Pāli Tipitaka
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The Pāḷi Canon is the standard collection of
scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They often feature a compilation or discussion of beliefs, ritual practices, moral commandments and ...
s in the
Theravada ''Theravāda'' (; 'School of the Elders'; ) is Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed ''Theravādins'' (anglicized from Pali ''theravādī''), have preserved their version of the Buddha's teaching or ''Dharma (Buddhi ...
Buddhist 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 ...
tradition, as preserved in the
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 ...
language. It is the most complete extant early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from the
Tamrashatiya The Tāmraśāṭīya (Sanskrit: ताम्रशाटीय, ), also called Tāmraparṇīya (Sanskrit; Pali: ''Tambapaṇṇiya'') or Theriya Nikāya (Pali), was one of the early schools of Buddhism and a Sri Lankan branch of the Vibhajya ...
school. According to Buddhist tradition, during the
First Buddhist Council Since the Mahaparinirvana of the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, Buddhist monastic communities, the "''sangha''", have periodically convened for doctrinal and disciplinary reasons and to revise and correct the contents of the Buddhist ...
, three months after the
parinibbana In Buddhism, ''Parinirvana'' (Sanskrit: '; Pali: ') describes the state entered after death by someone who has attained ''nirvana'' during their lifetime. It implies a release from '' '', karma and rebirth as well as the dissolution of the ''sk ...
of
Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...
in
Rajgir Rajgir, old name Rajagriha, meaning "The City of Kings," is an ancient city and university town in the Nalanda district of Bihar, India. It was the capital of the Haryanka dynasty, the Pradyota dynasty, the Brihadratha dynasty, the Maurya ...
, Ananda recited the
Sutta Pitaka Sutta may refer to: *The Pali version of the Sanskrit term Sutra **In Buddhism, a discourse of the Buddha: see Sutra ''Sutra'' ()Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indi ...
, and Upali recited the
Vinaya Pitaka The Vinaya (Pali and Sanskrit: विनय) refers to numerous monastic rules and ethical precepts for fully ordained monks and nuns of Buddhist Sanghas (community of like-minded ''sramanas''). These sets of ethical rules and guidelines devel ...
. The
Arhat In Buddhism, an ''Arhat'' () or ''Arahant'' (, 𑀅𑀭𑀳𑀦𑁆𑀢𑁆) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved ''Nirvana (Buddhism), Nirvana'' and has been liberated from the Rebirth (Buddhism ...
s present accepted the recitations, and henceforth, the teachings were preserved orally by the
Sangha Sangha or saṃgha () is a term meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community". In a political context, it was historically used to denote a governing assembly in a republic or a kingdom, and for a long time, it has been used b ...
. 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.
that was transmitted to
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
during the reign of King
Asoka Ashoka, also known as Asoka or Aśoka ( ; , ; – 232 BCE), and popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was Emperor of Magadha from until his death in 232 BCE, and the third ruler from the Mauryan dynasty. His empire covered a large p ...
was initially preserved orally and later written down on palm leaves during the
Fourth Buddhist Council Since the Mahaparinirvana of the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, Buddhist monastic communities, the "'' sangha''", have periodically convened for doctrinal and disciplinary reasons and to revise and correct the contents of the Buddhis ...
in 29 BC, approximately 454 years after the death of
Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...
. The claim that the texts were "spoken by the Buddha" is meant in this non-literal sense. The existence of the
Bhāṇaka ''Bhāṇaka'' (Pali: reciter) were Buddhist monks who specialized in the memorization and recitation of a specific collection of texts within the Buddhist canon. Lineages of bhāṇakas were responsible for preserving and transmitting the tea ...
tradition existing until later periods, along with other sources, shows that oral tradition continued to exist side by side with written scriptures for many centuries to come. Thus, the so-called writing down of the scriptures was only the beginning of a new form of tradition, and the innovation was likely opposed by the more conservative monks. As with many other innovations, it was only after some time that it was generally accepted. Therefore, it was much later that the records of this event were transformed into an account of a "council" (sangayana or sangiti) which was held under the patronage of King Vattagamani. Textual fragments of similar teachings have been found in the agama of other major Buddhist schools in India. They were, however, written down in various
Prakrit Prakrit ( ) is a group of vernacular classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 5th century BCE to the 12th century CE. The term Prakrit is usually applied to the middle period of Middle Ind ...
s other than
Pali Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, Pāli Can ...
as well as
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
. Some of those were later translated into Chinese (earliest dating to the late 4th century AD). The surviving Sri Lankan version is the most complete, but was extensively redacted about 1,000 years after Buddha's death, in the 5th or 6th-century CE., Quote: "As of the Pali Canon of Sri Lanka, it was extensively redacted in the fifth or sixth century A.D. (Bechert 1978; Collins 1990; Trainor 1997)". The earliest textual fragments of canonical Pali were found in the
Pyu city-states The Pyu city-states ( ) were a group of city-states that existed from about the 2nd century BCE to the mid-11th century in present-day Upper Myanmar. The city-states were founded as part of the southward migration by the Tibeto-Burman languages, ...
in
Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...
dating only to the mid-5th to mid-6th century CE. The Pāli Canon falls into three general categories, called ''
pitaka There are several Buddhist canons, which refers to the various scriptural collections of Buddhist sacred scriptures or the various Buddhist scriptural canons.
'' (from Pali ', meaning "basket", referring to the receptacles in which the
palm-leaf manuscript Palm-leaf manuscripts are manuscripts made out of dried palm leaves. Palm leaves were used as writing materials in the Indian subcontinent and in Southeast Asia dating back to the 5th century BCE. Their use began in South Asia and spread to ot ...
s were kept). Thus, the canon is traditionally known as the ''
Tipiṭaka There are several Buddhist canons, which refers to the various scriptural collections of Buddhist sacred scriptures or the various Buddhist scriptural canons.
'' ("three baskets"). The three pitakas are as follows: #
Vinaya Piṭaka The ''Vinaya Piṭaka'' (English: ''Basket of Discipline'') is the first of the three divisions of the Pali Tripitaka, the Pali Canon, definitive canonical collection of Buddhist texts, scripture of Theravada Buddhism. The other two parts of ...
("Discipline Basket"), dealing with rules or discipline of the
sangha Sangha or saṃgha () is a term meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community". In a political context, it was historically used to denote a governing assembly in a republic or a kingdom, and for a long time, it has been used b ...
#
Sutta Piṭaka The ''Sutta Piṭaka'' (also referred to as ''Sūtra Piṭaka'' or ''Suttanta Piṭaka''; English: ''Basket of Discourse'') is the second of the three division of the Pali Tripitaka, the definitive canonical collection of scripture of Therava ...
(Sutra/Sayings Basket), discourses and sermons of Buddha, some religious poetry; the largest basket #
Abhidhamma Piṭaka The ''Abhidhamma Piṭaka'' (English: ''Basket of Higher Doctrine;'' ) is the third of the three divisions of the Pali Tripitaka, the definitive canonical collection of scripture of Theravada Buddhism. The other two parts of the Tripiṭaka ...
, treatises that elaborate Buddhist doctrines, particularly about mind; also called the "systematic philosophy" basket The Vinaya Pitaka and the Sutta Pitaka are remarkably similar to the works of the early Buddhist schools, often termed Early Buddhist Texts. The Abhidhamma Pitaka, however, is a strictly Theravada collection and has little in common with the Abhidhamma works recognized by other Buddhist schools.


The Canon in the tradition

The Canon is traditionally described by the
Theravada ''Theravāda'' (; 'School of the Elders'; ) is Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed ''Theravādins'' (anglicized from Pali ''theravādī''), have preserved their version of the Buddha's teaching or ''Dharma (Buddhi ...
as the Word of the Buddha (''
buddhavacana Buddhist texts are religious texts that belong to, or are associated with, Buddhism and Schools of Buddhism, its traditions. There is no single textual collection for all of Buddhism. Instead, there are three main Buddhist Canons: the Pāli C ...
''), though this is not intended in a literal sense, since it includes teachings by disciples. The traditional Theravādin ( Mahavihārin) interpretation of the Pali Canon is given in a series of commentaries covering nearly the whole Canon, compiled by
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 ...
(
fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...
4th–5th century AD) and later monks, mainly on the basis of earlier materials now lost. Subcommentaries were written afterward, commenting further on the Canon and its commentaries. The traditional Theravādin interpretation is summarized in Buddhaghosa's
Visuddhimagga The ''Visuddhimagga'' (Pali; English: ''The Path of Purification''; ), is the 'great treatise' on Buddhism, Buddhist practice and Theravāda Abhidhamma written by Buddhaghosa approximately in the 5th century in Sri Lanka. It is a manual condens ...
. A spokesman for the Buddha Sasana Council of
Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...
states that the Canon contains everything needed to show the path to
nirvāna Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering (''duḥkha'') and from the c ...
; the commentaries and subcommentaries sometimes include much speculative matter, but are faithful to its teachings and often give very illuminating illustrations. In
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
and
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
, "official" Buddhism has in large part adopted the interpretations of Western scholars. Although the Canon has existed in written form for two millennia, its earlier oral nature has not been forgotten in Buddhist practice: memorization and recitation remain common. Among frequently recited texts are the
Paritta Paritta (Pali), generally translated as "protection" or "safeguard," refers to the specific Buddhist verses and discourses recited in order to ward off misfortune or danger, as well as to the practice of reciting the verses and discourses. T ...
. Even lay people usually know at least a few short texts by heart and recite them regularly; this is considered a form of meditation, at least if one understands the meaning. Monks are of course expected to know quite a bit more (see
Dhammapada The ''Dhammapada'' (; ) is a collection of sayings of the Buddha in verse form and one of the most widely read and best known Buddhist scriptures.See, for instance, Buswell (2003): "rank among the best known Buddhist texts" (p. 11); and, "on ...
below for an example). A Burmese monk named Vicittasara even learned the entire Canon by heart for the Sixth Council (again according to the usual Theravada numbering). The relation of the scriptures to Buddhism as it actually exists among ordinary monks and lay people is, as with other major religious traditions, problematic: the evidence suggests that only parts of the Canon ever enjoyed wide currency, and that non-canonical works were sometimes much more widely used; the details varied from place to place.
Rupert Gethin Rupert Mark Lovell Gethin (born 1957, in Edinburgh) is Professor of Buddhist Studies in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies and codirector of the Centre for Buddhist Studies at the University of Bristol, and (since 2003) president of ...
suggests that the whole of Buddhist history may be regarded as a working out of the implications of the early scriptures.


Origins

According to a late part of the Pali Canon, the Buddha taught the three pitakas. It is traditionally believed by Theravadins that most of the Pali Canon originated from the Buddha and his immediate disciples. According to the scriptures, a
council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...
was held shortly after the Buddha's passing to collect and preserve his teachings. The Theravada tradition states that the Canon was recited orally from the 5th century to the first century BC, when it was written down. The memorization was reinforced by regular communal recitations. The tradition holds that only a few later additions were made. The Theravādin pitakas were first written down in Sri Lanka in the Alu Viharaya Temple no earlier than 29–17 BC. The geographic setting of identifiable texts within the Canon generally corresponds to locations in the Ganges region of northeastern India, including the kingdoms of
Kosala Kosala, sometimes referred to as Uttara Kosala () was one of the Mahajanapadas of ancient India. It emerged as a small state during the Late Vedic period and became (along with Magadha) one of the earliest states to transition from a lineage ...
,
Kasi Kasi or KASI may refer to: People * Kasi (Pashtun tribe) * Kasi Fine (born 1964), Tongan rugby player * Kasi Lemmons (born 1961), American film director and actress * Kasi Nayinar Pararacacekaran (died 1570), ruler of the Jaffna kingdom * Kasi ...
, Vajji, and
Magadha Magadha was a region and kingdom in ancient India, based in the eastern Ganges Plain. It was one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas during the Second Urbanization period. The region was ruled by several dynasties, which overshadowed, conquered, and ...
. While Theravada tradition has generally regarded Pali as being synonymous with the language of the kingdom of
Magadhi Magahi (), also known as Magadhi (), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal states of eastern India, and in the Terai region of Nepal. Magadhi Prakrit was the ancestor of Magahi, from which the latter's name der ...
as spoken by the Buddha, linguists have identified Pali as being more closely related to other
prakrit Prakrit ( ) is a group of vernacular classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 5th century BCE to the 12th century CE. The term Prakrit is usually applied to the middle period of Middle Ind ...
languages of western India, and found substantial incompatibilities with the few preserved examples of Magadhi and other north-eastern prakrit languages. Linguistic research suggests that the teachings of the Buddha may have been recorded in an eastern Indian language originally, and transposed into the west Indian precursor of Pali sometime before the Asokan era. Much of the material in the Canon is not specifically Theravādin, but is instead the collection of teachings that this school preserved from the early, non-sectarian body of teachings. According to
Peter Harvey Peter Michael St Clair Harvey (16 September 19442 March 2013) was an Australian journalist and broadcaster. Harvey was a long-serving correspondent and contributor with the Nine Network from 1975 to 2013. Career Harvey studied his journalism c ...
, the Canon contains material which is at odds with later Theravādin orthodoxy. He states that "the Theravādins, then, may have ''added'' texts to the Canon for some time, but they do not appear to have tampered with what they already had from an earlier period." A variety of factors suggest that the early Sri Lankan Buddhists regarded canonical literature as such and transmitted it conservatively. Theravada tradition generally treats the Canon as a whole as originating with the Buddha and his immediate disciples (with the exception of certain, generally Abhidhamma texts, that explicitly refer to events long after his death). Scholars differ in their views regarding the origin of the Pali Canon, but generally believe that the Canon includes several strata of relatively early and late texts, but with little consensus regarding the relative dating of different sections of the Canon or which texts belong to which era.


Authorship


Authorship according to Theravadins

Prayudh Payutto P. A. Payutto (; born 12 January 1938), also known by his current monastic title, Somdet Phra Buddhaghosacariya (), is a well-known Thai Buddhist monk, an intellectual, and a prolific writer. Payutto has lectured and written extensively about a ...
argues that the Pali Canon represents the teachings of the Buddha essentially unchanged apart from minor modifications. He argues that it also incorporates teachings that precede the Buddha, and that the later teachings were memorized by the Buddha's followers while he was still alive. His thesis is based on study of the processes of the first great council, and the methods for memorization used by the monks, which started during the Buddha's lifetime. It's also based on the capability of a few monks, to this day, to memorize the entire canon.
Bhikkhu Sujato Sujato, known as Ajahn Sujato or Bhikkhu Sujato (born Anthony Best), is an Australian Buddhist monk ordained into the Thai forest lineage of Ajahn Chah. Life He is a former musician with the post punk alternative rock Australian band Martha' ...
and Bhikkhu Brahmali argue that it is likely that much of the Pali Canon dates back to the time period of the Buddha. They base this on many lines of evidence including the technology described in the canon (apart from the obviously later texts), which matches the technology of his day which was in rapid development; that it doesn't include back written prophecies of the great Buddhist ruler King Ashoka (which Mahayana texts often do) suggesting that it predates his time; that in its descriptions of the political geography it presents India at the time of Buddha, which changed soon after his death; that it has no mention of places in South India, which would have been well known to Indians not long after Buddha's death; and various other lines of evidence dating the material back to his time.


Authorship according to academic scholars

The views of scholars concerning the authorship of the Pali Canon can be grouped into three categories: # Attribution to the
Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...
himself and his early followers # Attribution to the period of
pre-sectarian Buddhism Pre-sectarian Buddhism, also called early Buddhism, the earliest Buddhism, original Buddhism, and primitive Buddhism, is Buddhism as theorized to have existed before the various Early Buddhist schools developed, around 250 BCE (followed by later ...
# Agnosticism


= Views concerning authorship of the Buddha himself

= Several scholars of early Buddhism argue that the nucleus of the Buddhist teachings in the Pali Canon may derive from
Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...
himself, but that part of it also was developed after the Buddha by his early followers.
Richard Gombrich Richard Francis Gombrich (; born 17 July 1937) is a British Indologist and scholar of Sanskrit, Pāli, and Buddhist studies. He was the Boden Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Oxford from 1976 to 2004. He is currently Founder-Preside ...
says that the main preachings of the Buddha (as in the
Vinaya The Vinaya (Pali and Sanskrit: विनय) refers to numerous monastic rules and ethical precepts for fully ordained monks and nuns of Buddhist Sanghas (community of like-minded ''sramanas''). These sets of ethical rules and guidelines devel ...
and
Sutta Pitaka Sutta may refer to: *The Pali version of the Sanskrit term Sutra **In Buddhism, a discourse of the Buddha: see Sutra ''Sutra'' ()Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indi ...
) are coherent and cogent, and must be the work of a single person: the Buddha himself, not a committee of followers after his death. Other scholars are more cautious, and attribute part of the Pali canon to the Buddha's early followers. Peter Harvey states that "much" of the Pali Canon must derive from the Buddha's teaching, but also that "parts of the Pali Canon clearly originated after the time of the Buddha." A.K. Warder stated that to suggest that the shared teaching of the early schools was formulated by anyone else than the Buddha and his immediate followers. J.W. de Jong said it would be "hypocritical" to assert that we can say nothing about the teachings of earliest Buddhism, arguing that "the basic ideas of Buddhism found in the canonical writings could very well have been proclaimed by him
he Buddha He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...
transmitted and developed by his disciples and, finally, codified in fixed formulas." Alex Wynne said that some texts in the Pali Canon may go back to the very beginning of Buddhism, which perhaps include the substance of the Buddha's teaching, and in some cases, maybe even his words. He suggests the canon was composed soon after Buddha's paranirvana, but after a period of free improvisation, and then the core teachings were preserved nearly verbatim by memory.
Hajime Nakamura was a Japanese Orientalist, Indologist, philosopher and academic of Vedic, Hindu and Buddhist scriptures. Biography Nakamura was born in Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, Japan. In 1943 he graduated from the Department of Literature at Tokyo Imp ...
writes that while nothing can be definitively attributed to Gautama as a historical figure, some sayings or phrases must derive from him.


= Views concerning authorship in the period of pre-sectarian Buddhism

= Most scholars agree there was a rough body of sacred literature that an early community maintained and transmitted. Much of the Pali Canon is found also in the scriptures of other early schools of Buddhism, parts of whose versions are preserved, mainly in Chinese. Many scholars have argued that this shared material can be attributed to the period of
Pre-sectarian Buddhism Pre-sectarian Buddhism, also called early Buddhism, the earliest Buddhism, original Buddhism, and primitive Buddhism, is Buddhism as theorized to have existed before the various Early Buddhist schools developed, around 250 BCE (followed by later ...
. This is the period before the early schools separated in about the fourth or third century BC.


= Views concerning agnosticism

= Some scholars see the Pali Canon as expanding and changing from an unknown nucleus. Arguments given for an agnostic attitude include that the evidence for the Buddha's teachings dates from long after his death. Some scholars of later Indian Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism say that little or nothing goes back to the Buddha. Ronald Davidson has little confidence that much, if any, of surviving Buddhist scripture is actually the word of the historical Buddha. Geoffrey Samuel says the Pali Canon largely derives from the work of Buddhaghosa and his colleagues in the 5th century AD.
Gregory Schopen Gregory Schopen is Professor of Buddhist Studies at University of California, Los Angeles. He received his B.A. majoring in American literature from Black Hills State College, M.A. in history of religions from McMaster University in Ontario, Can ...
argues that it is not until the 5th to 6th centuries AD that we have any definite evidence about the contents of the Canon. This position was criticized by A. Wynne.


Authorship of the Abhidhamma Pitaka

Western scholarship suggests that the composition of the Abhidhamma Pitaka likely began around 300 BCE, but may have drawn on an earlier tradition of lists and rubrics known as "
matrika Matrikas (Sanskrit: मातृका (singular), IAST: mātṛkā, lit. "mothers") also called Mataras or Matri, are a group of mother goddesses in Hinduism. The Matrikas are often depicted in a group of seven, the Saptamatrika(s) (Seven Mot ...
". Traditional accounts include it among the texts recited at the
First Buddhist Council Since the Mahaparinirvana of the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, Buddhist monastic communities, the "''sangha''", have periodically convened for doctrinal and disciplinary reasons and to revise and correct the contents of the Buddhist ...
and attribute differences in form and style to its composition by Sariputra.


The earliest books of the Pali Canon

Opinions differ on what the earliest books of the Canon are. The majority of Western scholars consider the earliest identifiable stratum to be mainly prose works, the Vinaya (excluding the Parivāra) and the first four nikāyas of the Sutta Pitaka, and perhaps also some short verse works such as the
Suttanipata The ' () is a Buddhist scripture, a sutta collection in the Khuddaka Nikaya, part of the Sutta Pitaka of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism. ''Sutta Nipata'' is a collection of discourses of Buddha. It is part of an early corpus of Buddh ...
. However, some scholars, particularly in Japan, maintain that the Suttanipāta is the earliest of all Buddhist scriptures, followed by the
Itivuttaka The ''Itivuttaka'' (Pali for "as it was said") is a Buddhist scripture, part of the Pali Canon of Theravada ''Theravāda'' (; 'School of the Elders'; ) is Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed ''Theravādins'' (a ...
and
Udāna The Udāna is a Buddhist scripture, part of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism. It is included in the Sutta Pitaka's Khuddaka Nikaya. The title might be translated "inspired utterances". The book comprises 80 such utterances, most in verse, ea ...
. some of the developments in teachings may only reflect changes in teaching that the Buddha himself adopted, during the 45 years that the Buddha was teaching. Scholars generally agree that the early books include some later additions. Aspects of these late additions are or may be from a much earlier period. Aspects of the Pali Canon, such as what it says about society and South Asian history, are in doubt because the Pali Canon was extensively redacted in the 5th- or 6th-century AD, nearly a thousand years after the death of the Buddha. Further, this redacted Pali Canon of Sri Lanka itself mentions that it was previously redacted towards the end of 1st-century BC. According to Early Buddhism scholar Lars Fogelin, the Pali Canon of Sri Lanka is a modified Canon and "there is no good reason to assume that Sri Lankan Buddhism resembles Early Buddhism in the mainland, and there are numerous reasons to argue that it does not." Dr. Peter Masefield researched a form of Pali known as Indochinese Pali or "Kham Pali". It had been considered a degraded form of Pali, but Masefield states that further examination of texts will probably show it is an internally consistent Pali dialect. The reason for is that some combinations of characters are difficult to write in those scripts. Masefield says records in Thailand state that upon the third re-introduction of Theravada Buddhism into Sri Lanka (The Siyamese Sect), large number of texts were also taken. When monastic ordination died out in Sri Lanka, many texts were lost also. the Sri Lankan Pali Canon had been translated first into Indo-Chinese Pali, and then, at least in part, back again into Pali. One of the
edicts of Ashoka The Edicts of Ashoka are a collection of more than thirty inscriptions on the Pillars of Ashoka, as well as boulders and cave walls, attributed to Emperor Ashoka of the Maurya Empire who ruled most of the Indian subcontinent from 268 BCE to 2 ...
, the "Calcutta-Bairat edict", lists several works from the canon which Ashoka considered advantageous. According to Alexander Wynne:
The general consensus seems to be that what Asoka calls Munigatha correspond to the Munisutta (Sn 207–221), Moneyasute is probably the second half of the Nalakasutta (Sn 699–723), and Upatisapasine may correspond to the Sariputtasutta (Sn 955–975). The identification of most of the other titles is less certain, but Schmithausen, following Oldenberg before him, identifies what Asoka calls the Laghulovada with part of a prose text in the Majjhima Nikaya, the Ambalatthika-Rahulovada Sutta (M no. 61).
This seems to be evidence that some of these texts were already fixed by the time of the reign of
Ashoka Ashoka, also known as Asoka or Aśoka ( ; , ; – 232 BCE), and popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was List of Mauryan emperors, Emperor of Magadha from until #Death, his death in 232 BCE, and the third ruler from the Mauryan dynast ...
(304–232 BC), which means that some of the texts carried by the Buddhist missionaries at this time might also have been fixed. According to the Sri Lankan Mahavamsa, the Pali Canon was written down in the reign of King Vattagāmini () (1st century BCE) in
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
, at the
Fourth Buddhist council Since the Mahaparinirvana of the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, Buddhist monastic communities, the "'' sangha''", have periodically convened for doctrinal and disciplinary reasons and to revise and correct the contents of the Buddhis ...
. Most scholars hold that little if anything was added to the Canon after this, though Schopen questions this.


Texts


Manuscripts

The
climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteoro ...
of Theravāda countries is not conducive to the survival of manuscripts. Apart from brief quotations in inscriptions and a two-page fragment from the eighth or ninth century found in
Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
, the oldest manuscripts known are from late in the fifteenth century, and there is not very much from before the eighteenth.


Printed editions and digitized editions

The first complete printed edition of the Canon was published in Burma in 1900, in 38 volumes. The following editions of the Pali text of the Canon are readily available in the West: *
Pali Text Society The Pāli Text Society is a text publication society founded in 1881 by Thomas William Rhys Davids "to foster and promote the study of Pāli texts." Pāli is the language in which the texts of the Theravada school of Buddhism are preserved. The ...
edition (in
Roman script The Latin script, also known as the Roman script, is a writing system based on the letters of the classical Latin alphabet, derived from a form of the Greek alphabet which was in use in the ancient Greek city of Cumae in Magna Graecia. The Gree ...
), published 1877–1927 (a few volumes subsequently replaced by new editions), in 57 volumes (including indexes). ** The Pali scriptures and some Pali commentaries were digitized as an
MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few op ...
/
extended ASCII Extended ASCII is a repertoire of character encodings that include (most of) the original 96 ASCII character set, plus up to 128 additional characters. There is no formal definition of "extended ASCII", and even use of the term is sometimes critic ...
compatible database through cooperation between the Dhammakaya Foundation and the Pali Text Society in 1996 as ''PALITEXT version 1.0: CD-ROM Database of the Entire Buddhist Pali Canon'' . * Thai Tipitaka in
Thai script The Thai script (, , ) is the abugida used to write Thai language, Thai, Southern Thai language, Southern Thai and many other languages spoken in Thailand. The Thai script itself (as used to write Thai) has 44 consonant symbols (, ), 16 vowel s ...
, published during the reign of
Rama VII Prajadhipok (8 November 1893 – 30 May 1941) was the seventh king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama VII. His reign was a turbulent time for Siam due to political and social changes during the Siamese revolution of 1932, 19 ...
(1925–35), 45 volumes, with fewer variant readings than PTS; ** BUDSIR on Internet free with login; and electronic transcript by BUDSIR: Buddhist scriptures information retrieval, CD-ROM and online, both requiring payment. * Sixth Council Tipiṭaka, Rangoon (1954–56), 40 volumes in
Burmese script Burmese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Myanmar, a country in Southeast Asia * Burmese people * Burmese language * Burmese alphabet * Burmese cuisine * Burmese culture Animals * Burmese cat * Burmese chicken * Burmese (horse) ...
; with fewer variant readings than the Thai edition; ** electronic transcript by Vipāssana Research Institute available online in searchable database free of charge, or on CD-ROM (p&p only) from the institute. ** Another transcript of this edition, produced under the patronage of the Supreme Patriarch of Thailand, World Tipitaka Edition, 2005, 40 volumes, published by the
Dhamma Society Fund Dhamma Society Fund, formally known as The M.L. Maniratana Bunnag Dhamma Society Fund under the Patronage His Holiness Somdet Phra Ñāṇasaṃvara the Supreme Patriarch of Thailand, is a charitable organisation in the Buddhist Theravāda Tradit ...
, claims to include the full extent of changes made at the Sixth Council, and therefore reflect the results of the council more accurately than some existing Sixth Council editions. Available for viewing online (registration required) at Tipiṭaka Quotation WebService. * Sinhalese (Buddha Jayanti) edition, (1957–1993?), 58 volumes including parallel Sinhalese translations, searchable, free of charge (not yet fully proofread.) Available at Journal of Buddhist Ethics. The only accurate version of the Sri Lankan text available, in individual page images. Cannot be searched though. ** Transcript in BudhgayaNews Pali Canon. In this version it is easy to search for individual words across all 16,000+ pages at once and view the contexts in which they appear. * Cambodian Tipiṭaka in
Khmer script Khmer script (, )Huffman, Franklin. 1970. ''Cambodian System of Writing and Beginning Reader''. Yale University Press. . is an abugida (alphasyllabary) script used to write the Khmer language, the official language of Cambodia. It is also use ...
. Edited and published by the ''Institut Bouddhique'' in
Phnom Penh Phnom Penh is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Cambodia, most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since 1865 and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its political, economic, industr ...
(1931–69). * The Complete Collection of Chinese Pattra Scripture as preserved by the
Dai people The Dai people ( Burmese: ရှမ်းလူမျိုး; ; ; ; , ; , ; zh, c=, p=Dǎizú) are several Tai-speaking ethnic groups living in the Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture and the Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture ...
.


Translations

''Pali Canon in English Translation'', 1895-, in progress, 43 volumes so far, Pali Text Society, Bristol; for details of these and other translations of individual books see the separate articles. In 1994, the then President of the Pali Text Society stated that most of these translations were unsatisfactory. Another former President said in 2003 that most of the translations were done very badly. The style of many translations from the Canon has been criticized as "Buddhist Hybrid English", a term invented by Paul Griffiths for translations from Sanskrit. He describes it as "deplorable", "comprehensible only to the initiate, written by and for Buddhologists". Selections: see List of Pali Canon anthologies. A translation by
Bhikkhu Nanamoli A ''bhikkhu'' (, ) is an ordained male in Buddhist monasticism. Male, and female monastics (''bhikkhunī''), are members of the Sangha (Buddhist community). The lives of all Buddhist monastics are governed by a set of rules called the prātimo ...
and
Bhikkhu Bodhi Bhikkhu Bodhi (born December 10, 1944) () born Jeffrey Block, is an American Theravada Buddhist monk ordained in Sri Lanka. He teaches in the New York and New Jersey area. He was appointed the second president of the Buddhist Publication Soci ...
of the Majjhima Nikaya was published by Wisdom Publications in 1995. Translations by
Bhikkhu Bodhi Bhikkhu Bodhi (born December 10, 1944) () born Jeffrey Block, is an American Theravada Buddhist monk ordained in Sri Lanka. He teaches in the New York and New Jersey area. He was appointed the second president of the Buddhist Publication Soci ...
of the Samyutta Nikaya and the Anguttara Nikaya were published by Wisdom Publications in 2003 and 2012, respectively. In 2018, new translations of the entirety of the five Nikayas were made freely available on the websit
suttacentral
by the Australian
Bhikkhu Sujato Sujato, known as Ajahn Sujato or Bhikkhu Sujato (born Anthony Best), is an Australian Buddhist monk ordained into the Thai forest lineage of Ajahn Chah. Life He is a former musician with the post punk alternative rock Australian band Martha' ...
, the translations were also released into the
Public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...
. A Japanese translation of the Canon, edited by
Takakusu Junjiro , who often published as J. Takakusu, was a Japanese academic, an advocate for expanding higher education opportunities, and an internationally known Buddhist scholar.
, was published in 65 volumes from 1935 to 1941 as The Mahātripiṭaka of the Southern Tradition (南伝大蔵経 ''Nanden daizōkyō''). A Chinese translation of the above-mentioned Japanese translation was undertaken between 1990–1998 and thereafter printed under the patronage of Kaoshiung's Yuan Heng Temple.


Contents of the Canon

As noted above, the Canon consists of three pitakas. *
Vinaya Pitaka The Vinaya (Pali and Sanskrit: विनय) refers to numerous monastic rules and ethical precepts for fully ordained monks and nuns of Buddhist Sanghas (community of like-minded ''sramanas''). These sets of ethical rules and guidelines devel ...
() *
Sutta Pitaka Sutta may refer to: *The Pali version of the Sanskrit term Sutra **In Buddhism, a discourse of the Buddha: see Sutra ''Sutra'' ()Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indi ...
or Suttanta Pitaka *
Abhidhamma Pitaka The Theravada Abhidhamma tradition, also known as the Abhidhamma Method, refers to a scholastic systematization of the Theravada, Theravāda school's understanding of the highest Buddhist teachings (Abhidharma, Abhidhamma). These teachings are t ...
Details are given below. For more complete information, see standard references on Pali literature.


Vinaya Pitaka

The first category, the ''
Vinaya Pitaka The Vinaya (Pali and Sanskrit: विनय) refers to numerous monastic rules and ethical precepts for fully ordained monks and nuns of Buddhist Sanghas (community of like-minded ''sramanas''). These sets of ethical rules and guidelines devel ...
'', is mostly concerned with the rules of the ''
sangha Sangha or saṃgha () is a term meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community". In a political context, it was historically used to denote a governing assembly in a republic or a kingdom, and for a long time, it has been used b ...
'', both
monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...
s and
nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...
s. The rules are preceded by stories telling how the Buddha came to lay them down, and followed by explanations and analysis. According to the stories, the rules were devised on an ad hoc basis as the Buddha encountered various behavioral problems or disputes among his followers. This pitaka can be divided into three parts: * Suttavibhanga () Commentary on the Patimokkha, a basic code of rules for monks and nuns that is not as such included in the Canon. The monks' rules are dealt with first, followed by those of the nuns' rules not already covered. *
Khandhaka Khandhaka is the second book of the Theravadin ''Vinaya Pitaka'' and includes the following two volumes: * Mahāvagga: includes accounts of Gautama Buddha's and the ten principal disciples' awakenings, as well as rules for uposatha days and mona ...
Other rules grouped by topic in 22 chapters. * Parivara (parivāra) Analysis of the rules from various points of view.


Sutta Pitaka

The second category is the ''
Sutta Pitaka Sutta may refer to: *The Pali version of the Sanskrit term Sutra **In Buddhism, a discourse of the Buddha: see Sutra ''Sutra'' ()Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indi ...
'' (literally "basket of threads", or of "the well spoken"; Sanskrit: ''Sutra Pitaka'', following the former meaning) which consists primarily of accounts of the Buddha's teachings. The Sutta Pitaka has five subdivisions, or nikayas: *
Digha Nikaya Digha (), is a seaside resort town in the state of West Bengal, India. It lies in Purba Medinipur district and at the northern end of the Bay of Bengal. The town has a low gradient with a shallow sand beach. It is a popular sea resort in India. ...
(dīghanikāya) 34 long discourses. Joy Manné argues that this book was particularly intended to make converts, with its high proportion of debates and devotional material. * Majjhima Nikaya 152 medium-length discourses. Manné argues that this book was particularly intended to give a solid grounding in the teaching to converts, with a high proportion of sermons and consultations. * Samyutta Nikaya () Thousands of short discourses in fifty-odd groups by subject, person etc.
Bhikkhu Bodhi Bhikkhu Bodhi (born December 10, 1944) () born Jeffrey Block, is an American Theravada Buddhist monk ordained in Sri Lanka. He teaches in the New York and New Jersey area. He was appointed the second president of the Buddhist Publication Soci ...
, in his translation, says this nikaya has the most detailed explanations of doctrine. * Anguttara Nikaya () Thousands of short discourses arranged numerically from ones to elevens. It contains more elementary teaching for ordinary people than the preceding three. * Khuddaka Nikaya A miscellaneous collection of works in prose or verse.


Abhidhamma Pitaka

The third category, the ''
Abhidhamma Pitaka The Theravada Abhidhamma tradition, also known as the Abhidhamma Method, refers to a scholastic systematization of the Theravada, Theravāda school's understanding of the highest Buddhist teachings (Abhidharma, Abhidhamma). These teachings are t ...
'' (literally "beyond the dhamma", "higher dhamma" or "special dhamma", Sanskrit: '' Abhidharma Pitaka''), is a collection of texts which give a scholastic explanation of Buddhist doctrines particularly about mind, and sometimes referred to as the "systematic philosophy" basket. There are seven books in the Abhidhamma Pitaka: * Dhammasangani ( or ) Enumeration, definition and classification of dhammas * Vibhanga () Analysis of 18 topics by various methods, including those of the Dhammasangani * Dhatukatha (dhātukathā) Deals with interrelations between ideas from the previous two books * Puggalapannatti (-paññatti) Explanations of types of person, arranged numerically in lists from ones to tens * Kathavatthu (kathā-) Over 200 debates on points of doctrine * Yamaka Applies to 10 topics a procedure involving converse questions (e.g. Is X Y? Is Y X?) * Patthana () Analysis of 24 types of condition The traditional position is that ''abhidhamma'' refers to the absolute teaching, while the suttas are adapted to the hearer. Most scholars describe the abhidhamma as an attempt to systematize the teachings of the suttas: Cousins says that where the suttas think in terms of sequences or processes the abhidhamma thinks in terms of specific events or occasions.


Use of Brahmanical language

The Pali Canon uses many
Brahmanical The historical Vedic religion, also called Vedism or Brahmanism, and sometimes ancient Hinduism or Vedic Hinduism, constituted the religious ideas and practices prevalent amongst some of the Indo-Aryan peoples of the northwest Indian subcontin ...
terminology and concepts. For example, the ''Sundarika Sutta'' includes an analogy, quoted in several other places in the Canon, where the Buddha describes the
Agnihotra Agnihotra (IAST: ''Agnihotra'', Devnagari: अग्निहोत्र) refers to the yajna of offering ghee into the sacred fire as per strict rites, and may include twice-daily heated milk offering made by those in the Śrauta tradition. Th ...
as the foremost sacrifice and the Sāvitrī as the foremost meter: These Brahmanical motives are sometimes introduced in order to "establish a link with the deeds and beliefs of Brahmins," referencing "shared ideas" that were part of the culture of ancient India. In many other instances, they are introduced in order to establish unfavorable comparisons with Buddhist teachings or practices- after identifying the fire sacrifice as the foremost of the Brahminist sacrifices, the Buddha goes on to explain how it is surpassed by the kindling of "inner light" that he practices as an
arhat In Buddhism, an ''Arhat'' () or ''Arahant'' (, 𑀅𑀭𑀳𑀦𑁆𑀢𑁆) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved ''Nirvana (Buddhism), Nirvana'' and has been liberated from the Rebirth (Buddhism ...
.


Comparison with other Buddhist canons

The other two main Buddhist canons in use in the present day are the
Chinese Buddhist Canon The Chinese Buddhist canon refers to a traditional collection of Chinese language Buddhist texts which are the central canonical works of East Asian Buddhism. The traditional term for the canon is Great Storage of Scriptures ().Jiang Wu, "The ...
and the Tibetan
Kangyur The Tibetan Buddhist canon is a defined collection of sacred texts recognized by various schools of Tibetan Buddhism, comprising the Kangyur and the Tengyur. The ''Kangyur'' or ''Kanjur'' is Buddha's recorded teachings (or the 'Translation of ...
. The standard modern edition of the Chinese Buddhist Canon is the Taishō Revised Tripiṭaka, with a hundred major divisions, totaling over 80,000 pages. This includes Vinayas for the
Dharmaguptaka The Dharmaguptaka (Sanskrit: धर्मगुप्तक; ; ) are one of the eighteen or twenty early Buddhist schools from the ancient region of Gandhara, now Pakistan. They are said to have originated from another sect, the Mahīśāsakas f ...
,
Sarvāstivāda The ''Sarvāstivāda'' (; ;) was one of the early Buddhist schools established around the reign of Ashoka (third century BCE).Westerhoff, The Golden Age of Indian Buddhist Philosophy in the First Millennium CE, 2018, p. 60. It was particularl ...
,
Mahīśāsaka Mahīśāsaka (; ) is one of the early Buddhist schools according to some records. Its origins may go back to the dispute in the Second Buddhist council. The Dharmaguptaka sect is thought to have branched out from the Mahīśāsaka sect toward ...
, and Mahāsaṃghika schools. It also includes the four major Āgamas, which are analogous to the Nikayas of the Pali Canon. Namely, they are the Saṃyukta Āgama, Madhyama Āgama, Dīrgha Āgama, and Ekottara Āgama. Also included are the
Dhammapada The ''Dhammapada'' (; ) is a collection of sayings of the Buddha in verse form and one of the most widely read and best known Buddhist scriptures.See, for instance, Buswell (2003): "rank among the best known Buddhist texts" (p. 11); and, "on ...
, the Udāna, the Itivuttaka, and Milindapanha. There are also additional texts, including early histories, that are preserved from the
early Buddhist schools The early Buddhist schools refers to the History of Buddhism in India, Indian Buddhist "doctrinal schools" or "schools of thought" (Sanskrit: ''vāda'') which arose out of the early unified Buddhist monasticism, Buddhist monastic community (San ...
but not found in Pali. The canon contains voluminous works of Abhidharma, especially from the Sarvāstivāda school. The Indian works preserved in the Chinese Canon were translated mostly from
Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit (BHS) is a modern linguistic category applied to the language used in a class of Indian Buddhist texts, such as the Perfection of Wisdom sutras. BHS is classified as a Middle Indo-Aryan language. It is sometimes called ...
,
Classical Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest ...
, or from regional
Prakrit Prakrit ( ) is a group of vernacular classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 5th century BCE to the 12th century CE. The term Prakrit is usually applied to the middle period of Middle Ind ...
s. The Chinese generally referred to these simply as "
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
" (Ch. 梵語, Fànyǔ). The first
woodblock printing Woodblock printing or block printing is a technique for printing text, images or patterns used widely throughout East Asia and originating in China in antiquity as a method of textile printing, printing on textiles and later on paper. Each page ...
of the entire
Chinese Buddhist Canon The Chinese Buddhist canon refers to a traditional collection of Chinese language Buddhist texts which are the central canonical works of East Asian Buddhism. The traditional term for the canon is Great Storage of Scriptures ().Jiang Wu, "The ...
was done during the
Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...
by imperial order in China in AD 971; the earliest dated printed Buddhist sutra was the Diamond Sutra printed in AD 868 (printed by an
upāsaka Upāsaka (masculine) or Upāsikā (feminine) are from the Sanskrit and Pāli words for "attendant". This is the title of followers of Buddhism (or, historically, of Gautama Buddha) who are not monks, nuns, or novice monastics in a Buddhist order, ...
for free distribution); although printing of individual Buddhist sutras and related materials may have started as early as the 7th century AD. The Tibetan Kangyur comprises about a hundred volumes and includes versions of the Vinaya Pitaka, the Dhammapada (under the title ''Udanavarga'') and parts of some other books. Due to the later compilation, it contains comparatively fewer early Buddhist texts than the Pali and Chinese canons. The Chinese and Tibetan canons are not translations of the Pali and differ from it to varying extents, but contain some recognizably similar early works. However, the Abhidharma books are fundamentally different works from the Pali Abhidhamma Pitaka. The Chinese and Tibetan canons also consist of
Mahāyāna sūtras The Mahayana sutras are Buddhist texts that are accepted as wikt:canon, canonical and authentic Buddhist texts, ''buddhavacana'' in Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhist sanghas. These include three types of sutras: Those spoken by the Buddha; those spoke ...
and
Vajrayāna ''Vajrayāna'' (; 'vajra vehicle'), also known as Mantrayāna ('mantra vehicle'), Guhyamantrayāna ('secret mantra vehicle'), Tantrayāna ('tantra vehicle'), Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition that emp ...
tantra Tantra (; ) is an esoteric yogic tradition that developed on the India, Indian subcontinent beginning in the middle of the 1st millennium CE, first within Shaivism and later in Buddhism. The term ''tantra'', in the Greater India, Indian tr ...
s, which have few parallels in the Pali Canon.


See also


Notes


References


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Further reading

* Hinüber, Oskar von (2000). ''A Handbook of Pāli Literature''. Berlin:
Walter de Gruyter Walter de Gruyter GmbH, known as De Gruyter (), is a German scholarly publishing house specializing in academic literature. History The roots of the company go back to 1749 when Frederick the Great granted the Königliche Realschule in Be ...
. . * B. C. Law
''History of Pali Literature''
volume I, Trubner, London 1931 * Russell Webb (ed.),

', The Wheel Publication No 217,
Buddhist Publication Society The Buddhist Publication Society (BPS) is a publishing house with charitable status, whose objective is to disseminate the teachings of Gautama Buddha. It was founded in Kandy, Sri Lanka, in 1958 by two Sri Lankan lay Buddhists, A.S. Karunaratn ...
, Kandy, Sri Lanka, 3rd ed. 2008. *


External links


Sayadaw U Vicittasara Mingun Sayadaw: A Fabulous Memory

Beginnings: The Pali Suttas
by
Samanera Bodhesako Sāmanera Bodhesako (born Robert Smith, 1939–1988; known also as ''Ven. Vinayadhara'' and ''Ven. Ñāṇasuci'' in his early monastic life) was an American Buddhist monk. Born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1939, he studied at the University of Iow ...

Pali Canon
at Citizendium, mostly by Peter Jackson, has an extensive Bibliography and more detail about some things


English translations


Access to Insight
has many suttas translated into English * English translations by
Bhikkhu Bodhi Bhikkhu Bodhi (born December 10, 1944) () born Jeffrey Block, is an American Theravada Buddhist monk ordained in Sri Lanka. He teaches in the New York and New Jersey area. He was appointed the second president of the Buddhist Publication Soci ...
of selected suttas of the Majjhima Nikaya are made available by the
Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition The Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT) was founded in 1975 by Gelugpa Lamas Thubten Yeshe and Thubten Zopa Rinpoche, who began teaching Tibetan Buddhism to Western students in Nepal. The FPMT has grown to encompass ...
a
Wisdom Publications
* English translations by
Bhikkhu Bodhi Bhikkhu Bodhi (born December 10, 1944) () born Jeffrey Block, is an American Theravada Buddhist monk ordained in Sri Lanka. He teaches in the New York and New Jersey area. He was appointed the second president of the Buddhist Publication Soci ...
of selected suttas from the Anguttara Nikaya a
Wisdom Publications


Pali Canon online


Vipassana Research Institute
(Based on 6th Council – Burmese version) (this site also offers a downloadable program which installs the entire Pali Tipitaka on your desktop for offline viewing)
Sutta Central
Early Buddhist texts, translations, and parallels (Multiple Languages)
Thai Tripitaka
(Thai version)
Sinhala Tipitaka
(Translated into Sinhala by a Government of Sri Lanka initiative)
Tipitaka Online



Pali dictionary


Online Pali-English Dictionary

Pāli Dictionary Online

Pāli Dictionary (Pāli to Chinese, Pāli to English, Pāli to Japanese, Pāli-Vietnamese, Pāli-Burmese)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pali Canon 1st-century BC books Magahi language Theravada Buddhist texts Tripiṭaka