Buddhaghosa, His Sources, and the Buddhist Others:

Authority and Heterodoxy in Early Mahāvihāra Commentaries

von Aruna Gamage

362 Seiten, Hardcover

Kurzbeschreibung des Verlags

Through the lens of Pāli commentarial literature, this book illustrates how Mahāvihāra exegetes shaped their tradition’s doctrinal identity. At the heart of this tradition stands Buddhaghosa, whose commentaries remain central to understanding the intellectual practices of this sole survivor among the ancient Sri Lankan Theriya schools. No mere compiler, Buddhaghosa emerges in this study as a discerning and methodical interpreter, working with multiple recensions of the Buddhist canon and drawing upon early commentaries now lost to time. His exegetical strategies are subtle yet systematic, often imperceptibly reshaping inherited material to affirm the Mahāvihāra perspective as authoritative. Though he rarely voices personal opinions, he guides his readers into a refined, and at times previously unattested, doctrinal vision. The book also sheds new light on key controversies between Mahāvihāra exegetes and their critics—frequently derided as sophists (Vitaṇḍavādins)—particularly with regard to the ontological status of nibbāna . It reveals the literary finesse and hermeneutical creativity with which Buddhaghosa and other major exegetes (including Dhammapāla and Buddhadatta) defended their positions, providing a compelling, original take on early Mahāvihāra textual and doctrinal interpretation.

• Reihe: Studia Indolgica Universitatis Halensis
• Themen: Sprache und Sprachwissenschaft Sprachwissenschaft, Linguistik Vergleichende Linguistik
• ISBN: 9783869772684
• Sprache: Englisch
• Erscheinungsdatum: 15.08.2025
• Größe: 23.5 x 16.5 cm
• Verlag: Universitätsverlag Halle-Wittenberg