The Employment and Significance of the Sadaprarudita’s Jataka/Avadana Story in Different Buddhist Traditions
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/bsrv.v29i1.85Keywords:
Sadāprarudita, Dharmodgata, prajñāpāramitā, jātakaAbstract
The jataka story of the Bodhisattva Sadaprarudita (literally meaning ‘ever weeping’), the most well known version of which is found in the Astasahasrika-prajñaparamita-sutra, is a story that has been used in different ways in various Buddhist traditions that flourished in India, Central Asia, China and Tibet. For example, it is quoted and discussed in several commentarial and biographical works in Sanskrit, Chinese and Tibetan and it is found in Candrakirti’s Prasannapada, Santideva’s Siksasamuccaya, and works about the lives of eminent Tibetan masters, such as Marpa, Milarepa, Rechungpa. In some works Sadaprarudita is presented as the paragon of one who searches for prajñaparamita; in others he is the model for those who desire to serve their gurus. In China, moreover, during the early stage of the Pure Land tradition, Sadaprarudita was regarded as the preeminent exemplar of one practising the niànfósanmèi (concentration of recollecting the buddhas, *buddhasmrti or *buddhanusmrti). This paper will examine the story of Sadaprarudita as it is preserved in different sources, and will address its significance and the possible reasons for its employment by different Buddhist traditions.
References
Akanuma Chizen. 1981. Bukkyo kyotenshi ron (A survey on the history of Buddhist texts). Kyoto: Hozokan. (Originally published by Hajinkaku shobo, Nagoya in 1939)
Appleton, Naomi. 2010. Jataka Stories in Theravada Buddhism: Narrating the Bodhisatta Path. Surrey: Ashgate.
Barutçu, Sema. 1988. Uygurca Sadaprarudita ve Dharmodgata Bodhisattva Hikâyesi. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Ankara Üniversity, Ankara.
Bendall, Cecil ed. 1897–1902. Siksasamuccaya. St. Petersburg: Commissionnaires de l’Académie impériale des sciences.
——— and W.H.D. Rouse trans. 1922. Siksasamuccaya: A Compendium of Buddhist Doctrine. London: John Murray.
Bhattacharya, Gouriswar. 2010. ‘How to Justify the Spelling of the Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Term Bodhisatva?’ In From Turfan to Ajanta: Festschrift for Dieter Schlingloff on the Occasion of his Eightieth Birthday, edited by Eli Franco and Monika Zin, 35–50. Rupandehi: Lumbini International Research Institute.
Choong Yoke-Meei. 2007. ‘Cóng Kongpin kàn Baodézàng jing yu Banruòboluómì jing de gu a nxì’ (The textual relationship between the Ratnagunasamcayagatha and the Prajñaparamita: A preliminary study by comparing the chapter on emptiness). Yuán Guang fóxué xuébào (Yuan Kuang Buddhist Journal) 12: 43–76.
———. 2009. ‘Baodézàng jing yu Banruòboluómì jing gu a nxì tànw e i: Yi dìy i pin wéi zh o ngx i n’ (The textual relationship between the Ratnagunasamcayagatha and the Prajñaparamita: A preliminary study based on the first chapter). Yuán Guang fóxué xuébào (Yuan Kuang Buddhist Journal) 14: 41–76.
———. 2010. ‘Lùn yúnj u sì hànyì Baodézàng jing de f a nyì dib e n wèntí: yi dìy i pin wéi taolùn zh o ngx i n’ (On the original of the Chinese translation of the Ratnagunasamcayagatha kept in the Yunju monastery: A discussion focused on the first chapter). Yuán Guang fóxué xuébào (Yuan Kuang Buddhist Journal) 16: 83–105.
Conze, Edward. 1952. ‘The Composition of the Astasahasrika Prajñaparamita’. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 14(2): 251–262. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0041977X00083865
———. 1973. The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines and its Verse Summary. San Francisco, CA: Four Seasons Foundation.
———. 1978. The Prajñaparamita Literature (2nd ed.). Tokyo: The Reiyukai.
Cowell, Edward B. and Robert Alexander Neil eds. 1886. The Divyâvadâna: A Collection of Early Buddhist Legends. Cambridge: n.p.
Decleer, Hubert. 2005. ‘Mar pa’. In Encyclopedia of Religion (2nd ed., vol. 8), edited by Lindsay Jones, 5715–5716. Detroit, MI: Macmillan Reference USA.
Demiéville, Paul. 1950. ‘Review of Étienne Lamotte, 1949 Le Traité de la Grande Vertu de Sagesse de Nagarjuna, Tome II’. Journal Asiatique 238: 375–395.
Fujita Masahiro. 1990. ‘Butsuden bungaku to daijo kyoten: Rokudojukkyo no johibosatsumonogatari to Hannyakyo no joteibosatsubon’: (The literature on the Buddha’s biography and Mahayana sutras: The Sadaprarudita jataka in the Compendium on the Six Paramitas and the chapter of Sadaprarudita in the Prajñaparamita sutras). Indogaku bukkyogaku kenkyu (Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies) 39(1): 26–31.
sGam Po Pa, trans. into English by Herbert V. Gunether. 1959. The Jewel Ornament of Liberation. London: Rider and Company.
Gyatso, Kelsang. 1992. Great Treasury of Merit. London: Tharpa Publications.
He-ru-ka, Gtsang-smyon (Tsang Nyön Heruka). 1970. Sgra-bsgyur Mar-pa Lo-ts'a'i rNam-par-thar-pa mThong-ba Don-yod bZhugs-so (The Biography of Marpa: The Translator). Varanasi: E. Kalsang.
Heruka, Tsang Nyön (Tib. gtsang-smyon he-ru-ka), trans. into English by Chögyam Trungpa & Nalanda translation committee. 1982. The Life of Marpa: The Translator. Boulder: Prajña Press.
Hikata Ryushyo. 1961. Jyataka gaikan (An overview of jatakas). Tokyo: Suzuki gakujutsu zaidan.
———. 1978. Honshyokyorui no shisoshiteki kenkyu (A historical study of the concepts of jataka-related sutras). Tokyo: Sankibo Busshorin.
Hirakawa Akira. 1974. Indo bukkyoshi (jyokan) (History of Buddhism in India, vol. I). Tokyo: Shunjusha.
———. 1979. Indo bukkyoshi (gekan) (History of Buddhism in India (vol. II)). Tokyo: Shunjusha.
Inokuchi Taijun ed. 1980. Seiiki shutsudo butten no kenkyo: Seiiki koko zuhu no kanbun butten [A Study on the Buddhist Texts Unearthed in Central Asia: Based upon Chinese Buddhist Texts in the Archaeological albums of the Otani collection]. Kyoto: Hozokan.
Ito Chikako. 2006. ‘Rokudojikkyo dai 81 wa johibosatsuhonsho to Hannyakyo no iso’ (The differences between the no. 81 Sadaprarudita jataka in the Compendium on the Six Paramitas and the Prajñaparamita sutras). Indogaku bukkyogaku kenkyu (Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies) 54(2): 149–154.
Jackson, Roger R. 2004. ‘Candrakirti’. In Encyclopedia of Buddhism, vol. 1, edited by Robert E. Buswell, 111. New York: Macmillan Reference USA.
———. 2005. ‘Sgam po pa (Gampopa)’. In Encyclopedia of Religion, 2nd ed., vol. 12, ed. Lindsay Jones, 8254–8256. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA.
Jì Xiànlín. 1995. ‘Lùn fànwénben Shèng shènghuìdàobiàn gongdébaojí jì’ (An investigation into the Sanskrit Prajñaparamita-ratna-guna-samcaya-gatha).In Jì Xiànlín fójiao xuéshùlùnwén jí (A collection of academic essays by Jì Xiànlín), 211–275. Taipei: Dongchu chubanshè. (Originally published by Beijing: Shenghuó Dúshu Xinzhi Sanlián Shudiàn, in Wénhuà: Zhongguó yu shìjiè (Culture: China and the world), 1988)
de Jong, J. W. 1983. ‘A Review Article (review of Tekin 1980)’. Indo-Iranian Journal 25: 225–226.
Kato Junsho. 2003. ‘Raju to Daichidoron’ [Kumarajiva and the Mahaprajñaparamitopadesa]. In Daichidoron no sogoteki kenkyu: sono seiritsu kara chugoku bukkyo e no eikyo made [Comprehensive Studies on the Mahaprajñaparamitopadesa: on the Scope from its Formation to its Influence on Buddhism in China], edited by Kato Junsho, 1–16. Nagoya: Kato Junsho.
Katsuzaki Yugen. 1995. ‘Shyobonkeihannyakyo jyoteibosatsubon no kyosetsukozo’ (On the Last Chapter ‘Sadaprarudita-bodhisattva-parivarta’ in the Smaller Mahaprajñaparamita sutras). Indogaku bukkyogaku kenkyu (Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies) 44(1): 30–34.
———. 2001. ‘Shyobonkeihannyakyo jyoteibosatsu no kaishyaku’ (A study of the last chapter ‘Sadaprarudita-bodhisattva-parivarta’ in the Smaller Mahaprajnaparamita sutras). Taisho daigaku kenkyu kiyo ningen gakubu bungakubu (Memoirs of Taisho University, The School of Human Studies, the School of Literature) 86: 47–85.
Kay, David N. 2004. Tibetan and Zen Buddhism in Britain: Transplantation, Development and Adaptation. London and New York: RoutledgeCurzon.
Kim, Jinah. 2009. ‘Iconography and Text: The Visual Narrative of the Buddhist Book-cult in the manuscript of the Ashtasahasrika Prajñaparamita sutra’. In Kaladarpana: The Mirror of Indian Art: Essays in Memory of Shri Krishna Deva, edited by Devangana Desai and Arundhati Banerji, 255–272. New Delhi: Aryan Books International.
Lamotte, Étienne. 1954. ‘Sur la formation du Mahayana’. In Asiatica: Festschrift Friedrich Weller zum 65. Geburtstag gewidmet von seinen Freunden, Kollegen und Schülern, edited by Johannes Schubert and Ulrich Schneider, 377–396. Leipzig: Harrassowitz.
de La Vallée Poussin, Louis ed. 1903–1913. Madhyamakavrttih: Mulamadhyamakakarikas (Madhyamikasutras) de Nagarjuna avec la Prasannapada commentaire de Candrakirti. St. Pétersbourg: Commissionnaires de l’Académie impériale des sciences.
Lancaster, Lewis R. 1974. ‘The Story of a Buddhist Hero’. Tsing Hua Journal of Chinese Studies 10(2): 83–90.
Laut, Jens Peter. 1984. ‘Review of Tekin, 1980’. Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft 134: 152–156.
Luczanits, Christian. 2010. ‘Search of the Perfection of Wisdom: A Short Note on the Third Narrative Depicted in the Tabo Main Temple’. In From Turfan to Ajanta: Festschrift for Dieter Schlingloff on the Occasion of his Eightieth Birthday, edited by Eli Franco and Monika Zin, 567–578. Rupandehi: Lumbini International Research Institute.
Maeda Egaku. 1964. Genshi bukkyo seiten no seiritsushi kenkyu (A history of the formation of original Buddhist texts). Tokyo: Sankibo busshorin.
Mair, V. H. 1983. Tun-huang Popular Narratives. New York : Cambridge University Press.
———. 1988. Painting and Performance: Chinese Picture Recitation and its Indian Genesis. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
———. 1989. T’ang transformation Text. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Mak, Bill. 2009. Banruò jing Chángtí púsà pin jí qí zhùshu Xiànguanzhuangyánguangmíngshì zhi wénxiànxué yánjiù (A philological investigation of Sadaprarudita-parivarta of Prajñaparamita sutra and its commentary according to Haribhadra’s Abhisamayalamkaraloka). Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Peking University, Beijing.
Malalasekera, G. P. 1937–1938. Dictionary of Pali Proper Names, 2 vols. London: John Murray.
Milarepa, compiled by Tsang Nyön Heruka (Tib. Gtsang-smyon He-ru-ka), trans. into English by Garma C. C. Chang. 1977. The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa (2 vols.). Boulder, CO: Shambhala Publications.
Mi-la-ras-pa (Milarepa), compiled by Gtsang-smyon He-ru-ka. 1983. Mi-la’i mgur ’bum. Gangtok: Sherab Gyaltsen.
Mrozik, Susanne. 2005. ‘Santideva’. In Encyclopedia of Religion, 2nd ed., vol. 12, edited by Lindsay Jones, 8109–8110. Detroit, MI: Macmillan Reference USA.
Nattier, Jan. 2008a. A Guide to the Earliest Chinese Buddhist Translations: Texts from the Eastern Han and Three Kingdoms Periods. Tokyo: International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology, Soka University.
———. 2008b (2010). ‘Who Produced the Da mingdu jing (T225)?’ Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 31(1–2): 295–337.
Norman, K. R. 1990. ‘Pali Philology and the Study of Buddhism’. In The Buddhist Forum (vol. 1), edited by Tadeusz Skorupski, 31–39. London: School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.
Nuri, Räzija. 2009. Huíhúwén chángtípúsà qíufa gù shì yánjù (A Study on the Story of Sadaprarudita’s Search for Dharma in Uighur). Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Zhongyang mínzú. dàxué (Central University for Nationalities), Beijing)
———. 2010. ‘Lùn huíhúwén Chángtípúsà de qiúfagùshì de bianxieniándài’ (An Investigation on the Date of the Composition of the Uighur Story of the Bodhisattva Sadaprarudita’s Search of Dharma). In Tujué yu Hasàkè yuwénxuéyánjiù (Studies in Turkic Philology), edited by Zhang Dìngjing et al., 148–154. Beijing: Central University for Nationalities Press.
Okada Mamiko. 1995. ‘Chi no husemono (3): sadaprarudita (jyotai) bosatsudensetsu’ (3): Sadaprarudita (Stories on Blood Sacrifice (3): The Legend of the Bodhisattva Sadaprarudita). Kobejyoshi daigaku kyoikugakushyogakukenkyu lonbunshyu (Journal of Kobe Wonen’s University for Educational Sciences) 9: 143–155.
Osto, Douglas. 2008. Power, Wealth and Women in Indian Mahayana Buddhism: The Gandavyuha sutra. London: Routledge.
Patrul Rinpoche (Tib. rdza dpal-sprul rin-po-che). 1992. Kun-bzang bla-ma’i zhal-lung. Rum-btegs: Karma-pa’i-chos-sgar.
Patrul Rinpoche, trans. into English by Padmakara Translation Group. 1994. The Words of My Perfect Teacher. San Francisco, CA: HarperCollins Publishers.
Quintman, Andrew. 2003. ‘Mar Pa (Marpa)’. In Encyclopedia of Buddhism, vol. 2, edited by Robert E. Buswell, 513–514. New York: Macmillan Reference USA.
Roberts, Peter Alan. 2007. The Biographies of Rechungpa: The Evolution of a Tibetan hagiography. London and New York: Rouledge.
Robinson, Richard. 1967. Early Madhyamika in India and China. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
Shyogaito Masahiro. l978. ‘On the routes of the loan words in the Old Uigur language’. Journal of Asian and African Studies 15: 79–110.
Tekin, Sinasi. 1980. ‘Part 2: Die uigurische Bearbeitung der Geschichte von Sadaprarudita und Dharmodgata Bodhisattva’. In Buddhistische uigurica aus der Yüan-Zeit, ed. Sinasi Tekin, 154–383. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó.
Tiancháng. 1992. Liùdùjí yánjiù (A Study on the Compendium on the Six Paramitas ). Unpublished Master dissertation, Zhonghuá fóxué yánjiùsuo (Chung-Hwa Institute of Buddhist Studies), Taipei.
———. 1998. ‘Liùdùjí yánjiù’ (A Study on the Compendium on the Six Paramitas)’. Zhonghuá fóxué yánjiù (Chung-Hwa Buddhist Studies) 2: 75–104.
Tsongkhapa, trans. into English by Pema Gyatso and Geoff Bailey. 2008. The Perpetually Weeping Boddhisattva. Lhasa: Tibet People’s Press.
Williams, Paul. 2003. ‘Santideva’. In Encyclopedia of Buddhism, vol. 2, edited by Robert E. Buswell, 749. New York: Macmillan Reference USA.
———. 2005. ‘Bodhisattva Path’. In Encyclopedia of Religion, 2nd ed., vol. 2, edited by Lindsay Jones, 996–1000. Detroit, MI: Macmillan Reference USA.
Wogihara Unrai ed. 1932–1935. Abhisamayalamkaraloka Prajñaparamitavyakhya (commentary on Astasahasrika-Prajñaparamita, together with the text commented on). Tokyo: The Toyo bunko.
Yìnshùn. 1980. Chuqí dàshèngfójiào zhi qiyuán yu kaizhan (Origins and development of early Mahayana Buddhism). Taipei: Zhèngwén Publishing House.
———. 1994. Yuánshifójiào shèngdian zhi jíchéng (A study on the compilation of early Buddhist cannon) (3rd ed.). Taipei: Zhèngwén Publishing House.
Yuyama Akira ed. 1976. Prajña-paramita-ratna-guna-samcaya-gatha: Sanskrit Recension A. Cambridge: Cambridge University press.
Zieme, Peter ed. 1991. Die Stabreimtexte der Uiguren von Turfan und Dunhuang. Studien zur alttürkischen Dichtung. Budapest, Akadémiai Kiadó.
