A Study of the Story of Sadāprarudita in the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra

Abstract

This dissertation focuses on the story of the Bodhisattva Sadāprarudita found in various Buddhist prajñāpāramitā sūtras. The richness of the story’s contents, the complexity of its multiple extant versions, and its association with prajñāpāramitā make it a piece worthy of investigation. Looking at the origins of the story, previous studies have assumed a linear relationship among the two main versions of the story. Yet a closer analysis conducted in this study reveals two branches of a family tree that appears to stem from an earlier (now lost) parent. The historical analysis of the evolution of the story also provides fresh and reliable evidence concerning the editorial processes of Buddhist texts. Jan Nattier (2003: 49–63) proposed several rules for identifying interpolations in a text. Application of these rules to the Sadāprarudita narrative has led to the formulation of several supplementary rules. Where Nattier’s rules help to identify stratification in the later parallels of the text, these supplementary rules allow for the identification of interpolations in the earlier parallels of the text and between the two main versions as well. Apart from revealing the historical development of the text this thesis makes important contributions to our understanding of the story’s employment across time and space, revealing the importance given to this narrative by many of the great Buddhist masters from India, Tibet and China, and spanning thousands of years. In addition, the unique episode which lists many states of samādhi with vivid names is explored to determine whether these samādhis could have had a practical basis or are merely as fanciful as their names suggest. The samādhi on viewing all tathāgatas is further investigated to see what implications this may have for the beginnings of Mahāyāna teachings