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Spring 2013

The Mahāparinirvāṇasū tra

Course numbers: RLG465H1S, RLG3740H Time: Mondays, 10-12 am

Place: JHB 212 Instructor: Christoph Emmrich

Email: christoph.emmrich@utoronto.ca Office: Centre for the Study of Religion, 170 St. George St.,

Jackman Humanities Building, Room 303 Office hours: Tuesdays, 2-3 pm and on appointment

A. Description and guidelines Content

The current age’s buddha’s passing is one of the most widely represented hagiographic motifs in the history of Buddhist literary and visual culture. In popularity it arguably competes only with the jātaka tale of the generous prince who gives away all he possesses and the events surrounding the Buddha’s enlightenment. On the textual side the motif is developed in a range of texts all related to a early common line of transmission from which emerged versions that range from close translations to retellings, elaborations and further expansions of a shared plot. The Buddha’s parinibbāna, or parinirvāṇa, as the centrepiece of the story, is usually preceded by a narrative of the days leading up to and is followed the developments taking place immediately after it. This offered the opportunity to authors and redactors to include various literary elements such as additional hagiographical details as well as doctrinal content. The most well-known version of the story is the Pāli Mahāparinibbānasuttanta (or –sutta). Only fragments of the story are preserved in Gāndhārī and in Sanskrit. The Sanskrit version, the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra, was reconstructed by the German Indologist Ernst Waldschmidt on the basis of

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parallels in other Buddhist Sanskrit works and using the Tibetan version preserved in the Tibetan translation of the Vinaya of the Mūlasarvāstivādins. In addition to this there are four Chinese translations. The historical relations between these texts are all but clear and most seem to be translations from lost versions. All these versions pertain to schools that flourished before the rise of the movement, which came to be called the Mahāyāna. It is the “pre-Mahāyana” versions of this text, the versions of, in André Bareau’s words, the “Maháparinirvâṇasûtra ancien”, that we will be studying in this seminar. Later Mahāyāna literature features a homonymous text, known as the 'Phags pa yoṅ su mya ṅan las 'das pa chen po'i mdo (or simply the Myang 'das kyi mdo) in Tibetan, as the Nièpán Jīng (涅槃經) in Chinese and as the Nehankyō (涅槃経) in Japanese, all of which seem to be translations of a Sanskrit Mahāparinirvāṇsūtra only preserved in fragments. All that these two distinct texts, the “old” and the “younger” Mahāparinirvānasūtra, share is the title.

Keeping in mind the considerable size of the text in any of its versions, be they Theravāda and Sarvāstivāda, in this course the group will limit itself to translating only select passages. However, students should familiarize themselves with the text by having carefully read one of the English translations in its entirety by the beginning of the course. The beginnings of the select passages are given in the syllabus schedule. The seminar will dedicate two full sessions to each of them, covering only as much as the group will be able to discuss in class and interrupting the flow of the text and the translation at the end of each second session. The intervening passages shall be discussed on the basis of English translations only as much as it is necessary to guarantee the comprehension of the narrative, argument and flow of the text.

In as much as possible the group will try to do justice to the comparative format of the seminar by switching from one version and one language to the other within one and the same session in order to determine parallels and divergences. In view of the dramatic divergence of the Chinese versions from each other, on the one hand, and from the Pāli, Sanskrit and Tibetan versions as a whole, on the other, the focus of the seminar will lie on the latter three versions. In case of a strong contingent of students with Buddhist Chinese expertise or specific interests by individual participants this balance may be redressed ad hoc.

The commentary on the Pāli version by Buddhaghosa, found at Sumaṅgalavilāsinī II 516-615, which exists both in the Pali Text Society edition and in translation, as well as the sub-commentary by Dhammapāla, found at Līnatthapakāsinī II 158-247, shall both function as supplements and students with knowledge of Pāli are encouraged to consult at least one of them.

Though the main focus of the course will be the close reading of this important and fascinating source text, the group will also be encouraged to familiarize itself with the relevant academic scholarship. The course will hence engage with large-scale issues such as the relation between text and image or the articulation of affect as well as with the intricacies of the transmission and recovery of the text’s versions and the real-crime question” “What did the Buddha die of?” Requirements

This course will be conducted as a seminar. In order to be graded, students must prepare the reading assignments in due time, attend classes regularly, participate actively in the sessions and submit either an annotated translation sample or one essay. There will be no exams, quizzes or tests.

The weekly reading assignments consist of passages in Sanskrit, Pāli, Tibetan or Chinese to be translated into English. Students can choose one or more languages and texts on which to work. Please check the Course Calendar below to find out which passages should be prepared for each session.

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For the written assignment there are two options. One is to hand in an annotated translation of a select passage of the students’ choice that the group did not cover over the course of the seminar and the length of with must be determined in consultation with the instructor. This assignment includes (1) the original romanized text, (2) the student’s translation as well as (3) notes elaborating e.g. difficult terms and expressions, grammatical forms, issues of syntax, and, if necessary, giving reasons for the student’s decision in favour of a particular translation and interpretation, possibly conflicting with other translations. You are encouraged to include, if possible, results from in-class discussions.

The other option is to write a research essay of 15-20 pages. Students should choose a topic either spontaneously following their own interest or proposed by, discussed and specified in coordination with the course instructor. The project should be discussed with the instructor around mid-term the latest. Possible extensions to the deadline should be discussed with the course instructor well in advance. It is advisable to have at least one meeting with the course instructor to discuss the bibliography, the outline of your essay, your work in progress or receive feedback on a draft. The essay is due on the 7th day counting from the last course session and has to be handed in both electronically and in hard copy. It goes without saying that it is crucial for written assignments that everything you produce has been either formulated by yourself or marked and referenced as a quotation if you use materials you have taken from a source. As UofT has adopted a firm stance on the issue of plagiarism, please be aware that, if detected, the course instructor has the duty to report them to university authorities.

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Evaluation 1. regular attendance and active and informed participation in class: 40 %; 2a. an annotated translation of a passage from one of the texts not translated in class, agreed upon in consultation with the instructor: 60% or , 2b. one final research essay (approx. 20 pages): 60%, Course grading scheme Undergraduate A+ 90-100% B+ 77-79% C+ 67-69% D+ 57-59% A 85-89% B 73-76% C 63-66% D 53-56% A- 80-84% B- 70-72% C- 60-62% D- 50-52% F 0-49% Graduate A+ 90-100% B+ 77-79% F 0-69% A 85-89% B 73-76% A- 80-84% B- 70-72% Interaction with the course instructor Address all your requests and queries about the course to the course instructor. Though incoming mails are viewed on a daily basis and though the course instructor will try to address your issues as swiftly as possible, it may take up to three days for the instructor to reply to your mail, so do wait for that period before reacting and do mail in time if you have any urgent requests. Always prearrange meetings, also those during office hours, by email or in person. Recommended preparation: RLG 206Y1 (USG) / RLG 206H5 (UTM) Required preparatory reading: “The Mahāparinibbāna Sutta: The Great Passing The Buddha’s Last Days”. In The Long Discourses of the Buddha. A Translation of the Dīgha Nikāya, by Maurice Walshe. Boston: Wisdom Books, 1995 (reprinted from Thus I Have Heard: The Long Discourses of the Buddha, translated by Maurice Walshe, 1987); 231-277. Textbook: Das Mahāparinirvānasūtra; Text in Sanskrit u. tibetisch, vergl. mit d. Pali, nebst einer Übers. d. chinesischen Entsprechung im Vinaya der Mūlasarvāstivādins. Auf Grund von Turfan-Handschriften hrsg. u. bearb. Ernst Waldschmidt (ed.). Kyoto: Rinsen Book, 1986 (Originally published in 3. Vols. Berlin : Akademie-Verlag, 1950-51). All required readings will be made available by the instructor. Most of them will be available on the Blackboard course website.

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B. Schedule and readings

I . Jan. 14, 2013: Introduction to the texts, their histories and their contexts Follow-up secondary reading for session I: - Bareau, André. La composition et les étapes de la formation progressive du Maháparinirvâṇasûtra ancien. Bulletin de l’Ecole d’Extrême-Orient. 66 (1979), pp. 45-103. - von Hinüber, Oskar. A Handbook of Pāli Literature, 30-31. Berlin, New York: Walter de Gruyter, 1996. - Norman, Kenneth Roy. Pāli Literature. Including the Canonical Literature in Prakrit and Sanskrit of All the Hīnayāna Schools of Buddhism, 37-38. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrasowitz, 1983.

I I . Jan. 21, 2013: “Thus I have heard. […]. Now just then King Ajātasattu Videhiputta of Magadha […]” (PTS DN II 72-) , starting MPS Waldschmidt pg. 102/103: Sanskrit 1.1; Dīghanikāya 1,1; Vinaya, Tib. 1.1 I I I . Feb. 4 , 2013: The above reading continued.

Secondary reading for sessions II and III: - Collins, Steven. Nirvāṇa and Other Buddhist Felicities, 437-445. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1998.

IV. Feb. 11, 2013: “And during the Rains the Lord was attacked by a severe sickness […]” (PTS DN II 99-) , starting MPS Waldschmidt pg. 192/193: Sanskrit 14.2, Dīghanikāya 2,23; Vinaya, Tib. 14.2 V. Feb. 25, 2013: The above reading continued. VI. Mar. 11, 2013: “Soon after Ānanda had left , Māra the Evil One came to the Lord […]” (PTS DN II 104-) , starting MPS Waldschmidt pg. 206/207: Sanskrit 16.1, Dīghanikāya 3,7; Vinaya, Tib. 16.1 VII . Mar. 18, 2013: The above reading continued (till MPS Waldschmidt pg. 220/221: Sanskrit 18.9, Dīghanikāya 3,48; Vinaya Tib. 18.9).

Secondary readings for sessions VI and VII: - Ciurtin, Eugen. The Buddha’s Earthquakes (I) On Water: Earthquakes and Seaquakes in Buddhist Cosmology and Meditation, with an Appendix on Buddhist Art. Studia Asiatica 10 (2009), pp. 59-13. ----. Thus I Have Quaked. The Tempo of the Buddha’s Vita and the Earliest Buddhist Fabric of Timelessness. In Figurations of Time in Asia, edited by Dietrich Boschung and Corinna Wessels-Mevissen, 21-54. Morphomata, vol. 4. München/Paderborn: Wilhelm Fink Verlag. - Jaini, Padmanabh S. Buddha’s Prolongation of Life. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies / Volume 21 / Issue 03 / October 1958, pp. 546 ­ 552.

VIII . Mar. 25, 2013: “And the Lord went with a large company of monks to Pāvā , where he stayed at the mango grove of Cunda the smith […]” (PTS DN II 126-) , starting MPS Waldschmidt pg. 252/253: Sanskrit 26.1, Dīghanikāya 4,13; Vinaya, Tib. 26.1

Secondary reading for session VIII:

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- Bareau, André. La transformation miraculeuse de la norriture offerte au Buddha par le brahmane Kasibhāradvāja. Études tibétaines dédiées à la mémoire de Marcelle Lalou, 1-10. Paris: Libraire d’Amerique et d’Orient. - Strong, John. Explicating the Buddha’s Final Illness in the Context of his Other Ailments: the Making and Unmaking of some Jātaka Tales. Buddhist Studies Review 29,1 (2012), pp. 17-33. - Waley, Arthur. Did the Buddha Die of Eating Pork? Mélanges chinois e bouddhiques 1 (1931-32): 343-54 (http://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-MEL/waley.htm)

IX. Apr. 1 , 2013: “And the Lord said to Ānanda: ‘Ānanda, it may be that you will think: ‘ ’The Teacher’s instruction has ceased, now we have no teacher!’ ’ […]” (PTS DN II 154), starting MPS Waldschmidt pg. 386/387: Sanskrit 41.1, Dīghanikāya 6,1; Vinaya, Tib. 41.1 X. Apr. 8 , 2013: The above reading continued.

Secondary reading for session X: Lee, Sonya S.. Surviving Nirvana: The Death of the Buddha in Chinese Visual Culture, 3-23. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2010.

XI . Apr. 12, 2013 : “Then the Venerable Kassapa the Great went to the Malla’s shrine at Makuṭa-Bandhana to the Lord’s funeral pyre […]”(PTS DN II 163-) , starting MPS Waldschmidt pg. 428/429: Sanskrit 49.15, Dīghanikāya 6,22; Vinaya, Tib. 49.15

Secondary reading for session XI: - Bareau, André. Les récits canoniques des funérailles de Buddha et leurs anomalies: nouvel essai d’interpretation. Bulletin de l’Ecole française d’Extrême-Orient, 62 (1975), pp. 151-189. - Strong, John. The Buddha’s Funeral. In The Buddhist Dead. Practices, Discourses, Representations, ed. Bryan Cuevas & Jacqueline I. Stone, 32-59. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press; Kuroda Institute, 2007.

XII . Apr. 19, 2013: The above reading continued. Final discussion.

Secondary reading for session XII: - Bareau, André. Le parinirvâna du Buddha et la naissance de la religion bouddhique. Bulletin de l’Ecole française d’Extreme-Orient, 61 (1974), pp. 275-299. - Schopen, Gregory. Monks and the Relic Cult in the Mahāparinibbāna-sutta: An Old Misunderstanding in Regard to Monastic Buddhism. In Bones, Stones, and Buddhist Monks. Collected Papers on the Archaeology, Epigraphy, and Texts of Monastic Buddhism in India, 99-113. Honolulu: University of Hawai’ Press, 1997.