The History of Buddhist Thought c28.s2.10

c28.s2.10

The importance of the list of twelve angas lies in the fact that it shows the growth of other types of Scripture which could not be placed in the Piṭakas. That these types began not with Mahāyāna can be seen from the fact that they exist as Sarvāstivāda works. We cannot assume that the Sarvāstivādins borrowed a Mahāyāna form, for it is chiefly the Sarvāstivāda avadānas that were incorporated in the Mahāyāna Canon. We also find definite evidence for the Sarvāstivāda origin of avadāna and other additional terms in the Vinaya of the Dharmaguptas, a branch of the Sarvāstivādins. The passage is important enough to be quoted. It occurs in the account of the first Council, where Ānanda after reciting the Āgamas is said to have recited the Abhidharma Piṭaka.