Semantic search

Abstract

This dissertation is a study of a third/fourth-century Buddhist Sanskrit text, the Saddharmasmṛtyupasthāna(sūtra), which reveals a unique literary culture at an important transitional moment in the religious and philosophical life of early Northwest Indian Buddhists. I argue that meditative practice, rhetoric, and philosophy were intimately tied to one another when the Saddharmasmṛtyupasthāna(sūtra) was redacted, and that the text serves as an important yet unnoticed historical touchstone for an understanding of the development of a Buddhist mind-centered metaphysics. The study suggests that such philosophical developments grew organically out of specific meditation practices rooted in the early canonical Buddhist tradition, and that the Saddharmasmṛtyupasthāna(sūtra) offers perhaps the clearest evidence available attesting to this process. Further, the text evidences an emergent historical ideology of cosmic power, one that ties ethical conduct, contemplative knowledge, and literary practice to a spiritual goal of selfless cosmographical sovereignty. This development is historically significant because it marks a major shift in Indian Buddhist religious practice, which conditioned the emergence of fully developed Mahāyāna path schemes and power-oriented tantric ritual traditions in the centuries that followed the text's compilation. As part of this study, I critically edit and translate the second chapter of the Saddharmasmṛtyupasthāna(sūtra) based on a recently discovered codex unicus.

Abstract

This dissertation examines Sammā Arahaṃ meditation from its origin in the figure of Phra Mongkhon Thepmuni (Sot Candasaro), the late abbot of Wat Paknam, Thonburi, as well as its transmission to Phra Thep Yan Mongkhon (Sermchai Jayamaṅgalo), the late abbot of Wat Luang Pho Sot Thammakayaram, Ratchaburi, in the context of the history of Theravāda Buddhist meditation practices.

The second chapter of this dissertation analyses Luang Pho Sot Candasaro's autobiography, his sermons, the teachings of two of his meditation teachers, namely Luang Pho Niam Dhammajoti (Wat Noi, Suphanburi) and Luang Pho Nong Indasuvaṇṇo (Wat Amphawan, Suphanburi), and the meditation traditions of Saṅgharāja Suk Kai Thuean (Wat Ratchasittharam, Thonburi) and Wat Pradusongtham (Ayutthaya). It confirms that Luang Pho Sot has taken and adapted aspects of these teachers' and traditions' meditation practices and incorporated them into Sammā Arahaṃ meditation. The second chapter also seeks to clarify further the relationships of Luang Pho Sot's Sammā Arahaṃ meditation to the so-called borān kammaṭṭhāna tradition such as the meditation manual of King Taksin of Thonburi and other manuals preserved in the anthology, Phuttharangsi Thritsadiyan book of samatha and vipassanā meditation of the four reigns.

The third chapter accounts for the development of various lineages, networks and centres of Sammā Arahaṃ tradition after the death of Luang Pho Sot, with an emphasis on Achan Sermchai and Wat Luang Pho Sot Thammakayaram. The chapter also considers two meditation masters whose teachings and practices were influenced by Luang Pho Sot and Sammā Arahaṃ meditation, namely Luang Pho Ruesi Lingdam, the founder of the Manomayiddhi meditation tradition, and Bhikṣuṇī Voramai Kabilsingh, who and taught Sammā Arahaṃ along with four other meditation systems.

The fourth chapter examines and analyses Achan Sermchai Jayamaṅgalo's works. The dissertation argues that Achan Sermchai's works provide a defence of the thought and practice of his tradition, which consists of demonstrating that they conform to Theravāda canonical and commentarial tradition. In his elaboration of Luang Pho Sot's teachings, Achan Sermchai's works can also be characterized as an attempt to reinterpret and systematize Sammā Arahaṃ meditation. Moreover, in the fourth chapter, I gather opinions and discussions from different lineages of Sammā Arahaṃ tradition regarding two particular issues: 1) the existence of a prior five-body system in Luang Pho Sot's teaching; and 2) the practice of offering food to the Buddha in (āyatana) nibbāna. This is to demonstrate that among the various lineages of Sammā Arahaṃ tradition, there are differing interpretations regarding aspects of Sammā Arahaṃ practices. This section also includes my interview with mae chi Wanchai Chukon, founder of the Suan Kaeo Meditation Centre, Ratchaburi, and one of the few living direct pupils of Luang Pho Sot.

I declare that the work in this dissertation was carried out in accordance with the requirements of the University's Regulations and Code of Practice for Research Degree Programmes and that it has not been submitted for any other academic award. Except where indicated by specific reference in the text, the work is the candidate's own work. Work done in collaboration with, or with the assistance of, others, is indicated as such. Any views expressed in the dissertation are those of the author.

Abstract

The Gaganagañjaparipṛcchā is the eighth chapter of one of the great canonical collections of Mahāyāna Buddhism, the Mahāsaṃnipāta, but it also acts as an individual text, or sūtra. As such, it is a dharmaparyāya, which dates back to the first or second century CE. The original Sanskrit has been lost, but there are three full-length translations in Tibetan and Chinese.
      This text is regarded as an important canonical scripture throughout the history of Buddhism, playing an important role in the development of the Mahāyāna Buddhist ideas. This is clearly documented by the fact that the Gaganagañjaparipṛcchā was translated into Tibetan (about 800 CE), and at least twice into Chinese (421 and 757 CE), and the sūtra was quoted by many of the great ācāryas of in India, Tibet, China, Korea and Japan. However, the text has received little scientific attention in modern times, and one of the reasons for this is that there is no full Sanskrit text available, only fragments from various later commentaries.
      The purpose of this study is, therefore, to carry out a basic research project consisting of making an English translation of the text, as well as examining its intertextuality and metaphorical implications. For this purpose, the dissertation has collected all available sources, including various versions of Tibetan, Chinese and fragmentary Sanskrit quotations. The primary text of the English translation is the Derge edition of the Tibetan Kanjur. The English translation, the Tibetan and the two Chinese texts are arranged as a parallel edition. As for the translation, the hypothetical Sanskrit passages is to some extent reconstructed.
      In the introduction, all the sources have been historically and critically evaluated. The introduction also contains a treatment of the main ideas of the text and their contextual position within the Mahāyāna Buddhist literature. In this way, the study shows that the philosophy and history of the Gaganagañjaparipṛcchā are related to other important texts from the Mahāyāna Buddhism, among them the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā and the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa, and thus that Gaganagañjaparipṛcchā is closely related to these two works and a number of others.