COPYRIGHT AND USE OF THIS THESIS This thesis must be used in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. Reproduction of material protected by copyright may be an infringement of copyright and copyright owners may be entitled to take legal action against persons who infringe their copyright. Section 51 (2) of the Copyright Act permits an authorized officer of a university library or archives to provide a copy (by communication or otherwise) of an unpublished thesis kept in the library or archives, to a person who satisfies the authorized officer that he or she requires the reproduction for the purposes of research or study. The Copyright Act grants the creator of a work a number of moral rights, specifically the right of attribution, the right against false attribution and the right of integrity. You may infringe the author’s moral rights if you: - fail to acknowledge the author of this thesis if you quote sections from the work - attribute this thesis to another author - subject this thesis to derogatory treatment which may prejudice the author’s reputation For further information contact the University’s Director of Copyright Services sydney.edu.au/copyright A STUDY OF THE STORY OF SADĀPRARUDITA IN THE AṢṬASĀHASRIKĀ PRAJÑĀPĀRAMITĀ SŪTRA A dissertation presented by Hung-Yi Yang to The Department of Indian Subcontinental Studies School of Languages and Cultures Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences A thesis submitted in fulfilment of requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at The University of Sydney November 2013 Abstract This dissertation focuses on the story of the Bodhisattva Sadāprarudita found in various Buddhist prajñāpāramitā sūtras. The richness of the story’s contents, the complexity of its multiple extant versions, and its association with prajñāpāramitā make it a piece worthy of investigation. Looking at the origins of the story, previous studies have assumed a linear relationship among the two main versions of the story. Yet a closer analysis conducted in this study reveals two branches of a family tree that appears to stem from an earlier (now lost) parent. The historical analysis of the evolution of the story also provides fresh and reliable evidence concerning the editorial processes of Buddhist texts. Jan Nattier (2003: 49–63) proposed several rules for identifying interpolations in a text. Application of these rules to the Sadāprarudita narrative has led to the formulation of several supplementary rules. Where Nattier’s rules help to identify stratification in the later parallels of the text, these supplementary rules allow for the identification of interpolations in the earlier parallels of the text and between the two main versions as well. Apart from revealing the historical development of the text this thesis makes important contributions to our understanding of the story’s employment across time and space, revealing the importance given to this narrative by many of the great Buddhist masters from India, Tibet and China, and spanning thousands ii Abstract of years. In addition, the unique episode which lists many states of samādhi with vivid names is explored to determine whether these samādhis could have had a practical basis or are merely as fanciful as their names suggest. The samādhi on viewing all tathāgatas is further investigated to see what implications this may have for the beginnings of Mahāyāna teachings. iii Table of Contents ABSTRACT ..........................................................................................................................................ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................vii ABBREVIATIONS.............................................................................................................................xii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................... 1 1.1. Background to the Story of Sadāprarudita and Literature Review........................................1 1.1.1. Background of the Story........................................................................................... 1 1.1.2. Related Literature Review ........................................................................................ 6 1.2. Survey of the Characters in the Story................................................................................................. 9 1.2.1. Sadāprarudita ............................................................................................................9 1.2.2. Dharmodgata...........................................................................................................17 1.2.3. Other Characters .....................................................................................................21 1.2.3.1. The Buddha Bhīṣmagarjitanirghoṣasvara or *Gandhālucaya .................................21 1.2.3.2. The Buddha Tánmójiéāzhòujiéluó ..........................................................................27 1.2.3.3. The merchant’s daughter, Śakra, Māra, and heroic myth.......................................31 1.3. Genre .................................................................................................................................................................33 1.4. Summary and Structure of the Story .................................................................................................37 1.4.1. Summary of the Story............................................................................................. 37 1.4.2. Structure of the Story.............................................................................................. 42 1.5. Structure of this Study............................................................................................................................. 44 CHAPTER 2 METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................ 47 2.1. Lessons to Bear in Mind...........................................................................................................................48 2.2. Methodologies Employed in this Study...........................................................................................49 2.3. Textual Stratification ...............................................................................................................................50 2.3.1. Looking for the Layers Among Version II............................................................. 53 2.3.1.1. Adjustments to compliment Nattier’s methodology ...............................................53 2.3.1.2. Types of interpolations............................................................................................59 2.3.2. Identifying Interpolations by Comparing Version I and Version II ....................... 66 2.3.2.1. Identifying the layers in the episode where Sadāprarudita enquires about a pavilion .................................................................................................................72 2.3.2.2. The story itself as a lengthy interpolation? .............................................................82 2.4. Extracting Historical Data from a Normative Source..............................................................85 2.4.1. The Principle of Embarrassment ............................................................................85 2.4.2. The Principle of Irrelevance ................................................................................... 86 2.4.3. The Principle of Counter Argument .......................................................................87 2.4.4. The Principle of Corroborating Evidence............................................................... 87 2.4.5. The Interpretation of Absence ................................................................................ 88 2.4.6. A Distant Mirror .....................................................................................................89 iv Table of Contents CHAPTER 3 THE FORMATION OF THE STORY OF SADĀPRARUDITA .....91 3.1. The Story of Sadāprarudita as a Literary Document ................................................................. 91 3.1.1. A Possible Process of New Teachings Introduced ................................................. 91 3.1.2. The Earliest Forms of the Story of Sadāprarudita.................................................. 95 3.2. Versions of the Story ................................................................................................................................98 3.2.1. Two Main Versions of the Sadāprarudita Narrative in the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras............................................................................................ 98 3.2.2. Jātaka Form of the Story and the Uighur Version ............................................... 103 3.3. Stories Bearing Similarities to the Sadāprarudita Story Found in Other Sources........................................................................................................................................103 3.4. Provenance and Date .............................................................................................................................. 110 3.4.1. The Region Where the Sadāprarudita Story was Added to Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras.......................................................................................... 112 3.4.2. The Date of the Inclusion of the Story of Sadāprarudita in the Prajñāpāramitā