Preliminary introduction to the discovery of ancient manuscripts of Kharosthi and Kandala Buddhism.VIETNAMESE TRANSLATE ENGLISH BY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THICH CHAN TANH. I . SOME GOODS ABOUT US In September 1994, the British Library's Oriental and Indian collections operated by a closed lineUniquely acquired all 29 ancient Buddhist manuscripts carved on the martial eucalyptus tree, which was recently discovered in Kashmir (formerly known as Can-Da-La), in the northwestern region of Islam, bordering Afghanistan. Perhaps to avoid diplomatic problems with the country concerned about a valuable artifact being taken abroad, the British Library kept the discovery silent until June 1996. , caused a special international media attention to this important archaeological discovery of mankind. Since the text is written in the dialect of Kharosti, an ancient language of North India, scholars who are able to read this language are very rare in the world today. among them a person whose name is known internationally in this field is Dr. Richard Salomon, Professor of Asian Languages ​​and Literature at DH Washington, (UW). Because of his erudition on ancient Indian languages, Prof. Salomon has been invited by the British Library to chair a committee of expert scholars to study the newly discovered precious ancient Buddhist scriptures. The entire committee worked full-time for 6 months and the preliminary results of this study were approved by Prof. Salomon summed it up in his work, “Ancient Buddhist Scrolls from Gandharan” published by the University of Washington Press, Seattle and published in 1999. Because of his erudition on ancient Indian languages, Prof. Salomon has been invited by the British Library to chair a committee of expert scholars to study the newly discovered precious ancient Buddhist scriptures. The entire committee worked full-time for 6 months and the preliminary results of this study were approved by Prof. Salomon summed it up in his work, “Ancient Buddhist Scrolls from Gandharan” published by the University of Washington Press, Seattle and published in 1999. Because of his erudition on ancient Indian languages, Prof. Salomon has been invited by the British Library to chair a committee of expert scholars to study the newly discovered precious ancient Buddhist scriptures. The entire committee worked full-time for 6 months and the preliminary results of this study were approved by Prof. Salomon summed it up in his work, “Ancient Buddhist Scrolls from Gandharan” published by the University of Washington Press, Seattle and published in 1999. This article has been based on some hand-outs of GS. Salomon in talks in the city of Seattle, USA on this topic, but mainly summarizes part of the content of the book "Ancient Buddhist Scrolls from Gandharan" by Prof. Salomon. To highlight the importance of the discovery of this ancient scripture, we ask the reader's permission to omit the technical parts of archeology and focus only on the chapters dealing with the content of the archeology. content and meaning of the discovery of the ancient Can-Dala Sutra (Chapters I, II, III and VII). II . CANDA-DALA BUDDHA BACKGROUND As we know, the discovery of the Kharosthi Sutra, the oldest Buddhist manuscript found so far in Gandhara, is of great significance to Buddhism because it helps shed some light on the pre-modern, pre-classic era; shows us what sutras the early Buddhist communities of that time were saying, before the "Tripitaka canon" was compiled. At the same time, it also gives us a glimpse into the way of life of ancient Buddhist communities, in which Kandala was an important center and from here Buddhism was spread and propagated. how to become. So, before delving into the content of this research work, Can-Da-La is the old name of a land that is now the Peshawar Valley of Hoi Quoc, bordered by the border of Afghanistan in the west and the Indus River in the east. The main language of the inhabitants of this region is the Ghandhari dialect of the Prakrit language family, derived from Sanskrit, of which Kharosthi is the main script. Around the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, during the Indo-Scythian and Kusana dynasties, Candala was a major political and religious center. This powerful and wealthy city is thanks to its strategic location on the crossroads of Asia's "silk road" trade, connecting India with Persia, Central Asia as well as with the Middle East and Europe. , should be considered as an important cultural exchange. Based on the remaining historical documents, Buddhism may have developed in Can-Dala around the middle of the 3rd century BC because the city, as it is known, was located in the territory under the rule of China. of King Ashoka, a very devout Buddhist king whose remains known as the "Asoka pillar" have also been found here. Moreover, the philosophical dialogue between Bhikkhu Na Tien and King Milanda - the greatest king of the Indo-Greek dynasty who ruled this region around the 2nd century BC - is well documented. in Buddhist scriptures. But it was not until the 1st and 2nd centuries AD that Candala became an important center of Buddhism belonging to the Chanh Truyen sect, influenced by the sects belonging to the Sarvastivadin tradition. and from here, Candala Buddhist monks brought the teachings of Buddhism beyond the border of India to propagate in neighboring countries such as Persia, China, ... that evidence specifically, two Buddhist texts written in Kharosthi script of the Gandhari language have been found at Lieu Duong and Trang An, the two first important Buddhist centers in China. Moreover, the contents of the Abhidharma-hidaya tradition of the Neighborhood tradition - namely, the Abhidharma - hidaya, which has survived to this day is a translation through Chinese, It is agreed by contemporary scholars of Buddhist history to be assembled at Candala. An equally important event in the history of the development of Buddhism is that it was also at this time that the Mahayana school began to appear, which many researchers consider to have been derived from the Kandala, based on the The bodhisattva sculptures are found here. Therefore, the important character of Candala Buddhism is that, due to its important strategic position, has played a pivotal role in Asian cultural history as a trampoline whose resilience It gave Buddhism a leap, from there Buddhism spread from its native India to Xinjiang (Central Asia) and China, and from there throughout East Asia and finally, becoming a international religion. However, Buddhism in Candala died out around the 3rd century AD and completely disappeared around the 10th century, so this Buddhist tradition also disappeared. The discovery of the Kharosthi manuscripts has thus contributed to an important piece of evidence for contemporary scholars in their attempt to prove that, Scholars specializing in the study of early Buddhism in India, have long hypothesized that, with a Buddhist center of the stature of Kandala, there must be a Buddhist center here. the academies, the scriptures of the monasteries, storing precious manuscripts. The manuscripts of the Kharosthi ancient scriptures have just been discovered, buried in clay pots, according to Prof. The Salomon, the old discarded copies of the monastic scriptures, were repainted and buried according to the funeral rites for deceased monks. This discovery is a valuable asset beyond Professor Salomon's dream, because, according to him, ideally, to know about the early sects of Buddhism is to acquire the relics of the Buddhists. scriptures of the monastery. The collection of ancient scriptures found at Candala - though a random sample - may more or less represent volumes from a large, possibly very large, Buddhist monastery. Buddhism belongs to the Dharmaguptaka tradition around the 1st century AD. This discovery also shows how Buddhism, specifically Cadala Buddhism, was integrated in North India and thus created traditions of local color, while at the same time defining demonstrated a long-standing but recently verified hypothesis about the existence of a now-disappeared Candala Buddhist Sutra. Moreover, III . CONTENT AND DATE OF THE CLASSIC KHAROSTHI A - CONTENT As noted above, the newly found collection of manuscripts can be considered as a typical random sample of what was preserved in a canon of a Buddhist monastery at Candala in around the 1st century AD, so it would not be surprising to find that it encompasses virtually every genre used in the creation of Buddhist scriptures, including prose, verse, and commentary. Especially one thing is noted here is that the entire prose genre is written in Kharosthi script of the Gandhari language (Can-Da-La). 1. Classics in Prose and Commentary In this respect, one finds relatively long suttas such as the Sangiti-Sutra, whose contents were translated into Chinese by His Holiness Xuanzang known as the Sangiti-paryaya. ), but the content of the commentary is completely different on both sides. This is also the 33rd sutta in the Pali Canon (1) whose content is similar to that found in the Sanskrit traditions or in Chinese translations known as the Ahamma Sutra. . Another sutta expounds on the four jhānas with content similar to that presented in the Pali Canons, namely the Sallekha-sutta (sutta 1.8 in the Middle Discourse) (2). A third sutta in prose is similar in content to that part of the Pali Sangha, which is divided into three main parts, in which the first part records the dialogue. between the Buddha and a Brahmin named Dhona, very similar to the dialogue in the Sangha (Anguttara 2.37-9): “[The Brahmin Dhona] (3) approached the Blessed One and after approaching [saying these words] to the Buddha: -Sir, will you become a god? - No, Brahmin, I will not be a God. - Sir, will you be a kangaroo? - No, Brahmin, I will not be a gandharva. - Sir, then you will be a Demon Yaksha? - No, Brahmin, will I not be a Yaksha? - Sir, then you will be a human? - No, Brahmin, I will not be a human being. - When you were asked, "Sir, will you become a God?" He replied thus, "No, Brahmin, I will not be a God." When He was asked, "Sir, will you be a Ganda?" He replied thus, "No, Brahmin, I will not be a Ganda." When he was asked, "Sir, would you be a Yaksha?" He replied thus, "No, Brahmin, shall I not be a Yaksha?" When He was asked, "Sir, would you then be a man?" He replied thus, "No, Brahmin, I will not be a human being." So, Lord, what will You be? "I am a Buddha, brahmin, I am a Buddha..." 2 - Commentary and Commentary A large number of texts in this collection include Commentaries and Commentaries. The verses cited in these commentaries are similar to those that we often find in the Pali Canon of the Pali Canon of the Khuddakka-nikaya such as the Sutta-nipata, the U-ras- dāna (Udana: Autobiographical Sutra, part of the Minor Canon), Dhammapada, Text of the Sutta (Itivuttaka), and Theragatha (Theragatha). Here is a typical essay, roughly translated as follows: "From decay to indestructibility...":...: "Indestructible" is the characteristic of Nirvana. "Disintegration" is the characteristic of the five aggregates that we have to get rid of. One should seek Nirvana; that is the state of becoming indestructible. “The burning fire”, [that is, burning] due to the three poisons; We must find a way to eliminate them. Wherever there is no burning fire [like that] that place becomes "peaceful"... In a nutshell: "Disaster" is suffering; (page 29) “burning fire” is burning; and “transformation” (meaning this burning) should be eliminated by means of knowledge; this is the righteous way. On the contrary: "intersection" means eliminating defilements; “transform” means to eliminate karma; [and] “indestructible” means the elimination of suffering.” Here is a short excerpt from another essay: “Things exist at all times. Things exist everywhere. Things exist in their context. Things exist as the reason they exist. Things exist as wholes. Things exist as due to causes. Things exist as a result of conditions.” 3 - Verses The verse poems in this Kharosthi manuscript are relatively more familiar to us than the above two genres because one can find their similarity in the Sanskrit or Chinese canonical texts, namely the Roots. The Samantabhadra commentary (Mulasarvatosvada-Vinaya). The following is a poem that tells the story of a young man named Kusuma who, by offering a flower adorned in his hair to the stupa of the ancient Buddha, was blessed with many lives and reborn many times entered the heavenly realm and for the last time became a human again, becoming a disciple of Buddha: “Putting a petal into my ear, wearing a wreath [on my head], I went out to the park with my friends. There I saw a great stupa of the famous Buddha Vajrasattva, whose crowds were gathering to worship and honor him. My friends knelt beside the ancient tower and put flowers on it with all their hearts. Seeing their work and watching others do the same, I removed the petal from my ear and respectfully offered it to the ancient tower. Nothing is small or small if one dedicates wholeheartedly to the Tathagata and the followers of the Buddhas. If I had known the Tathagata with his noble virtues before, I would have worshiped him even more; [this must have brought a lot of merit (?)]. Therefore, if one knows the immeasurable virtues of the Guru, worships the ancient stupas, one will surely be liberated and reborn in a good place. Offering only one petal, I have been served by many gods over thousands of kalpas and finally liberated. Venerable sirs, I remember this; By offering only one petal, I have reaped the fruit of that action. Karma is never wrong.” Thus, the great disciple Kusuma, the monk's disciple, told the story of his own karma on the shore of Lake Anavatapta. Another verse is the famous poem "One-Horned Rhino," (Pali: Khaggavisana-sutta; Sanskrit: Khadgavisana-gatha), and is one of the important suttas repeated three times in the Minor- the Khuddakka-nikaya of the Theravada tradition (4): Like a great, mighty spotted elephant, far away from the herd [into the mountains and forests, you should live alone like a one-horned rhinoceros]. Free yourself from greed, fraud, error, delusion; give up slander, sin, become [desire to desire in the worldly life], you should live alone like a one-horned rhinoceros. At home and everywhere, avoid all conflicts, be content with anything; [accept danger] fearless, live alone like a one-horned rhinoceros. 4 - The Parable Suttas (Avadanas) This is a form of Buddhist literature, especially Sanskrit Buddhist literature, including stories explaining karma, a precursor like the story of the Suc San. Most of the articles in this collection are unfamiliar articles, rarely found in modern scriptures. Although called the Example Product, the content of these suttas is not illustrated by stories about karma as is often found in Buddhist texts of this kind, but only refers to characters belonging to the same category. the following two faces: famous faces under the Buddha such as Gavampati, Maha Kassapa, King Ashoka, ... and historical figures of the time during the Indo-Scythian dynasty in Candala such as Jihonika , Aspavarman... Some other types of stories have the same form as the Example type but are organized under the heading called the Forerunner story (purvayogah), recounting reincarnation stories of famous figures in the Buddhist tradition such as A Nha Kieu Tran Nhu, Ananda, Bodhisattvas. For example, the story tells about the predecessor of Mr. Kieu Tran Nhu, a potter. The Ministry of Great Affairs (Mahavatsu) later, in the part of the story, there are also some details similar to that. Here is a typical passage from the short story about Ananda's predecessor: Ananda's predecessor: The entire opening is recited according to the usual ritual (?). Gadhabadhaga was the former king of Jambudvipa. He had two sons, who were also his local governors: Sabrudidrigo and Bhano. Sabrudidrigo later became a mendicant and attained enlightenment. The story is recited completely. Story number 5.” In addition to the above four financial forms, some commentaries are also found in this ancient scripture, but unfortunately the pieces of bark containing these passages have been damaged and cannot be read in their entirety. content. In summary, based on preliminary studies of this ancient scripture, it has been found that only about a quarter of the collection has content closely related to the Buddhist scriptures of the Pali, Sanskrit and The Han Tibetan is handed down today, but most of it reflects the contents of a local Buddhist tradition, which was gathered in Candala. B . DATING As mentioned above, the two historical figures mentioned in the Example chapter of this ancient scripture are King Jihonika and Aspavarman. Based on the documents discovered in this area, especially the silver coins of the Jihonika dynasty, archaeologist Marshall dated the reign of King Jihonika to about 35 AD (5). . Recently archaeologist McDowall (1973), in addition to these coins along with newly discovered archaeological evidence and further studies of the local ancient history, has also agreed with Marshall, confirming It is certain that the reign of King Jihonika was about the first quarter of a century AD (6). The second character introduced in this sutra is Aspavarman with the rank of Commander, it seems that he was the general who commanded the army during the reign of King Jihonika, that is, who lived at the same time as Jihonika. Both are devout followers of Buddhism. Having dated the Jihonika dynasty, one can come to the conclusion that the Kharosthi ancient manuscripts could not have been written before the Jihonika dynasty, i.e. before AD 35, but must be written either around the same time as King Jihonika or at least about two centuries later. However, these are only reasonable speculations, to have a more definitive conclusion, one has to rely on archeology. For dating, the most reliable evidence is the pottery vessels containing the ancient Kharosthi manuscripts. An expert in this field, Raymond Allchin, based on the style and production techniques, has concluded that these ceramic vases date to the early or middle of the Kusana dynasty - the next dynasty. Jihonika, around the 1st to 2nd centuries AD. This conclusion is further supplemented by the study of the type of inscriptions engraved on these pottery vessels, which linguists, also determined to be of the same age. IV . MEANING OF DISCOVERING ANCIENT HANDICRALS Scholars who have studied the origins and history of early Buddhism in the past two centuries have not only had difficulty explaining the past when confronted with events that happened over 2500 years ago. In addition, because Buddhism has died out in India for many centuries, it is difficult to find the original sources. To overcome this problem, scholars have no choice but to rely mainly on the Buddhist scriptures that are still handed down, and all in general tend to look at the canonical Tripitaka. The Pali language of Theravada Buddhism is the only representative of all the correct copies of the Buddhist teachings and is most reliable. However, gradually with new approaches and discoveries, especially a large number of Sanskrit manuscripts found in Nepal and Xinjiang (now part of China) in the In the 19th century, scholars realized that early Buddhism in India took on a richer and more varied nuance than they initially thought, reflecting a wide variety of traditions, sets, and traditions. The sect, not only the Pali tradition, represents the truest and most correct of the Buddha's teachings. It is from this broad view that Professor Salomon has made the observation that: "The scriptures of the Han Tibetan tradition translated from the original Indian text have preserved most of the content of the Tripitaka (Sutta). , Vinaya, Abhidhamma) of the various Indian Buddhist schools of pre-primitive times such as the Nirvanas, the Dhammas, the Mahasanghikas, etc. Although now the original Indian scriptures have disappeared exists, in principle, the part of the Han Tibetan still has the qualifications, authority as well as ensuring its true origin as the scriptures of the Theravada tradition." From a purely objective, scientific point of view, the more classical the texts - especially the manuscripts - the better the fidelity and accuracy of the original canonical content can be guaranteed. However, due to the objective conditions of the times, the main means used to record and store scriptures of ancient times - often using bamboo leaves and martial eucalyptus trees - could hardly survive long in the climate. harsh tropics of the Indian peninsula. Looking at the currently officially recognized Buddhist scriptures, we see that the largest number of texts of the oldest Theravada tradition preserved in Ceylon also date back only a few centuries. Meanwhile in India, Buddhism died out in the 13th century, buried with it all the traditions of recording and preserving scriptures, so that very few classical scriptures have survived. Nepal is a land where Buddhism is relatively alive today, and the oldest canonical texts discovered are only about 1000 years old. and of course have more historical value than the new classics because they have not been added or subtracted during the transfer process. This has had a great impact and influence on the scholarly view of the study of Buddhist history, which has traditionally focused on the Theravada scriptures as a valuable source of material and a central reflection. the truest teachings of the Buddha. The discovery of the ancient Kharosthi manuscripts has given us more concrete evidence of the scriptures that were used in the early stages of Buddhism. Through preliminary research, some significant formal differences have been found between the ancient scriptures and those accepted in contemporary Buddhist traditions, as well as some content and genres that we have not known until now This is especially important, because Buddhism - like any other scholastic religion - officially recognized scriptures are often verbatim copies of local and linguistic groups. distinct systems, such as the Pali or Tibetan traditions. So only through the discovery and interpretation of classical manuscripts can scholars specialized in the study of Buddhist history be able to glimpse some of the truths behind the established surface of Buddhism. a religious tradition that attempts to bring to light a complex, multifaceted portrait of history. The discovery of the ancient Kharosthi manuscripts of Candala Buddhism, therefore, according to Professor Salomon, "will open up a whole new chapter for future Buddhist studies.."END=NAM MO SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA.( 3 TIMES ).GOLDEN AMITABHA MONASTERY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THICH CHAN TANH.AUSTRALIA,SYDNEY.16/5/2021.