The Madhyama Āgama (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

; Chinese: Zhong ahan jing) is an early Indian Buddhist text, of which currently only a Chinese translation is extant (

Taishō Tripiṭaka The Taishō Tripiṭaka (; Japanese: ''Taishō Shinshū Daizōkyō''; “ Taishō Revised Tripiṭaka”) is a definitive edition of the Chinese Buddhist canon and its Japanese commentaries used by scholars in the 20th century. It was edited by ...

26). The title means "Middle Collection." It is one of the four Āgamas of the Sanskritic Sūtra Piṭaka located in the Chinese Buddhist Canon and contains 222 discourses in 18 chapters. Its

Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of '' Theravāda'' Buddh ...

equivalent, the Majjhima Nikaya, contains 152 discourses in 15 chapters.

Origins and history

The earliest Chinese translation of the agama dates to 397–398 C.E. P.V. Bapat believes the original source for the Chinese translation was in a form of

Prakrit The Prakrits (; sa, prākṛta; psu, 𑀧𑀸𑀉𑀤, ; pka, ) are a group of vernacular Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 3rd century BCE to the 8th century CE. The term Prakrit is usu ...

, closer to

than

. The text is believed to be from the

Sarvāstivāda The ''Sarvāstivāda'' (Sanskrit and Pali: 𑀲𑀩𑁆𑀩𑀢𑁆𑀣𑀺𑀯𑀸𑀤, ) was one of the early Buddhist schools established around the reign of Ashoka (3rd century BCE).Westerhoff, The Golden Age of Indian Buddhist Philosophy ...

tradition.

Parallels in Pali Canon

There are numerous parallels between the discourses in the Madhyama Āgama and discourses in the Sutta Piṭaka.

English translations

Translation of the Madhyama Āgama into English began in 2006 with Marcus Bingenheimer as chief editor and

Bhikkhu Analayo Bhikkhu Anālayo is a bhikkhu (Buddhist monk), scholar, and meditation teacher. He was born in Germany in 1962, and went forth in 1995 in Sri Lanka. He is best known for his comparative studies of Early Buddhist Texts as preserved by the various ...

and Rodney S. Bucknell as co-editors. The first of three volumes was published in 2013

References

Sources

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External links

The Madhyama Āgama, or Middle-length Discourses
at BDK America {{Buddhism topics Agamas Tripiṭaka