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'Agama' (Sanskrit:आगम) literally means "that which has come down" (i.e., that which has been handed down to the people of the present from the past). ''Agama'' refers to a set of scriptures in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, with a distinct meaning in each case.

Contents

Hinduism

Buddhism

Jainism

See also

Notes

References

Hinduism

In Hinduism, the Agamas are an enormous collection of Sanskrit scriptures which, are revered as smriti (remembered scriptures). The Agamas are the primary source and authority for ritual, yoga, and temple construction. Each of the major denominations — Shaivism (Shaiva Agamas), Vaishnavism (Pancharatra and Vaikhanasas Samhitas) and Shaktism (Shakta Tantras) — has its unique Agama texts, which expand on the central theological and philosophical teachings of that denomination. Smartas recognize the Agamas, but don't necessarily adhere to them, relying mainly on the smriti texts.
In the Malay languages the word Agama literally means religion.

Buddhism

In Buddhism, the term 'agama' is used to refer to a class of sutras of the early Buddhist schools, which were preserved in the Mahayana tradition (specifically, in the Sarvastivada, Dharmaguptaka and Mahasanghika schools). Many of the agama sutras belong to the Sarvastivadin canon. These sutras correspond to the first four Nikayas of the Sutta-Pitaka of the Pali Canon. In this sense, 'agama' is a synonym for one of the meanings of ''nikaya''. Sometimes the word agama is used to refer not to a specific scripture, but to a class of scripture. In this case, its meaning can also encompass the Sutta-pitaka, the oldest and most historically accurate representation of the teachings of Gautama Buddha.
According to Charles Muller^[1], four collections of agamas appear in the East Asian Mahayana Canon: the ''Cháng Ahánjīng'' (長阿含經), the ''Zhōng Ahánjīng'' (中阿含經), the ''Zá Ahánjīng'' (雜阿含經), and the Ekottara Agama or ''Zēngyī Ahánjīng'' (增一阿含經). These correspond to the Digha Nikaya, the Majjhima Nikaya, the Samyutta Nikaya, and the Anguttara Nikaya of the Pali Canon, respectively.
The agamas were translated from their original language to Sanskrit, and were later also converted into a version of Sanskrit that used Chinese characters. This version is currently available in the Mahayana Canon. The agamas are commonly compared to the Suttapitaka, and their existence and similarity is sometimes used by scholars to validate the teachings composed in them as a historically authentic representation of the Canon of the First Buddhist Council. Sometimes also the differences between them are used to cast an alternative meaning on the accepted meaning of a sutta in either of the two recensions.
The Agamas contain the following scriptures in Chinese translation:
#Digha Nikaya, Majjhima Nikaya (Madhyama Agamma) and Samyutta Nikaya (Samyukta Agama) of the Sarvastivāda.
#Digha Nikaya (Dirgha Agama) of the Dharmaguptaka.
#Anguttara Nikaya (Ekottara Agama) of the .

Jainism

In Jainism, an ''agama'' is an ancient Jain textbook. There were many agamas in ancient times, but as time passed, many of them were lost or destroyed. At present, 45 agamas are available. Agamas are written in the Prakrit language. These are read and studied by Jain monks (sadhus) only.

See also

★ Early Buddhist schools

Notes

1. Muller, Charles. Digital Dictionary of Buddhism, entry on 阿含經

References

★ Dancing with Shiva, Hinduism's Contemporary Catechism, Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, , , Himalayan Academy, 2003, ISBN 0-945497-96-2