Escuelas budistas tempranas – El saṅgha monástico budista

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Las primeras escuelas budistas son aquellas en las que la saṅgha monástica budista se dividió inicialmente, debido en un principio a diferencias en el vinaya y, posteriormente, también a diferencias doctrinales y a la separación geográfica de grupos de monjes.

Origen de las primeras escuelas budistas

La saṅgha original se fragmentó en las primeras escuelas tempranas (generalmente consideradas como el Sthavira nikāya y el Mahāsāṃghika) un número significativo de años después de la muerte de Gautama Buda.

Más tarde, estas primeras escuelas se dividieron aún más en otras como los Sarvāstivādins, los Dharmaguptakas y los Vibhajyavāda, llegando a contar un total de 18 o 20 escuelas según los relatos tradicionales.

De hecho, existen varias listas superpuestas de 18 escuelas preservadas en la tradición budista, que suman aproximadamente el doble, aunque algunas pueden ser nombres alternativos para las mismas escuelas. Se considera probable que los números tradicionales sean meramente convencionales.

El material textual compartido por las primeras escuelas se denomina a menudo Textos Budistas Tempranos, y estos son una fuente importante para comprender sus similitudes y diferencias doctrinales.

Lista de primeras escuelas budistas

Esta es una lista de las conocidas escuelas budistas tempranas.

Theravada

El Theravāda es el nombre más comúnmente aceptado de la escuela existente más antigua del budismo. Los adherentes de esta escuela, denominados theravādins, han preservado su versión de las enseñanzas de Gautama Buda o Dhamma del Buda en el Canon Pāli durante más de un milenio.

Mulasarvastivada

El Mūlasarvāstivāda fue una de las primeras escuelas budistas de India. Los orígenes del Mūlasarvāstivāda y su relación con la secta Sarvāstivāda siguen siendo en gran medida desconocidos, aunque existen varias teorías.

Tamrashatiya

The Tāmraśāṭīya, also called Tāmraparṇīya was one of the early schools of Buddhism and a branch of the Vibhajyavāda school based in Sri Lanka. It is thought that the Theravāda tradition has its origins in this school.

Sarvastivada

El Sarvāstivāda fue una de las primeras escuelas budistas establecidas alrededor del reinado de Ashoka. Era particularmente conocida como una tradición Abhidharma, con un conjunto único de siete obras Abhidharma.

Buddhayaśas

Buddhayaśas was a Dharmaguptaka monk and translator. He is recorded as having learned both Theravada and Mahāyāna treatises. He translated the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya, the Dīrgha Āgama, and other Mahāyāna texts including the Ākāśagarbha Bodhisattva Sūtra. Buddhayaśas’ preface for his translation of the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya states that the Dharmaguptakas had assimilated the body of Mahāyāna sutras.

Vaibhāṣika

Sarvāstivāda-Vaibhāṣika or simply Vaibhāṣika (वैभाषिक), refers to an ancient Buddhist tradition of Abhidharma, which was very influential in north India, especially Kashmir. In various texts, they referred to their tradition as Yuktavāda, and another name for them was Hetuvāda. The Vaibhāṣika school was an influential subgroup of the larger Sarvāstivāda school. They were distinguished from other Sarvāstivāda sub-schools like the Sautrāntika and the «Western Masters» of Gandhara and Bactria by their orthodox adherence to the doctrines found in the Mahāvibhāṣa. Vaibhāṣika thought significantly influenced the Buddhist philosophy of all major Mahayana Buddhist schools of thought and also influenced the later forms of Theravāda Abhidhamma.

Sthavira nikāya

The Sthavira nikāya was one of the early Buddhist schools. They split from the majority Mahāsāṃghikas at the time of the Second Buddhist council.

Sautrāntika

The Sautrāntika or Sutravadin were an early Buddhist school generally believed to be descended from the Sthavira nikāya by way of their immediate parent school, the Sarvāstivādins. While they are identified as a unique doctrinal tendency, they were part of the Sarvāstivāda Vinaya lineage of monastic ordination.

Pudgalavada

The Pudgalavāda was a Buddhist philosophical view and also refers to a group of Nikaya Buddhist schools that arose from the Sthavira nikāya. The school is believed to have been founded by the elder Vātsīputra in the third century BCE. They were a widely influential school in India and became particularly popular during the reign of emperor Harshavadana. Harsha’s sister Rajyasri was said to have joined the school as a nun. According to Dan Lusthaus, they were «one of the most popular mainstream Buddhist sects in India for more than a thousand years.»

Prajñaptivāda

The Prajñaptivāda was a branch of the Mahāsāṃghika, one of the early Buddhist schools in India. The Prajñaptivādins were also known as the Bahuśrutīya-Vibhajyavādins.

Bahuśrutīya

Bahuśrutīya (Sanskrit) was one of the early Buddhist schools, according to early sources such as Vasumitra, the Śāriputraparipṛcchā, and other sources, and was a sub-group which emerged from the Mahāsāṃghika sect.

Mahīśāsaka

Mahīśāsaka is one of the early Buddhist schools according to some records. Its origins may go back to the dispute in the Second Buddhist council. The Dharmaguptaka sect is thought to have branched out from Mahīśāsaka sect toward the end of the 2nd or the beginning of the 1st century BCE.

Mahāsāṃghika

The Mahāsāṃghika was one of the early Buddhist schools. Interest in the origins of the Mahāsāṃghika school lies in the fact that their Vinaya recension appears in several ways to represent an older redaction overall. Many scholars also look to the Mahāsāṃghika branch for the initial development of Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism.

Lokottaravāda

The Lokottaravāda was one of the early Buddhist schools according to Mahayana doxological sources compiled by Bhāviveka, Vinitadeva and others, and was a subgroup which emerged from the Mahāsāṃghika.

Kukkuṭika

The Kukkuṭika were an early Buddhist school which descended from the Mahāsāṃghika.

Ekavyāvahārika

The Ekavyāvahārika was one of the early Buddhist schools, and is thought to have separated from the Mahāsāṃghika sect during the reign of Aśoka.

Dharmaguptaka

The Dharmaguptaka are one of the eighteen or twenty early Buddhist schools, depending on the source. They are said to have originated from another sect, the Mahīśāsakas. The Dharmaguptakas had a prominent role in early Central Asian and Chinese Buddhism, and their Prātimokṣa are still in effect in East Asian countries to this day, including China, Vietnam, Korea, and Japan as well as the Philippines. They are one of three surviving Vinaya lineages, along with that of the Theravāda and the Mūlasarvāstivāda.

Caitika

Caitika was an early Buddhist school, a sub-sect of the Mahāsāṃghika. They were also known as the Caityaka sect.

Vibhajyavāda

Vibhajyavāda is a term applied generally to groups of early Buddhists belonging to the Sthavira Nikaya. These various groups are known to have rejected Sarvāstivāda doctrines and the doctrine of Pudgalavada (personalism). During the reign of Ashoka, these groups possibly took part in missionary activity in Gandhara, Bactria, Kashmir, South India and Sri Lanka. By the third century CE, they had spread in Central Asia and South-East Asia. Their doctrine is expounded in the Kathavatthu.

Nikaya Buddhism

The term Nikāya Buddhism was coined by Masatoshi Nagatomi as a non-derogatory substitute for Hinayana, meaning the early Buddhist schools. Examples of these groups are pre-sectarian Buddhism and the early Buddhist schools. Some scholars exclude pre-sectarian Buddhism when using the term. The term Theravada refers to Buddhist practices based on these early teachings, as preserved in the Pāli Canon.

Kāśyapīya

Kāśyapīya was one of the early Buddhist schools in India.

Dharmatrāta

Dharmatrāta or possibly Dharmatara or Dharmatāra, is the name of successive Sarvāstivāda teachers and authors. The name is usually transliterated into Chinese as 達磨多羅 and translated as 法救, which means ‘Dharma Rescuer’ or ‘Dharma Saviour’.