24 July 2024
If the history is not explained in detail, there’s a risk of not believing in this great secret teaching.
– From the Tantra of the Union of Sun and Moon
With warm greetings and wishing everyone well, the Karmapa opened this year’s summer teaching series which forms a part of his long exposition on The Origins of Secret Mantra. In order to purposefully portray Secret Mantra’s origins, His Holiness explained that he would teach on the entire Buddhist history in yearly increments.
Before anything else, he highlighted the deep value of learning about our origins as followers of Buddhism and cited an ancient Tibetan proverb:
A person who doesn’t know their lineage is like a monkey in the forest. One who doesn’t know their family history is like a fake turquoise dragon. One who doesn’t know the great deeds of the ancestors is like a lost child from the region of Mon.
He then explained the rationale behind this historical focus.
If we don’t know the story and the deeds of the Buddha well, then it’s difficult for us to understand who the Buddha was. Likewise, if we don’t know about the councils, the first council, second council and so forth, and how the councils were held and the schools developed, then we won’t understand properly or clearly how the Dharma spread and developed. If we don’t understand how the eighteen schools developed and how the Mahayana spread, then it’ll be difficult for us to be able to distinguish between the Mahayana and the foundation vehicles. We won’t really know what the foundation vehicle is and what the Mahayana is. And if we don’t understand the origins of the Mahayana and foundation vehicles, it’s hard to know what the Vajrayana is.
In particular, since there are disputes about whether the Vajrayana is the Buddha’s teaching or not, in order to be able to cut through any such doubts about whether Vajrayana is Buddhism, we need to first understand what the Buddha is, and only then will we really be able to understand whether the Vajrayana is the Buddha’s teaching or not.
In this age when we find ourselves in a blizzard of information, it is indispensable to clearly know the traditional explanations and history as well as modern approaches to history and ways of thinking. The Karmapa detailed the dangers. “If we do not understand the way contemporary scholars perform research, if we ignore them and consider them unimportant, we could be labelled as backward and closed-minded,” the Karmapa warned. He acknowledged that in Tibetan society today, many people favoured modern ideas and welcomed new ways of thinking. From one perspective, this was a good sign and showed that Tibetan society was heading in the direction of progress. However, the Karmapa observed, many of these people who held modern views also had very, very strong opinions, but very few of them actually engaged in research or adopted an impartial, evidence-based approach, conducting the meticulous research and discussion that modern researchers would.
Tibetan culture is faced with various pressures from within and without and we should cherish and preserve our traditional culture and language in a way that’s different than the others, in a special unique way, His Holiness advised. Devaluing Tibetan language and culture, deeming it useless and destroying our own culture is akin to erasing our own people, our own ethnicity, from this planet. Furthermore, as well as being considered traitors, Tibetans might join the list of people who are responsible for a decline in the Buddhist teachings.
The Karmapa counselled everyone to apply a different, unique way of supporting and treasuring traditional culture, language and methods. He suggested following the modern method too in researching history or studying the philosophical texts, using it like a new tool or a new way of learning – for the preservation of the culture itself.
The Structure of “The Origins of Secret Mantra” Teaching
Before beginning the main topic for today’s session, the Karmapa reviewed the content of the previous summer teachings within the full context of the greater topic.
Year 1 (2021)
The Backdrop to Buddhism: Indian History and Philosophy
We discussed the history of ancient Indian philosophy including Vedic and Brahmanical traditions.
I. Early Buddhism
The life story of Buddha Shakyamuni. Brief accounts including his birth, awakening, turning of the wheel of Dharma and passing into parinirvana.
Year 2 (2022)
I. Early Buddhism continued
1. The Sangha, Monastic Discipline, Formation of Monasteries
We talked about the situation and the events that took place after Buddha’s parinirvana and we gave a concise introduction into the establishment of the original sangha, the formation of monastic rules and the development of monasteries.
2. The First Council
How it was held after Buddha’s passing. This included the story of Mahākassapa gathering 500 arhats for the council and we specifically mentioned some incidents and the interaction between Mahākassapa and Ānanda. The Karmapa shared how many people reported having been deeply impressed by this part of the teaching.
Year 3 (2024)
After a two-year hiatus, we continue at this point
I. Early Buddhism continued
The different sub-topics to be covered this year are:
3. The Scriptures of Early Buddhism
- a) Early Buddhism and its dates
- b) Development of the Scriptures of Early Buddhism (Sutra and Vinaya, the Language of the Councils)
- c) Points in Early Buddhism Related to the Secret Mantra
4. Buddhism After the Parinirvana
5. The Second Council and Split into Main Schools
6. Buddhism at the Time of Aśoka and the Third Council
7. Dating the Parinirvana (we will discuss it, should time permit)
II. The Period of Nikāya Buddhism
How the first schism in the sangha happened and how it led to the development into 18 different schools. In this context, we are referring to the word “Nikāya” as ‘schools’ (not only the classes of scriptures).
III. The Spread of Mahayana
Today’s topic is:
3. The Scriptures of Early Buddhism
(1. Early Buddhism and Its Dates and 2. Development of the Scriptures of Early Buddhism (Sutra and Vinaya))
1.Early Buddhism and Its Dates
As Buddhism progressed through stages, we can differentiate several eras and phases. First of all, we need to define the initial stage of Early Buddhism and the term “Original Buddhism”.
The Japanese scholar Mizuno Kōgen refers to Early Buddhism as the period of the initial spread of Buddhism in India and divides it into several eras according to the particular features of its stages:
- Early Buddhism
- Nikāya Buddhism: the time from the first split of the sangha followed by the period of the 18 schools; Nikāya is the Pāli word for ‘school’
- Early Mahāyāna: the period of the coexistence of the Foundation Vehicle and Mahāyāna; at this time, they weren’t completely separated
- Middle Mahāyāna: the time of many different Mahāyāna schools (like Yogācāra, Madhyamaka and so on)
- Late Mahāyāna: the period when the Secret Mantra Vajrayāna began to spread.
Early Buddhism refers to the very earliest form of the Buddhist religion which started when the Buddha founded Buddhism i.e. when he began the activity of teaching the Dharma to others. It lasted until the first split into the Buddhist schools. It could be a period of either:
- 150 to 250 years – according to some, the split occurred 100 or 200 years after the Buddha passed into parinirvana.
- 250 to 350 years – according to other sources, the split occurred 200 or 300 years after the Buddha’s passing into parinirvana.
More specifically, it refers to the period until the era of King Aśoka. Again, there are two explanations:
- Over 250 years – oral histories from Sri Lanka place King Aśoka’s birth over 200 years after the Buddha’s passing into parinirvana.
- Somewhere over 150 years – the northern Buddhist traditions (primarily those translated from Sanskrit into Chinese) maintain that King Aśoka was born only 100 years after Buddha’s passing into parinirvana.
Because the dates vary considerably, going into any more detail about the exact length of Early Buddhism would be unduly time-consuming.
In short, the entire period from the first foundation until the split comes under the name “Early Buddhism” because the general course of teaching and modus operandi of that era were largely consistent. However, speaking more strictly, it is historically more factual to see it as “Early Buddhism in a broadsense” consisting of two parts:
Foundational/Original Buddhism
It refers to the teachings in the time when Buddha was alive and the Dharma was flawless and unmistaken. This extends into the period when his direct disciples were still alive and able to explain the Dharma in the same way.
Narrow-sense Early Buddhism
It comprises teachings in the subsequent era, when understanding and presentation started to change slightly as it gradually moved in the direction of Nikāya Buddhism.
Nonetheless, it is extremely difficult to distinguish “Original Buddhism” from “Narrow-sense Early Buddhism”. Based on the scarce extant Buddhist scriptures, we can only understand the cumulative period of “Early Buddhism in a broad sense”, and roughly at that. This is because most extant scriptures were preserved only after the arising of the era of Nikāya Buddhism when various schools had already changed and compiled the scriptures in their own fashion.
The practice of classifying “Early Buddhism” and “Original Buddhism” was first proposed by Dr. Hakuju Ui (Studies in Indian Philosophy, Vol. 2, 1926.) Before this, Dr. Anesaki had referred to “Original Buddhism” as “Fundamental Buddhism” and Antho Masuharu also used a similar term in 1908. Most other scholars simply called it “Original Buddhism” without making many distinctions.
2. Development of the Scriptures of Early Buddhism
Recap of The First Council
In the 2022 Summer Teachings, the Gyalwang Karmapa discussed some of the occurrences upon Buddha’s passing into parinirvana (Pali: parinibbāṇa; Skt: parinirvāṇa). At that time, Mahākassapa (Skt: Mahākāśyapa) realised that many people were coming up with their own stories and if they didn’t act, it was possible that the teachings would be lost. This prompted him to collect all of the Buddha’s Dharma into one collection and he received the sangha’s support. He travelled to the place of modern-day Rajgir (Pāli: Rājagaha, Skt. Rājagṛha), convened 500 of the Buddha’s disciples (traditionally known to be arhats) and they compiled all of the teachings the Buddha had given during his lifetime. This is called the First Council. The Pāli word ‘saṃgīti’ means both “council” and “collective recitation”, fitting because the 500 recited the scriptures together.
While the extant scriptures of the different schools contain clear descriptions of the First Council and take it as a fact that the First Council occurred, some researchers do not accept this. All things considered, we can say, and most researchers accept, that in some organised manner or other, the Dhamma taught by the Buddha was compiled into a single collection.
At this time, the teachings (Pāli: Dhamma) were recited by Ānanda, the Buddha’s attendant, while the monastic rules (Pāli: Vinaya) were recited by Upāli, who had a deep understanding of the Vinaya. These recitations formed the original content of what later became the Sutta-Piṭaka (basket of sutras) and Vinaya-Piṭaka (basket of monastic rules). The Abhidhamma-Piṭaka was formed much later than those two.
Sutra (Pāli: sutta, Skt. sūtra)
The tradition holds that the direct disciples had the dhāraṇī (Skt, “capable of holding”) of a photographic memory.
Whilst they had this power of perfect memory, other disciples were endowed with memories of varying capacities. To facilitate the memorisation, important doctrines were organized into simple, short texts called ‘sutras’.
The Tibetan word for a sutra མདོ་ (do), etymologically means “summary”. In the early days, sutras meant very short, concise statements covering the most important points.
Multifarious, expansive teachings were encapsuled into these small “threads” or sutras. Like strings of turquoise or coral, vast meanings were interlinked into just a few words.
Verses (Pāli: gāthā)
For the further ease of memorisation, many sutras were put into verses and so passed down.
Origin stories (Pāli: nidāna)
Then, upon further transmission, some explanations or “origin stories” were added to these outlines and summaries.
Expositions of the Dhamma (Pāli: dhammapariyāya or pariyāya)
Later, these short prose and verse texts were strung together and transitions were added to compile longer scriptures called “expositions of the Dhamma”.
Long sutras (Pāli: sutta, suttanta)
Actually, sutra means “thread”. These sutras were threaded further like strings of turquoise or coral and within about a hundred years after the Buddha’s passing, Buddhism produced many very long sutras with extensive topics. This later began to be understood by the term ‘sutra’.
Vinaya
Pratimoksha (Pāli: pāṭimokkha; Skt. Prātimokṣa)
The precepts were there from the very beginning. They were compiled into the Pāṭimokkha-Sutta very early.
Explanations (Pāli: vibhaṅga)
The explanations for monks (Pāli: Bhikkhu-Vibhaṅga) and for nuns (Pāli: Bhikkhunī-Vibhaṅga) are commentaries on the precepts, which are also considered to have been settled at a very early time.
During the Buddha’s lifetime, there was a Sangha community whose members needed to live a lifestyle with a proper understanding of the Vinaya. Most researchers agree that pratimoksha and the rest must have been compiled to a great extent during the time of the Buddha.
Ritual procedures or motions (Pāli: kamma, Skt: karma)
The Sangha had to perform its function, gather and carry-out various tasks. Since everything had to follow a motion and a vote, different procedures had to be designated from the very beginning.
They are called karmas and are the core of the Chapters of Discipline section of the Vinaya. Later generations compiled many of them into the 101 Karmas. It is possible that the contents of the Pratimoksha, 101 Karmas and so forth were settled, in basic terms at least, one hundred years after the Buddha’s parinirvana.
In order to preserve the scriptures, they had to perform a division of labour. They tasked different people with the preservation of different aspects.
Upholders of sutra (Pāli: suttantika)
From the very earliest time, there are people who primarily studied the sutras and memorised them.
Vinaya experts (Pāli: vinayadhara)
They memorised and studied the Vinaya, and that was their particular specialty.
Then there were those who primarily studied and memorized the sutras: Dharma teachers (Pāli: dhammakathika) and Dharma upholders. (Pāli: dhammadhara)
However, it is extremely difficult to trace the developments and changes that occurred between the scriptures at the time of the First Council and their present-day counterparts. We cannot hold much hope for archaeological excavations to give us more information because the scriptures were never written down but always recited and memorised.
First Major Changes
As disagreements developed, roughly 100 years after the Buddha’s parinirvana, original Buddhism split into Mahāsāṃghika and Sthaviravāda (Pāli: Theravāda) schools, and with it, the transmission of the teachings.
Subsequently, both these schools experienced internal divisions, eventually splitting into 18 schools, each making more than a few emendations and additions. Upon dissemination to countries like Sri Lanka and China, various texts that we have available now were developed.
The teachings haven’t remained static; they spread to numerous places where various ancient and new layers intermingled.
It is impossible to know the exact, original form of the Sutta-Piṭaka and Vinaya-Piṭaka and researchers say that the differences between the original ones and those available today Click here to enter text.are probably vast.
The Gyalwang Karmapa then expressed his happiness over resuming the teachings after the hiatus. He remarked that, once you’ve begun, it is like 50% of the work is already done because when you start something, it gradually keeps going.
