A comparison of the Pāli and Chinese versions of Jhāna Saṃyutta, Asaṅkhata Saṃyutta, and Abhisamaya Saṃyutta: early Buddhist discourses on concentrative meditation, the uncompounded, and realisation

Abstract

This article first examines the textual structure of the Jhāna Saṃyutta (no. 34), Asaṅkhata Saṃyutta (no. 43) and Abhisamaya Saṃyutta (no. 13) of the Pāli Saṃyutta-nikāya in conjunction with their Chinese counterparts in the Saṃyuktāgama (Taishō vol. 2, no. 99). 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 along with the Pāli parallels. It reveals similarities but also differences in both structure and content