Norihisa Baba: "Textual History of the Dharmacakrapravartana-sūtra"

Abstract:

This talk will discuss the textual history of the Dharmacakrapravartana-sūtra by comparing its various versions. As clarified by Kōgen Mizuno and Jin-il Chung, the Dharmacakrapravartana-sūtra of the Sarvāstivādins exhibits features that are quite distinct from versions transmitted by the Theriya, Mahīśāsaka, and Dharmaguptaka. To elucidate where such differences came from, this talk will argue that Dharmatrāta belonging to the Sarvāstivāda had modified the text of the Dharmacakrapravartana-sūtra, and the modified version spread to the Buddhacarita, Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, Mahāvastu, Lalitavistara, and so forth. This analysis will shed new light on the Dharmacakrapravartana-sūtra’s archetype, in the sense of common discourse shared by several monastic groups.

Bio: 

Norihisa Baba is a Professor at the Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia at the University of Tokyo. He received his PhD in 2006 from the University of Tokyo. His research interests include the history and thought of Early Buddhism and Theravāda Buddhism. He has published several English language articles such as “Buddhaghosa” (Oxford Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 2024) and three Japanese books. He serves as editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Asian Studies published by Cambridge University Press.