I was comparing sutra in Dharma Pearls and it’s just amazing to see how Pali version was so much simpler and trust worthy. But then again the extra teaching in the Chinese version doesn’t seem added. But as I know from reading Mahayana sutras, Indians was masters of creating stories that sounded familiar to someone who knows Buddha teachings.
But I believe the possibility that the extra teachings was because Buddha taught in different regions.
I summarized four Chinese parallels in this post: Comparing AN.7.68 to Its Chinese Parallels - #16 by cdpatton. When we look at a broader set of texts, it becomes clearer where all the versions vary from each other and where there’s strong correspondence across the board. Comparing just two versions leaves it unclear.
