Studies in the Origins of Buddhism c8.75

c8.75

Second Vagga—Change of atmosphere (DN. 14).—With the very first sutta of the second Vagga a change in atmosphere is unmistakable. In DN. 14 the lives of the Buddhas follow an unvarying archetype; all their course is but the manifestation of eternal norms (Dhammatā). Already the list of the Previous Buddhas has enlarged to six; and the thirty-two Marks of greatness are mentioned in detail. The title itself of the sutta “Mahāpadāna” suggests its lateness. The “apadānas” became a popular genre later on, but the very word, in this meaning, is not early (see PTSD).