Professor Lin Chong'an: A Study of the Sūtra Types and Compilation of the Benshi Jing

A Study of the Sūtra Types and Compilation of the Benshi Jing

Lin Chong'an (Vipassanā Magazine 26, 2004)

I. Introduction

After his enlightenment, the World-Honored One first turned the wheel of the Four Noble Truths in the city of Bārāṇasī, liberating the five monks led by Kauṇḍinya. He then went on to liberate Yaśas and his relatives and friends. Later he traveled to the banks of the Nairañjanā River to liberate the three Kāśyapa brothers—Uruvilvā, Nadī, and Gayā—along with their disciples. From there he moved on to different places, liberating Śāriputra, Maudgalyāyana, Mahākāśyapa, Upāli, Aniruddha, and others. Once they had attained arhatship, he asked them to scatter across India and teach. As these awakened disciples spread the Dharma throughout the land, the Buddha's nine-fold teaching took root and began to circulate.

The nine divisions are: (1) sūtras (sūtra), (2) geyas (verse summaries, geya), (3) vyākaraṇas (prophetic statements), (4) gāthās (verses of praise), (5) udānas (solemn utterances), (6) itivṛttakas (accounts of former events, the Itivuttaka or "Thus-Spoken Sūtra"), (7) jātakas (birth stories), (8) vaipulyas (expanded discourses), and (9) adbhutadharmas (accounts of marvelous phenomena). In the Buddha's own time, the earliest categories to be recited were the verse-form udānas and gāthās. Alongside these came the prose sūtras, some of which were gathered into an incrementing collection called the Itivuttaka, whose content broadly corresponds to the Benshi Jing ("Scripture of Past Events") translated by Xuanzang.

A distinctive feature of the Benshi Jing and the Itivuttaka is that they do not name the place or circumstances of the teaching, and each sūtra ends with a geya—a verse summary. The Abhidharma-kośa-samaya-pradīpikā puts it this way:

What is called "itivṛttaka" (past events) refers to accounts transmitted from former times, without naming the speaker, the place, or the matters discussed. (T27, p. 660a)

What follows is an examination of the textual features and evolution of the Northern Benshi Jing and the Southern Itivuttaka as they have come down to us.

II. The Northern Benshi Jing and the Southern Itivuttaka

The Northern Benshi Jing is arranged in three successive chapters—on the One Dharma, the Two Dharmas, and the Three Dharmas—totaling 138 sūtras, clearly displaying an incrementing (ekottara) format. The Southern Itivuttaka has four collections: the First (27 sūtras), the Second (22), the Third (50), and the Fourth (13), arranged in order from one to four dharmas, totaling 112 sūtras.

When the two are compared, the first three dharma chapters of the Northern text and the first three collections of the Southern text contain many sūtras of equivalent meaning, though they appear in different order. Among these, the Benshi Jing has considerably more sūtras than the Itivuttaka—a difference that may reflect later additions. The Southern Fourth Collection, with its 13 extra sūtras, contains roughly five belonging to the four dharmas; the rest fall under the three, five, and six dharmas. This Fourth Collection too may have been compiled at a later date.

The difference in sūtra sequence between the two versions is likely due to adjustments made during the Second and Third Buddhist Councils in the Southern tradition. The analysis below draws on the Northern Benshi Jing, though the Southern Itivuttaka shares essentially the same features.

III. The Distinctive Form of the Benshi Jing

Beyond its incrementing arrangement, the Benshi Jing has its own recognizable shape: it has no nidāna (opening narrative setting the occasion), it ends with a geya (verse summary), and its content broadly covers the three trainings of ethics, concentration, and wisdom. The passages that follow illustrate these features.

Sūtra 1

(1) Thus have I heard from the World-Honored One:

(2) Monks, you should know! Looking out over the world, I see no single dharma that veils sentient beings more thoroughly, hurrying them along the long road of birth and death, than the veil of ignorance. Why is this?

(3) Because sentient beings in the world, veiled and obstructed by the veil of ignorance, are hurried along the long road of birth and death.

(4) Therefore, you should train in this way: "How shall I cultivate the light of wisdom, break through the veil of ignorance, and emerge from the net of craving?"

(5) Train in this way, monks.

(6) At that time, the World-Honored One gathered the meaning of this teaching into verse:

There is no single dharma that veils all beings, Hurrying them along the road of birth and death, Like the veil of ignorance. Ignorance, the great darkness of delusion, Through it they have wandered long, Coming and going between each other, Rising and falling to higher and lower realms. If the veil of ignorance is broken, The net of craving is freed, And one no longer abides in the flow of birth and death— For its cause no longer exists.

Sūtra 2

(1) Thus have I heard from the World-Honored One:

(2) Monks, you should know! Looking out over the world, I see no single dharma that binds sentient beings more firmly, hurrying them along the long road of birth and death, than the bond of craving. Why is this?

(3) Because sentient beings in the world, bound by the bond of craving, are hurried along the long road of birth and death.

(4) Therefore, you should train in this way: "How shall I sharpen the blade of wisdom to cut the bond of craving and break apart the great mass of darkness?"

(5) Train in this way, monks.

(6) At that time, the World-Honored One gathered the meaning of this teaching into verse:

There is no single dharma that binds all beings, Hurrying them along the road of birth and death, Like the bond of craving. Craving, the great binding, Through it they have wandered long, Coming and going between each other, Rising and falling to higher and lower realms. If the bond of craving is severed, The great mass of darkness is shattered, And one no longer abides in the flow of birth and death— For its cause no longer exists.

Sūtra 91

(1) Thus have I heard from the World-Honored One:

(2) Monks, you should know! All Tathāgatas, Arhats, and Supremely Perfect Buddhas, moved by compassion for the world, arise in the world for the sake of cutting off, abandoning, and putting an end forever to two dharmas, and of turning the unsurpassed wheel* of the noble ones. No śramaṇa or brāhmaṇa, deva, māra, or Brahmā in all the world has ever been able to turn it as the Dharma requires.

(3) What are the two dharmas? The first is ignorance; the second is craving for existence.

(5) All Tathāgatas, Arhats, and Supremely Perfect Buddhas, moved by compassion for the world, arise in the world for the sake of cutting off, abandoning, and putting an end forever to these two, and of turning the unsurpassed wheel* of the noble ones—extensively spoken, even to the point that none has ever been able to turn it as the Dharma requires. If one can cut off, abandon, and put an end forever to all ignorance and all craving for existence, exhausting them completely without remainder, then one can cut off forever all afflictions and all defiling dharmas. Such a one is called one who has climbed out of the pits, crossed the walls, broken the bolts, and split open the iṣṭhikā pillar. He is a true noble being, a true banner of the Dharma, a great śramaṇa, a true brāhmaṇa, truly wise, truly bathed, truly a knower, truly tamed—he has reached the ground of taming, and is a worthy field of merit in the world.

(5) At that time, the World-Honored One gathered the meaning of this teaching into verse:

The Supremely Perfect Buddha, caravan-leader, the world's Honored One, The great hero, the great man who draws out the poisoned arrows of beings, Compassionate toward all the world, he cuts off and ends two dharmas— Ignorance and craving for existence—and turns the unsurpassed wheel:*

This is suffering; this is the cause of suffering; this is the complete ending of suffering; This is the Noble Eightfold Path leading on to the stilling of suffering and nirvāṇa.

The wise one who hears this Dharma, With faith and understanding equally firm, Sees through to the true nature of all dharmas, And cuts off ignorance and craving for existence;

With ignorance and craving for existence ended, All defilements are extinguished; He reaches the ground of well-tamed virtue— A worthy field of merit in the world.

The two examples from the One Dharma chapter (Sūtras 1 and 2) and the one example from the Two Dharmas chapter (Sūtra 91) make the distinctive features of the Benshi Jing form clearly apparent:

1. Arranged by dharma numbers.

The first two sūtras belong to the dharma number "one"—the one dharma being, in turn, "the veil of ignorance" and "the bond of craving." The later sūtra belongs to the dharma number "two"—the two dharmas being ignorance and craving for existence.

2. No nidāna (opening occasion).

There is no framing phrase such as "At one time, the Buddha was at such-and-such a place."

3. Ends with a geya (verse summary).

Each sūtra closes with verses spoken by the Buddha that gather up the meaning. The first two sūtras have similar geyas; the geya in Sūtra 91 likewise summarizes the teaching. The phrase "extensively spoken, even to" in that sūtra is a shorthand covering the Four Noble Truths—this is suffering, this is its cause, this is its complete ending, this is the Noble Eightfold Path.

4. A training addressed by the Buddha to his disciples.

Some sūtras end with "Train in this way, monks!"—a sign that they are presenting a training.

5. Content broadly covering ethics, concentration, and wisdom.

The substance of these sūtras is nothing other than the three trainings, presented from many angles. The Noble Eightfold Path itself spans all three, and the purpose of these teachings is the undoing of the veil of ignorance and the bond of craving. A few more excerpts from the Two Dharmas and Three Dharmas chapters will help illustrate the range of subject matter.

Main Passage of Sūtra 77

(1) What are the two dharmas which, if cultivated, practiced, and cultivated extensively, can sever two dharmas? They are the contemplation of impurity and the contemplation of loving-kindness, which can sever greed and hatred. Why is this?

(2) All who have been greedy, are greedy now, or will become greedy are so because their thoughts fasten on objects of beauty.

All who have been hateful, are hateful now, or will become hateful are so because their thoughts fasten on objects of enmity.

(3) All greed that has been cut off, is being cut off, or will be cut off is cut off through the mind's cultivation of the contemplation of impurity.

All hatred that has been cut off, is being cut off, or will be cut off is cut off through the mind's cultivation of the contemplation of loving-kindness.

Main Passage of Sūtra 88

(1) Monks, you should know! Based in ethical discipline, one can cultivate two dharmas. What are the two? They are śamatha and vipaśyanā.

(2a) A practitioner, based in ethical discipline, cultivates śamatha; having done so, the mind is brought to fullness. For what purpose is the mind cultivated? The mind is cultivated to cut off craving.

(2b) Practitioners, based in ethical discipline, diligently cultivate vipaśyanā; having done so, wisdom is brought to fullness. For what purpose is wisdom cultivated? Wisdom is cultivated to cut off delusion.

(3) Craving stains the mind and keeps it from freedom; delusion stains wisdom and keeps it from clarity. If craving is forever abandoned, the mind is well freed; if delusion is forever abandoned, wisdom is well freed. When a person knows and sees, attains and touches, and verifies these two liberations as they really are, I say that person is one whose mind is well freed and whose wisdom is well freed—a solitary cultivator, the supreme person.

Main Passage of Sūtra 116

(1) Monks, you should know! There are three trainings. Whoever, within them, can let go of indolence, be diligent day and night, put aside all other concerns, dwell alone in quiet places, and cultivate and study without error—any defilements not yet arisen will never arise, and any that have arisen will be utterly exhausted. What are the three? First, the higher training in ethics; second, the higher training in concentration; third, the higher training in wisdom.

(2a) What is the higher training in ethics? It refers to monks who keep their ethical discipline pure, who abide in and safeguard the prātimokṣa precepts, whose conduct according to the rules is complete in every respect, who see even small faults as something to fear greatly, who are able to receive and study the matters to be learned, who accomplish purity of bodily and verbal action, who accomplish pure livelihood, who accomplish pure view. This is called the higher training in ethics.

(2b) What is the higher training in concentration? It refers to monks who rightly withdraw from desire and from evil, unwholesome states, who—with initial and sustained thought—dwell in the first dhyāna, born of withdrawal, filled with joy and ease; and so on, up to dwelling fully in the fourth dhyāna. This is called the higher training in concentration.

(2c) What is the higher training in wisdom? It refers to monks who truly understand: this is the noble truth of suffering, the noble truth of the origin of suffering, the noble truth of the cessation of suffering, and the noble truth of the path leading to the cessation of suffering. This is called the higher training in wisdom.

(3) These three trainings—whoever, within them, can let go of indolence, be diligent day and night, put aside all other concerns, dwell alone in quiet places, and cultivate and study without error—any defilements not yet arisen will never arise, and any that have arisen will be utterly exhausted.

From the passages quoted above it is plain that what is taught—the contemplation of impurity, the contemplation of loving-kindness, śamatha, vipaśyanā—all falls within the scope of the three trainings of ethics, concentration, and wisdom.

IV. The Evolution of the Benshi Jing and Its Relationship with the Ekottara Āgama

Over more than forty years of teaching, the World-Honored One instructed beings according to their capacities, expounding the Dharma at varying depths. To make it easier to remember, the teachings were sometimes organized by incrementing dharma numbers. There are two streams of this practice: (A) the Benshi Jing; and (B) certain sūtras within the prose collections, such as the Ekottara Sūtra, the Tri-skandha Sūtra, the Saṅgīti Sūtra, and the Daśuttara Sūtra, which were later gathered into the Dīrghāgama. Let us take them in turn.

A. Beyond its incrementing arrangement, the Benshi Jing has no nidāna, ends with a geya, and its content broadly spans ethics, concentration, and wisdom. The dharma numbers run only as far as three or four, which made it easy for beginners to memorize. It began to circulate in the middle period of the Buddha's teaching life. This incrementing way of teaching was convenient for beginners and very effective for spreading the Dharma.

B. Take, for example, the Ekottara Sūtra of the Dīrghāgama (T1, 57b): it moves from "one dharma of consummation, one dharma of cultivation, one dharma of awakening, one dharma of cessation, one dharma of realization" up to "ten dharmas of consummation, ten dharmas of cultivation, ten dharmas of awakening, ten dharmas of cessation, ten dharmas of realization." In the Tri-skandha Sūtra of the Dīrghāgama, the Buddha's exposition to the monks follows the same pattern, going from "one dharma leading to lower realms, one dharma leading to higher realms, one dharma leading to nirvāṇa" up to "ten dharmas leading to lower realms, ten dharmas leading to higher realms, ten dharmas leading to nirvāṇa." In the Daśuttara Sūtra of the Dīrghāgama, the Buddha asks Śāriputra to teach; Śāriputra, following the incrementing pattern, goes from "one dharma of consummation, one dharma of cultivation, one dharma of awakening, one dharma of cessation, one dharma of decline, one dharma of growth, one dharma hard to penetrate, one dharma of arising, one dharma of knowing, one dharma of realization" up to the corresponding "ten dharmas" of each, and the teaching is finally confirmed by the Buddha. Particularly worth noting is the Saṅgīti Sūtra of the Dīrghāgama (T1, 49c): here too the Buddha asks Śāriputra to teach the monks, and Śāriputra enumerates the important dharma numbers from "one true Dharma" up to "ten true Dharmas." This incrementing pattern, running from one to ten, lent itself to organizing a large body of teachings, and it appears in the later period of the Buddha's ministry.

The combination of (A) the Benshi Jing and (B) sūtras such as the Saṅgīti Sūtra forms the prototype from which the Ekottara Āgama would later be assembled. At the First Council held at Rājagṛha, the four Āgamas—Saṃyutta, Madhyama, Dīrghāgama, and Ekottara—were compiled in order; the Ekottara Āgama, arranged by the incrementing method, had its own distinctive form. In the Northern transmission, the Ekottara Āgama's main form is: with a nidāna, without geyas, containing the phrase "you should thus train"—that is, a training—and with content broadly covering ethics, concentration, and wisdom; it runs from one dharma all the way to eleven, and it largely took over the role that the Benshi Jing had once played. For this reason, the Benshi Jing was not included among the four Āgamas at the First Council.

By the time of the Vaiśālī Council, held a century after the Buddha's passing, and Aśoka's Council at Pāṭaliputra, the Vinaya was compiled first, then the Sūtras. Within the Sūtra Piṭaka, the five divisions were assembled in order: Dīrghāgama, Madhyama, Saṃyutta, Ekottara, and Khuddaka (the Minor Collection). The Benshi Jing (the Itivuttaka or itivṛttaka) was placed within the Khuddaka, and the internal ordering of each Āgama was substantially revised, with repetitions cut away—producing the leaner character of the Southern five-fold canon. The Southern Itivuttaka we have today was compiled into the Khuddaka through these two later councils, with some adjustment of sūtra order.

Like the Dhammapada, the Northern Benshi Jing is an important teaching that circulated widely across India during the Buddha's lifetime. Although it was not gathered into the Āgamas at the First Council, it continued to be transmitted in India. The Southern Itivuttaka, like the Dhammapada, was placed within the Khuddaka at the Second and Third Councils, and with some adjustment of order it has been preserved in the Southern Āgama collection.

V. Conclusion

The Northern Benshi Jing corresponds to the Southern Itivuttaka. Its form is: no nidāna, a geya at the end, and a training—"you should thus train!" Its content broadly covers ethics, concentration, and wisdom, and the dharma numbers extend only to three (or four). It began to circulate in the middle period of the Buddha's teaching life. This incrementing way of teaching was easy for beginners to memorize and very convenient for spreading the Dharma—and for that reason, it deserves to be taken seriously.