Many Buddhas, One Buddha; A Study and Translation of Avadānaśataka 1-40; Appleton

Naomi Appleton [+–]

University of Edinburgh

Naomi Appleton is Senior Lecturer in Asian Religions at the University of Edinburgh. Her primary research interest is the role of narrative in early South Asian religions. She is the author of Jātaka Stories in Theravāda Buddhism (Ashgate, 2010), Narrating Karma and Rebirth: Buddhist and Jain Multi-Life Stories (CUP 2014) and Shared Characters in Jain, Buddhist and Hindu Narrative (Routledge 2017) as well as a number of articles on Buddhist and Jain narrative.

Many Buddhas, One Buddha introduces a significant section of the important early Indian Buddhist text known as the Avadānaśataka, or “One Hundred Stories”, and explores some of its perspectives on buddhahood. This text, composed in Sanskrit and dating to perhaps the third to fifth centuries of the Common Era, is affiliated with the Sarvāstivāda or Mūlasarvāstivāda, and thus provides important evidence of the ideas and literatures of lost non-Mahāyāna schools of Indian Buddhism. The text is a rich literary composition, in mixed prose and verse, and includes some elaborate devotional passages that illuminate early Indian perspectives on the Buddha and on the role of avadāna texts.

The book introduces the first four chapters of the Avadānaśataka through key themes of these stories, such as predictions and vows, preparations for buddhahood, the relationship between Śākyamuni and other buddhas, and the relationship between full buddhahood and pratyekabuddhahood. The study of these stories closes with an argument about the structural design of the text, and what this tells us about attitudes towards different forms of awakening. The second part of the book then presents a full English translation of stories 1-40. From tax-dodging merchants, to monks fretting about their sewing skills, the stories offer a rich and entertaining slice of Indian Buddhist literature and teaching.

Preface

Preface [+–] vii-x

Many Buddhas, One Buddha introduces a significant section of the important early Indian Buddhist text known as the Avadānaśataka, or “One Hundred Stories”, and explores some of its perspectives on buddhahood. This text, composed in Sanskrit and dating to perhaps the third to fifth centuries of the Common Era, is affiliated with the Sarvāstivāda or Mūlasarvāstivāda, and thus provides important evidence of the ideas and literatures of lost non-Mahāyāna schools of Indian Buddhism. The text is a rich literary composition, in mixed prose and verse, and includes some elaborate devotional passages that illuminate early Indian perspectives on the Buddha and on the role of avadāna texts. The book introduces the first four chapters of the Avadānaśataka through key themes of these stories, such as predictions and vows, preparations for buddhahood, the relationship between Śākyamuni and other buddhas, and the relationship between full buddhahood and pratyekabuddhahood. The study of these stories closes with an argument about the structural design of the text, and what this tells us about attitudes towards different forms of awakening. The second part of the book then presents a full English translation of stories 1-40.

Part A: Study

1. Crossing the Flood of Rebirth [+–] 2-4

Part A of the volume introduces the Avadānaśataka and its themes and concerns, with a particular focus on placing the first four chapters of the text – those translated in Part B of the volume – into the context of developing ideas about the Buddha and buddhahood. After a general introduction to the text, the discussion moves through themes that are core to each of the chapters under discussion: the many buddhas of the past and future who feature in chapters 1 and 2; the past lives of the most recent Buddha, Śākyamuni, which are related in chapters 2 and 4; and the pratyekabuddhas (beings awakened in times of no Buddhism) of chapter 3. The discussion then uses features common to the whole text, including miracles, aspirations and predictions, to mount an argument that the Avadānaśataka treads a fine line between acknowledging the validity of the three paths to awakening (full buddhahood, pratyekabuddhahood and arhatship) while clearly placing full buddhahood at the pinnacle. Furthermore, even within the category of full buddhas, Śākyamuni Buddha takes centre stage as the miracle-working, prediction-making, magical-smiling, utterly awe-inspiring Buddha of our time.

2. The Avadānaśataka [+–] 5-9

3. Many Buddhas [+–] 10-21

4. Śākyamuni’s Past Lives [+–] 21-29

5. Independent Buddhahood [+–] 29-37

6. Miracles, Offerings, Aspirations and Predictions [+–] 37-41

7. And Then the Buddha Smiled [+–] 41-45

8. Structure of the Avadānaśataka [+–] 45-51

9. Many Buddhas, Many Buddhisms [+–] 52-53

10. One Buddha, Many Lessons [+–] 54

Part A Notes [+–] 55-62

Part B: Translation

Note on the translation [+–] 64-65

First Decade (Stories 1-10) [+–] 66-96

The ten stories in the first chapter of the text tell of people predicted to future buddhahood by Śākyamuni Buddha. While the details differ, the general pattern is the same: someone has an impressive encounter with Śākyamuni Buddha (usually involving a miraculous display of some sort) and makes a vow to achieve future buddhahood, which is confirmed by Śākyamuni through a miraculous light-emitting smile.

Second Decade (Stories 11-20) [+–] 97-142

The second decade stories each tell of Śākyamuni Buddha-to-be serving a buddha of the distant past. Although these stories of the past are fairly formulaic, there is more variety in the frame narratives, and the emphasis is on the experiences of Śākyamuni in his final (and, in narrative terms, current) lifetime, and how these are explained by past devotional encounters.

Third Decade (Stories 21-30) [+–] 143-166

The third chapter is about pratyekabuddhahood, or the awakening of ‘solitary’ or ‘independent’ buddhas, who achieve awakening in times of no Buddhism. Eight of these ten stories concern people predicted by Śākyamuni Buddha to achieve pratyekabuddhahood in future lifetimes, and these echo the stories of the first decade. The two remaining stories are told by Śākyamuni to explain the crumbling stūpas (reliquaries) of past pratyekabuddhas that he and his disciples encounter.

Fourth Decade (Stories 31-40) [+–] 167-215

The ten stories of the fourth chapter are “jātaka” stories, or tales of the past-lives of Śākyamuni Buddha in times of no Buddhism. Most are tales of the extraordinarily virtuous deeds carried out by the Buddha-to-be, including several bodily sacrifice stories. Two stories have more of an emphasis on demonstrating the results of bad karma. All of the stories are placed within frame narratives in which Śāyamuni Buddha explains what lesson should be taken by his followers. The final story interweaves Śākyamuni’s recruitment of his final personal disciple on his deathbed with both a story of his past-life saving of that same disciple and a separate story of the disciple’s own encounter with a past buddha.

Part B Notes [+–] 216-222

End Matter

Glossary [+–] 223-234

Bibliography [+–] 235-238

Index [+–] 239-245

Reviews

The Avadānaśataka is a centrally important text for understanding non-Mahāyāna Sanskrit Buddhism. Naomi’s introduction presents some significant new points about the work as a whole and her translation is accurate, and closely follows the syntax and phrasing of the original Sanskrit. Yet the English flows easily. In my opinion, this a wonderful achievement, for it gives the reader a feel for the way such Buddhist legends sound—how they are worded and put together—in addition to what they mean. This volume will be well received by scholars in the discipline and much appreciated by students and general readers with an interest in Buddhism or just in some good stories.
John S. Strong, Charles A. Dana Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies, Bates College

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Books and Journals in Humanities, Social Science and Performing Arts

Many Buddhas, One Buddha

A Study and Translation of Avadānaśataka 1-40

Naomi Appleton [+–]

University of Edinburgh

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