A Geographical Perspective on Sectarian Affiliations of the Ekottarika Āgama in Chinese Translation (T 125)

Abstract

The Ekottarika Āgama (Zengyiahanjing, T 125) extant in Chinese translation is a collection of texts which are organized by numbers mentioned in the texts. It corresponds roughly to the Aṅguttara Nikāya in the Theravāda tradition still flourishing today.The sectarian affiliation of the Ekottarika Āgama is controversial. This research is an attempt to explore this issue in a more comprehensive way. A comparison between the texts in this collection and their parallels reveals its geographical preference for Magadha. This finding, along with some textual indications, suggests that the Ekottarika Āgama could be affiliated to the Mahāsāṃghikasor Mūlasarvāstivādins.