Vibhajyavāda (Sanskrit; Pali: Vibhajjavāda; ) is a term applied generally to groups of early Buddhists belonging to the Sthavira Nikāya, which split from the Mahāsāṃghika (due either to the former attempting to make the Vinaya stricter, or the latter wishing to reform it; see: Sthavira Nikāya main article) into two main groups: the Sarvāstivāda and the Vibhajyavāda, of which the latter are known to have rejected both Sarvāstivāda doctrines (especially the doctrine of "all exists") and the doctrine of Pudgalavāda (personalism). During the reign of Ashoka, these groups possibly took part in missionary activity in Gandhara, Bactria, Kashmir, South India and Sri Lanka. By the third century CE, they had spread in Central Asia and Southeast Asia. Another difference with the Sarvāstivāda hinged on the issue of gradual versus sudden attainment. The Vibhajyavādins held that at stream entry, understanding of the Four Noble Truths came at once (ekābhisamaya), while the Sarvāstivāda asserted that this happened only gradually (anupubbābhisamaya). Vibhajyavādins also asserted that arhats could not regress or fall back to a lower state once they attained arhatship. The Vibhajyavādins also rejected the doctrine of the intermediate state between rebirths (antarabhava).

The Sammatīyas (aka Pudgalavādins) also mention the Vibhajyavādins. According to the Sammatīya sect, the Vibhajyavādins developed from the Sarvāstivāda school.

The Sarvāstivādin Abhidharma Mahāvibhāṣa Śāstra describes the Vibhajyavādins as being the type of heretics who "make objections, who uphold harmful doctrines and attack those who follow the authentic Dharma."

The Mahāsāṃghika saw the Vibhajyavādins as being offshoots from the root schism in Buddhism, which according to them produced three sects: the Sthaviras, the Mahāsāṃghikas, and the Vibhajyavādins. The Mahāsāṃghikas list the Mahīśāsaka, Dharmaguptaka, Kāśyapīya, and Tāmraparnīya (Theravāda) sects as having descended from the Vibhajyavādins. The Mahāsāṃghika branch itself, together with the Prajñaptivāda, preferred to be called Bahuśrutiya-Vibhajyavādins.

See also

  • Early Buddhist schools

References

Sources

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Further reading

  • Lance Cousins, "On the Vibhajjavādins: The Mahimsasaka, Dhammaguttaka, Kassapiya and Tambapanniya Branches of the Ancient Theriyas", Buddhist Studies Review 18, 2 (2001).
  • Prasad, Chandra Shekhar, "Theravada and Vibhajjavada: A Critical Study of the Two Appellations"' East & West Vol. 22 (1972).
  • The Buddhist Council
  • The Pali Text Society's Pali-English Dictionary