Mahāsāṃghika and Mahāyāna: An Analysis of Faxian and the Translation of the Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya (Chin. Mohe Sengqi Lü)

Faxian's purpose in going to India in search of the Dharma was to bring back the material missing from the Vinaya canon.He brought back three Vinaya texts to China in total, namely, the Mohe sengqi lü 摩訶僧祇律 [Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya] (hereafter abbreviated to Sengqi lü), the Sapoduozhong lü chao 薩婆多眾律抄 [Annotation to the Sarvāstivādin Vinaya] and the Mishasai wufen lü 彌沙塞 五分律 [Five-Part Vinaya of the Mahīśāsaka School] (hereafter abbreviated as Wufen lü), respectively.Why did he choose to translate the Sengqi lü? Did it have something to do with the features of Sectarian Buddhist thought?Was it related to Buddhist thought of the time?This article raises and attempts tentative answers to these questions.303 1 Gaoseng Faxian zhuan, T no.2085, 51: 1.857a6: 法顯昔在長安, 慨律藏殘缺.2 Tang, Fojiao shi, 267: 開中國佛理之一派, 至為重要.3 Gaoseng Faxian zhuan, T no.2085, 51: 1.864b17-25:When Faxian first went in search of the Vinaya in the countries of northern India, there were no written texts as they were passed orally from master to disciple.He had to travel as far as Central India, where he obtained a Vinaya at a Mahāyāna monastery, the Mohe sengqizhong lü.It was the version practiced by the first great community when the Buddha was in the world, the text of which had been passed down from the Jetavana Vihāra.Each of the eighteen sects had their own traditions, which were the same in general but differing in various minor details, some being more lenient and others stricter.However, this text was the most extensive and complete among them.He also obtained a written copy of another Vinaya 北天竺諸國, 皆師師口傳, 無本可寫, 是以遠涉乃至中天竺, 於此摩訶衍僧 伽藍得一部律, 是 《摩訶僧祇眾律》 .佛在世時最初大眾所行也, 於祇洹精舍