Table Of ContentSTUDIES IN THE BUDDHIST TRADITIONS
A Few
Good Men
The Bodhisattva Path
according to
The Inquiry of Ugra
( Ugrapariprcchä )
A Study and Translation by
JAN NATTIER
UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII PRESS, HONOLULU
© 2003 Institute for the Study of Buddhist Traditions
All rights reserved
Printed in the United Stetes of America
03 04 05 06 07 08 6 5 4 3 2 1
The Institute for the Study of Buddhist Traditions is part of the Department of
Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor,
Michigan. It was founded in 1988 to foster research and publication in the study of
Buddhism and of the cultures and literatures that represent it. In association with
the University of Hawai'i Press, the Institute publishes Studies in the Buddhist
Traditions, a series devoted to the publication of materials, translations, and mono
graphs relevant to the study of Buddhist traditions, in particular as they radiate from
the South Asian homeland. The series also publishes studies and conference vol
umes resulting from work carried out in affiliation with the Institute in Ann Arbor.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Nattier, Jan.
A few good men : the Bodhisattva path according to the Inquiry of Ugra
(Ugrapariprccha) / study and translation by Jan Nattier.
p. cm. — (Studies in the Buddhist traditions)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8248-2607-8 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Tripiôaka. Sâtrapiôaka. Ugrapariprcchâ—Commentaries. I. Tripitaka.
Sutrapitaka. Ugrapariprccha. English. II. Title. 111. Series.
BQ2240.U473N37 2003
294.3'85—dc21
2002075050
University of Hawai'i Press books are printed on acid-firee paper and meet the
guidelines for permanence and durability of the Council on Library Resources.
Text camera-ready copy provided by the author.
Cover design by Santos Barbasa Jr.
www.uhpress.hawaii.edu
To the memory of
Professor Masatoshi Nagatomi (1926-2000)
scholar, teacher, and friend
Contents
Preface xi
Abbreviations xv
Part One: Analysis
1. INTRODUCTION 3
2. THE FORMATION OF THE INQUIRY OF UGRA 10
The Ugra as a Literary Document 11
Versions of the Sütra 16
The Name "Ugradatta" 21
The Epithet Grhapati 22
Ugra as Literary Character: Precedents in Earlier Texts 25
The Title of the Sutra 26
The Ugra as a Ratnaküta Text 31
The Evolution of the Text over Time 36
Structure and Genre 38
Date and Provenance 41
3. THE UGRA AS A HISTORICAL SOURCE:
METHODOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS 48
The Problem of Textual Stratification 49
Types of Interpolations in the Ugra 51
Multiplication of epithets 53
Completion of a standard list 53
Recall of a passage from elsewhere 54
Filling in the blanks 55
Reiteration with additional examples 56
Addition of genuinely new material 57
The Possibility of Omissions and Abbreviations 59
vi Contents
Moving Pieces: Alterations in the Sequence of the Text 61
Extracting Historical Data from a Normative Source 63
The principle of embarrassment 65
The principle of irrelevance 66
The principle of counterargument 67
The principle of corroborating evidence 68
Ex Silentio: The Interpretation of Absence 69
A Distant Mirror: Studying Indian Buddhism through
Chinese and Tibetan Texts 70
4. THE INSTITUTIONAL SETTING 73
Defining Categories: Household vs. Renunciant Life 74
Lay Bodhisattvas 75
Monastic Bodhisattvas 7 9
Bodhisattvas and Srävakas in the Buddhist Sangha 84
The Vihâra and the Wilderness 89
Hirakawa's theory of the lay origins of the Mahäyäna 89
Ray's theory of the forest origins of the Mahäyäna 93
Gender Issues 96
Conclusions: Bodhisattvas in Their Nikäya Contexts 100
5. BODHISATTVA PRACTICES: GUIDELINES FOR
THE PATH 103
THE LAY BODHISATTVA 106
Taking Refuge 106
The Eleven Precepts 107
The Practice of Giving 111
The Transformation of Merit 114
Detachment from People and Things 115
The Triskandhaka Ritual 117
The Necessity of Becoming a Monk 121
Contents vii
THE MONASTIC BODHISATTVA 127
The Four Noble Traditions 127
Wilderness-Dwelling 130
Avoiding Contact with Others 132
Maintaining Humility 135
6. THE STRUCTURE OF THE BODHISATTVA
CAREER: IMPLICIT ASSUMPTIONS 137
The Three Vehicles: Separate Paths to Separate Goals 138
The Impossibility of Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime 142
Motivations for the Bodhisattva Path 144
Bodhisattva Vows 147
Stages of the Path 151
The Six Paramitas 153
Tactical Skill 154
The Buddha and the Practitioner 156
Paying homage 162
Making offerings 163
Service 166
Meditative remembrance 167
Conclusions: Imitative vs. Relational Cultivation 168
7. TELLING ABSENCES: WHAT IS NOT IN THE UGRA 171
The Term "Hinayana" 172
Bodhisattva Universalism 174
The Supermundane Buddha 176
The Rhetoric of Emptiness 179
The Cult of the Stüpa 182
The Cult of the Book 184
Devotion to Celestial Buddhas 187
viii Contents
Devotion to Celestial Bodhisattvas 188
Conclusions: The Significance of Absence 190
8. THE MAHÄYÄNA IN THE MIRROR OF THE UGRA 193
Part Two: Translation
Translation Techniques and Conventions 201
Which Text? 202
Which Reading? 204
Symbols and Conventions 205
PRACTICES OF THE LAY BODHISATTVA
0. Opening Salutation 207
1. The Setting 207
2. Ugra's Inquiry 210
3. Going for Refuge 216
4. The Refuges, Repeated 219
5. Good Deeds 223
6. The Bodhisattva's Perspective 226
7. The Eleven Precepts 229
8. The Bodhisattva in Society 233
9. The Faults of the Household Life 237
10. The Benefits of Giving 240
11. Thoughts When Encountering Beggars 241
12. Detachment from People and Things 246
13. Cultivating Aversion for One's Wife 247
14. Cultivating Detachment from One's Son 255
15. How to Interact with Beggars 257
16. The Triskandhaka Ritual 259
17. When Monks Violate the Precepts 261
18. When Visiting a Monastery 264
Contents ix
19. Contrasts between Household and Renunciant Life 266
20. When Visiting a Monastery, Cont'd. 272
21. The Ordination of Ugra and His Friends (version 1) 278
PRACTICES OF THE MONASTIC BODHISATTVA
22. The Renunciant Bodhisattva's Practices 280
23. The Four Noble Traditions 282
24. The Noble Traditions and Other Ascetic Practices 284
25. The Virtues of Wilderness-Dwelling 291
26. Interacting with Other Monks and Teachers 307
27. The Pure Morality of the Renunciant Bodhisattva 310
28. The Pure Meditation of the Renunciant Bodhisattva 312
29. The Pure Insight of the Renunciant Bodhisattva 313
30. The Ordination of Ugra and His Friends (version 2) 314
31. How the Householder Can Live as a Renunciant 314
32. Dialogue with Änanda 316
33. The Title of the Text 318
34. The Final Reaction of the Audience 320
35. Title and Colophon 320
Appendices
1. Synoptic Tables of Versions of the Ugrapariprcchä 325
Part A: Tibetan Texts 326
Part B: Chinese Texts and Citations in Other Sources 333
2. Bodhisattva Names in the Ugrapariprcchä 341
3. Monastic Specialties Recorded in the Ugrapariprcchä 347
Bibliography 352
Index 369
