The Madhyama Āgama (Chinese: 中阿含經; pinyin: Zhong Ahan Jing[1]) is an early Indian Buddhist text, of which currently only a Chinese translation is extant (Taishō Tripiṭaka 26).[1] The title means "Middle Collection."[2] It is one of the four Āgamas of the Sanskritic Sūtra Piṭaka located in the Chinese Buddhist Canon and contains 222 discourses in 18 chapters.[3] Its Pali equivalent, the Majjhima Nikaya, contains 152 discourses in 15 chapters.[3]
Origins and history
editThe earliest Chinese translation of the agama dates to 397–398 C.E.[3] P.V. Bapat believes the original source for the Chinese translation was in a form of Prakrit, closer to Pali than Sanskrit.[4] The text is believed to be from the Sarvāstivāda tradition.[3][5]
Parallels in Pali Canon
editThere are numerous parallels between the discourses in the Madhyama Āgama and discourses in the Sutta Piṭaka.[6]
...of the two hundred and twenty-two sutras of T. 26, only one hundred and three have their counterpart in the Majjhimanikāya; fourteen have their counterpart in the Dīghanikāya, seventeen in the Saṃyuttanikāya, and eighty-seven in the Aṅguttaranikāya. Fourteen of the two hundred and twenty-two sutras of T. 26 have no known parallel in the Pāli corpus.[6]
English translations
editTranslation of the Madhyama Āgama into English began in 2006 with Marcus Bingenheimer as chief editor and Bhikkhu Analayo and Rodney S. Bucknell as co-editors.[7] The first of three volumes was published in 2013.[8]
References
edit- ^ a b Bingenheimer, Bucknell & Analayo 2013, p. xv.
- ^ "Madhyama Agama". Oxford Reference. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
- ^ a b c d Analayo 2012, p. 1.
- ^ Bingenheimer, Bucknell & Analayo 2013, p. xix.
- ^ Sujato & Brahmali 2014, p. 40.
- ^ a b Bingenheimer, Bucknell & Analayo 2013, p. xvi.
- ^ "Madhyama-āgama". Āgama Research Group. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
- ^ Sujato, Bhikkhu (September 20, 2013). "A good day for fans of the Suttas". Sujato’s Blog. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
Sources
edit- Analayo, Bhikkhu (2012), Madhyama-āgama Studies (PDF), Dharma Drum Publishing
- Bingenheimer, Marcus; Bucknell, Rodney S.; Analayo, Bhikkhu (2013), The Madhyama Agama: Middle-length Discourses: 1 (PDF), Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai, ISBN 978-1886439474
- Sujato, Bhikkhu; Brahmali, Bhikkhu (2014), The Authenticity of the Early Buddhist Texts (PDF), Buddhist Publication Society, ISBN 978-955-24-0410-8
External links
edit- The Madhyama Āgama, or Middle-length Discourses at BDK America