Sutta Pitaka
Encyclopedia
The Sutta Pitaka is the second of the three divisions of the Tipitaka or Pali Canon
, the Pali
collection of Buddhist writings
, the scriptures of Theravada
Buddhism
. The Sutta Pitaka contains more than 10,000 suttas
(teachings) attributed to the Buddha
or his close companions.
held shortly after the Buddha's death collected together the discipline (vinaya), and the dhamma in five collections. Tradition holds that little was added to the Canon after this. Scholars are more skeptical, but differ in their degrees of scepticism. Richard Gombrich
thinks most of the first four nikayas (see below) go back to the Buddha, in content but not in form. The late Professor Hirakawa Akira says that the First Council collected only short prose passages or verses expressing important doctrines, and that these were expanded into full length suttas over the next century.
s (collections) of suttas:
For more on these editions also see Pali Canon
http://www.palitext.com. The first three have also been translated in the Teachings of the Buddha series by Wisdom Publications, with a translation of the fourth in preparation.
Selections (including material from at least two nikayas):
Pāli Canon
The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the only completely surviving early Buddhist canon, and one of the first to be written down...
, the Pali
Páli
- External links :* *...
collection of Buddhist writings
Buddhist texts
Buddhist texts can be categorized in a number of ways. The Western terms "scripture" and "canonical" are applied to Buddhism in inconsistent ways by Western scholars: for example, one authority refers to "scriptures and other canonical texts", while another says that scriptures can be categorized...
, the scriptures of Theravada
Theravada
Theravada ; literally, "the Teaching of the Elders" or "the Ancient Teaching", is the oldest surviving Buddhist school. It was founded in India...
Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
. The Sutta Pitaka contains more than 10,000 suttas
Sutra
Sūtra is an aphorism or a collection of such aphorisms in the form of a manual. Literally it means a thread or line that holds things together and is derived from the verbal root siv-, meaning to sew , as does the medical term...
(teachings) attributed to the Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
or his close companions.
Origins
The scriptures tell how the First CouncilBuddhist councils
Lists and numbering of Buddhist councils vary between and even within schools. The numbering here is normal in Western writings.-First Buddhist council Lists and numbering of Buddhist councils vary between and even within schools. The numbering here is normal in Western writings.-First Buddhist...
held shortly after the Buddha's death collected together the discipline (vinaya), and the dhamma in five collections. Tradition holds that little was added to the Canon after this. Scholars are more skeptical, but differ in their degrees of scepticism. Richard Gombrich
Richard Gombrich
Richard Francis Gombrich is a British Indologist and scholar of Sanskrit, Pāli, and Buddhist Studies. He acted as the Boden Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Oxford from 1976 to 2004. He is currently Founder-President of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies...
thinks most of the first four nikayas (see below) go back to the Buddha, in content but not in form. The late Professor Hirakawa Akira says that the First Council collected only short prose passages or verses expressing important doctrines, and that these were expanded into full length suttas over the next century.
Contents
There are five nikayaNikaya
Nikāya is a word of meaning "collection", "assemblage", "class" or "group" in both Pāḷi and Sanskrit. It is most commonly used in reference to the Buddhist texts of the Sutta Piṭaka, but can also refer to the monastic divisions of Theravāda Buddhism...
s (collections) of suttas:
- Digha NikayaDigha NikayaThe Digha Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the first of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism...
, the "long" discourses. - Majjhima NikayaMajjhima NikayaThe Majjhima Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the second of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism...
, the "middle-length" discourses. - Samyutta NikayaSamyutta NikayaThe Samyutta Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the third of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism. Because of the abbreviated way parts of the text are written, the total number of suttas is...
, the "connected" discourses. - Anguttara NikayaAnguttara NikayaThe Anguttara Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the fourth of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that comprise the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism...
, the "numerical" discourses. - Khuddaka NikayaKhuddaka NikayaThe Khuddaka Nikaya is the last of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka, the scriptures of Theravada Buddhism...
, the "minor collection".
Digha Nikaya
This includes The Greater Discourse on the Foundations of Mindfulness, The Fruits of the Contemplative Life, and The Buddha's Last Days. There are 34 long suttas in this nikaya.Majjhima Nikaya
This includes Shorter Exposition of Kamma, Mindfulness of Breathing, and Mindfulness of the Body. There are 152 medium-length suttas in this nikaya.Samyutta Nikaya
There are, according to one reckoning, 2,889, but according to the commentary 7,762, shorter suttas in this Nikaya.Anguttara Nikaya
These teachings are arranged numerically. It includes, according to the commentary's reckoning, 9,565 short suttas grouped by number from ones to elevensKhuddaka Nikaya
This is a heterogeneous mix of sermons, doctrines, and poetry attributed to the Buddha and his disciples. The contents vary somewhat between editions. The Thai edition includes 1-15 below, the Sinhalese edition 1-17 and the Burmese edition 1-18.- KhuddakapathaKhuddakapathaThe Khuddakapatha is a Buddhist scripture, the first collection of discourses in the Khuddaka Nikaya of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism...
- DhammapadaDhammapadaThe Dhammapada is a versified Buddhist scripture traditionally ascribed to the Buddha himself. It is one of the best-known texts from the Theravada canon....
- UdanaUdanaThe Udana is a Buddhist scripture, part of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism. It is included there in the Sutta Pitaka's Khuddaka Nikaya. The title might be translated "inspired utterances"...
- ItivuttakaItivuttakaThe Itivuttaka is a Buddhist scripture, part of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism and is attributed to Khujjuttara's recollection of Buddha's discourses. It is included there in the Sutta Pitaka's Khuddaka Nikaya. It comprises 112 short teachings ascribed in the text to the Buddha, each...
- SuttanipataSutta NipataThe Sutta Nipata is a Buddhist scripture, a sutta collection in the Khuddaka Nikaya, part of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism. All its suttas consist largely of verse, though some also contain some prose. It is divided into five sections:...
- VimanavatthuVimanavatthuThe Vimanavatthu is a Buddhist scripture, the sixth book of the Khuddaka Nikaya in the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism. Its name is Pali for "Vimana Stories". The Vimanavatthu is an anthology of 85 short stories written in verse...
- PetavatthuPetavatthuThe Petavatthu is a Theravada Buddhist scripture, included in the Khuddaka Nikaya of the Pali Canon's Sutta Pitaka. It is composed of 51 verse narratives describing specifically how the effects of bad acts can lead to rebirth into the unhappy world of petas in the doctrine of karma...
- TheragathaTheragathaThe Theragatha , often translated as Verses of the Elder Monks , is a Buddhist scripture, a collection of short poems supposedly recited by early members of the Buddhist sangha. In the Pali Canon, the Theragatha is classified as part of the Khuddaka Nikaya, the collection of short books in the...
- TherigathaTherigathaThe Therigatha, often translated as Verses of the Elder Nuns , is a Buddhist scripture, a collection of short poems supposedly recited by early members of the Buddhist sangha in India around 600 BC...
- Jataka
- NiddesaNiddesaThe Niddesa is a Buddhist scripture, part of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism. It is included there in the Sutta Pitaka's Khuddaka Nikaya. It is in the form of a commentary on parts of the Suttanipata. The tradition ascribes it to the Buddha's disciple Sariputta...
- PatisambhidamaggaPatisambhidamaggaThe Patisambhidamagga is a Buddhist scripture, part of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism. It is included there as the twelfth book of the Sutta Pitaka's Khuddaka Nikaya. Tradition ascribes it to the Buddha's disciple Sariputta...
- ApadanaApadanaThe Apadāna is a collection of biographical stories found in the Khuddaka Nikaya of the Pāli Canon, the scriptures of Theravada Buddhism. It is thought by most scholars to be a late addition to the canon, composed during the 1st and 2nd century BCE...
- BuddhavamsaBuddhavamsaThe Buddhavamsa is a Buddhist scripture, part of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism. It is included there in the Sutta Pitaka's Khuddaka Nikaya. It is a fairly short work in verse, in 28 chapters, detailing aspects of the life of Gautama Buddha and the twenty-four preceding Buddhas...
- CariyapitakaCariyapitakaThe Cariyapitaka is a Buddhist scripture, part of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism. It is included there in the Sutta Pitaka's Khuddaka Nikaya, usually as the last of fifteen books...
- NettipakaranaNettipakaranaThe Nettipakarana is a Buddhist scripture, sometimes included in the Khuddaka Nikaya of Theravada Buddhism's Pali Canon....
or Netti - PetakopadesaPetakopadesaThe Petakopadesa is a Buddhist scripture, sometimes included in the Khuddaka Nikaya of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism.Translation: Pitaka-Disclosure, tr Nanamoli, 1964, Pali Text Society, Bristol...
- Milinda PanhaMilinda PanhaThe Milinda Panha is a Buddhist text which dates from approximately 100 BCE. It is included in the Burmese edition of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism as a book of the Khuddaka Nikaya, however, it does not appear in the Thai or Sri Lankan versions.It purports to record a dialogue in which the...
For more on these editions also see Pali Canon
Pāli Canon
The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the only completely surviving early Buddhist canon, and one of the first to be written down...
Translations
The first four nikayas and more than half of the fifth have been translated by the Pali Text SocietyPali Text Society
The Pali Text Society was founded in 1881 by T.W. Rhys Davids "to foster and promote the study of Pali texts".Pali is the language in which the texts of the Theravada school of Buddhism is preserved...
http://www.palitext.com. The first three have also been translated in the Teachings of the Buddha series by Wisdom Publications, with a translation of the fourth in preparation.
Selections (including material from at least two nikayas):
- Buddhist Suttas, ed & tr T. W. Rhys Davids, Sacred Books of the East, volume XI, Clarendon/Oxford, 1881; reprinted by Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi (& ?Dover, New York)
- The Word of the Buddha, ed & tr Nyanatiloka, 1935
- Early Buddhist Poetry, ed I. B. Horner, Ananda Semage, Colombo, 1963
- The Book of Protection, tr Piyadassi, Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, Sri Lanka, 1981; translation of the parittaParittaParitta , generally translated as "protection" or "safeguard," refers to the Buddhist practice of reciting certain verses and scriptures in order to ward off evil fortune or dangerous conditions, as well as to the specific verses and discourses recited as paritta texts...
- In the Buddha's Words, ed & tr Bodhi, Wisdom Pubns, 2005
- Early Buddhist Discourses, ed & tr John J. Holder, 2006
- Sayings of the Buddha, ed & tr Rupert Gethin, Oxford University Press, 2008
- Basic Teachings of the Buddha, ed & tr Glenn Wallis, New York: Random House, 2007
External links
- http://www.accesstoinsight.org/index.html Access to Insight translations of Pali Suttas in English
- How old is the Sutta Pitaka? - Alexander Wynne, St John's College, Oxford University, 2003.
- Search in English translations of the Sutta Pitaka
- Most of the Pali canon in Pali, Sinhala and English http://www.metta.lk
- http://suttapitaka.org Download edited collection of suttas from the Sutta Pitaka.