Source: Anālayo 2014

Anālayo, Bhikkhu. "Three Chinese Dīrgha-āgama Discourses Without Parallels." In Research on the Dīrgha-āgama, edited by Dhammadinnā Bhikkhunī, 1-56. Taipei: Dharma Drum Publishing Corporation, 2014.

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Anālayo discusses The Shi ji jing 世記經 T1(30) as one of three discourses in the Dīrghāgama without parallels. He argues that all three of these discourses were probably added to the collection late, and reflect a common impulse toward the making of "maps", i.e. schema that allow an overview of large and complex bodies of doctrine. In the case of T1(30) in particular, he notes that this single discourse on its own comprises five Taishō fascicles, and an entire (fourth) recitation division of the whole collection; this makes it "by far the longest discourse in any of the Āgama or Nikāya collections". He notes further that the discourse brings together information found in a range of other discourses, "though often put to a different purpose". "The overall impression conveyed by the discourse is as if all kinds of information on cosmological matters had been collected from various discourses and passages to form a single text that gives an exhaustive account of the world from a Buddhist viewpoint."

Anālayo then points out that structural considerations also make the text look like a late addition to the Dīrghāgama as a whole. Generally speaking, there is a tendency for Theravāda and Dharmaguptaka versions of this collection to be similar. However, in overall structure, the resemblace is in fact closer between the Theravāda and Sarvāstivāda/Mūlasarvāstivāda Dīrghāgama preserved in Sanskrit fragments. By contrast, the Dharmaguptaka Dīrghāgama, viz. T1, evinces an unusual structure, particularly in the fact that it has four major "chapters" (varga/vagga). However, as mentioned above, T1(30) on its own accounts for the entirety of the fourth *varga, so that without it, the structural anomaly would be much less pronounced.

Anālayo states that "in principle, the integration of such an addition could have happened at any time during the transmission in India of the Dīrghāgama, or even at the time of its translation into Chinese" (43). Referring to Nattier's (2010) study of T309, he notes that such an alteration to the text might not be entirely out of character for Zhu Fonian, and he also notes that a text on similar matters had already been translated into Chinese earlier, viz., 大樓炭經卷 T23.

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35-44

 Analayo discusses The Shi ji jing 世記經 T1(30) as one of three discourses in the Dirghagama without parallels. He argues that all three of these discourses were probably added to the collection late, and reflect a common impulse toward the making of "maps", i.e. schema that allow an overview of large and complex bodies of doctrine. In the case of T1(30) in particular, he notes that this single discourse on its own comprises five Taisho fascicles, and an entire (fourth) recitation division of the whole collection; this makes it "by far the longest discourse in any of the Agama or Nikaya collections". He notes further that the discourse brings together information found in a range of other discourses, "though often put to a different purpose". "The overall impression conveyed by the discourse is as if all kinds of information on cosmological matters had been collected from various discourses and passages to form a single text that gives an exhaustive account of the world from a Buddhist viewpoint." Analayo then points out that structural considerations also make the text look like a late addition to the Dirghagama as a whole. Generally speaking, there is a tendency for Theravada and Dharmaguptaka versions of this collection to be similar. However, in overall structure, the resemblace is in fact closer between the Theravada and Sarvastivada/Mulasarvastivada Dirghagama preserved in Sanskrit fragments. By contrast, the Dharmaguptaka Dirghagama, viz. T1, evinces an unusual structure, particularly in the fact that it has four major "chapters" (varga/vagga). However, as mentioned above, T1(30) on its own accounts for the entirety of the fourth *varga, so that without it, the structural anomaly would be much less pronounced. Analayo states that "in principle, the integration of such an addition could have happened at any time during the transmission in India of the Dirghagama, or even at the time of its translation into Chinese" (43). Referring to Nattier's (2010) study of T309, he notes that such an alteration to the text might not be entirely out of character for Zhu Fonian, and he also notes that a text on similar matters had already been translated into Chinese earlier, viz., 大樓炭經卷 T23. T1(30); Dirghagama 30; Shi ji jing 世記經