Description

The scope of this project is suggested by the size of the team of editors and translators who have brought it to fruition. They include Marcus Bingenheimer, Editor in Chief; Bhikkhu Anālayo and Roderick S. Bucknell, Co-Editors; and translators Kin-Tung Yit, William Chu, Teng Weijen, Shi Chunyin, and Kuan Tse-fu. Bhikkhu Anālayo and Marcus Bingenheimer also contributed direct translations of several sections. See the Table of Contents to see which translator prepared divisions of the text.

Taishō 26

Volume 1

The Madhayama Āgama, or Middle Length Discourses, belong to the earliest stratum of Buddhist sutra literature. The dialogues between Śākyamuni Buddha and his disciples and followers present the teachings of early Buddhism on karma, death and rebirth, and the training of the mind in order to reach nirvana. The speakers often make use of parables and tales to illustrate the correct understanding of early doctrine.

The Madhayama Āgama was translated into Chinese from a now lost Indian original in 398 C.E. It corresponds mainly to the Majjhima Nikāya of the Pali canon, although many of its sutras have parallels in other sections of the Pali canon.

Volume I contains the translations of divisions 1-6 (of 18) and sutras 1-71 (of 222). Translations of the remaining divisions and sutras will be published in two subsequent volumes.

Source
Skt. Madhyamāgama, translated by Gautama Saṃghadeva into the Chinese as Zhong ahan jing (長阿含經). 60 fascicles.