Abstract
This paper’s purpose is to clarify the relationship between the narrative
of the two merchants who take the two refuges and Dīpaṃkara Buddha’s
prediction.
First is an analysis of the narrative of the two merchants who become
the first upāsakas as it is linked with Dīpaṃkara Buddha’s prediction based
on the Dharmaguptaka tradition. These descriptions are preserved in the
Dharmaguptaka-vinaya sifenlü (四分律) and the Fo benxing ji jing (仏本行集
経). Through a close examination of these descriptions, we can comprehend
that the purpose of these descriptions is to explain the worship of Buddha’s
hair and nails, and its merit for upāsakas. In addition, the various aspects of the
evolution on this narrative are closely related to the stūpa cult.
In the Ta-t’ang-hsi-yü-chi (大唐西域記), Xuanzang (玄奘) recorded that the
two merchants were from Northwestern India. Further, based on archeology
evidence Dīpaṃkara Buddha’s prediction is also related to Northwestern India.
Both these facts are closely related with the Dharmaguptaka school being of
Northwestern India.
Thus, it can be concluded that the unique characteristic of Dīpaṃkara
Buddha’s prediction in the Dharmaguptaka tradion is that it does not appear at
the beginning of the Buddha’s biography.
