The ' () is a Buddhist scripture, a
sutta collection in the
Khuddaka Nikaya, part of the
Pali Canon
The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from the Tamrashatiya school.
During th ...
of
Theravada
''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...
Buddhism.
Sections
The ''Sutta Nipāta'' is divided into five sections:
Uraga Vagga ("The Chapter on the Serpent")
Cūla Vagga ("The Minor Chapter")
Mahā Vagga ("The Great Chapter")
Atthaka Vagga "The Chapter of Octads"
Parayana Vagga ("The Chapter on the Way Beyond")
Context
Some scholars believe that it describes the oldest of all Buddhist practices. Others such as
Bhikkhu Bodhi
Bhikkhu Bodhi (born December 10, 1944), born Jeffrey Block, is an American Theravada Buddhist monk, ordained in Sri Lanka and currently teaching in the New York and New Jersey area. He was appointed the second president of the Buddhist Publica ...
and
K. R. Norman agree that it contains much early material.
In the
Chinese Buddhist canon, a version of the
Aṭṭhakavagga has survived. Fragmentary materials from a
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
version of the Nipata also survive.
The
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 ...
, a commentary in two parts on the contents of the Atthaka Vagga and portions of the Parayana Vagga, is included in the
Pali Canon
The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from the Tamrashatiya school.
During th ...
as a book of the
Khuddaka Nikāya
The Khuddaka Nikāya () 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. This nikaya consists of fifteen (Thailand) ...
. This commentary is traditionally attributed to
Śāriputra
Śāriputra ( sa, शारिपुत्र; Tibetan: ཤཱ་རིའི་བུ་, Pali: ''Sāriputta'', lit. "the son of Śāri", born Upatiṣya, Pali: ''Upatissa'') was one of the top disciples of the Buddha. He is considered the fir ...
, and its presence in the canon is regarded as evidence of the relatively early composition of the Sutta Nipata.
English Translations
* ''The Silent Sages of Old'', ''Suttas from the Suttanipāta'' '' by Ven. Ñāṇadīpa Mahāthera'', 2018
* Tr
V. Fausbøll, in ''
Sacred Books of the East
The ''Sacred Books of the East'' is a monumental 50-volume set of English translations of Asian religious texts, edited by Max Müller and published by the Oxford University Press between 1879 and 1910. It incorporates the essential sacred texts ...
'', volume X, Clarendon/Oxford, 1881; reprinted by Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi (?and by Dover, New York)
* ''Buddha’s Teachings being the Sutta-nipāta or Discourse-Collection'', tr.
Robert Chalmers
Robert Chalmers, 1st Baron Chalmers, (18 August 1858 – 17 November 1938) was a British civil servant, and a Pali and Buddhist scholar. In later life, he served as the Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge.
Background and education
Chalmers was ...
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, Motilal Barnasidass Publishers, 1932 (reprint in 1997), 300 p., .
[''Buddha’s Teachings being the Sutta-nipāta or Discourse-Collection'', read online]
.
* Woven cadences of early Buddhists, transl. by E. M. Hare. Sacred Books of the Buddhists vol.15, repr. - London: Oxford University Press, 194
Internet Archive(PDF 11.4 MB)
* ''The Group of Discourses'', tr
K. R. Norman, 1984,
Pali Text Society
Bristol; the original edition included alternative translations by I. B. Horner &
Walpola Rahula
Walpola Rahula Thero (1907–1997) was a Sri Lankan Buddhist monk, scholar and writer. In 1964, he became the Professor of History and Religions at Northwestern University, thus becoming the first bhikkhu to hold a professorial chair in the Weste ...
; these are currently available in the paperback edition under the title ''The Rhinoceros Horn and Other Early Buddhist Poems''; the current edition under the original title omits these, but includes instead the translator's notes, not included in the paperback
* Tr
Saddhatissa, Curzon, London/Humanities Press, New York, 1985
* Tr N. A. Jayawickrama, University of Kelaniya, 2001
* ''The Discourse Collection Selected Texts from the Sutta Nipata'', by John D. Ireland, Access to Insight (BCBS Edition), 2013. Available for free downloa
here*
German Translation
* Tr Nyanaponika, Verlag Beyerlein & Steinschulte, D 95236 Stammbach, Germany, 3. Auflage 1996
See also
*
List of all Khuddaka Nikaya suttas
*
Atthakavagga and Parayanavagga, widely considered some of the earliest Buddhist texts
*
Rhinoceros Sutta, widely considered one of the earliest Buddhist texts
References
Citations
Sources
*
External links
Sutta Nipata(
Access to Insight
Access to Insight is a Theravada Buddhist website providing access to many translated texts from the Tipitaka, and contemporary materials published by the Buddhist Publication Society and many teachers from the Thai Forest Tradition.
History
A ...
)
Sutta Nipata Lecturestaught by
Bhikkhu Bodhi
Bhikkhu Bodhi (born December 10, 1944), born Jeffrey Block, is an American Theravada Buddhist monk, ordained in Sri Lanka and currently teaching in the New York and New Jersey area. He was appointed the second president of the Buddhist Publica ...
Translations at dhammatalks.orgSuttanipāta - Anthology of Discourses at suttacentral.net
Khuddaka Nikaya
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