The Great Disciple Gavampati and His <i>Parinibbāna</i>
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Abstract
This article presents the first critical edition and English translation of a Pali narrative recounting the final days of Gavampati― traditionally counted among the 80 Great Disciples of the Buddha―until his final extinction (parinibbāna). Although Gavampati, popularly known as the “Fat Monk”, occupies only a minor place in canonical literature, later traditions in mainland Southeast Asia granted him a more prominent role in literary, ritual, and devotional contexts. Based on manuscripts preserved in Thai and French collections, this study reconstructs the text and examines its relationship to vernacular versions, highlighting the transmission and reinterpretation of Pali materials in regional Buddhist hagiography.
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References
Pali Sources
References to canonical and commentarial Pali texts are those of the Pali Text Society (PTS). I adopt the abbreviation system utilized and provided by the Critical Pāli Dictionary.
Ekakkh Schnake, Javier, ed. 2024. Saddhammakitti’s Ekakkharakosa and Its Ṭīkā. Bristol: PTS.
Ja-a (ChS) Jātakas (Chaṭṭha Saṅgāyana Ed.)
Nibbāna-s Hallisey, Charles. 1993. Nibbānasutta: An Allegedly Non-Canonical Sutta on Nibbāna as a Great City. Journal of the Pali Text Society 18: 97–130.
Sot Schnake, Javier, ed. & trans. The Bodhisatta Path Through the Sotatthakīmahānidāna (forthcoming).
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