Mahākāśyapa, His Lineage, and the Wish for Buddhahood: Reading Anew the Bodhgayā Inscriptions of Mahānāman

Tournier, Vincent

Abstract

This article investigates the religious message of a set of inscriptions from Bodhgayā issued by Sinhalese monks in the 5th and 6th centuries ce. The long inscription of the hierarch Mahānāman, in particular, allows an in-depth understanding of this monk’s self-representation as the heir of a virtuous lineage descending from the Elder Mahākāśyapa, committed to the transmission of the Saṃyukta-Āgama, and related to the ruling dynasty of Laṅkā. Moreover, it provides the rationale behind Mahānāman’s aspiration to Buddhahood, as the donor dedicates to this aim the merits of the erection of a temple on the Bodhimaṇḍa itself, hosting a representation of Śākyamuni’s Awakening. I argue that Mahānāman is part of a milieu sharing common origins, monastic background, and aspirations, a milieu that was later labelled as *Mahāyāna-Sthavira by the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang.

Citation

Tournier, V. Mahākāśyapa, His Lineage, and the Wish for Buddhahood: Reading Anew the Bodhgayā Inscriptions of Mahānāman. Indo-Iranian Journal, 57(1-2), 1-60. https://doi.org/10.1163/15728536-05701001

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Online Publication Date: Jan 1, 2014
• Deposit Date: Mar 12, 2014
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 15, 2020
• Journal: Indo-Iranian Journal
• Print ISSN: 0019-7246
• Electronic ISSN: 1572-8536
• Publisher: Brill Academic Publishers
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 57
• Issue: 1-2
• Pages: 1-60
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/15728536-05701001
• Keywords: Mahākāśyapa; adhiṣṭhāna; Sthāvirīya/Theriya lineages; aspirations to Buddhahood; Bodhisattvayāna/Mahāyāna; Māravijaya