Vibhajyavāda
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Vibhajyavāda (
Nomenclature and etymology
The word Vibhajyavāda may be parsed into vibhajya, loosely meaning "dividing", "analyzing" and vāda holding the semantic field: "doctrine", "teachings".[4] According to Andrew Skilton, the analysis of phenomena (Skt. dharmas) was the doctrinal emphasis and preoccupation of the Vibhajyavādins.[4]
According to A.K. Warder, they are called "distinctionists" because they make distinctions between dhammas that exist in the present and the past, and dhammas that don't exist in the past and the future (as opposed to Sarvāstivāda).[5] This is supported by the explanation given by the 6th century Mahayana philosopher Bhavaviveka.[6]
According to Bhante Sujato, Vibhajyavāda means that the doctrine "distinguishes" (vibhajanto) the heterodox and orthodox views, particularly the non-buddhist theory of a self (atman) and also the pudgala theory of the pudgalavadins. The characteristic method used by the Buddha and early Buddhists to break down the idea of self was the method of analyzing (vibhajjati) the components of a person and investigating them to find that they do not possess the features that one could ascribe to a self. Thus, it would make sense that the term refers to "the Abhidhamma movement as an analytic approach to Dhamma in general, and as a critique of the ‘self’ in particular".[6]
Overview
The Vibhajyavādins are a group of early Buddhist schools. According to the
The Vibhajyavādins rejected the
The Vibhajyavādins also held that out of all dhammas, only
Doctrines of the Vibhajyavādins can be seen in the
The Visuddhimagga of Buddhaghosa, a fifth century Sri Lankan work meanwhile, mentions that the Visuddhimagga was written at the request of Sanghaphala, "a member of the lineage of the Mahaviharasins, illustrious Theriyas, best of Vibhajjavādins".[3]
Branches
The Vibhajyavādins are not recorded uniformly by early Buddhist traditions as being a distinct sect, nor being associated with any one period of time.[15] Some scholars believe that there was no separate "Vibhajyavāda" sect, but that the term vibhajyavāda was sometimes affixed to the name of a school to indicate that it differed from the main school on some doctrines.[17] In this sense, they would be vibhajyavādins of that particular school.[17]
The name was applied to a variety of communities across the Indian subcontinent. The major ones were:[3]
- Dharmaguptaka, located mainly in the North-West of the Indian subcontinent but also spreading along the Central Asian trade routes. According to Richard Salomon, this school was involved in missionary activity and was dominant in Gandhara during the first century CE.[3]
- Kāśyapīya, probably located in the same area as the Dharmaguptaka.
- Mahīśāsaka, as above but also in other parts of mainland India.
- Mahāvihāravāsins and Theravada), established in Sri Lanka (at Anuradhapura) but active also in Andhra and other parts of South India (Vanavasa in modern Karnataka) and later across South-East Asia. Inscriptional evidence has been found in Amaravati and Nagarjunakonda.[3]
Bhante Sujato, in his overview of Dharmaguptaka and Mahāvihāravāsin schools, argues that the split between them was not due to any difference in doctrine or monastic discipline, but due to geographical distance.[18]
According to LS Cousins, the precursor to these schools was probably involved in missionary activity around the time of Ashoka into the regions of Kashmir, Gandhara, Bactria, Andhra and Sri Lanka.[3] Cousins concludes:
Vibhajjavadins really were the school predominant in Ceylon and Gandhara at an early date, as well as being present, if not predominant, in other parts of Central Asia, China, South India and South-East Asia by around the third century CE at the latest. No other school had a comparable spread at this date.[3]
Sectarian views
The Mahavihara Theravādins of Sri Lanka are descendants of the Sthavira Vibhajyavādins in South India who used the Pali language, differing somewhat from the northern Sthavira schools.[17] The Theravādins hold that Vibhajyavāda was the favored doctrine during a Buddhist council that took place in Pataliputra under Ashoka. As Gethin notes, the sources are rather confused on this matter however.[19]
The
The Sarvāstivādin
The
See also
References
- ^ Warder, 2000, p. 264.
- ^ a b Williams, Tribe, Wynne; Buddhist Thought: A Complete Introduction to the Indian Tradition, p. 91.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Cousins, LS (2001). On the Vibhajjavadins. The Mahimsasaka, Dhammaguttaka, Kassapiya and Tambapanniya branches of the ancient Theriyas, Buddhist Studies Review 18 (2), 131-182.
- ^ a b Skilton 2004, p. 67.
- ^ a b Warder 2000, p. 264.
- ^ a b c Sujato 2012, pp. 108–109.
- ^ a b c Berkwitz 2012, p. 58.
- ^ Sujato 2012, pp. 57–58.
- ^ Harvey 1995, p. 86.
- ^ Sujato 2012, p. 117.
- ^ Morgan, Diane, Essential Buddhism: A Comprehensive Guide to Belief and Practice: A Comprehensive Guide to Belief and Practice, p. 52.
- ^ a b Morgan, Diane, Essential Buddhism: A Comprehensive Guide to Belief and Practice: A Comprehensive Guide to Belief and Practice, p. 53.
- ^ Sujato 2012, p. 111.
- ^ a b Berkwitz, 2012, p. 58.
- ^ a b c d e f Baruah 2008, p. 51.
- ^ Sujato 2012, p. 119.
- ^ a b c Dutt 1998, p. 211.
- ^ Sujato 2012, p. 133.
- ^ Gethin, Rupert, The Foundations of Buddhism
- ^ a b Baruah 2008, p. 48.
- ^ Tripathi 2008, p. 113.
Sources
- Baruah, Bibhuti (2008), Buddhist Sects and Sectarianism
- Berkwitz, Stephen C. (2012), South Asian Buddhism: A Survey, Routledge
- Dutt, Nalinaksha (1998), Buddhist Sects in India
- Harvey, Peter(1995), An introductio to Buddhism, Cambridge University Press
- Skilton, Andrew (2004), A Concise History of Buddhism
- ISBN 9781921842085
- Tripathi, Sridhar (2008), Encyclopaedia of Pali Literature
- Warder, A.K. (2000), Indian Buddhism, Motilall Banarsidas
Further reading
- Lance Cousins, "On the Vibhajjavādins: The Mahimsasaka, Dhammaguttaka, Kassapiya and Tambapanniya branches of the ancient Theriyas", Buddhist Studies Review 18, 2 (2001)
- Prasad, Chandra Shekhar, "Theravada and Vibhajjavada: A Critical Study of the Two Appellations"' East & West Vol 22 (1972)