ENG114 Bhikkhuni Triệt Như - The Fount of Happiness – No 30: THE DUAL LINEAGES OF INHERITANCE - Translated into English by Ngọc Huyền

THE DUAL LINEAGES OF INHERITANCE

This article is provisionally limited to the period of time beginning about one hundred years after the Buddha’s Parinibbāna (Pali) or Parinirvāṇa (Sankrit), extending to around the 2nd century CE. It may be considered as the era of the sectarian divisions of Buddhism, or the causes and conditions that led to the formation of the two great transmission lineages of Buddhism: the Mahāyāna and the Hīnayāna.
This writing is not a scholarly research or commentary on Buddhist historical sources. It merely recalls general events in the progression of the Dharma in accordance with the principles of interdependent causation, which eventually gave rise to the divergence of the dual lineages of  succession: Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna.
And these are just a few simple understandings, inevitably limited by the subjective shortcomings of a later learner, who humbly presents a real-life event that has unfolded over nearly two thousand years, namely Mahāyāna (Great Vehicle  ) and Hīnayāna (Lesser Vehicle ).

Although it is already known that during the World Buddhist Conference held between 1954-1956 in Burma, the assembly unanimously decided that from then on, Hīnayāna would be called the Theravāda System, and Mahāyāna would be called the Development System, I will still use the two terms Hīnayāna and Mahāyāna to suit the historical context of Buddhism somewhat better at that time.

First, let us briefly review the course of Buddhist history following the Buddha’s Parinirvāṇa to see how the two schools, Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna, came to be formed.

First Council of the Buddhist Scripture Compilation

About three months after the Buddha’s Parinirvāṇa, Venerable Mahā Kassapa convened an assembly of five hundred great Arahant disciples of the Buddha to recite together the two collections again: the Sutta and the Vinaya. That was around the year 483 BCE.

Second Council of the Buddhist Scripture Compilation

About one hundred years later, in 383 BCE, Venerable Yasa convened a gathering of seven hundred Elders to recite the Sutta and Vinaya again, with the purpose of rectifying the Vinaya because of the Ten Unlawful Practices (Dasavatthukā) of the group of young monks from the Vajji territory. After that, the unified Saṅgha established by the Buddha began to divide into two schools:

• Theravāda (The Doctrine of the Elders): conservative in principle.
• Mahāsāṃghika (The Great Assembly):  progressive in principle.

At the same time, the Mahāsāṃghika also convened their own great assembly of 10,000 male and female monastics and lay followers, to compile the Sutta and Vinaya according to their own understanding. However, historical records do not mention this compilation.

From then on, over time, the Mahāsāṃghika gradually split into eight more sub-lineages due to differences in interpretation of the Sutta and Vinaya.
The School of the Elders also divided successively into ten other sects.

 During this period, various lineages competed in composing the Treatises (śāstra), explaining the Sutta and Vinaya while presenting their own doctrinal positions and methods of practice. This was the era of Buddhist sectarian division.
The Abhidharma, the Treatises, written by renowned scholastic masters, meticulously analyzed the Sutta and Vinaya, later becoming the rich heritage of Buddhist studies.

Third Council of the Buddhist Scripture Compilation

Around 250 BCE, under the patronage of King Aśoka, the Third Council was held.
This assembly consisted of one thousand saintly monks well-versed in the Tripiṭaka. It was presided by Most Venerable Moggaliputta Tissa of the Theravāda School (The Doctrine of the Elders).

Results:

1. The assembly compiled the Tripiṭaka and recorded it in the Pāli language, consisting of:

• Sutta Piṭaka: Five Nikāyas: Dīgha, Majjhima, Khuddaka, Aṅguttara, and Saṃyutta.
• Vinaya Piṭaka: Five collections.
• Abhidhamma Piṭaka: Seven collections of Treatises composed by later Elders or Patriarchs.

2. King Aśoka dispatched nine missionary delegations to spread Buddhism throughout India and beyond.

Among these nine missions: One was led by Venerable Mahādeva; the other by Prince Mahinda, the king’s son.

Venerable Mahādeva embraced that:

• A monk who is well-versed in the Tripiṭaka and skilled in preaching can compose scriptures.
• The qualities of an Arahant should be reconsidered.

However, the conservative group of monks disagreed with both two points.
Subsequently, the younger, progressive monks who followed Venerable Mahādeva moving to the Āndhra region of southern India.

Later, the Prajñāpāramitā scriptures, regarded as the most important of the Mahāyāna canons, were believed to have originated from southern India. The great scholar masters and Patriarchs composed these over several centuries, including the Diamond Sūtra (Vajracchedikā) and finally the Heart Sūtra (Prajñāpāramitā Hṛdaya).

Prince Mahinda ordained (as a monk) with Venerable Mahādeva, then went to Sri Lanka to propagate the Tipiṭaka in Pāli. Afterwards, Most Venerable Mahinda was known as the 5th Patriarch in the Island Chronicle (Sri Lanka’s Chronicle) after Most Venerable Moggaliputta Tissa who was the 4th patriarch. From that point two early lineages began:

• Theravāda (Southern) tradition (originating from Most Venerable Mahinda in Sri Lanka)
• Northern tradition (possibly originating from Venerable Mahādeva (Mahinda’s Master, which later developed the Mahā-Prajñā-Pāramitā Scripture system).

Fourth Council of the Buddhist Scripture Compilation

Around the early 2nd century CE, under the patronage of King Kaniṣka (127–150 CE), the Fourth Council was held.
The assembly included 500 saintly monks representing 18 sub-schools and was presided over by  the Sarvāstivāda Sect, one of the earliest branches to split from the Theravāda.
By that time, the Sarvāstivāda Sect had grown more prosperous than the Theravāda, so King Kaniṣka invited Most Venerable Vasumitra, a renowned scholar Master of the Sarvāstivāda, to preside.
The King also invited Most Venerable Aśvaghoṣa, another famous scholar, to refine the literary style of the Tripiṭaka and render it into Sanskrit.

Results:

1. The Tripiṭaka was compiled into Sanskrit versions, consisting of:

• Sūtra Piṭaka (Āgama): Five collections (about 100,000 verses): Dīrgha Āgama, Madhyama Āgama, Ekottara Āgama, Saṃyukta Āgama, and Kṣudraka Āgama — corresponding in content to the Pāli Sutta Piṭaka.
• Vinaya Piṭaka: Five collections (100,000 verses), similar in content to the Pāli Vinaya.
• Abhidharma Piṭaka: Seven treatises (100,000 verses), entirely different from the earlier seven Abhidhamma Treatises.

2. The Tripiṭaka was engraved on copper plates and completed after twelve years, stored in a stupa though now lost due to the vicissitudes of history. From this point, the Sanskrit Tripiṭaka was expanded northward beyond India (the council was likely held in Kashmir, northern India).
3. From there, Buddhism spread throughout the world via two routes:

• Southern Transmission (Theravāda)
• Northern Transmission (Mahāyāna

Southern Transmission:
Preserving the Buddha’s original tradition, conservative in nature, based on the Pāli Tripiṭaka, spreading through Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the West.

Northern Transmission:
Progressive and adaptive to the times, based on the Sanskrit Tripiṭaka, propagating through Afghanistan, China, Mongolia, Tibet, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and the West.

The above is a general overview of the historical events that led to the spread of Buddhism along two routes, Southern and Northern expansion, or Theravāda and Mahāyāna.
Next, we shall consider why the terms Hīnayāna (“Lesser Vehicle”) and Mahāyāna (“Great Vehicle”) later appeared.
Indeed, there seem to be no precise historical records on this matter. Therefore, the following are only a few simple reflections based on historical and practical circumstances on human psychology (the young incline toward changes and updates with the new trends while the elders tend to preserve established tradition without change) and on the social outlook at that time.

The earliest crack of division appeared to have first emerged during the Second Council.

The initial cause was the group of young monks from the Vajji (Pāli) or (Vrijji, Sanskrit) territory in Vesāli who had arbitrarily modified ten points in the Buddha’s Vinaya.
In fact, these prohibitions were not of great importance and not fundamental. This group of young monks called the Ten Purities:

1. Salt Purity: Food preserved with salt could still be eaten the next day.
2. Afternoon Meal Purity: It was permissible to eat a little past noon; within the time the sun began to decline toward the west...

3. Purity in village travel: when going to another village before noon, one may have some food again if offered.
4. Purity of residence: wherever one resides, one may perform the uposatha (recitation of precepts) there.
5. Purity according to agreement: decisions once made, whether by majority or minority, are still valid.
6. Purity by precedent: actions performed according to customary precedent are not against the precepts.
7. Purity of living in harmony: after noon, one may drink water mixed with milk.
8. Purity concerning non-beneficial items of nuns: sitting mats without borders may be made larger than the prescribed size.
9. Purity of water: wine mixed with water may be used for drinking in treatment of illness.
10. Purity of money: in cases of necessity, a Bhikkhu may keep money.

Venerable Elder Yasa held that those ten practices violated the monastic rules established by the Buddha and they were unlawful. To reexamine those ten matters according to the Vinaya (disciplinary code), he convened the Second Council.  As a result: the Sthavira (Elder) school unanimously declared that those ten practices were contrary to the Buddha’s precepts.

Thus, the first disagreement between the two monastic groups, the progressive young monks and the conservative elders, concerned the Vinaya. From there, Buddhism divided into two major schools: Theravāda and Mahāsāmghika. Over time, more and more dispairities arose regarding the interpretation of the Sūtra and the Vinaya, and many sects appeared, each composing their own Śāstra, the commentarial Treatises.

Another major dispute recorded in Buddhist history arose from the embracement of Venerable Mahādeva pertaining to interpretation and authorship of scriptures and the Arhatship during the reign of King Aśoka:

• A skilled Dharma preacher is authorized to compose scriptures.
• An Arhat may still possess five imperfections (the Five Points of Arahantship).

Venerable Mahādeva stated:

“Nocturnal emission, not knowing everything,
              Little hesitating, extramural informing,
              Some enlightened by Dharma resonating,
              Those fully corresponding to Buddhism.”

Meanings:

1-     Though an Arahant has eradicated all defilements, because he still possesses a physical body, there may still occur the physiological phenomenon of nocturnal emission.

2-      Though the Arahant has extinguished ignorance, he does not know every mundane matter in worldly life.

3-     Though the Arahant no longer hesitates about the path of liberation, he may still wonder about harmless worldly matters like how is reasonable and how is not.

4-     Some Arahants realize their attainment only after being informed or guided by the Buddha or their masters.

5-      Some Arahants attain enlightenment through hearing sounds, the voice expounding the Dharma, including teachings of suffering and lamentation.

And Venerable Mahādeva maintained that these views fully attuned to the True Teachings of the Buddha.
He held that only a Buddha is perfect; Arhats still have certain limitations. This concept caused great disagreement: the group that supported him formed the Mahāsāmghika, the Great Assembly, while those who opposed formed the Sthavira, the Elder School.

The Mahāyāna movement gradually developed after the Fourth Council, around the 2nd century CE. The Mahāsāmghika, composed mainly of younger, more liberal and progressive monks, became the Mahāyāna (Great Vehicle). The Theravāda school, composed of older and more conservative monks, holding strictly to the original Sūtras and Vinaya of the Buddha, became the Hīnayāna (Lesser Vehicle).

After the Fourth Council, among seven Sanskrit Treatises, there was the Mahāyāna-śraddhotpāda-śāstra (Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna) by Aśvaghoṣa). The term Mahāyāna may have first appeared at this point, as this tradition used the Sanskrit Tripiṭaka (Three Baskets) as its foundation. Later, the Sanskrit Canons have been regarded as semi-Hīnayāna and semi-Mahāyāna.

“Yāna” means “vehicle” or “carriage.”
A small vehicle carries few people; a great vehicle carries many. Let us now explore these two systems.

The Theravāda System (the Hīnayāna):
Consisting of eleven schools (the original and ten offshoots), it upholds the following main doctrines:

• Śākyamuni Buddha is the unique historical Buddha.
• The path of practice proceeds through four stages: Sotāpanna, Sakadāgāmi, Anāgāmi, and Arahant, known as the Path of the Arahant or Arhatship.
• When an Arahant passes away, he enters Nirvana of Perfect Freedom (Anupādisesa-nirvāṇa), achieving complete liberation, no longer reborn in any realm.
• The main teachings tend to conventional truth (saṃvṛti-satya), emphasizing:
• The Three Dharma Seals: impermanence (anicca), Suffering (dukkha), and Non-self (anattā).
• The Four Noble Truths.
• The Four Foundations of Mindfulness.
• Thusness (tathatā) or As-Is Truths.

Practice orientation:

• One must renounce the household life to cultivate higher Dharma.
• The monastic order consists only of Bhikkhus; women are not permitted to ordain.
• Monks live secluded in forests and mountains for mind cultivation.
• They sustain themselves through alms-begging.

The Mahāyāna System comprises nine schools (the original and eight offshoots) and embraces:

• Besides Śākyamuni Buddha, there are countless Buddhas abiding eternally throughout the ten directions and three generations.
• The Buddha possesses three bodies: Dharmakāya (Dharma Body), Saṃbhogakāya (Reward Body), and Nirmāṇakāya (Manifestation Body).
• Bodhisattvas may be monastics or laypersons who aspire to attain Buddhahood for the benefits of all beings.
• The Bodhisattva Path: after realizing Arahantship, instead of entering Nirvāṇa, one vows to be reborn life after life to teach and help liberate sentient beings.
• Those skilled in Dharma lectures may compose scriptures. Thus, arose many Mahāyāna sūtras, the most notably are the Mahāprajñāpāramitā series, along with the Vimalakīrti, Avataṃsaka (Huayan), Lotus (Saddharmapuṇḍarīka), the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment, and Amitābha Sūtras, among others.

• The content of the major cultivation practices seems to the tendency of theme development relevant to the Ultimate Reality of Prajñā (Transcendent Wisdom), namely: the Nature of Emptiness, Illusion, and Suchness (Tathatā).   
• · Guiding principles:

• Acceptance of the four assemblies: Bhikkhus, Bhikkhunīs, laymen, and laywomen. They are all allowed to study and practice.
• Renunciation is not compulsory. Everyone innately possesses Buddha-nature. They all can attain enlightenment equally.
• One must live within the worldly life  in order to subdue and guide sentient beings.

In short, because the Hīnayāna system was strict and rigid in discipline, it gradually withdrew from society into monasteries, forests and mountains. Meanwhile, the Mahāyāna expand northward from India, blending with local beliefs in Tibet, China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.

By 1954–1956, the terms Hīnayāna and Mahāyāna were officially abolished. From then on, the two systems became known as Theravāda and Developing Buddhism

In Vietnam, however, Theravāda is sometimes translated as The Original Buddhism. This must be clearly distinguished.

The Primitive Sangha, the Original Community led by the Buddha, lasted for about 100 years after his Parinirvāṇa. The Early Buddhism was unified and not yet divided into schools. In English, it is the Primitive Buddhism or Early Buddhism. After the division into two major schools, the terms were as follows:
1. Theravāda (the Elder School), Southern Buddhism, the Hīnayāna and finally the Theravāda.
2. Mahāsāmghika (the Great Assembly), Northern Buddhism, the Mahāyāna and finally the Developing Buddhism.

In summary, we can see the Hīnayāna system as follows:

• Possible due to the practical viewpoint, the whole Three Jewels, Buddha, Dharma, Shanga, focus on phenomenology.
• Following the Buddha’s original lifestyle framework: renunciation, alms-begging, asceticism or seclusion.
• Emphasizing on step-by-step process in the gradual practice which is suitable for those with middle spiritual background. They’re contemplation, cessation, concentration, wisdom or hearing, reflection, and cultivation.

In contrast, the Mahāyāna tradition are represented by such scriptures as the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras, the Vimalakīrti Sūtra, the Avataṃsaka (Flower Ornament) Sūtra, the Lotus Sūtra, the Śūraṅgama Sūtra, the Diamond Sūtra, and the Platform Sūtra.

• There arises a transcendent vision that penetrates the ultimate truths concerning the essence of the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha, belonging to the realm of ontology (the study of ultimate reality or being).
• The path of cultivation is broadened, liberal, and equal for everyone, as maintained in the declarations: “All sentient beings innately possess the Buddha-nature.” and “Śākyamuni is the Buddha now.  Sentient beings are the Buddhas to-be.”
  Accordingly, monastics, lay practitioners are all equally accepted and allowed to engage in practice and study.

• The ideal of life is “self-awakening and awakening others” or “self-liberation and helping others self-liberating”. This means engaging actively in the world rather than withdrawing from it, not advocating reclusive practice nor requiring monastic renunciation. Nevertheless, one should still live a pure and virtuous life befitting those of  noble saints.

• Not entering the Nirvāṇa of Non-Remnant, Parinirvāṇa, but vowing endlessly to be countlessly reborn in harmony to the Bodhisattva Path, and ultimately attaining Buddhahood.

The above are only brief and raw observations about the formation and division of Buddhist schools within multilayers of the interdependent arising of all phenomena in its history before the Common Era. Nevertheless, all the sects and sub-lineages in these two great transmission traditions have preserved the essential teachings of the Buddha and share the same ultimate goal: liberation from suffering, enlightenment, and self-emancipation.

Venerable Yijing (Nghĩa Tịnh, 635–713 CE), a renowned master in Chinese Tang dynasty who translated many Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into Chinese, summarized the sectarian division of Buddhism thus:

“The Dharma teachings of the Buddha are like a golden staff broken into eighteen pieces. Yet each remains gold.”

Bhikkhuni Thích Nữ Triệt Như

Sunyata Monastery, Oct 10, 2021

English version by Ngọc Huyền

Link to Vietnamese article: https://tanhkhong.org/a2797/triet-nhu-snhp030-hai-dong-truyen-thua