more on vada / vadin

[jonathan silk]

        Sasaki Shizuka, who started me on this vada/vadin business, took
the trouble to look up some texts, and what he found (and me too,
subsequently) is very interesting.
        What is most interesting is that the Abhidharmakosabhasya p. 296,
for example, and the Abhidharmadipa (I forgot to note the reference, but
the edition of Jaini is well indexed) us the word Sarvastivada in the
plural! This must mean "followers of the Sarvastivada school." Of course,
Sarvastivadin is also used in the plural (and singular), again in the sense
of follower.
        Sasaki also refers to Pali materials such as Dipavamsa 5.47 and
Kathavatthu-atthakatha p. 44, not available to me, for plural sarvastivada.
        Do not these uses suggest that -vada here means followers? (And
perhaps the term sarvastivada should be a bahuvrihi?!)

        Finally, although of course this is much less relevant than
consideration of the original texts, Kellner has written about Frauwallner,
but it seems to me his usage is at best ambiguous. See "Studies in
Abhidharma Literature and the Origins of Buddhist Philosophical Systems"
(SUNY 1995):
        20: The Dharmaskandha ... can ... be regarded as the
Sarvastivadin's earliest Abhidharma work ....
        130: There is only one other school besided the Sarvastivadin ....
the picture given by the Abhidharma of the Sarvastivadin.

        Comments welcome!

Jonathan Silk
SILK at wmich.edu