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Cited by 84Indian and Buddhist StudiesStudy and Philosophy of ReligionBiblical Studies and Interpretation

A Few Good Men: The Bodhisattva Path according to The Inquiry of Ugra (Ugraparipṛcchā)

Nattier, Jan·2003·University of Hawaii Press eBooks
DOI 10.1515/9780824841164
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Abstract

A Few Good Men is a study and translation of The Inquiry of Ugra (Ugraparipṛcchâ), one of the most influential Mahâyâna sutras on the bodhisattva path, but also one of the most neglected texts in Western treatments of Buddhism. To achieve a better understanding of the universe of ideas, activities, and institutional structures within which early self-proclaimed bodhisattvas lived, the author first considers the Ugra as a literary document, employing new methodological tools to examine the genre to which it belongs, the age of its extant versions, and their relationships to one another. She goes on to challenge the dominant notions that the Mahâyâna emerged as a "reform" of earlier Buddhism and offered lay people an "easier option." A Few Good Men will be compelling reading for scholars and practitioners alike and others interested in the history of Indian Buddhism and the formation of Mahâyâna.

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  • Mahayanists and non-Mahayanists often shared the same monasteries.

    “both Chinese pilgrims and Indian Mah ay ana texts themselves make reference to Mah ay anists living together in the same monasteries as nonMah ay anists”

    From Early Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism I: Recent Scholarship (2010) · cites this paper as Nattier 2003

  • Nattier argued that the Ugrapariprccha Sutra represents the earliest or most primitive form of Mahayana and presents the bodhisattva path as a supremely difficult enterprise adopted primarily by ascetic, male monastics who typically practiced forest dwelling.

    “the Ugraparipr @ cch a S utra represents the earliest or most primitive form of Mah ay ana that we have access to and that it presents the bodhisattva path as a 'supremely difficult enterprise' adopted primarily by ascetic, male monastics who typically practiced forest dwelling.”

    From Early Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism I: Recent Scholarship (2010) · cites this paper as Nattier 2003

  • Hirakawa's lay origin theory is based on faulty presuppositions and is not supported by the available evidence.

    “pointing out that it is based on a number of faulty presuppositions and is not supported by the available evidence.”

    From Early Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism I: Recent Scholarship (2010) · cites this paper as Nattier 2003

  • Study of differences in various versions of sutras translated into Chinese has directly shown that these texts were often transmitted orally.

    “Study of differences in various versions of s utras translated into Chinese has directly shown that these texts were often transmitted orally (e.g., Nattier 2003).”

    From Early Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism I: Recent Scholarship (2010) · cites this paper as Nattier 2003

  • Nattier's version of the theory is based on a single text, the Ugrapariprccha Sutra, which she depicts as containing the oldest or most primitive known evidence for the Mahayana (Nattier 2003).

    “Nattier's version of the theory is based on a single text, the Ugraparipr @ cch a S utra , which she depicts as containing the oldest or most primitive known evidence for the Mah ay ana (Nattier 2003).”

    From Early Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism I: Recent Scholarship (2010) · cites this paper as Nattier 2003

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Authors
Nattier, J.
Corresponding author
Nattier, Jan
Venue
University of Hawaii Press eBooks
Publisher
University of Hawaii Press
Published
2003-12-31
DOI
10.1515/9780824841164
OpenAlex
W4386179789
Cited by
83
References
0
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 2 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 35 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 6
FWCI
0.00
Type
book
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
University of Hawaii Press eBooks (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Religious studies › Indian and Buddhist Studies
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Philosophy › Study and Philosophy of Religion
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Religious studies › Biblical Studies and Interpretation
Keywords
Mahayana Buddhism, bodhisattva path, Indian Buddhism, textual dating, textual relations

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