An Annotated Translation of the Samayabhedoparacanacakra (1)

Abstract

The Samayabhedoparacanacakra, composed by the Sarvāstivādin elder Vasumitra, exists today in three Chinese and one Tibetan translations.
This text reports important traditions on the date of the Buddha’s Parinirvāṇa, the date of the first schism and its causes, the different Buddhist sects and their doctrinal principles. If the Dīpavaṃsa and Kathāvatthu-aṭṭhakathā represent the historical tradition of Southern Buddhism, the Samayabhedoparacanacakra, certainly, represents a similar tradition within Northern Buddhism.
Budddhist Studies in Thailand lacks primary sources preserved in Tibetan, Chinese and Sanskrit translation. The present article is the first part of a Thai translation of the Samayabhedoparacanacakra, based primarily
on the Tibetan version but also in conjuction with a careful comparison of the three Chinese translations. Annotated footnotes are included to help readers understand the text. I hope this series of translations will encourage Thai Buddhist scholars to do their research from a broader perspective, and so hopefully raise the standard their academic work.
In this paper, I translate from the beginning of the text up until the first schism and its causes, i.e. the five points submitted to the Buddhist monastic community by Mahādeva, who is criticized, albeit at the cost of
splitting the community into two groups, i.e. the Sthaviras and Mahāsāṃghikas.