A comparison of the Pāli and Chinese versions of Nāga Saṃyutta, Supaṇṇa Saṃyutta, and Valāhaka Saṃyutta, early Buddhist discourse collections on mythical dragons, birds, and cloud devas

Abstract

This article first examines the textual structure of the Nāga Saṃyutta (no. 29), Supaṇṇa Saṃyutta (no. 30), and Valāhaka Saṃyutta (no. 32) of the Pāli Saṃyutta-nikāya in conjunction with their Chinese Āgama counterparts. Then it compares the main teachings contained in the two versions. Also, this article for the first time provides a full translation of the relevant Chinese Buddhist texts for comparison. It reveals similarities but also significant differences in both structure and content.