Is the textual beginning of the Mahayana in the Parivāra?

The Watercooler
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The 3rd chapter of the Parivāra is the poem Samuṭṭhānassuddāna.

It contains the verse;

Dukkaraṁ vividhaṁ katvā,
Having done many difficult things,

pūrayitvāna pāramī;
Having fulfilled the perfections;

Uppajjanti mahāvīrā,
The Great Heroes emerge,

cakkhubhūtā sabrahmake.
Endowed with vision, in this world with its supreme beings.

pāramī is very rare in the “EBT” occuring nowhere in the 4 principle Nikayas, nowhere in the Therevada Abhidhamma and only here in the Vinaya.

The poem also refers to sakyamuni, again quite rare in the Pali, occuring in only one other place in the Vinaya, in aṭṭhacīvaramātikā and in the 4 principle Nikayas only in the Tassuddānaṁ to SN12.10.

I wondered if anyone had any thoughts or insights into this?

see also The evolution of the pāramīs in late Pali canonical texts and their relation to the Mahayana which appeared as a suggested link while I wsa writing this and I am off to read now :slight_smile:

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The Parivāra is IIRC the only canonical text that explicitly mentions Sri Lanka, and is probably the latest text in the canon, apart from the Milinda if that is included. So it would seem it is reflecting the doctrines developed in the late Khuddaka.

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