Vibhajyavāda (
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...
;
Pāli: ''Vibhajjavāda''; ) is a term applied generally to groups of
early Buddhists belonging to the
Sthavira Nikaya. These various groups are known to have rejected
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 Philosop ...
doctrines (especially the doctrine of "all exists") and the doctrine of
Pudgalavada (personalism).
[Cousins, LS (2001)]
On the Vibhajjavadins. The Mahimsasaka, Dhammaguttaka, Kassapiya and Tambapanniya branches of the ancient Theriyas
Buddhist Studies Review 18 (2), 131-182. During the reign of
Ashoka, these groups possibly took part in missionary activity in
Gandhara
Gandhāra is the name of an ancient region located in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, more precisely in present-day north-west Pakistan and parts of south-east Afghanistan. The region centered around the Peshawar Val ...
,
Bactria
Bactria (; Bactrian: , ), or Bactriana, was an ancient region in Central Asia in Amu Darya's middle stream, stretching north of the Hindu Kush, west of the Pamirs and south of the Gissar range, covering the northern part of Afghanistan, sou ...
,
Kashmir
Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...
,
South India
South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union terr ...
and
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
. By the third century CE, they had spread in
Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the fo ...
and
South-East Asia.
Their doctrine is expounded in the ''
Kathavatthu.''
Nomenclature and etymology
The word ''Vibhajyavāda'' may be
parsed into ''vibhajya'', loosely meaning "dividing", "analyzing" and ''vāda'' holding the
semantic field
In linguistics, a semantic field is a lexical set of words grouped semantically (by meaning) that refers to a specific subject.Howard Jackson, Etienne Zé Amvela, ''Words, Meaning, and Vocabulary'', Continuum, 2000, p14. The term is also used in ...
: "doctrine", "teachings". According to Andrew Skilton, the analysis of phenomena (Skt. ''dharmas'') was the doctrinal emphasis and preoccupation of the Vibhajyavādins.
According to A.K. Warder, they are called "distinctionists" because they make distinctions between dhammas that exist in the present and the past, and dhammas that don't exist in the past and the future (as opposed to
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 Philosop ...
). This is supported by the explanation given by the 6th century Mahayana philosopher
Bhavaviveka.
According to
Bhante Sujato, ''Vibhajyavāda'' means that the doctrine "distinguishes" (''vibhajanto'') the heterodox and orthodox views, particularly the non-buddhist theory of a self (atman) and also the pudgala theory of the pudgalavadins. The characteristic method used by the Buddha and early Buddhists to break down the idea of self was the method of analyzing (''vibhajjati'') the components of a person and investigating them to find that they do not possess the features that one could ascribe to a self. Thus, it would make sense that the term refers to "the Abhidhamma movement as an analytic approach to Dhamma in general, and as a critique of the ‘self’ in particular".
Overview
The Vibhajyavādins are a group of early Buddhist schools. According to the
Theravada
''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school ...
account, this group rejected the Sarvastivada teachings at the
third Buddhist council
The Third Buddhist council was convened in about 250 BCE at Asokarama in Pataliputra, under the patronage of Emperor Ashoka.
The traditional reason for convening the Third Buddhist Council is reported to have been to rid the Sangha of corruption ...
(however modern scholars question the council narratives). The name means "those who make distinctions," and include the ''
Kāśyapīya'', ''
Mahīśāsaka'' and ''
Dharmaguptaka
The Dharmaguptaka (Sanskrit: धर्मगुप्तक; ) are one of the eighteen or twenty early Buddhist schools, depending on the source. They are said to have originated from another sect, the Mahīśāsakas. The Dharmaguptakas had a p ...
''. The Vibhajyavādins were strongly represented in south India, where they called themselves ''Theriyas.'' They survived until the seventeenth century in south India, and in
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
they became the
Theravadins.
The Vibhajyavādins rejected 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 Philosop ...
claim that all
dhammas
The Abhidharma are ancient (third century BCE and later) Buddhist texts which contain detailed scholastic presentations of doctrinal material appearing in the Buddhist ''sutras''. It also refers to the scholastic method itself as well as the f ...
(principles, phenomena) exist in the past, present and future. Instead, they made a distinction between dhammas that "exist" and dhammas that do not exist, hence the name "distinctionists." The Vibhajyavādins held that dhammas exist in the present, but not that they exist in the future. With regards to past dhammas, those wholesome or unwholesome dhammas that had already brought forth its fruit or effect were said not to exist, but those which had not yet brought forth a karmic effect could be said to have some efficacy. 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 Philosop ...
''
Vijñānakāya Vijñānakāya ( sa, विज्ञानकाय) or Vijñānakaya-śāstra (विज्ञानकायशास्त्र) is one of the seven Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma Buddhist scriptures. "Vijñānakāya" means "group or substance of co ...
'' states their position as defended by Moggaliputtatissa as: "The past and future are not; the present and the unconditioned exist."
The Vibhajyavādins also held that out of all dhammas, only
Nirvana
( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lamp Richard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colomb ...
was an unconditioned (''asankhata'') dhamma, against the view of 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 Philosop ...
which also held that space was an unconditioned dhamma. Another difference with 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 Philosop ...
hinged on the issue of gradual versus sudden attainment. The Vibhajyavādins held that at
stream entry, understanding of the four noble truths came at once (''ekābhisamaya''), while 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 Philosop ...
asserted that this happened only gradually (''anupubbābhisamaya'').
[Morgan, Diane, ''Essential Buddhism: A Comprehensive Guide to Belief and Practice: A Comprehensive Guide to Belief and Practice,'' p. 53.] Vibhajyavādins also asserted that
arhats
In Buddhism, an ''arhat'' (Sanskrit: अर्हत्) or ''arahant'' (Pali: अरहन्त्, 𑀅𑀭𑀳𑀦𑁆𑀢𑁆) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved ''Nirvana'' and liberated ...
could not regress or fall back to a lower state once they attained arhatship.
[Berkwitz, 2012, p. 58.] The Vibhajyavādins also rejected the doctrine of the intermediate state between rebirths (''
antarabhava'').
Doctrines of the Vibhajyavādins can be seen in the ''
Kathāvatthu,'' traditionally attributed to elder
Moggalipputtatissa by the Theravada''.'' The earliest layer of this text could date as far as the reign of
Ashoka. However, neither the Theravādin ''
Kathāvatthu'' nor 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 Philosop ...
''
Vijñānakāya Vijñānakāya ( sa, विज्ञानकाय) or Vijñānakaya-śāstra (विज्ञानकायशास्त्र) is one of the seven Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma Buddhist scriptures. "Vijñānakāya" means "group or substance of co ...
'' contain any reference to Vibhajyavāda as a separate school, indicating that perhaps during the time they were recorded there was not yet a formal schism between 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 Philosop ...
and the Vibhajyavāda.
The
Visuddhimagga of
Buddhaghosa
Buddhaghosa was a 5th-century Indian Theravada Buddhist commentator, translator and philosopher. He worked in the Great Monastery (''Mahāvihāra'') at Anurādhapura, Sri Lanka and saw himself as being part of the Vibhajjavāda school and in ...
, a fifth century Sri Lankan work meanwhile, mentions that the
Visuddhimagga was written at the request of Sanghaphala, "a member of the lineage of the Mahaviharasins, illustrious Theriyas, best of Vibhajjavādins".
Branches
The Vibhajyavādins are not recorded uniformly by early Buddhist traditions as being a distinct sect, nor being associated with any one period of time. Some scholars believe that there was no separate "Vibhajyavāda" sect, but that the term ''vibhajyavāda'' was sometimes affixed to the name of a school to indicate that it differed from the main school on some doctrines. In this sense, they would be ''vibhajyavādins'' of that particular school.
The name was applied to a variety of communities across the Indian subcontinent. The major ones were:
#
Dharmaguptaka
The Dharmaguptaka (Sanskrit: धर्मगुप्तक; ) are one of the eighteen or twenty early Buddhist schools, depending on the source. They are said to have originated from another sect, the Mahīśāsakas. The Dharmaguptakas had a p ...
, located mainly in the North-West of the
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, In ...
but also spreading along the
Central Asian
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the form ...
trade routes. According to Richard Salomon, this school was involved in missionary activity and was dominant in
Gandhara
Gandhāra is the name of an ancient region located in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, more precisely in present-day north-west Pakistan and parts of south-east Afghanistan. The region centered around the Peshawar Val ...
during the first century CE.
#
Kāśyapīya, probably located in the same area as the Dharmaguptaka.
#
Mahīśāsaka, as above but also in other parts of mainland India.
# Tambapaṇṇiya (
Skt. Tamraparṇiyas, later known as
Mahāvihāravāsins and
Theravada
''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school ...
), established in Sri Lanka (at
Anuradhapura
Anuradhapura ( si, අනුරාධපුරය, translit=Anurādhapuraya; ta, அனுராதபுரம், translit=Aṉurātapuram) is a major city located in north central plain of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of North Central ...
) but active also in
Andhra and other parts of
South India
South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union terr ...
(Vanavasa in modern
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO 15919, ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reor ...
) and later across
South-East Asia. Inscriptional evidence has been found in
Amaravati and
Nagarjunakonda.
Bhante Sujato, in his overview of Dharmaguptaka and Mahāvihāravāsin schools, argues that the split between them was not due to any difference in doctrine or monastic discipline, but due to geographical distance.
According to
LS Cousins, the precursor to these schools was probably involved in missionary activity around the time of
Ashoka into the regions of
Kashmir
Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...
,
Gandhara
Gandhāra is the name of an ancient region located in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, more precisely in present-day north-west Pakistan and parts of south-east Afghanistan. The region centered around the Peshawar Val ...
.
Bactria
Bactria (; Bactrian: , ), or Bactriana, was an ancient region in Central Asia in Amu Darya's middle stream, stretching north of the Hindu Kush, west of the Pamirs and south of the Gissar range, covering the northern part of Afghanistan, sou ...
,
Andhra and
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
.
Cousins concludes:
Sectarian views
The
Mahavihara
Mahavihara () is the Sanskrit and Pali term for a great vihara (centre of learning or Buddhist monastery) and is used to describe a monastic complex of viharas.
Mahaviharas of India
A range of monasteries grew up in ancient Magadha (modern Bihar ...
Theravādins of
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
are descendants of the
Sthavira Vibhajyavādins in
South India
South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union terr ...
who used the
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 ...
language, differing somewhat from the northern Sthavira schools. The
Theravādins hold that Vibhajyavāda was the favored doctrine during a
Buddhist council that took place in
Pataliputra
Pataliputra (IAST: ), adjacent to modern-day Patna, was a city in ancient India, originally built by Magadha ruler Ajatashatru in 490 BCE as a small fort () near the Ganges river.. Udayin laid the foundation of the city of Pataliputra at t ...
under
Ashoka. As Gethin notes, the sources are rather confused on this matter however.
[Gethin, Rupert, The Foundations of Buddhism]
The
Sammatīyas (aka
''Pudgalavadins'') also mention the Vibhajyavādins. According to the Sammatīya sect, the Vibhajyavādins developed 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 Philosop ...
school.
The Sarvāstivādin ''
Abhidharma Mahāvibhāṣa Śāstra'' describes the Vibhajyavādins as being the type of heretics who "make objections, who uphold harmful doctrines and attack those who follow the authentic Dharma".
The
Mahāsāṃghika
The Mahāsāṃghika (Brahmi: 𑀫𑀳𑀸𑀲𑀸𑀁𑀖𑀺𑀓, "of the Great Sangha", ) was one of the early Buddhist schools. Interest in the origins of the Mahāsāṃghika school lies in the fact that their Vinaya recension appears in ...
saw the Vibhajyavādins as being offshoots from the root schism in Buddhism, which according to them produced three sects: the
Sthaviras, the Mahāsāṃghikas, and the Vibhajyavādins. The Mahāsāṃghikas list the
Mahīśāsaka,
Dharmaguptaka
The Dharmaguptaka (Sanskrit: धर्मगुप्तक; ) are one of the eighteen or twenty early Buddhist schools, depending on the source. They are said to have originated from another sect, the Mahīśāsakas. The Dharmaguptakas had a p ...
,
Kāśyapīya, and
Tāmraparnīya (Theravada) sects as having descended from the Vibhajyavādins. The Mahāsāṃghika branch itself, together with the
Prajñaptivāda
The Prajñaptivāda (Sanskrit; ) was a branch of the Mahāsāṃghika, one of the early Buddhist schools in India. The Prajñaptivādins were also known as the ''Bahuśrutīya-Vibhajyavādins''.
History
According to Vasumitra, the Prajñaptivād ...
, preferred to be called
Bahuśrutiya-Vibhajyavādins.
See also
Early Buddhist schools
The early Buddhist schools are those schools into which the Buddhist monastic saṅgha split early in the history of Buddhism. The divisions were originally due to differences in Vinaya and later also due to doctrinal differences and geogra ...
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
* Lance Cousins, "On the Vibhajjavādins: The Mahimsasaka, Dhammaguttaka, Kassapiya and Tambapanniya branches of the ancient Theriyas", ''Buddhist Studies Review'' 18, 2 (2001)
* Prasad, Chandra Shekhar, "Theravada and Vibhajjavada: A Critical Study of the Two Appellations"' ''East & West'' Vol 22 (1972)
External links
The Buddhist CouncilThe Pali Text Society's Pali-English Dictionary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vibhajyavada
Nikaya schools
Sthaviravāda
Early Buddhist schools