Āgama (Buddhism)

In Buddhism, an āgama (Sanskrit and Pali for "sacred work"Monier-Williams (1899), p. 129, see "gama," retrieved 12 Dec 2008 from "U. Cologne" at http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/MWScanpdf/mw0129-Akhara.pdf. or "scripture"Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), p. 95, entry for "gama," retrieved 12 Dec 2008 from "U. Chicago" at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.0:1:2582.pali.) is a collection of Early Buddhist scriptures, of which there are five, which together comprise the various recensions of the Sūtra Piṭaka of the early Buddhist schools. The various schools had different recensions of each āgama, and the five āgamas parallel the first five collections (nikāyas) of the Sutta Piṭaka of the Theravada school's Pali Canon. Āgamas of various schools, primarily the Sarvāstivāda, are preserved in their entirety in Chinese translation, and portions also survive in Sanskrit and in Tibetan translation.
==Meaning==
In Buddhism, the term āgama is used to refer to a collection of discourses (Sanskrit: sutra; Pali: sutta) of the early Buddhist schools, which were preserved primarily in Chinese translation, with substantial material also surviving in Sanskrit and lesser but still significant amounts surviving in Gāndhārī and in Tibetan translation. These sutras correspond to the first four Nikayas (and parts of the fifth) of the Sutta-Pitaka of the Pali Canon, which are also occasionally called agamas. In this sense, āgama is a synonym for one of the meanings of nikaya. Many of the agama sutras belong to the Sarvāstivāda canon. 
Sometimes the word āgama is used to refer not to a specific scripture, but to a class of scripture. In this case, its meaning can also encompass the Sutta-pitaka, which the Theravada tradition holds to be the oldest and most historically accurate representation of the teachings of Gautama Buddha, together with the Vinaya-pitaka.The traditional Theravada view regarding the authenticity of the Pali Canon is contested by some modern scholars such as Brough (2001) whose own methodology involves triangulating the texts of the Pali Canon and the gamas to make inferences about pre-sectarian texts.
In the 4th century Mahāyāna abhidharma work Abhidharmasamuccaya, Asaṅga refers to the collection which contains the āgamas as the Śrāvakapiṭaka, and associates it with the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas.Boin-Webb, Sara (tr). Rahula, Walpola (tr). Asanga. Abhidharma Samuccaya: The Compendium of Higher Teaching. 2001. pp. 199-200 Asaṅga classifies the Mahāyāna sūtras as belonging to the Bodhisattvapiṭaka, which is designated as the collection of teachings for bodhisattvas.
==History==
According to the MacMillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism (2004):MacMillan, Encyclopedia of Buddhism, vol. 1, p. 10.
It is clear that, among the early schools, at a minimum the Sarvāstivāda, Kāśyapīya, Mahāsaṃghika, and Dharmaguptaka had recensions of four of the five āgamas that differed at least somewhat. The āgamas have been compared to the Pali Canon's nikayas by contemporary scholars in an attempt to identify possible changes and root phrasings. The āgamas' existence and similarity to the Sutta Pitaka are sometimes used by scholars to assess to what degree these teachings are a historically authentic representation of the Canon of Early Buddhism.See, e.g., Norman (1983), Brough (2001) and nandajoti (2004) regarding the authenticity of the Pali Canon's Dhammapada, Sutta Nipata and other texts when juxtaposed with other non-Pali early Buddhist texts. Sometimes also the differences between them are used to suggest an alternative meaning to the accepted meaning of a sutta in either of the two recensions.
==Doctrines==
According to some interpretations in the Theravāda school, it is not possible for there to be two fully-enlightened buddhas at the same time. However, in Mahāyāna traditions, the concept of contemporaneous buddhas is common. According the Mahāyāna Mahāprajñāpāramitā Śāstra, which is associated with the Vaibhāṣika Sarvāstivādins,Williams, Paul, and Tribe, Anthony. Buddhist Thought: A Complete Introduction to the Indian Tradition. 2000. p. 100 in the "Śrāvaka Dharma" (āgamas and related teachings), "the Buddha did not say whether or not there are contemporaneous buddhas in the ten directions."Guang Xing. The Concept of the Buddha: Its Evolution from Early Buddhism to the Trikaya Theory. 2004. p. 62 In the āgamas preserved in Chinese, the concept of contemporaneous buddhas does indeed exist. This is found in the extant Dīrgha Āgama, the Saṃyukta Āgama, and the Ekottara Āgama, in which the doctrine of contemporaneous buddhas is mentioned many times.
The Chinese monk Xuanzang noted that the doctrine of the mūlavijñāna ("root consciousness") was contained in the āgamas of the Mahāsāṃghikas.Cook, Francis (tr). Three Texts on Consciousness Only. 1999. p. 88 Xuanzang studied Mahāsāṃghika abhidharma in India, and considered this doctrine of the mūlavijñāna to be essentially the same as the Yogācāra doctrine of the ālāyavijñāna ("store consciousness").
==The various āgamas==
There are four extant collections of āgamas, and one for which we have only references and fragments (the Kṣudrakāgama). The four extant collections are preserved in their entirety only in Chinese translation (āgama: 阿含經), although small portions of all four have recently been discovered in Sanskrit, and portions of four of the five āgamas are preserved in Tibetan.A Dictionary of Buddhism, by Damien Keown, Oxford University Press: 2004 The five Āgamas are: 
===Dīrgha Āgama===
The Dīrgha Āgama ("Long Discourses," Cháng Ahánjīng 長阿含經 Taishō 1) corresponds to the Dīgha Nikāya of the Theravada school. A complete version of the Dīrgha Āgama of the Dharmaguptaka (法藏部) school was done Buddhayaśas (佛陀耶舍) and Zhu Fonian (竺佛念) in the Late Qin dynasty (後秦), dated to 413 CE. It contains 30 sūtras in contrast to the 34 suttas of the Theravadin Dīgha Nikāya. A "very substantial" portion of the Sarvāstivādin Dīrgha Āgama survives in Sanskrit,Between the Empires: Society in India 300 BCE to 400 CE by Patrick Olivelle. Oxford University Press, 2006 ISBN 0195305329 pg 356 and portions survive in Tibetan translation.
===Madhyama Āgama===
The Madhyama Āgama ("Middle-length Discourses," Zhōng Ahánjīng 中阿含經, Taishō 26) corresponds to the Majjhima Nikāya of the Theravada school. A complete translation of the Madhyama Āgama of the Sarvāstivāda school was done by Saṃghadeva (僧伽提婆) in the Eastern Jin dynasty (東晉) in 397-398 CE. The Madhyama Āgama of the Sarvāstivāda school contains 222 sūtras, in contrast to the 152 suttas in the Pāli Majjhima Nikāya. Portions of the Sarvāstivāda Madhyama Āgama also survive in Tibetan translation.
===Saṃyukta Āgama===
The Saṃyukta Āgama ("Connected Discourses", Zá Ahánjīng 雜阿含經 Taishō 99)Muller, Charles. Digital Dictionary of Buddhism, entry on 阿含經 corresponds to the Saṃyutta Nikāya of the Theravada school. A Chinese translation of the complete Saṃyukta Āgama of the Sarvāstivāda (說一切有部) school was done by Guṇabhadra (求那跋陀羅) in the Song state (宋), dated to 435-443 CE. Portions of the Sarvāstivāda Saṃyukta Āgama also survive in Tibetan translation.
There is also an incomplete Chinese translation of the Saṃyukta Āgama (別譯雜阿含經 Taishō 100) of the Kāśyapīya (飲光部) school by an unknown translator, from around the Three Qin (三秦) period, 352-431 CE. A comparison of the Sarvāstivādin, Kāśyapīya, and Theravadin texts reveals a considerable consistency of content, although each recension contains texts not found in the others.
===Ekottara Āgama===
The Ekottara Āgama ("Numbered Discourses," Zēngyī Ahánjīng, 增壹阿含經 Taishō 125) corresponds to the Anguttara Nikāya of the Theravada school. A complete version of the Ekottara Āgama was translated by Dharmanandi (曇摩難提) of the Fu Qin state (苻秦), and edited by Gautama Saṃghadeva in 397-398 CE. Some believed that it came from the Sarvāstivāda school, but more recently the Mahāsaṃghika branch has been proposed as well.Sujato Bhikku. "About the EA". ekottara.googlepages.com. Retrieved on 2009-03-01. According to A.K. Warder, the Ekottara Āgama references 250 Prātimokṣa rules for monks, which agrees only with the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya, which is also located in the Chinese Buddhist canon. He also views some of the doctrine as contradicting tenets of the Mahāsaṃghika school, and states that they agree with Dharmaguptaka views currently known. He therefore concludes that the extant Ekottara Āgama is that of the Dharmaguptaka school.Warder, A.K. Indian Buddhism. 2000. p. 6
Of the four Āgamas of the Sanskritic Sūtra Piṭaka in the Chinese Buddhist Canon, it is the one which differs most from the Theravādin version. The Ekottara Āgama contains variants on such standard teachings as the Noble Eightfold Path.Sujato Bhikku. "About the EA". ekottara.googlepages.com. Retrieved on 2010-09-18. According to Keown, "there is considerable disparity between the Pāli and the [Chinese] versions, with more than two-thirds of the sūtras found in one but not the other compilation, which suggests that much of this portion of the Sūtra Piṭaka was not formed until a fairly late date."Keown, Damien. A Dictionary of Buddhism. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.
===Kṣudraka Āgama or Kṣudraka Piṭaka===
The Kṣudraka Āgama ("Minor Collection") corresponds to the Khuddaka Nikāya, and existed in some schools. The Dharmaguptaka in particular, had a Kṣudraka Āgama. The Chinese translation of the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya provides a table of contents for the Dharmaguptaka recension of the Kṣudraka Āgama, and fragments in Gandhari appear to have been found. Items from this Āgama also survive in Tibetan and Chinese translation—fourteen texts, in the later case. Some schools, notably the Sarvāstivāda, recognized only four Āgamas—they had a "Kṣudraka" which they did not consider to be an "Āgama. Others—including even the Dharmaguptaka, according to some contemporary scholars—preferred to term it a ""Kṣudraka Piṭaka." As with its Pāḷi counterpart, the Kṣudraka Āgama appears to have been a miscellany, and was perhaps never definitively established among many early schools.
===Additional materials===
In addition, there is a substantial quantity of āgama-style texts outside of the main collections. These are found in various sources:
# Partial āgama collections and independent sutras within the Chinese canon.
# Small groups of sutras or independent sutras within the Tibetan canon.
# Sutras reconstructed from ancient manuscripts in Sanskrit, Gandhari, or other ancient Indic languages.
# Passages and quotes from āgama sutras preserved within Mahayana Sutras, Abhidharma texts, later commentaries, and so on. 
# Isolated phrases preserved in inscriptions. For example, the Ashoka pillar at Lumbini declares iha budhe jāte, a quote from the Mahaparinirvana Sutra.
==See also==
*Early Buddhist schools
*Nikaya
==Notes==
==Sources==
* nandajoti Bhikkhu (2004). The Uraga Sutta. Retrieved 13 Dec 2008 from "Ancient Buddhist Texts" at http://www.ancient-buddhist-texts.net/Buddhist-Texts/C4-Uraga-Verses/index.htm.
* Brough, John (2001). The Dharmapada. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited.
* Monier-Williams, Monier (1899, 1964). A Sanskrit-English Dictionary. London: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-864308-X. Retrieved 12 Dec 2008 from "Cologne University" at http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/index.php?sfx=pdf. 
* Norman, K.R. (1983). Pali Literature: Including the Canonical Literature in Prakrit and Sanskrit of All the Hinayana Schools of Buddhism. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz.
* Rhys Davids, T.W. & William Stede (eds.) (1921-5). The Pali Text Society’s Pali–English Dictionary. Chipstead: Pali Text Society. Retrieved 12 Dec 2008 from "U. Chicago" at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/pali/.
==External links==
*Ekottara Agama: The One-up Discourses of the Buddha
*A Digital Comparative Edition and Translation of the Shorter Chinese Saṃyukta Āgama (T.100)
*SuttaCentral.net Online Sutta Correspondence Project
 
Category:Sanskrit words and phrases
Category:Pāli words and phrases
Category:Tripiṭaka