Three Gandhari Ekottarikagama-Type Sutras continues the Gandharan Buddhist Texts studies of the first-century A.D. birch bark scrolls in the British Library's Kharosthi manuscript collection. It describes the text found on two fragments which constitute the lower part of a scroll and consists of the remnants of three sutras. All three sutras are relatively short and have an association with the number four, which suggests that they are from a Gandhar- Ekottarikagama, a collection of short discourses grouped according to numerical principles and one of the major collections of writings in the Buddhist canon.

The first sutra records a discussion in which a brahman asks the Buddha four questions. The second su-tra, like the third, depicts the Buddha preaching to monks. The structure of this sutra is based on the four postures: walking, standing, sitting, and lying down. The Buddha's discourse in the third sutra concerns the four efforts (or abandonings).

The book describes the condition of the scroll and its reconstruction; examines in detail the literary and textual background of the sutras, comparing them with other extant versions and parallels in other languages; and presents a transcription of the extant text, a reconstruction, and an English translation. It includes chapters on the paleography, orthography, phonology, and morphology of the text, and offers a detailed analytic commentary.

For more information go to the Early Buddhist Manuscript Project web site at http://www.ebmp.org/

This is volume two of Gandharan Buddhist Texts, a series that presents editions and studies of the first-century A.D. birch bark scrolls in the British Library's Kharosthi manuscript collection.

About the Author

Mark Allon is senior lecturer in South Asian Buddhist Studies at the University of Sydney, Australia, and a senior research associate with the British Library/University of Washington Early Buddhist Manuscripts Project. He is the author of Style and Function: A Study of the Dominant Stylistic Features of the Prose Portions of Pali Canonical Texts and Their Mnemonic Function.

Book Information
ISBN 9780295981857
Author Mark Allon
Format Hardback
Page Count 368
Imprint University of Washington Press
Publisher University of Washington Press
Weight(grams) 1202g