Dharmaguptaka
The word Dharmaguptaka combines two Sanskrit terms. Guptaka means preserver. Dharma refers to law, justice, or morality. Most scholars believe the name describes the set of laws found in Northern Buddhism. This school emerged from another group called the Mahīśāsakas. They established themselves in Northwest India during the first century CE. A scholar named A. K. Warder suggests they originated in a region known as Aparānta. Their early success relied on support from Indo-Scythian rulers in Gandhāra. Later historical shifts saw them decline when the Kuşana Empire rose around the mid-first to third century AD. The Kuşana Empire favored a different sect called Sarvāstivāda instead.
A translation and commentary on the Samayabhedoparacanaćakra reveals how this group viewed spiritual paths differently. They considered the path of a śrāvaka separate from the path of a bodhisattva. Vasubandhu recorded that these monks believed realisation of the Four Noble Truths happens all at once. This view aligned with Theravāda traditions but contradicted Sarvāstivāda teachings. Another text called the Abhidharma Mahāvibhāśā Śāstra states they held that the Four Noble Truths are observed simultaneously. These monks rejected authority of Sarvāstivāda Prātimoksha rules because they claimed original Buddha teachings had been lost elsewhere. They utilized a twelvefold division of Buddhist teachings found in their Dīrgha Agama and Vinaya texts. This structure included categories like Sūtra, Geya, Vyākaraņa, and Udāna among others.
Richard Salomon identified Gandhāran Buddhist texts as belonging to the Dharmaguptaka sect. These manuscripts represent the oldest extant Buddhist writings ever discovered. The British Library holds scrolls that likely came from a monastery library in Nagarāha Afghanistan. A fragment in the Schøyen Collection references the Six Pāramitās using Kharoşthi script. This script was heavily Sanskritised starting in the first century CE. Evidence suggests these texts confirm a flourishing of the school in Northwest India around 100 CE. Gāndhārī served as the canonical language for this community during that period. The discovery of these documents explains subsequent influence across Central Asia and East Asia. Scholars note these texts provide a random but representative fraction of what was probably a much larger set preserved by the sect.
Available evidence indicates the first Buddhist missions to Khotan were carried out by the Dharmaguptaka sect. They made more efforts than any other group to spread Buddhism outside India. Their reach extended into Iran, Central Asia, and China with great success. Most countries adopting Buddhism from China also adopted their Vinaya ordination lineage. Xuanzang and Yijing recorded in the seventh century that Dharmaguptakas resided in Oddyana and Central Asia rather than within the Indian subcontinent. Three distinct phases of missionary activity occurred historically. These phases associated with different sects included Dharmagupta, Sarvāstivāda, and Mūlasarvāstivāda. The sect thrived under Indo-Scythian support before declining when Kuşana patronage shifted toward rival groups. Their expansion created lasting monastic traditions still visible today in Vietnam, Korea, Japan, and the Philippines.
In the early fifth century CE, Dharmaguptaka Vinaya entered Chinese through translation efforts. A monk named Buddhayaśas recited the entire text from memory without reading a written manuscript. He came from Kashmir and worked during the Later Qin dynasty. Another translator named Zhu Fonian assisted him in completing the Dīrgha Agama around 413 CE. This Vinaya became predominant in Chinese Buddhist monasticism after its release. The name used in East Asian tradition is Vinaya in Four Parts or Caturvargika Vinaya. Ordination under these rules relates only to monastic vows and lineage. It does not conflict with actual Buddhist teachings followed by practitioners. By the eighth century, an imperial edict issued by Emperor Zhongzong mandated that all Sangha in China use this specific vinaya for ordination. Dao An gained support for this standardization effort against earlier competing lineages like Mahāsānghika.
Textual evidence suggests members of the Dharmaguptaka school began accepting Mahāyāna sūtras at some unknown point. The Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa records Kanişka presided over establishment of Prajñāpāramitā doctrines between 127 and 151 CE. Tāranātha wrote that five hundred bodhisattvas attended a council at Jalandhra monastery during Kanishka's time. Edward Conze noted Prajñāpāramitā had great success in northwest India during Kuşana periods. Jan Nattier found that Ugrapariprccha Sutra circulated within Dharmaguptaka communities early on. This text mentions a fourfold division including a Bodhisattva Piţaka. Joseph Walser identified connections between Pañcavişatisahasrika Prajñāpāramitā Sutra and the sect. Paramārtha, a sixth-century monk from Ujjain, unequivocally associated the school with Mahāyāna traditions. He portrayed them as perhaps closest to straightforward Mahāyāna practice among all groups.
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Common questions
What does the name Dharmaguptaka mean and where did it originate?
The word Dharmaguptaka combines Sanskrit terms meaning preserver of law or morality. Most scholars believe this school emerged from another group called the Mahīśāsakas in Northwest India during the first century CE.
When did the Kuşana Empire cause the decline of the Dharmaguptaka sect?
Historical shifts saw them decline when the Kuşana Empire rose around the mid-first to third century AD. The Kuşana Empire favored a different sect called Sarvāstivāda instead of supporting the Dharmaguptakas.
Which manuscripts are considered the oldest extant Buddhist writings discovered by Richard Salomon?
Richard Salomon identified Gandhāran Buddhist texts as belonging to the Dharmaguptaka sect. These manuscripts represent the oldest extant Buddhist writings ever discovered and include scrolls held by the British Library from Nagarāha Afghanistan.
How did the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya become predominant in Chinese monasticism?
In the early fifth century CE, Dharmaguptaka Vinaya entered Chinese through translation efforts led by monk Buddhayaśas. By the eighth century, an imperial edict issued by Emperor Zhongzong mandated that all Sangha in China use this specific vinaya for ordination.
Did the Dharmaguptaka school accept Mahāyāna sūtras during the Kuşana period?
Textual evidence suggests members of the Dharmaguptaka school began accepting Mahāyāna sūtras at some unknown point. Paramārtha, a sixth-century monk from Ujjain, unequivocally associated the school with Mahāyāna traditions and portrayed them as perhaps closest to straightforward Mahāyāna practice among all groups.