- 著者
-
林 隆嗣
- 出版者
- こども教育宝仙大学
- 雑誌
- こども教育宝仙大学紀要
- 巻号頁・発行日
- vol.5, pp.37-45, 2014-03-12
The Visuddhimagga (Vism) composed by Buddhaghosa, the most eminent commentator in Theravāda Buddhism, is undoubtedly an essential text to comprehend the Theravādin’s aspect of the Buddhist philosophy and practice. In the chapter 12 of the Vism, surveying various kinds of the supernormal powers, Buddhaghosa quotes the Canonical description that the one with the power touches the moon and sun, and he introduces an interpretation by the elder Tipiṭaka-Cūḷanāga (contemporary with the king Kūtakaṇṇatissa, reigned 41-19 BC) that this power physically enlarges one’s hand. Here, Cūḷanāga refers to the story called “Nandopanandadamana” relating a psychic duel between the royal nāga Nandopananda and Mahā-Moggallāna,one of the chief disciples of the Buddha. The textual evidence shows that this story was not only known to the monk in the 1st century BC, but also commonly accepted among the Theravādins still in the 5th century AD. The Nandopananda[damana], explicitly recognized in the Vinaya commentary as one of the dhammas “which were not listed in the three councils”, even exists in the Tibetan and Chinese translations. This fact throws a new light on the study of apocryphal literature of Pāli Buddhism as well as on the study of source materials of the Pāli commentaries.