[Buddha-l] Anomalous doctrines

[Stephen Hodge]

Professor Chit Hlaing wrote:

> These 'wandering ascetics' need not have been, and almost certainly were 
> not literally dwellers in any forest; rather, they were to be found in 
> what we used, in Indian-Burmese English to call 'jungly' villages, towns 
> etc., e.g., the early stupas and reliquaries Hodge mentions at this point 
> in his useful message.

One of the reasons that I find the MPNS so intriguing is the insight it 
gives into the lives of a group of people who are likely to have been among 
the very early proponents of some forms of Mahayana.  As I mentioned 
previously, the people were not monks in the conventional sense since they 
did not follow the monastic Vinaya (nor, of course, even dwelt in viharas) 
but they were not upasakas either.  This is interesting because it 
contradicts the standard theory that Mahayana originated as a lay movement. 
The MPNS also describes how these dharmakathikas, who styled themselves 
bodhisattvas, travelled around desolate regions and remote settlements with 
bands of upasakas as well as armed body-guards for their protection.  There 
is lots more that can be said about these people which I may introduce as 
the need arises.

Best wishes,
Stephen Hodge