The Ekottara ÃÂgama (Sanskrit; ) is an early Indian Buddhist text, of which currently only a Chinese translation is extant (Taishà  Tripiá¹Âaka 125). The title Ekottara ÃÂgama literally means "Numbered Discourses," referring to its organizational principle. It is one of the four ÃÂgamas of the Sà «tra Piá¹Âaka located in the Chinese Buddhist Canon.
According to Tse Fu Kuan, "in 385 AD Zhu Fonian (竺ä½Â念) completed a Chinese translation of the Ekottarika-ÃÂgama recited by Dharmanandin (æÂÂæ©é£æÂÂ), a monk from TukhÃÂra. This first translation, in forty-one fascicles, was later revised and expanded by Zhu Fonian into the Ekottarika-ÃÂgama in fifty-one fascicles that has since come down to us. Zhu Fonian probably added new material to his first translation and even replaced some passages of his first translation with new material."
Scholars such as Yin Shun, Zhihua Yao and Tse Fu Kuan consider the Ekottara ÃÂgama to belong to the MahÃÂsÃÂá¹Âghika school.
According to A.K. Warder, the Ekottara ÃÂgama references 250 PrÃÂtimoká¹£a rules for monks, which agrees only with the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya, which is also located in the Chinese Buddhist canon. He also views some of the doctrine as contradicting tenets of the MahÃÂsÃÂá¹Âghika school, and states that they agree with Dharmaguptaka views currently known. He therefore concludes that the extant Ekottara ÃÂgama is that of the Dharmaguptaka school.
According to ÃÂtienne Lamotte, the Ekottara ÃÂgama was translated from a manuscript that came from northwest India, and contains a great deal of MahÃÂyÃÂna influence. This may agree with the 5th century Dharmaguptaka monk Buddhayaà Âas, the translator of the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya and Dërgha ÃÂgama, who wrote that the Dharmaguptakas had assimilated the MahÃÂyÃÂna Tripiá¹Âaka (Ch. 大ä¹Âä¸ÂèÂÂ). According to Venerable Sheng Yen, the Ekottara ÃÂgama includes teachings of the Six PÃÂramitÃÂs, a central concept in the bodhisattva path, and in the MahÃÂyÃÂna teachings.
The Ekottara ÃÂgama generally corresponds to the TheravÃÂdin Aá¹ guttara NikÃÂya, but of the four ÃÂgamas of the Sanskritic Sà «tra Piá¹Âaka in the Chinese Buddhist Canon, it is the one which differs most from the TheravÃÂdin version. The Ekottara ÃÂgama even contains variants on such standard teachings as the Noble Eightfold Path. According to Keown, "there is considerable disparity between the PÃÂli and the [Chinese] versions, with more than two-thirds of the sà «tras found in one but not the other compilation, which suggests that much of this portion of the Sà «tra Piá¹Âaka was not formed until a fairly late date."
A notable inclusion in the Ekottara ÃÂgama is a discourse that includes meditative instructions on Mindfulness of Breathing given by the Buddha to his son RÃÂhula. In it, the Buddha gives RÃÂhula instructions on how he can practice this form of meditation to enter into samÃÂdhi. After an unknown length of time, RÃÂhula enters samÃÂdhi, passes through the four stages of dhyÃÂna, and attains complete perfection and liberation. RÃÂhula then returns to the Buddha as an arhat, giving a full report of his practice, his experiences in meditation, and the realizations that he has had. This discourse corresponds to the Theravadin Maha-Rahulovada Sutta in the Majjhima Nikaya (MN 62).
In lectures, renowned Buddhist master Nan Huaijin frequently cited the Ekottara ÃÂgama for its discourse on Mindfulness of Breathing, and lectures on RÃÂhula's report to the Buddha. He detailed the fine points of practice and the relationships that exist between the mind, body, and breath, including related exoteric and esoteric phenomena. Also discussed were the dissemination of this practice into various forms in the MahÃÂyÃÂna schools of Buddhism in East Asia such as Zen and Tiantai, and into Daoist meditative practices.