Agama
Marilah sedikit mulai memahami apa
itu Agama.
Agamais a term for scriptures in Buddhism, Jainism,
and Sanatana Dharma:
* Hindu Agamas
* Āgama (Buddhism)
* Āgama (Jainism)
* Āgama (Hinduism)
The corresponding adjective is Agamic.
Agamas are non-Vedic texts attributed to Dravidian sources as against the
'Aryan'
Vedic literature. The origins of these Agamas are traceable to the days of the
Indus Valley around 3000 BCE. Most of the
early 'Self Realization' concepts and Yogic texts are also Agama in origin from
which Tantra has branched off.
Strictly speaking, Indian religious and philosophical literature can be
divided into two main streams, Agama and Vedic. The first has its roots in the
early civilizations of the Indus Valley period (spread all over the
sub-continent - not just Harappa and Mohenjadaro) and the second has its roots
in the post Aryan period starting from about 2000-1500
BCE.
>From the Agama traditions, Samkhya, Yoga and the Siddhanta philosophies
>evolved. Jain and Buddhist Agamas also reiterated the same
philosophical ideas much later (500 BCE). From the Agama traditions also
evolved parallely, the bhakti traditions involving idol worship, Linga,
temple rituals, puja,
goddesses like Shakti and the legends of Shiva and Parvati.
Almost all idol worship (Puja) and Temple rituals follow the Agama Vidhis
(rules). The Puranas are also influenced largely by the
Agama devotional traditions.
The Agamas contain sectarian and monotheistic ideas dedicated to
worship of Vishnu, Shiva and Devi. For example, the Shaivite Agamas are
the primary religious text in Virasaivism. The Tantras are Agama texts devoted
to worship
of Devi.
The Vedic traditions on the other hand, involved elaborate fire rituals
(homa) invoking various nature gods like Indra, Varuna, Agni etc. The
Upanishads that were later compiled along
with the Vedas actually evolved as a separate branch under the influence of the
Agama (Samkhya & yoga)
philosophies.
In this sense, almost the entire Hindu system of today can be said to be
Agama in origin and not Vedic as is commonly believed. Vedic fire rituals are
now only of minor importance in a Hindu persons life as compared to the Agama
Temple rituals, puja, Yoga and the Agama Siddhanta philosophies.
Early Jain and Buddhist literature are also called Agamas
because they owe their origins to the same non-vedic sources.
The early Agama traditions also migrated abroad from South/east India and
influenced life in Indonesia where the 'Hindu Agama' religion in Java has a
huge following even today.
The Agamas, in spite of being the fundamental philosophical and traditional
base of present day Hinduism, they have, unfortunately, not received the
exposure and publicity that the Vedas have enjoyed.
In Buddhism, an āgama (Sanskrit and Pali for "sacred work"[1] or
"scripture"[2]) is a collection of Early
Buddhist scriptures, of which there are five, which together
comprise the various recensions of the Sūtra Pitika of the Sanskritic early
schools. The various schools had different recensions of each āgama, and the
five āgamas parallel the first five collections (nikāyas) of the Sutta Piṭika
of the Theravadin school's Pali Canon. Āgamas of various schools,
primarily the Sarvāstivāda, are
preserved in their entirety in Chinese translation, and portions also survive
in Sanskrit and in Tibetan translation.
In Buddhism, the term āgama is used to
refer to a collection of discourses (Sanskrit: sutra; Pali: sutta) of the early
Buddhist schools, which were preserved in the Chinese tradition.
These sutras correspond to the first four Nikayas of the Sutta-Pitaka of the
Pali Canon, which are also occasionally
called agamas. In this sense, āgama is a synonym for one of the meanings
of nikaya. Many of the agama sutras belong
to the Sarvāstivāda canon.
Sometimes the word āgama is used to refer not to a specific
scripture, but to a class of scripture. In this case, its meaning can also
encompass
the Sutta-pitaka, which the Theravada tradition holds to be the oldest
and most historically accurate representation of the teachings of Gautama
Buddha.[3]
According to tradition, the Buddha's discourses were already
collected by the time of the first council, held shortly after the Buddha's
death ... Scholars, however, see the texts as continually growing in number and
size from an unknown nucleus, thereby undergoing various changes in language
and content ...
It is clear that, among the early schools, at a minimum the Sarvāstivāda,
Kāśyapīya, Mahāsaṃghika,
Dharmagupta had recensions of four of the five āgamas that differed at least
somewhat. The āgamas have been compared to the Pali Canon's nikayas by
contemporary scholars in an attempt to identify possible changes and root
phrasings. The āgamas' existence and similarity to the Sutta Pitaka is
sometimes used by scholars to assess to what degree these teachings are a
historically authentic representation of the Canon of Early Buddhism.[5]
Sometimes also the differences
between them are used to cast an alternative meaning on the accepted meaning of
a sutta in either of the two recensions.
Four collections of āgamas appear in the Chinese Buddhist
Canon used throughout East Asia: the Cháng Ahánjīng (長阿含經),
the Zhōng Ahánjīng (中阿含經), the Zá Ahánjīng (雜阿含經), and the Ekottara Agama or
Zēngyī Ahánjīng (增一阿含經).
Complete Chinese translations of four of the five āgamas are to be found in
the Chinese Buddhist
Canon.
There are four extant collections of āgamas, and one for which we have only
references and fragments (the Kṣudrakāgama).
The four extant collections are preserved in their entirety only in Chinese
translation (āgama: 阿含經), although small portions of all four have recently
been discovered in Sanskrit, and portions of four of the five āgamas are
preserved in Tibetan.[6] The five Āgamas are:
The Saṃyukta Āgama ("Connected Discourses", Zá Ahánjīng 雜阿含經 Taishō 99)[7]
(corresponding to Saṃyutta Nikāya).
The Madhyama
Āgama ("Middle-length Discourses," Zhōng Ahánjīng 中阿含經,
Taishō 26)[7] (corresponding to Majjhima Nikāya). A complete translation of
the Madhyama Āgama of the Sarvāstivāda school was done by Saṃghadeva (僧伽提婆)
in the Eastern Jin dynasty (東晉) [397-398CE].
The Dīrgha
Āgama ("Long Discourses," Cháng Ahánjīng 長阿含經 Taishō 1)[7] (corresponding to
Dīgha Nikāya). A complete version of the
Dīrgha Āgama of the Dharmagupta (法藏部) school was done Buddhayaśas (佛陀耶舍)
and Zhu Fonian (竺佛念)
in the Late Qin dynasty (後秦) [413CE].
The Ekottara Āgama ("Increased by One Discourses," Zēngyī Ahánjīng, 增壹阿含經
Taishō 125)[7] (corresponding to Anguttara Nikāya). A complete version,
translated by Dharmanandi (曇摩難提) of the Fu Qin state (苻秦) [397CE] and altered
by Saṃghadeva in the Eastern Jin (東晉), is
thought to be from either the Mahāsaṃghika (大眾部) or
Sarvāstivādin canons.
The Kṣudraka Āgama ("Minor Collection,"
corresponding to Khuddaka Nikāya)
At least some schools, the Dharmaguptaka in particular, had Kṣudraka Āgamas.[9]
The Chinese translation of the
Dharmaguptaka Vinaya provides a table of contents for the Dharmaguptaka
recension of the Kṣudraka
Āgama, and fragments in Gandhari appear to have been found.
Agamas are canonical texts of Jainism based on Mahavira’s teachings. Mahavira’s
preaching
were orally compiled by his disciples into various Sutras (texts) which were
collectively called Jain canonical or Agamic literature. Traditionally these
sutras were orally passed on from teachers (acaryas or gurus) to the disciples
for several centuries. The scholars date the composition of Jain agamas at
around 6th to 3rd century BCE.
While some authors date the composition of Jain Agamas starting from 6th
Century BCE [1], noted indologist Hermann Jacobi holds that the composition
of the Jaina canon would fall somewhere about the end of the fourth or the
beginning of the third century B.C.E [2] The general consensus amongst
scholars is that the earliest portions of Jain canons were composed around 4th
or 3rd century BCE.[3][4] This is also in agreement with
Jain tradition according to which the agamic literature and the Purvas were
passed from one heads of the order to his disciples for around 170 years
after the Nirvana (Jainism) of Mahavira. However with time, it became difficult
to keep the entire Jain
literature committed to memory. According to tradition, there occurred a twelve
years of famine around 350 BC where it was extremely difficult for the Jain
ascetics to survive during this time. Under such circumstances they could not
preserve the entire canonical literature. The Purvas or the ancient texts were
already forgotten and
lost after the famine. According to Svetambara tradition, the agamas were
collected on the basis of collective memory of the ascetics in the first
council of Pataliputra under
the stewardship of Acarya Sthulibhadra in
around to 463–367 BCE.[5] However, the Digambara Jain sect maintains that after
the famine, the entire Jain canonical literature became extinct.
In Hinduism, the Agamas are an enormous collection of Sanskrit scriptures which
are revered. The
Agamas are the primary source and authority for yoga methods and instruction.
The Shaiva Agamas revere the Ultimate Reality
as Lord Shiva (Shaivism). The Vaishnava-Agamas (Pancharatra and Vaikhanasas
Samhitas) adore the Ultimate
Reality as Vishnu (Vaishnavism). The
Shakta-Agamas (Tantras) venerate the Ultimate Reality as
Shakti the consort of Shiva and Divine Mother of the universe (Shaktism). Each
set of texts expands on the
central theological and philosophical teachings of that denomination.
The two main schools in the Vaishnava Agama are Pancharatra and Vaikanasa
Agama. The Saiva Agama has led to the Saiva Siddhanta philosophy in South India
and to the Pratyabhijna system of Kashmir Saivism. Smartas recognize the
Agamas, but don't necessarily
adhere to them, relying mainly on the smriti texts. In the Malay languages the
word Agama literally
means religion. The Agamas are also sometimes known as Tantras.
Agamas deal with the philosophy and spiritual knowledge behind the worship of
the deity, the yoga and mental discipline
required for this worship, and the specifics of worship offered to the deity.
Each Agama consists of four parts. The first part includes the philosophical
and spiritual knowledge. The second part covers the yoga and the mental
discipline. The third part specifies rules for the construction of temples and
for sculpting and carving the figures of deities for worship in the temples.
The fourth part of the Agamas includes rules pertaining to the observances of
religious rites, rituals, and festivals.
Elaborate rules are laid out in the Agamas for Silpa (the art of sculpture)
describing the quality
requirements of the places where temples are to be built, the kind of images to
be installed, the materials from which they are to be made, their dimensions,
proportions, air circulation, lighting in the temple complex etc. The Manasara
and Silpasara are some of the works dealing with these rules. The rituals
followed in worship services each day at the temple also follow rules laid out
in the Agamas.
The Agamas state three essential requirements for a place of pilgrimage -
Sthala, Teertham and Murthy.
Sthala refers to the temple, Teertham, to the temple tank and Murthy to the
deity(ies) worshipped. A temple may also be associated with a tree, called the
Sthala Vriksham. For instance, the Kadamba tree at the Madurai Meenakshi
Sundareswarar temple is the Sthala Vriksham. A lone banyan tree that adorns the
spacious courtyard of the Ratnasabha at Tiruvalankadu is the Sthala Vriksham.
The
entire area is believed to have been a forest of banyan trees once.
Agam may refer to:
* Āgama (Buddhism)
* Jain Agamas
* Agam Regency in Indonesia
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