Early Monastic Buddhism v2.c35.s8: The Uttarāpathakas

Early Monastic Buddhism v2.c35.s8

Language: English

The Uttarāpathakas

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From the geographical evidences collected by Dr. B. C. Law² about the Uttarāpatha, it appears it might have originally indicated the high road running north from Magadha to the northwest but later on it denoted the area west of Pṛthudaka (Pehoa, about 14 miles west of Thaneswar) and "comprised the Punjab people including Kashmir and the adjoining hill states with the whole of eastern Afghanistan beyond the Indus, and the present Cis-Sutlej States to the west of the Saraswati.³

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² *Geogr. of Early Buddhism*, p. 48-9.

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³ Cunningham's *Ancient Geogr. of India*, p. 13.

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The name "Uttarāpathakas" appears only in the *Kathāvatthu-aṭṭhakathā* and not in any other text, not even in the Ceylonese chronicles. Evidently Buddhaghosa had in mind some monks who could not be classed as adherents of the doctrines of a particular school or probably he meant, like the Andhakas, a group of schools popular in the north. From the several doctrines attributed by Buddhaghosa to the Uttarāpathakas, it appears it was an eclectic school having doctrines taken from both the Mahāsaṅghika and Theravāda groups and really mark an intermediate stage between Hīnayāna and Mahāyāna. The following are some of such doctrines:—

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Re. Buddha. It is the attainment of bodhi or knowledge of the maggas and omniscience alone that make a Buddha (iv. 6) and that Buddhas are above maitrī and karuṇā¹ (xviii. 3, 4).

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¹ See above, p 43.

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Re. Bodhisattvas. On the basis of the stories of the previous births of Gautama Buddha the U. remark that the Buddhas are always endowed with the mahāpuruṣa lakṣaṇas (iv. 7).

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Re. Arhats. All dhammas (not his body, dress, etc.) possessed by an arhat are pure (anāsava) (K. iv. 3). The arhats are able to end their lives in the same way as Buddha did, (xxii. 3), as described in the Mahāparinibbāna-sutta. They admit there may be persons claiming arhathood falsely (xxiii. 2). Taking the instance of Yaśa’s attainment of arhathood they held that a householder (gihi) can attain Arhathood without giving up the householder’s life. The Th. point out that Yaśa may have the gihi signs externally but his mind was free from the ties of a householder (iv. 1). Then on the basis of the existence of Upa-hacca(Uppajja)-parinibbāyīs, the Uttarāpathakas hold that a being, usually a god, at the very moment of his birth, can attain arhathood. They also hold that beings while in the womb or beings just born may attain arhathood on account of their acquisition of sotāpannahood in their previous lives.²

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² See above, p. 89 n.

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Re. Samyakatvanyāma: The putthujjanas, who are aniyata (not destined to attain Nibbāna) or who are doers of evil acts, may ultimately become niyata and realise the truth. This they state on the basis of some statements of Buddha who foretold to certain puthujjanas that they would realise the truth ultimately, e.g., in the case of Aṅgulimāla (v. 4; xix. 7).

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Allied to the above views, there are two other views of the Uttarāpathakas: one is that the persons who have to take seven more births to attain Nibbāna (sattakkhattuparama) can reach the goal after seven births and not earlier or later. The Th. are not prepared to accept this view on the ground that such persons may quicken their space by greater exertion or retard their progress by performing evil deeds (xii. 5). The second is that an adept may attain the four fruits of sanctification by one magga. The Th. contend that an adept can attain the phalas of the corresponding maggas only, i.e., a sotāpanna gets rid of sakkāyadiṭṭhi, etc. and he cannot attain the phalas of the sakadāgami or anāgami magga, i.e., elimination of rāga, dosa and moha. The Uttarāpathakas do not subscribe to the latter view (xviii. 5).

Linked texts (2)

Kathāvatthu — Moggaliputta Tissa, Pāli
Mahāparinibbānasutta — Pāli