), p. 167.
Of GROUP III SCHOOLS
157
form and quality or in charll:teristics, it is called present: like-
wise, when the activity cccse5, i.e., when eyes hm'e eompbted
seeing an object, the object is regarded as past. Similarly, when
the: act ivity will takc plnec with regard to Ilny object, the object
is described IlS future. In other words. in all objccts, nil thetlm::e
time-factors arc co-cxistent, und it is the activit y or functi on thnt
determilles the timc or nature of a n object (adllJ"iina&
Had there been no co-existence of the time-ructon,
thc past and the future woul d be non-existent like the horns of
a hare. Pastne!t'> or futurity, according to Vasumitrn. is neither
a n error nor absolutely non-exi sten!. Hence, all phenomenal ob-
jects exist in the past, present and future. He cites the instllnee
of a cipher and its position in a mathemat ical figure. Just as a
cipher placed before the figure I has no value, and when placed
arter the figure 1, it carries the value of 10, so also an object
by its activity determined us past, present and future.
Of the three interpretations stated above, Vasubandhu gives
preference to Vasumilra's view, but criticises it also as faulty.
Vasubandhu argu::s that , according t o the doctrine of "all
c.1.ists", "Aiirilra" should also be existent along with the object
at all l imes, for it is not l>eparable from the object. Being an
prup.::rty, kiiritra should not be disti nguished as past,
pre:>O:lIt and fulun::. Kiirifru, again, cannot be different fWIIl an
(dhurmu), fur ao.:uruing to the Sarva5t ivauills, there IS
IlvLhillg: dhurmu. Again, if kiirilru be identical with the
objl..'l:t, it l:anllut be tIle uetermillant ur pastness,
aud futurity.
Vasubandhu nut support 1111': Sarvilstivilua view whole-
heartedly. He lakes here the Sliutrantila vit:w ill his l:rilidSIil
or Vasulillt rO!.
(iv) Then:: is a fourth view by Butldhadcva, who is
mentioned in an inSl:ription (see above, p. 132.). He )ll1leS that
the phenomt:naL objccts e:o:ist a t all Limes; they arc 1.I!:llott:tI a.s
P<ist, prest:llt ur future relatively (an)"athiinYOlhIkufI"u). Like
Vasumilra, he dues nul agree wiLh the contentiun uf Dharma-
Intta. 11m! thaI ubjt:l:IS ulIlkrgu dlallge ill furm anu
yuali ty ur in time-chal actt:ristics. He say) that an U\)jL'Ct remaius
the salJlt: at all times, but it i) denoted futule with reference
tu it) in the past and present, likewise the present is
1.:>8 DUDDIIIST SECTS 1:'11 INDIA
denOlcd with refcrence to ils existence in t he prescnt and fu ture.
The usc of past, present a nd future on the rel oti ve
cxistcnc: of an object. He cites t he instJ.nce of a womon who
is deSCribed both as a daughter a nd mot her with reference t o
her fat l'cr lind son, Buddhadeva contends that while I.1vcry
objei.:t possesses a11 t he Ihree t ime-factors at the sa me time. onl y
om,' time-factor is pointeJ out in rehtion to another. It is some-
t htng li ke sa yi ng tha t a certain objcct is curd in its presentn!ss,
milk in its pa5tness and crea m in its futuri ty. An objed, the
onterior of which is known and not its posteri or, is
denoted as future; again :111 object, the anterior and posterior
cllistenccs of which are known, is denoted a s present .. then, ag.'lin,
an object, the posterior e:<i stcuce of which is known and not it9
anterior, is denoted us past. In this manner, Buddhadev.l esta-
bl ished the exist('llce of an object at all times (trdciita-sat ).l
Vasuba ndhu cri ticizes this view, saying that, according to
Buddhadeva, three time-f:tctors become one ('/:asmim el'{ulhvmzi
Irayo priipllllI'Gmi), which is un tenable.
II. Mairrl (ami ty) and KarUi.lii (compassion)
The S. in consonance with the Th. regard Huddha as a human
being but they attribute to him divi ne, sometimes :>upcrdivi ne,
powers. They look upon the as prtllllljjullC!i who
must destroy the worldly fellers like an average adept In order
to Slep inlo the som.vaknoll),oma or soliipanllal:ood.
'\ccording to the $ .. "scntient beings are not Objects
of mailr' and and so forth 011 the part of the Buddha,"
anj , further , "if anyone adheres to t he "iew that there are scn-
t ient beings he cannot realize emancipation."
The first opinion is opposed in the K1'1I. (X VIII. 3 NoW' i
BlIddhaSfl BlragaralO karu!,,} til on t he ground that t he Buddha
is described. in the texIS as 'k:lrulJiko' and that he sometImes
enters Imo and so he has karl/llii for senti-
ent beings.: In the pal i texB, the practice of four bralll1111vi/ulrlIs,
malIrf. 1I1t/dili1 a nd upekFJ. form an essenllal part
of the Therav;1da code or spiri tual practice. It is by meJns of
I. (JUIJI;U.), 470-71.
2. A Il lhcic vi" ... , haw been discus,cd earlier, See pp. 7Jf. above.
DOCTRINE5 O F GROUI' il l 159
brahm(Hihiirns thll t a n ;)dept IS able to ;oolc upon all being> as
nne :mrl l hc same. Tn other w(l rds . he develops samatiijliiilfa.
Regarding the second olpini on, Ihe S. "Ia le only axiomatic
truth t ha t in Buddha', eye, no illll iv,dllal being;, exi.( and as
such t hey cannot b::: the oh .. ect 0 " hi" I'lflllr' :lnd
There are th ree OIher views rel at ing to RudJhn' s teachings,
whi ch are opposcd to those of the but a re in
keeping with the huma n concept ion of Rllrldh:l Tl(>,;e :l re :
(i) The Buddhas cannot expound all a si ngle
utterance.
(i i) The world-honoured One utt ers whi c h arc not
always in conformit y ",ilh t he Iruth.
(iii) The si. tras cel ivered by Buddha h.we :lnd there
are even mnle
II I. Arlwt.I'
According to the Sarvastivftdills, Vasu mitra sa}s:
(i) A srotHipanna has no chance of while an
arhat has.
(i i) All arhat,> do lIot gain
(iii ) An arhat is governed by pralflya.oIl1UfJ)(idiiliga (l imb$ of
t he causal law).
(iv) Certain arhats perform meri tori ous eeeds.
(v) Arhats are not free from the influence of thei r past
karma.
('vi) Arhats gain nai)usoik! u- lliisaiki a_lfj(j'Ia.
(vii) Arhats gai n the four fundamental dhya nas : they cut;not
realize t he fruits of dhyanas.
The first opinion t hat arhalS may have is [he
same as that of theMahasaaghikas and t heir sub-sects (discussed
above, p. 23f., 82L 106f.). The S . hke the M .. the exist-
ence of two claisc, of arhats with different degrees of ultJ.in-
ments.
3
According to the S., all arhUIS a re not completel y
1. AU tbex views earlier, see pp. 73f at-ove.
2. The word Ililiiffha mCa/lS 'Iileral nr di -e.:1 me:lninB' and dvet nol
convey lhe real inferred scnse: as the doei.
3. K(>Sa, VI. 64 : The Ulllluy"lobhaguvimu!ll'U! ha IS lealise niro-
dhlsanllipaui and remove bOlh kleMvaraca (nbstacJe or p., .. iom) lind vimo_
(obstacle to the knowledge of ckurm(m),orll of IlUma aod II/PC)
while the Pnjn<l.virnukta urhllts _..., wt,v ",,"ove only kteUvara(ll by
means ofprajiia. For the six kinds ofarhau. see KI)$a. vi.
160 BUDDl-IIST IN I:-;'OlA.
perfect - an opinio n not accepted by the Therilvli din<: , though
the latter have no objection whHevef to as
Sa( _ svo).dhammakusa/a and It;s interest .
ing to find this opinion discussed also in the Milindapafiha.
1
where it is said that there are arhats who may 1101 be aware of
the name and gotra of any and every person, the various roads
and so forth, but there may some conven;:ant with the
l'imutris.
2
The second opinion reiterates the first in another form. The
S. hold that some and not all arhats gain the anurpiidajlifillG (lit.
knowledge of tbe ceSi al ion of rebirth), but all may have kiaya-
j li iillU (lit. knowledge of the extinction of HI! imrmrities in one-
$elf). The M. assert that only Buddhas and not can have
both k royajiiiina and omttpiidajlirma.
3
Regarding the third opi nion, Mr. Masuda on the b:lSis of
Shu-chi says that of the t welve items of the causal law, four,
viol ., nful1arupa, phussa and ved:l!",ii. - (or, according
tu .1Ilother inte rpretation, only vedanii) remain aeti\'e in the ca,e
of aillaLs, the other items, i.e .. Q\'ijjii, sarpkhiirii., tal)ha, upii.:Hi.na
bhuva , jiili, and jara-marar:m, becoming ine:fective. The Chinese
interpretaLion can be accepted only if ' vedana' is limited to
' 3dukkha-asukha-ycdana' , for an arhat is (endow-
ed with im.lifference to the sill. imJriyas, i.e., the org:lns of sense)
come intu l;(lntact wi th t he respective objects of the sense organs
which do not evoke an y feeling, good or bad, in him.
The ruurtli opinion speaks of pw"iiiopacaya of an Arhat. The
Th. and Mabisasakas reject it, so also do the Mah:.isanghikas.
5
The Arhats aTe said to have done all that is to be done (kara-
karn1ya) and are beyond merit and dcmcrit, good or bad; hence
to speak of sUllie of them as collccting merits shows th3t the
I. Mifilldapanna, p. 267: rnlMrl!.ja ekaccassa arahalo sabbaljl
l!.niluljl na hi lassu balarp auhi sabblll1 Cr. Kvu. , II, 2 above p.SH.
J 2. The five vinlll.tlis are-{\) la:1atlg8"!mun i or vippaS>llnl:i'ii (la all<\in:d
b)' removi ng th: (If nieCl! , eu.:.,. (2)
vimulti or pnccnvckkhn(la_i\l(1l, ( 3) SlmllcchedavLmutll or (4)
pR!ir.madhivimuni or phaia-M"Il, and nissaral).avlmulli.
3. See above, p. 82f.
4. iii, p. 245; Majjllima, 1, p. 219; Kvu., p 2!!O.
S. Muhhima, II, p.
OOCTRI!"ES OF GROUP III SCHOO!.S 161
S. , lilt: lhe Andhalas, do not look upon all arhats as complctely
pt:rrc:ct.
The fi fth opinion that arhats are subject t o the influence of
past karma is perhaps based upon some instilnces fOllnd in the
Pitakan stor ies that Arhats like Ailgul imu!e llnd Mahumogga-
llana' :Suffered pain on account of t heir Plst
In t he sixth opinion, the word lIahasaiki a-niisaikfa, as trans-
lated by Mr. Masuda, appears to be Dnd preference
should be given to t he meaning " nirval."lll" as assigned t o it by
the Afaltiivyulpalti. The sense woul d then be that, according to
the S., some, and not all, arhats attain Nirvul)D (full emanci pa-
ti on).
The seventh opi nion has not been t aken up for discussion in
the Kvu. The Kosa (,iii. 6) tells us t hat there are eight funda-
mental dhyiinas (mau.lo-sa'/Iiipauj-dravyiil;li) i.e., four dhyiillas
and four iirupyas (higher dhy.inas). The content ion of t he S, is
that all a rllals complete the four but all do not neces-
sari ly altai D the fruits of t he four dhyanas,' which are detailed
in the Kusa (vi ii. 27-28), thus : by the fi rst dhyanll., one obtains
dr,!u-dltarma-sukhol"ihiira,5 by t he second jiiiillo-darSana (or
dhya-cak3ul"a!Jliijriii),' by the third praj/iii-prablleda,' and by the
four th aruirral"alii.
IY. SamyakII'Wlyama' (dest ined to attain nirva-;I!!.)
Vasumitra attributes the following opinions to t he
Sarv;\stivadins :-
I. Mtltndapaiiha, p. ISS.
2. Mi/ind.:lp.:.iiha, p. 134 ; Nil hi m::r.ltarlja $abbantam Widayitam kam_
mamnlakllffl . See IOt<o KVII., vii i, ktmmahetu arahan! pari M\'atlt i?
3. "For arhals lhere are things which are no longer 10 be learnt and
things which are slilllO learnt." Asia Major, p. 49.
4. Dig/w iii. 222; A:;"., ii. 4 : Alth' ifUSO samidhLbhlyana bhlvJt\
bahultkata dlntudhammasukhavlhll.rllya hlfl\"atbti iiii QadassaJlapal ii &l.Iilillya
&sav&nnlfl khny6ya
'i. IiI . of in the i\re!l<:Dt booy (pa!i: dillhadhamm.:L-
sukhaYiharn).
6. til. Insight Into lhe real of IhinSl i.c. from any "Ikulpu. ( -
PAli : i'iA(lad/lso;ana).
7. iiI. special or detail!d knowleuge of the things of the world- the
corresponding Pal, is palis:lmbhid1.
8. lit. puri1Y (PlIli : AuvAnalll khaya).
9. For references sec Kola, vJ, p. ISJ f".
162 BUDDHIST SECT, I:" Il\DlA
(i) A person call acqui re sOlllyakll'Gnyama through thc
lalion 01" slillya!ii Jnd GIWu!lihira/(l; a person in .mm)'akrl'a-
/I )'{//lla IS called pmtipmlllaku up to the firtetnth (or
last ) momcDt of thc tfarianumarga. In the sixteenth
moment he is called plioia!llIo when he is in blul1'OIU1-
I1ltirga.
ti i) A person can acquire sOI/l)'ukrruJlyiill'u and can also
gain arhnthoou independently- of the four dhyiinas,
(iii ) A being (in RiipCl or Arupa dhatu) can gain arh;!thood
but not .mm"okll'on)'lima. it is only when he is in Kama
dhii tu thll t he cun have sl1l11),akl1'(;lI),iimo as also
(Irhll i hood.
Alli:d to the ubove three, there are two other views attributed
t o Ihe S . viz. ,
(iv) The re are certain devas who leact a holy li re.
(v) There is no one who is rree from ill Utt ara
kuru. No saint is born t here or ill the Asun!ii-suflruloku.
The fi rst three views raise the quest ion of
i.e., of persons who are desti ned to attain Ni rvaJ)a, and have no
ehnnce or being divcned from the Aryan path and going to
lower states or joining heret ical sects, An adept III sall/yuklm
" yiilllll is the same as sotiipaflimaggapa(ipanna, i.e., one after
destroying Ihe three SQmyojiJllas (i mpuriti es). viz., sakkiiyadi!lhi
(belief in a self). slfabbataporiimiisa (belief in the efficacy or
and l'lcikicclui (lack of (aith in the Triratna) is on the
w:.y to .mriipallipliaia. According to the scheme of the S .. an
Ad ept remai n:; srolrip(JIliphaia-pralipannaka for the first fifteen
i e., up t o tile or marge anl'ayajliii .w
k.fiillfi,l when he completes the from the 16th
moment he is in or sroliipolUlO.
Tile opinion raises the quest ion wh.:thcr onc enn become
a SWl iipuuiphula-pl'atipallllaka by the medi lati e n of sunyatii
(i.e. tllllillllotii) and apraf!ifiilo/(i (Le, (ItJ{!J:lwtii) and anitymii
1
1. Sec il1fra.
2. cr. Asia MQ)(Jr, II. p. 40, n. Y.
DOCTRINES OF GROt:1' HI SCHoOLS
! 63
nnd not oi ullimit(otil;' the answer given by thc S. is in the
affirmative.
The second deals with the problem wh:ther sO'II),ukll'UlI),i.1l1U
rollowed by nrhal hood ca n be attained witho ut the or
the rour dhyimtlS, the S. asserting tha t 11 is tu attain
arhathood by means of certain practices Other than t huse
ncccsS:l ry lor dhyan<ls, e. g., by means of slll,rl yupuHhiinm' or
bralzmol'ihara,T and so forth.
The third is concerned with the problem: whether gods in the
Rupa or ArOpadh<1tu can gain samyakll'wl)'lima as also arhat-
huod. The S. hold [hat t he) can attain the laller but not the for.
nlt'r, <IS it can only be attained by a bemg while in tho! Kama-
dhiitu, This problem is in Ihe XI'II . ( 1.3): Na11/tidelesu
bralllllflcari),iiraso II 1- an opi nion held by the Sammitivas. The
opinion orthe S. is upheld oy the Th. In the KI,It . it iseontend.
ed :brahma-cariyavasa' docs not mean merely pravrajya
(ordlnat ron), (shave nheadedncss) and so forth as
held b)' the Sammi liyas, but <I lso includes ' maggabhavana.'
The Th. and S. hold that t he Anagamis do not come to t he
Karnadhatu but they remain in Riipa or Arupadh:itu and by
maggabJ/iivrlllii Ihere, they become Arhnt s, without becoming a
.1'011!)'ok Il'Qnyal/la.
The fourth opinion of the S. is that the gods except t he Asan-
iHsalias can have moggaMii1'(mii, though notpabbo)jii. mUIJr/iYUI,1I
etc.
The firth. is b,ased on a passage of the Alig. Ni.lc (iv.
396) and Cited III tte KI'/I. (I. 8, p. 99), in which it is stated that
the inhabitants of Jambudvipa surpass those of UU<lrakuru <l nd
TAv:ltirnsa heaven in energy, mindfulness and in religiolls life
{bra/l/)/Ucariyawlsu);2 from this it has been inferred that there
cannot be any saint in Jt has been ment ioned
above that the S. as well as the Th. exclude t he Asafifiisatlas
I . Mr. Masudc on IDe OO$ls of Fa-Jell statts that JJharmagupta held
that one (I1n"ot attain lamyaA' /vUllycl",a willlOU\ ,A,1u h-Iujvr,
p. 4!l, n. 9.
2, PC/ntl cf Controversy. D. 73.
3. The S. are mak.ng an anomJly in drawins the ir.ferences. If Ul!ara_
.kuru cannOt any how can the TiivalilflSa any
164
S.,;t:TS '-'i ."UIA
from the gods who foll ow (l religi ous [ife, and so, amon,S the
Asaiiilisattas aho there cannot be any 6ainl.\
V. AllllpubbiibbisamoyQ
(gradual realisation of the truth)
Vasumitr::t att ributes the folfowi ng view;; to the Sa rvastivii-
dins :_
(i) The four truths (I re t o be meclilated urnn gradua lly.
( ii) The catllr. friinro/Jyophalas are not necessarily attained
gradually_
(iii) If one is in samyaku'allyiimn, he can allIin (at once) t he
fr uit s of sakrdagami and aniieiimi nn account of (Ihe
completion of) t he IOllkiknmiirga.
An adept , according to the S., int o t he fou r
t ruths in a gradual order: in 15 moment ,,- :_

(i) (or in five skandhas, i,e.,
nima-rOpe) dhatmajlilna-qlinti'
(raith, conviction) confined to K<1madhillU.
(ii) dharmajillina J
(iii) Dlll;.khe 10 ROpa lnd
(iv) Dul;.khe anvaynjMna
Srotiipatti .pratipannakadarSanamiirga
(v) Samudaye (sAsrvadlnrmAnilm hem I
i.e., kamlaklek) i
k"'nl" JconfiQed 10 KAmadhiilu.
(vi) Samudayc dharmajiiflna
DOCTRINES OF GROUP III SCHOOLS
(vii)
(\iii)
..
,. anvayajnamt
l
cxlcndcd 10 Ropa and
ArOp1dhllt ......
(ix) Nirodhe \pratIUmkhyi-ll irodhc or 1
dharma,illana- \.
k,'nti. 1
(x) Nlrodhe dlHrmaj n.1na J
eonfintd to K8malll:IUu.
(xi) Nlrodhe 8mayaj naout1!1(i
(xii) anvayajilina
(xiii) Milrge (.taik;a daik13 dharrr.a Of
dharma-
jilinak"nli
(.'iv) Marge dharmajMna
(XV) M.irgc
(.,vi) MArge anvayajftAna
1
1
utended 10 ROpl and

confined 10
J
1
extended I.., ROpa and
ArOf'adhAtus.
165
From the abo'e table it is e\ident how the S. - mark the gra-
dual stages of t he development of insigbt into the four truths. I n
the KfU. the controversies: Anllpubbiib/;isamuyo Ii" (II. 9) and
Od
1
lisodhiso kilese jahtilf Ii 1 ( 1.4) and also JI;mlltta!fl vimuccamif
nan ri '/ (10, 4) support the view of lht S. about the gr3dual re-
aliza tIon of the truths. The problem discussed is whether an
adept reali zes the four stlmailllaphuius, including Vinllltti, gra-
d uall y or not 1 The Th. contend that there: is no bar to the re:-
ali zation of all the phaias at one and the same _The S.
subscribe to this vIew as will be appareut from the second opinion
of the S. quoted above, eAcept that they do not incl ude the
fourth phala, viz., arharhood or 1'/nlUUP Duddhll ghoS3 should
have painted out thi s discrepancy HS far as t he S. nre concerned.
According to him, the opinion that the reah.at ion of the pha/as
is attai ned gradually is held by the Sammitiyas.
[n the third poi nt, it is stated that, 10 the S, those
adepts only who have completed the attain the
second and third pha/as at one and the same time. The Th.
hold that bhiivaniimiirgn, which commences from the sroliipatti-
pflala stage is lokottara and cannot be /aukUm; the S., however.
1. Cf. I'ibJranga 315, 329.
2. There may be ascet ics who o!:tain the four fruits gradually (anu-
p!lrvCQa Kola, vi. 45.
3. Kola, vi, 45 : The is or IWO kimb ; hWkik. or shrnvll
and 10kOl tara cr afli\sravl.
166
BUDDIIIS7 seCTS IN" I III VlA
COntend Inn! it may be eithe l k'
to this is j Ih fK au Ika or io,hJllmo. A topic allied
hereafter. n e I'll. (I. 5). which will be deal! wi th
VI.
Put/rujjanQ La k "k -
, II I amargo Or Laukiktigrotlharma
The .. a, poinl ed out by Vusumilra h Id ._
(J) A PII(hu.fj(lIIo (average J .' 0
. m!tn 1.5 able lu tie-troy'"

'J prof/gila in the Kamadhitlu. ) f w5,U and

II A PuthllijOIlQ can d" . b
(iii) There j', k") Ie WIt a good of mind.
s au /KQ-SQmyagdr.ff d l k
(iv) The /aukikiigradl . ",' all UII Ika-JraddhendriJO,
Jarma IS a Siage la (" 1 c
menl (ekakiDr.ikaciuo) mg on y .or oDe mo-
In the BUddhist texts a th" ,
a or a rec/us pu h (au average man), Whether
Sam)lojanas, viz., SQklciiya;'lt:i o. yet destroyed Ihe three
in oreier to become at - ,1Iel lct"ha and st/abbatapariimiisal
troy riiga, dos
a
and s:::annll, .call .ha rdl y be expecled to des-
mnved When a n ad t :' wluch .Impuri ti es ere normally re-
that a e3 tllt: anagllmi stage. The hold
. . a e to remove from h . d -
prnrlgha, which is the s , 1 IS mm raga and
b
. arne a5 'UJ-YU or vi?fnIJda Th Th .
t IS vIew in the K . h e . dISCUSS
_ ru. 10 t ese words Jall -t h"
rago.hyapiidall li ? (I 5) .' a J put UjjallO kiima-
. . concludmg that a t h-
completely eradicate fro .. pu u]ana cannot
iipada (hatred), gross and rl1ga and by-
the Th. raise the other questiou . 'p n of thIS
dhammiihhisamayd a"4g - . I I urhujjano kdmesu Vitariigo salla
i.e. whether 3n aVCrage 1. 5, p. 112),
the realization of the truth ti .hO IS from kama, aUains with
we have seen nbove ans or not "/ The S" as
they do not t hink that sU:;jr a In the but
but he eo.n atta in all tht: uther arhath?od,
In other words, the COll \eIl tion of t he . e an I e sa me .. tlme,
attainments through la ' . 'k S, IS that a puthuJj una's
u""' U-ml1rga may be f h h
tha.t the moment tIle truth flash . . o. So 18 an order
a.nagdmi when h es 111 hiS mind he becomes a n
anagdmihood, llhe
he
1 condi tions for
l. &:e above, p. 162,
2, Se: K,'" . p. 11 3.4.
Ower two pha/as. t
DOCTRINES OF GROUP IJl lfi7
The opi ni on that an average man dies with a kusala-
cit/a ;s based on many of upasakas dyi ng with a good
mental slate. The Th. also subscri he to thi s view, and hence
there is no discussi on in the Kw.
The third opinion is the same that of the Th. and is oppos-
ed to that of the Sail a schools (see above, p, 109).
The fourth opini on is not touched upon in the KIu. but has
been dcalt with full y in the Koso (VI. 19) thus : -
If thc conviction (k,'dllli) concerning dubkha of
the Kamadhiitu be the strooeesl. it lasts only fo r a moment, so
also arc the agradharmas, i.e, hmkikagradharmas, l which though
.)"dsrara (impure) are the highest of the mundane dharmas and
lead one to the darsana-Jtldrga (way to the real ization of the
truths),
The point is that a puthujj nna, accordi ng to the S., may attain
spiritual progrt::'S up to thc a n5.gil.mi stage by satipa/-
!hdna an.d such ot her practiccs, which are /allkiKa so long as they
are praclisW by one who is not in of the maggas and
phaltil.
VI I. AI/usara and Parralaslhiina
The S. arc of opinion that: -
( i) AlIlhe are caitasika; they arc cittasamprayukla
and are also objects of thought (iilombana).
(ii) All the anu.fayas can be included in the parYOI'asthQnas
but aU paryarasthlJnas are not Q1Jusayas.
While the above two opinions are diamet ri cally opposed to
those of the Mahisanghikas, they fire in full with those
uf the Th. The topics are dealt with in the KnJ. fully (see aote,
pp. 84 f., 124) in which it is shown that allusayas are nol with-
Ollt urammana; they are not llvyiikala (neither good nor bad);
they are t he same as the paryavfl.tthiinas( =pariyuUhi1nas), which
again arc not cillal'ippaYllllo. The S. distinguish the anusayas
from paqQl'aSlhiinos, saying tha t all pa!"),ol'aslhiinas are not
ollldayos, is true,
I. cr. Sutriil"ri!ciiTD, "iv. 23: IliulriUaradharmhaSlhl=lnontar)' a-
s a nl1dhi, K!)J", vi. p. th6, n.
108
BUDDHIST SECTS IN INDIA
VIII . MedItation
The Sarvast ivHlins hold that
(i) In the state of sDnuihita one can utter words.
(ii) No man ever dies in the state of samahi/o.
(iii) It may be said that four smrryupasthiinas can include all
dharmas.
(jv) All dhyanas are included in the SJnr1yupastflanas.
(v) There are four !okottara-dhYiinas.
(vi) The bodllynrigns a f C acq uired in seven samiipoltis ond nol
in others.
The fi rst opinion is in with that of :hila schools.
and as such, has been n: futed by the Th. in tilt: Kl'u. (see an te
p.89.
The second opposed by the Rajagirikns and the Th. and as
such, is discusstU in the Kpu. (XV. 9) :
r amapo/mo kiilU1Ji kareyytJ It ? The Th. contend t hat a medi lator
while the cannot have any
deat h-lIke COnl 3Ct, feeling, percept ion, etc. or is n ot
affected by JNisun, weapon-stroke, or fire; hence to speak of him
as dying .... hih: in the medit at ion is wrong. The opponents con.
tend that t here is no s uch law (nlyDma) that a meditator while in
.sc,i,iii,eclayitu-lIirodha will not d ie.
The third topic d iscussed in t he KYII. (1. 9) is : sabbe dltammii
.satipa/ffliir.a Ii ?-an opinion att ributed by Buddhaghosa 10 t he
Andhakas. The interpretat ion of Buddhaghosa is that the oppo-
nents meant by satipo!!hiina t he objects which form the basis of
sali (saliya pa!!htina, Satlgocara, sariyii patinhima).1 l n Ihis sense
the second opinion may be explained as that t he Jatipa{f/Ilillar in-
c lude all forms of meditation, i.e., an adept practisi ng raripar.
[hana need not have rourse to other mcdilat iona l practices.
The S. may well poi nt t o the well-k nown statement found in
mlny passages of the N ikliyas (,-ide Majjhima, I, pp. 55-6). that
there is only one way to t he attainment of puri ty and that is the
I. Kl1sa, vi. J 4: Le sml'1),upasthana est triple: ,flflrIYIlpi1sll:iiIlD en soi
(Sl'rlOMVD), par connexlon (sll1hsllrgll ), en qUBlite d'objcct (iilambarrasillr/!_
lJpcstham,).
DOr.TII.Il':I:S 01' ORour IIJ SCIIOOU; 169
practice of satipauhana (tk4yano ayW11 maggo satliinalft viswd-
dln'yli .. . , .. yodidarp catldro saJipalfhiinii).i
The fo urth opinion hardly need. any comment. It refers to the
first four dhy.fmas when they are pract ised by adepts, who Ilre in
one of the maggas and pha/as. The dllyiina of a ma8gaf/hn o r
pnalaJlha is regarded as lokottara (supramundane).
Tilt fifOl opinion evidently refers to the contention discussed
iu the Kuiu. (VIII. G) that of the eight Jhylinas or somiipatlis, the
first sc:veu an: capable o f elevaling t be mind of an adept 10 the
purest s tate but not the eighth, in which .JQrfljiiii is the feeblest
anu as such, the meditation of is
inclfecli,c. CunSc4uently, the attai nment of bodhyangas takes
place while the auept rises from one dhyana to the next up t o
tht leaving nothing for the eighth.
JX. Vijfl(ina
The S. assert, as stntcd by Vnsumitr3, t hat
Thc fivc sense-perceptions (panroYijniinakiiya) conduce to
attachment (.saroga) nnd not to detachment (Yiriiga), be-
caU5e these only perceivc t he characteristics (lakJO{fIl.$) of
objects and havc 110 independent thinking faculty of their
Own .
If the reason adduced by the S. that t he )'ljifilnakllyas b)'
themselves cannot produce vlrlJga, how can t hey induce sarllga?
Hence, the reasoning of the SarvAsth'Adins is not qui Ie clear,
and it wo uld be better to accept what lhe K I'u. says on t he point
(see above, p. 111).
X. AI')'iik!la. Asol/ukrta, and Anlarabhara
The following opinions are attributed to the Sarvastivadi ns:_
(i) There are illdeterminable problem (ovytJkrta-tlnarmas).
(i i) The law of causality (pratrtyaJamutpiidiingikalva) is
undoubt edly constituted (sOlflskrto).
(iii) The safll.rkrta-\Qstus are of three kinds; the aso'llskrtn.
vastus are also of t hree kinds.
I. cr. Kl1sa. "j. p. ISS, n. I:
170 BUDOlllsr s eTI 11</ INOlA.
(iv) Onl y in Kama and Rupa-dh<i.tus there is an inter-
mediale state of existence (antariibhal'a) .
The first two opinions are opposed to those of the
s:ulghikas bUI agree with Iho<;/! of the Th. above, r. 112).
The third Ris(l is not accepted by the Mnhasanghik:u hut is
at,reed 10 hy the Th. The difference between t he Th. Hnd the
S lies in the fact Ihlll the latter make the morl ificat ion in accOT
dRnfe with their doct rine " sabbarpl atthi" (dj,cllssed hefore pp.
148) according to which, the constituteo (talfl tkrll1-I'ostll)'
should beclassified as tbree, vi z., those of the past, thllse of the
present and those of the fulure (see p. 40, n. 2).
The fourt h o;linion of the S. that there is anfariibJIflWI in the-
Kamadhft t u and Rupadhiitu is neithe-r :lccepted by Mahli
sanghibs nor by the Th. :lnte, p_ 114). It has some
ment with the opinion of the Sammitiyas
XI. Other opinions
There are a few other opinions held by the S. These are,-
(i) AU the dharmiiyutanas (i.e. the fields or objects or
ideation)1 incomprehensible but they are atl ainable
by the Aryas.
(ii) Even heretics can gain five supernatural powers (see
above, p. 125) Wassilljew, Der Buddhismus, p. 272.
n. 3) .
(iii) Good karma can also become the cause of existence-
an opinion objected to by t he Mahisasakas
t
DHARMAGUPTA
Tho;: Ihild in import ance among the schoob of thi s group is
Dhanll agupta. In the Pirst Council, certai ll suppc rters or
P UI [1I.m and Oavampllti did not accept ill 10[0 the Vinay.t niles
<U aI.Jul'tcd by :'vi dluika!sapa.
1
In t he AbhiJllarma,<oia (iv. 39)
tllo;:n: is a reference to the Dharmagupta's 1I1entioning that they
wuuld lI ot accl' pt the Pratirnoksa rules of the Sarv,btiviidins as
I . Mas udll , p. 31 1l.IIUpl krlll-dhannas, and:

2. Set abo-e. p. 39 fn. 3.
DOCTRrNft S OF GROUP III SCHOO t S
17l
au'thoritative on the ground that the ori,;inal teachings or-
Buddha were losl.
About the literature of this school, the only information we
have is tha t t here was a Vinaya text oi it s own (Nanj lo , 11 17)
and tha t the bel onged to school. This
sut ra was translated int o Chinese between 280 and 312 A.D.
l
Prof. Przyluski furnishes us with t he inFormati on that t he ca non
of this school had the following divisions:
Vinaya-pi!aka

Abhi dharma-pit aka
1

Dh i k l) i-pnl timo
Kha nd ha k:l
lEkottara
(Dirgha_aga ma
I Madhy3ma-a\tama
Ekottara-agama
I SaTTlyukta-agama
l K
(Difficult (lex IS)
j Not di!ll cult (texIs)
I Szrngraila
l SOI}1), ukta
Prof. Przyluski, on the basis of the commenlfl ry (If K'ouei ki
on Vasumit ra's treatise, remarks that thi s school WIlS noted for
its popularit y in Central Asia and China. De Oroot rema rh in
his du Mahiiyana en Chine (p. 3) that the of
the Dharmaguptas was actually in use as the disci plin:lry ril les
In all the centres of China. The fi rst text was trAnsl:lted into
Chinese in 152 A . D . by K'aung-seng-bi, a Sogdinn, belonging
to Ihi s school, so al so was the mher ( Ki".mo) trflllSlflt ed in
254 A. D. by T'an.tai, a Parthi an. Hence, it is inferred that ,:, i<;.
sc hool was established in the Ira nian countries in the third cen
tur y A.D. Buddhayasas, a nati vc of Kipi n (mod. K..1Shmir),
introduced the Vinaya of tnis scho:ll int o China and from t his
I. Translated into English by B.:al ulll1cr (he (i l le " The RomcUlli(: Lt:gmd
4 Sak)'Q Buddha"
RtmnHIS'T S"Il.CTS I N INDIA
Prof. Przyluski condudes that this school had its centre in the
north-west.
l
He also identifies Dharmagupta with Yonaka
Dhammarakkhita, ment ioned in the Ceylonese chronicles as the
apostle sent to Apa rantab. The reason adduced by him for
thi s identi fication is that the regi on between the North-west and
Avanti was traversed by the Yavanas, Sakas, and Pallavas about
the beginning oi the Christian em, and the ;>reacher is described
.as a Yonaka and then agai n Dhammarakkhita and Dharma-
gupta are identical in meaning (i.e. ratkhita = f(upta).
Doctrines
About the doctrines of Ihis school, Vusumitra wriles thnt
-these were mainly the same (IS those of the Mahasmighikas,
though it was a branch of the Snrvastivildins. The doctrines
specially attributed 10 them ure as foll ows :-
(i) Gifts made to the SungtlU arc more meritori ous t hnn those
made to the Buddhn, thougb Buddha is included in the Sangha.
l
This is a view contrary to that of t he MahiMisakas and also to
t hat expressed in the in spite of the fact
tha i Buddha Ilsked Mahiipajiipati Gotami to offer thc robe
meant for him 10 the SUllghu.
(ii) Gifts mnde to a .Jtupa are T his opinion is
opposed to thnt of thc Saila schools.
(ii i) V;nlUkti (emancipation) of Sriil"aJ..:ayQflo and Buddhayiillo
is same, though there may be difference in the paths leading to
it. This opinion is in agreement wit h tbat of t he Sarvii. stivii.dins.
3
(iv) Heretics cannot gai n the five: supernatural powers.'
(V) The body of an arhat is pure (mliiJral'Q).
(vi) Realization of the truths (abisQJllaya) takes place not
gradually but all at II time. This is eo[]t rary to the opinion' of
the Sarvastivadins (discussed above) but is in agreement with
that of the Thcravildins.&
1. Cqncl'" de RtljagrlKl, pp.
2. !\ee Kn.fl1 (Fr. Trllnsl.). iv. 117; Mojjh;mn, iii. p. 2S3.
3. See p. 125.
4. See above, p. 125, for opinions of other schools on this point see
Masuda, p. 42 n.
,. Tills ttOClrlne I! not memioncd by Vasumitra. It is found in thl: KOS.1,
vi. 27, SC(l I' ya"")'a (J.o.p. cd.). p. SU
DOCTRINES OF GR OUP III SCHOOLS I73
Ki..SYAPIYA
The school was known by three Other n:m1eS,
Sthavi ri}"a, or Suvarsaka. It issued from the
Sarvastiviidim on account of certain opinior.s, which werc more
in agreement with those of the Stha\iravadins or Vibbajya\ adins
than with those of the Sarvastivadins. This scem5 to be the
cause of their being called a Sthii.viriya. Its tlllrd name,
appears in the works of Tii.ramHha and Ch'en lun, while
Saddharmavar$aka in BhaV)'a's trea tise.'
About the literature of the Kasyapiyas, Prof. Przyluski writes
that it had a canon similar to that of the Dharmaguptas, and
had the following divisions:
Vinaya-pi!aka
Siitra-pi!aka
Abllidrama-pi!aka
( Bhiksu-pratimoksa
1
Bhik$uoi-priHimokfa
Kat hi na
M&lrka
lEkotlnm
{
Oirghn-ngnma
Madhyamll -iig:lma
Ekottara-agama
l
saIllyukta-agama

r ibhanga
!
Sarpgraha
l Comparative tables
Doctrilles
To tile Kasyap:yas Vasumitra attributes the folloy-ing
doctrines :-
(i) Arhats have both k.<uyajiiima and rllllltpiidfljiifina, <lnd :lfe
not subject to passions.
I. Prof. PnylL'iki the with the Hairr.avatas, sec
in/ra.
174
BUDDHIST SLCTS IN INDIA
(ii) SOlliskiiras perish every mornen!.
(iii) The P1Sl which has not produced its frui t exists, the
present exists, and some of the fulure exists. This opinion is
discussed in t he Kalltiimttllll (I, 8) and the only doctrine
attributed in thi;; text to the Kassapikas.l
S."MKANTIKA OR SAUTRANTIKA
Tn the Pali t radition the Saf!lktntikas are described as an
offshoot of the Kassapikas, and from the Sankantikas branched
off the Suttuvadis. Vasumitra writes
2
that at the beginning of the
4th century (i.e. after Buddha's death), there was onc school
named Sautrantika. otherwise called Sarpkrantivada, which
issued from Samistivada. The founder of this school declares:
"I take Ananda as my preceptor." From these two traditions
it sct'ms that the SuttavadIs are identical with the Saut rantikas'
havi ng br:!.nched orr from the SChool, the Sarpkantil;.as:
who may also be equated with the of Vasubandhu.
Doctrines
Vasumitra characterizes the Sautrantikas as the school which
admits the transference of skalldlianuUras from one existence to
another as distingui shed from t he Sammltiyas. who mainta in
the transference of pudgoJo only. Both of these vIews arc wholly
opposed to the cardinal doctrine of the early Buddhists. \'iz.,
k (momentary) of skandhas (constituents of a
being). i.e . the skoJ/dhas di5integrate every moment to give rise
to another. The Sautnlntikas, in deference to this old klQllika
theory, add the skandltas in their gross lorm do not pass
rrom one eXistence to another; the IlllIlfintika (original or the
subtlest form of) skandhas, all t he five of which are of one
nature (ekarom), in ot her words, which are in reality one subs-
tance and not five different substances passing from one exis-
tence to another. BMva\'iveka in hi s Tarknjriila (see Obermiller.
1: I. I : Avipakkaviplkarn attbi. vipakkavij::ilk"lTl nallhiti anlgatam
IIU)utl ckllC\.<im I1llhltl uppadlnna(hamrn: S;lm.llla.ya vl<la!ili.
2. Mnud:1o, p. 11.
DOCTRINES 01" GROUP III :;Cf!OUL.S 175
of the AbItiJOll1(l )ii/alikiira, pt. iii, p. 380) stales that the
5chool ndmi ltcd the reali t y of the individual (i.e ./mdga/a) which,
ii somcl hing inexpressible bUI neither identical \\ith, nor different
rrom, the
The second dOi.:lrint: attributed by Vasumitra to this school
is that " apart from tilt: aJyan paths (i.e. ai!fingika.miirga) there
('an be no eternal happening evcry This
shows that, acconliug to the Sautrantikas, the .rkandhas, gross
or sublle, end in lIifl'iitJa. This view is also a llied to the doct rine
of Ihe thaI the pudgala ccases in nirl"iilla. Hence, it
may be stated that, <lccording to the S<lutriintikus. the subtle
skalldhas, like the pucllfUiu of the Sammiliyas, rnay continue
lhrough severa l uut totally eease: in Nirviu;'Ia.
For this doctrine of t ransference of skon(lhamiilro.\ through
several existences. the Sautnilllikas are also callcd Sarpkrfinti-
vt\di ns or
Koso on the Soutriinliko doctrines
Though Vasubandhu helnnged to the SarvastiviIda school.
occasionall y he gave preference in his writings to the Sautranlika
views. For t his, he \\as severely cri ti cized b} Samghabhadra,
who was a staunch In the Koso, Vasubandhu has
referred to the Salltriinlika doctrines on several occasion; and
pointed out the differences. hetween the Sarvastivadl and Sautrii.-
ntika views. Prof. La Val lee Poussin has summed up these
reference; in his int roeincli on to the French translation of the
Koso. As these throw welcome light on the Sautrant ika doctrines
a of the same i( given here ;-
(i) The Sautriintikas do not accept the Abhidflarmapi/nka of
the Sarvlistiviidins as authoritati\'c (Koso, i. 3). On thi s point
Vasubandhu supports the SauITantikas.
1
(ii) The ha ve no real existence. There is a Ions
drawn coullV"ersy in the Kosa (ii. 55) between the Sarviistivii-
dins and tbt: Sautrantikas as to whether l he asoqlskrtas have any
cause or r, uit:)..
I. Ace. h) tac bl.ddJo,J;lla(:(,J1lQ ,1 ,':lsvijJiapti, Kujfl.
i. 25; iv. 2.
176 BUI1DrTlST SECTS L'I INDII\c
(iii) The Sautnintikas deny t he cifta-viprayuktas (i.e. sOf!lskiiras
not associa ted with mind, e.g. priipli, Jabhiigarii, jfloilelldriya, etc.}
a, real as contended by the Sarvastiviidins (Kosa, ii. 35-36).
(i v) Like all other schools, the Sautnintikas reject the Safv<lS-
ti vada view that past and future exist (Kosa, v. 25),
(V) By admitting the existence of the past and of Prlipli, the
Sanaslivii dins explain the fUllction of causality. The Sautrantikas
deny both of these and assert instead the existence of the subtle
ciUa or blja or viisaml and explain thereby the working of tbe
formula of causation (Kosa, ii, 36, 50).
(vi) The Sautnintikas carry the kNf)ikatva doctrine to the
extreme, asserting that it almost verges on zero, and as such
objects can have no duration (sthiti ). It further ass:!rts that as
destruction of objects takes place almost immediately, there is no
necessity of any effective cause.
1
(vii) The Sautrantikas deny the existence of Gvijr,apti (non-
communicating corporeal and vocal acts)2 jlS a real drOl'ya. They
hold in agreement with the Theravadins that an act is
mental (eetami , kayasameelanii).
(viii) According to the commentary of the Vijiiaptimatratii-
scsrfO, the Saut rantikas are divided in their opinion relating to
the conception of citra (mi nd) and caittas lmemal states). Accord-
ing to the cilla only exists but not
the cailtas. but according to other Sautrantikas. cajltas also exist
and their number accordi ng to some is three. viz., vedana, S01!ljilii
and cetanii , while according to others, it is iour, ten or fourteen.
Some Sautrantikas admit lhe existence of all the caWas of the
Sarvastivadins (for details. see Kosa, transL, ii. 23, fn,).
Ox) The Sautrantikas hold that the bod} of an arh"t is pure.
as it is produced by knowedge.
(x) There may be man)' Buddhas simultaneously.
1. Sec Kvs" , i ,". 2-3 . The $ .. tjd"rJ""(1sami<,"caya cites this passage from a
sUlra of the Sautrantilul s : Paiictmani hhiba\:lb ;!lnlVr\imM.
vyavuharamatrarn Kalam;'tni Atit o' d:wa unAg.Ho dhv{t ,ahctuko
vi na<ab pudsula iti.
Ct Vrdall/a! iilra, ii. 2, 23 ;
Ny<iY(lfumi f<ul,irparya!ik ,; 383. S"" abo KOSIl, ii. 46;
pp, 29, n. 5; 173, n. 8: 222,413
2. For details. sec 1(o$a, j,'. 3.
DOCTRI N(;S OF GROUP III SCHOOLS 177
H AI MA\'ATA
Bhavya and Vinitadeva enlist t he Haimavatas as a branch of
tht: Mahasanghikas (Group I Schools) while Vasumitra
that tht: principal dot"tri nes of this School were the same a s
tll u:'1: uf the Sarvastivudins.' He adds t hat the original (mUla)
Sihavira,'aua changeu its name to Haimavata.
2
In the Ceylonese
chronidt:s, howt:vt:r, lhl: Helllavatikas are counted as one of the
later se!.:ls, whi!.:h came iDlO existence some time after the appea-
rall!.:1: uf the first dghteen Sl:hools. In view of these conflicti ng
statelllenls, and thl: a!.:ceplam':l: of some doctrines of the Maha-
sailghikas, it seems that thi s s.:houl mi ght have branched out of
the Sarvlistivadins or SthaviravAdins but doctrinall)' it was in-
dilled mure towards Iht: Mllhasmighikas than towards the
Sarvasti vii.uins.
Prof. Przyluski , however, identifies the Haimavatas with the
Kasyapi yas on the following grounds ;-
(i) In the Ceylonese chronicles, the apostl es sent to Hima-
vanta are Majj hima and Dund ubhi ssara of the Kassapagotta.
(ii) On the relic caskets dis!.:overed in the stupa of Sona ri
and Saiici are inscri bed (a) sapurisasa Kiisapagotasa sOl'alte-
maratlicariyasa and (b) sapurisasa KotiplI!asa Kiisapagotasa
sal'Clhemavatiicariyasa.
(i ii) There afe other inscriptions which menti on Majjhima and
Dundubhissara.
He adds that there can be no doubt about the that the
monks of Kassapa-gotta were responsible for the propagati on
of Buddhism in the Hi ma,'anta. This s::hool also claims Kassapa
as its founder. So the same school was known by two names,
one, after the regi on, as Haimavata and the other after its
founder, Kassapa as Kassapiya Since the
former name was not used, the Chinese pilgrims refer to it by
the other name only, . the
The conclusion drawn by Prof. Pflylll Ski from the inscrip-
tional evidences does not appear to be logicaL In the inscrip-
I. Maslld2, p. 5J.
2. Masuda, p. \6; Poims of Controrersy, p. xxxvii .
3. Le COllcile de Riiiagrha, pp. 3171S.
178
BUDDHIST SECTS I N I);DIA
lions it is stJted thai some monks of the Kas,apagotta propagat-
rd Buddhism in Himavanta, but there is nOlhi ng to show t hat
the monks necessari ly belonged to lhe KHya piya
school. Hence the identification of Ka syapi yas with the Hai rn a-
""las is not tenabl e.
DOCI";I11:$
treats the and the Haimavatas as
Sep"lratc sd:ools nphnl ri ing different d(X'tri nes. He attributes to
the Ha imavatas !l few doctrines which in close agreement
with thme of the Sarvfi<;tiv<id ins, e.g.,
(i) Bodhis!lttvas a re ave rag.:: beings (p!thagjon{u) :
(ii) BodhisnUyos have nei ther roga nor klima when Iheyenter
their mother's wombsi .
(iii) Heretics cannot saio the live supernatural power!':;
(iv) There is no bl"ahmacariyQI"usa among the gods ;
(v) Arhats havc ignorance and doubt ; :hcyare subject to tem-
ptation ; they gam spiritual perce ption with the help of others;
.and the path i. attained by (I n eltc1amation.
1
UTTARA I>ATHAKA
Fr('m the geographical evidences collccted by Dr. B. C. Law'
ll bout Utta raJ'atha, it appeors to have originally indicated the
hi eh road funning north from Magadha to tbe nort hwest.
LAl er, however. it denoted the area west of Prthudaka (Pehoa,
l1hOllt 14 miles west of Thancswar) and "comprised the Punjab,
inrluding Kashmi r and the adjoining hillstates with t he whole
of Afghanistan beyond the Indus, and the present Cis
SUl lej States to the west of the San,svati."'l
The name 'Utt:uap:uhllb' a pPC;lrs o nl y in the KuthiiwlIllII
QI!'llIkathii and not jn a ny other texl . in ,he Ceylonese
chronicles. Evident ly BuJdhnehos:l h,1I1 in mind some monks
who could not be classed as ;lcl herent s of the doct rines of a
J. The !lSI 1"'0 views (i v Jc. v) lIIre in "gr",menl "irh 11m"" or lhe.
Sc:e abol/e, pp. 2223.
2. Ge:(}gr. 01 Eul"iy Burldh.'sm. PI'. 489.
3. Cunningt.am's AIICrl'lJ/ Geogr. vI India, p. 13.
DOCTRINES OF GROUP III SCHOOLS
179
purticulaf schoul, or probably he meant, like the Andhakas, a
group t)f pcpul ar in (he north. From the several
atlrj['uleu by Buddhaghosa to the Uttarapatbakas, it
.appears that it was an eclectic school having doctrines taken
: rom the Mahasllnghi ka apd Thaavacla groups and occupy-
mg an stage between liinayima and Mah:i)flna.1
The followlllg arc: of these uoc!rincs regarding :_
i, the attainment of b()dhj or perfect knowledge
and OmJIISelenCe alone t hai make a Budjha (Kl"u. iv. 6); Buddhas
are above moil ri and (Kl"II. )lviii. J, 4).
l!adhisafl':Js. On the basis of th!: stories of previous
extstences of Gautama Buddha , the U. remark that t he
arc always endowed with the mahiipllrlllQ-fak,a(lQs (KI'/I. iv.7).
Arhals. All Dlw/"lnas possessed by an arhat nre pure
(QI/(/sI"avc) (KI'u. iv. 3). The arhat> are able to end thei! lives in
the same w:!y as Buddha did (K I'If. xxii. 3), as described in the
They admit that there may be
cJalm,ll1
g
fal sely (KvlI. xxii i. 2). Citing the example of
s attamrnent of arhatllood they hold that a householder
(gihl) can attain arhafhood wil hout up t he householder'
life. The Th. point out lhflt may have the gi!1f signs exter-
r.arty but his mind was free from the retters of a hou$eholckr
tv. I). Then on t he basis of the existence of Upuhor rn
(Uppajja.parinihhiiy/) arhat s, the Uttariipa thakas hold t ha t a
being, usually a god, at the very moment of his birth, can atl ll in
arhathood. They also Ihat beings while in the womh or
beings just born may attain arhatbood on account of their
e.cq ui si ti on of sOlii panT'ahood in their previous lives.
Somyako'oll),iinlO : The pUlhlljjan;)s, who are lIniyalQ
(not destined to aaain Nibb:in<J) or who are doer!; of evil :tCIS
may ult imately become lIiyQ/a and rea li;o:e the truth. This the;
sca t!: on t he basis of some statements. of Buddha himself \.\ ho
foretold to certain pUlhujjanas that t hey would rea ize the 'truth
ultimately. e.g., in the case of Aitgul lm.ila ( Kru. v. 4; 7:
Ml\' . II, p. 103).
I. cr. SalyasiddhiS:l,lra or trans!Jted by Soaen
(C. U.).
2. Sec ...c, p. 1511.
180 BUDDHIST SECTS IN INDIA
Allied to the above are two other .. iews of the Uttarapathakas:
one is that the persons who have to take seven more births to
attain Nibbana (sattakkJwtrupararl/a) can reach the goal after
seVf: n births and not earlier or later. The Th. are not prepared
to accept this view on the ground that such persom may quicken
t heir pace by greater exerti on or retard their progress by com-
mitting evil deeds (Kl1I. xii. 5). The second is that an adept may
attain the four fruits of sanctification by one maggo. The Th.
contend that an adept can attain the phafas of the corresponding
magKas only, i.e., a sotapanna gets rid of sokkiiyadillhi. etc. and
he cannot attain the phalas of the sakodiigami or antigami maggo
Le. , by dimination of rliga. and moho. The Uttarapathakas
do not subscribe to the latter \iew (Kvu. lCvi ii. 5).
Anuso)'os. According to. the U., onusayos ' are oniiramma{la
and cittavippayulla (see above, pp. 871., 124, Kvu. ix. 4); the
Th. contend that past dharmas may be (ix.6).
Asat]1k.halas:
0) nirodhasomiipalfi is unconstituted (vi. 5).
(ii) space of all kinds is unconstituted (vi . 6).
[mmutability (,,;) ora) : All dharmas li ke rf/pa and ledonii
do not change their nature (ui . 7); kormaic effects also are un-
alterable (xxi. 8).
Calis (spheres of existence) : The U. count t he asuragat;
as one additi onal to the usual five, totalling in all six galis.
Buddh(I)'acana. The U. assert that the religious teachings
were revised t hri ce in t he three Councils (xxi. 1).1
1. All the above references are [0 the
C IIAPTER VIII
DOCTRINES OF GROUP IV SCHOOLS
The Vfltasiputriya-Srnpmiti)'as, Dharmottariyas and
other Schools
This group of schools compri sed mainl y the Vajjiputtakas or
VAtsiputriyas, Dhammuttariyas, Bhadrayanikas. Channagarikas
and Sammitiyas. Of t hese, the VaBiputriyas, later known as
Vatsiputriya-SaIf\miliyas, l became most prominem school of
this group. The monks adhering to these schools were probably
those Vajj iputt.'lkas who. submitted to the decisions of the Second
COllnci l and gave up their heresies, as distinguished from those
who preferred to remain apart and fortr. a dIstinct Sangha of
their own. The Pali and Sanskrit tradit ions place the origin of
the Summitiyas in t he lrd century B. c. We do not hear much of
thi s school in the earl y hi story or Buddhism excepting a few cri-
tici sms of its radical doctrine of the elCi stence of a conceptual
self (prajnaptisar-putlga!a) apart from the five skandhas. '1 his
school became popular and widespread du ring the reign of
(606-647 A. D.), and it is saie! that the king's
sister, Rajyasri, joined the school as a The Chinese
tra\'ellers also testify to its popularity in India. The evi-
dence of t he existence of thi s school is furnished by t wo inscrip-
tions of the 2nd and 4th centuries A. D. , attesting to the pre-
sence of the Sammitiyas in Mathura and Sarnath. The earlier
inscription the fifth stone-slab inscription of Mathura, ' whi ch
records the install ation of an image of a Hodhisattva and its
dedication to the Sammitiya monks of Sirivihara by a monk
whose teacher Dharmaka. & sides the Siriyihara, the stone_
slab inscriptiolls ment ion three other vi haras, viz., Pravarika-
vihiira, Suyan;lakara-viharll and Cuttakavihara, but the last men-
tioned vihara was dedicated to the Mahasanghikas. There are
I. J::Rt; XI, p. lb8; KoJa-vyukhyiI, IX. 3 ed., p. 6?9) Ya[slpotrlyd

2. / ., VIII. p. 172; Sahni, Ctl/o{QJUJl1 of the Mustum at Samatlr p 30.
182
BUDDHI ST SECTS IN INDIA.
HrahmI inscription> of the Kushan period. very li kd)' of the reign
of (111 A D.), inscribed in mixed Prakri t and Sanskrit.
lhe taler JDscription, mentioning tbis;ect ,",as found at Sarnath.
is inscribed on the Asokan pill ar below the Asokan edict and
anot her inscription. It records a gift to the teachers of the Sam
miti}'as, who wefe otherwise known as the Vatsiputrikas (iiciirya.
naQI parigrahe Vatsiputrikanarp.).l It belongs very likely to the
3rd or 4th century A. D. when the Sarnmit iyas became more
POPUIM than the Sar"aslivadins at Sarnalh by propugal ing their
views and recruiting a large number of monks and nuns.
Tilis inscripti on shows that Sarnalh was at first a centre of
the Theraviida group, the earliest popular school, which gra-
dually yielded its place 10 the next popular school, Sllmistivada.
Though Sarviist ivada retained its popularity and infl uence all
over Northern I ndia , it had. at least at Sarnlth, given place 10
the Sammitiyas.
The SammitiplS the oriEin of their school to Maha_
kacdi.yana, the famous monic. of Avanti. T his established their
close connection 0 0 1 only wi th the Pali school bill also wi lh
Avanti. for \\hich thei r aiternati\e name given in some- sources
is Avanlakil) Their robes had 21 to 25 fri nges and their badge
was Snrcib flower like those of t he Theravadins. '
Yuan Chwnng writcslhat he carried to China 15 treatises of
this school4 while I-tsing speaks of its separate Vioaya text.
6
The
latter tell s us further that this Vinaya had rules regulating the
use of undergarment, girdle, medicines, and beds for the members
of the sect in a way peculiar to luel f. The only treatise that is
expressly mentioned belonging to this school in Nanjio's
Catalogue. and extant in Chille5C translation is the Siil!lrIliifya-
sarlra or Sa'flmitlyallikilyaIiislra containing thc tenet s of this
sect. Most of the passages cited in the KGfhum/tlm as giving
the views of the: Siirnmitiya school ere traced to t he Puli Pitaka.
L Ste Infra.
2. A:;o:ording 10 \ ' initad<va, the StmmitTyos were into three
Kuru.K.ullakas, and See Du_slon, II. p. 99.
3. II. P. 100,
4. I, Pi!. 20, 21.
5. T.lkaku'u.I-lsmg, pp. 7,66, 140.
u t GR O UP IV SCHOOL15 183
It is very li kely t hat Sutla-pi!aka of the, Sammitiiyas was
substant iall y the as t hat in Pali.
According to t he Kalhl1ratthu and Vasumitra's treat ise, the
main thesis of this group of schools is t lUlI lhere is a persist ing
soul (pu(/gafa) passing from one exis tcm:e to another and that it
is nat possible for the skan.1has ta translllig13te without tbe pud-
gala. I n the Tarkajriila of Bhavavheka abu, a silililar stateme nt
is found. It says that the Viltslput rlyas. Bhadrayanibs. Dharma-
guptas and Saqlkritntiv:1dins admit the reality of the indIvidual
self.' Among other views of this group, wt: may mention that
they. like the Theravadins recognized the Arhats as uot liable tl)
fall from arhat hood as against the opinion uf the Sarvastividins.
The}" however. ad3ered to the d:tctrine thalthert: was an a"Iara-
Mara (tntermcdiate state of existence), which W,b Hot 3o; rced to
by tile 1 heravudins and the Mahasailghikas. Tht'ir conccpt ions
o f Huddha and Nirvtit)a, fruits of sanctification amI tileir attain-
ments, various stages of dhytitlaJ (meditatiun), ami beillgs of
the hlgller worlds had much in common with thuse: of the
Themvadins and the Sarvastivadins. The doctrines attributed to
the in the Kalhiivau/III and treatise
along with their criticisms arc as follows
Doctrinu
The enrdinnl doctrine of this school is th2.t besides the ele-
ments composing a being. lhere is a 'pudgala' (an individuality,
a personnlity, a sdf) ..... hich is indefinable and which persists
through 011 the It is neither identical .... il h, not
different from. the skandhas as (PIa/man forms the ).::ynote of
Duddhist philosophy. This theory has brought forth vigorous
criticisms from most of the prominent Buddhist philosophers,
including Nj,gorjuna
1
and Vasubandbhu.' It has also been
I . :xc A"aI)'sislll, ;>p.38O. FOI
2. (Jap. ed.). pp. 697-713.
3. Miidl,yamikarrlli, p. 275 qllotirg Rall:,i valf, p. 267, 283:
va/,ire ix 60.
4. A'JllldhtlrmGko!o, eh. IX.
184 BUDDHIST SECTS IN INDIA
mooted whether, on account of this t hesis, the Sammitiyas
( - Vatslputriyas) should be regarded as being within or outside
the pale of Buddhism. Attording to SOme thinkers, they shuuld
be treated as heretical while according to others, they an:
BuddhiSIS though their pudgaloJ)i'lda, beinB a form of sakblya-
dighi. acts as a hIndrance to the attainment of Nirvana.'
It is now to stale what the FudgalarMa or the
Sammitiyas actually was. II is given here In txrenso.
Plfdgalal'iida
like the Sarviistivcidins, the Sammitiyas also differed on
many doctrinal points from the Theravadim and olher sects.
These have been discussed in the KathOl'arrhu and mentioned in the
treatises on sects written by Bhav}3, Vasumitra and Vinitadev3.
The pudgalavada gave a rude shock to the other sectarian
tellcher!'. who regarded it as almost heretical and a negati on of
the anotmo-rada of Buddha. and was bilterl y criticized by
many writers like Vasubandhu and Santarak3ila.1 We have to
male out from the criticisms what the exact position taken up
hy the Sammitlya.Viitsiputriyas was regardina; the conception
of soul and its transmigration from one existence to another.
The publication of Prof. Venkataraman's translation of the
Sommilfyo-nikiiya-sastro in Chinese has been very helpful.
The Sammiliyai VatSiputriyas stated that Budd ha admitted the
cll iHence of an impermanent soul quite different irom the Upani-
$<ldic conception of an eternal and changeless soul, which conti-
nued unchanged through all the existences of a being unless and
until it attained full emancipatipn and merged in the parallui tmarl
or Brahman. The Sammiliya( therefore preferred to name their
changing soul ai pudgafa. distinguishing it from the Anattii
doctrine of Buddha.
In the Kalhiirallhu, the view of tht: S:;mmilIyas is given
Ihus: -
The Pudgalavadins rel)' on the following words of Buddha
I. For detail; and reference1. K'e la POUUIO' S prelimmary note!>
In the Kou ( Fr. !raIlS!.) ix. pp. 227f.
2. Moggotipulto Ti lso is Ihe ce:",b,ated compi ltr of rhe Ka/hal'al/hu,
Vuuhandhu the amOOT of the AbhiuhuurlakOM and its B/riii)'u.
and V),tJkhra by Yaxmutra. Santarakfita is aut llor of TutlI'Osur,lgrtlha
and Its commentator is Kamalailla.
DOCTRt NES OF GROUP t V SCHOOLS 105
" all hi puggalo auahit iiya pu!ip3nnO" (there is a penon who exerts
fol' his OWIJ good) : "ekapuggnlo lolce uppajjamano uppajjati
bahujanahita)a bahujanasukhiiya lokanukamp3ya etc. (there
.appears a who is rebern for thc good and happiness of
mall)', foohowing compas!ionto the world ofbeinss}. Basing on
s ud, words of Buddha, thcSammilfyas (henceforth abbreviated as
Lht' S.) Sla te ' puggala' of the above-meol ioned pa; sages is some-
thillg it is neither a mi ragc nor a hearsuy; it is neither
the um':Ullstilutt:d reality like Nibbiinu or Akiisa nor a constituent
Jlllttt:rial dt:lllt:nt (rupa), feeling (vedal'l'Q), etc. The 'puggala'
is not real in the I' it\hcst sense (parmartha). On the one hand,
it is not somt:thillg apart from the constituents ("handhas) of a
bt:ing, and as sedt it is not possible to cstllblish a relation
between the puggulu all:J the klta"dhas like that between the
and the cunlaim:d. On the other hand, though it
possesses all the chluadt:ristics of the khal/dhas, it is neither
like them caused aDd couditiuned (saiJelu sappaccaya) nor is it
like NibbAna uncau!oCd and uncondit ionted (ahetu appaccaya).
Again, it Is neither constituted (surllskrfa) nor unconslituted
(asu'llskrra). Tllough it is diITerent (OIjrjo) from the constituents
it possesses certain charat.teristics of a constituted Ixin! such
as happiness aDd unhappiness. It has certain aspect! of the un-
-constituted inasmuch as it is not subject to birth, old age 8Dd
death. Jt ceases only when the individual attain! final emanci-
pation (Ntrvl1'Jo).
In the Abhidharmakosa and its commentary, the relation be
tween plldgola and skandhas is expl .. ioed by the offirc
.and fuel. Fire exists as long as its fud last s, so the pudgala
exists as I(>ng as there are Ihe constituents, but fire is different
from fuel inasmuch as it has the power uf burning an object
-or producing light, .... hich the fuel by itself docs not poss:ss.
Fi re and fuel are coexistent, and the latter is a )upport for the
former, and just as one is not wholly different from the other
bt'cause fud is not ..... holly devoid of fiery dement (Iejas), in the
same way stands 'pudgala' in relation to tht: i..:onstituents of a
being. The S. quote the BMraharo5Drra ilnd explain that !Jurden
{Miira) refers to the constituents (skandha) while thei r ca rrier
(hara) is the pudgala. Unloading of the burden is cfTt\:tetl by the
186 BUDDHIST SECTS I S 11"01,\
cessat ion of desires, attachment and haIred. This 'pudgaJa' bears.
a name, belongs 10 a family and is the enjoyer of happi ncu and
unhappinc$s. l
In discussing t he Bhurahiirasfilra, and Kamalasil a
state t hat Buddha used the word 'pudgala' as a mere concept
(projifopri). He did not state expressly that it was non-existent
as nobody enquired of its real n::.t ure. He had in mind the
aggregation of five constituents and t o these collectively he
referred as 'pudgala.' It ii not subject to origi n and decay.
hence It has no past, present and future. It is neit her eternal
(nifya) nor nO:l-etcrnal (anilya) . It is inexplicable and indetermin-
able. It is not incl uded in the cOn5t it uents but a;>pears only
when all the constituents are present.
In lhe Kalhal'ottll it is stated that the S. poi nt out t hat t heir
'pudgala' has a materia! form in the world of men and gods,
who have got material bodiei (rupa) , and it is without any
materi al form in t he world of higher god5, who are without
mll terial bodies (arupt ). They state that t he 'pudgala' corres-
ponds to t he entity called a being (salll'a) and also to the vital
force (jtl'a) of a living bei ng, but at the same time it is neither
identical wi t h, nor different from, the body (kaye), for Buddha
rejected both t he views of identit)" and difference of vital force
Utl'a) and body (sor fra) (/01p jll'aft! t01[l sarlrOlfl. aliiio'!1 jil'am
aiilialJl sarlraT]f). They rely on another statement made fre-
1. SO'1l://ltfa. III. p. 25 :
Katamo bMro 1
Pal'lcupldlnakkhandM t( 'ssa va:aniyam
Kllame pal\ca 1 SeYYlhtd:im I'lpuplldanak:k.h;lll,JO, "edanupA,
so.:\f\upl1. sal\khlrupJ!., vill.iIli.Qutli.. Ayam vuccal;,
"""0
Kalamo ca bhikkhavc bh1rahlro ?
ti'ssa vlcaniY'm. Yo' yam
i1yasml evaljl n1mo evam gotto. Ayarr,
vuccatl bhlkkhave Oharah:'l.ro.
In the Ta(w'$aliGraila (p. 130. It. 34') Kllmlllll >ikl ql.lo!es
"atal'lll.1 1
Yo'sl'Ivl'IYUjml'l nnevam n4mll,
evarrt jAlil.t, evarp gOlra, evamlihara,
eVlln sukhadubkharn pratisa[)1vedi.
eVJllldTr&Myur Ilyadina pudgato vyakhylital.l.
DOCTRINES OF GROUP IV SCHOOLS 181'
quenlly by Buddha thai a monk while practiSi ng mindfulness
(smr1yupastltii"a) remains always aware or what is passing wi t h-
in his body (so kiiye kiiyanupa;sl viharati). In thi s statement
Buddha uses the word 'so' meaning 'he', i.e., ' pudgala', which
wat ches tile contents and movement s of his body. This 'so' is
not a concept (praj,iapti), it refers 10 actual 'pudgala.'
The S. !lOW take up the problem of transmigration. They
hold t hat 'puggala' passes from one existence to another, but
the 'puggaJa' of two existences is neither the same nor differeIH.
The reason adduced by them is that a person, who has atlained
the SOliipettistage of sanctification, conti nues to be a sotiipanlla
in his future existences, whether in t his mortal world or in
heaven (rupad1liilu). A soliipallna man may be reborn as a
sOfiipallna god, i.e., sotiipannahood remains ur1chan,l!;ei:l though.
the constituents of his body have <.:hur1gcd from those of a man
to thOSe of a god. The tramiti on of sOliipannaiJood from one
existence to another cannot take place unless the existence and
continui ty of ' puggal a' are admitted.
In support of this contenti on the S. rely on the following.
utterances of Bllddha :_
(i) Thcre UfC four pairs of (saintly) persons or eight
(saintly) person5 (sami coltaro pllrisayugii at/Ira
purisQPuggQ/ii). This statement refers to Buddha's
Sangha, which comisis of disciples who have Iltt!!in-
ed the prepurotory stage and {rullS (mUSga, p/ia/a) oi
sanctificat ion.
(ii) A sotiipunna bas to be reborn seven times at t he most
to altaiu full emancipation (so sllllakf:atlJlparaJt10
pligga/o dukkhassantakaro hOI f) . The
S. lay stress on the words sandlulvi lVlJlla puggala,
i.e., lht:: trausmigralion of soul (pllggafa).
(iiI) The cycle of existence (SOIllsiira) of a being i> without
a beginning, which is not apparent to beings immers-
ed in desires (anama/aggo a)'aJ!1 salllSaro pubbii kotf
no poi/Mya!i sall{jllalfl ta1;Jhiisal!l),ojalliitrJ). The S.
pick up the words ' "arhsaro' and ' satta' and deduce
therefrom that Buddha admitted the transmigration
of soul of beings.
lBB
BUDDHIST SECTS IN INDIA
(iv) Lastly, Buddha vcry often spoke of the acquisition
of higher powers or knowledge (abllljiiii), one of
which was the power of remembering ooe's previous
existences He himself referred
to his previous cKistences and orten said, "When I
was Sunelra, elc." This alsoestabhshed their con-
temion that there must be a soul (pugga/a), con-
tinuing through several existences and Buddha is
able to remember his past births. Memory of past
existences is not possible for ttle constituents
(skandl/as), which change every moment, not to
speak of the drastic change that the beings undergo
when passing from dealh 10 rebirth. The S. add that
admission of memory (smrti) also imp/i!.'s the exis-
tence of 'puggaJa',
The S. state thai their 'puggaJa' is the percipient but it is
<litterent from mind (cit/a, vijiiiina), one of t he constituents of a
being. It is also not momentary like mind but is
perceivable in eyery momentary thought. It is the 'seer' whcther
the eyes are functioning or not, because Buddha said, "I see by
my divine eyes beings appearing and disappearing." Here 'I' is
of the S.
Then S. take up the problem of capacity for elfcctiyc action
(arlhakriyakiirill'Q) of the soul. In conformity with Buddha's
teaching thot the world is not a of God (UraranirmiifJo)
they do not want to attribute to 'puggaJa' Rny function of a
doer or a creator. They, however, point out that the 'puggala'
of a parent or a teacher is in a sense the doer or creator (kurta,
kare/Ii) ofa being, The 'puggala' has no independent function
like that of mental properties. It is not an enjoyer of fruits.
'Puggala' and 'fruits' are not two distinct entities. though
'puggala' is saki to be feeling happy or unhappy, because the
conglomeration of diverse elements, which make a being, can-
not have the feeling of happiness or unhappiness. There may
be a doer (kiiraka) or feeler (I'eduka), but it is not to be distm-
guished from deed or feeling. The doer" and the deed are neithe r
identical nor different. The S. mention this stance of theirs in
refutation of the opponent's a rgument that a semi-permanent
soul like the eternal soul cannot have any activity. It is only
DOCTJUN's OF GROUP tV SCHOOLS 169
the impermanent. momentary (al1it)'a, soul that can
have any activity (arthakriydkririll'a).
in his TatHasangraha (pp. 336-349) writes that
'puggala' of the Viitiiputriyas is neither identical with, nor
different from, the constitucnts (skandhas). In his comments,
Kamalasila states that the 'puggala' of the Vatsiputriyas is the
doer of deeds and enjoye r of thei r fruit s. During transmigra.
tion it leaves one group of constituents to take up another, It is
not separate from the constituents, for, in t hat case, it would
be t'tema1. Again. it cannot toe the same as tbe constituents,
fur ill that case, it would be not olle but It is therefore
illexplicOIbk. The e}lposition of Kamalasila is supported by
Prajiiflkar81l101ti in his commentary on the BodhicaryolYJlara.
In tllis connection Kamalasiln has also tbe criticism
of Uuuyutakara in his Nyiiyariirltiku (ilL 1. I) that a soul must
be postulated if it is not identified with one or the constituents.
Canurak.ini, however, does not dismiss the pudgalatada of the
SilmmiLlym,' OIS wiJoUy untenable. He even admits that Buddha
as an eApcuitllt taught thc pudgalarada 35 he later propounded
the idealistic uuctrine of vijlilinaliida.
The SammifiyullIkiiya.5ihtra (Vc notnrarnan"s translation) men-
tions anu all possible vicws thus (p. 21):
(i) There no feal self.
(i i) Tho;; ::.elf is iodctcnninablc (avyiikrta).
(iii) Five constituents and the sel f are identical.
(iv, Five c01lstituent5 and the sciI' are different.
(v) Selfis etcrnal (iasl'ata).
(vi) Self is not eternal (a.fail-ata) und impermanent (anit)'a).
(vii) stir IS <tctually e}listent though not eternal.
Of views the 13.5t is held by tbe S. In this tex t, the
non-Sammillya views havc been briefly stateJ without any
comment or cri tiehm while its own vie .... has been fully cieah
with thus:-
(i) The "puggala' is the product of fi ... e constituents, and it is
neither eternal liar wholly impermanent.
(ii) BuJuiJa\ denial of self was enunciated to counteract the
wrong vi:ws that the self wus bllseci on m:! ntal impressions
I. /lfudl,ywwAu"rllf, p. Z76, ""'"<: al w pp. 148. 19.2.
190 I N miliA
(so/flkhariis) or that it was identical with tbe body or five
constituents.
He admonished hi s disciplei to remove the not ion of "I-ness"
and 'Mine-ness", which was based on the notion ofa fa lse self
to which wordl} beings bore a strong attachment, but he did
not refer 10 that sel f (pugga/a) which, strictly speaking, could
not be the object of passionate
TI:en, again, in Buddha's sayings, the term 'non-existencc'
was used in a different context, e,g., he said that some were
absolutely non-existent like sky-flower and horm of a hare
and 19ain some were rea lly nOIl-cxi"tent but existent relat ivel;
like long and shon, seed and sprout. So Buddha's denial of
soul does not necessarily refer to the absolute non-existence of
'puggala'. It is sometimes referred to as inexplicable because
of the fact that il ca n neither be identified with nor differentiat-
ed from, the constituents, which only are apparent to the un-
enlightened. Again, if 'puggala' be regarded as permanent or
impermanent, constituted or unconstituted, it would be adher-
ing to one of the two views of existence and non-
existenO!. both of which were discarded by Buddha. Hence,
' puggaJa' as relatively existent was admi tted by Buddha.
The S. contend that jf self be wholly there would
be neither killing of beings nor a killer, neither the attainment
of fruit s oi sanctification nor a saint, consequently, neither a
Buddha nor his teachingi.
In this treatise Ihe Bltiirahiira-sulla has been mentioned and
d iscussed and emphasis has been laid on the word ' puggala'
used in il. On the basis of the Siitra, the S. contend that a
distinction has been made by Buddha burden (bhara)
and its carrier (!Jiira). the ' puggala' curying the burden. This
sulra clearly establishes that the carrier of 'puggala' is not
identical with the burden of the constituents (skandhas). Again, the
carrier and the burden are inseparable; they arc interdependent
and hence 'puggala' is not distinguished or separated from the
skoll(i/ias.
It bas been further pointed out that the acquisition or remo-
val of impurities like attachment (ruga) or thirst (tmJfi) is effect-
ed not by the ' puggala' alone to the exclusion of the consti-
tuents. Out at Ihe same lime it shoul d be admitted that the
DOCTRIr.'ES OF GROUP IV ,CEOOLS 191
puggala.' and tbe 'skandhas' are IIt:il he:1 identi..:ol UOf diff'crent.
for Buddba denied the identity and dilTcf('nce of the vital force
U'm) and body (sar/ra).
The treatise now takes up ror dil>cussion the cC'nception of
'puggaIa' from three standpoints:-
(i) The Self is designated by its l> uppoll (ii.lru)'uprujriuplu-
pudgala), i.e., t h;! self is sometimes given au appdlation or
cription on the basis of its lHraya or u/ullllitlnu, as lire is lIalm:d
and described by its fuel, e. g., fOrCl>l-fin:, coalfin:. 1n a liying
being, the impressions (sal1uktJras) an: rud aud the " puggala"
is the fire. which deri,"es it s amibutes allli appdl,tlivJI ill 'U;WI\.l-
ance with the impreSSions. A being is I,;dlkd a lIIall, lIaga or
a gad in a;:cordance with the type ufbuuy by him.
The self is the receiver of the material fonn (ropu) but tile 'seW
and 'rupa', being interdependent and imtpa!'<1bk, logelhtr
and at Ihe same time. It is not dear why Callurakil li
in the MtidhyamiAaI'!lti (p. 192) thaI llle: hdd lh<"t
'the receiver af the constituents uppeartd prior tu tlle
tuents to receive them.
(ii) Selfin t ransmigratioll (so/ikrunJtllIlJ1,,'ujiiaplil-pudga/a)
irr:plies Il'atthe self rasses from one tu anvther. The
' rudgala', whme mind (cWa or IlJilar.U) wi t Ii it tht: effects
of his moral obscrvances (S(/o) ami umlitatiouill prar.:{ices
(.sam7dfll), is rebarn in a higher sphere:, On his death his five
r.:onstituents after disintegration <!I.;..:umpany til;: )elr tva sphere
of cxcellence. His meritorious tlt.'eds and spil ituul
are his treasures, which folluw him iu his lIeAt cAisleuce. Thus
his self does not go alone, If the I>c difTcrclil from the
constituents, it w(\uld have I!Olhillg tu stand by in hh future
existenccs. Likewise. ir the hi: rcal i.1I)(] eternal vr unreal and
c"anesl'ent, Ihe self l-dll lakt: Ilvthillg wilh it who:n it frum
one existence \(] anothel .
The transmigratiun uf self is explcssed in mallY stat;:mclI ll> uf
Buddha, e. g., he said, "In tllis world ouo: peirorills good
and a enjo)'s happiness hi the next worlu", "one who
I,:ull trols his s:;::nse-organs gains a happy state in his l1e;o;l life",
"i1 dying person arises again, etc." Buddha hirnsd f often spoke
or his past e1! istences, in which he perfccted hlm!elf in many
pJrumiliis. He roretold Ajita that in futurc he would become
192
BUDOIIIST SECTS IN INDIA
the Mailrcya Buddha. He referred also to miserly
pHsons wealth, but when death approaches t hem,
they have 10 part with everything and go alone nil by them-
selves. II dear from such statement3 of Buddha that he hud
in mind a 'puclgab' which trans mi grated from one existence to
ar,other, m:l:umpallicu by the resultant impressions (sattlskaras)
of the pasl liJe, i.Io: ., kailuaic effects.
(iii) The selr in t:xtinctiou (lIirodha-;JI"ojliapta-pudgalu). i.e .
when it ceases amI has no more rebirth. This happen' in the
case of an Arhat the perfect, who has removed aU hi s impurities
(k,flJlISral'o) ami has attained Nirvar:ta, and therefore. ca nnot
have any more rebirth.
In the same treatise beell discussed another 5tatement of
Buddha, in which he saiJ that the cycle of existences hM no
beginning (a.'lamaJaggo yu", J'UtfuJro) and deduced therefrom
that It had a beginning. whh.:h was unknowable to the unen
lightened, and so also, Buddha's of the non-existence
of a/man implied that the (pudgulu) was unknowable to the
Imperfect. It has been argut.-u by S. eltponents that the
reality or unreali ty of an objC\.t shuuld lIot be questioned
because of the fact that it is unknowable by men of average
intelligence. It indicates only luck uf on the part of
the imperfect and not existence or of tILe real, or
e ... en of an unreal object . It is true that the Arupu sphere is
unknowable by beings of the Rupu sphene, and so it is not
proper to infer from that unknowability that Arupululw does
not exist. Similarly, self (pudgala) is unknuwablt: by the un-
wise but that does not establish that 'pudgl!la' is non-t:.,istelLt.
again, a minute speck of dust, tip of a hair, withiu
the earth, shores of ocean, a handful of salt dissohed in watef,
a jewel hiddcn behind a wall, bodies of spi rits or ghosts, even the
e)c.Jids which are so close to the eyes are not seen by tht:common
physi cal eyes, but that does n OI prove thei r nonexislence. They arc
seen by those who possc;s divine eyes (di'yacak;u). Likewise, the
beginning 01" the cycle or e>.istence is unknowable b)' the unwi se
but is knowable by the lully enlightened Buddha. Buddha
said that the worl d has no beginning, mainly with a I' jew to
seeing that his disciplcs did not take to the beliefs of etclllalism
and negativism and to seei ng that t hey might nut harbour
OF GROUP IV SCHOOLS
19'
any notion like " I was, I urn Gnd I shall be." If the beginning
of the world had been nonexistent like the ;;ky-flower or noms
of a hare, Buddha would not have cared to state that the worl d
had no beginning, as one does not say that there is no sky. flower
or horns of n hare. A spnerical object ha; no begi nning but
no one says it does not exist, so also with the world of existence
(soqlsuro). Lastly, if the cycle of existences has no beginning
or end, it would be identical with NirvaQa, which is also with
Out u beginning or end. From 411 these arguments, the aut hor of
the Sommiliyo-nikiiya .lustra established that Buddha di d not full y
explo.in many of hi s deeper ideas, and the existence of self
pudgnlo.' is one of them. Buddno's reticence, therefore, should
not be takcn as t he denial or the of a ' pudgala' as
conceived by the Sammitiyas.
Profs. Stcherbatsky and La Vallee Poussin have furni shed
the material s of the AbI!ldharmakosa in English and French
translations, and at present we have also the original Sanskrit
text of its Vytikhyii, edited by Prof. Wogi hara. On the basis of
these three teKts, a gist of the argllments of this school for
establishing t he existence of pudgara is presented here. This
will be followed up by a summary of the arguments and
arguments given in the Kalltal'atlhu, which has not so far receh'
ed any aUention.l
The Kosa opens the cont roversy with the que,ti on, whether
the Viitsiputriyas cun be regarded as Buddhists nnd whether
they n f C entitled to emancipation (mok;a)? As has been point-
ed out above, they were regllrded by some us Buddhi sts while
by others as non-Buddhists.
The Buddhists believe lnat since there is no mokra outside
the of Buddhism, the non-Buddhists cannot have emanci
p.3tion, and that is m3inly because the non Buddhist teachers
li ke Kapila and Uluka believe in the existence of a permanent
soul, which, according to them, is different from the consti
tuents of a being and is not a term indicating the flux of
1. I\mMv(Jt/hu (P.T.S.), pp. 1-69, Irumluled in PolnlS of Comrt)vcrsy
by Mrs. RhY3
194
BUDDIIIST SECTS II' I NDIA
elementsl (skandhasollfiilla). The soul. the Buddhists assert, can
nei ther be established by dire<: t perception (prot)'ak, a) nor by
inference (aI/umana).
Vasubandhu (henceforth abbre ... iated as V.) fi rst dennes the
wnlention of the Vlltsiputriyas (henceforth abbreviated as Va.)
thus: Is the pudgala of the Va. real (drallya) or nominal
(prajliapti)? By real (drcI')"o) existence he meant existence like
tbat of ,iipa and such other elements, and by nominal (prajiiapli)
he meant existence li ke tha t of milk, house or army, which has
no separate existence of its own apart from its constituents.
If the soul of the Va. be of the (ormer category (dravya), it
wodd be different from the skandhas, as redanii is from (lIpa,
and is nol also all the skandhas taken together. Now, In that
case, it should be either sa'l1s}(!tQ (constituted), or asalllSk! fO
(uncoI1stituted). It ca nnot be the latter, for it would make the
'Va. hold the siismta view, which is heretical.
If the soul of the Va. be of the latt er category (praj /1apt!), its
existence is depcl1dent on the skandhas, "and so it cannot have
any independent existence of its own, i.e., it does not eXlst
(II dgda iri fTaJi:oftir aSQI-pudga/a/.z priipl1otj). . .
The Va. contend that thei r soul is real (dravya). but It IS
neither identical with, nor different from, t he skandhas as fire
is from the fuel. Fire exists as long as the fuel lasts, so also the
soul (plldgala) exists as long as there are skand.has,
pudgala would he either (unconstlluted), sanara
(eternal) or sartlsk,ra (constituted). asa.hata (=uccheda-
Fire i. different from the fuel inasmuch as it has
the power of burning an object to ashes or to produce light,
which the fuel does not possess.
Vasubandhu argues that, fuel and fire appear at different
I. VYQkhyfi (Jap. e:d.). p. 697 quote5 SfII(ru :
'l'if", if wi ""'lSlll<Ell
m'lt.'! 1
lIfi'f: 'I!f ;;(!tt'4<'1(i:;;"1
11
2. Cf. the: quotation in the: KVIl. p.
Khandhe<l11 ce pl.!!ol:ll.aio
Ue:e:he:d1 bhavati dilthi yA
Khandhe:sl.! n() cc ulllJJatl Iluggalo
Pugelll0 hoti niilbilne:na sama'lamo.
OOC'HUNS or GROUP IV SCHOOLS 195
times (bhinnokiila) like seed and sprout. Hence fire is imper-
manent, and the difference between fuel and fi re is one of time
and characte ristic and again one is the cause of the
other.
He the n that according to the Va. , fuel is l'Oostituted
of th ree mahiibhiitos, whil e fire is of the fourth (tejas) onl y:
then it follows that fire is diITerent from fuel .
The Va. reply that fire and fuel are co-existent and the latter
is a of the former (upiidaya; iiSritya), and that one is not
wholly different from the other, for fuel is not totaUy devoid of
the fiery element; in the same way, pud;.a/o should be dist in-
guished from sk andJ/Os. Vasubandhu challenges the Va. by
citing' the instance of a log of wood and saying thlt it
represents both fuel and fire. That is why they are identical
(al/anya).
According to the Vii., pudgala IS nei ther to be described as
.alli/)o. which is subdivide:d into pnst, p resent and fut ure nor
nil)'a, eternal. It is araktalya, indetermi nable, i nexplicable. It is
nOI incl uded in the li st of the constilUents of a being, but is
perceive:d when only 1111 the: constituents nre: present.
The question next ralsed is, can the pudgala of the Va. be
cognized by any sense-org.an (i ndriya). If so, by which? The Va.
reply that it is perceived by all the six sense-organs. They
contend that eyes do not ca re to see rfipa (object) or recognise
it unless the mind (mana-indri)'a) is there. Eyes act as the domi-
nating factor when the visual action takes place, hence it is not
correct to say that eyes alone see rilpo, or for the matter of that
each of the [lve sense organs cannot fu ncti cn in their respecthe
spheres mdependent or the mmd.
l
For cognition of pl,dgala. the
Va. state that all the sense-organs point to the mind indirectly
It.at there IS a pudgafa; e.g. , eyes dlscern the riipa (colourfigure)
of a body and thereby mduce the mind to cognize the presence
of an mdividud (i.e. pudgafa which IS neither idenucal wlth, nor
dlfferent from rupa).= V. argues that If rfipa be the cause of cogni.
ti on ofpfldgala (rupiinii'r/ kiirolJarl'am adhikriyale), one should not
1. aboye:: cr. Masuda, p. 2311.
1. :See: Koja U'r. Irans!. ) 1)1, p. 2J! Cn.
lOG DUDDIIIST St:CTS I N I NDI.'\.
say that rlipaand pudga/a are different (allY0If'J).1 Again, i f cognit ion
of riipa lead, a t once to the cogni tion of pudgall1 (riipanyIJPudiiyQ
pl.ldgalopalabdhir iIi), one shoul d ;lho that riipa and pudgala
are identical (al/allya),' in other one is only a modifica-
tion of the other The Va., however, would
neit her identify fllpQ (colour-figure) with puagala nor treat them
as different; in the same way, they would neither rega rd the
perception of rlipa (colour-figure) R5 identic:al with the percep-
tion of pudgala nor look upon them as different.
V. asserts that if plldgaia be a n enti ty. it should be either
material (ropa) or nOD-material (m2/11a), but Buddha .says riipa
or l'edanl1 or JilTf1jfid or safllskllr4 or rij;;i1nu is not self-all
dharmas are without self-there is no pudgala. He funher slates.
that sa/H'a, ;fva, pudgala is a prajliapti (designation) applied to
the false notion of a self cherished by the unenli ghtened.
The Va. in reply state that they were not prepared to accept
the statements att ributed to Buddha as authentic
l
as these were
not to be found in their Pi!aka. They rderred to statementi, in
Buddha spoke of a person' s past exi stence or recognised
as one of the higher acquisitions of an adept,
and asked, who is it that remembers? Is it pudga!a or t he
skandhas? They further argue t hat if Buddha be regarded as
omni scient, i.e .. he knows everything past or present, of every
place, of every etc. it also implies a continuity of somethi ng.
In other words, it impl ies the existence of a pudf,a!a. The Va_
further state that unless there were some form of plldf,a!a, why the
disciples should be inst ructed to avoid thinking of rupal'tin aham
baMul'atl/f! 'dlll'ani (in tbe past I possessed a bod}) and so
for th.5
V. reful('<; contention hy saying tha t pudgo/a refers
. 1. Just as light, eyes aod miod. ca.U5e the visualisation of an
ObJCCi, arc not different from the object. Ibid., p. Sec Vytikh)"ti, p. 701.
2. Ibid. , p. 239 D. See V)"akh)"a, pp. 701.2.
3. O. v)'ak/l)"il : mliiasruigidbhraJTIsal.
4. cr. Mailfn;o, I, p. ; so e'larp elite parisuddhe pariyo-
d<11e ... pubbc:n,vhllnu"a,ati-iial,Jiya ",itlam abhlnlnn3meti.
5. C'I. ,ut'1jjMnn, I, p. 8 : flU I:ho aham
kiq, hutv1 killl ahosifTI nu kho aWarn addho.nam, etc ..
rOCTRIN2S OF CROUP t V $CHOOU
197
only to skalldha-santuna (continuity of skandhas), not to any-
thing else. The Va. t hen cite the and assert
that by bhOra is meant the constituent> (skandhas) of a bebg
and by Mra the individual (pudgala), who is known by a name,
got ra etc.1 Ii Mara ( =.skandhas) included bfl iira-I:iira (=pudgala),
there was no need of the two, and so plldga!a
e'(iS1S apart from skandhas; it is nei ther identical with, nor
different from, skandltas.
The Va, admit the existence of aupapiidika and all/ara-
MOIa ,1 and prove therehy the existence of pudga!a. They also
cite t he passage "ekapliggnl() bltikkhare loke IIppajjamano uppajjali
bahujanahitiiya (Angllllara, i. 22) and lay st ress on the word
'pug8a1a' , saying this 'puggala' is born (lippajjati) and hence
there is besides the skandha!t something, which may be designat-
ed as ' puggal a '. V. refll tes all these by appropriate quotations
and a rguments.
The Vd, further strlte that if pua'gafa be only a word meant to
dzsignete the five skandhas, then wby Bhagavan did not identify
j Im with sarfra. V. ci tes t he discussion on the topic fron t he
Milindapaijha. The Vd. further argue tbt why ' pudga. la' has
been dcc1E1rcd by Buddha as indeter minable (avyiikrll1), if it
docs not eJlist at all. V. in reply comments on the Vmsagnrra-
siifra ( _ Pdli; Vaccha-goua Slifta) and other sit tru dealing with
the indeterminable problems.
The Va. puillt ou t that the statement iilmii docs not exi st in
reality iilhitita{i)1 is a wro ng view, it indi rectl y implies
t he admis:siull of the e}listence of plldgala.
1 he Va. next raise the question, if ' pudgaJa doe:s Dul
who is it that transmigrates from one existence to anollu:r ? If
the elements only exist, how do you explain when BuJdh3 )3)5,
" I was at that ti me the master Sunelra" 1 In that :statement
" hy is the '1' of the past identitled wi th Ihe 'r of presellt?
I. cr. V)':Zkhya (Jap. cd.), p. 706, bMrab k2.lama\;L
skandha, . . , bharahlra(i kailltnal;l, puv8,, 1a iti iyli.d Y<'
evanJnAmll. evo.'l\i:1ty:1 evarplpt r.:l. etc.
1. cr. KnflJ, ii i , 10, 12, 18-19. Sapta-sat-purula-pati-sOtram.
3. cr. Majjhima, i, p. 8; AI/hi me alta Ii VA' SIII . accato thetato diHhi
uppajjal l, Mil; me alta ti vA'ssa saccato thetato dinhi uppljjati, ete.
198 BUDDHIST fEel'S IN INDIA
Does it indicate thnt the clements of the pust arc t he clements
of the present? V. refut es it by suying that just us fi re pusses
from one wood to another, t hough it never remllins Ihc sa me, so
the elements pass from one existence to another, nothing
remaini ng identical. Jf, according to t he va., Buddhas ud miw::d
t he existence o f 'pudgalu' , t hey would be subject to Ih;: wrong
belief of scrkoyodmi.
The Vii.. now ask, how cun memory be explained wi;:hout
the conception of ' pudgulu'? Who is it that V.
answers thnt it is SQffljiia t hnt remembers -.fUl!/jiia with atten-
tion directed to the object , un idea etc. is similar to, or connect-
ed wit h, it, provided Ihex IS no corporeal puin 10 impai r its
capl.ci ty.
The Va. nfC of the opi nion that there must be an agent, a
doer, a proprietor of memory. There must be a cogni zing agent,
nn action must huye a doer. 'D-:vadatta walks' implies t he exis-
tence of on individuality. V. replies that itis not so. lie states
that just os when a fire t raverSes from one foreH t o another, no
questi on of individuality ari ses, similar!) Devadaua is a praj/iayfi
(like fire) applied to a conglomeration of dement s passing from
one existence to anot her and has no jml ividuality.1
NOW, we shall pass on to t he argument s of the Vii. and the
counter-arguments of the Therav:idins as presented in the
Kathilvatrlm (1 . i), which is of n much earlier date t!lan t hat of
the medieval and modern dialectical works.
The fir st question put by the Theravfldi ns to the V:itsipulriyas
known in the Pali texts as Sammiliyas, is as follows: Ca:l. the
puggala be known in the same way as thai which is real and
ultimate, e.g., Nibbiina (or Riipa) is known? (para 1). 2 In other
words, the ThcTavadins want to ascert ain whether the Sammi-
tiyu (henceforth abbreviated as Sam.) admit the existence of
pugga!a eithe r as the unchangeable. ever-existi ng Teali t) like
Nihbiina, or as a constituted (sappaccaya, sal!lkhara) object like
riipa, or regard it as false like a mirage (nuiyilmarlci 1'/)'0), or
look upon it simply asa hearsay. The-Sam. deny practically all
1. Kola-vyUhy1l (lap, ed.), p. 710: yathA IU 'snir iti , etc.
2. " paa" refers to the p:Hagraplls m:lrked in the P. T. S. edition of the
Kut;"h,,/fllll.
DOCTRI NES OF CROUP IV scn ooLS
199
the fou r t hough they assert that the puggaJa is
known as a real and ultimate fact (saccikattha-paramauhena) .
The Sam. now assail the Th. with the counter-question
whethe r they would admit t hat puggala is nOI known in the
same: way as that which is real and ultimate. The answered
in t he affirmative, as, accor:l ing to t hem, pugga/a IS not even
an object like riipa; it is a mere pOIi/iatli (concept), a sammll/{-
sacca (conventional truth), .
But when the same question is repeated by the Sam, (as In
paras 2 and 6).1 t he Th. reply in the negative by say.ing "oa. h'
evalJl,"z Oecauie the answer is to be given to a question, which
included both SlJlTil1lutisacca (conventional truth)
sacca (the higtesl truth). The questions and answers which
follow next have mixture of both sammllti and PQrcmattha
truths, and so they appeal' cont radi ctory to a superlicial reade.r.
Now t he Th. give up the logical tricks and put the questlCll
straightaway (para II) t hus: whether pl/ggola is a ,P0ranwltlla-
sacca3 or not, i .e. whether or not Puggala is known 111 the same
way as t he real and ult imate el'erYl" here (sabbattho) in _
side l'Iipa (material parts of the body), o/waYJ (sobbadii) .In th.IS
and the following existences, and in e\'eTFfhing (sabbeslI), I.e., I.n
all kh(lIIdhas, ii),alanus, dh(itus. etc. The answer of the Sam. IS
also definitely in t he negative, I.e., they do not consider ' puggala
as real in t he highest sense, and as existing EI'ef),ll'here, a/ways
and in el'et),lhinK as pointed out by the Th.
The next attempt of the Th. is to find out whether the Sam.
reg:1. rd as something existing like any of the 57 elements,
nipc, \'edollii, san/iii efC. The Sam. deny it saying t hey do not
admi t pI/gRata as an clement ap:ut from the 57 eiem('nts.' and
in support of their contention they quole from the Nikayas
(Dfg/w, iii. 232; Majjlrima, i. 341: Angllltaro, ii. 95) the passage
"auhl auahi t:iya patipanno," which indic<lleS t hat
plIggala exists but not epart from the elements. The Th. also
- 1-:- The re'l1.ainin(!: paras 3-5 oml 7-10 are mere logicat rO'lnding upof
the ql1e.tions and aJ'l5l1'crs put in paras 1 & 2.
2. J he question is, - Yo sacci ka1!ho paramllilho 1110 so pugga
1
0
"'up,,I:obbJu l i I. ?
3. Perhapl ti t " Ih" jlriiomm ot the Vedanta school or rhilo;ophy
4. diS\t /l:uikkhc;lO )'1I!tukathrl. p. 16.
200 Bli'DDHIST SECTS IN INDIA
cia not clearly that puggo!a (as a paiinatli) is different from
the elements , t he reason ass.iglled by Buddhaghosa
l
is that the
of the opponl!nts have a mixture of sammu/i and
pnramaltha truths, and as such the Th. have no other ait('r
nat ive bill to leave tbem (rhapanl)'o),:
The nexi atlempt of the Th. is 10 ihow that the Sam. should
ad vocnle ei t her Ul'ChedtHiida or SOilQIa\'iida. With t his end in
view, Ihe Th. put the queuions whether pugga/a is identical wit h
or different from "ipa, o r pugga/a is in rlipo (l ike the container
and t he or vice versa. The Sam. reject all the fou r
propositions as, otherwi se, they would oecome either an
Ucchedaviidi n or a Sassatavadin. Though, according to the
Sflm., plfggafa is of the same nature (eklldhammo) as nipa and
other ejements,3 they would not treat it as an element iepa rate
fr om, and independent of, the 57 elements.
The Th. now assail thei r opponents by questi oning on
lakkho(IQs of nnd ask whether puggala is sappacea)'a
(caused) or appaceaya (uncaused) like Nibblina. The Sam. deny
both and ask how the Th. wOiJld e.>::plai n the 'puggala in the
st atement of Buddha: 'Auhi puggaio pa\ipanno ti.'
Is the 'puggala' referred to in this passage sappaccaylI, saltlkhata
or oppacco)'ya, Qsaqlkhola? The Th. deny bot h, as in their
opini on the term puggaJa is only a sammlllisacca, and as such it
is non-exi stent.
The next argument put forward by the Th. is, whether the
staiement "pugga/a perceives" is the same as the statement,
" that which is puggala'" i.e. whether the t wo ;; tate-
ments are identical as cilia is with mano or different as "ipa is
from l'edollii. Buddhaghosa interprets the position of the
opponents thus: the Sam. hold that puggalo perceives, but not
everything that perctives is puggo/a; e.g., rupa, l'cdonii, etc. are
not puggala, but puggula percei ves and that which perceives
refers only t o the percepient ( puggala), and not to rlipiidi.
l
The
opponents, however, rely on the st atement "atthi puggnlo
I. Sce hl5 Ayl1akatlla, p. 16.
2. K."., Pl' . 14- 17, paras 13().137 di :ate on the ntove question, eompar-
ma wilh of the 57
3. Af/hukathri, p. 18.
... . Puggalo upalabbhati (yo yo) upalabbhati (so $0) puggalo Ii ? Kyu,
p. 24.
"DOCTR.INES DF GROUP IV SCHOOLS
201
aUahilaya pa!ipauno Ii" whieh <l.gain is count::red by the Th.
by Sa)illg Ihat t he Sam. should equaJly rely on the stat cment
"s uililato lokalJl etc." and admit that therc is no
puggulu.
The Th. now pnx;eeli lu eAamine the paii/latti (descripti on)
of puggu/u. In answer lu lhe question, .... heth: r t bc puggala of
the Rwpudhiiru is rupt and likewise of the Kiimodhiiru is kiiml
and of loc AriipadhiilU, arupf, the Sam. affirm the first und the
Ihird hut nol the second. Sam. argue that pugga/a =salta-
JIyU and kiJya= sarira. Though they do not admit either the
identi ty of, or difference belw..-:eu, jlvu and sarlra, they hold,
though not logically tenable, thaL ki1yu must be different from
jJlIgga!a as there are such sLatetnenb :as 'so kaye kAyanupassi
viharati and so forth; in which so cannot but refer to pugga!a.
The next discussion relating lo uplJdlipwinaui (rebirth) of
puggala raises the question of transmigralion. The Sam. affirm
that plIggala passes from this existence IO uelll but it is neither
the self-same puggala nor a different puggala-a statelllent
similar to what the 'Th. would sa) about the passing of the
.khl1l1dhas-avoiding the two heretical opinions of
and IIccliedaviido as al so the ekaccasassatlko,lJda ami omara-
j'ikklupikadi!!hP I n suppo of their contenti on the Sam. quote
the passage,> in which a ' puggala' is said to pass from onc
existence t o another (5andhiimli sa'flsarall).
According to the opini on of the opponents that the self-same,
o r a different, puggala does not pasS f rom one existence t o
anot her, the Th. point out t hat they admit that some form of
pU!Igala referred to in the abo\e-mentioned passages, does pass
from one e."(istence to another. This puggala can then have no
deat h, it once beComes a man and then a god and so forth,
which is In reply, the Sam. point out that a sOIApanna-
1. Af(hllkllilrii, p. 20: The opponents say : Mama pUg&8io, atlhi jluggalo
'Ii sallhuvacanlo upalabbhati. Yo pana upalabbhali, na so sabbo puggalo.
Atha kho te hi ei oa puggalo ke hi cI na puggalo 'II. Trmha iwk"rallhr
krkJ,v Idkill" co II;pa(!lIl!<1lta. Koc:i pU8gulo koci n1 puWl o ' t i 1yam pan'
ellM attho. Idal'(l vullam holi : PlIW10 pi hi ,,; yo dhal'(lmo
Ilpalabbhali yeva. Tattha puggal0 'va Pllisalo rOplidisu pana kod pi na
pugga10 'Ii.
2. See my Early Monastic Buddhism (1941), I, pp. 63 fr.
3. See my t;arly Monastic lJurtdhism I. p. 63 r.
202 BUDDHrST SECTS I N IND!A_
manussa is knuwn to take rebirth as a sotiipanna-dcva and
how r.;an this sotiipanna-hood pass from one existence
to anuther unil:5S there C)I:;sts some form of pliggala to carry the
quaii(j ",s. In order to show the unsoundness 0: the statement,
the Th. ask whether the passing puggala remains identical in
every rcspect
1
and does not lose any of its The oppo-
nents first negative it on the ground that a man docs not
continue to be a man in the deraloka; but on second t hought
they affirm it ill view of the fac t that the carrier of cert ain
qualities from one c1.islcncc to another is a pugga/a, an an!arli-
bha)'a-pu;:;gala.
3
The Sam. take care to keep clear of the two
c.\treme views; (QllljlV(l!!1 rar!1 S;JI'lrOl!1 and alliia,!l jlVQll1 al1iia'11
sarl,a',I. They affirm that the transformed kll alidltas and pliggala,
and not the identical khandhuJ and p:tggall1, pass from one
e\i:;tence 10 anoth:r. The khandltas are, however, impermanent
allu cUllstiluled, wllile the puggula is not so, but it is not per-
lJlallt:1ll and Ullconstituteu either. Without khalldlta, iiyalana,
dflllrll, indriyl.l anu cilta, puggala cannOI remain alone but for
that rt:d:;un, lile colour and other qualities of the khandha,
iiyu/unu, etc. UO 1I0l afft:ct the puggala. Again the pugga/a is
nul a shalluw (c1ulyii) of lhe khandhas.
In reply to the question, whether tile pugga!a is perceivable in
every momentary thought, the Sam. answer in the affirm"'tive,
but they would not accept the inference drawn by the Th. that
t he pugga/a in that case would have momentary existence
(khat)ika-bhii vaf71), i.e" would disappear and re-appear every
moment like celasikas (thoughts).
The Sam. now lIsk the Th. they would admit that
one (yo) who sees snmethi ng (yml') hy means of an organ of
sense (yel1a) is [luggalo. or not. The Th .. after as;;enting to
it as a conventi nnal truth (sammuti-.sacca), put the same
question in the neglltive form t hus: One ()' o) , who' does not
see (Yalll) hy means nf an organ of sense (rena\ is
I . A.,ai'lilo _ s"bb::ikarena
2. A vigato=ekena pi avigato.
3. The self \\hich exists bclweell death and rebirth. See above pp.
114,125.
4. E.g., a bHnd man, an asannisalta.
DOCTRINES OF GROUP IV SCIIOOLS
203
not apuggala. The Sam., however, withoul alguiug further,
quote a few passages, in which Buddha said: 1 (i.t::. Ihe puggala,
according to the S<'.rp.) see by means of my di\ille eyes (d,bbm{}.
beings appearing and disappt:arilIt, and so forth, and
inter therclrom that the seer is puggala.
Their next discussions related to purusakiira. The Th. do not
admit the existence of any doer, so they asked the Sam. whether
the latter would subscribe to the ;;arne opinion. On their denial
the Th. ask whether the Sam. would admlt the existence of the
doer, and; crealor of the doer, which is negatived by t he Sam.
on account of H.e heretical doctrine of (God the
creator of the world) but which on second t hought is affirmed
by in view of the fact hat t he pzrents, teachers elc. are
also in a sense the makers (kaffii, kfireuT) of a person. The TIL
without going into the implied sense of the r<:plies. say Ihat such
a state cf things (i. e., a doer havi ng a doef and a deed which
implies not just a deed but also a doer) would lead to the
conclusion that so long as there is deed (kammo), there is its
doer (kiirako puggalo), and hence there can be no end to
puggda-paramparii and that would falsify the fact that by the
stoppage of t he wheel of actions, dukkha can be brought to an
end. Then again nibbana, mahiipalhavi, etc. must also have a
doer. All t he inferences drawn by the Th. are rejected by the
Sam. I n conclusion, the Sam. deny that the deed and the doer
can be distinct, just to avoid admitting that the pugga,fa has
menta l properties.
While in the above discussion, the 'doer of a deed is enqui red
into in the following discussion it i5 the identi ty of the doer of
a deed with the enjoyer of its fruit that is enquired into.
The Th. deny the existence of a feeler or enjoyer apart fmm
vijXlka-pavalti (that which is realized, t hll! fructification of an
efleet). The Sam. hold that l'alisar!n'('di/,1hhn is vil'iika (result)
but the pugga/a is not vipiikn.
1
They fUrTher state that Nibhiina
J. But il may happen tha: pIIlIlIala, who is in the enjoy'''ent of f, uiti
(i.e. merits), may be again an object ofeniovment of another pU!I!l:ala, e.g. a
50n enjoying the fruits of his actions may be the objo:.::t of affection of his
mother, and SD forth. This explanation of Iluddhaghosa should be compared
with the above like rhe k iileUl of Ir:aflii.
"204
BUDDHIST SECTS IN INDIA
or Mahapalhavi, eh.:. is noL .'ipiika li ke divine happiness
or /1II111un hl.lppillf:lS (llIaDussasukha) so none of
t l:eIU is au objeci of t"njuYIlIt"1Il of the puggala but again Ihe
Sam. do not admit Il ia! .lukhu isdistim.:1 from the sukha-enjo)"er.
TIle: Th, logically wauted tu make their oppont:nts admit tha t
thele must nOI oilly 1Jt:: an cuju)cr uf a fruit but also an enjuyer
of II:!;! enjoycr of Ult:: fruit ami 011 lile au endless chain; ill
olllt:!" "olds, accurding 10 them, as shm'n above, dllkkha can
IJJ ve !lO cnu.
The Th. !lOW pUI the crucial question thus : whether the Lloer
uf a deeu is identical wi th, or di:ferent from, the enj oyer of its
fruit. The opponents first deny both to avoid cont r adiction in
Buddh;o' s sayi ug; sayafll kala/.n para'll karafl1 sukhadukkhw/l,
etc. but on second thought, in view of thei r theory that there
is a common element keepi ng the link bet ween the present and
the future life, they admit it. I n short, the Sam. affirm that
t here is a kl1raka (doer) and I'edaka (feeler or enjoyer) of a deed,
but the two nre neither identical nor dj ff"er:nt, neither both
identical and different, nor not both identical and different.
The Sa m. next apply the test of abhifiiia (supernormal powcrs),
1fllr/ (relatives) aod phato (attai nments) and put the arguments
tbus:
(i) How can a person perform certain miracles keeping his
organs of sense. etc. inert and inactive, unless there is some-
thing else as puggala.
(ii) How cen one recognize the e}i islence of parents, castes,
etc. without positing that there is a pugga/a, and
(ii!) How can a pltalastfla continue to be the same in more
than onc li fe, unless the c}iistcnce of a pllggala is admitted.
The Th. avoid the issues by submi tting the counter-a rgument
to the efrect that one who cannot perform miracles is not a
pl/dgala. In Ihis way Ihey re fule the other 1\. ... 0 arguments.
The next question of the l h. is whether t he puggala is cons-
tituted (sol1lk!za/O) or unconstituled or neither constituted nor
unconstituted (n'eva san/khat niisa'llkhal o). The Sam. affirm the
last but would not treat puggafa as something
apart (ai/flo) from tbe sOlilkiwl kltandfJOs. They state that the
pugga/a has certain aspects of sOIllkhata, e.g., it is subject to
sukha, duk kha. and so forth; agai n it has certain aspects of
DOCTRINES OF GROUP IV sCHOOLS
205
asa'llkhara, e. g., il is Dul to birth, old egc and death
Ul1t1, farO, and n;arur:IU).
In reply 10 the Th.'s quesli on whether n parill;bbuto puggalo
exists in Nibbana ur not, the Sam. negative both, as the affir-
mation of eitht: r would male Ihem either a SnssatQviidm or 110

);low the S::.m. put tbe counter-questi on: Docs not a perion
say that he is feding happy or unhappy Dud so forth ? How
can a person sa) so ullkss he is a puggalo and not n mere cong-
lomeration of st:parat..:: khandhas? In refu ting thi! contention,
the Th. put the same question in a negative form thus: Well,
if a person uot:s not happiness or unhappiness, then there
is no pligga/a. The Th. further ask whether Sam. would treat
sllk!ra and pugga/a as something separate and distinct. The
Sam. evade a dirt:d Huswer and ask: \Vell, when a puggala
(kocf or so) is suiu tu lJe kiiyc kriycilwpass Yiharari , does it not
affirm the uf a puggala ?
The comrovelsy is tht:u dosed by citations of passages from
th= Nik<1yas, the Th. qUOtillg oilly those which dearly express
allatra of all things, while the Sal11. quote those passages in
whieh the word puggalu or utfuhito or so appear.
Throagh these it is apparent that the Sam. are
se=king to e!>tabHsh that tltt: fi\'C kbandhas which are disti nd
from one another cannot give risc to the consciousness of I-ness,
a uDity. The facts that u perso!l acts or thinks as one and not
as five seplTate objects, that in mallY Buddha docs
actually use the \\onls- SU, u!fu a ud pl'gsa/a, that a person':;
attainments like sotlipannu!zIJutl cvnlinue to be the same ill
different amI that ulle speaks of hi s past exi!tences,
and so fonh, do Jeau to the cunclusion tha t, besi des the: five:
t here exists SOlllt: meuml property which ful'ms the:
basis of I-ness, anLl mainwim tJ,c cOlllinuity (If karma from olle
existence 10 another. Thatllltli tal property, however, is chans-
ing kba nuhas but ill vit:w uf the fact that olle call think of his
past, even of th: uf llis past exislt: t1 CeS, the chaugi ng
khandhas alone cannot uc made respoll silJlc fOf thc memory.
The Sam. tliercfon: affirm the of a sixlh (mental)
property and caB it pl/gga/u, which can rema in only along wit h
khandhas anLl w di sappear when the khandh<ls
205 RlJ l)nHJST TN' 1!\"llIA
in Nibbana. As this me ntul property or puggakl is not k i Q(liko
(conslilUted, moment ary objec t"1 C! nd again, as it is not also
unchanging and ever existinB like Nibbanu, so it is not aSllf/l -
klima. Therefore the puggo/a must be admitted to be neither
,faT!,kflOIQ nor asoll'kl:ata.
1
Rererri ng to the pudge/a-l'Ma of the Sam., in
his Tatfl'osOl:graita, eh. \'ii (f) remarks jokingly that the
Saugat35 (i.e., Ihe Buddhists) as lhe upholders of the QI/otta
doctrine should bother their head with identi ty and diffrrence
of the doer of a lind the enj oYcr of its fruit. Siintaraksi ta,
of course, di smisses both (ma((.'iriida and pl/dgaIa-viida from lhe
stnndpoint of the Veda nta ;chool of philosophy, according to
whi ch the eternali ty of (illllall is maintained.
Va sumitra summarizes the doctri nes of the Sammitiyas or the
thus:
I. The plldg(l/a is ne ither the same as the skandha.l nor
different from the skal1dltas. name pudga/a is provisionall y
given to An aggr('gat c of jkandflas. iiya:allrls and dha/Us.
2. Dharmns cannot tra nsmigrate from one existence t o
another apart from the pudga/a. These can be said to
mi gral.e along with the pudga/a.
Otlter ductrilles
VaSUinitra attributes 10 V:itsiputriyas a few other views
which h(!ve :I\ready been discussed. These are:
(i) The five vijii5nas conduce nei ther to saraga (desire) nor
to I'irl/ga (removal of desi res);:
tii) To become iree from dl:sire ( l'iriiga), one mus: relinquish
the saqlyojmJaJ which can be destroyed by an adcpt when he
I. Cf. Obermiller' s A lfal)-Jil 0/ ,he Ab/riran:aycJa'Pkiira, III, p. 380,
rerefrin;: 11'1 Trrl'k"i"/;/ri Inri Scha}"r. Kl1mn/"ii/(i. f(.itH: ""J P",igainvJda.
Obermiller writes Dhadrayii nikas, Dharma-
guptas and Sa:pkramivG.clins ale those that adrr.it the reality of the 'indivi-
dual' They say trot the 'jndi\idua!' is something inexpressible, being
neither Identical with the five groups of clements nor dilferent from them.
It is to be by the six forms of y,jii<ill"'" and is to .. ml'Jiira
(phcnomen"1
2. Seeatl/f, pp.1]O,
.DOCTRI I\ ES OF GROUP I V SCHOOLS 207
reaches and not while he remains In
darl al/amarga.
(iii) When one has entered the samyok l l'aflycima, one is
called pratipanllaka ill the first twelve moment s of the dadal/a-
miirga and when one is in the thirteent h moment one is called
pf;alasrl:a.
1
(iv) There i5 alltaraMaI'Q.! The Sammiiiyas, like the Sa rva-
stiv:idins. hold that every being, whether destined for Kamaloka
or Riipaloka by his karma, remains for some lime in an
mediate stale of existence. At Ihat time the body takes no mat-
erial form, not even the !ka"dhas. It is not an independent state
of existence but just a wait ing stage pr:liminary to its existence
in one of lhe two lokas . The Sammitiyas add that those beings,
who arc destined for hells. or Asaili1i sphere, or Arupa loka, 1131/::
no an(ariibfwva.
(1/) Parihiiyati arahii arahartii (i (Kvu. I. 2).3
(IIi) N'aulli Jel'C's lI bralimacal'iy(iwiso Ii (KvII. I. 3) .'
(vii) Odhisodhiso kf/e.te jahatlli (KI'II. I. 4).6
(vii i) Jahar!' put/tujjallo li ? (K\'U, I. 5).'
DHAMMUTTARiYA, BHADRAYANiYA AND CUAN' NAGARIKA
Vasumitra skips over the strecial doctrines of t hese t hree
sdools: mentioning in "Crse only tha t they differed rega rding the
attai nments of an arhat, and the consequent chances of his fall
from amathood. It seems that in other matt ers, these t hree
schools agrced with the vi e .... 'S of the SammiHyas. In t he XIII. II 4 :
To the Bhadra)'anilms is att ributed the doctrine of "3nupubba-
bhisamaya" (grndual realizati on of the four truths). In tl:e XI'II.
u"ha.'cQ/hii (p. 56), to the attributed the
1. Cf. MaJllld,, 's notes in the Asia II. p. sr.. tn the
Sammillyus in all the f01!rteen moments instead or
sill ;eeo. ; so the 13th momerl t of tbe corresponds to Ihe 15th of
the SarvAstillAdins; seep. 164:;.
2. Se;; ante, pp. 114, 125.
3. Sec: aMe, pp. 82, lOS.
4. Ste tmte, p. J63.
5_ See allle. p. 165.
6. See allte, p. 166.
7. See a'lte, p. 30
208
BUDDHIST SECT$ IN
doctrine DukkhiihiirOli i.e., the ullerancf: of the word "dukkha"
leads to knowledge (r.dl)o) (cr. above p. 110).
VrnHAll' A VAOA
This is one of (I.e by Bhav}'" and Vinitadeva
but llot by Vasumitra. H J oes nut appear in list of
of the I,;hruuides. Bhavya and Vinlladeva treat it as
au oIT:d!uut of Un: S;!f viistivuda school. Prof. La Vallee Poussin
ba!> trau:u in the Chim::::.c of the Vijiiaprimiifratd_
a pas!):Jge in which Vibhaj yavi1dins are identified with
This apparemly refers to the Bahusrutiyu_
by whi ch name the Prajl\aptivadins distillgu.
I ... hetl themselves from the Bahu$rutiyas. Prof. Po ussin has sho\\u
thai the position the Vibhaj yavadins cannot be clearly made
uut tiS Ihelr doctrmes have mlJcb in common with the doctrines
of the Sarv4sliv4dins, Maba.sal'lghikas, Samrnitiyas aod ot bers.
To add to this confUSion, we have the Ceylonese tradition in
school, i.e. , the Therav1dins, preferred to call
nsel.f This anomalous poSition of the Vi bhajya.
It seems, may be explained by regarding them not as
an Independent school, but as a term denoting those who
did not accept t he dOCtrines of a particular school in toto.t It
may be those San'Asti viidins, who did not accept t he
san'am aSl/ theSIS 10 tolO and held instead t he opinion that the
past, which has not yet produced its frui ts, aod the future do
not exist were known as Vibhajyavadin, i.e. , SarvaSl ivada.
JUSt as we have Bahusruuya.vibhajyavadin.
On thiS analogy w:: may say t ha t among the Theravadio:; there
were perhaps some dissenting groups. who were distingui shed as
I. Kola, IOlro., p. Iv.
2. So:e p. lOl.
3. p. 54.
4,,, See I nd"x: p. tlJi; p. 23.24 fn., quolina Anhoprcdfpa, 3, p.
48 .. Le5 ou bien sonl des mait res divcracnts du Grand
Veblculc, 0\1 bien IOUleS les du Petit Vchicule S0l11 nom-'-, " bh .
-d' . !lIt:C v i a;ya.
ViI inS : nc sont une Par COOsequenl, dans Ie
1183), les Vlbhajyavadins sonl exphqucs comme
d.l ns la Vlbhilf1, corrulle SIil'JlmiliyQs."
J
DOCTRI NES OP CROUP tv SCHOOLS
209
Theravactavibhajyavadins. The Ceylonese monks of Maha-
vihara probabl y preferred to call t hemsel ves Vibhajjavadin as
we find it clearl y expressed in the ver.,ified t..1.ble of contents
of chapter JI[ of t he Cullavagga
1
and in the colophon of the
commentary on the Tikapallhiina,2 as al so in t he Dipava/f,sa
(xvi ii. 41,44). In the account of t he Third Council, as given
in the Ceylonese chronicles,' a3 also in commen-
t he are declared to be orthodox monks.
5
As Vasumitra does not count the Vibhaj yavadins as one of
the sects, he has not mentioned any special doctrines of theirs.
It is only in the Abbidharlllokosa that we come across certain
doctrines at tributed to thi s sect. Evidently Vasubandhu had in
hi s mind t he Sami.stivada-vibhajyavadi ns. The doctrines summa-
rized by Prof. La Vallee Poussin are in short as foll ows :-
i, Sound is an effect (saddo vip5.ko, XI'Ii. xi i. 3; Kosa, i. 37).
Ii. The facult ies of faith. memory. etc. (sraddhendriya, smrtin
driya etc.) are pure (Kosa, ii. 9).
iii. There is no intermediate state of e.",istence (4J1(oriibhal'a)
(Kola, iii. 10).
iv, Pratitya5amulp5.da is ull conslituted (llJal11sk[la) (Kosa,
Ii. 28) .
v. Ahhidhya, vyapada, are physical acts ( kiiyika).
t. s co Yin:.yo. CV., pp. 72, 112 : Vihha.!jawdanam
MaMvih!l.ravlisinal'l1 vlican!l saddhamma-
IIhit iyl ti .
2. TikQ_pa!!htim (Cy.), P 366 : IicariyAnalll vAdam ivit>Aya \'l bhaJja
vAdi-st<;slinal'(l etc.; p. ; thcravarpsapp,ldipllrlarn Maht-
vlMravaslnarp v'Hjl,alar.r lrh llcna vi pulr, -vi1uddhD-budrlhi Buddha.
ghoso Ii ... Iherena hta.
l. MtlhiivalJlw. V. 211.
4. Kmhdvallhu-alf.lrakulha. p. 6.
5. Ikforc Vibh.1jjava.da came \0 CC 85 II sect, it m"ant Ihore
who dealt wi lh the mt laphy51cal problems from iI pan iculu
sta1dpoint as 10 1!IOR who solycd Ihe problems sl r:aightwsy
{t!kQ'1uQvddlrr, by a dir:t amwer. See MaJihimlJ, II . I'll. 99.101; cr. ,118. ,
I, P 124: Vihhajjavy!l.k:araoiya and Ekarpsavya.karaQi ya. I II the MajjMma
T. o. 163 ; Papaiiwsitialli, lt , p. Il l , Buddha declared thlt he knew t f,uawidfl ,
which, 10 Buddbagho!a. . TTM:ant thirabMvavAda (mer, tal stea.diness),
T hough these two t ern1, Vib"ejjariida and Thermt/du, wer: used in 'he
Ni kayas. Ihey di<.l I'QI dCllote any sect, bUI we may take IMm 10 the
from which Ihe ""I"rian name later 01.
210 SI':(ITS I ", INDIA
vi. Bhagavan is always in meditation (Kosa, Fr. transl. iv. p.
43 n.l and has no midtlfw (t orpor) (Ibid).
vii. Vi bhavatnl)a is :lbando!1ed by bh;ivana (Kosa, vi. 10-11).
VIII. Arhats have no fall f rom Arhathood (Xoia. vi . 58).
LX. There UTC 43 Dodhipuk (Koia. vi. p. 281 n.) :
the six additional dharmas are anicca-;;anna, dukkha-s.,
l\nattars., pahiina-s. , viraga-s., and nirodha-s.
x. There is nipa (matter) ill the Arupya-dhatu (Koio. viii. 3.
Xoia, Fr. Iransl, p. 135 n.).
Some schools like t he Andhakas, Mahiisa nghikas, MahiSasakas
point out that riipa exists in Ariipyadhatu but in a very subtle
stale. The coTltention of the Vibhajyavadins is pmsibly t he same
as that of the (Koia i, 38) who state t hat mano_
dhiiw is a material organ, which they call hadaya-l'tll1hll (see
Vi!Uddhamaggo, p. 447). This basis of mono--dhiiru, which is mate-
rial, exists in the Arupyadhii t u also.
xi. The Arya of the 4th A.rupya (i.e .. nevasaijljiianas:lIJIjiiA-
yatana) dhitu obtains arhathood without the aid of the mogga.
This a doctrine 01" the Ma hisasakas.
xii. There are twelve viparyasas, (see Kosa-I'yiikhyii p. 454), of
which eight are removed in dorsal/amarga and four in bJ,ii-
I'alliilpiirga (KoSa, v. p. 23 n. ) .
xiii. Jiiiina is the same as dharmas. which are 000 by nature
(sl'abhiivatafJ), while vijiiiina means those dharmas which
arc fOod by association (samprayogala/.l) wi th j,iiino (Kasa.
iv. p. 33 n.; ix. p. 248 n).
.xi v. Real ization of the four truths takes place all at once, a nd
not gradually2 (Kosa. vi, pp. 123, 185).
t. ' ,)(i}"lry,i, 1'. 39.
1. Se< p. ss.
J
CHAPTER IX
DOCTRI NeS OF GROUP V SCHOOLS
Sthavirvada or Theraviida
(including Mahaviharavasins and Abhayagirivasins)
According to both Pali and Sanskrit traditions, the origina l
school, which the Ceylonese chronicles
l
do not connt as scllis
mmic, was called Theraviida or Sthaviravada.
An alternative name of the Sthaviravadins is gi\'en as Vibha
jyavadins. It is doubt ful whether th(!re was any independent
sdJool having the name of Vibhajyavada. It hlS been shown
(p. 208) thai Vibhajyaviida was sometimes affixed to the
na me of a school on account of certain adherent3 differing in
minor points from the principal doctrines of a particular school
preferring to disti nguish themselves as Vibhajyavadins of that
pfl rticular school. ln thi s way, we may explain the Vi bhajyavada
of the Ceylonese t radition, that is, the Ceylonese did not accept
in toto the doctrines of Theravada and preferred to dist inguish
themselves as Sthavira.vibhajjaviidi or simply as Vi bhajjaviidi.
Tn the KathiilfltlllII. the.term Saka\'ada is used instead of Sthavira-
'liidfl or Vibhajjavada.:
Hi llen Tsang speaks of a group of monks as Mahayanists of
the Sthavira schooL From his records, 3 it seems t hat he divided
Ihe monks of Ceyl on into two groups, calling the Mahavihara-
v:'isins as HinayftnaSt haviras and the Abhayagirivasins as Mahii-
Yiina-Sthaviras. He {'"me across such Mahayani;; t Sthaviras in
t he Maha bodhi -s.1 ri gharama, built at Gaya by a king ofCeylon,4
L Dipav(;'(lsiJ, V. 51 : SaUarasa eko vado abhinnako. Sce
I, p, 164.
2. xli.
3. Watters, II, p. 234_
4. Wauers. II. p. 138.