The Mūlasarvāstivāda (; ) was one of the early Buddhist schools of India. The origins of the Mūlasarvāstivāda school and their relationship to the Sarvāstivāda remain largely unknown, although various theories exist.
The continuity of the Mūlasarvāstivāda monastic order remains in Tibetan Buddhism, although until recently, only Mūlasarvāstivādin bhikkhu (monks) existed. The Tibetan Buddhist tradition of bhikkhuni (nuns) officially commenced in Bhutan on 23 June 2022, when 144 women were ordained.[DAMCHÖ DIANA FINNEGAN and CAROLA ROLOFF (BHIKṢUṆĪ JAMPA TSEDROEN). "Women Receive Full Ordination in Bhutan For First Time in Modern History", Lion's Roar, JUNE 27, 2022.] Previously, bhiksuni ordinations were only administered in Taiwan, and later in Bodh Gaya, India.[Venerable Thubten Choedron, "International full ordination ceremony in Bodh Gaya". 23 February 1998]
History
In India
The relationship of the Mūlasarvāstivāda to the Sarvāstivāda school is a matter of dispute; modern scholars lean towards classifying them as independent.
[Charles Willemen, Bart Dessein, Collett Cox. Sarvāstivāda Buddhist scholasticism. Brill, 1988. p.88.] Yijing claimed that they derived their name from being an offshoot of Sarvāstivāda, but Buton Rinchen Drub stated that the name was a homage to Sarvāstivāda as the "root" (
mūla) of all Buddhist schools.
[Elizabeth Cook. Light of Liberation: A History of Buddhism in India. Dharma Publishing, 1992. p. 237] A number of theories have been posited by academics as to how the two are related, which
Bhikkhu Sujato summaries as follows:
According to Gregory Schopen, the Mūlasarvāstivāda developed during the 2nd century AD and went into decline in India by the 7th century.[Gregory Schopen. Figments and fragments of Māhāyana Buddhism in India. University of Hawaii Press, 2005. pp.76-77.]
In Central Asia
The Mūlasarvāstivāda were prevalent at times throughout
Central Asia due to missionary activities performed in the region. A number of scholars identify three distinct major phases of missionary activities seen in the history of Buddhism in Central Asia, which are associated with the following sects chronologically:
[Willemen, Charles. Dessein, Bart. Cox, Collett. Sarvastivada Buddhist Scholasticism. 1997. p. 126]
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Dharmaguptaka
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Sarvastivada
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Mūlasarvāstivāda
In Champa
According to the monk Yijing, at the end of the 7th century, Buddhist monks in
Champa generally either belonged to the
Sammitiya nikaya and the Mulasarvastivada nikaya. The latter's adherents would pull up their robes on both sides, pull the ends through the belt and hang them over it.
[Griffiths, Arlo. Pichon, Salomé. Southworth, William A. Buddhist vihāras in Campā, from the 7th to the 14th centuries 2003. p.283]
In Śrīvijaya
In the 7th century, Yijing writes that the Mūlasarvāstivāda were prominent throughout the kingdom of
Srivijaya (modern day Sumatra,
Indonesia). Yijing stayed in Śrīvijaya for six to seven years, during which time he studied Sanskrit and translated Sanskrit texts into Chinese. Yijing states that the Mūlasarvāstivāda vinaya was almost universally adopted in this area.
[Coedes, George. The Indianized States of South-East Asia. 1968. p. 84] He writes that the subjects studied, as well as the rules and ceremonies, were essentially the same in this region as they were in India.
Yijing described these islands as generally "Hīnayāna" in orientation, but writes that the
Melayu Kingdom included Mahāyāna teachings such as
Asanga's
Yogācārabhūmi Śāstra.
In Japan
Kukai, the founder of the Shingon lineage in Japan, is recorded to have required his students to study the Mulasarvastivada Vinaya.
Vinaya lineage
The Mūlasarvāstivāda vinaya is one of three surviving vinaya lineages, along with the Dharmaguptaka and Theravāda. The Tibetan Emperor
Ralpacan restricted Buddhist ordination to the Mūlasarvāstivādin vinaya. As Buddhism was introduced to Mongolia from Tibet, Mongolian ordination follows this rule as well.
The Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya is extant in Tibetan (9th century translation) and Chinese (8th century translation), and to some extent in the original Sanskrit.
Further reading
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Yamagiwa Nobuyuki (2003). "Recent Studies on Vinaya Manuscripts". Journal of Indian and Buddhist studies 52 (1), 339-333
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Satoshi Hiraoka (1998). "The Relation between the Divyavadana and the Mulasarvastivada Vinaya". Journal of Indian Philosophy 26 (5), 419-434
