What are texts in the Agamas that are not in the Nikayas?

[thomaslaw]

Do we need to say what some other people and leaders of other communities say about this fact?

Could you explain to us what are "other communities", and about the 'fact'? Thanks.

[Aemilius]

"Fact" refers to for example the Five eyes (chakshu) of an Enlightened being, by which he can see the manifest world as it truly is. We have many enlightened masters in the Buddhist tradition, who have seen that Buddha did indeed teach the Mahayana sutras, and he did turn the Three turnings of the Wheel of Dharma. Such masters are numerous, and among them we have for example Asanga and Vasubandhu, who discuss the authenticity of the Mahayana teachings in Mahayana-sutra-alankara with Commentary.

The matter of "facts" is problematic in the human culture on this planet, and probably also elsewhere in the universe. If you were able to read the history books that are used in the about 200 countries of our planet, you would find very different stories of how the history actually occurred. To this you could add the about 5000 nations that are catalogued by UN, their ideas and stories about the true history will also be various. You are born and raised in a culture, and you grow to believe what you are told by parents, teachers and authorities. Gradually you build up a view of the world, that you consider to be factual.

If you want to approach this subject basing on the written Buddhist scriptures, it is also possible: There are some things that support the truth that Buddha really taught the Three turnings. But there arose a school that didn't accept these Three turnings of the Wheel of Dharma, and this school started to say that Buddha taught the Four noble truths and 12 links of Dependent origination thrice. Which lacks sense, other than it hides the original meaning of Three turnings of the Wheel of dharma. This mentioned school accepts only the first turning of the Wheel of Dharma.

[thomaslaw]

"Fact" refers to for example the Five eyes (chakshu) of an Enlightened being, by which he can see the manifest world as it truly is.

What are the Five eyes?

[Caoimhghín]

The fleshly eye, the divine eye, the wisdom eye, the Dharma eye, the Buddha eye.

[thomaslaw]

And why aren't they there?

And are there books in the Nikayas that are not in the Agamas?

What do other Buddhists today (Tibetans/Theravadins) think of the books that are in the Agamas but aren't in their Canon?

SA 335 (no SN counterpart): "Discourse on Emptiness in its Ultimate Meaning"
(see pp. 95-6 in Choong Mun-keat, The Fundamental Teachings of Early Buddhism: A Comparative Study Based on the Sūtrāṅga portion of the Pāli Saṃyutta-Nikāya and the Chinese Saṃyuktāgama).

The emptiness teaching in SA 335 is about each of the sense spheres (as self 'atta', or suffering 'dukkha'), being not real, arises by causal conditions (which are anicca 'impermanence'); having arisen it ceases completely by causal conditions. It is a result of previous action (karma/kamma), but there is no doer (anatta 'not-self').

[thomaslaw]

The fleshly eye, the divine eye, the wisdom eye, the Dharma eye, the Buddha eye.

Thanks.

[mikenz66]

Here's a thread the Charles Patton has started on the Sutta Central forum about this subject:
https://discourse.suttacentral.net/t/in ... lels/22034

Mike