On the Patriarchal Lineages of Vinaya Transmission Starting with Upāli: Narratives and Interpretations in the Vinaya School 律宗 in China and Japan

In both Pāli and Chinese vinaya literature, there are various patriarchal lineages of vinaya transmission in which Upāli is honored as the first patriarch. These lineages that start with Upāli can be categorized into two types. The first type is found mainly in Indian vinaya texts, including two gro...

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Main Author: Weilin Wu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-03-01
Series:Religions
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/4/464
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author Weilin Wu
author_facet Weilin Wu
author_sort Weilin Wu
collection DOAJ
description In both Pāli and Chinese vinaya literature, there are various patriarchal lineages of vinaya transmission in which Upāli is honored as the first patriarch. These lineages that start with Upāli can be categorized into two types. The first type is found mainly in Indian vinaya texts, including two groups of texts: the <i>Mohe sengqi lü</i> 摩訶僧祇律 (Skt. <i>Mahāsāṃghika-vinaya</i>), and the <i>Samantapāsādikā</i>, a Pāli <i>Vinaya</i> commentary, as well as its parallel Chinese version, the <i>Shanjianlü piposha</i> 善見律毗婆沙. The second type was constructed by Chinese Vinaya school masters in the Northern Song dynasty, who aimed to establish an orthodox Indian origin for the Vinaya school. After their introduction into China and Japan, the first type of lineages experienced transformation in later Vinaya school works composed by medieval Chinese and Japanese Buddhist monks. A comparative philological study on the <i>Samantapāsādikā</i> and <i>Shanjianlü piposha</i> shows a “mistranslated” Tanwude 曇無德 (Skt. Dharmagupta) in the patriarchal lineage of vinaya transmission in the <i>Shanjianlü piposha</i>, the parallel of which is “Buddharakkhita” in the Pāli sources. Further investigation on the Vinaya school reveals that both Dingbin 定賓 and Gyōnen 凝然, monks from the Vinaya school in later periods, identified the <i>Shanjianlü piposha</i> as a commentary on the <i>Dharmaguptaka-vinaya</i>, and they consequently considered the patriarchal lineage in the <i>Shanjianlü piposha</i> as the patriarchal genealogy of the Dharmaguptaka school, with the purpose of establishing an orthodoxy of the Vinaya school that could be traced back to Upāli. Furthermore, in the genealogy in the <i>Mohe sengqi lü,</i> Gyōnen associated the master Fahu 法護 with the Dharmaguptaka school. Yuanzhao 元照, an eminent Vinaya school monk, criticized the second type of lineages as false construction. Instead, he established a patriarchal lineage that starts with Tanwude, the editor and compiler of the <i>Dharmaguptaka-vinaya</i>, for the Chinese Vinaya school.
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spelling doaj.art-d89f3571b4fa4dcd968507df0ed592b82023-11-17T21:08:38ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442023-03-0114446410.3390/rel14040464On the Patriarchal Lineages of Vinaya Transmission Starting with Upāli: Narratives and Interpretations in the Vinaya School 律宗 in China and JapanWeilin Wu0School of Foreign Languages, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, ChinaIn both Pāli and Chinese vinaya literature, there are various patriarchal lineages of vinaya transmission in which Upāli is honored as the first patriarch. These lineages that start with Upāli can be categorized into two types. The first type is found mainly in Indian vinaya texts, including two groups of texts: the <i>Mohe sengqi lü</i> 摩訶僧祇律 (Skt. <i>Mahāsāṃghika-vinaya</i>), and the <i>Samantapāsādikā</i>, a Pāli <i>Vinaya</i> commentary, as well as its parallel Chinese version, the <i>Shanjianlü piposha</i> 善見律毗婆沙. The second type was constructed by Chinese Vinaya school masters in the Northern Song dynasty, who aimed to establish an orthodox Indian origin for the Vinaya school. After their introduction into China and Japan, the first type of lineages experienced transformation in later Vinaya school works composed by medieval Chinese and Japanese Buddhist monks. A comparative philological study on the <i>Samantapāsādikā</i> and <i>Shanjianlü piposha</i> shows a “mistranslated” Tanwude 曇無德 (Skt. Dharmagupta) in the patriarchal lineage of vinaya transmission in the <i>Shanjianlü piposha</i>, the parallel of which is “Buddharakkhita” in the Pāli sources. Further investigation on the Vinaya school reveals that both Dingbin 定賓 and Gyōnen 凝然, monks from the Vinaya school in later periods, identified the <i>Shanjianlü piposha</i> as a commentary on the <i>Dharmaguptaka-vinaya</i>, and they consequently considered the patriarchal lineage in the <i>Shanjianlü piposha</i> as the patriarchal genealogy of the Dharmaguptaka school, with the purpose of establishing an orthodoxy of the Vinaya school that could be traced back to Upāli. Furthermore, in the genealogy in the <i>Mohe sengqi lü,</i> Gyōnen associated the master Fahu 法護 with the Dharmaguptaka school. Yuanzhao 元照, an eminent Vinaya school monk, criticized the second type of lineages as false construction. Instead, he established a patriarchal lineage that starts with Tanwude, the editor and compiler of the <i>Dharmaguptaka-vinaya</i>, for the Chinese Vinaya school.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/4/464Upālithe Dharmaguptaka schoolpatriarchal lineages of vinaya transmissionPāli sourcesthe Vinaya school
spellingShingle Weilin Wu
On the Patriarchal Lineages of Vinaya Transmission Starting with Upāli: Narratives and Interpretations in the Vinaya School 律宗 in China and Japan
Religions
Upāli
the Dharmaguptaka school
patriarchal lineages of vinaya transmission
Pāli sources
the Vinaya school
title On the Patriarchal Lineages of Vinaya Transmission Starting with Upāli: Narratives and Interpretations in the Vinaya School 律宗 in China and Japan
title_full On the Patriarchal Lineages of Vinaya Transmission Starting with Upāli: Narratives and Interpretations in the Vinaya School 律宗 in China and Japan
title_fullStr On the Patriarchal Lineages of Vinaya Transmission Starting with Upāli: Narratives and Interpretations in the Vinaya School 律宗 in China and Japan
title_full_unstemmed On the Patriarchal Lineages of Vinaya Transmission Starting with Upāli: Narratives and Interpretations in the Vinaya School 律宗 in China and Japan
title_short On the Patriarchal Lineages of Vinaya Transmission Starting with Upāli: Narratives and Interpretations in the Vinaya School 律宗 in China and Japan
title_sort on the patriarchal lineages of vinaya transmission starting with upali narratives and interpretations in the vinaya school 律宗 in china and japan
topic Upāli
the Dharmaguptaka school
patriarchal lineages of vinaya transmission
Pāli sources
the Vinaya school
url https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/4/464
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