Essay name: Dasabhumika Sutra (translation and study)
Author:
Hwa Seon Yoon
Affiliation: Savitribai Phule Pune University / Department of Pali
This is a study and translation of the Dasabhumika Sutra (“Ten Stages Discourse”)—a significant Buddhist text. It examines the distinction between Theravada (Hinayana) and Mahayana Buddhism, focusing on the divergence in the spiritual concepts of Arhatship, Bodhisattva, Paramitas and Bhumis.
Chapter 1 - Introduction
32 (of 59)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
Download the PDF file of the original publication
3
. The Daśabhūmika Sūtra 32 3-1. Name of the Text
This text is known by variant names such as
Daśabhūmika,
Daśabhūmaka, or Daśabhūmiśvara. Ācārya Asanga in his famous treatise
namely, the Daśabhūmi has referred to it by the name of Daśabhūmaka.60
There appears the following stanza in all the manuscripts of the text
before the prose portion of the introduction which provides information as
to its exact title:-
Yasmin pāramitā daśottamaguṇāstaistairnayaiḥ sūcitāḥ
sarvajñena jagaddhitāya daśa ca prakhyāpitā bhūmayaḥ /
ucchedadhruvavarjitā ca vimalā proktā gatirmadhyamā
tatsūtram daśabhūmikam nigaditam śṛunvantu bodhyarthinaḥ //
All the scholars, however, are unanimous in holding the view that
the above mentioned stanza did not form a part of the text in hand in its
original form.61
But it certainly proves that the name of the text was
later on standardized to Daśabhūmika.
At the same time it can be
further emphasized that at the time of the composition of the text, the
word Daśabhūmīśvara might have been popular as is evident from
60 Da.bhu. P.L. Vaidya (ed.) Intro. p.1; and also Sikṣāsamuccaya of Santideva.
61 ibid. p.1, fn. 1.
