Venerable Takamichi Fukita
Bukkyo University, Kyoto (Japan)
Sakyamuni’s exhortation “Attasaraṇa, Dhammasaraṇa” (self as a refuge, Dhamma as a refuge) in the Mahāparinibbānasuttanta is traditionally seen as his final admonition to Ānanda and is esteemed as one of the most important teachings of his later years.
However, a close reading of the Pali text indicates little logical connection between the passage containing this famous exhortation and the preceding passages that lead up to it. In particular, certain terms in the Pāli version of the episode remain unclear despite much scholarly research, and some uncertainty exists regarding its logical development. Even after consulting translations by modern scholars, I have my doubts about attempts to clarify the meaning of this preaching based solely on the Pāli literature, attempts that have led to little but confusion.
In this paper, I reconsider this preaching on the basis of some fragmental Sanskrit manuscripts of the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra from the northern tradition to see if further light can be shed on these passages.
(Presented in the International Conference on Buddhist Studies: Buddha's Biography – Buddhist Legends, 18-19 July 2015, Le Meridien Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by Department of Thai, Faculty of Arts, The Pali and Sanskrit Section, Department of Eastern Languages, Faculty of Arts and Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University)