The Anupitaka (
Pāli
Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a classical Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of '' Therav ...
, literally, meaning "after ''
piaka''") is the collected non-
canonical
The adjective canonical is applied in many contexts to mean 'according to the canon' the standard, rule or primary source that is accepted as authoritative for the body of knowledge or literature in that context. In mathematics, ''canonical exampl ...
or extra-canonical
Pāli literature of
Buddhism
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
.
Overview
The
Tipitaka
There are several Buddhist canons, which refers to the various scriptural collections of Buddhist texts, Buddhist sacred scriptures or the various Buddhist Scriptural canon, scriptural canons. (Pāli canon) was first committed to writing sometime in the 1st century BC.
The non-canonical or extra-canonical Pāli literature can be regarded as falling into three historical periods. The first ("classical") period stretches from about the 3rd century BC to about the 5th century AD. The second ("
commentarial") period extends from the 5th century to the 11th century, and the third ("modern") period begins with the 12th century.
[Matthews (1995, p. 123) describes the three periods in the following manner:
:... Ñāamoli and others argue that the classical age ended about the 4th century AD. It included the ]canonical
The adjective canonical is applied in many contexts to mean 'according to the canon' the standard, rule or primary source that is accepted as authoritative for the body of knowledge or literature in that context. In mathematics, ''canonical exampl ...
period, which saw the establishment of the Tipiaka over a period of three or four centuries, and the setting down of the ''Milindapañha'' just before the beginning of the Christian era. Between the 1st and 5th centuries, however, a pronounced decline in religious interpretation persisted until Buddhaghosa
Buddhaghosa was a 5th-century Sinhalese Theravādin Buddhist commentator, translator, and philosopher. He worked in the great monastery (''mahāvihāra'') at Anurādhapura, Sri Lanka and saw himself as being part of the Vibhajyavāda schoo ...
, c. 400. With Buddhaghosa, the great age of commentaries commenced, inspiring a host of profound exegetical work. It was also the beginning of post-classical development in the Theravāda. If one takes Ñāamoli's chronology one step further, the commentarial period is, in turn, slowly sapped of its initiative until it finally expires with the Coa invasions of Lanka in about 1000. Only when a Buddhist polity is restored there by Parākramabāhu I (1153-1168) does the 'modern' era in Theravāda history begin....
Classical period
The literature of the first period consists of some classical works of which only a few now survive. To this period belongs:
*
Nettipakarana (the book of guidance)
*
Petakopadesa (Instruction on the Tipitaka)
*
Milindapañha (The questions of Milinda)
The Nettipakarana and Petakopadesa are introductions to the teachings of Buddhism. These books present methods of interpretation, means exposition of that which leads to the knowledge of the good law. Petakopadesa is the 'Instruction on the Tipitaka'. The source material derives directly from the Sutta pitaka. Milindapañhã, written in the style of suttas, contains a dialogue between the Indo-Greek king Menander (in Pāli, Milinda) and the Thera Nãgasena, which throws a flood of light on certain important points of Buddhism.
These three books appear in the Khuddaka Nikaya of the Burmese Tipitaka, while the first two appear in the Sinhalese printed edition.
See also
*
Pali Canon
The Pāḷi Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhism, Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant Early Buddhist texts, early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from t ...
*
Paracanonical texts (Theravada Buddhism)
*
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 ...
*
Khuddaka Nikaya
*
List of Pali Canon anthologies
*
Pali literature
Pali literature is concerned mainly with Theravada Buddhism, of which Pali (IAST: pāl̤i) is the traditional language. The earliest and most important Pali literature constitutes the Pāli Canon, the authoritative scriptures of Theravada school ...
*
Subcommentaries, Theravada
Notes
Sources
* Matthews, Bruce (1995). "Post-Classical Developments in the Concepts of Karma and Rebirth in Theravāda Buddhism," in Ronald W. Neufeldt (ed.), ''Karma and Rebirth: Post-Classical Developments''. Delhi, Sri Satguru Publications. (Originally published by the State University of New York, 1986). .
External links
* Bullitt, John (2002). ''Beyond the Tipitaka: A Field Guide to Post-canonical Pali Literature''. Retrieved 2008-07-11 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bullitt/fieldguide.html .
{{Buddhism topics
Pali literature
Theravada literature