The Ekottarika-āgama Parallel to the Saccavibhanga sutta and 4 noble truths.pdf

Buddhist Studies Review 23(2) 2006, 145–53

ISSN (print): 0256-2897

doi: 10.1558/bsrv.2006.23.2.145

ISSN (online): 1747-9681

The Ekottarika-āgama Parallel to the

Saccavibhaṅga-sutta and the Four (Noble) Truths

Anālayo

Department of Indology and Tibetology, Philipps University, Marburg, Germany

ABSTRACT: The present article oﬀ ers a translation of the Ekottarika-āgama parallel

to the Saccavibhaṅga-sutta , followed by a discussion of a signi ﬁ cant diﬀ erence to be

found between the Pāli and the Ekottarika-āgama versions of this discourse. This dif-

ference supports the suggestion that at an earlier time references to the four noble

truths in this and other discourses may have been without the quali ﬁ cation ‘noble’.

INTRODUCTION

The Saccavibhaṅga-sutta of the Majjhima-nikāya 1 treats a subject that lies at the

very heart of early Buddhist philosophy and practice: the four noble truths. The

Pāli version of this discourse has altogether three Chinese counterparts. One of

these three Chinese parallels is found in the Madhyama-āgama collection trans-

lated under the leadership of Gautama Saṅghadeva. 2 Another parallel is attributed

to An Shi-gao ( 安世高 ), whose opus belongs to the earliest stages of translation

activity in China. 3

The third Chinese parallel to the Saccavibhaṅga-sutta occurs in the Ekottarika-

āgama , 4 a discourse collection probably translated by Zhu Fo-nian ( 竺佛念 ), based

on a text recited from memory by Dharmanandī. The identity of the translator

of this collection is uncertain, since it is not entirely clear if the translation now

extant in Chinese has only been revised by Gautama Saṅghadeva, or whether it

is an actual retranslation undertaken by him, a retranslation that then replaced

the earlier translation by Dharmanandī and Zhu Fo-nian. 5

1. MN 141 at MN III 248-252.

2. MĀ 31 at T I 467a–469c, parts of which have been translated by Minh Chau (1991: 96–8, 122-

126).

3. T 32 at T I 814b–816c. Harrison (1997: 277) lists T 32 among translations by An Shi-gao that may

stem from an Ekottarika-āgama collection. On the opus of An Shi-gao cf. also Harrison (2002: 4).

4. EĀ 27.1 at T II 643a–c.

5. T 2145 at T LV 71b 29 ; T 2146 at T LV 127c 29 ; T 2153 at T LV 422b 6 ; and T 2154 at T LV 511b15

attribute the Ekottarika-āgama translation to Dharmanandī (and Zhu Fo-nian); while according

T 2034 at T XLIX 70c Gautama Saṅghadeva retranslated the Ekottarika-āgama ; cf. also Bagchi

(1927: 159, 337); Enomoto (1986: 19); Lamotte (1967: 105); Lü (1963: 242); Mayeda (1985: 102);

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The latter suggestion is not easy to reconcile with the considerable diﬀ er-

ences in translation terminology found between the Madhyama-āgama and the

Ekottarika-āgama collections. Though to translate an Indic text into Chinese was

usually undertaken as a co-operative eﬀ ort of a group of translators, and the per-

son oﬃ cially responsible for the translation may at times have mainly acted as

a guarantor for the authenticity of the Indic original, 6 one would nevertheless

expect a basic degree of consistency in the translation terminology employed in

two Āgama translations undertaken under the supervision of the same translator.

This is not the case for the Madhyama-āgama and the Ekottarika-āgama , as these two

collections diﬀ er considerably from each other in their translation terminology.

In the case of the parallels to the Saccavibhaṅga-sutta , for example, the Madhyama-

āgama and the Ekottarika-āgama versions diﬀ er from each other in the way they

render proper names like Jeta’s Grove and Sāriputta, 7 or in the way they translate

a standard expression like ‘righ intention’ ( sammā saṅkappa ). 8 Such diﬀ erences are

not isolated cases, but are common between these two collections and seem to go

beyond the variations that the terminology employed by a particular translator

might show during successive stages of his translation activities. In view of this,

it would be more natural to attribute the translation of these two collections to

diﬀ erent translators.

The school aﬃ liation of the Ekottarika-āgama is also an issue still open to dis-

cussion. What can positively be said about this collection, however, is that the

Ekottarika-āgama shows the recurrent in ﬂ uence of early Mahāyāna thought. 9

Waldschmidt (1980: 169 n. 168); and Yin-shun (1983: 91). It is also not clear to me on what

Gautama Saṅghadeva would have based such a retranslation, since whereas in the case of the

Madhyama-āgama his translation was based on a written original read out to him by Sangharakṣa,

cf. T I 809b 26 , Zhu Fo-nian translated the Ekottarika-āgama based on an original Dharmanandī

had memorized, cf. T LV 10b 25 , and there is no indication that Gautama Saṅghadeva had also

memorized this collection.

6. Zacchetti (1996: 352) explains that Chinese translations undertaken during this period were

the outcome of a tripartite group eﬀ ort that involved a principal translator, an interpreter and

redactor(s); cf. also Boucher (1998: 487). Forte (1984: 316) explains that every translation was

‘registered under the name of a single person, usually the actual guarantor of the text, either

because he had brought the Sanskrit text to China or else because he knew it by heart … This

need to make one person responsible often meant that the actual contribution of other members

of the team tended to be unacknowledged’.

7. MĀ 31 at T I 467b 1 : 勝林給孤獨園 ( Sheng-lin Ji-gu-du-yuan ) against EĀ 27.1 at T II 643a26: 祇樹給

孤獨園 ( Qi-shu Ji-gu-du-yuan ); and MĀ 31 at T I 467b 13 : 舍梨子 ( She-li-zi ) against EĀ 27.1 at T II

643b4: 舍利弗 ( She-li-fu ).

8. MĀ 31 at T I 469a 14 : 正志 ( zheng zhi ) against EĀ 27.1 at T II 643b 23 : 正治 ( zheng zhi ).

9. For relevant passages in the Ekottarika-āgama collection cf. Huyen-Vi and Pāsādika (1998a: 65

n. 4, 69 n. 15; 1998b: 206 n. 3, 208 n. 8; 2001: 224 n. 17; 2002: 49 nn. 4, 5, 188 n. 22); and Pāsādika

(2006: 339).

ANĀLAYO THE EKOTTARIKA-ĀGAMA PARALLEL TO THE SACCAVIBHAṄGA-SUTTA

147

TRANSLATION 10

[Discourse on the Four Truths] 11

1. I heard like this: At one time the Buddha was in Jeta’s Grove at Sāvatthī.

2. At that time the Blessed One addressed the monks: ‘This, monks, is called

the teaching that we always proclaim, that is to say, the four truths. Using

countless means and explaining this teaching, 12 analysing its meaning [we]

have widely expounded it to mankind.

3–4. What are the four? We have used countless means and explained this teach-

ing, that is to say, the teaching about the truth of dukkha , [we have] ana-

lysed its meaning and widely expounded it to mankind; [we] have [also]

used countless means to proclaim the truths of arising, of cessation and of

the path, and to explain this teaching, to analyse its meaning and to widely

expound it to mankind.

5. Monks, you should associate with bhikkhu Sāriputta, support him and revere

him! [Why?] Because bhikkhu Sāriputta proclaims these four truths using

countless means, he widely expounds them to mankind. Whenever bhikkhu

Sāriputta has analysed their meaning and widely expounded them to man-

kind and to all beings of the four assemblies, incalculable numbers of beings

have been freed from stains and attained the pure eye of the Dhamma .

Monks, you should associate with [ bhikkhu ] Sāriputta and bhikkhu

Moggallāna, support and revere them! [Why?] Because bhikkhu Sāriputta

is [like] a parent to beings. [Once] they are “born”, [as it were], bhikkhu

Moggallāna raises them to adulthood. [Why?] Because bhikkhu Sāriputta pro-

claims the essential teaching about attaining the four truths to mankind,

[while] bhikkhu Moggallāna proclaims the essential teaching about attaining

the supreme to mankind, about attaining the dwelling without in ﬂ uxes. You

should associate with [ bhikkhu ] Sāriputta and bhikkhu Moggallāna!’

6. Having said this, the Blessed One went back to [his] meditation room.

7–9. Then, soon after the Blessed One had left, Sāriputta addressed the monks:

‘One who is able to attain [insight into] the teaching of the four truths, such

a person quickly attains good fortune.

10. Tofacilitate comparing my translation of EĀ 27.1 with the English translation of the Saccavibhaṅga-

sutta , I have adopted the same paragraph numbering as used in Ñāṇamoli (2005: 1097–1101).

For the same reason I adopt Pāli terminology, which does not intend to take a position on the

Indic language of the Ekottarika-āgama original. Waldschmidt (1980: 137) explains that the Ekot-

tarika-āgama was translated ‘from some Middle Indic or mixed dialect of Prakrit with Sanskrit

elements’.

11. The Taishō ( 大正 ) and Fo-guang ( 佛光 ) editions do not give a title to this discourse. I follow

Anesaki (1908: 144), who gives EĀ 27.1 the title 四諦 ( si di ), ‘four truths’.

12. EĀ 27.1 at T II 643a 28 reads 觀察 ( guan-cha ), which Hirakawa (1997: 1066) indicates to correspond

also to vibhāvana , a meaning that suits the present context better than its usual sense ‘to exam-

ine’.

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BUDDHIST STUDIES REVIEW

10–20. What are the four? That is to say, the truth of dukkha - using countless

means [I] widely expound its meaning. What is the truth of dukkha ? That is

to say, birth is dukkha , old age is dukkha , disease is dukkha , death is dukkha ,

dejection, sorrow and vexation are dukkha , associating with what is dis-

liked is dukkha , being dissociated from what is liked is dukkha , not obtain-

ing what is searched for is dukkha , in short, the ﬁ ve aggregates of clinging

are dukkha - this is called the truth of dukkha .

21. What is the truth of the arising of dukkha ? That is to say, it is the fetter of

craving.

22. What is the truth of cessation? That is to say, the truth of cessation is the

ﬁ nal and remainderless cessation of the fetter of craving and lust - this is

called the truth of cessation.

23–31. What is the truth of the path? That is to say, it is the noble eightfold path

– right view, right intention, right speech, right eﬀ ort, 13 right livelihood,

right action, right mindfulness, right concentration – this is called the

truth of the path. Those beings, who are able to hear this teaching on the

four truths, will quickly attain good fortune’.

32. At the time when the venerable Sāriputta proclaimed this teaching, count-

less and incalculable numbers of beings, while hearing this teaching, were

freed from the stains and obtained the pure eye of the Dhamma , [re ﬂ ecting

afterwards:] ‘We have quickly attained good fortune. The teaching pro-

claimed by the Blessed One to us [leads to] a peaceful abiding and a fortu-

nate state’.

[The Buddha said:] ‘For this reason, [members of] the four assemblies,

seek for the means to practise these four truths! Thus, monks, you should

train in this way!’

At that time the monks heard the Buddha’s word, were delighted and

put it into practice.

COMPARISON

What makes this Ekottarika-āgama discourse interesting is not so much what it

says, but what it does not say, since it does not use the quali ﬁ cation ‘noble’ in

regard to the four (noble) truths. 14 At ﬁ rst sight, this absence strikes an odd note,

since the expression ‘four noble truths’ is so familiar that to speak of ‘four truths’

may sound just wrong.

13. EĀ 27.1 at T II 643b 23 : 正方便 ( zeng fang-bian ), literally ‘right means’, which is the standard

rendering for right eﬀ ort employed in Āgama discourses; cf. also Zacchetti (2005: 1262–4) .

14. EĀ 27.1 e.g. at T II 643a 28 : 四諦 ( si di ). T 32 at T I 814b 8 uses the same expression already in its title,

四諦經 ( si di jing ), the ‘Discourse on the Four Truths’ (in some instances T 32 uses 賢者 ( xian-zhe )

in close proximity to a truth statement, which, however, does not seem to render ‘noble’, but

rather appears to stand for * āvuso ). MĀ 31 agrees with MN 141 on speaking of the ‘four noble

truths’, cf. e.g. MĀ 31 at T I 467b3: 四聖諦 ( si sheng di ).

ANĀLAYO THE EKOTTARIKA-ĀGAMA PARALLEL TO THE SACCAVIBHAṄGA-SUTTA

149

Of the four Āgama s preserved in Chinese, the Ekottarika-āgama is not the best-

preserved collection, so that one may wonder how serious this reference to ‘four

truths’ should be taken. The translation of the Ekottarika-āgama was based on a text

recited from memory and was undertaken during a time of warfare and turmoil, 15

circumstances that would have contributed to the relatively frequent occurrence

of internal inconsistencies and textual irregularities in this collection.

However, the Ekottarika-āgama parallel to the Saccavibhaṅga-sutta does employ

the quali ﬁ cation ‘noble’ in regard to the eightfold path. This makes it improbable

that there would have been a conscious choice to omit this quali ﬁ cation in regard

to the ‘four truths’ if it had been in the original. 16

Moreover, the absence of the attribute ‘noble’ is not con ﬁ ned to the Ekottarika-

āgama parallel to the Saccavibhaṅga-sutta , as Ekottarika-āgama discourses in general

speak only of the ‘four truths’. 17 The same is also the case for several discourses found

in the partial Saṃyukta-āgama translation. 18 In contrast, discourses in the Dīrgha-

āgama collection, the Madhyama-āgama collection and the more completely preserved

Saṃyukta-āgama collection regularly use the expression ‘four noble truths’.

References to the ‘four truths’ without the quali ﬁ cation noble also occur in sev-

eral individual translations, for example in a parallel to the Mahāpadāna-sutta , 19 in

two parallels to the Mahāparinibbāna-sutta , 20 in a parallel to the Dasuttara-sutta , 21 in a

parallel to the Mahāgopālaka-sutta , 22 and in a parallel to the Dhammacakkapavattana-

sutta . 23

15. T 2145 at T LV 10b 25 and T 125 at T II 549a 18 .

16. EĀ 27.1 at T II 643b 22 : 賢聖八品道 ( xian-sheng ba pin dao ). EĀ 46.8 at T II 779a 12 also introduces all

four as the ‘four truths’, but then at T II 779a 13 quali ﬁ es the truth of the path as a ‘noble truth’.

17. EĀ 4.1 at T II 557a 20 ; EĀ 24.5 at T II 619a 9 ; EĀ 25.1 at T II 631a 8 ; EĀ 26.9 at T II 639b 8 ; EĀ 28.1 at T

II 649b 20 ; EĀ 28.3 at T II 650b 17 ; EĀ 29.6 at T II 657c 29 ; EĀ 29.9 at T II 658c 9 ; EĀ 30.2 at T II 659c 25 ;

EĀ 30.3 at T II 665b 8 ; EĀ 31.9 at T II 672c 20 ; EĀ 37.8 at T II 714c 5 ; EĀ 37.10 at T II 717a 25 ; EĀ 39.8

at T II 733a 25 ; EĀ 41.2 at T II 745a 17 ; EĀ 42.4 at T II 753c 6 ; EĀ 45.5 at T II 773b 11 (not taking into

account verses, where the absence of the quali ﬁ cation ‘noble’ could be due to the need to ﬁ t the

syllable count).

18. SĀ 2 81 at T II 402a 23 ; SĀ 2 92 at T II 405b 15 ; SĀ 2 152 at T II 431b 21 and SĀ 2 184 at T II 439c 13 refer

to the ‘four truths’ (not taking into account verses). SĀ 2 322 at T II 481c 8 uses the expression

‘four truths’, but then at T II 481c 10 refers to the ‘four noble truths’. SĀ 2 198 at T II 445b 9 quali ﬁ es

only the ﬁ rst truth as a ‘noble truth’, while the other three are simply ‘truths’. A similar pattern

occurs in SĀ 2 340, which at T II 487b 20 quali ﬁ es the ﬁ rst truth as a ‘noble truth’, and then treats

the remaining three without bringing in any truth quali ﬁ cation at all.

19. T 3 at T I 157a 8 (translated by Fa-tian, 法天 ), parallel to DN 14 at DN II 41, 15 , which only refers

to dukkha , its arising, its cessation and the path, without using ‘truth’ or ‘noble’.

20. T 6 at T I 188b 9 (by an unknown translator), parallel to DN 16 at DN II 155, 23 ; and T 7 at T I 204b 3

(translated by Fa-xian, 法顯 ), parallel to DN 16 at DN II 153, 7 . In both instances the Pāli passages

do not refer to the four noble truths at all.

21. T 13 at T I 234a 29 (translated by An Shi-gao, 安世高 ), parallel to DN 34 at DN III 277, 8 : cattāri

ariya-saccāni .

22. T 123 at T II 546b 21 (translated by Kumārajīva), parallel to MN 33 at MN I 221, 33 , which instead

refers to the noble eightfold path.

23. T 109 at T II 503c 9 (translated by An Shi-gao), parallel to SN 56:11 at SN V 422, 30 : imesu catusu

ariya-saccesu .

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