The Tridanฺdฺi-sutra in the Dīrgha-āgama Manuscript

Abstract

In the Dīrgha-āgama manuscript, recently discovered in Gilgit, the Tridaṇḍi-sūtra forms the first text of the last section titled, Śīlaskandhika. Until the present day, its existence was only known indirectly from quotations in texts such as Abhidharmakośavyākhyā by Yaśomitra and the Abhidharmakośaṭīkā Upāyikā by Śamathadeva. However, no sūtra connected with the name Tridaṇḍin has been found in Pāli, Chinese, and Tibetan translations. The contents of this new sūtra along with a second text, the Piṅgalātreya-sūtra, which is similar in content as the Tridaṇḍi-sūtra, will be briefly discussed. Furthermore, the new sutra’s position in the Dīrgha-āgama of the Sarvāstivādin Buddhist order will discussed as well. I also point out the similarity in structure of the Tridaṇḍi-sūtra, as well as the Piṅgalātreya-sūtra, with two Pāli suttas, and speculate that they may have derived from a single source.