Chapter 30 Section 1: The Collection of the Tripitaka

(1) The first collection The word "collection" contains the meaning of editing: the ancient translators used the word "collection" to refer to the fact that everyone gathered together to recite the teachings of the Buddha. There was no written record in ancient India more than 2,500 years ago. The knowledge of memory can only be preserved in language through passing on from teacher to teacher. After Shakyamuni Buddha's Nirvana, many disciples of the Buddha asked the Venerable Maha Kasyapa to collect all the teachings that the Buddha said in his life in a way that he could recite them, so as to serve as the eyes of future generations. Ye accepted the request, and sent people to the top of Milu Mountain, and rang the bell to gather the crowd. At once, he summoned 499 Arhat saints and elders without education.In the Pippala Grotto, the place where Mahakassapa lived to the west of the Bamboo Forest Abode in Shecheng, King Magadha, also known as the Qiye Grotto, King Ajashi was invited to be the Dharma protector, and the teachings of the Tripitaka were gathered here.First, Venerable Ananda is invited to collect scriptures.At that time, Venerable Ananda was still at the first stage of attainment of Sutuohuan in terms of cultivation and attainment. Da Kasyapa thought that all the people who participated in the assembly were Arhats, Pratyekabuddhas, and ignorant sages. , not allowing Ananda to attend the meeting.Venerable Ananda felt very ashamed, so he ran to the middle of the mountains and forests, bravely and diligently practiced meditation, cut off the remaining entanglements of afflictions, and obtained the status of Arhat, then came to knock on the gate of Pippala Cave, demanding Participate in the convention.Da Kassapa said: Ananda, if you really get the attainment of ignorance, then you can come in through the crack of the door yourself!At that time Ananda came in through the crack of the door.Prostrate to the masses and ask to attend the assembly.Great Kassapa asked Venerable Ananda to ascend to the Dharma throne and gather scriptures.Just when Ananda was enthroned, he was enthroned by the Buddha, and in an instant, he was as dignified as the Buddha. All the people attending the meeting had three kinds of doubts.First, is it because Shakyamuni Buddha is resurrected? Second, maybe the ancient Buddha from another world will come again. Third, is it because Venerable Ananda has already become a Buddha?When all the people heard Venerable Ananda, according to the last will of the Buddha on his deathbed, they opened their mouths and assembled. First, they said: such as, I heard, one time, the Buddha, in such and such a place, and how many disciples, etc. Six achievements.The three doubts of the people in the meeting were immediately eliminated.Since Ananda said that such Dharma was taught by the Buddha that I, Ananda, personally heard, then naturally it is not Sakyamuni who is teaching the Dharma, and of course it is not another Buddha who is teaching the Dharma, and it is not that Ananda has become a Buddha.What Ananda said is the same as I heard these few words, which are the six achievements of faith, hearing, time, master, place, and crowd.Venerable Kasyapa, why did he have to invite Ananda to pass on the collection of scriptures orally?Because Ananda is the younger brother of the Buddha, he is the most knowledgeable. He was born on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, the day the Buddha attained enlightenment, and he can never forget the teachings of the Buddha.His collection of Dharma is really like pouring water from a bottle, not leaking anything, nothing wrong.Venerable Ananda can still remember and hold the pure and wonderful principles spoken by the Buddhas of the ten directions, and never forget them. Therefore, Kasyapa must invite him to gather the scriptures. Only Ananda can bear this great and glorious honor. Task.

Secondly, Maha Kassapa invited Venerable Upali to assemble Vinaya via oral transmission.This venerable, before becoming a monk, worked as a barber next to Prince Siddhartha.After he became a monk with the Buddha, he practiced diligently, especially specializing in many precepts formulated by the Buddha.When the Buddha was in the Sangha, the clear rules and precepts formulated by the Buddha can be memorized one by one and will never be forgotten.Among the disciples of the Buddha, he is the number one in keeping the precepts.Therefore, Venerable Kassapa invited him to gather Vinaya. Mahakasyapa, among the disciples of the Buddha, is the most ascetic in Toutuo.Once, the Buddha told the public: In our Dharma, we are all like Mahakassapa, who can make the Dharma live in the world for a long time.This shows that the ascetic practice of Thutanga practiced by him is really the most important fundamental practice of our Buddhism.Therefore, after the Buddha passed away, the teachings of the Tripitaka and the Twelve Divisions were initiated by Mahakassapa, and he invited many disciples to gather them together.Make the Buddha shine day by day, and the wheel of Dharma turns constantly. Until today, the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha are still spread all over the world.Especially in China and many countries in South Asia, Northeast Asia, and Southeast Asia, Buddhism is very prosperous.There are many Buddhist believers who study Buddhism devoutly and respectfully, and practice according to the teachings.The reason why Buddhism can win the belief and reverence of many people in the world is naturally its shining truths, which can stand the test of time without fading, and stand forever.

At that time, in addition to the Arhats such as Kasyapa, Ananda, and Upali who gathered the Sanzang teachings in the Pippala Cave, there were also elder monks who, under the leadership of the Babo Venerable, lived in the city of Shecheng, the king of Magadha. In the Sangha group not far outside the Qiye Grottoes, a gathering of recitations was held.This results in the gathering of two parts inside and outside the cave.However, the teachings of the Tripitaka gathered in these two places belong to the scope of Hinayana. Regarding the assembly of the Mahayana Tripitaka teachings, it is said that Manjushri Bodhisattva and Maitreya Bodhisattva led many Bodhisattvas and Venerable Ananda to gather in Tiewei Mountain.Where is Tiewei Mountain?According to the "Dharma Realm Settlement Map": Our small world is an ocean.In the middle of the sea stands a Mount Sumeru.Mount Sumeru is 168,000 yojanas high.Each small yojana is twenty miles away; each middle yojana is forty miles away; and each major yojana is eighty miles away.With Mount Sumeru as the center, there are four major continents in the southeast and northwest.East: Dongsheng Shenzhou.South: Southern Zhan Buzhou.West: Xiniu Hezhou.North: Beiju Luzhou.Outside Mount Sumeru, there is a sea of ​​seven layers of perfume and a mountain of seven layers of gold.Seven Golden Mountains: 1. Shuangchi Mountain, 2. Chizhu Mountain, 3. Danmu Mountain, 4. Shanjian Mountain, 5. Maer Mountain, 6. Elephant Trunk Mountain, and 7. Chidi Mountain.Outside of Qijin Mountain is a sea of ​​salt water.On the salt water sea, there is a mountain called Iron Wai Mountain.Manjusri Bodhisattva, Maitreya Bodhisattva, Venerable Ananda and many other Bodhisattvas gathered Mahayana teachings here.

The collection of the Hinayana Tipitaka and the Mahayana Tipitaka mentioned above were all assembled not long after Sakyamuni Buddha passed away. (2) The Twelve Volumes of the Tripitaka 1. Tripitaka: Why is this sutra and law theory called the Tripitaka?Because the meaning of Tibetan characters is a kind of sack that can be used to hold things in ancient times, and the Buddhist scriptures, Vinaya, and Lun Sanzang can fully integrate the three teaching methods of precepts, samadhi, and wisdom taught by the Buddha's generation. It is stored in the Tripitaka. The forty-nine-year teachings taught by Buddha Shakyamuni are collectively called the Tripitaka Holy Teachings of Sutras, Vinaya, and Discourses.What is taught in the Tripitaka are the principles of precepts, samadhi, and wisdom. All Buddhist disciples can practice precepts, samadhi, and wisdom without leaking and suffering in the cycle of life and death, so it is called the three non-leaking studies.The first collection of sutras: it describes the principles of samadhi. It collects all the principles of secular meditation, supramundane meditation, and supra-worldly meditation in the sutras. This is called the Sutras of Dingxue.The second Vinaya: The Vinaya describes the principles of precepts. It combines all Hinayana precepts, namely, the three refuges and five precepts of Upasaka and Upasika, the ten precepts of novice and novice monks, and the six precepts of Shichamana precepts. Dharma, the two hundred and fifty precepts of monks, the three hundred and forty-eight precepts of nuns, as well as the three sets of pure precepts, ten heavy and forty-eight light bodhisattva precepts in the Mahayana precepts "Brahma Net Sutra", are all collected in Vinaya Inside this is called the Buddhist Precepts Collection.The third collection of commentaries: The teachings describe the principles of wisdom. It collects all the principles of the teachings of the great bodhisattvas and masters in the collection of the teachings. This is called the collection of wisdom teachings.Summarizing the Tripitaka of Sutras, Vinaya, and Lun into the three studies of precepts, meditation, and wisdom is to follow the righteousness rather than the combination, and to follow the many rather than the few. Although there are also Vinaya and Lunxue among the Sutras, they mainly focus on the settling.Among Vinaya, there are also Confucian classics and Lunology, but mainly precepts.In Lun Zang, there are also Confucian classics and Law studies, but mainly Hui studies.In addition, there are Bodhisattva Collection, Shravaka Collection and Precept Collection, which are called Tripitaka.This Tripitaka teaching method was compiled in Pali and Sanskrit in India.

2. Twelve volumes: The twelve volumes of the Tripitaka are the general term for Buddhist classics. What are the twelve volumes?That is, long walks, repeated odes, prophecies, solitary rises, self-talk without asking, karma, similes, skills, Jataka, Fang Guang, never had, and discussions.Every scripture, every Vinaya, and every commentary have several parts, and even all twelve parts are complete.Dividing the teachings of the Tripitaka into twelve categories makes it easy for people to outline and outline, and facilitate research and discussion. The content of the twelve parts, the first long line: the text of each sutra, law, and treatise, from the beginning to the end, is continuous line by line, so it is called long line.The second recitation: There are two types. One is chasing, that is, the truth in the scriptures. It has already been said above. I am afraid that people will not pay attention to it. Chasing it again is equivalent to listening to it again, so that people can understand it more clearly.The second is the super-song, which is the truth that has not been explained in the scriptures. Now let's use the verse to describe it first.The third prophecy: It is the principle of prophecy given by the Burning Lamp Buddha and Sakyamuni Buddha mentioned in the "Diamond Sutra".Or the Buddha and his great disciples prophesied that he would become a Buddha: that is, the Buddha prophesied to many disciples as mentioned in the Lotus Sutra.The fourth solitude: This is when something is suddenly mentioned in isolation in the scriptures. This kind of isolation is often seen in the scriptures.The fifth self-talk without asking questions: In general scriptures, every time the Buddha speaks, there is a cause and condition for the initiation of a bodhisattva or an arhat.However, if no one asks for the Dharma and asks for the Dharma, but the Buddha's great compassion speaks out this Pure Land Dharma.Sixth karma: There are many scriptures that talk about the principle of karma and cause and effect, such as "The Sutra of Sages and Fools", "The Sutra of Cause and Effect of the Three Times" and so on.The seventh is similes: in some scriptures, the Buddha gave many similes, because some of the principles are profound and difficult to understand, so the Buddha used things that are easy for people to understand as similes.Through an example, you will understand.Such as "Bai Yu Jing" and so on.The eighth ability: refers to the historical ability of the Buddha to talk about himself or other ancient Buddhas and disciples in the past lives, such as the "Lotus Sutra" said: "I saw the Buddha of the Light, and this light is like this, so I know the Buddha now, and I must be the Dharma." .It is also said that in the past, there was a story about sixteen princes who became monks with Master Miaoguang.Amitabha Buddha is the eleventh prince, and Shakyamuni Buddha is the thirteenth prince.Ninth Jataka: In the scriptures, we also see the Buddha talking about his Jataka, and many stories quoted in the "Sakyamuni Genealogy" and "The Stories of Shakya Tathagata's Responsibility".Tenth Fangguang: For example, it refers to the profound, mysterious and inconceivable things mentioned in the scriptures, such as "The Great Fang Guang Buddha Flower Adornment Sutra", "The Da Fang Guang Yuan Enlightenment Sutra" and so on.The eleventh has never existed: refers to the things that have never existed in the scriptures, such as the rare world-honored person mentioned in the "Diamond Sutra". "The Shurangama Sutra" said, "The Dharma feast is clean and the crowd has never been obtained."Twelfth Discussion: Refers to the discussion mentioned in many scriptures, the Buddha and his disciples or Bodhisattvas debate the mysterious truth with each other, and they also ask questions and answer them by themselves.The above is a brief introduction to the content of the twelve scriptures.

The ancients once made six verses on the twelve scriptures: "Long Xing recites and prophesies, speaks for himself without asking questions, karma, parables and skills, which have never existed in this life, Fang Guang has never had them, and the discussion has twelve names. It is as broad as the Great Theory Thirty-Three".Give a high-level overview of the twelve parts.Mahakassapa assembled many discourses that the Buddha said to his disciples, and many discourses that explained and studied some important topics in Buddhist theory, and assembled them completely. This is called Lunzang.What is mentioned above is the holy teaching of the Tripitaka gathered in the Pippala Cave by the three great elders, Ananda, Upali, and Mahakassapa. This is the first time after the Buddha passed away. Condition.

(3) The second and subsequent gatherings One hundred years after the Buddha's Nirvana, an elder Yasa summoned 700 monks who were both excellent in morality and learning.In a monastery of the Sangha at Vaisali, an assessment was made of many controversial points in the Buddhist precepts.This is to assess whether the ten things are illegal or not.This is the second collection. According to the records of Southern Buddhism: Two hundred and thirty-five years after the death of the Buddha, with the strong support of King Ashoka of India, a thousand bhikkhus headed by the national teacher Moggallanazi Dixu elders were in the city of Pochriver. Recited the teachings of the Tripitaka.This is the third collection.

About 400 years after Buddha's Nirvana, 500 bhikkhus, headed by Shiyou Bodhisattva, came together to create and explain scriptures and laws in the Great Yuezhi Kingdom.One of them is "Daviposha Lun".This is a very important theory in the theory of Tibet.This is the fourth collection. Even more than ninety years ago.King Minton of Burma invited many monks to collate a Tripitaka in Pali, which is known today as the sixth collection.