The Ethiopians make their gods black and snub-nosed. The Thracians make theirs have gray-eyes and red-hair. And if oxen and horses and lions had hands and could paint with their hands, and produce works of art as men do, horses would paint the forms of the gods like horses, and oxen like oxen, and make their bodies in the image of their own.

Xenophanes (circa 570-circa 478 BCE.)

Seated mustachioed Buddha.Pakistan or Afghanistan, ancient region of Gandhara, 1st-2nd century CE.

Since the 19th century certain Buddhologists have speculated that Buddha was a member of the Scythian steppe nomads, some of whom had been encroaching since the mid-first millennium BCE into theGandhara region, becoming sedentary in the process, eventually reaching northwest India and founding an empire there in the first century BCE.

"Even a cursory acquaintance with later Vedic texts, like theUpanisads, and that of the earliest Buddhist and Jain texts leaves the reader wondering whether they can possibly refer to the same society, even though admittedly there is a time gap of a thousand years between their composition. The Sanskrit texts evoke a mostly agrarian way of life in which states play a minor part and status is governed by lineage and ritual observance. Buddhist and Jain texts, on the other hand, portray a network of functioning states, each with an urban nucleus heavily engaged in trade and production. Here wealth as much as lineage confers status. Indeed, the Buddhist concept of ‘merit’ as something to be earned, accumulated, occasionally transferred and eventually realized seems inconceivable without a close acquaintance with the moneyed economy." 

This is strong circumstantial evidence for the Buddha, or the man who the story of the Buddha was based on, actually having been a Gandharan, where urbanization developed ahead of north and east India.

Another piece of circumstantial evidence is found in the Digha Nikaya [DN 1.90-95] which tells a story of Buddha's people, the Sakyas/Scythians, as being 'foreign.' They are described by Ambattha as "fierce, rough spoken, violent, wanderers (sometimes incorrectly mistranslated as menials, but refers to their mendicant lifestyle; or could it be a slight on their nomadic past?). They do not respect Brahmins, nor pay homage to them." Upon visiting Kapilavatthu, hometown of the Sakyas, Ambattha explains them as those who "sat upon high seats in meeting halls, engaging in laughing, rough playing, poking each other with fists and fingers and paid no regard to [Ambattha]." In referring to Buddha, the "Scythian-sage" (Sakyamuni), he [DN 3.144] "has blue eyes." See here and here.

Relief panel with the Dipankara Jataka, (Megha and the Buddha Dipankara). Pakistan, Swat Valley, circa 2nd century CE.

The most visual circumstantial evidence, as the relief panel and Buddha image above show, is that Gandharan artists were still representing Buddha, (present and previous buddhas), as Aryans wearing Greek togas well into the Common Era.These are some observations to support the contention that Buddha was a Saka/Scythian:

1. Buddha was of the kshatriya (warrior) caste; foreign invaders were always co-opted into this caste by the Brahmins;

2. Buddha rejected the caste system;

3. Buddhism introduced animal motifs to India derived from the steppe peoples: the stag or deer, symbol of Buddha's first sermon in the deer park; the horse--Buddha rode out of his father's palace as a renunciate on his horse Kanthaka, which was immediately taken to heaven to be reborn among the gods; the Scythian eagle and lion griffins used as motifs at Barhut and Sanchi stupas, etc;

Relief panel with the Buddha's first sermon, showing the wheel and deer symbols.Pakistan, ancient region of Gandhara, circa 2nd century CE.

4. The cremation of bodies and the erection of burial mounds, or stupas (topes), previously unknown in India. 

5. The Buddhist ideal of the chakravartin, or wheel-turning, world-conquering monarch, to which kings aspired, a concept borrowed from the steppe peoples who must have been quite familiar with wheels and wagons;

6. One of the 32 marks of the mahapurusha, or great man (Buddha was one), was that he had blue eyes. This would indicate that Buddha was an Iranian/Caucasian.

1. From Relics of the Buddha by John S. Strong:

"This is not the place to examine the origin of thechakravartin ideal and its influence on the legend of the Buddha. Suffice it to say that the parallelism between the Buddha's funeral and that of a chakravartin continues a theme already implied in the doctrine of the twin careers of a mahapurusa. It is sometimes argued that this association with great kingship was intended to enhance the prestige of the Buddha as a figure of great distinction. At the same time, however, it is important to see one of the more specific implications of this. 

Jean Przyluski, who has looked into Northwest Indian, Hellenistic, and, ultimately, Ancient Near Eastern traditions as sources of at least parts of the chakravartin mythology, has argued that we should look in the same direction for the origins of relic worship in India. [Watch "Alexander the God King."] He points out that Alexander the Great was divinized and that a dispute erupted over his body, which the Macedonians felt would bring happiness and prosperity to the land where it was kept. Even more specifically, he cites the case of King Menander, whose ashes (according to Plutarch) were divided among the cities of Northwest India, which erected mnemeia, [memorials, i.e., caityas], over each portion. 

For Przyluski, then, the veneration of a great being's remains was intimately linked to the nascent cult of thechakravartin and both were imported ideologies. This is important because, if it is true, the fact that Buddha's body is to be treated as though it were that of a great king may not simply be intended to "glorify" or "divinize" him. More basically, it may be related to the injunction that his relicsbe preserved, and that his body not be handled like those of ordinary beings or of other sannyasins, whose remains were not preserved."

2. From The Indian Saint; or, Buddha and Buddhism: A Sketch, Historical and Critical, by Charles D. B. Mills, 1874: 

[Samuel] Beal [translator of Buddhist Records of the Western Worldfrom ancient Chinese], however, advances the opinion that [Buddha] was of Scythian descent. A branch or clan of this race, he thinks, may have penetrated Northern India, as another did Assyria about this time, and Buddha was born of this blood, a descendant of Chakravarttins or Wheel Kings, i.e., universal monarchs. Sakya's directions as to the funeral obsequies to be observed after his death, the cremation of the body, and the subsequent erection of mounds, or topes, in such numbers over India,--all, he deems, indicate a foreign parentage for this saint... But this of the directions is very probably a subsequent invention; it certainly comports little with his known character, and especially with the light esteem, almost the contempt, in which he is represented to have held the body. The weight of the evidence seems altogether in favor of the view that he was of the Aryan race and family of the Sakyas.

I don't agree with Mills' last part where he states that Buddha held the body in light esteem. In fact, Buddha had a very high opinion of himself and always wanted to be treated in a special way.

3. From The Indian empire: its people, history, and products By William Wilson Hunter (published 19th century).

There are indications that a branch of the Scythian hordes, who overran Asia about 625 B.C., made its way to Patala on the Indus, the site selected by Alexander in 325 B.C. as his place of arms in that delta, and long the capital of Sindh under the name of Haidarabad. One portion of these Patala Scythians seems to have moved westwards by the Persian Gulf to Assyria; another section is supposed to have found its way northeast into the Gangetic valley, and branched off into the Sakyas of Kapilavastu, among whom the Buddha was born. 

During the two hundred years before the Christian era, the Scythic movements come a little more clearly into sight, and in the first century after Christ those movements culminate in a great Indian sovereignty. About 126 B.C., the Tartar tribe of Su are said to have conquered the Greek dynasty of Bactria, and the Graeco-Bactrian settlements in the Punjab were overthrown by the Tue-Chi, [Yuezhi].

The football-field-size burial mound that Scythians made with sandstone from nearby cliffs which were the forerunner of Buddhist stupas. Above is Arzhan-2 in Tuva's Valley of the Tsars. (National Geographic, copyright infringement unintended).Archaeologists found undisturbed wooden vault with two skeletons and 44 pounds of gold (2). They also found rare remnants of clothing (3), a horse grave (4), but nothing at (1) where kings were usually buried.

Two centuries later, we touch solid ground in the dynasty whose chief representative, Kanishka, held the Fourth Buddhist Council, circa 40 A.D., and became the royal founder of Northern Buddhism. [Historicity of Fourth Council now doubted.] But long anterior to the alleged Tue-Chi settlements in the Punjab, tribes of Scythic origin had found their way into India, and had left traces of non-Aryan origin upon Indian civilization. The sovereignty of Kanishka in the first century A.D. was not an isolated effort, but the ripened fruit of a series of ethnical movements.

Coin of Kanishka, Pakistan, region of ancient Gandhara, circa 130 CE. Reverse, Hindu deity; Kanishka also struck coins with Buddha on the reverse, (below), where Boddo is clearly stamped. 

Certain scholars believe that even before the time of the Buddha, there are relics of Scythic origin in the religion of India. It has been suggested that the Asvamedha, or Great Horse Sacrifice, in some of its developments at any rate, was based upon Scythic ideas. 'It was in effect,' writes Mr. Edward Thomas, 'a martial challenge, which consisted in letting the victim who was to crown the imperial triumph at the year's end, go free to wander at will over the face of the earth; its sponsor being bound to follow its hoofs, and to conquer or conciliate' the chiefs through whose territories it passed. Such a prototype seems to him to shadow forth the life of the Central Asian communities of the horseman class, 'among whom a captured steed had so frequently to be traced from camp to camp, and surrendered or fought for at last.' The curious connection between the Horse Sacrifice and the Man Sacrifice of the pre-Buddhistic religion of India has often been noticed. That connection has been explained from the Indian point of view, by the substitution theory of a horse for a human victim.

Workers unearth the remains of 14 sacrificed horses; a measure of wealth on Earth and in the hereafter, horses were the mainstays in many Scythian graves. This herd is modest--Scythian graves elsewhere have been found with hundreds of horses. (National Geographic). 

Whatever significance may attach to this rite, it is certain that with the advent of Buddhism, Scythic influences made themselves felt in India. Indeed, it has been attempted to establish a Scythic origin for Buddha himself. One of his earliest appearances in the literature of the Christian Church is as Buddha the Scythian. It is argued that by no mere accident did the Fathers trace the Manichaean doctrine to Scythianus, whose disciple, Terebinthus, took the name Buddha. As already stated, the form of abjuration of the Manichaean heresy mentions [Buddha and the Scythian or Sakya], seemingly, says Weber, a separation of Buddha Sakya-muni into two. The Indian Buddhists of the Southern school would dwell lightly on, or pass over altogether, a non-Aryan origin for the founder of their faith. We have seen how the legend of Buddha in their hands assimilated itself into the old epic type of the Aryan hero. But a Scythic origin would be congenial to the Northern school of Buddhism: to the school which was consolidated by the Scythic monarch Kanishka, and which supplied a religion during more than ten centuries to Scythic tribes of Central Asia. [However, in the following article, the Sakas are said to be related to the East Iranians (i.e. they were Indo-Aryans).]

4. From Earth to Heaven--The Royal Animal-Shaped Weights of the Burmese Empire by Donald and Joan Gear: 
The invasions of the Greeks, Sakas, Parthians and Kushans into the Bactria and north India regions between the 1st century BCE and 2nd century CE led to one of the most creative periods in the history of India’s art. Another important influence was that of the Romans from about the 1st century BCE to the 4th century CE. 

In Ordos, bronzes with animal decoration continued until about the 5th or 6th century CE. This region is sometimes referred to as the last stand of animal art. At some time before the 2nd century BCE the Yueh-chieh [Yuezhi] in present day Kansu, not far from Ordos then at its peak of abundant production, must have contacted the Sakas of near Lake Balkash and acquired knowledge of its stag art, which, in modified form, could have been transmitted south through Szechwan to the semi-nomadic tribes of Yunnan. The Yueh-chieh subsequently drove out the Sakas (about 160 BCE) who then moved into northwest India, (Gandhara), while the Yueh-chieh became the Kushans at the west end of the Tarim basin. 

The Saka retained some of their animal art but the Yueh-chieh abandoned theirs. The region from the Black Sea to Mongolia, including Central Asia, from before the 8th century BCE was occupied by nomadic steppe tribes many culturally and probably ethnically related to the East Iranians (i.e. they were Indo-Aryans). Many belonged to the Saka group. Those occupying the region north of the Black Sea were named Scythians by the 8th century BCE Greeks, those west of the Altai mountains were called Saka by the pre-6th century BCE Persians and those east of the mountains, for convenience today, are called Saka-Siberian. On the northwest borders of China and in the Tarim basin region before the 2nd century BCE were the Yueh-chieh, also probably an Indo-Aryan people related to the Sakas. They were driven along with the Sakas by the Hsiung-Nu, a Turki people. The Indo-Aryans of about 2000 BCE and the Saka group are the most important of the steppe nomads to this work. 

Firstly, this is because the Indo-Aryan peoples of 2000 BCE brought to India in the Vedic religion basic concepts held by the steppe nomads which, together with Indian animism, led to Hinduism and Buddhism. Secondly, it is because tribes of, or related to the Saka group repeatedly invaded India from 2000 BCE onwards, so spreading their culture from the kingdoms and republics they established in India and thus leading to the flowering of stone architectural animal art in India from about the 2nd century BCE. 

The Saka influence on animal art appears to have flowed round both sides of the Tibet plateau and converged on southeast Asia. This flow of art and people may have led to the foundation of the first Burmese kingdom, Tagaung. The Yueh-chieh were driven away from their homeland by the Hsiung-Nu about the 2nd century BCE; part of the tribe moved south towards Burma and part moved west to the northern marches of India, changing their name to Kushan as they did so. There, for about five centuries, they became a great influence on the development of Mahayanist Buddhism and overland trade from the Persian to the Chinese borders. 
During their migration they drove a part of the Sakas before them and these settled in west India before temporarily extending their sway to the east of India south of the Kushans. The persistence of the word ‘Saka’ in various forms in India and Burma is noteworthy. Sakka is another name of Indra, the Indo-Aryan and Hindu god. Saka is the name of the group of tribes of which the Scythians were one. The Sakas, ‘people of the stag,’ are associated with the animal symbols of the chakravartin,(universal ‘wheel-turning’ sovereign). Gautama Buddha was the Sakyamuni, the sage of the Sakyas.

Lion capital of the pillar erected by Asoka at Sarnath. Mauryan, circa 250 BCE. Chunar sandstone, Height 2.5m. (Archaeological Museum, Sarnath). 

The lion is among the figurines created by the people of the Indus valley civilizations about 2000 BCE, though it does not become a frequently used motif, at least in durable material, until it was adopted by the Buddhists about the 3rd century BCE when it looks distinctly west Asian or perhaps Persian. The adoption of the lion motif instead of the tiger may have been because the Buddhists needed a royal symbol without the ferocious or steppe nomad association of the tiger, the emblem of the warrior caste into which Gautama Buddha was born. The stone-shafted pillars of India, usually referred to as Asokan pillars, can be separated into two age groups: pre-3rd century BCE and later. The early pillars bear, or bore, on their tops copper gilt images of the lion, the bull, and the elephant. Of these the lion image is by far the most frequent. It is also the youngest, replacing the bull and elephant images. It occurs in the region formerly occupied by the republican, warlike Licchavis and later by the Nandas. In style the images show the influence of the Anatolian Hittites (20th century-8th century BCE), as do those of the south Chinese lions of the 2nd century BCE—6th century CE. The Indian lion representation gradually changed its form, partly because most of the sculptors probably had never seen a lion, which was rare in India compared with west Asia and which today exists only in west India, and partly because it was intended to represent the broadcasting of a spiritual image. By the 11th century CE its shape had become unrealistic, humanoid, and subsequently became increasingly so. 

Left: Gold stag headdress pin; the deer became an important Buddhist icon.

Stags appear to be particularly important in the art and myths of Central Asia, the steppes and Siberia from 1500 BCE and earlier. The stag was especially used by the Altaian Saka people. It was one of the three main animals represented in their art, the others being the horse and the tiger. In the Indus valley civilizations of about 2000 BCE stag-horns were emplaced on composite creations. Portrayals show that Agni was horned. Agni was one of the chief gods of the Aryan invasion from the steppes of about 1000 BCE. Stag representations are not found again until the last two centuries BCE but then seem to be replaced mainly by ruminants with unbranched horns or does.

The two thousand five hundred-year-old Pazyryk rug, found in 1949 on the steppes of Mongolia in a Scythian prince’s tomb, already displays all the symbols later to be associated with Buddhism: the lotus blossoms, solar symbols, stags, horses, and eagle and lion griffins.

Except in the Upper Punjab, the deer was not worshipped in India. The Punjabi worship was derived from the Sakas, ‘the people of the stag,’ from near Lake Balkash, who ruled various parts of northern India from about the 1st century BCE to the 4th century CE. The horned lion or lion-griffin reached the Indus valley about 2000 BCE. The griffin was utilized by Alexander the Great and he may have introduced or reintroduced it to India about 325 BCE. Certainly two griffins of about 3rd century BCE occur at Patna. Lion-griffins and eagle griffins were employed in the sculpting on the Indian Buddhist temples of the 2nd to 1st century BCE, the motifs possibly having been introduced by the Scythians (Saka) invaders. The griffin and the lion-griffin motifs were distributed by the steppe nomads on the artifacts manufactured in western Asia, just as they transmitted artifacts and motifs from the Orient. 

The Scythians of east Asia adapted these motifs to their own requirements before the 7th century BCE. It is likely that the lion-griffin had reached the Altai, Siberia and China well before 1000 BCE. The Scythians preferred combat scenes with griffins as the aggressors and they themselves became especially associated with the griffin by the western world, which in fact made the association Scythia-griffin-gold because at that time, the Altai and adjacent regions produced much of the world’s gold. Lion-griffin figurines were present in Bactria in the 4th century BCE at a time when colonies of Greeks were working for the Scythians. In the 3rd-1st century lion-griffins were being made at Pazyryk in the Altai. 

The Neolithic religions of the Eurasian agriculturalists appear to have been characterized by a belief in earth gods, i.e. those of the earth as a whole, of the soil and of the underworld. This belief is expressed most obviously in the forms of earth mounds, sometimes capped by stones, megaliths, dolmens, menhirs, small stone pyramids and other structures. Such occur in Central Asia, Tibet, Mongolia, Assam, Orissa, Southeast Asia, etc. Later the belief was expressed in the form of pillars in India, Yunnan and Vietnam, as stupas in much of the same region and, in Southeast Asia, as temples intended to represent mountains, e.g. many Khmer temples. The natural, or man-made, elevations seems to have been regarded as a substitute for the body of the local earth god (and later for the tribe itself symbolized through the ancestors of the rulers) within which was concentrated the power of the deity, a capping stone often serving to concentrate the power still more effectively.

Celestial gods formed part of the cosmology but were less important than the earth gods. A link between the two kinds of god was often made by the use of a pillar or tree on or near the mound, but the elevation itself, especially if high, may have served as the link. Horse sacrifices, practiced by the Mongols, Turko-Tartars, Indo-European peoples and others, were always offered to the god of the sun and sky. The horse, especially a white one, symbolized the sun. In the Altai it was the function of the shaman, in a trance, to accompany the soul of a sacrificed horse on its celestial journey and also to offer horseflesh to the ancestors. Horse sacrifices and horse burials formed part of the burial rites of these peoples throughout the entire region, the best known being those of the Indo-Aryan Scythians, Sakas and other invaders of India.These rites and sun worship continued among the Mongols until after the 14th century CE, while Tartar chiefs continued to present thousands of white horses to the Chinese emperor until after the 18th century CE. In ancient India and elsewhere, long hair on shamans, such as the Ari favored, symbolized the snakes that appeared on the costumes and in the beliefs of the Central Asian shamans. The snake played an important role in Central Asian and Siberian mythology and on the shaman’s costume. The Indo-Aryans of about 1500 BCE, the Scythians of pre-8th century BCE and the Sakas of the same stock about 2nd century BCE all invaded India. They drank intoxicants like the Ari and took narcotics (soma, haoma) to attain ecstasy. The Sakas had ancestor cults. 

In Hindu-Buddhist cosmogony there are 33 gods who reside on the summit of Mount Meru, among whom Indra (Sakka) is king. In Central Asia the people of the Altai mountains have a belief in 33 heavens. In the 7th century BCE Saka-Siberian burial site of Tuva, just east of the Altai mountains, the chief’s tomb comprises a large central mound surrounded by a stone wall 44 meters away. The annulus so-formed is separated into sections by 32 radial spokes built of stones bearing incised depictions of horses. This is a temple of the sun. The number of 32 appears also as that of the number of bodily marks of the chakravartin. There seems to be good reason to think that the 32 fiefdoms of the chakravartin are derived from the solar cult of the Indo-Aryans and reached Burma through the Sakas.

The Aryan invasion of Persia and India of about 2000 BCE introduced the Vedic religion. The descendants of the Aryans and the Saka/Scythians (sun and snake worshippers) became allies perhaps before 700 BCE, the Sakas becoming known as ‘the serpent’ or naga race, while the naga itself became one of the most important associates of the Brahmanic, Hindu and Buddhist pantheons. According to the Indian Puranas, Gautama Buddha originated from the solar race of Iskshvahu and at the commencement of his ascetic life, he was protected by the naga king. Tombs of Gautama’s own Sakya tribe, excavated in the 19th century, each contained an effigy of a naga.

Naga king and his consort--Cave Temples, Ajanta, Maharashtra.

This is one of the several pieces of evidence linking Gautama Buddha with the steppe nomads. Vedism and indigenous animism merged to form Hinduism about the middle of the 1st millennium BCE, about the same time as Buddhism emerged. In the section entitled ‘Trade’ the voyages of the allied Sakas and Indo-Aryans as traders are mentioned and it is these which may have given rise to some of the Hindu legends, such as the ‘Churning of the Oceans,’ and the association of the naga with water. Beginning not later than the 2nd century BCE and increasing during the 1st and 3rd centuries CE, Buddhism spread to Central Asia under the dominant influence of the fervently Buddhist and-commercially-conscious Kushans, (the former Yueh-chieh), whose empire stretched from north India to Bactria and from the Parthian empire of Persia on the west to that of the Chinese Han empire on the east. Eastern Persia and much of Afghanistan also adopted Buddhism, parts remaining until after the Moslem invasion. 

In the shaman’s ecstatic techniques throughout central and north Asia, the number seven plays an important role, one which is due ultimately to influences from Babylon. On his costume, a Yurak shaman may have seven balls representing the seven celestial maidens. There are also the common beliefs in seven or nine each of celestial and infernal levels, though rarely, up to 33 occur. In his rites the Altaic shaman climbs a tree or a post notched with seven or nine steps to symbolize his ascent to the most powerful one. The seven steps are similar to the Buddha’s seven steps mentioned below, a concept derived from Buddhism’s parent, Brahmanism. In legend Buddha could walk immediately after his birth. He took seven steps in the direction of each of the cardinal points and claimed possession of the world. Seven days after Guatama Buddha’s birth his mother died. After Buddha’s enlightenment he meditated for three periods each of seven days. After these he was wrapped in seven coils of the serpent king, Mucalinda, and endured continuous rain for seven days. Seven also symbolizes the horse, one of the seven treasures of the chakravartin.

Posted by Thai Mangoes at 6:46 PM 

http://thaimangoes.blogspot.kr/2009/08/h9.html

WAS BUDDHA HISTORICAL?

인도 불교사에 있어서의 두 가지 문제 번역본입니다.

05_ (193-244)[번역]한대성_인도 불교사에 있어서의 두 가지 문제.pdf

The three visits by the Buddha to Sri Lanka

Written by Dai Sung Han

Some rights are reserved, 2012.

According to Pali chronicles the Buddha has reported to visit Sri Lanka three times during his life time. The oldest Pali chronicle, the Dipavamsa, mentions briefly about the miraculous three visits of the Buddha to the Sri Lanka along with the Sasanavamsa while the Mahāvamsa gives lengthy and detailed story of the mysterious visits. The story of the Buddha’s visits to Sri Lanka cannot be found any of Pali canonical literature. It is worthy mention that the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra, the famous Mahāyāna sūtra, also reports the Buddha’s visit to the island though its context is quite differ than that of Pali chronicles. In spite of such details are found in the chronicles, scholars doubt the events as a historical fact based on various reasons.

The first visit to Sri lanka by the Buddha

The Mahāvamsa says of the time and background in following way: “Now, since a great sacrifice by Kassapa of Uruvela was near at hand, and since He (the Buddha) saw that this latter would fain have Him away .., the Conqueror in the ninth month of his Buddhahood, at the full moon of Phussa, Himself set forth for the Isle of Lanka, to win Lanka for the faith.”

The methods of coming to the island and conversion of the Yakkas are described as: “To this great gathering of the Yakkas went the Blessed One and there in the midst of that assembly, hovering in the air over their heads, at the place of the future Mahiyavgana Thūpa, He struck terror to their hearts, by rain, storm, darkness and so forth. The Yakkas, overwhelmed by fear, besought the fearless Vanquisher to release them from fear. Then, when He had destroyed their terror,… the Master preached them the doctrine.”

The second visit to Sri lanka by the Buddha

The motivation and background of the second visit addressed in following way: “When the Buddha was dwelling at Jetavana in the fifth year of his Buddhahood, saw that a war, caused by a gem-set throne, was like to come to pass between the Nāgas Mahodara and Cūlodara, uncle and nephew, and their followers; and he, the Sambuddha, on the uposatha day of the dark half of the month Citta, in the early morning, took his sacred alms-bowl and his robe, and from compassion for the Nāgas, sought the Nāgadipa.” The chronicles describes the activity of the Buddha in the second visit as: “Hovering there in mid-air above the battlefield the Master, who drives away (spiritual) darkness, called forth dread darkness over the Nāgas. Then comforting those who were distressed by terror he once again spread light abroad. When they saw the Blessed One they joyfully did reverence to the Master’s feet. Then preached the Vanquisher to them the doctrine that begets concord and both [Nāgas] gladly gave up the throne to the Sage.”

The second visit to Sri lanka by the Buddha

The Great Chronicle informs us regarding the occasion of the third visit by the Buddha as follows: “The nāga king Maniakkhika sought out the Sambuddha and invite him, together with the brotherhood. In the eighth year after he had attained to buddhahood, when the Vanquisher was dwelling in Jetavana, the Master, set forth surrounded by five hundred bhikkhus, on the second day of the beautiful month of Vesākha, at the full moon, and when the hour of the meal was announced the Vanquisher, prince of the wise, forthwith putting on his robe and taking his alms-bowl went to the Kalyāni country, the habitation of Maniakkhika.” The Buddha’s respond to the invitation of the nāga king is described in following way: “When the Teacher, compassionate to the whole world, had preached the doctrine there, he rose, the Master, and left the traces of his footsteps plain to sight on Sumanakūta.”

Historical authenticity of the visits

There is no extant archaeological evidence that proves the Buddha’s visit of the island.  Ceylonese Buddhists worship, according to records, legend and peoples beliefs, the sixteen places as were visited by the Buddha and his disciples and used as retreats for meditation. We were told that following the arrival of the most venerable Mahāmahinda these sacred places were covered with stupas by the kings mentioned above for people to venerate. Of these sixteen places, only Mahiyavgana stupa considered to be built while the Buddha was living.

But archaeologically, as Unesco site says, “the stupa enshrining the sacred relics was rebuilt by king Dutugamunu (161-136 BC) and has been restored many times by successive kings.” The park came to be known as Mahameghavana, where Buddha sat down here and meditated with his disciples, is the place where a sapling, sent by Emperor Asoka, through his daughter the Arahat Sanghamitta, of the sacred bodhi tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment, would later be planted. This bodhi tree is historically the oldest tree in the world today. In addition, according to history, they had earlier considered the whole of the Jaffna peninsula and most of other parts of northern Sri Lanka as Nāgadipa, and that the ancient Nāgadipa temple was in what is presently Kandarode. Such facts allude a bit of possible pre-historical linkage between the records and common belief of the people.

Literary or philosophical authenticity of the visits

No record of the visit of the Buddha to the island is found other than Ceylonese chronicles except the case of Mahāyāna Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra. If we have no archaeological evidence, we have an option to see the philosophical compatibility which based on other literature of Buddhism. As we see the other portion of Buddhist literature, particularly that of canonical literature, there is huge gap between the description of the chronicles and the rest of them. The points can be classified as two categories: abandoning of compassion and attitude toward miracle.   

In the Great Chronicle, the Buddha subdued the Yakkas and Nāgas by weapon of ‘terror to their hearts, by rain, storm, darkness and so forth’, Where as in the suttas, the Buddha cannot behave such manner by his nature. In the Vatthupama Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya 7) the Buddha says, “he abides pervading that all-encompassing world with a mind imbued with loving kindness, abundant, exalted immeasurable, without hostility, without ill will. He abides pervading one quarter with the mind imbued with compassion.” In the Lakkahan Sutta (Digha Nikaya sutta 30) it is stated, “the Tathagata rejects harsh speech, abstains from it, spoke what was blameless, pleasing to the ear, agreeable, reaching the heart, urbane, pleasing and attractive to the multitude.” Here the famous Indian philosopher Radhakrishna comments on the point by saying that: “The Buddha would never have struck terror to their hearts. This idea that the Buddha struck terror to their hearts by rain, storm and darkness, Mahanama has taken directly from the Vedas. The Vedas tell us that Indra wields the thunderbolt and conquers darkness.” (Radhakrishna Indian Philosophy Vol. 1 pages 35-36) If the fact that the Buddha terrified the being as in the chronicles, we have to accept that the Buddha abandoned the fundamental tenets of the Dhamma merely for the sake of converting a set of ‘uninstructed wordings.’

As to the ‘attitude toward miracle,’ the Buddha generally was shown as against using of miracle. In the Kevaddha Sutta, the Buddha says, “He dislikes, rejects and despises the miracles of psychic power and miracle of telepathy.” But in the chronicles the Buddha comes to the island by flying and showing his miracle in front of multitude as “in the midst of that assembly, hovering in the air over their heads, he struck terror to their hearts, by rain, storm, darkness and so forth.” Hence anyone can find the obvious contradiction between the two texts, and in the case the canonical literature is the firm source of reliability in the sense of chronological and philosophical authenticity. 

The account given in the Mahavamsa has no historical evidence to support the proposition that the Buddha ever visited this island. However most of Ceylonese have firm faith of these sixteen holy places were visited by the Buddha and used as retreats for meditation. For more than two thousand three hundred years these places have been worshipped and venerated; they have helped millions of people develop good moral and spiritual qualities, and to practice meditation. These sacred places have been helping to make the Sri Lanka an ideal place for people who are bent on wholesome thoughts and a peaceful world.

References:

• B. C. Law (1952) The History of the Buddha’s Religion, Tr: Luzac & Co. Ltd.

• S. Radhakrishna (1928) Indian Philosophy: Oxford Publication

• B. C. Law (1933) A History of Pali Literature: Indica Books.

• K. L. Hazra (1994) Pali Language and literature: D.K.Printworld(P) Ltd.

• G.P.Malalasekera (1971) Encyclopidea of Buddhism : Government press, Ceylon.

• M.Monier-Williams (2002) Sanskrit-English Dictionary : Motilal Banarsidass.

• Nyanatiloka (1980) Buddhist Dictionary : Buddhist Publication society.

• Rhys Davids (1921) Pali-English Dictionary : Pali Text Society.

• Unesco website: http://whc.unesco.org/

The First Three Councils of the Sasanavamsa

Written by Dai Sung Han

Some rights are reserved, 2012.

The Sasanavamsa “The history of the Religion” is an ecclesiastical chronicle of Burma. It  deals with account of the growth and expansion of Buddhism in India and the nine countries of Ashokan missionaries. The full name of the chronicle is Sasanavamsappadipikā (The light of the history of the religion). The Pali term ‘sasana’ means ‘teaching; order; message; doctrine; a letter’ and ‘vamsa’ renders as ‘1. A race; lineage; family; 2. A bamboo; 3. Tradition, hereditary custom; 4. Dynasty.’ Thus the title can be translated as ‘tradition of the Teaching or the Doctrine.” The text is based on two palm-leaf MSS in the British Museum. It is a non-canonical literature written in Burma by Bhikkhu Pabbāsāmi who dates his book 1223 of the Burmese Common Era (1861 C.E.), was the tutor and mentor of the Burmese King Min-don-min. The author calls himself the pupil of the Savgharaja of Mandaly. Besides the Sasanavamsa, Pabbāsāmi is credited with the authorship of a number of other books; viz. Silakathā, Upāyakathā, Nāgarājupptti-Kathā, Nirayakathādipikā, etc. The author of the text gives unmistakable evidence of sound knowledge of the canonical as well as non-canonical literature of Burma and Ceylon.

This text consists of ten chapters with the table of contents (mātikā). The author of the chronicle declares the motivation of the compilation of the text as ‘at the request of the monks who have came to a foreign land from the island of Ceylon, I will compose the Sasanavamsa.’ The table of contents promises a general history of Buddhism drawn from a few well-known Pali and Burmese works. The first chapter is dedicated to the religious history of India and the rest nine chapters are allocated to the nine countries which Moggaliputta Tissa thera sent Buddhist missionaries during the reign of Piyadassiashoka. But of these nine regions, five are placed in Indo-China. In the first chapter the author gives an outline of Buddha’s life and briefly deals with the three Buddhist councils held during the three Indian kings, Ajātasattu, Kālāsoka, and Asoka. After the Third council over, Moggaliputta Tissa thera sent Buddhist missionaries to different countries for the propagation of the Buddhist faith. Among the nine countries in which the missionaries were sent the account of Ceylon and Burma seems to be more careful and complete than those of other matters of this group.

Summary of the First Council

A week after the Blessed One had attained the parinibbana, when the Venerable Mahakassapa, accompanied by exceeding two and a half thousand monks, was coming to Kusinara from Pava, having heard on the middle of the road that the Blessed One, has attained the parinibbana. Seeing the lamenting monks, a monk named Subhadda spoke thus: “Friends, do not lament, formerly we were annoyed by the recluse Gotama thus: “Do this, it is allowable to you; do not do this, it is not allowable to you.’ But now we do whatever we desire, whomever able to do, not to do whatever we do not desire, whomever able to do.” On hearing such evil word Mahakassapa was startled and decided to hold a council.

The reason of evil words of Subhadda was belong to his past and evilly initiated thereafter. Subhadda belonged to a barber family. When the Blessed One visited the city of Atuma then he engaged two novices, who were his own sons, to do the work of hair- dressing. When he had cooked rice-gruel, he offered them to the Buddha along with the Order. The Blessed One, however, was having not accepted them for the wrong doing. For that reason he having made enmity and as he was clinging to longing for destroying the religion, he spoke such evil words then.

He, in the third month since the Blessed One’s parinibbana, on the fifth day after the full-moon day in the month of Asali, with five hundred arahats and under the patronage of the king named Ajatasattu, held the first recital, lasting for seven months, in the Sattapanni Cave at Rajagaha. In this First Council, a number of five hundred great Elders like the Venerable Mahakassapa, Venerable Upali, Venerable Ananda and Venerable Anuruddha, helped the religion by first reciting (the doctrine).

Summary of the Second Council

A century after the Master had attained Mahaparinibbana at Vesali (Skt Vaiwali), the monks of Vajjis practice ten points (dasa vatthu). The ten points are enumerated as follows:

  1. SIVGILONAKAPPA:   Suitableness of carrying about salt in a horn.

  2. DVAVGULAKAPPA:   Suitableness of eating a meal at the wrong time when the

                          shadow has passed beyond two finger-breadths.

  3. GAMANTARAKAPPA:  Suitableness of eating in another village after having eaten

                           in a village.

  4. ĀVASAKAPPA:        Suitableness of having several residences in a parish to carry

                          out various observance.

5. ANUMATIKAPPA:     Suitableness of carrying out a formal act

by an incomplete Order.

  6. ĀCINNAKAPPA:       Suitableness of habitual conduct done by preceptors.

  7. AMATHITAKAPPA:    Suitableness of drinking unchurned butter-milk after

                           having eaten meal.

  8. JALOGIM-PATUMKAPPA: Suitableness of drinking unfermented toddy which has

                             not arrived at the stage of being strong drink (majja).

  9. ADASAKAM-NISIDANAKAPPA: Suitableness of using a rug which has no fringe.

  10. JATARPARAJATAMKAPPA:    Suitableness of accepting gold and silver.

 A monk whose name is Yasa, the son of Kakandaka, arrived at Valukarana of Vesali, observed the ten practices of Vajjiputtaka monks, thinking: “I will recite the Dhamma with seven hundred elect, Revata, Sabbakami and others.” The Vajjiputtaka monks being in hostile mood, approached the king named Kalasoka and informed him thus: “ O great king, we live guarding the Perfumed Chamber of this Mahavana monastery. Other monks have arrived with intention of plundering and destroying it.” The king Kalasoka supported the Vajjiputtaka monks first, but at the very night the king saw a dream of torment in the iron cauldron hell. An Elder nun named Nanda, sister of the king, coming by air, explained the defect in supporting the Vajjiputtaka monks. Thereafter the king Kalasoka turned out to the Venerable Yasa, supported the Second Council which held in the Valukarana for eight months.

Summary of the Third Council

When the religion of the Blessed One reached two hundred and thirty-eighth year, in the time of His Gracious Majesty the king Dhammasoka who reigned in the city of Pataliputta, the gains and honours of the Order of monks were in abundance. At that time the heretics, numbering at least sixty thousand, longed for gains and honours entered to the Assembly. When the king Asoka heard that the Observance and Invitation ceremonies were disappeared for seven years, sent one of his ministers to correct it. The minister went to the monastery and killed the Order of monks who were unwilling to hold the Observance ceremony. When the king heard this, felt guilty, asked that matter to Moggaliputta Tiss thera. The Elder answered: “You will be free from evil deed because you did not intent it.” Then the thera taught the king about orthodox doctrine and explained the Kathavatthu. At the time eighteen years had elapsed since the reign of His Gracious Majesty the king Dhammasoka, in the Ashoka monastery of the city of Pataliputta, the great Elders, numbering at least one thousand, for nine months recited. As the result, Moggaliputta Tiss thera sent missionaries to nine countries.

The name of missionaries and nine countries which Buddhist missionaries were sent

1: Mahamahindatthera  ̶ Sihaladipa

2: Sonatthera uttaratthera  ̶ Suvannabhumi, 

3: Maharakkhitatthera  ̶ Yona

4: Rakkhitatthera  ̶ Vanavasi

5: Yonakadhammarakkhitatthera  ̶ Aparantarattha

6: Majjhanti katthera  ̶ Kasmiragandha

7: Maharevatthera  ̶ Mahimsakamandala

8: Mahadhammarakkhitatthera  ̶ Maharattha

9: Majjhimatthera  ̶ Cinarattha

The Sasanavamsa is a modern chronicle of Burmese’s which has very ecclesiastical nature. Most of the contents of the text are derivative from various Pali literature and Burmese books. The description of the Three Councils considerably diverges from that of Vinaya Pitaka. Especially the role of the kings is emphasized greatly compare to other recension of the events. The author has indeed tried to incorporate all the available information of Pali and Burmese religious books, which is remarkable. The book gives us an interesting record of the part played by the Buddha’s religion in the social and intellectual life of the ten countries which were the center and destinations of missionaries of Ashoka.  

The first council of the Dipavamsa

Written by Dai Sung Han

Some rights are reserved, 2012.

Introduction

The Dipavamsa or the History of the Island is the earliest extant Pali chronicle of India and Sri Lanka. This old chronicle is rather religious eulogy than a historical record in the strict sober and modern sense. The title consists of two distinct Pali terms: ‘dipa’ has three meanings that of 1. a lamp; 2. an island; 3. help; support; here the second meaning is used; ‘vamsa’ renders to 1. a race; lineage; family; history 2. a bamboo; The meaning of history can be used thereby. The text deals with the history of the island from earliest times up to the reign of Mahasena (325-352). It is a chronicle of unknown authorship: G.P. Malalasekera describes “the Dipavamsa was not the work of a single author, but of several generation, a succession of rhapsodies, added to by succeeding authors, as the introduction tell us, “twisted into a garland of history from generation to generation, like the flowers of various kinds”. Considering the nature of ancient chronicle of the island, we can believe that there is a certain element of truth in it, particularly calculated to be the vehicle of history in early times, when literary facilities were scanty.

General contents of the Dipavamsa

The Dipavamsa has twenty two chapters. It mentions the three visits of the Buddha to Sri Lanka and the ancestry of the Buddha. It also gives an account of the genealogy of the old royal families of India and Sri Lanka. It refers to the three Buddhist councils, the rise of the different Buddhist schools after the Second Council, the activities of King Ashoka, the colonization of Sri Lanka by Vijaya and his successors.

Description of the first council in the Dipavamsa

This short description of the council is rather religious eulogy than a historical record in the strict sober and modern sence. It says of an election of the council member out of seven hundred thousand arahats. The seven chief disciples of the Buddha, i.e., Kassapa, Ānanda, Upāli, Anuruddha, Vabgisa, Punna, Kumāra-kassapa, Kaccāna, and Kotthita, were leading the council. They composed the collection of Dhamma by consulting Ānanda, Vinaya by asking Upāli. This compilation also can be divided by nine-fold doctrine, and this is called the doctrine of Thera or Theravāda for it was collected by the Thera, the First Doctrine for it was made first time as collection. The venue of the compilation was the Sattapanna cave, the nine-fold doctrine of the Master are Sutta, Geyya, Veyyākarana, Gāthā, Udāna, Itivuttaka, Jātaka, Abbhuta, and Vedalla. The immovable earth quaked on the appearance of the Collection of the Vinaya and Dhamma.

Comparative study on the First Council between the Dipavamsa and the Cullavagga of Vinaya Pitaka

Description of the Firth Council in the Cullavagga is quite voluminous comprising around sixteen pages while that of the Dipavamsa is mere two pages. As matter of fact, there are rare common descriptions between the two sources. The number of assembly as five hundred and the fact that Ananda recited the dhamma and Upāli Vinaya are merely common point. The sophisticated form of arrangement and description of the Cullavagga presents the date of composition is much later than the prior recension. The major difference coming from additional descriptions in the Cullavagga regarding the order of abrogation of lesser and minor rules given by the Buddha, an inquision for Ānanda, a meeting between King Udana with his retinue and Ānanda thera, and imposition of the Higher Penalty to Channa.

1.      Regarding the member of assembly: The number of the member of participant agrees in the both sources. However, the Dipavamsa says that there were seven hundred thousand arahat, and out of the number five hundred bhikkhus are elected (sammata) as representative, whereas the Cullavagga silent on the total number of the assembly, does not describe them as all arahat, and selected (uccini) five hundred bhikkhus as representative rather than elected.

2.      Role of Mahākassapa in the council: The Cullavagga starts with monologue of Mahā-kassapa that describing how the thera came to know about the parinibbāna of the Buddha and why initiates the council by him. Throughout the council, the role of Mahākassapa portraited as chief of the representive, residing the council at all time in the text. In contrast, Mahākassapa was mere one of seven chief leading members in the Cullavagga. His role was not prominent as a singular figure though he was mentioned as the chief once at the end of the story.  

3.      Content of the compilation: The Dipavamsa briefly make mention of the content of compilation as three divisions: singlet of Āgama; couplet of Dhamma and vinaya ; nine-fold teaching  ̶ Sutta, geyya, veyyakarana, gatha, Udana, Itivuttaka, Jataka, Abbhuta, and Vedalla. It is very interesting point that the text defined composed collection as Āgama, which is the word used in Sarvastivadin or other Indian Sanskrit trdition, instead of Nikaya of Pali tradition. However, the Cullavagga gives details regarding how the dhamma and vinaya laid down: Mahākassapa asks questions line by line to Ānanda and Upāli as to dhamma and vinaya respectively. In the text, the compilation only divided by the couplet of dhamma and vinaya, and by the five nikāyas.

4.      The venue, sponsor, and the consequence: The Dipavamsa sets its venue as the Sattapanna cave specifically whereas the Cullavagga refers to Rajagaha. The both sources keep silence for the patron of the council, in contrast, other sources mention it as the king Ajatasattu. The consequence of the councils from the two sources showing striking difference. While the Dipavamsa vehemently eulogize the birth of excellent teaching of Thera, which caused earth quake, the Cullavagga is bit cynical about the result of the council as Purāna disagree or insubordinate to the compilation by refusing the submission to the elders.

 The Dipavamsa is one of the oldest chronologies in Pali literature. Though its description is too short, it adds some knowledge on the event. Their aim was to give the history of Buddhism, yet it is now admitted on all hands that the chronicles of Ceylon are not full of mendacious fictions, their kernel and main bulk being history, nothing but history. The modern idea of sober and authentic history may be absent, but their permanent value as an indispensible source book of history remains unchallenged.

Origin and Development of Pāli Vaṃsa Literature

Written by Dai Sung Han

Some rights are reserved, 2012.

Vaṃsa literature is history or semi-history that written in Pāli language. It is categorized in non-canonical Buddhist literature. The word vaṃsa means ‘1. A race; lineage; family; 2. A bamboo; 3. Tradition, hereditary custom; 4. Dynasty,’ but when it is used to refer to a particular class of narratives it can be translated as “chronicle,” or “history.” These texts, which may be ecclesiastically oriented (thera paramparā), dynastically oriented (rāja paramparā), or both at the same time, usually either relate the lineage of a particular individual, king, or family or describe in concrete terms the history of a particular object, region, place, or thing.

Origin of the Vaṃsa literature

To know the origin of Vaṃsa literature would be equivalent knowing the source of oldest Vaṃsa literature. The oldest extant Vaṃsa literatures are the three Pāli works, that are the Dipavaṃsa, the Chronicle of the Island, the Introduction to the Samantapāsādikā, the Commentary to the Vinaya Pitaka, and the Mahāvaṃsa, the Great Chronicle, which enshrine the ancient historical tradition of Ceylon, are still available to the student of Ceylon history. All these are closely related to one another, and it is not possible to study one independently of the other two. In addition to these texts, there is the Vaṃsatthappākasini, the tikā or commentary to the Mahāvaṃsa, which sheds considerable light on its main source, the Sihalatthakathā Mahāvaṃsa.

Identifying the source of the oldest Vaṃsa literatures should start from recognizing the date and author of the three oldest texts:

The Dipavaṃsa or the History of the Island is the earliest extant Pāli chronicle of unknown author. It is a chronicle of unknown authorship as G.P. Malalasekera describes ‘the Dipavaṃsa was not the work of a single author, but of several generation ···.’ The date of composition of this text is, according to Oldenberg, ‘it was written between the beginning of the fourth and the firth third of the fifth century C.E.’ Scholars conclude the date for the text deals with the history of the island from earliest times up to the reign of Mahāsena (325-352).

The Mahāvaṃsa is another old chronicle whose author is known as Mahānāman. A well-known passage of the later Cūlavaṃsa alludes to the fact that King Dhātusena bestowed a thousand pieces of gold and gave orders to write a dipikā on the Mahāvaṃsa. This dipikā has been identified by Fleet with the Mahāvaṃsa. For Dhātusena reigned at the beginning of the 6th century C.E., the date of composition would be around that time.

The Samantapāsādikā refers to a collection of Pāli commentaries on the Vinaya Pitaka. It was a translation of Sihala commentaries into Pāli by Buddhaghosa in the 5th century C.E. Following Oldenberg, ‘if we look at Buddhaghosa’s Atthakathā on the Vinaya, we find that the author has there prefixed to his explanations of the sacred texts a detailed historical account of the origin of the Tipitaka, its redaction in the three Councils, and its propagation to Ceylon by Mahinda and his companions.’

The Mahāvaṃsa-tikā is the commentary of the Mahāvaṃsa, which composed by the same author of the Mahāvaṃsa, Mahānāman. Oldenberg is opinion of the context of the text that ‘··· that those lines are quoted in the Mahāvaṃsa-tikā not from the Dipavaṃsa itself, but from the Atthakathā on which the Dipavaṃsa is founded.’

The Sihalatthakathā Mahāvaṃsa has long been ascertained that all of above four texts owe their origin to a common source – the Atthakathā-Mahāvaṃsa of the Mahāvihāra monastery. It must have formed an introductory part of the old Atthakathā on the canonical writings of the Buddhists. Scholars, like Oldenberg and Geiger, are of opinion that this Atthakathā-Mahāvaṃsa was composed in Sinhalese prose, interspersed, no doubt with verse in the Pāli language. Oldenberg rightly point out that ‘the author of the Dipavaṃsa borrowed not only the materials of his own work but also the mode of expression, and even whole lines, word for word, from the Atthakathā. But the author of the Mahāvaṃsa is not so fettered in his style or execution.

Development of the Vaṃsa literature

Beginning period ( 5th Century C.E.): The Dipavaṃsa is the earliest extant Pāli chronicle. According to B. C. Law, “The account in the Dipavaṃsa is condensed, and the sequence of events and characters presents the form more of a list and catalogue than of any connected narrative. Also there is an apparent lack of uniformity, an unevenness of style, incorrectness of language and metre and numerous repetitions, ···.”

Middle period (From 6th Century C.E. onward): The Mahāvaṃsa had composed at least one and half century later than the Dipavaṃsa. The Great Chronicle which is the work of a poet Mahānāma, is a perfect poet. B. C. Law opines as to the cause of such development as following: ‘∙∙∙ when the islanders had attained much more freedom in their learning and writing of the Pāli language he evidently showed greater ease and skill in his use of the language, as well as in his style and composition, and finally, a more free and liberal use of the material of his original.’

Final period (upto 19th Century C.E.): The Sasanavamsa is a modern Pāli chronicle which is written in Burma by Bhikkhu Pabbāsāmi who dates his book 1223 of the Burmese Common Era (1861 C.E.). Many verses from the Mahāvamsa are reproduced verbatim. Over all, we come across the names of about three hundred religious books in the text. N.R. Ray states “It has, moreover, a reliable chronological sequence and even assigns dates to events, authors, and their works which are verifiable with reference to their independent sources.”

Vaṃsa literature is chronicles that are written in Pāli language. Its origin can be traced to The Sihalatthakathā Mahāvaṃsa which came from the time of missionary Mahinda to the Island. It shows gradual development by time to time in its literary art. In spite of its numerous drawbacks, Rhys Davis referred to the old chronicles “it treats with scholarship so through and with judgement so sober and sound.”

Importance of Sasanavamsa in the development of Pali literature

Written by  Dai Sung Han

Some rights are reserved, 2012.

The Sasanavamsa “The history of the Religion” is an ecclesiastical chronicle of Burma. It  deals with account of the growth and expansion of Buddhism in India and the nine countries of Ashokan missionaries. The full name of the chronicle is Sasanavamsappadipikā (The light of the history of the religion). The Pali term ‘sasana’ means ‘teaching; order; message; doctrine; a letter’ and ‘vamsa’ renders as ‘1. A race; lineage; family; 2. A bamboo; 3. Tradition, hereditary custom; 4. Dynasty.’ Thus the title can be translated as ‘tradition of the Teaching or the Doctrine.” The text is based on two palm-leaf MSS in the British Museum. It is a non-canonical literature written in Burma by Bhikkhu Pabbāsāmi who dates his book 1223 of the Burmese Common Era (1861 C.E.), was the tutor and mentor of the Burmese King Min-don-min. The author calls himself the pupil of the Savgharaja of Mandaly. Besides the Sasanavamsa, Pabbāsāmi is credited with the authorship of a number of other books; viz. Silakathā, Upāyakathā, Nāgarājupptti-Kathā, Nirayakathādipikā, etc. The author of the text gives unmistakable evidence of sound knowledge of the canonical as well as non-canonical literature of Burma and Ceylon.

This text consists of ten chapters with the table of contents (mātikā). The author of the chronicle declares the motivation of the compilation of the text as ‘at the request of the monks who have came to a foreign land from the island of Ceylon, I will compose the Sasanavamsa. The table of contents promises a general history of Buddhism drawn from a few well-known Pali and Burmese works. The first chapter is dedicated to the religious history of India and the rest nine chapters are allocated to the nine countries which Moggaliputta Tissa thera sent Buddhist missionaries during the reign of Piyadassiashoka. But of these nine regions, five are placed in Indo-China. In the first chapter the author gives an outline of Buddha’s life and briefly deals with the three Buddhist councils held during the three Indian kings, Ajātasattu, Kālāsoka, and Asoka. After the Third council over, Moggaliputta Tissa thera sent Buddhist missionaries to different countries for the propagation of the Buddhist faith. Among the nine countries in which the missionaries were sent the account of Ceylon and Burma seems to be more careful and complete than those of other matters of this group.

The name of missionaries and nine countries which Buddhist missionaries were sent

1: Mahamahindatthera  ̶ Sihaladipa

2: Sonatthera uttaratthera  ̶ Suvannabhumi, 

3: Maharakkhitatthera  ̶ Yona

4: Rakkhitatthera  ̶ Vanavasi

5: Yonakadhammarakkhitatthera  ̶ Aparantarattha

6: Majjhanti katthera  ̶ Kasmiragandha

7: Maharevatthera  ̶ Mahimsakamandala

8: Mahadhammarakkhitatthera  ̶ Maharattha

9: Majjhimatthera  ̶ Cinarattha

The Sasanavamsa is a modern Pali work and its sources are derived from many Pali texts and Burmese traditions. The Pali Atthakathās, the Vinaya Pitaka, the Mahāvamsa, the Dipavamsa, the Samantapāsādikā (a commentary on the Vinaya), the Burmese Rajavamsa and the Kalyāni Inscriptions of king Dhammaceti (1474 C.E.) are some of the sources utilized unreservedly by the author. The Porānā i.e. the ancient texts are also referred to. Many verses from the Mahāvamsa are reproduced verbatim. Over all, we come across the names of about three hundred religious books in the text.

N.R. Ray states “It has, moreover, a reliable chronological sequence and even assigns dates to events, authors, and their works which are verifiable with reference to their independent sources.” Its value lies in that it enables us to present a brief but connected account of the religion.” The whole text is written in prose except for a few verses here and there. ‘The style is plainly founded on that of Buddhaghosa and his successors,’ says Mabel Bode in her introduction of the P.T.S. edition. It ‘faithfully follows the old pattern’, says Winternitz (History of Indian literature). Thus no linguistic peculiarities could be traced. But the author has not been so able as to bring out that lucid and placid style which is manifested in the Atthakathās. The text sometimes remains rather weak in expression and inferior in style.

The nature of the book is ecclesiastical. The name of the text itself is an index to the context. Mabel Bode describes “It is confused, rambling and prejudiced. A High ecclesiastic of Min-Don-Min’s reign, belonged by all his convictions and traditions to the Ceylonese school (as distinct from and opposed to the Burmese school),” and else where says “limited by a certain feeling of national pride.” However the author is conscious enough of the theme of the text and seldom goes out of the track. A number of anecdotes, miraculous accounts are narrated here and there and they all are imbibed with ecclesiastical zeal. The succession of kings with their dates is discussed one after another, but the author never misses to refer to the religious benefactions or persecutions and other important religious events.

The Sasanavamsa is a modern chronicle of Burmese’s which has very ecclesiastical nature. Most of the contents of the text are derivative from various Pali literature and Burmese books. The author has indeed tried to incorporate all the available information of Pali and Burmese religious books, which is remarkable. The book gives us an interesting record of the part played by the Buddha’s religion in the social and intellectual life of the ten countries which were the center and destinations of missionaries of Ashoka.   

CETASIKAS - Mental Factors

Composed by Dai Sung Han

Some rights are reserved, 2012.

Cetasikas are the second type of ultimate reality. They are mental factors or mental concomitants that arise and perish together with citta, depend on citta, and assist citta by performing more specific tasks in the total act of cognition. When we say that the mind it is not the citta alone, but the citta and cetasikas together that makes the mind. The two ultimate realities are functionally interdependent, citta is regarded as primary because the mental factors assist in the cognition of the object depending upon citta, which is the principal cognitive element. The relationship between citta and the cetasika is compared to that between a king and his retinue. As a king always comes accompanied by his attendants, a citta arises always accompanied by its retinue of cetasikas.

A cetasika has the following four characteristic properties:

i It arises together with citta (consciousness).

ii It perishes together with citta.

iii It takes the same object (alambana) which citta takes.

iv It shares a common physical base (vatthu) with citta.

There are 52 cetasikas in all. They are first divided into three classes as follows.

I. Aññasamāna cetasikas (General Mental Concomitants) – 13

II. Akusala cetasikas (immoral mental concomitants) – 14

III. Sobhava cetasikas (beautiful mental concomitants) – 25

I. Aññasamāna Cetasikas (General Mental Concomitants)

The 13 aññasamāna cetasikas can associate both with sobhava and asobhava cittas. They are nonmoral and they enhance the properties of the cetasikas with which they associate.

They are again divided into two sub-groups.

I-i. Sabbacitta-sādhārana (essentials which associate with all cittas) – 7

I-ii. Pakinnaka (Particulars which selectively associate with some sobhava as well as with some asobhava cittas – 6

I-i. Sabbacitta-sādhārana (essentials which associate with all cittas) – 7

Sabba – all; sādhārana – associate with; The seven factors are the cetasika common (sādhārana) to all consciousness (sabbacitta). These factors perform the most rudimentary and essential cognitive functions, without which consciousness of an object would be utterly impossible.

I-i-1. Phassa – Contact or mental impression

I-i-2. Vedanā – Feeling or sensation

I-i-3. Saññā – perception or recognition

I-i-4. Cetanā – volition or intention

I-i-5. Ekaggatā – one-pointedness, concentration (samādhi)

I-i-6. Jīvitindriya – vitality or psychic life

I-i-7. Manasikāra – attention or advertence

I-ii. Pakinnaka Cetasikas (Particulars – 6)

The six cetasikas in this group are similar to Sabbacitta-sādhārana (essentials which associate with all cittas) in being ethically variable factors. They differ from the universals in that they are found only in particular types of consciousness, not in all.

I-ii-1. Vitakka – initial application or thought conception

I-ii-2. Vicāra – sustained application or discursive thinking

I-ii-3. Adhimokkha – decision or determination

I-ii-4. Vīriya – effort or energy or exertion

I-ii-5. Pīti – rapture or interest

I-ii-6. Chanda – wish, desire or will

II. Akusala cetasikas (immoral mental concomitants) – 14

There are 14 cetasikas which are ethically immoral. They may be divided into four sub-groups as follows.

II- i. Moha-catukka (A group of four cetasikas headed by moha) – akusala- sādhārana – 4

II- i-1. Moha – avijjā – delusion, ignorance, dullness

II- i-2. Ahirika –shamelessness, unscrupulousness

II- i-3. Anottappa – lack of moral dread

II- i-4. Uddhacca –restlessness, distraction.

II-ii. Lobha-tri (A group of three cetasikas headed by lobha) – papañca-dhamma – 3

II-ii-5. Lobha– greed

II-ii-6. Ditthi – wrong view

II-ii-7. Māna – conceit, pride

II-iii. Dosa-catukka (A group of four cetasikas headed by dosa) – 4

II-iii-8. Dosa       – hatred, anger, aversion

II-iii-9. Issa        – envy, jealousy

II-iii-10. Macchariya – avarice, stinginess, selfishness

II-iii-11. Kukkucca   – worry, scruples, remorse

II-iv. End-tri (A group of four cetasikas headed by dull and wavering) – 3

II-iv-12. Thina       – sloth

II-iv-13. Middha     – torpor

II-iv-14. Vicikiccchā  – sceptical doubt, perplexity.

III. Sobhava cetasikas (beautiful mental concomitants) – 25

There are 25 sobhava cetasikas which may be divided into 4 sub-groups for convenience.

III-i. Sobhava sādhārana – 19 those which associate with all sobhava cittas.

III-ii. Virati         – 3 those connected with abstinence from immoral actions, speeches and livelihood.

III-iii. Appamaññà    –2 those connected with ‘Boundless states’.

III-iv. Paññindriya    – 1 that connected with wisdom or insight.

III-i. Sobhava sādhārana Cetasikas (Beautiful Ones – 19)

These 19 mental concomitants associate with all beautiful consciousness collectively.

III-i-1. Saddhà           – faith, confidence

III-i-2. Sati              – mindfulness, attentiveness

III-i-3. Hirī              – moral shame

III-i-4. Ottappa           – moral dread

III-i-5. Alobha            – non-attachment, greedlessness, generosity

III-i-6. Adosa             – hatelessness, goodwill

III-i-7. Tatramajjhattatà     – equanimity, mental balance

III-i-8. Kàya-passaddhi     – tranquillity of mental concomitants

III-i-9. Citta-passaddhi     – tranquillity of consciousness

III-i-10. Kàya-lahutà       – agility or lightness of mental concomitants

III-i-11. Citta-lahutà        – agility or lightness of consciousness

III-i-12. Kàya-mudutà      – elasticity of mental concomitants

III-i-13. Citta-mudutà      – elasticity of consciousness

III-i-14. Kàya-kammaññatà  – adaptability of mental concomitants

III-i-15. Citta-kammaññatà  – adaptability of consciousness

III-i-16. Kàya-paguññatà    – proficiency of mental concomitants

III-i-17. Citta-pagaññatà    – proficiency of consciousness

III-i-18. Kàyujjukatà       – uprightness of mental concomitants

III-i-19. Cittujjukatà       – uprightness of consciousness.

III-ii. Virati Cetasikas (Abstinences -3)

The three are known as the sīla-maggavgas (morality components of the Path). These are also the three factors of the Noble Eightfold Path.

III-ii-1. Sammā-vācā        - right speech

III-ii-2. Sammā-kammanta   - right action

III-ii-3. Sammā-ajīva        -right livehood

III-iii. Appamaññà Cetasikas (Illimitable–2)

These are two factors of Brahmaviharā. The rest of two factors are mettā (loving-kindness) and upekkhā (equanimity).

III-iii-1. Karunā            - compassion

III-iii-2. Muditā            - sympathetic joy

III-iv. Paññindriya Cetasikas (Wisdom faculty – 1)

Pañña is wisdom or insight, and indriya is the controlling faculty. Thus it has the control over the understanding of per se, things as they really are.

Same as citta, this classification does not show much coherence. The earlier text, Dhammasavgani, has no differentiation between citta and cetasika yet. And its first chapter, Cittupada Kanda, Division on uprising of thoughts, contains 57 factors in which one factor occurs twice – that is sammaditthi, right view. Apparently these factors are merely collected from suttas and put them together. Hence it also does not show much systematization. In later time, as in Abhidhammatthasaṅgaha scholasticism divided them and tried to systemize it. However it reveals lack of their philosophical ability for the classification is quite arbitrary and it contain many blunders, like one factor occur both rupa and cetasika, that is jivitindriya, life faculty. Hence this classification also can be characterized as arbitrary.

Reference: Buddha Abhidhamma –ultimate science by Dr. Mehm Tin Mon, Buddha Dharmm Education Association Inc.  

Citta Paramattha Dhamma

 Composed by Dai Sung Han

Some rights are reserved, 2012

 Citta is one of the four ultimate realities as defined in Abhidhamma. It basically renders ‘consciousness’ into English. Abhidhamma distinguishes two kinds of realities – apparent reality and ultimate reality:

Apparent reality is the ordinary conventional truth or the commonly accepted truth (sammuti-sacca). It is called pabbatti in Abhidhamma.

Ultimate reality is the ultimate truth (paramattha-sacca). It is called paramattha in Abhidhamma.

The Four Paramatthas or the Four Ultimate realities.

I. Citta—consciousness or awareness. There are 89 or 121kinds of cittas. Citta, ceta, cittuppada, mana, mano, vibbana are used as synonymous terms in Abhidhamma.

II. Cetasika—mental factors or mental concomitants. There are 52 kinds of cetasikas.

It arises and perishes together with citta. They depend on citta for their arising and they have influence on citta. What we usually call ‘mind’ is actually a combination of citta and cetasikas.

III. Rupa—corporeality or material quality. There are 28 kinds of rupa.

It may change form and colour on account of heat or cold.

IV. Nibbana—extinction of defilement and suffering; absolute lasting peace. There is no division for nibbana.

Four Classes of Cittas

“Citta” is defined as ‘consciousness of the senses’ or ‘awareness of an object’.

Cittas may be divided into four classes in accordance with the four planes (bhumi) or spheres (avacara): 89 or 121 kinds of cittas

i. Kamavacara cittas – 54 kinds: Consciousness mostly experienced in the sense sphere (kama-loka)

ii. Rupavacara cittas – 15 kinds: Consciousness mostly experienced in the fine-material sphere (rupa-loka)

iii. Arupavacara cittas – 12 kinds: Consciousness mostly experienced in the immaterial sphere (arupa-loka)

iv. Lokuttara cittas – 8 or 40 kinds: Consciousness experienced in the supramundane (transcendental) level

Kamavacara cittas are experienced not only in the sense sphere, but also in other spheres. The same thing is true with Rupavacara cittas and Arupavacara cittas.

i. Kamavacara Cittas - Consciousness mostly experienced in the kama-loka

There are 54 Kamavacara cittas which may be divided into three classes:

i-1. Akusala cittas (unwholesome consciousness) – 12

i-2. Ahetuka cittas (rootless consciousness) – 18

i-3. Kama-sobhana cittas (sense sphere beautiful consciousness) – 24

i-1-1~8. Akusala cittas - Lobha-mula Cittas (consciousness rooted in greed or attachment)

i-1-1. Somanassasahagatam ditthigatasampayuttam asavkharikam

One consciousness, unprompted, accompanied by joy, and connected with wrong view.

e.g. A person is enjoying food and drinks without paying any attention to kamma

i-1-2. Somanassasahagatam ditthigatasampayuttam sasavkharikam

One consciousness, prompted, accompanied by joy, and connected with wrong view.

e.g. A person after being persuaded by his companion, watches a movie joyfully without any attention to kamma.

i-1-3. Somanassasahagatam ditthigatavippayuttam asavkharikam

One consciousness, unprompted, accompanied by joy, and disconnected with wrong view. e.g. A lady delightfully puts on a new dress, but she is aware that attachment to the dress gives rise to lobha-mula cittas.

i-1-4. Somanassasahagatam ditthigatavippayuttam sasavkharikam

One consciousness, prompted, accompanied by joy, and disconnected with wrong view.

e.g. A girl is aware of kamma and its fruits, but she, in compliance with the request of her companions, listens to modern songs joyfully.

i-1-5. Upekkhasahagatam ditthigatasampayuttam asavkharikam

One consciousness, unprompted, accompanied by indifference and connected with wrong view.

e.g. A boy is eating plain rice with salt with some attachment but without joy and knowledge of kamma.

i-1-6. Upekkhasahagatam ditthigatasampayuttam sasavkharikam

One consciousness, prompted, accompanied by indifference and connected with wrong view. e.g. A girl appreciates her new dress after being explained by her mother that the dress is beautiful. But she has neutral feeling and no knowledge of kamma.

i-1-7. Upekkhasahagatam ditthigatavipayuttam asavkharikam

One consciousness, unprompted, accompanied by indifference and disconnected with wrong view. e.g. Reasoning about kamma, you drink coffee with neutral feeling, but still you appreciate the taste.

i-1-8. Upekkhasahagatam ditthigatavipayuttam sasavkharikam

One consciousness, prompted, accompanied by indifference and disconnected with wrong view.

e.g. A lady has knowledge of kamma. But after much persuasion from a sales-woman, she reluctantly buys a new dress.

i-1-9~10. Akusala cittas - Dosa-mula Cittas (consciousness rooted in hatred or ill-will)

i-1-9. Domanassasahagatam patighasampayuttam asavkharikam

One consciousness, unprompted, accompanied by displeasure, and connected with ill-will. e.g. Now a mother is worrying about her daughter.

i-1-10. Domanassasahagatam patighasampayuttam sasavkharikam

One consciousness, prompted, accompanied by displeasure, and connected with ill-will.

e.g. A father explained to his son that the son had been cheated. The son became sad.

i-1-11~12. Akusala cittas - Moha-mula Cittas (consciousness rooted in ignorance)

i-1-11. Upekkhasahagatam vicikicchasampayuttam

One consciousness, accompanied by indifference, and connected with sceptical doubt e.g. A person who is having doubt about kamma.

i-1-12. Upekkhasahagatam uddhaccasampayuttam  

One consciousness, accompanied by indifference, and connected with restlessness

e.g. A person is listening to a lecture, but he does not understand a word because his mind is restless.

i-2-1~7. Ahetuka cittas-Akusala Vipaka Cittas (unwholesome resultant cittas that arise as  

       results of akusala cittas)

i-2-1. Upekkhasahagatam akusalavipakam cakkhuvibbanam:

     Eye-consciousness, unwholesome resultant, accompanied by indifference

i-2-2. Upekkhasahagatam akusalavipakam sotavibbanam

     Ear-consciousness, unwholesome resultant, accompanied by indifference

i-2-3. Upekkhasahagatam akusalavipakam ghanavibbanam

     Nose-consciousness, unwholesome resultant, accompanied by indifference

i-2-4. Upekkhasahagatam akusalavipakam jivhavibbanam

     Tongue-consciousness, unwholesome resultant, accompanied by indifference

i-2-5. Dukkhasahagatam akusalavipakam kayavibbanam

     Body-consciousness, unwholesome resultant, accompanied by painful feeling

i-2-6. Upekkhasahagatam akusalavipakam sampaticchanacittam

     Receptive consciousness, unwholesome resultant, accompanied by indifference

i-2-7. Upekkhasahagatam akusalavipakam santiranacittam

     Investigating-consciousness, unwholesome resultant, accompanied by indifference

i-2-8~15. Ahetuka cittas-Kusala Vipaka Cittas (wholesome and rootless resultant cittas that arise as the inevitable results of kusala cittas)

i-2-8. Upekkhasahagatam kusalavipakam cakkhuvibbanam

Eye-consciousness, wholesome resultant, accompanied by indifference,

i-2-9. Upekkhasahagatam kusalavipakam sotavibbanam

Ear-consciousness, wholesome resultant, accompanied by indifference

i-2-10. Upekkhasahagatam kusalavipakam ghanavibbanam

Nose-consciousness, wholesome resultant, accompanied by indifference

i-2-11. Upekkhasahagatam kusalavipakam jivhavibbanam

Tongue-consciousness, wholesome resultant, accompanied by indifference

i-2-12. Sukhasahagatam kusalavipakam kayavibbanam

Body-consciousness, wholesome resultant, accompanied by pleasant feeling

i-2-13. Upekkhasahagatam kusalavipakam sampaticchanacittam

Receptive consciousness, wholesome resultant, accompanied by indifference

i-2-14. Somanassasahagatam kusalavipakam santiranacittam

Investigating-consciousness, wholesome resultant, accompanied by indifference

i-2-15. Upekkhasahagatam kusalavipakam santiranacittam

Investigating-consciousness, wholesome resultant, accompanied by joy

i-2-16~18. Ahetuka cittas- Kiriya Cittas (rootless functional consciousness)

i-2-16. Upekkhasahagatam pabcadvaravajjanacittam

Five-door adverting consciousness accompanied by indifference

i-2-17. Upekkhasahagatam manodvaravajjanacittam

Mind-door adverting consciousness accompanied by indifference

i-2-18. somanassasahagatam hasituppadacittam

Smile-producing consciousness accompanied by joy

i-3-1~8. Kama-sobhana cittas- Maha-kusala cittas (great moral consciousness)

i-3-1. Somanassasahagatam banasampayuttam asavkharikam

One consciousness, unprompted, accompanied by joy, and associated with knowledge.

e.g. A lady with the knowledge of kamma and with joy offers flowers to a pagoda on her own accord.

i-3-2. Somanassasahagatam banasampayuttam sasavkharikam,

One consciousness, prompted, accompanied by joy, and associated with knowledge.

e.g. A girl, after being persuaded by her companion, goes to listen to a Dhamma talk with joy and with the knowledge of kamma.

i-3-3. Somanassasahagatam banavipayuttam asavkharikam

One consciousness, unprompted, accompanied by joy, and dissociated with knowledge.

e.g. A boy spontaneously gives some money to a beggar with joy but without the knowledge of kamma.

i-3-4. Somanassasahagatam banavipayuttam sasavkharikam

One consciousness, prompted, accompanied by joy, and dissociated with knowledge.

e.g. A man, after being requested by the headmaster to donate some money to the school, donates one hundred dollars joyfully without knowing kamma and its result.

i-3-5. Upekkhasahagatam banasampayuttam asavkharikam

One consciousness, unprompted, accompanied by indifference, and associated with knowledge. e.g. A girl sweeps the floor with neutral feeling but knows it is a wholesome thing to do.

i-3-6. Upekkhasahagatam banasampayuttam sasavkharikam

One consciousness, prompted, accompanied by indifference, and associated with knowledge. e.g. A man, prompted by a monk, chop wood with neutral feeling but knowing it to be a meritorious deed.

i-3-7. Upekkhasahagatam banavipayuttam asavkharikam

One consciousness, unprompted, accompanied by indifference, and dissociated with knowledge. e.g. A woman reads a Dhamma book on her own accord without understanding the meaning and without knowing kamma and its result.

i-3-8. Upekkhasahagatam banavipayuttam sasavkharikam

One consciousness, unprompted, accompanied by indifference, and dissociated with knowledge. e.g. A girl, prompted by her mother, washes her parents’ clothes without joy and without thinking about kamma and kamma-result.

i-3-8~16. Kama-sobhana cittas- Maha-vipaka Cittas

i-3-17~24. Kama-sobhana cittas- Maha-kiriya Cittas

The eight maha-vipaka cittas as well as the eight maha-kiriya cittas are named in the same way as the eight Maha-kusala cittas. When one wishes to differentiate between the three classes of cittas, one may say like this:

1 Somanassasahagatam banasampayuttam asavkharikam mahakusala cittam

2 Somanassasahagatam banasampayuttam asavkharikam maha vipaka cittam

3 Somanassasahagatam banasampayuttam asavkharikam maha kiriya cittam

ii. Rupavacara cittas (Consciousness mostly experienced in rupa-loka): 15 kinds

 There are 15 rupavacara cittas which are divided into three classes in the same way as the kamavacara-sobhaoa cittas are equally divided into kusala, vipaka and kiriya cittas.

ii-1. Rupavacara kusala cittas– Five rupa-jhana (moral consciousness)

ii-2. Rupavacara vipaka cittas – Five rupa-jhana (resultant consciousness)

ii-3. Rupavacara kiriya cittas –Five rupa-jhana (functional consciousness)

The Five Rupa-jhanas

(i) Kasina Jhana: mental absorption resulting from intense concentration on a meditation

device known as Kasina.

(ii) Abhibbayatana jhana: mental absorption resulting from mastery over object of

concentration.

(iii) Vimokkha jhana: mental absorption resulting from complete freedom from nīvaranas

or hindrances, as long as the jhana lasts.

(iv) Brahmavihara jhana: mental absorption resulting from development and diffusion of

Goodwill, Compassion, Sympathetic Joy and Equanimity.

(v) Asubha jhana: mental absorption resulting from intensive concentration on foulness

of the dead body.

iii. Arupavacara cittas (Consciousness mostly experienced in Arupa-loka): 12 kinds

 There are 12 arupavacara cittas which are equally divided into three groups of kusala, vipaka and kiriya cittas.

iii-1. Arupavacara kusala cittas – 4 arupa-jhana (moral consciousness)

iii-2. Aupavacara vipaka cittas – 4 arupa-jhana (resultant consciousness)

iii-3. Arupavacara kiriya cittas – 4 arupa-jhana (functional consciousness)

The Five Arupa-jhanas

(i) Ākāsānabcāyatana jhana: mental absorption in the concept 'Space is Infinite'

(ii) Vibbānabcāyatana jhana: mental absorption in the concept 'Consciousness is Infinite'.

(iii) Ākibcabbāyatana jhana: mental absorption in the concept 'Nothing is there'

(iv) Nevasabbānāsabbā yatana jhana: the jhana of neither Consciousness nor

non-consciousness.

iv. Lokuttara cittas (Supramundane Consciousness): 8 or 40 kinds

Lokuttara Kusala Cittas (Supramundane Moral Consciousness)

Basically there are four lokuttara kusala cittas as acquired in the

vipassana-yanika route. They are:

iv-1 Sotapatti-magga-cittam

iv-2 Sakadagami-magga-cittam

iv-3 Anagami-magga-cittam

iv-4 Arahatta-magga-cittam

Since each of these four basic path-consciousness can associate with five rupavacara jhanas in turn, there are 20 jhana path consciousness. These are realized in samatha-yanika (leading to, conducive to tranquility) route.

Lokuttara Vipāka Cittas (Supramundane Resultant Consciousness)

Basically here are four lokuttara vipāka cittas as the fruitions of

the four lokuttara kusala cittas. These four types of supramundane

resultant consciousness are realized in the vipassanā-yanika route.

1 Sotapatti-phala-cittam

2 Sakadagami-phala-cittam

3 Anagami-phala-cittam

4 Arahatta-phala-cittam