Aspects of Mahayana Buddhism and its Relation to Hinayana c7.s2.t4: I. Divyāvadāna
Aspects of Mahāyāna Buddhism and its Relation to Hīnayāna c7.s2.t4
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I. Divyāvadāna
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There are a few passages in the *Divyāvadāna* throwing light on the rūpakāya and dharmakāya of Buddha and bearing the identical sense of the Pāli works. On one occasion Śroṇa Koṭikarṇa said that, through the grace of his teacher, he had seen the dharmakāya of Buddha, but as he was anxious to see the rūpakāya, he wanted to go to the place where Buddha was living at the time.² Upagupta once said to Māra that he had seen the dharmakāya only and requested him to show him the rūpakāya. Māra thereupon made an image (vigraha) of Buddha replete with all the major and minor signs of great men.³ In the answer that king Rudrāyaṇa gave to Bimbisāra that “na rājan kṛpaṇo loke dharmakāyena saṃspṛśet” [let not, O King, an irreligious person⁴ attain (lit. touch) the dharmakāya], the word “dharmakāya” may bear a metaphysical interpretation but the context does not warrant it.⁵ The remark made by Aśoka, after Upagupta had pointed out to him the stūpa of Ānanda, makes the sense of dharmakāya quite explicit. It runs thus: ‘That body which you all call pure, excellent and made of dharma (dharmātmano dharmamayo) was borne (dhāritam) by him called Viśoka (=Ānanda) and therefore his stūpa deserves great honour. The lamp of dharma, the dispeller of the darkness of afflictions that burnt still among men was due to the power of him, the son of Sugatendra, and therefore, should be worshipped with special reverence.¹
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² *Divyā*., p. 19.
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³ *Ibid*., p. 360.
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⁴ *Ibid*., p. 560: kṛpaṇa is defined thus: yas tu dharmavirāgārtham adharme nirato nṛpaḥ, sa rājan kṛpaṇo jñeyas tamastamaḥparāyaṇaḥ.
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⁵ *Ibid*., p. 560.
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¹ *Divyā*., pp. 396-7. Cf. Przyluski, *Asoka*, p. 408: In connection with the destruction of the law, Mahāmāyā exclaimed Ceux qui sont nés du Corps de la Loi (dharmakāya), ou sont-ils allés?
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There are, however, Avadānas in the *Divyāvadāna*, which were not without some Mahāyānic tint, for, we read in the *Rudrāyanāvadāna*,² as we usually find in the Mahāyānic works, that rays of light issued forth from Buddha's mouth when he smiled, irradiating the beings of heaven and hell. It is noteworthy that the *Atthasālinī*³ also speaks of raśmis (rays of light) of six colours issuing out of Buddha's body. It seems that the Mahāyānic ideas were percolating gradually into the rocky soil of the conservative Theravādins.
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² *Divyā*., xxxvii, p. 568.
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³ *Attha*., p. 16.
Linked texts (1)
- Divyāvadāna — Sanskrit