Jou [Joe] Smith wrote:

> > However, as I have mentioned here
> > before, I am working on a text by Asanga which is a thematic
> > commentary on the Samyukta-agama.
> In which language. I am translating the SA from Chinese.

Sorry not to reply sooner -- I have been having email problems, now solved.
The text only survives in Tibetan and Chinese although quite a number of the
lemmata can be reconstructed from Pali / Skt parallels. Also the Chinese
translation, though purportly done by Xuan-zang, is rather poor in many
places -- somebody just couldn't get the hang of Skt syntax. This part of
the Yogacara-bhumi-sastra is 20 juan long and I have done about four juan so
far. I have also translated the Vivarana-samgrahani (a work dealing with
the theory of exegesis) and the Paryaya-samgrahani (explicating the strings
of paryayas found in sutras). None of these works exhibit any overt (or
even implicit) Mahayana doctrines. Though ascribed to Asanga, it is possible
that they are Gandhari area Sarvastivadin / Sautrantika in inspiration.
BTW: I am doing these translations for the BDK series.

I am pleased to hear that somebody is working on the SA -- have you
re-sequenced the texts into their correct order ? Are you planning
publication ? Apart from Skt fragments that are useful, do you know of the
Abhidharma-kosa-upayika which survives in Tibetan. This work is nothing
more than a large compilation of quotes and and whole sutras from the four
Agamas -- including, of, course, many key items from the SA.

If you are interested, I would be happy to share aspects of my research with
you -- we could carry on this discussion off list if you wish.

Best wishes,
Stephen Hodge

> > Given that approx 90% of
> > the contents of the SA correspond closely in all essentials
> > to the SN, it is surprising the huge gulf that separates
> > Asanga's understanding of the texts and that of his almost
> > contemporary Buddhaghosa -- apart from a few obvious points,
> > there is virtually no agreement between the two.
>
> :-) I'm not surprised.
>
> > So who
> > should we trust if we want to understand the meaning of the
> > scriptural texts as the "author" intended ?
>
> I would say the author himself. Why not let the Buddha interpret the
> text [as much as possible] by collecting and consistently applying the
> definitions that he gave to terms that he used. To suggest that the
> Buddha used various meanings to words, after he had defined them, to me
> is, in effect saying he had a secret teaching. Please let me know if
> anyone disagrees with the definitions I have put together:
> http://home.vicnet.net.au/~jousmith/buddhism/budaword/definiti.html.
>
> > Unless one is a
> > Theravadin, why especially privilege that tradition if
> > alternative interpretations are also occasionally available ?
>
> Well said, imo.
>
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