Mutual Influence among the Mahayana Sutras

Transcription

1 ( 10 ) Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies, Vol. 47, No. 2, March 1999 Mutual Influence among the Mahayana Sutras concerning Sarvalokapriyadarsana Takayasu SUZUKI I. The aim of this paper A number of studies on the compilation of Mahayana sutras have already pointed out that a Mahayana sutra may be compiled under the influence of previous sutras and ideas. Little attention, however, has been given to the possibility of mutual influence among Mahayana sutras in their compilation. In this short paper, we focus on the Mahayana sutras which refer to Sarvalokapriyadarsana in order to show that they influenced one another in their compilation. II. Sarvalokapriyadarsana as a Litsavi prince in the MMS, the Suv and the MBhS While Sarvalokapriyadarsana is one of the main characters in both the Mahameghasutra (MMS) and the Mahabherisutra (MBhS), he only appers in an interpolated part of the Suvarnaprabhasa (Suv). Since this part of the Suv has been shown to have been interpolated from the MMS, " it should be enough for us to examine the MMS and the MBhS in order to understand the character of Sarvalokapriyadarsana. In the MMS, Sarvalokapriyadarsana, inspired by the Buddha's power, has a long discussion with a Brahman named Kaundinya on the relics of the tathagata. This discussion is intended to show that the tathagata has an eternal body composed of dharma and has no `relics' and that he (still) shows himself entering into parinirvana in order to benefit all sentient beings. He was once a pious king in a former life and had conducted the same discussion with his minister who is now Kaundinya. During the lifetime of Sakyamuni, he was reborn as a Litsavi prince named Sarvalokapriyadarsana, and it is prophesied that he 1015

2 Mutual Influence among the Mahayana Sutras concerning Sarvalokapriyadarsana (T. suzuxi) ( 11 ) will become a monk who keeps the dharma well in future lives and that finally he will become a Buddha named *Jnanakaraprabha. In the MBhS, Sarvalokapriyadarsana, skilled in expedients, does his best to eradicate the wrong sunyatadrsli and to declare that the tathagata is eternal. He was once a cakravartin and made great religious efforts. During the lifetime of Sakyamuni, as in the MMS, 2) he was reborn as a Litsavi prince named Sarvalokapriyadarsana, and it is prophesied that he will become a monk who keeps the dharma well in future lives and that finally he will become a Buddha named *Jnanakaraprabha. Considering that the main theme of both sutras is the eternalness of the tathagata, Sarvalokapriyadarsana would appear to play an essential role in the declaration of this idea. III. Sarvasattvapriyadarsana or sarvasattvapriyadarrana in the SP Tems similar to Sarvalokapriyadarsana are found in the Saddhamapundarika (SP): they are Sarvasattvapriyadarsana and sarvasattvapriyadarsana. All occurrences of these terms are listed below : (1) Sarvasattvapriyadarsana as the name of a future Buddha (SPs 269.1, 3) SP,: Sems can thams cad kyis mthon na dga' ba (116b3, 4) SPC1: SP,,: (2) Sarvasattvapriyadarsana as the name of a former Bodhisattva (SPs 405.8, 12 ; ,4,7, 11;407.1,3,5,8; 408.9, 13;409.1,8;410.3,6,9;411.4,6, 10;412.4,8; 413.1, 2, 4, 11 ;414.2, 5, 8;420.13) SP,,: Sems can thams cad kyis mthon na dga' ba (171b1, 4, 6, 8 ;172a2, 5, 7, 8 ; 172b 1, 3 ; 173a2, 5, 7 ; 173b4, 8; 174a2, 5; 174b2, 3, 6 ; 175a 1, 4, 7, 8; 175b2, 7, 8 ; 176a2, 4 ; 179b5) SPc1: SP c2 : 1014

3 ( 12 ) Mutual Influence among the Mahayana Sutras concerning Sarvalokapriyadar ana (T.SUZUKI) (3) sarvasattvapriyadarsana as an epithet of Bodhisattvas or of their bodies (SPS ; 476.3) SP,: sems can thams cad kyis mthon na dga' ba (173a2 ; 200b8) SPC, : (not translated) SP, : What has to be noticed here in the SP is not the differences in meaning or usage among (1) - (3) above, but that all of them read sattva (Skt.), 3) sems can (Tib.) and IV. The shift from sattva to loka:mutual influence among the Mahayana sutras To show that Mahayana sutras can influence one another in their compilation, let us extract all occurrences of Sarvalokapriyadarsana from the MMS, the MBhS and the Suv. (1) Sarvalokapriyadarsana in the MMS MMST:'Jig rten thams cad kyis mthon na dga' ba (195a1, 8;196a1;199a5;205a3;206b1) (2) Sarvalokapriyadarsana in the MBhS MBhST : 'Jig rten thams cad kyis mthon na dga' ba (103b5 ; 105a5 ; 124a2, 6 ; 125a8 ; 126b2; 127a4, 8; 128b5, 8; 131b8 13lb8; 132a7; 13'Jig rten kun mthon dga' (133b4; in verse) (3) Sarvalokapriyadarsana in the Suv Suvs: Sarvalokapriyadarsana (13.1;14.10;17.7; in the first case, however, all the MSS. read Sarvasatvapriyadarsana, that is, Sarvasattvapriyadarsana4) SuvT1 : 'Jig rten thams cad kyis mthorn na dga' ba (4b7 ; 5a6 ; 5b7) 1013

4 Mutual Influence among the Mahayana Sutras concerning Sarvalokapriyadarsana (T. SUZUKI)( 13 ) SuvTZ: Sems can thams cad kyis mthoii na dga' ba (164b8;165a6), 'Jig rten thams cad kyis mthoii na dga' ba (165b8) SuvC2 : Suv,3 : In the earliest compilation of the MMS, he was called Sarvasattvapriyadarsana, not -loka-. This name Sarvasattvapriyadarsana seems to have been introduced through the influence of the SP. After the compilation of the MMS, the Suv was augmented using the context in which Sarvasattvapriyadarsana, not -loka-, appears in the MMS. This can be explained by the fact that the MMS, reads the Suv, and the SuvC3 read and in the MSS. of the Suvs and in the SuvT2 there remain the readings sattva and sems can. On the other hand, the MBhST and the.mbhsc read jig rten and not sems can or throughout. Considering the dates of the compilation and the translation into Chinese of the MBhS, 5' the MBhS seems to have read Sarvalokapriyadarsana, not -sattva-, from the time of its earliest compilation. What is most important here is that the shift from sattva to loka found in the MBhS conversely influenced the MMS and the Suv, and changed Sarvasattvapriyadarsana to Sarvalokapriyadarsana in the original Sanskrit texts of both the MMS and the Suv. This phenomenon cannot be explained simply in terms of a linear series of compilations and interpolations. 6' We must thus posit mutual, not one-way, influence among the Mahayana sutras with regard to Sarvalokapriyadarsana. T This mutual influence among the Mahayana sutras will offer a new perspective on the elucidation of the formation and compilation of Mahayana sutras. MMS : Mahameghasutra MMST : Tibetan version of the MMS, P No MMSC : Chinese version of the MMS, T. No. 387 SP: Saddharmapundarika SPS : Saddharmapundarika, ed. Kern and Nanjio, St. Petersburg, SPT: Tibetan version of the SP, P No SPC1 :first Chinese version of the SP, T. No

5 ( 14 Mutual Influence among the Mahayana Sutras concerning Sarvalokapriyadarsana (T.SUZUKI) SPC2 : second Chinese version of the SP, T. No. 262 Suv : Suvarnaprabhasa SuvS : Suvarnabhasottamasutra, ed. J. Nobel, Leipzig, SuvT1 : first Tibetan version of the Suv, P No SuvT2 : second Tibetan version of the Suv, P No SuvC1 : first Chinese version of the Suv, T. No. 663 SuvC2 : second Chinese version of the Suv, T. No. 664 SuvC3 : third Chinese version of the Suv, T. No. 665 P : Peking Kanjur ; T. : Taisho Tripitaka ; MIOC : Memoirs of the Institute of Oriental Culture. 1) See Takayasu Suzuki [ 1996] : "The Mahameghasutra as an Origin of an Interpolated Part of the Present Suvarnaprabhasa " (Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies 89) ; [1998a] : "An Examination of the Suvarnaprabhasa and the Mahameghasutra through Text-Comparison" (MIOC 135) ; and [1998b] : "Dialogue between Kaundinya and Sarvalokapriyadarsana on the Relics of the Tathagata" (MIOC 136). 2) It is clear that the MMS preceds the MBhS. See Takayasu Suzuki [1997] : "Tathagatagarbha Theory in the Mahabherisutra on the Basis of the Eternalness of the Tathdgata" (Studies of Buddhist Culture 1). 3) No other reading has been found in the MSS. of the SP. 4) See SuvS 13fn2. 5) See Takayasu Suzuki [ 1996]: "A Survey of the Mahabherisutra : With Reference to Its Original Title" (Journal of Buddhist Culture 35). 6) The SP is not included in these sutras since the shift from sattva to loka did not occur in the SP. 7) Moreover we can expect that the MMS and the Suv shared a particular context concerning Sarvalokapriyadarsana for a period of time. (This research was supported in part by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture.) <Key Words> Sarvalokapriyadarsana, Mahameghasutra, Mahabherisutra, Saddharmapundarika, Suvarnaprabhasa (Research Associate, Tokyo University) 1011