Zhong Ahanjing (Upper, Middle, Lower)

Author: Institute of Buddhist Culture, China, compiled
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 1999-03-01
Features: This book is one of the scriptures of "Basic Canons of Primitive Buddhism." Mahākā?yapa, one of the ten principal disciples of ?ākyamuni Buddha, compiled the Dharma collection, ensuring the preservation of the Buddha's teachings and benefiting all living beings. The scripture primarily discusses the fundamental doctrines of primitive Buddhism, such as the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination, the Four Dhyanas, the Six Realms, the Six Senses, and Nirvana, as well as their interrelationships. It also elaborates on the cause-and-effect retribution between good and evil in the context of the society at that time, encouraging people to cease from evil and practice goodness.
The first translation of the Fifty-Nine Volumes of the Middle āgama was completed by Dharmagupta in the 20th year of the Jianyuan era of the Former Qin (384). Later, the Buddhist monk ?īgavāna Dharmagupta of Kāpi?a discovered that this translation "deviated from the original intent and was inappropriate in name and substance," so he, together with ?rīj?āna, re-translated it in the second year of the Long'an era of the Eastern Jin (398). This is the sixty-volume version we see today, with the first translation now lost to history. This scripture primarily discusses the fundamental doctrines of primitive Buddhism, such as the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination, the Four Dhyanas, the Six Realms, the Six Senses, and Nirvana, as well as their interrelationships. It also connects to the social reality of the time to explain the cause-and-effect retribution between good and evil, encouraging people to cease from evil and practice goodness. When expounding the doctrines, it often uses examples from daily life and rich parables, making the content easy to understand and engaging.