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Pali Canon

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The Pali Canon is the scripture collection of Theravada Buddhism.[1] "Pali Canon" is the usual English name;[2] it is also known by the name "Tipiṭaka".[3] It is in Pali,[4] which is a language of ancient India.[5] Mahayana Buddhism tends to regard the Tipiṭaka as a sort of "Old Testament"[6]. Most scholars recognize the Canon as the oldest source for the Buddha's teachings.[7]

Background

The Canon is traditionally regarded by the Theravada as the Word of the Buddha (died around 400 BC[8]), though not always literally.[9] It is said in the Canon itself that whatever is well said is the Word of the Buddha.[10] Modern scholars tend to regard at least large amounts of the Canon (with disagreements on how much) as the work of a number of unknown authors ([7]).

According to a tradition generally regarded quite favourably by scholars, the Canon was written down from oral tradition in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in the last century BC,[11] though hardly any manuscripts survive form before the 16th century.[12]

Collected printed editions of the Canon have been appearing since about 1893,[13] and digitized versions since 1988.[14] It is now even available on an app.

The vast majority of commentarial literature is connected with just four names: Buddhaghosa, Dhammapala, Sariputta and Nanakitti.[15]

Table of contents

English titles are taken from the Pali Text Society: titles of translations published by them, except for 2 books they haven't yet translated (at least 1 volume of).

  • Vinaya Pitaka (Book of the discipline)
  • Sutta or Suttanta Pitaka
    • Digha Nikaya (Dialogues of the Buddha)
    • Majjhima Nikaya (Middle length discourses of the Buddha)
    • Samyutta Nikaya (Connected discourses of the Buddha)
    • Anguttara Nikaya (Numerical discourses of the Buddha)
    • Khuddaka Nikaya: the contents of this section vary between editions, with some including all the following but others omitting one or more ([8]). Opinions on canonicity seem to vary even within the same country: for example, one Burmese teacher[16] says the 6th Council included the Netti in the Pali Canon, while another[17] describes it as post-canonical.
      • Khuddakapatha (Minor readings)
      • Dhammapada (Word of the doctrine)
      • Udana (Verses of uplift)
      • Itivuttaka (As it was said)
      • Suttanipata (Group of discourses)
      • Vimanavatthu (Stories of the mansions)
      • Petavatthu (Stories of the departed)
      • Theragatha (Poems of early Buddhist monks)
      • Therigatha (Poems of early Buddhist nuns)
      • Apadana (Legends[18])
      • Buddhavamsa (Chronicle of Buddhas)
      • Cariyapitaka (Basket of conduct)
      • Jataka (Stories of the Buddha's former births)
      • Niddesa (Exposition[19])
        • Maha Niddesa
        • Culla or Cula Niddesa
      • Patisambhidamagga (Path of discrimination)
      • Netti (The guide)
      • Petakopadesa (Piṭaka-disclosure)
      • Milindapanha (Milinda's questions)
  • Abhidhamma Pitaka
    • Dhammasangani (A Buddhist manual of psychological ethics)
    • Vibhanga (Book of analysis)
    • Dhatukatha (Discourse on elements)
    • Puggalapannatti (Designation of human types)
    • Kathavatthu (Points of controversy)
    • Yamaka (Book of pairs)
    • Patthana (Conditional relations)

Where next?

  • The Lion's Roar: an Anthology of the Buddha's Teachings Selected from the Pāḷi Canon, David Maurice, Rider, London, 1962; American edition, Citadel, New York, 1967: online at [9], [10]; this seems to be the only anthology including selections from all three pitakas; it also represents all five nikayas, but not all the individual books listed above; this book can give some idea of what the Canon is like
  • Parallel volume-by-volume table of contents of a number of editions; see [11] for the code letters used there.
  • Detailed outlines (from shortest to longest)
    • An Analysis of the Pāli Canon, edited by Russell Webb, Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, Sri Lanka, 3rd edition, 2008; online at [12]; includes extensive bibliography
    • An Outline Of the Pāḷi Canon, compiled from various sources by Allan R. Bomhard, Charleston Buddhist Fellowship, Charleston, SC USA, 2013 (2557), updated version 2022; online at [13]
    • Guide to Tipiṭaka, compiled by U Ko Lay, Burma Piṭaka Association, Rangoon, 1986; reprinted in India, Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand; now online at numerous websites, e.g. [14], [15], [16]
    • A History of Pali Literature by Bimala Churn Law, originally published in 2 volumes in 1933 (Volume I on the Canon), reprinted in 1 volume, online at [17]
  • The Pali Text Society publishes Pali texts, translations, an Introduction to Pali, a Pali-English Dictionary, etc.; many of these, and other, books are available online, and can be found through search engines
  • Complete text (in Pali)

Notes

  1. ↑ Gethin, Sayings of the Buddha, Oxford World Classics, 2008, page xiii
  2. ↑ Gombrich, foreword to Pali Text Society edition of Geiger, Pali Grammar; there are typographical variants: Pali/Pāli/Pāḷi Canon/canon
  3. ↑ Harvey, Introduction to Buddhism, Cambridge University Press, 2nd ed, 2012, page 459
  4. ↑ Harvey, Introduction to Buddhism, Cambridge University Press, 1st ed, 1990, page 3
  5. ↑ Harvey, Introduction to Buddhism, Cambridge University Press, 1st ed, 1990, page xx
  6. ↑ Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2002 printing, volume 11, page 791 (article Tipitaka)
  7. ↑ Mousa, World Religions Demystified, McGraw-Hill, 2014, page 35; Schopen, Bones, Stones, and Buddhist Monks, University of Hawai'i Press, Honolulu, 1997, pages 23f / reprinted from Studien zur Indologie und Iranistik, volume 10 (1985), page 9 / also quoted in "The historical authenticity of early Buddhist literature: a critical evaluation", Vienna Journal of South Asian Studies, Vol XLIX (2005)/[1], page 37
  8. ↑ consensus of scholars: Gethin, Sayings of the Buddha, Oxford World Classics, 2008, page xv
  9. ↑ Gombrich, Theravada Buddhism, Routledge, London, 1st edn, 1988 / 2nd edn, 2006, page 20
  10. ↑ [2]; [3] / The Numerical Discourses of the Buddha, Wisdom Publications / Pali Text Society, page 1120; Gradual Sayings, Pali Text Society, volume IV, page 112
  11. ↑ Gethin, Buddhist Path to Awakening, Brill, Leiden / New York / Köln, 1992, page 8
  12. ↑ Oberlies, Pali Grammar, volume I, Pali Text Society, 2019, page 7
  13. ↑ Bechert & Gombrich, World of Buddhism, Thames & Hudson, London, 1984, page 78; see also Wiles et al in Journal of the Pali Text Society, volume XXXIV, [4]
  14. ↑ Routledge Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 2007, page 288
  15. ↑ Journal of the Pali Text Society, volume XXVI, page 134
  16. ↑ Sayadaw Nandamāla, Introduction to Nettipakaraṇa, page 5
  17. ↑ Rewata Dhamma, The Buddha and His Disciples, Dhamma Talaka Pubns, Birmingham, 2001, page 91
  18. ↑ "Illustrator of ultimate meaning" (in 1 volume with "Minor readings"), page 2; a translation of this book is available at [5]
  19. ↑ Bodhi, Suttanipata translation, Pali Text Society, 2017, page 18; a translation of this book is available at [6]
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