『根本說一切有部毘奈耶』는 다른 율장이나 경전들에 비해 내러티브가 상당히 발전된 모습을 보이고 있다. 다른 율장이나 경전들이 메시지 전달에만 치중해서 단순하게 스토리를 전개하고 있는 반면에 『根本說一切有部毘奈耶』에 소개된 많은 이야기들은 내러티브의 구조가 상당히 복잡해지고 다양한 복선이나 장치를 설정해 놓음으로써 문학적인 완성도를 높이고 있다. 그리고 『根本說一切有部毘奈耶』의 내러티브들은 믿음(bhakti)과 業사상을 기반으로 한 공덕쌓기와 현세나 내세에서 그 과보를 받는 신앙적인 면이 강조된 아바다나의 모습을 보이고 있다. 본고는 석가족의 몰살 이야기를 중심으로 『根本說一切有部毘奈耶雜事』속의 이 이야기가 다른 율장이나 경전 속의 이야기들보다 얼마나 내러티브 기능이 우월한가를 보이고자 한다.
This story of the Śākyas’ massacre is in the Mūlasarvāstivādavinayakṣudrakavastu (MSVKv). This is a good example to show how an avadāna though fictional is based on historical foundations, and develops and serves its purpose through literary embellishment. Besides, this avadāna is unique in that it deals with the collective karma of the Śākyas, including the Buddha. From a comparison between versions in the Southern and Northern traditions, I demonstrate how this avadāna of the MSVKv is unique in developing the story by adopting the main story-telling techniques of the versions from both traditions. In this narrative of the MSVKv, while the main story tells of the Śākyas massacred by Virūḍhaka, compared to its Theravādin counterpart, where only the Śākyas’ bad deeds are mentioned, the MSVKv expands the episode to insert a karmic message and to allow for literary embellishment. The episode of Virūḍhaka’s massacre of the Śākyas is central to this whole avadāna. The message conveyed is that even the Buddha cannot save his clan due to their past karma or alternatively, that the Buddha enables the Śākyas to take refuge in the Three Jewels. The Mūlasarvāstivādins’ strict karmic position even presents the Buddha as an executioner and a guardian of karma in the episode of the two boys’ death. The study shows that this avadāna is unique in a sense that the whole story ends with the Buddha’s prohibition of the monks to carry ornaments which is one of the origins of the Vinayātisāras.
