Sāriputta Thera was a 12th century Sri Lankan scholar monk of

Theravada Buddhism ''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' ...

. He was the first leader (''Mahasvami'') of the Sri Lankan Buddhist Sangha after

Parakramabahu I Parākramabāhu I ( Sinhala: මහා පරාක්‍රමබාහු, 1123–1186), or Parakramabahu the Great, was the king of Polonnaruwa from 1153 to 1186. He oversaw the expansion and beautification of his capital, constructed extensiv ...

's reforms and one of Theravada's greatest exegetes. He was the student of Mahakassapa Thera, who presided over the Buddhist council convened by

and was likely present at the council himself. He was later abbot of the Jetavana Vihara of

Polonnaruwa Poḷonnaruwa, ( si, පොළොන්නරුව, translit=Poḷonnaruva; ta, பொலன்னறுவை, translit=Polaṉṉaṟuvai) also referred as Pulathisipura and Vijayarajapura in ancient times, is the main town of Polonnaruwa Dis ...

. He wrote at least five sub-commentaries (tika) on Buddhaghosa's commentaries to 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 t ...

as well as various compendiums and manuals on Vinaya (monastic discipline) and

Buddhist Meditation Buddhist meditation is the practice of meditation in Buddhism. The closest words for meditation in the classical languages of Buddhism are ''bhāvanā'' ("mental development") and '' jhāna/dhyāna'' (mental training resulting in a calm and ...

practice. His ''Sarattha-dipani'' ("The Essence-Meaning Illustrator"), a sub-commentary on the Vinaya Commentary of Buddhaghosa, explains issues in Buddhaghosa's text and deals with further points from the Pali Canon and other Vinaya texts no longer extant.Thanissaro, Buddhist monastic code, introduction.

Notes

References

*John R. Hinnells (editor); Who’s Who of World Religions. *Thanissaro Bhikkhu; The Buddhist Monastic Code: The Patimokkha Training Rules, http://uwf.edu/wmikulas/webpage/leaves/website/lib/modern/bmc/intro.html

External links

Theravada Buddhism writers People of the Kingdom of Polonnaruwa {{DEFAULTSORT:Sāriputta Thera