Gēnběn shuōyīqiēyǒubù pínàiyē pòsēng shì 根本說一切有部毘奈耶破僧事
The Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya: Saṃghabheda-vastu (Schism) by 義淨 (Yìjìng, 譯)
About the work
The twenty-fascicle Chinese translation of the Saṃghabheda-vastu 破僧事 — the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya skandhaka on schism. 破僧 pò-sēng “breaking the saṅgha” translates saṃgha-bheda. Translated by Yìjìng (義淨) at Cháng’ān in 710–711 CE.
Prefaces
Translator’s colophon: 大唐三藏義淨奉制譯.
Abstract
The Saṃghabhedavastu is one of the most extensive vastus of the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya. Its structural focus is the procedural definition of saṃgha-bheda (formal schism) and its prevention/resolution — but in the late-Indian Mūlasarvāstivāda recension, the vastu expands enormously to include the complete Buddha-biography as the contextual narrative for Devadatta’s schism: from the Buddha’s previous lives, through his lineage, his birth, his renunciation, his enlightenment, his early discipleship, the schismatic activities of Devadatta, and the resolution of the schism after the parinirvāṇa. The text is therefore one of the principal canonical sources for Buddha-biography in the Mūlasarvāstivāda tradition, paralleling in scope (though not in detail) the Lalita-vistara. The Sanskrit text is preserved in the Gilgit manuscripts (Gnoli 1977–1978); the Tibetan in the bKa’-‘gyur dGe-‘dun-dbyen-gźi.
Translations and research
- Gnoli, Raniero. The Gilgit Manuscript of the Saṅghabhedavastu, Being the 17th and Last Section of the Vinaya of the Mūlasarvāstivādin. 2 vols. Rome: IsMEO, 1977–1978. — Sanskrit edition.
- Strong, John. The Buddha: A Short Biography. Oxford: Oneworld, 2001. — Discusses the Saṅghabhedavastu Buddha-biography.
- Lamotte, Étienne. Histoire du bouddhisme indien. Louvain, 1958. — On the Devadatta narrative.
Links
- CBETA T24n1450
- 義淨 DILA
- Dazangthings date evidence (705): [ T ] T = CBETA [Chinese Buddhist Electronic Text Association]. Taishō shinshū daizōkyō 大正新脩大藏經. Edited by Takakusu Junjirō 高楠順次郎 and Watanabe Kaigyoku 渡邊海旭. Tokyo: Taishō shinshū daizōkyō kankōkai/Daizō shuppan, 1924-1932. CBReader v 5.0, 2014. (source)
- Kanseki DB