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Pali Literature
Pali literature is concerned mainly with Theravada Buddhism, of which Pali is the traditional language. The earliest and most important Pali literature constitutes the Pāli Canon, the authoritative scriptures of Theravada school. Pali literature includes numerous genres, including Suttas (Buddhist discourses), Vinaya (monastic discipline), Abhidhamma (philosophy), poetry, history, philology, hagiography, scriptural exegesis, and meditation manuals. History The Pali language is a composite language which draws on various Middle Indo-Aryan languages. Much of the extant Pali literature is from Sri Lanka, which became the headquarters of Theravada for centuries. Most extant Pali literature was written and composed there, though some was also produced in outposts in South India. Most of the oldest collection of Pali Literature, the Pali Canon, was committed to writing in Sri Lanka at about the first century BCE (though it contains material that is much older, possibly dating ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Illustrated Sinhalese Covers (inside) Showing The Events Wellcome L0031774
An illustration is a decoration, interpretation or visual explanation of a text, concept or process, designed for integration in print and digital published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, video games and films. An illustration is typically created by an illustrator. Digital illustrations are often used to make websites and apps more user-friendly, such as the use of emojis to accompany digital type. llustration also means providing an example; either in writing or in picture form. The origin of the word "illustration" is late Middle English (in the sense ‘illumination; spiritual or intellectual enlightenment’): via Old French from Latin ''illustratio''(n-), from the verb ''illustrare''. Illustration styles Contemporary illustration uses a wide range of styles and techniques, including drawing, painting, printmaking, collage, montage, digital design, multimedia, 3D modelling. Depending on the purpose, illustration m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South India
South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry, comprising 19.31% of India's area () and 20% of India's population. Covering the southern part of the peninsular Deccan Plateau, South India is bounded by the Bay of Bengal in the east, the Arabian Sea in the west and the Indian Ocean in the south. The geography of the region is diverse with two mountain ranges – the Western and Eastern Ghats – bordering the plateau heartland. The Godavari, Krishna, Kaveri, Tungabhadra, Periyar, Bharathappuzha, Pamba, Thamirabarani, Palar, and Vaigai rivers are important perennial rivers. The majority of the people in South India speak at least one of the four major Dravidian languages: Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada (all 4 of which are among the 6 Classic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mahāvaṃsa
The ''Mahāvaṃsa'' (, Sinhala: මහාවංශය, Pali: ''මහාවංස (Mahāvaṃsa)'' – written in the 5th century CE) is the meticulously kept historical chronicle of Sri Lanka written in the style of an epic poem written in the Pali language. It relates the history of Sri Lanka from its legendary beginnings up to the reign of Mahasena of Anuradhapura (302 CE) covering the period between the arrival of Prince Vijaya from India in 543 BCE to his reign (277–304 CE) and later updated by different writers. It was composed by a Buddhist monk at the Mahavihara temple in Anuradhapura about the 5th century CE. In 2021, a petition was made to declare the original leaf book a UNESCO heritage. Contents The contents of the ''Mahavamsa'' can be broadly divided into four categories: * The Buddha's Visits to Sri Lanka: This material recounts three legendary visits by the Buddha to the island of Sri Lanka. These stories describe the Buddha subduing or driving away the Y ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atthakatha
Aṭṭhakathā (Pali for explanation, commentary) refers to Pali-language Theravadin Buddhist commentaries to the canonical Theravadin Tipitaka. These commentaries give the traditional interpretations of the scriptures. The major commentaries were based on earlier ones, now lost, in Prakrit and Sinhala, which were written down at the same time as the Canon, in the last century BCE. Some material in the commentaries is found in canonical texts of other schools of Buddhism, suggesting an early common source. According to K.R. Norman: There is no direct evidence that any commentarial material was in fact recited at the first council, but there is clear evidence that some parts of the commentaries are very old, perhaps even going back to the time of the Buddha, because they afford parallels with texts which are regarded as canonical by other sects, and must therefore pre-date the schisms between the sects. As has already been noted, some canonical texts include commentarial pas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ashoka
Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, stretching from present-day Afghanistan in the west to present-day Bangladesh in the east, with its capital at Pataliputra. A patron of Buddhism, he is credited with playing an important role in the spread of Buddhism across ancient Asia. Much of the information about Ashoka comes from his Brahmi edicts, which are among the earliest long inscriptions of ancient India, and the Buddhist legends written centuries after his death. Ashoka was son of Bindusara, and a grandson of the dynasty's founder Chandragupta. During his father's reign, he served as the governor of Ujjain in central India. According to some Buddhist legends, he also suppressed a revolt in Takshashila as a prince, and after his father's death, killed his brothers to ascend ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buddhavaṃsa
The ''Buddhavaṃsa'' (also known as the ''Chronicle of Buddhas'') is a hagiographical Buddhist text which describes the life of Gautama Buddha and of the twenty-four Buddhas who preceded him and prophesied his attainment of Buddhahood. It is the fourteenth book of the ''Khuddaka Nikāya'', which in turn is the fifth and last division of the ''Sutta Piṭaka''. The ''Sutta Piṭaka'' is one of three ''pitakas'' (main sections) which together constitute the ''Tripiṭaka'', or ''Pāli Canon'' of Theravāda Buddhism. Along with the ''Apadāna'' and the ''Cariyāpiṭaka'', the ''Buddhavaṃsa'' is considered by most scholars to have been written during the 1st and 2nd century BCE, and is therefore a late addition to the Pāli Canon.A textual and Historical Analysis of the Khuddaka Nikaya – Oliver Abeynayake Ph. D. , Colombo, First Edition – 1984, p. 113. Summary The first chapter tells how Gautama Buddha, to demonstrate his supernormal knowledge, creates a jewelled walkway ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cariyāpiṭaka
The Cariyapitaka (; where ''cariya'' is Pali for "conduct" or "proper conduct" and ''pitaka'' is usually translated as "basket"; abbrev. Cp) 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. It is a short verse work that includes thirty-five accounts of the Buddha's former lives (similar to Jataka tales) when he as a bodhisattva exhibited behaviors known as "perfections," prerequisites to buddhahood. This canonical text, along with the Apadana and Buddhavamsa, is believed to be a late addition to the Pali Canon and has been described as "hagiographical." Overview In the first story (Cp. I), the Buddha says he will illustrate his practice of the perfections (Pali, ''pāramitā'' or ''pārami'') by stories of his past lives in this current age. The text contains 35 such stories, spanning 356 to 371 verses. The body of the Cariyapitaka is broken into three d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peṭakopadesa
The Petakopadesa () is a Buddhist scripture, sometimes included in the Khuddaka Nikaya of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism. The nature of this book is a matter of some disagreement among scholars. The translator, supported by Professor George Bond of Northwestern University, holds it is a guide to those who understand the teaching in presenting it to others. However, A. K. Warder, Professor Emeritus of Sanskrit in the University of Toronto, maintains that it covers all aspects of interpretation, not just that. The text is often connected to another para-canonical text, the Nettipakaraṇa. Oskar von Hinüber suggests that both of these texts originated from outside the Theravada tradition as handbooks on the interpretation of the sutras. Warder, in his examination of the ''Paṭisambhidāmagga Gaṇṭhipada'' in the Introduction to the ''Path of Discrimination'', notes: “The ''Gaṇṭhipada'' (p. 106), however, provides the positive information that this ''Peṭaka'' is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nettipakaraṇa
The Nettipakaraṇa (Pali, also called Nettippakarana, abbreviated Netti) is a mythological Buddhist scripture, sometimes included in the Khuddaka Nikaya of Theravada Buddhism's Pali Canon. The main theme of this text is Buddhist Hermeneutics through a systematization of the Buddha's teachings. It is regarded as canonical by the Burmese Theravada tradition, but isn't included in other Theravada canons. Origins and Dating The nature of the Nettipakarana was a matter of some disagreement among scholars. Initially, Western scholars classified it as a commentary, rather than as a canonical text. Further study and comparison with a closely related text, the Petakopadesa eventually revealed that it was a guide to interpretation and the composition of definitive commentaries. Its translator, supported by Professor George Bond of Northwestern University, described it is a guide to help those who already understand the teaching present it to others. However, A. K. Warder disagreed, mainta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Niddesa
The Niddesa (abbrev., "Nidd") 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. It is divided into two parts: * Maha Niddesa (mahā-) (abbrev., "Nidd I" or "Nd1"), commenting on the ''Atthaka Vagga'' ("Octet Chapter," Sn 4); * Culla or Cula Niddesa () (abbrev., "Nidd II" or "Nd2"), commenting on the ''Parayana Vagga'' ("Way to the Far Shore Chapter,"Sn 5) and ''Khaggavisana Sutta'' ("Rhinoceros Horn Discourse," Sn 1.3). This text is believed to have been most likely composed no later than the 1st century BC.Hinüber (2000), p. 59, para. 118, writes: :The age of Nidd has been discussed at great length by S.Lévi 1925, who arrives at a date in the 2nd century AD, arguing from the geographical horizon of the text. This date has been disputed recently by Norman 1983: 84,86, who ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Suttavibhaṅga
Suttavibhanga (, Pali for "rule analysis") is the first book of the Theravadin Vinaya Pitaka. It is a commentary on the community rules ( Patimokkha). The general form of the commentary is that each rule is preceded by a story telling how the Buddha came to lay it down, and followed by explanations. Sometimes this includes further stories acting as "judicial precedents". It is divided into two parts, covering the rules for monks and nuns, respectively. The monks' rules are divided as follows: * 4 rules whose breach entails expulsion from the community; the traditional understanding is that the offender cannot be a monk again in this life, though he can in most cases become a novice ** sexual intercourse; the introductory narrative includes some unrelated material, including a story of how Sariputta asks the Buddha which previous Buddhas' teachings lasted a long time and why; the Buddha's answer is that the teaching of those Buddhas who taught scriptures and rules of discipline ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
