K. R. ~OR:.\1:\)l"

PALI LITERATURE INCLUDING THE CANONICAL LITERATURE IN

PRAKRIT _\ND SANSKRIT OF ALL THE HINAY;U--A SCHOOLS OF BUDDHISM

1983 OTTO HARRA~SOWITZ . WIESBADEN

K. R. NOIUL-L"{

P ALI Ll'fERATURE INCLUDING THE CA...~O~"'lCAL LITERATURE IN

1?RAKRIT AND SA...'\'SKRIT OF ..... LL THE alNAYA.:."\'A SCHOOLS OF BUDDBJS",[

A HISTORY OF INDIAN LITERATURE

EDITED BY JAR GORDA

VOLUME VII Fasc. 2

1983 OTTO HAR RASSOWITZ wrESB}.DE!'~

K. R. NOR~rAN

PALl LITERATURE INCLUDING THE CANONICAL LITERATURE IN

PRAKRIT "I.ND SAl'iSKRIT OF ALL THE HINAYA.c'iA SCHOOLS OF BUDDHISM

1983 OTTO HARRAoSOWITZ . WIESBADEN

A lIISTOltY or rsDI.-\..~ LITEI!.4.TUR CoD~n~ of '01. yJ1

rot. rll hall;;. I

IJu,ddhill and JamQ .lAkraJure The Literature of the Madhyamaka School

v. Seyfort Ruegg of Phil~rhy m indIa fa.tc.2, K R. Nonnan PAli Lit.enltwtl

CfP.ItIltlUl>'laufub"" d~r ~U~II BlbUothek A WtI.r,.' , ..... "",&1.,. I c. b1 J&II 00lIda.-"''''badu, n ..... M/I .. lu. I.E: Oollda, J&II [IlI1'.J VIII. 7. Buddlll.( .a~ Jain. Ul.llrataH. FMC. 2 .... Harm.b, KeQn~(b Ror Pillllt .. tt\lr1' A .... a, ..... db a." )'.11 11 .... ,.11' ... , In

CO~TENTS

FOREWORD

The. Piili language. and lhe Tht;rClt'iidin tradition

I. The nnme "Pili"

:!. The history aad development of the Piili language

3. The history of the Theraviidin tradition

CUAPTER 1 [ The. P(ili Canon I . The divisions of ~e c:mon

2. The Vinaya.pi!-aka 2.1. The Suttavibhnll~a 2.2. The Kho.ndlw,ka 2.3. The Panni.ra

3. The Sutta.pi\o.ka 3.1. The Dtg~.a.nikiiya

3.1.1. The Silakkhandhavagga 3.1.2. The Mahavagga. 3.1.3. The Pa.~ika.va.gga.

3.2. The Yaj:hima-nikayo.. 3.2.1. The :\1ulapaQJ)iisa. 3.2.2. The l\[a.jjhimupaQJ)iisa 3.2.3. The Uparipal)l.liisa

3.3. The Sa'11yuttn-nikiiya 3.3.1. The Sagiithosaggo. 3.3.2. The Nidanavagga 3.3.a. The Khandhavagga 3.3.4. The Salii.yatanavagga 3.3.5. The lI[ahilvagga

3.4. The ,\ilguttnrn.-nikii.ya

:U. The Khuddaka.nikilya :J.5.1. 1\huddakapa.tha

3.5.~. Dhamruapndn

.. IX

7

15

IS 18 2:! :!t3

30 .>.") 0-

3:1 36 41

+l 15 46 48

49 50 5:1 5:1 53 53

\'1 ConwnU

3.5.3. liuana 3.5,4 Iti\-uttakn _. 3.5.5. Suttan.ipiita 3.5.6. \-imina'-attbu 3.S.'. Peta\"atthu 3.5.S. Theragithi 3.5.9. ThengAthii._ 3.5.10. Jitaka 3.5.11. Xiddesa ._ 3.5.12. Patisambhidimagga 3.5.13. ApadAOA .. 3.5.14. Buddha\"arpsa. .. 3.5.15. Cariyipit;aka

4. The Abhid.hllmma-pi~ka 4.1. Dhnmmasailgaf.li . 4.!!. Vibhnllga 4.3. Dhiitukathii. .. 4.4. PUAAalapaiiiiatti 4.5. Kathu\'atthu 4.6. Yamo.kn 4.7. PaHhiina 4.8. The Abhidharma in Sanskrit

Clu.PTR III Early po.tt.canonical tezts

1. Early prose texl:.8

2. The early chroniclru

3. The early commentators 3.1. Buddbaghosa 3.2. Buddhadatta 3.3. Mo.hanama .. 3.4. Upa.scna 3.5. DhammapaJa

Clru.n.EB. IV Lat~r po8l-canonical tez.Ls I. The later chronicles

2. The later commentators 2.1. .AHhakat.luls .. 2.2. 'Pkiis

3. Later Abhidhnwma texts 4. Collections of edifying ulcs

no (j::! 03 70 71 72 i5 77 84 87 89 92 94

90 99

100 101 102 103 105 106 Wi

108

114

ll8 120 130 132 133 133

13S

11,') 14:'\ I..IS

151

ContcnLII

5. !\.;l\yn works

6. Prophet ic texts

7. ~[cdicnl texts

S. Grammatical and lexicographical w\1!'ks

9. Poetics and prosody

10. Books on discipline

11. Boundary texts

12. Anthologies

13. Cosmology

14. Wisdom text.

15. Jiitnkn collections

16. Bibliographicnl works

Abbrevio.tiona

, Glossary

Index of Authors

Index of Works ..

General Index

VII

lt30

16~

lIl3

16,

168

171

1-

,-

IH

li5

Ii7

179

18~

190

198

199

:206

FOREWORD

Despite t.he attempts made by A. K. Warder ill his survey of Indian kat.ya literature, and by various edit.ors and translators in t.he introductions to their books, to assess the literary merit of certain Pali works, it is nevertheless still true to say that for the Indologist Piili literat.ure means everyth.ing that is writ.ten in Pali, irrespect.ive of literary value in the accepted European sense of the word. In the space and time at my disposal, however, it was not practi. cable to include a mention of everything that has been published. much less include unpublished works which are a.t present only names in library cata-logues and similar reference books. I have therefore omitted references to much of the later commentarialliterature, but the biggest deficiency is in the field of South East. Asian Pali literature. Comparath'ely little work has bt."Cn done in this field, and although it would have been possible to extract llames of \\orks and authors secondhand from the studies that ha"c been m/lele. [ ha\-e in general refrained from doillg so. The r~ult...1.nt gl~ps UL my work willul;:t.-u to be filled by specialist publications in due course.

Except where there is good reason to the contrary, I have dealt only with those texts which have been edited in the Roman script or been translated into a Ew-opean language. I was asked to include Hinayiina Buddhist. canon.ical texts in Sanskrit and Prakrit, and here too I have dealt only ,\it.h the works which have been published. Rather than deal with them separately, I have mentioned them under the relevant Piili headings, sinee the Hrnayii.na canons followelosely t.he pattern of the Theraviid.in canon, \\;th the except.ion of the Abhidharmn.

The bibliographical material included in the footnotes is intended only as a sample of the editions and translat.ions which are available. With ,-ery few exceptions there is no mention of oriental editions, and it is sufficient t.o state here that all the Pilli canonical texts and some para canonical ones, together with the a!!hakathiis and most of the {ikiis, have been published in the Cha~~ha. sa.ngayana series which began to appear in Burma from 1956 onwards, while most of the same texts have also been published in Ceylon. The complete canon and most of the commentaries ha,,"e been published in Thailand. and edit.ions in the 'lagan script have appeared in India from Nalanda and elsewhere. The bibliographical information I have given can be augmented. by reference to the ot.her sources mentioned in the notes, and especially to the Epilegomena to Yol. T of the Critical Pali Dictionary (Copenhagen 1948). ~\dditional and up to-date information will be available in the new bihlio21'aphy which is planned for the Epilcgomena to \'01. n of that dictionary.

~[\. dcbt to all others who ha\c worked in this tickl will be obvious to readers of lilis book. Wllcn Ceiger. "\\internitz and Lnw have dealt so ably with the

x K. H. :'\(>rmall PUll Litcruture

\I'hole field ofPiili literature. lIud :-.ralallll

CU:.A.l'TER 1

THE P.\LI LA .. 'WUAGE A~-o THE TEIERAVADIN TRADIT10N

I. THE NAME "P XLI"

The dialect of Middle Indo-Aryan which is found in the texts of the Thera.. ~iid.in Buddhists and usually ealled "Pdll" by European seholarsl is nowhere so called in the Theravadin co.non. The word pii.li is found in the chronicles and the commentaries upon the canon, but there it has the meaning "canon" and is used in the sense of a canonico.l text or phrase as opposed to the commentary (aWw.katha) upon it.' This usage is made clca.r by the fact that the word. pah sometimes alternates wi.th tanli.1I

It would seem that the name "Pali" is based upon a misundel'5tanding of the compound piili.bhii.sa "language of tho canoll," whero the word piili was taken to stand for the name of a particular bhii,sij, as a result of which the word was applied to the language of both canon and commentaries. There is c\;denco that this misunderstanding occurred severnl centuries ago. Ctm.OERS st. ... ted' that the English usage was taken from the Sinhalese, II who used tho word in the same way, This probably accounts for CLoUGH'S adoption of the llfLmo when he published his grammar in 1824.' BURNOUT and LAsSEN also used tho name "Prrll" in their esso.y on Pali grammar which was publisbed in 1826,' but in the suryey of Piill studies up to that yca.r included in that work BURNOUY pointed O\!t that the first persan to mention Fiill WaS SWON DE LA. LoUBERE

1 For 8. survey of earlier viows about tho name "PAti," SOO O. VON H1Ntl"nen. "Zur Goschichte des Sprachnamens PAti," in Beitnige zur Indienforschung: Ernat. Waldschmidt zum 80. Gebur...stag gowidmet., Borlin 1977, pp. 231-46.

1 E.g. PaLimatla'1l idh' llnital?l. n' atthi aHhakaWJ idha (MIn- x.."C,,(VII 227): sooboh1rena n' eva PlJliyal?l na at/hah:lthlJya'1llJgala'!l (Vism 107, 15-16).

II Cf. ima'1l pillinaylJmlM1paf11 801?It.'O~~n(u~ dani 8alniJrabhi&w1?l (Sp 2, 11-12) with manMamal1l bh48a11l tantinay4nucchavikal1l droJUtlw (Sv I, 19-20).

, R C. CIIIL1)ERS, A dictionary of tho PlUi language. London 1876, p,vii n. L i The earliest example quotable 800ms t.o bo from t.he Sanght\rdjnsddhucariyA\'8.

(.aka 1701 = A.D. 1779), according t.o C. H, B. RE\');OLOS (quoted by BECHF.RT, BCSRS, p. 16).

I B. CLoUGH. A compondious Pali grnmmar with a copious \'ocabulary in th~ same language, Colombo 1824,

7 E. B1.j'RYOUF et CRR. LAssEN, &sai sur 10 Pa\i ou Jo.ng\l\l SMI'l..:e dl\ la prl'3'lu'ilo au-dcln. dll Gange, Paris 1826,

l~. R Xnrman PAIi Llt.l'ratun

who '\"isited SiaD! ill 1687-88. and published a description of the kingdom or Siam in 1691, which was translated into Euglish m 1603.'

It. is clear from this nccount. that III Thailand in t.he late 8CventeenLh century t.he name "Pili" was already being used of the lnnguagc of the l'hera"udin texts, LA LoulItaE noted that in contra!t to Thai, which was a monos .... llable language, "Balie" (or "Bal:-.") was inflected just like the languages of Europe." He also drew attention to the fact that the names for the davs of the week were Bimilar in Pili and Sanskrit.,IO and repol1Cd that he had ~n tOld that there were similarities bet\leen Piili and the languages spoken near Coromaudel. He commented that tbis was not surprising in .iew of the fnd that the Buddha wss reported to have been the son of a king of Ceylon. II

The Sisana"arpsa, written in Burma in 1861, uses the word pali in a context where it seems to be the name of a language.t= Since the Siisanoxarpsa is based upon an-earlier Burmese text,U the usage of tbe name "PIlJi" in Burma is prob-ably earlier than would appear. It seems unlikeJy that the usage arose inde-pendently in all three countries, but in the present state of our knowledge it does not seem possible to determine where the misunderstanding first. occurred.

2. THE HISTORY A .. '\""O DEV"ELOP?trENT OF THE P.~U LA.,\,GUAGE

The commentaries stat.c that the language spoken by the Buddha, which is tho language of the canon, is Magadhl. u This is referred to as the miila-bha.w.,u the root language of alllnnguages, and the language wruch a child would speak naturally if it. heard no other language spoken.'"

An examination of the Pili canon shows clearly t.hat portions, at least., of it were either composed or transmitted through one or morc other dialects of Middle Indo-Aryan, before being turned into the version which exists at pre scnt. It can be shown that. these dialects included those where the ,oicing of

I BilliON DE LA LotTBERE, The kingdom ofSirun, London 1693 (repr. 1969) . Ibid. p. 9. II Ibid. p. 168. II Ibid. p. 11. II {BuddJwgh060] iu eval]l pdlibh46dyo panyauil]l parivaltilva 'fXJC(:hij, ;ina.

cakkarp .. olidibboti (SAs 31, 31); cf. paritoattui 8abba pi SiluzlaYhakatM, tada 8ai>buatJ'l mUlab~ya M4gcuIh4ya niruUiyll (Mhv xxxvn 244.).

II Boo V. B. LIEBERlrU.NN, "A new look at the Slisanavamsn," in BSOAS 3!1 (1976), pp. 137--49. .

u 8amm48am~h.o pi urn:1akarJI Btl(JdhavacanatJ'l tanti'P aropenlo Magadlwbhli. ""ya eva 4roput. (Vlbha 388, 7-8).

u Buddhagh068 says: MOgodhikaya 6abba-Mlt:dna'P miUabh46dya (Vism 441, 34); cf',:abbuatp miilabhiUdya M4gadhdya nirultiyll (Mh, XXXVII 244).

Ilbllimlam pi pana ka/hatJl ll8U~nta M4gadllabhii.ro.m bh44i8sali (y,'bh-" 38" B~ ,. .

Tho PiUllallguo.go IUld ~ho Thor(Lvi\din tradition 3

intervocalic consonants took place, or their reduction to .y., or or became L- ... Some of ih~ Pili material cawe from or through dia.lects where tho ahsolutive waa in /la,n tho nominative singular in e, or the locative plural in ehi.u It is clear, therefore, that the statement that the canon is in 000 dinlect, whether

~L1gadhI or anything else, cannot be true of all of it. What we know of Mage.dhi as described by the grammaria.ns in inter times, however, enables us to Bay that Pall is not Jliig:ldhi, and although we have no direct evidence about the char-acteristics of !\Ia.gadhl in the centuries before Asoka, wo can deduco with some ccrtaint.y that Piin does not agroo with t.hat either,U

It would seem likely that, becauso the texts tell of the Buddha at times preaching in i.\lagadha, although none of the scenes of the great events in his life was- situated within the boundaries of Magad.ha as we know it in historical times,:1 the tradition arose that all his sermons were preached in the dialect of that region of North India. It is also possible that the prestige att.a.ching to )Iag:adha, and by implication to Magadht, during the time of the Mauryan kings, and also the way in which the l\la.gadhP' of the original Asokan edicts was everywhere in India "translated" inLa the local dialed or language, led to the tak.illg over by the Buddhists, a.t about the time of the council which tbe Tberaviidin tradition reports was held during the reign of Asoka, of tbe idea that their "ruler" too employed such a language.

Although there is some doubt about the interpret.l\tion of the phrase the Buddha used when asked if it was permissible to translo.t.e his sermons,u it is generally agreed that he did not preach in Sanskrit, but employed the dialeet or language of the area where he was preaching. We must assume that his sermons and uttera.nces were remembered. by his followers and his audiences as they heard them. In the course of time, during his lifetime a.nd aft.er his death, collections must have been made of his wordsl. and translations or

" See LtroERS, BSU, 58-80, 88-115, II Soo O. VON RmiJBER, "Pdli tJJ3 an artificial language," to appeari~ J1' 10 (1982),

and K. R NORMAN, "Four etymologies from the Sabhiya..BuUa," in BALASOOJtlYA, BSWR, p. 183 n. 21.

It See Lt1DERS, BSU, 1-21, 220-25. U See K. R. NORXA....~, ''The dialects in which the Buddha. prea..ched." in BECKERT,

LEBT, pp. 69-.1. 1I F. EDGERTOS (BHS Gra.mmar, New Ha.ven 1953, p, 3 n. 8) hM pointed out.

that neither the Buddha's home (Kapila.vastu), nor one of hi!! favourite dwelling places (SrAvastl), nor the scono of his first. sermon (Benares), nor the plMe of his death (Kuflinagnri, PAli KusinArA) was in Magadha.

n I U56 "Mllgadhi" here in the sense of tho languago of Magndha nt tho time of Asoka, without thereby implying that it necessarily had tho same fantures as the grammarians' ~Iiigadhi.

~~ When asked if his words could be trnnsla.tcd chllndalo. the Buddha forbade it, but added: anuiCindmi bhikkhave 8akdya nirultiya bllddhawcano.!')1 pariy4punuum (Vin II 139, 14-16). For II. discussion. with references to earlier views, of the words chandaso and 8akOyo. niruttiyli. soo J. BItOliGD, "SlI.kt\yn nin;ttiyil: eauld kale het." in BECKERT, LEBT, pp. 35-t2,

K. R. Konnan Pili LiteratUTt'

redactions of the&(! must M'I'"e been made as the need arose. either because t he collections were being taken into an area where n different dialect or 1Il ngung~' W88 spoken, or because as time went. by his words became less intelligible ru; their language beeamc more archaic.

A1J. Buddhism bt>came established in nrious parts orSerth India , there must have been an attempt made to render all the holdings of an~- particular vi'liira, which were probably still in various di.llects as tbey had been remembered, roughly homogeneous in language. although we must. bear in mind the fact that. as tbe dialects of North India had probably not diverged greatly from each other in the fourth and third centuries B.C . absolute perfection of "trans-lauon" was not essential. The anomalous forms in Pltli mentioned above prob ably represent the remnants of recensions in other dialects, which had not been completely translated.

The Theravidin tradition tells of councils (8aflgitiJ) being held to recite the canon. of which thc third was held in the time of Asoka,u and although the discrepancies with the Northern trawtion cast doubt upon this, there must havc been gatherings of80mesort where recitations took place, and the "imprimatur" of the Sangha was bestowed. Such councils would inel""itably ha:t'e led to 0. normalisation of tho language of the canon to a greSlt.('r or 1('.8.'1 extent..

Since this normalised language was an "ecclesiastical" one. being recit.od hy monks who probably spoke a "ariety of languages or dialects. there is no necessity to assume that it coincided exactly with allY one particular spoken language. It has been claimed in the case of Pali that as there are resemblances between it and the GirnAr walect of the Asokan inscriptions, U and also between

:jt and the language of the Hathigumphii inseriptions,1f Pili must have been the language of onc or other of these two areas. A careful eXllmi.na.tion of the language of these inscriptions shoWB that Piili is not identical with either of them. and there is. moreover, some doubt about thc language of thc Girnilr version of the Asoltan inscriptions. since it is possible that it represent.

Tho Pii li Io.nguago and t ho Thom~ i\.d ill tradltion 5

with P i li in the retent ion of most. intervocalic consoua.nts and in tho nominative >!ingulo.r in -0, nevertheless differs in that the El.bsoluti~-e ending is -(t) Ia. , and with two doubtful exceptions there are no consonant groups containing _r_.n

While it is not impossible thnt there existed in India in the t.hird century B.C. an unattested dialect of lIUddle Indo.Aryan which had all the features of pati , the fact that some of the consonant clusters found in Pilll are unhistoric and must therefore represent incorrect nttempts at bnckformation, e.g. di&vd (whjch cannot be from dr.#va) and cUraja (which cannot be from atmaja), makes it more likely that by the third century B.C. the dialect. of the canonical toxts of the Th~iidins conformed to the general pattern of Middle Indo-Aryan dialects of Lhat time, and aU consonant clusters had either been assimilated or resolved. It is probable that this representOO the form of the language of the 'l'heraviidin canon at the time of the reign of Asoka., which WIlS perhaps the li.ngua franca of the Buddhists of Eastern India., and not very different from the language of the Hiithigumphii. inscriptions:

At some unknown date, probably arolUld the end of Asoka's reign (c. 235 B.C.), the importance of Sanskrit which had been in ~elipse began to rise again, and as we enn see from the progressive Sanskritisation of the Mathura inscrip. tiOUl:>U anu t.he Iloll-P&li lSchooiJ:> of Buuuhi:;m, an nt.tempt WIll:! mad\;) to trao:; late from the )liddle Indo-Aryan. dialects into Sanskrit. It is probable that this ' would have been dono in a haphazard way nt first, in the same way as the oorly texts had been remembered and translated from dialect to dialect. With tho crystallisation of sects and schools, and with the increased use of '\Titing from the time Qf'A;,ka. onwards, it is proba.ble that the use of Sll.nskritised forms by the T heraviidins became more standardised.

The tradition recorded in the Sinhalese chronicles states that the Theravadin canon was ' \Titten down30 during the first century B.C. as a. result of threats to the Sangha from famine, war, and the growing power of the Abhayagiri viltii ra, to which the king was more favourably d isposed. There is no reason to reject this tradition, bec.."Luse there are indications thnt toxta were alrendy being written down before this date.H It seems probable that the Sanskritisation of Pii.li was 'Virtually fixcd at the stage it had reached by the time of the commis-sion to ,,,riting, and except for any changes mnde later by the scribes for the sake of consistency, no further progress was made with the restoration of con-sonant groups. T hose changes which had been made, in a. haphazard way I\S already statOO, had probably occurred for specific religious or cultural reasons. It is, for example, probable that the authentic ~Uddle Indo-Aryan form bam-

11 In his revised edition of the inscription, B.1\[. BAltU .... read bra}una (1dnaJ?!- in line 8a and -pr{ici. in line 9 ("Hut.higumph1!. in.'lcription of K.huravela,' in IRQ l l, p.466) .

,. Soo Tn. DA~ISTECOT, Epigraphical Hybrid Sanskrit, Leidon 1978, p. :!6S. See p. 10 below. ~ L SOO BROUGlI, G Dhp, p. !!IS.

6

Iaa~(l "brahman" had been replaN"d by thl' Sar\1lkrll form brahmflllll i1ccau>f(. of the strough' anti.brahmameal flavour af the Buddha '8 teadun~ . II Wl\~ Pf'rhapi of littJfJ v.jue to oondl"mn thl' brahman.~ or to maIntain that. Huddhlst 'Urah. man" wu better ttu,n a tru!,.born brahman if the rf'cipwnt..'l of t.llt- o.LLacl.: did not recogniAe their RamI' in ita !Iliddlt, Indo.Aryan p-ui.'lo(', Once till' hr. j?Toup had been r~n in bn1h11UJ~. tlWIl til,. way was OJK:1l for itJ; "r!'Htnrfl.tlOn" In other WOM, e.g. brUlitJi, ('ven ifit, W('rtlIIOI. hiSl.oriClllJy JUlitified. On the other hand, there "'&I no specific nf'Cd to TCitatO pr., even though, onc mjt!h~ ha.ve expected the treatment. of voiced and unvoiced IaOlals m conjunctIon with or to ha\'e been identical.

Although the ellanoell of major changCII being made to thl' language of the canon must have dirnirllJlnoo onOf" thl' teX!.8 had ~n \\TiL""n do",'n, never thoJea there "'as room for a certain arnaun ... of minor cmend3tion t.o take place in the OOUf'lloe of the centurieslonEt 6Cribrd tradition. Once the Piili ftTammariaos had befrun to claasify arid C4wgoriw' the features of Piili, it WIUl inMita.bl~ thal their writings would haH AOmt' effcct upon scribC8. It is clear from some of the Jawr commentaries that the eomm(!nt..alors had a knowledge of So.nl!krit.n There ia evidence that tho opillions of the commentators 80metlfflcs had n bearing upon the rea.dinA:l! which the scribes handed down,"l and it soomalikely that. their knowledge might well alllo affect the phonology and morphology the}' traDAlDitted. It has been aaid, with some justification, that the PAli of the canon lUI we have it oow is a reflection of the Pili of the twelfth century," when the influence of the Pili grammarians ""81) at its highest.

It "'lUI to be expected that Pili would mhow the influence ofSo.nskrit, because . it ""43 copied by ecrib6B who wetc influenced by the grammarians, who were themselves inJJuenced by Sanskrit, but we must also recognise the fact that lUI PIli became the religious language of Buddhism in Ceylon and South.East

'Asia, it.w&s used by a "ariety of persons 8.8 a second In.nguage. This led in evitably to the introduction into Pili of features of their f1J'8t language, morc p8rUcularly of vocabulary. but also of syntax. Studies of Pili toxt.a written in Ceylon ahow clearly the influence of Sinhalese Pramt. and Sinhalese. nnd a1fIo Dra.vidian," probably through the modium of Sinhalcae. In t.he same way

It 1t. would be vc-iblc to 8rJlUO thot tho fonn brahmana had boon rotainoo. unchanped from the very old,.t 8W,IectOO MIA form of tho word occul'N'd. The tltymOIOpiOB which connflCt.indhma'fl(l with tho root bah, o.~. bdhw pllpt) ti brdhmorw (Dhp 388), muko 8IlrlllO ollly in fl. wlf](lt. whllr() initial br- had I)(,cfHno b.

It SN> DF.: S,LVA, DAT, 1. pp.lvi-Iviii . .. &e O. VON HrNiTBE"R, "On tim trtlwtion of PliJi tnxLS 1/1 lnwn, Cevlon and

Burma," in BY.cHY.RT, UCSHS. pp. 56-67. -.. Jh:J.)IER SIOTIf (Stidd" p. n) writ.ea of "In conviction qUIl lIot.n: pali cst. unll

f'>IIctll)n df' ooltll du 12me Illl'elc." II 5, .. , K. I)r; VIlY.Ef;Y.. "Drllviw'H' idlolOlIlrli.awr ]Jali," ill Or.onw.hv. Lovallir.n.'1ill

P'nr.r/I(>II I J. rp. J 79-222.

7

tcxL-l writt"'11 III Burma" or 'I'hndand" lIu~y r(l\'l,;

8

repeatt'd ll.elr wordBuddhaghosa tells us that after the council the Vinaya Was entrusted to UpAli and his pupils. Similarly the Digha., Majjhima. Sa-myutt.a- and Ailgut. taranikiyas w~re entrusted to Ananda, 5ariputta, Mahftkassapa a.nd Anu-ruddha, respectively, and their pupilsu This was probably the beginni of the system of the bhii~ ("reciters"), who shared out the recitation o7the dhamnw. among t?e~lves. ~~e find in the commentaries N'ferences to bMnaka.s of tile first four nlJ:ay{1.'J, and to JatakabJui!U'kas and Dhnmmapada-bluituIka.s.u

.. Sp 16, 14-15 . .. Dip IV II; Mhv III 35 . .. 800 THOMAS. HBT, p. 28 n. I. .. Dip J\' 18-20. See p. 16 belol

Tho PAh 1anbruago and tho Theravildm trooi\lon

Although there seems to be owy one reference to Khuddo.kl\.bhii!laka..!,u we may assume that. t.here were bha!Ww of the OLher texts of the Khuddakll.. nikiiya. \Ye may deduce from the fact.. t.hat. versious of ono and the same 8ulta or utterance in different. parts of tho canon somet.imes diITer, t.hat the bhd~U1ka..! responsible for t.ho t.ransmission of onch text were quite independent, and were not.. influenced by the t.raditions of the bhli!Jakati of ot.her nihlya.s. This wou.ld ol:plnin why t.ho versions of Vangisa.'8 stanzas in tbe Stullyut.ta-nikiiya and the Themgiithii. do not. entirely agree.'"

Tho views of t.he bhatUlkas were not confined to t.ho texll:! for whose recitation they were responsible. They also had views about. the books which were to be regarded as canonical. We read that tho Digha-Mli!mka" put the Khuddaka-gantha into the Abhidhammapi~kll., classifying tho texll:! iu the following order: Jataka Mahiiniddesa. Ciilaniddesa Pa~isrunbhidi.m8gga Sutlanipl\t..a. Dhammapada Udllna Itivuttaka Vimiinavatthu Pela\'aLthu 'l'heragiithii 'fheri-giith.ii.. The )[ajjhima-bha!lakru. however, put them in the Sutlanta-pil3.ka together with the Cari:rii.pi~ka, the Apadiina and the Buddhavail\sn.u Thoy thus omitted the Khuddakapii.~ha from the canon. Wo must assumo that tho Digha.bha!lakas closed their list of the K.huddaka.-nikii.),a before t.hc:;o tcxta were added to it, while the Majjhima.-bhii.!laka.s closed thcir list beforo tho

Khuddakapli.~ha was reckoned as bemg canonical. Tho schools of bha?UJkru also had t.heir own views a.bout. tho hist.ory of early

Buddhism, e.g. the Digha-bha?UJkas said that the Bodhisa.tiA sawall four nimiltlu on theSllmo day,U whiloothcr bha?W-ka8 had other views; tho Majjhima. bM!Uf-ka3 gave a. different reasan from the Digha-bltt1~takt:"" for Annada's la!.o arrival at tho Council.u To judge from the way t hnt lluddhnghosa speaks II.bout t.hem, tbe bhii!lkcu were still acti.e in his day, but t.hey seem. not to exist today, at least not. in Ceylon.' It. i'i likely that. the growth of t.he practice of writing, and the increasing use of MS~-!> made it unnecessary tc keep up the schools which were dedicated to tho~ recrtntion of the complete nikiiyru entrusted to their care.

The Pili Vinaya-pituka goes on to relate how, following a disputo over certain points of discipline 100 years after the dentll of tho Buddha, a second council was held. In the presence of 700 bhikkhlUJ, Revata asked the lhera Sabbakiirehl about the discipline. This couucil is described in the Vinaya II!! a vinaya.sangili.u The Dipa.vail\SIl calls it a dhammasmi!Jaha. and is fol1o\\'

10 K. R. N{"Irm81l Pali LIt-f'ratuN'

yadlzari7l4.n Buddhaghosa cxpnnds tbe fltory. I\Od sny" that 700 tipi!aJ:adhara.~ were ehoeeo to rehearse the dJramma and the vinal/a. which they recited in their entireties." .

At some time after the aeoond council, the dissident monks split off from the Theravidins and held their own "great council" (mahii&aligiti). They con-aequently became known 8Ill\fahAsailgltikasn or MnhiisiLnghikas,lI During the foHowing centuries further splits occurred, from I"oth the Ther&V'iiruns and the )lahWr'lghikas. until by the time of the early chronicles eighteen sects were known and named. U

The earliest PAli source for the account of the third council, held during the reitrn of Asoka and not mentioned as such in the Northern Buddhist sources. is the Dlpaf'8!pS8." There we read that the council was held after t.he expuls!on ofcert.8in heretics from the Order. Moggaliputtll presided over 1,000 bhikkhus, and during the course of the MJriJiti he recited the Katbavatthu. The Mahii-TatJ'l.8ll" adds the detail that the bhiJ:lduu were all ttp!akas Buddhaghosa states" that they recited both the dkam1TllJ. and the vinaya.

Buddhagbosa gll"CS an account"' of an assembly held in Ceylon, soon after the introduction of Buddhism there, when the elder Mahll..arit~ha preached tho vinaya. The ],[ahlvarpAA does not mention this assembly, but in the account of it g!l"eD in the Saddba.mmasaligaha,~ the recitation is said to have includod both the tlinaga aDd the dham1TllJ., and the assembly is specifically called the fourth assembly, and verses attributed to the porliruz,s are quoted which include the words coJ.uJJha1!' 6OrigaJra1!' kalvii.71 The Jinakfi.lamiilIu follows Buddha-ghosa in stating that lIIaha-ariHha recited the vi1U%ya only. The verse found in the Saddhammasangaha is quot-ed by BuddhagllOSR," \\;thout attribution to the pmd~, but the words of the da in question are different, and make no ment.ion of the caluUhasarigah4 . . The DJpavarpsa states" that during the reign of Vagagiimal)i Abhaya (29-17 B.C.) the monks who had preriously remembered the Tipitaka and its commentary orally now "TOte them down in books, because of the threat posed by famine, war, alld the growing power of the newly establisbod Abhayagiri

It Alhv TV 62. It Sp 34, 16-22 . Dip V 32. If ltOwV4. II Dip V lil; Mhv V 10. I. Dip VII 39-40; 57-59 . ' Mhv V 275 . , Sp 61, 19. II Sp 102, 23-103, 22. '0 Saddhamma.s 43, 29-44, 2f1. " Saddhamma_s 4li, II. U Jjnak 50, J 7. " Sp 104, 6-6. ~. Dip XX 20-21.

The PAIi la.ngu~ Bnd the Thf'nwidin tradItion II

vi1u1ra, wh.ieh enjoyed the Icing's favour. The Mahii.varpsa" also refers brieny to the writing down of the canon and the commentaries at Lhis time. The PujiLvaliya and NikaYasaogmba,lt however, written in Ceylon in the 13th ::Lnd 14th ceoturies res-pcctively, st.:ite that the writing down was a. result of the holding of n council of 500 bhikkhua at. the Aluvihiira (Aloka.vihii.ra), although neither source gives a. number t.o the council." The Jinakiilamiili,71 however, entities this section of it.s narrative CatutthasailgItika.th&, Bnd quotes a state-ment from the Siira.sailgaha., writ.ten in the 13th or 14th century, tbat the .mtiglti was calulthadham1/Ul.S(ltigiti.tadi4

12

kOOl\"lt in Burma in till' ei!!hth century," althou!!h it j'l not certain whether the whole Tipi~a was known therE' at that time. The ~na'l"nr1153" refers to inscriptions stating that King Anuruddha established the reli!!,ion c. A. D, 1057 after conquering tbe town ofSudhamma (That.6n). He had the Tipi;aka brought from Ceylon Bnd oompared with that from Sudhamma_ Communic:l.tion ",;tll Ceylon at this time is oonfirmoo by a report in the Mnh1i.v(\iflsn u that King VijayabAhu, finding that there were not. enough ordained monks ill Ceylon to hold the upuarnpadd ceremony, asked Anuruddha t.o send monks to hold the ceremony, and to recite the Tipi~ka.

In the following century. when Parakkamabihu 1 became king, he found that. Buddhism in Ceylon was still rent by heresy. He accordingly called a council under Mahikassapa and had them settle the points in dispute, and thus managed to reconcile the three main sects in Ceylon at that time."

We 'read in tbe JinakilamiiU' that in A.D. 1430 the Sihalasiisana was brought to Siam, and not long arter, in 1475-77, a council was held in Siamu at which tbe throe Pi~klLS were "cleansed of scribes' errors" by greaL elders appointed for the task, who were 1I'0ll versed in tho Tipi~ka. As ill the case of Burma, the traffic was not aU one wav. In 1756 Buddhism had declined to such a Bt.ate in Ceylon ~bat it became 1U,~ry to re-est8.blillh tbo 'lLpasampadii, and monks were invited from Siam to do th.is. U They brought with Lhem books of varioWl80rte, on the dkamma and the vinaya, which were not erlant in Ceylon. In 1802 Burmese monks were invited to Cevlon to introduce the Burmese vPIl""mpada." Subeequently Sinllalese monks went to Burma and studied the .4.bhidhamma, and on their return they brought back Pili books llTitton by

'Burmese monks. Towards the end of the 19th century King Min.don.min, whose tutor

PaiHiii&imi had written the Sasana\'atj1Sll only a few years before, convened a 'fifth council (18SS-71l, where under the presidency of the king eminent monks and teachers read or reci ted the sacred texts to restore the best readings. The complote text of the Tipitaka was engrl.ved on 729 stone slabs around the Kutbodaw Pagoda in Mandalay. The dates on the slabs indicate that the texts had probably already been carved before the council was held, and were then corrected in the light of any discussion. u

" See G. H. Luc, "The adven~ of Buddhism to Burma," in CoUSINS, BSIBE, pp.119-38 .

.. 6ildkkhanuu vuua", (Sll.s G,!, 1-2). It Mhv LX 5-7. to Mhv LXXVIII I G-27. "' Jinak 93, 17-20. t: Jinalt: lI5, 5-6. u :mw C 152-53. :: See !~s~: PLC, p. 309 nnd BODE, PLB, pp. ii-78 and 83-84. ~ .See \\. B. BoLLiE, Some lesser known Burmese PAli texts," ill HEESTEK~IA." ,}r..(,d, pp. 493-9!l. .

Tho .Puli Io.nguago n.lld tho 't'hllfo.vudin lM\(htion 13

The )landa.lay slabs were reinked and copied for the sixth council which was held in Rangoon in 19&1-56, to mark the 2,500th anniversary of the Dudrlha's birth (according to the oriental tmdition of chronology). We are informed'" that a draft. edition of the Tipitaka, commentaries and subcom mentaries, based upon the fifth council edition which had boon revised aft.er comparison with texts from other countries, was prepared by a body of scholars. This was then checked and reedit.ed by a large number of Burmeso 11loMlhera.!, and simultaneously by a. smaller number of Sinhalese monks. The rmal vcrsion \I'M decided upon (not without a.rgument) by boards of reviewcrs composed of Burmese, Sinhalese, and Thai wonks. The new editions were then rendy for printing. The task of the council, spread over two years, was tho ceremonial recitation and formal confirmation of the new editions, Although invited, no representative of Cambodia or Laos was able to attend the meetings for seru tinising the new editions, but the Cambodians and Laotiansa.re reported to have given their assent to the decisions arrived at by the representatives of the other countries. While the vaat majority of monks present at tho sixt.h council were Burmese, recognition was given to the other countries by appointing their representatives as chairmen for the various sessions.

It is not inappropriate to talk of (~ Burmese or Siamoso or Sinhnlcse tradition for: tho transmission of a. par:ticulu.r wxt, am} Lh~ uirrcn;u(..'C~ which 11'0 fwd be tween the readings of the )l8S belonging to the \'arious traditions must go back to the councils which have been held from timo to dmo in the different countries. Tbe value of each tradition will depend upon tho care with which e\'idence for variant readings was sifted, and the criteria. which were adopt.ed as the basis of the decisions which were made. We hlwe, of course, no way of discovering this for the earlier councils. The way in which the preliminary work for the sixth council was carried out should have resulted in an eclectic edition of the canon and the commentaries, incorporating tho best readings from all the oriental editions, It is probable, however, that the Challliasait{Juyana edition is based predominantly upon the Burmese tradition, but it is not possible to be certain about this without carrying out a detailed comparison between that edition and the one inscribed after the fifth council.

The way in which the 'Upa.'lampadd was reint.roduced from one Buddhist countr/ into another, and books were brought by 'l.1siting monks, has leclto a situation where the traditions of each country have become to some extent interwoven. It is sometimes possible to detect the effect which this hns had. When, for example, variant readings in a Sinhalese MS depend upon the simi larity in shape of two a~ar{18 which resemble each other in tho Burmese script, but not in the Sinhalese syllabary, then we have a clear indication that at some time a Burmese )1S has been transliterated into Sinhalese characters.1T The

.. Soo D. E, SmTH, Religion tllld Politics in Burma, Prin~ton 1965. pp, IfJO-63,

.. Tho onlUtura and tho imt'itrt1 are similar in the Burmese script, but. not. in tht.' Sinhalese. so that. any Sinhalcso manuscript. which shows O'll as a mi:;uko for .~ must. bo bnsed upon 0. transcript from n B\umcse manuscript..

J.

export of 3L').'3 sometimes f't'SUh .. ' In Ih{' {:loot. that a WXI which lun ~n los t 1/1 the country or its origin may he {()uwi. safd~' pre$('r~ed ro,r centuri(!8, III Illlothtr oountn.".'1

In ~ore modem times the eA..'OC of communication ha>! It"rtliJ$l.tion of traditiOIl~ to t.,kt- place. TIll' editors of Uu." second European

ClIAPTER [I

THE Pt'i.L1 C'-\NON

L. THE DIV1SIO~S Ol~ THE CA1'fON

Buddhaghosa gives several ways of classifying the Canon. He states' t.hat it is uniform in sent.iment, twofold ns regnrds the dhammc, nnd the villaya, t.hree-fold as regards the first, middle and last words, and also as regards the pitaka.s, fh-efold as regards tho nikiiyM, ninefold as regards the a,jgas, and forming 8'.000 divisions according to the units of the dhamma.

Except for tll"O referenC{~s to the five lIikrlyGS in later passages in the Vinaya-pi~aka,1 the usual classification of the canon found in canonical texts is that of nine aliijas, viz. sulla'.1l fjeyyal!' t)eY!Jakara!~I!1 giitlW,I!IUllc"i.nal.1l ilh'ulta],;a,!, iatakaT!1 abbhlltadhammaT!1 vetiallal!l.' Buddhnghosa explains these terms as rouO\vs:4

Herem., t.he twofold Vibhanga, the ~iddcsa.s. the Khandho.ko., tho Pllrivuro.. ) lal'lgala, Ratana, NlI.laka, and Tuva~aku Suttas of ~ho Sut.ta NipiUn. and other sayings of tho Tat.h\1gata bearing tho namo roU4 should be known ns Sutta (Discoun;oo) .

All the ruUGs containing stam:as should be known M Geyyo. (Recitatiou), par-ticularly tho entiro Sagutho..vaggo. in tho SIl1l1YUt.to..

The wholo of the Abhidhllmma Pit.aka, sllUa.$ which contain no stanzM and any othor (sayings from the) word of tho Buddho. not included in tho othor eight Al'lgas should be known ns the Voyyukaro.QIl (Exposit.ions).

Tho Dho.mmo.po.da, 'l'heragdth1!., Thorlg1it.ht\, and sections entaroly in vorso in tho Sutta nipu.ta which are not designated 6S rultM should be known !\S GAth!1 (Stanzus) .

Tho eighty.t.wo 8utlanw8 cOlllninill~ stanzas which wero prompted by fin awe.rencss of joy should be Imown as Udt\no. (Utterunces of Jor).

T he 11 2 8Uttanlas which have been handed down prefb:ed with tho stntement, "For this has boon said by the Exalted Ono." sho\lld be known as Itivuttaka (Thus Saids).

The 550 Birth Stories commencing with ApaQQaka should be known os J{i.takll (Btrth Stories) .

-\.1\ the sut.tantas conncctod. with wondorful and marvellous phenomena handed down with word.;! to such offect 0.5, "0 monks. theso four wondQrful and mttrvcllOu::l

Sp Hi. IS-::!~. pwica nikllye pucchi (Vin H ::!S7, 27-::!S): nil-aye 1)(Ilica d2CC$1lfu (Yin Y 3.51.

E.g. )1 I 133, ::!l-25. Ps l[ 106, S-:!S = Sp ::!S, S-::!!), 3.

16 K. Ii. Xorrnnll Pill! LURnlLU(

qualities a~ lleen In AnBnM," Ihould i;... kno""n II-~ .-\bbhu~8dh"mU\n {)[arvellou;; Pheononlt'na,.

All thfO AII1anla.1 l'N)",'f;U'd to be p/"('8c1wd 8$ II. result of n'p

Tho PAli Ca.non 17

gainO sufficicnlly wido usage for it to be used in this public way. Although BuddiJaghooa, as stated above, uses the word nikiIya in 8110h n, way that the term paiica n'ihiytl can he used to include the whole ca.non, the word is used in modern time:> oluy of tho fivo nihlya8 of the Sutta..pitakll..

Tho Snrviist.i \ii.dins also divided t.heir canon into t.hree pi!ahu. They had cert..'liluy done this by the time of Kani~ka, for Hsull.n-tsang reportsll that a.t the council held during his reign commentaries were composed upon the throo lli!aka!J. Their adoption of this diV"ision, however, must go back to an even earlier time, when the Sarvs.sti\-iidins and Theravadins were in close contact, for both give tho pi!akiu the samo names, even though the texts comprised in the Snrviistiviidin Abhidharma.pi(.a.ka do not agree with t.hose in the Thera l'"adin Abhidhamma. u

.. Soo S. REAL (tr.), Buddhist record of t.he wostorn world, London 188-1. L p.1.'i5.

U See J. T,U"AKUSU . "On tho Abhidharma literature of ~ho Sar"fu;t\'l:udins," in JPTS 190-l.-I'J05. p. 73,

:? THE \"L\"AYAPJl'A1\.A

The PAIi VinaJa.pitaka' falls into threE' sections: til(' Suttnl"ibhangn, \\'h1Ch consists of t.he Maharibharigo. (= Bhikkhu't"ibhailga) giving the regulations for the monks, and the Bhikkhunlribhnnga which gives the regulations for the nWlS; the Khandhaka, which consists of the Mahil"agga and the Cullnvagga; and the Pari't"ira.

In the oldest aount whid, \Ie possess of the fir.;t counci!. it if; s,'lid that Mahlkassapa asked Upi'ili 8l1out the twofold f:illaya,! Thi;; !iuggcst.s that he asked "Lim onh' about the Piitimokkhn rules for bhikl:Jnu and bhiHhmti$. In the account ,,:hich Buddhaghosa gil'es of that council.' he st..ntes that tht; Ihtrru ciaAAified the Mahiil'ibhaliga , tht Bhikkhuni"Vibhailga, the Khandhnkn and the Pari varas, but he concl.'des that the \"ina.vapi!.akn. as he knew it con tained material which had not been recited at the first council. ' It is obl-ious. and presumabl.l BuddhaJ!'hOSll realise2.1. Tn, Suitavibilariga.

The core of the Sutt.avibhailga is the PlitinwJ:kha. This is a, scI, of 22i rules for l;hil:l.-l,us nnd 311 for bltiH:hu1trs. In t.hc P:1li canon the Piilimokkha llas no independent existence. as it docs in the "rn.rlitiOlls of other Buddhist schools. but is imbedded in the Sutla"ibhanga The rules fall into eight sections: Plirlijilca "Defeat." (4), Sarigluidise8a "Formal meeting" (13), Aniyala "Un-determined" (2), Ni88Qggiya '~Forfeiture" (30), Piicittiya "Expiation" (92), Pii.!idCMl1liya "Confession" (4), Se.J:hiya "Training" (i5), Adhikara!'Q$Q.maihii dhammii "Legal questions" (i), gh'ing a total of 227 rules for bhikkhtu. The I"Cctions of rules for the bhil:kllU1trS foUmf the same pattern eseept that they

1 Ed. B. OLDENBERC, Th", Vino?o Pi~aka, 5 "oIs, London 1879-83. 'l'r. 1. B. Bom""R, The bool! of the diSCipline, (j \'ols, London 1938-66. TI16 order in which Buddhllphosa c~mments upon the S

Tho Pilll COonon 19

ha\'c no Aniyula class. The numbers are: (8), (17), (-), (30), ( 166), (8), (15), (7) making a total of 311.

Each scclion of t.ho Sutt .. wibhlllign foUows t.he snme pattern,~ except for the eight.h section (Adhikara~malM dhammd) which, since it ha.!! no explana-tory stories and no Old Commelltl~ry as do t.he other sections, would 800m to be an addition to the list.' The st..'l.ndard pattern consists of (a) 11 story which leads up to the formulo.tion of the rule. Sometimes two stories can be placed in a chronological ordcr, indicating that one rule was made n.fter another.' These stories sometimcs occur elsewhere in the canon, which raises the question of which was the earlier position.- It is possible that some of the soories were in,,-cllted or borrowed from othcr sources to explain rules which already ex-isted;' (b) 11 Patimokkha rule, which always states the penalty for breaking it. The U!~ture of the PiiGittiya rules suggests thnt this group as a whole was a laler addition to the code.lO Although by far the greater number ofmles are snid to have been enuncinted by the Buddha himself, mnny sub rules are In.id down \\;thout refercnce to him.11 'rhis pcrhnps means that they were promulgated by some of his chief followers, or et'en added aft('r his death; (c) tbe Old Com-mentary, which is really all analysis of words (Ptuia-bhiiianiya). This dermcs the Pijlimokkha rule word by word,!! giving, for the most part, ll.n explanation in the form of a. list of synonyms. Tho simiIariLy between this method a.nd that found in the ::\iddesa suggests that both belong to the same period; (d) more stories, telling of deviations ITom the rules, which were either not so grave as to entail the maximum penalty, or reasonable enough to warrant modification or relaxat.ion of the rule. Occasionally they were of such a kind that they were not to be rendered permiS5ible by any extenuating circumstances. Sometimes

I I follow the anelysis given in HOR!'fl::fl, BD I, p. xi . Tho section cannot, however. be a very Io.ta addition, 8-S it oc

20 1 ... J:. Sormll.n }, .. h L:u'~,I!"r'

fel and Cd) are rel"erllf.!d in Orot'f Somrlim('s th"n' 1'>11') (dl Th,' j;(lflt'..!l in {di are oomparaLle to th06C in (a). U

In the form in which the stow', aN' told, it apprar$ that en-ry rult was mad, to fit a particular set of circumlOtances, and it f'(>('ms lihly that SOllie, at least. of the BtOries are afterthoughts, added to explnin thl' origin of til{- ruJe.' 80m/." timell the atories are ~oupcd together to form a 6(t, with each story showing no more than a minute variatioll from the others. It 8('cml {'cr,r unlikely that the complete eet of rules WIUJ formulat! at once,u 80 some were undoubtedly proclaixaod as the need aroee. On the other hand, it is not. unlikely that a ge-neral code of conduct for mendicant orders already existed in the time of the Buddha. from which some OOrTO\ling could iake piace. Thill ,-jew is supported

b~' tht' feneru agreement between the basic rules of the Jnin and Buddhist ordenr. We mal' conclude that it is most unlikely that the historical order of promtiJption';'85 as in the present form of the \jnayn-pitaka. For the most part, the atories are told in the context of the biography of the Buddha, but a few storiea of the Jltaka or ."'padlna t.n>C are included.1t It has been suggested that sueh inclusions are a sign oflatcnc.ss of composition, and can bo used as an indication of the relati\"e dating of different versions of the Sutt.avibhailgaY

Tho BbikkhunIvibhl1ilgl1 in somowhl1t mialca.d.ing in o.ppoorllnco, in that it includes, in ita present [orm, only those rules which are not already included in the rules for b/zikl.:JI1J4. Since the Stl.:hiya ruJes are the same for both, only the finrtand last of the i5 are ~ivell. At the end of the Piidttiya section, the number is &aid to be 166," but only 96 have been recorded. Of the bhiH:hw' Piicitli!la rules, however, 70 also apply to the bhiJdchunis, making up the total of 166. The Old Cotnmentary is included for those rules which are given. showing thai the promulgation of the rules for bhikHllmu was early enough to pre.date the com-position of that commentary.

Although the Piitimokl.:JuJ, does flot have a separate existence as n literary text in Pili, an independent Pralimokfa is found in the canons of other Hina-yAna schools. The Bhi.k~-prAtimoksa of the MulasarvliSli\'"idins was dis covered in Gj~t, and has been published,u as has the comparable text of the

11 ~ HORN"R. BD I. p. xxxh' . .. Soo HORNJrn, BD I, p. xxxiv, u TI~ lIIi$!"ht. "ariations of ordor and number found in the PriitimokAAs of other

IIChools would suggc.;t an independent orin for some of t.he rules. . If E.It. the story of t.ho ox Kandivisli.la at Vin IV ii, 11-38 _ Ja I 19J-93

fKandn'lsAlsjAtaka). See also tho comparison of tho versions of tho storv about t.he unplOUS brahman found at. Ym IV 203-204 = Ja III 27-30 (Cha\,'Oka.jdtakB) made by L. ALSDORF ("The ImpiOUS brahman and tho pious caryQllia," in COl1Sll'S. BSIBH. pp. 11-13).

IT $C(' .0\. HIRAlLAWA, A study of th(' "inaya-pit-aka, Tokvo 1900 (Ellp-lish sum. mnty). p. 14. .

n "ddi!!Mi HIt) oyy

Tho l'il.li Canon 21

~lllhii.san.ghikll.LokoLt:ml\"a.din school which was found in Tibet.e Portions of the Bhik~upnit.imok~ of the SarvAativa.dins have been found in Turkestan." and aLso fragmeut8 of their Bhik:jlUrylpriitimolqla.1l There are also fragments extant of a DharmagupLnka Bhi~uprii.timok.\\l!.. also found ill Turkestan.U

For the most part., t.hese Prlitirno~Cl.J of other schools do not. djffer greatly from t.he l'dli PiUifYwkkha. The main differences are in the Ptkiltiya. and Se/.:hiya rules." Of t.he Paciltiya rules, the difference concerns rules which are similar to ot.her rules, and might be considered unnecessary. Of the Stklaiya. rules, it is probable t.hat. different monastic and lay conditions called for varia tions. The YnhiLsiin.ghika-Lokottarava.d.in PriUimolqa includes in some casea, e.g. the Piirdjika rules," brief statements about. the time and place at. which the Buddha promulgated the rule. These arc very similar to the stories included in the Pdli Suttavibhanga.

The other Hlnayiina schools also possessed texts equivalent to the SuUa-vibhanga. Fragments from Turkestan of the SarvAstivadin VinaYI!.\;bhanga to both t.he nhik~u_u and Bhik!;lul)iprii.timok~17 have ocen published, while fragments of manuscript found in Gilgit. ha\'o been identified lUI coming from the MiilasarviiStivddin Vinayavibhailga to the nhoo,uprti.timok~.u 'I'he )Iahli.-siinghika.Lokottaravadin Bhik~u~I-"inaya. includes the Vibhari.!}B to the

Bhik~u~I-pratimok~ 8.8 well IlS the a.,tau. fJurn-dharmii~, which in the Pdli Vin3.ya-pi~aka are found in the BhikkhunJ-kkhandhaka of tho Cullavagga." and also the Bhik!;luryi,prakirl)aka and t.he udck~na to the Bhik~u,prilk1rryaka. The lat.ter text hIlS also been published, under the tit.le Abhisamiicil.rikll. u Tho Bh ik!;lul).i-vinaya gi"-es aU the rules for bhiJ:.,u~i", even t.hose which duplicate the rules for bJiiqu.s. It gives stories to explain the promulgation of the rules, but they are not identical with those found in Piili. There is also a word com-mentary included, but it is not the same 8.8 the Pali pada-bhajaniya. There are more stories of the avadana type in it than in the PAli nhikkhunlvibhanga.n

I. W. PACHOW and R.Uf.AXAh"TA MISKRA. "Tho Pr1l.timokta 8utI1l of t.he MaliA sAl'fIghiko.s," in Journnl of tho Gar'lgi!.ni!.th Jhil. R08OOl'Ch ll'UItitul(l, 9, pp. 239-60; 10, App. pp. 1-48; 11-12, pp. 243-48, and N. TAT/A, Pri!.t.imo~Qtram. Patna 1076.

1\ For references see YUYA.:oIA, VT, p. I. .. Soo YUyAltA, VT, pp. 3-1.. IS See W,u,DsclnuDT, CASF. pp. 164-67. I. Sec t.he concordllnce table given by CIJUu:s S. PREDISU, in Buddhist :\ton8>ltie

Discipline, Pennsylvania State University Presa 1975, pp. 140-48. U See PREBlSU, ibid., pp. 50-52. ,. See YUYA.:olA, VT pp. 6-7. :> Sec YUYAl'IA, VT p. 9. :1 Soo YUVAllA, VT pp. 19-20. !' GUSTAV ROTH (00,), Bhik$ul)l.Vinaya. Patna 1910.

~o \'in H 253-57. ~, 13. JD;_~:SA:SDA (ed.), Abhisnmi\cii.rikij, (l3hik,\IpnlKirn()'\;:n.), Patnn 191>9. R.,.,

.1. 'Y. DE Jo:sc. UJ 10. pp. 150-5:!. ,. Tile only Apndiina-typo insertion in the Bhikkhunlvibha"'~1\ i, lit \-m IV

:!58-5!l. T here ,\ro lIovon in tho Bhiltljlll.li.\-inllya. n.ccordillg to ROTH, BV, p. XXXVlH.

K_ 1:. K"rmllll Pili Liu:Mlt

The PAIi Canon 23

rcprcsent an attcmpt. to clru!.sify thc rules by subject matter, so that aU the rules on any ono 9ubjcct, c.g;. medicines, ha\e been grouped together. Sc.'\t.tcred throughout. the khandhai:tU are various rules wbieh were cnunciatod to t.he g!"Oup of five. These must be t.he first five bhikkhu.s, in which case aU these stories should have been together, if the material had been presented in chrono-logical order. The arrangement by subject matter, so that the stories hn.d to be inserted into the appropria.te khandhakas, has led to their becoming sepa-rated ...

Tho stories are sometimes found in other texts, U and it can sometimes be shown whether the Vinnyo..pituko. is tho borrower or the lender.u Sometimes the same story is told La illustrate different rules. Sometimes the same rule is promulgated ill both the Khandhaka and the Vibhnitga." In this case, the same story is told on both occasions. There is the occasional Apadann. story,U which as We have seen is held to be a feature of lateness.

In the Uposnthnkkhandhnka, the Buddha's permission to reeite the PiUi mokklla is foUowcd by an exhortation to be usccl when beginning the reci~n~ion. This is, in fact, ~he exhortation from tho Piilimokkha itself, as is shown by the fact ~hat it is followed by the appropriate portioll of the Old Commentary upon the PiitimoH-ha." Comparison with ~he Khandhaka section of the Vinaya_

pi~alm of other sects shows that there are gaps in the Pati 'ersion. There is, for example, no equivalent to the stapa.passages found in the Kl]udrnkn.vastu of the \"inaya of the :.Iiilasar'i'"[Ulthiidins. The renson is probably because tho compilers of the Puli en nOll ~hought that st ilpa3 were the province of laymen, not of bhikkhWJ}~ The Kathinakkhandhakn is very unclelu, and seems to haso

1I FRAUWALUo'""ER concludes (EV, p. 135) that. t.he aut.hor oft.he Skandhaka work ha.d available to him an old uccount of the way in which t.ho Buddha. gave funda mental iust.ruction to hi" first followers .

0 E.g. the uddis80ka nile about meat ea.ting ( _ Vin I 233-38) haa ~ho same story about the ,fe114pati caUcd SUla as is fOUlld at A IV 119-88, but in the latter tex:t there is no reference to ~he promulgation of tho rule. See ClLU.""DRA SHElillAR PRASAD, "Meat..eating a.nd t.he rule of tiko~ipari4uddha," in NAl'I.A.ffi, SPB, pp. 289-95.

" FRAUWALL~ER (EV, pp. 146-48) suggests that tho account of the eight marvellous qualities in the sea (OHho mah4,fof71udde occhariyd abbhu14 dhamm4) a~ \in II 236-40 is derived from A IV 200-20" .

.. At Vin III 2-18-51 and Yin I 200-209 wo find tho sarno story about. the dl"4ma attendant, leading up to the promulgation of the same rulo. In the former conte~ it. is ~'.Ji.,fsalJgiya ("Forfoituro") rule LUll, and in the latter conte"t. it is one of the rules concerning permissible medicines. OLOESBI'.:RQ has pcinted out (Vin 1. p. xxiii n. 1) tha~ tho disciplinary proceedings enunciated in connection with ~he story of the Mikkhu,f wno o.ro followors of Assaji and Punabbl18u have a later form at Vin II 9-1-1 than they do Ill. Vin III 119-8-1. Soo also HOR!

K. R. Norman P .. li Lit('ra~ur\'

been corrupted to the state whcre it is tJarcJy inlclligibll' "oililoul rccourse t.o other ~ersions or to the Pari,-iira.O&

The 6Cction of ruJes for bhil.:l:hU1li3 (Bhikkhuni-k1:hnndhakn) is probnbly an add:tion, made after the rules for MikJ;h1U, and was therefore at. one t.ime the last. section of the Khandhaka_ As, howe,-cr, it. is now followed by the account.:; of the two councils, and has parallcls in the Khandhnkas of other sects, it mUSL be presumed that the BhikkhunI_kkhandhaka predates the schism bet.wcen the schools. The inclusion of the accowllS of the councils at Rajagaha (after the Buddha's deat.h) and at. Vesiili (100 years after) shows that the '-inaya.pi!Dka in its present form is at least. 100 yenrs later than tho death of tbe Buddhn. Since these accounts are included in all versions of ~he Vinaya, it. ca.n be con c1uded t.hat all seCUl had (approximul.ely) tlw SlIwe "innya until the second council" and the schism that followed it. The fact that. part of the Yinayn is late dOes not, howerer, menn that all of it is late. The diffcrent arrangcmcnt of the kkandhakas and the material in the various tYl8tUJ shows that thcre was already the beginning of divergency before the time of t.he second counciL

The greater part of the MD.lasan'ii.stinldin Skandhaka has been disco\'ered in Gi~it and pulllished." It lacks some of the kJul,1u1halaLs in the Fijli version. and somo of tho material is arranged different ly, f'.g. the historical information found in t.he Pili Mahikhandhaka. appears in the Sal'J'lghabhedavast.u.1I Frag-ments of the Sarvii.stividin Skandhaka have been found in TurkesLan,~o and a fragment of the Mahi&ii.ilghika Skandhaka has been found in Afghanistan at Bamiyan.u The Mahiil"astun is based upon a. recension of the "inaya belonging to the Mah/i.sii.i1ghika.Lokottan1\'iidins.~' It corrcsponds rou~hly to the Mnhu-

~agga portion of the FiW IChandhaka, but it contains very few monasti c rules,~j and has many later additions of the Jataka and Avadiitlo type.

The inclusion of many stories of the A~adtina type accounts for the fact that the work is frequently styled the Mahaxastu-_-\\'8dana in the colophons LO many of the chapt.ers. The use of the word Ayadiina in this context resemllies that found in the Mahtipodiinosutta (Sanskrit Mahavadllnasutra) of the Digha-nikiiya,U where i~ is used of the Buddha, instead of thera., and theri.3 os in the late canonica l Apadlina. These narrati,c legends are introduced, not as in the

See F1l,\UV'AI.I..l'o"Dl. EV p. 185, and p. 28 below . .. Sec FJlAUWALL!o.'ER, EV pp. 150-S3. " See Yt;,YAMA, VT pp. 24-28. U Sec YUYAMA, \'1' p. 52. In the SnrvAs'.il'ild.Ln ClllIon it. is found in t.he Dirghii..

gama /see p. 44 below). 00 Soo YUYAMA, VT pp. 9-1 J. II See YUl'AMA. \'T p. 39. S. LtVl (JA 193!!, p. 5} idontifiod it. a8 dealing with the prolu(Jro~iyo kan'llll (d. \lin 11 15-19).

0: Ed. E. SNAllT, 1..0 Mahl1va.stu, 3 vois., Paris, 1882, 1890, 181li. Tr. J. J. JO!o."ES, TJl(' Mahd\astu. 3 vots., SBB London, 1949. 1952, 195G .

. u 6ryomahd,,(I1fI9Ilihloo'11 Uii.:oUororXIdi1l4Tf1 madhyadehkall4m patht.no villoyo. 111.wkolt!Jo MOh(iIWlII'yt (Mvu I 2, 13-14), . .

0' JO~ES, !'oll'u tr .. 1. pp. xi-xli . .. S~(' p. 3(; bc!o~~.

Thu PiiH Canon '5

Mahavagga to illustrate the promulgation of a rule but. to illustrato t.ho Buddha.'s virt.ues in his earlier li.eg. '1'0 the material which is given in the Pili )Iahiivagga is added much which is found in the Nidiinnkat.ha. of the Piili Jlitnka, so tha.t the )Iahiivastu gives an account of incidents in the remote past of t.he Buddha's career, as well as his bit-th and childhood, his enlightenment and his activit.ies as C\. teachcr.$< Although the Mahii.sii.i1ghika-Lokottara ... ii.dins believed that the personality of the Buddha was docctic and. he was really supramundane (lokollara), there is in fact. only one short passage whicb deals with his trans cendental nature.'l

Not only are there close parallels between the Mahivastu and the Piili )Iahlivagga, which suggest. that both texts were dependent upon the same source matcrial,u but there are many other parallels too, sometimes so close ,crbally that one version may be corrected with the help of the other. Among the Pali texts to which comparison can be made arc tho Jit.aka, Sut.tani ra.ta, the Dhammapada, the Dighanikaya, the Vimiinavatthu and the Buddha varpsa. Even when all these illSCltions, which probably represent additions to the :Mnhavnstu, arc disregarded, it. can be shown that the Mah;i.vastu contains different. strata,U which differ in the language employed in them.1D

It is not easy to UJlderstand. why there is, except for a reference to the four typcs of ordination, all almost complete lack of monastic rules. It has already been notedn that. the ~[ahii.sii.ilghika.Lokottaravadin Bhikl!;uQi-Vibhanga. in-cludes a. section which in the Filu Vinaya-pitaka occurs in the Bhikkhuni kkhandhaka, and it is possible that. ot.hcr Skandhaka material was transferred to texts, now lost.

When some of the formulae included in the Khandhaka came to be used for the transaction of business at meet.ings of the Sangha, e.g. for the ordination of bhikkhu8, they gained an existence as independent texts. Although these usually follow the pat.tern laid down in t.he Vinaya-pit-aka., the f&Ct that they have been used in different places and circumstances has led to changes in detail." A number of these separate kannnaooca.t have been publishcd.u

U See JO!o"ES, ~Ivu tr., I, p. xiv. U Mvu I 167-68. U Soc JOI'o""ES, Mvu tr., I, p. :.;ii. to JOl:'>"""S (Mvu tr., I, p. ffii) point.s out. that. there aro ofte~ two or moro versions

of the SlllnG story, usuolly one in prose followed by ono m VllfSe . suggesting a difference in date of composition.

10 See H. OLDENlIERO, Studien ~um Mahil.vo.stu, Naehriehten von der k. Gesell schaft. der Wissenschaften ~u Gott.in~l\, Philol.Hist. Kla.:;se, Ell:! and G. ROTU, "Part.icle ddni in the Vinnyn texts of the ~rahu..s!l.l!lg:hil{n.LokotUlra.vndin and the inscriptions of .o\Aoka.," in Studies in IndoAsia.n Art and Cdturo (Acharya. Raghu Vira Commemorat.ion Volume), 1973, pp. 2 11-18.

II See p. 2 1 above. OJ See T. W. RlCYS DAVIDS. "A now Kammo.vi\.ei'i," in JPTS 190G--1907, pp. 1-3 . .. See T. W. Buys DAYlDS and H. OLDE!'UERO (tr.). Vinayn 'rexts Pa.rt 1. Ox-

ford ISS l, p. xx n. I, and G. L.)1. Cl..\USO~, "A new Kammavi'ic!l.," in JP'l'S 1906-190i, pp. 4-7.

The~' .lAo eJ:Uti:d i" the olbt:r lUnapln..3 ICho(JI~. _rill l:firmcrul"!IJ"t-d. Lt l

Tho Pilli COonan 27

with the rest of the canon, weUI \\'Titt~n down in the nrllt century B.C, They hOo\,."lIu:nlfure, somo i>caring upon the preM'nt. form oi the Pa.r\\'ii.ra . but. tell u.s liltle about. the composition of t.he varioU!l chapten.

Since some of the chapt.ers of the Pariviira Me summaries of variO\l.s sections of the Vinaya. it haa been suggested" that the Pari~ara is, in fact. older than the \'inaya and originally performed the aarne function towards it ILS do the JJiiiil.:iU for the Abhidhamma texts. While it is not impo.~ ... ~blt! thalthe Parivira contains 0. vcry early portion of this type which was later enlarged, it never theless shows all t.he signs of being an addition to the Vinaya. The Dlpavarpsa. states" that it was one of the texts which was not accepted by the )lahft.8.it ghikas, which suggests either that it did not erist at. the time of the &chism, or if it existed it had not yet. gained canonical status at that time. It seems more likely that a collection was marle up of aneillary works of various dates which sprang up around the Vinaya, and this happened early enough for the collection to hM'e attained canonical statWl, just as the Niddesa did, although neither claims to be B1Uldhavacana.u

As we have it, the Pariviira contains 19 chapters, whereas in his account of the first council Buddhaghosa. stnOOslt that the Pariviira ha.s La sootiOIl::l. AlWr Cha.pter XlV, which deals with the Ka.!hina regulations. the words pariviirar.n niHIIi!aT!' occur," which suggests that at one time the Pllrivii.rn ended at that point. and the following chapters were added later. It seems possible to divide t.wo of the earlier chapters into halves, which would gi\'e a. total of 16, and this may be the answcr to the problem." In his commentary upon the \'inaya, pitaka, however, Buddhagbosa comments upon aU L9 chapters," without any reference to the apparent inconsistency in his statement about the number of chapters. although he is sufficiently aware of some types of inconsist.ency to find it necessary to commcnt upon t hcm.n

In the first chapter of tbe Pariviira. (Mahii.vibhangs.), e\'ery rule in tbe "Maha vibhanga section of the Sutta\'ibhanga is examined in the exact order in which it wus laid down there, with special rcference to the place in which it was promulga.ted. It is a kind of catechism,n containing bare or condensed outlines of questions to be asked and answered, in the study of the .!ikkM.pada8. It makes a. clear contribution to the task of learning and mastering the Vinays.," and by extracting material from the vast ma3S of the Vi.'1D.yu. it reduces it to

.. By M..u.ALASEK.ERA., DPPN, II, p. 162 .

.. Dip V 37. " HOR~'ER. BD VI, p. ix. " So/

2' K. R. XOnnRn Piili L,traturt.

mano.geable proportions. The next chapt('r (Bhikkhunhibhnrlj:!:l) dO.

The Plili Canen 29

on Vinaya. put to t.he Buddha by Upiili. This would seem ~o correspond to the Piili Up1ili.pancaka., but a. Sanskrit portion of thill found in Turkestan does no~ agree with the Pili Pariviira. to One Chinese version of tho Upiitiparip~ch{i. is said to be vcry similar to the Pati Parivara, although there ~m to be abridge. ments and changes of order in the treatment of the various rules , and there is doubt about. the sect. to which this text bclongcd.u There also exists in Chinese all Ekottara section in the appendices to the shortened version of the Sar vistivadin Vinaya called. DaSadhyiya. Vinaya. f1 The Dharmaguptaka Vinaya. aL-ro has a section called Ekottaro.,n while the ?tIiilasarviistividill!l too had a supplement to their Vinaya called Uttaragrantha.u Witnout more investiga. tion it is not possible to say what resemblances there are between these various works, but it is worthwhile referring to them here, despite the lack of Sanskrit versions of them, because the fact that other schools found it necessary to have supplements to their Vina.yas supports the view that some, at least, of tho PUi Pnrivara was composed in India before the int.roduction of Buddhism to Ceylon .

.. See YUYA..'lA, VT, p. II and V ALE!ITINA STACKERoSES, "The Uplllipariprcch!\'. sutra," in Buddhism and Jainism. Cuttack (Orissa) 19i6, p. 27.

II Taisho 1466. STACKERoSEN (ibid., p. 30) St.o.t06: "The possibility that. tha UpdlipariprcchAsutra originated in any of these centres in Indi!\., where Pali Wt!.:! used, cannot be ruled out. It is, however, more likely that the text originated IH Ceylon. If this is the caso, the text cannot have belonged to the MahAvihAm monastery, as the order of the rules is different. The UpAlipariprcchAsutm might have belonged to the Abhayagirivih!i.ra." It is difficult to follow this argument. It seems impossible to conclude that because certain pn.ssagll8 in Chinese agroo in form with certain PA.1i passages. although not in ord~r, the Chinese must have been translated from Pdli. Since the Pr!i.timok~as of all the Hinay!i.na t

3. THE SUTIA-PITAKA

Buddhaghosa ltalel!ll that the Sutta- or Suttanta-pij.aka oonllist.8 of the fi"e nihfyG4: DIgba-, Majjbima., Sarpy-utta., AiI~tt.ara-. and Khuddaka-nikAya. &nd this ill the classification generally accept-od noll' although, as already DOted, Buddhagboaa also uses' the term "fil"e nildiya.8" of the canon as a whole. , The first four nihiyas consi"!t of discourses ($UU(UJ' MCribed to the Buddha, or (rarely) to a disciple. These 8Uit04 are for the most part in prose. ,lith some verse included. They usually have a short introduction giving the circum lltances in which the 8IdJa W&8 dt'livered. In the ca~ of the DIghn- nnd Majjhi-ma-nikAvas, the namp.JJ seem to reflect thl' I"ngth of the ButtaS, with the long tro!la.! i~ the -T)i~;, ... and tho."!' of middle le~gth in the Majjhima-nikiiya,' alt.hough there is evidence that the size of some suito.! has been increased by interpolation, 80 that their pre5l'nt length is not necessarily a guide to their original aize, and we cannot be certain that the shortest 6Uila in the DIg-lin- ,,'.u, longer than the longcst 81J.Jw in the Majjhima-nikAya in the early collections. We can in any case deduce from the fact. Lhat the contents of the nikii.yas do not agree ezaclly in the canons of the \"8riou~ sects that the division of sulla.s by length W86, at best, a somewhat rough and ready method of classification.

By implication. the contents of the Sarpyutta- and Ailguttara-nikiiyas must be the ahort 8IdJtU. The name SafTlyutta- indicates that the $u1t(U have been arranged together according to their contents, while the Ariguttara-nikiiyn. is made up numerically, with each nipiita exceeding its predecessor by one. There is inel'"itabl)' an o\'erlap between the con~nts of these two nil.:iiya$, because some of the connocted $1Jlta8 den.l with numerical matters.

In the Sanskrit. canons tbe nikiiYM are called dgama8,l and the word dgama is occasionally used in Pall in this sense. It is, however, more commonly used in Pili in a general sense,' and Buddhaghosa defines the word as the study of the

I Sp 16, 12-14. I Sec p. 8 above. + 'Since the B~dclhist WIlIge of the word ftluadiffera so groatly from the brahmani.

caJ usc of .utra, It has boon auggcat.OO that Pali .nitta is to be derived from SansJ.."Tit .akto, not from 8iUra. If this is so, t.hon tho use of t.he word .tiUra in BRS would be t~ .... re6ult of on incorrect back.formation. The word.nltta is froquontly interchanged With 8"Ulklnla .

. K0.nn4 pan' ua Di91wni~!lo ti L-uccali? dlghappam6.t;.anorp ftlUdnatJI 6amilhato mt.d,tatQ ca /Sp 2&, 2(1-27). kaJamo .~fafjhill/,(J.niMyo7 mofjhimappamdn4ni pall. cad04at'llrlrlQ6a'fl!JahiJni Millapariy"ya8Uttlidbli diyaddhG6ota.." dve C(l $utldni (Sp ,-(j....8J_ .. .,. I,

Sco TIIO)!AS, HBT, p. 268. , Boo I~J), s. \'. Cigama,

Tho .P6li CAnon 31

Buddha's words.' Hence 0. tJura can be described as l19aut]ama or IIt.Vi9ama. h. seems to be used in tho Vinaya of tho PBlimokkha,' but it is IIOmelimes mod by Buddhaghosa in the sense of ni.i:dya, and in his commentaries upon the Dlgha-, Sarpyutta. and Anguttara.-nikii.yaa ho writes of the Dighii.gama, tho Sarpyuttii.-gama and tho Anguttariigama respectively.' In the introductory verses to hi.~ commentaries upon t.ho first four nikiiya..t he states that the Visuddhimagga. is in t.he middle of the four iiqamcu. 11

In t.he SaMkrit. canons the agama.s are named Dlrgha-, Ma.d.hyama.-, Sarp-yukta- and Ekot.tarika.-, and t.he close similarit.y to t.ho Pall names indicates that the collections had begun to be formed while the achools were still in con-tact, Le. bcfore the schisms which started after the second council. The fa.ct that one and the same Mfa is sometimes found in more than one nikaya in the Pii.li canon would seem to indicate that. the bha~aka.! of the \'t\rious nikdyru could not always agree about t.he aUoeation of .ruttas. The fact that the 6iUra.! in each Sanskrit iigama do not coincide with their Pilii equivalents would seem to indicate that each school had its own bha~/akas who, while all a~("("in~ in general with lhe othcr bhd~aka6 of their own and other sects, net"ertheless pre-fcrred to differ ovor the plncing of some siitrM. This suggests thnt. there ""ns in early times a large collection of sutlcu which were remembered by hP:l.rt, and the t:u;k of alloca.ting t.hem to the ,ariOU8 nikiiYa.'J/iigamaJ had not been finished, or the aUoention completely agreed, by the timo tho schools began to scpnrnte. The reference in the Vinaya-pi~nka to an uptisa.i:a invilinq: the bhikkhu.,J to come and learn a sutta from him beforo it is lostll would seem to indicate t.hat the collection of S"UitlM had not yet been completed. The methods of authentication of sulla, which are given in the MahA.parinibbauasuttall would also seem to apply to tbe time when tbe collection of suttru was st.ill going on.

The list usually followed for the fifth nikiiya, the Khuddaka.nik&ya, is that given by Buddhaghose..:u Khuddakap6.~ha, Dhammnpada, Udii.nn, ltivutt.aka, Suttanipata, Vimana.vatthu, Petavntt.hu, Themgilthii., Therlgat.ha., JiLtako., :Niddesa., Patisambhidiimagga, Apadiina., Buddhtwarp.sa., Cariyii.pi~ka. Tn Burma tho Pe~kopadesa, Nott.ippaknraT)a, Suttrum.ngaha, and )[ilindELpaiiha are nlsa regarded as belonging to the Khuddakn-niktiya.u

Buddhnghosa informs usn that tho Digha..bM!U1ka.s did not aecopt tho first and the mst three in this list, but believed th3t tho thercu at the first councIl

I A"gamo rnlm

3' K. R. Norm~.n PAIi LiU'rlltUN'

rt'Cited thE" other twel~e (di'l'"iding the KiJdesa mto )Illh;t. and Ciilll.niddosa), and calling them the Khuddllkagnntba Included them in the Abhidhnmma

pi~a. He goes on to state, howc\'cr, tbal the Majjhima.bhd~UI.l-a" added the CarirApi~ka. ApadAna and Buddhavllf!\S8. to the Digha.bh.a!l~k.u' list, also called the collection the Khuddakagantha, but included it ill the SuU,anta-pi~ka. This presumably mcans that tho Dighabha~ka.f closed their list of the Khuddaka-niki.ya before thc.'JC four texts were regarded as c.anonicll.l, while the !bjjbima.bM~ closed their list before the Khuddakapa~ha was accepted.

The Chinese translation of the Samantapisidiki omits the K.huddakapii.~ha from the Khuddaka.niluiva, and varies tr.e order of the other 14 texts. 1f This 5U@gestR that. either the KnuddakapA!ha was not included in tho vorsion of Buddhsghosa's commentary which was being translated, or the translators were ineontact \\ith and influenced by someone who knew that a !"ection of the TheravAdin school did not. accept. it as canonical.

3.1. TIlt Digha.niMya

The D~ba.nik!yal7 contains 34 8Ulku, in three groups: the SUakkhandhavag-goa (1-13) dealing \\ith virtue (8ila); the Mahivagga (14-23) containing 8ullas which mostly have the word Mah!- in their tiUt;; and the Pi~ikavagga (24-34), which gains ita name from the fact that its first. 8Idta is the Pitikasutta. The tXJ4fJ48 (chapters) differ in content and character, but. they all contain a mixture of older and Jater material. 11 The earliest 8~ratum is found mainly in the first. vagga. and the latest in the last. while the longestau.Uaa are in the second vagga. The form of the 8tdla8 varies. Those in the first vagga are in prose, as are some in the second and third. Many in the second and third vaggaa are in prose inter-spersed \Ii;th verse. Some (e.g. 8'UilM 20 and 32) are a.lmost.. entirely in verse.

3.1.1. The SUakkhandhavagga

Each of the 8UUaa in this vagga has incorporated in it a list of tbe moral rules (aibu). Most of the suUaa describe the training of a bhikkhu in three stages, beginning with the rilas, t.hen proceeding to the practice of concentration

It See P. V. BAPAT and A. HHlAKAWA (tr.), Shan.Chien.P'j.P'o.Sha, Poona 1970, p.ll . .. Ed. T. W. RuyS DAVIDS and J. EsT.t,.IN CAItPE'l-TER, PTS London, Vol. I, 1890; '~1. II, 1903: J. EsTL.IK CA1\.PENTER, Vol. TIr, 1911. Tr. T. \\'. RHYS DAVIDS, Dlalogtl(lfl of the Buddha. SBa London, Vol. r, 1899; T. W. and C. A. F. RID'S D,H'JDS. Vol. IT. 1910; Vol. m, 1921; ICerman) JC E. NEtnLUon, Roden Gotamo Buddho's aua der lingeren Sammiung Digha.niktivo des Pali.Kllnons iibcrs Vols. I, n, III, Munchen 1907, HH!?, 1918. For an o.rt'8Jvsis of the t.ext. see PA.....,o~' SOH, pp. ii-lJS. . ,

.. Su.; r"':'''r:, SOB. pp. ';'';'_: :.:;.

Tho Pil.1i Co.ROn 33

($amiidhi), and ending wit.h t.he full knowledge (]>nl1i1.a) of tho flNlll(ull. Thl) list occurs in its most. complcte form in the Slimr\.iii\n.pha.la.sut.ta, from which portions of it. are quotcd in t.he other .,.lllla-f, which fluggrsts that. eit.her tho Siimo.iiiio.phalasutta existed before t.he other .w.tta., wero eomposrd, or thr. list. existed at. fll"$t. as an indc(X:ndent. composition,1I from which aU tho "lllil'Lt, in. cluding t.ho SAmaiiiiapha.lo.sut.t.a, borrowed it.. Soveral of the .tutta., discuss t.he views of tho brahmanll on sacrifice and fIIlcrcd kllowlcdge, the doctrinca of various religious schools, the value of caste and self mortification, and expound important; doct.rines. 'fhe Buddha's method of discussion in t.he .t"UlkU of tho SHakkhandha\"agga is much the same in each casco He takes 1\8 the startint;: point. of t.he discussion the object put forward as desirable by his opponent, e.g. sacrifice, caste, or ascet.icism, and by inserting a higher meaning iltto tho wordli being discussed, or by concentrating upon the ethical concepts in\"'olved, he leads his opponent. up to his own conclusion, viz. tho gonl of arahalll~.8hip.

The Brahmajiilasut.ta (I) tells how tho Buddha knows, like 1\ good fisherman, how to catch in his net. of viewslO aU sophists and philosophers, (\Od to prove t.heir doelrines and speculat.ions to be worthle~ lind obstac1cli to true sahation. Tn the course of this. he enumerates 62 different philosophical news, from which the foUo\\cr uf the Buddha is to keep away. Tho .t1/lia is important, not only for the information it. gives about. Buddhism, but. also for t.he contribution it makes to the history of early religion and philosophy in rndia. Thcre is al~ much dealing wit.h social conditions, for as pn.rt of his rules for his followcl"'I till' Buddha. lists many acthjties tlnd professions which they must. avoid.

The Siimaiinaphalasut.ta (2) tolls how King Ajii.tasattu of )fagadha. afu>r failing to got answers to his questions from other religious leaders. visits tho Buddha. and asks whether members of the 8a~h(l, who ha\"e given up the world gain any benefit. from their action. The Buddha just.ifies tho formation of t.he Sangha and the enunciat.ion of t.ho I'inaya rulos, and giVC'l a list. of the advl\t1-t.ages to be gained by his followers. The introduction to t.he 8ulla gi't'"O!-! informa tion about non Buddhist. sects at the time of the Buddha, and since !lOme of it is in a. non-PiLli d ialect of l\!IAn it is likely t.hat it; is tnkClt from the actual scriptures of the leaders being described. The advantages which his followers will gain are given in an ascending order of merit, starting wit.h the honour and respect. which are shown to those following t.ho liie of a. 8a7tUl~. and eontinuin~ through a. series which is not necessarily rest.rieted to Buddhists, until the final stages, when t.he four noble t.ruths are at.tained, the U&aVM aro destroyed, and arahanl.ship is won.

In the Ambatthaslltta (3) t.he young brahman Ambat'ha visits the Buddha t.o sec if he carries the 32 marks of a great man (mahiipuri3a), and becomes

11 RIIYS DAVIDS, DB, Vol. I, p. 3 n. 1. U Tr. (with commentnrics) by BmKKlIu BODIIl. Tho Di~cour'!('o on th,} >\1\.

ombra.cing not of view!!, Ko.ndy 1978. II 800 K. R. NOTUIAS, "PaLL and the langullgo of tho horetics." in ~\O 37 (l!.l761.

pp. 117-20.

K. R. Norman PlU Lit('ratW""l.'

involved in a di.scussion about caste. in which the Buddha pro\-e.~ thal til t> JdwJUya Sik_vas are superior to the brahmans. The 81ltia wns c1aa rly COOlPO!:OO at a time when the 32 marks were alread.y in existence . Thcr ... is also mention of super.nonnal powenl being- emplo~'cd to enable Ambntlha to see the twO marks which are not normalh- risible.

The Sonadal:l9asutta (4) is- also concerned with the question of caste, and deals with the problem of what constitutes the essential quality which makes a man a brahman. The brahmanical vie\\ is that a man is a brahman only if he is born of brahmans on both his father's and his mother's side back through &even ~cnerations.11 By the Buddha's argument, however, Sonadal:lQ.8 is Jed t-o accept that the one who attains araham.ship is not only called a brahman in Buddhist terms. but is in faet declared to be the only true brahman.

The Ku~ant.aRutta (5) is also anti-brahmanical, and tells of a brahman who is des~"us oflJ(.lrlin!! a great sacrifice, and comes to the Buddha to seck adrice abo~:: ttl: !Jest "'a.\ ,r ri oin!! it. and to enquire about the requisite utensils. In the guise ofa legend aOou! h_u .. ~ ~r,hii\ijita . the Buddha tells of the Buddbist form of sacrifice, where nothing, whether al;.!u.o~: - 1"';':Jfltable, is harmed , and the sacrifice consists of the largesse of food , offered nOL . behalf of t.he kinS himself. but of all good poople.

The ltfahiilisutta (6) falls into two quite separate parts. In the I..t.... - t he ques-tion of the abilit~ to attain the supernormal eye and ear power is dk I

in fall hen. 'l'be Buddha tells of a vW., from a co-nIigioaJA uamed N" ...... wblob iI the sabjeGt. of the Ud1llD.,lr'''hen'd'",tta (26).

The PO\lhaplduu'" (9) begiu with a _ OIl .... ...- of .... __ of.....-.-"bIob ...... in tna ... Tbroa&h .... patbof ........ meatioDed in the BlmaUaphalaaat&& the diIC 11m ,... OD. to the ;AiJtttu. aDd in what II probably .... addition to the ..... to the ftDt. tbne. Ips 1'1 ..... kAoI. which are DOt inoluded in the S'meft"ph-h-mta. '!'be id. or ~ ... Joods to a dIocalllon of .... qaeotIOil of ooaI. _ Po\IIIapida ~ u boiDg a p&,oiaol. !.bins. _ BacIdha upIoiu __ ... _tbiap u_ "blob he bu .~.., opiDIoa, -riz. ......................... _he bu

~ ....... foaraobla ......... In"'" _ to he all addlticD, .... __ OIl totell ..... Po\IIIaplda,

baviDg _ abaood by the oIher .. ...,Ii ... ta, _ bock to .... _ ODd told him of ............ """ _. Th. BacIdha'l nW. hued __ _ metaphors: the 8rR ia that of the ID&Il who tcm.. l'beauty qaeea" ..w.o.s JmowiJIa oaythiDg abo.- her (wIdoh _ .... 6Jl\y of..,tDc ..- ...... til. ovid .... aIIowo). ODd _ of .... __ of milk iDto ...... _ ("blob _ .... __ of all ,mob,.Ps icIeoIIty _ .......... appearanoeo).

Th. Sub ......... (10) Mriheled to hoada, ODd 10 II a-u, ....... to baft ___ .... doMhof .... lIoddha.BIo __ _ .... SIma8IIa~'" _ hoIIda _ .... _ of_ .......- tb_ ...... traI"'of .... lilitofa __ .... _heocIIap of """ _. ODd poIII4.

rn .... Jtenddh_lll) .................. __ to ......... ODd_himtotell .... ofhlo_to,..-a_ ...... __ .... _aeeep ...... _,Ie .... polD.hlow.Be ........ __ aN paooihIo, bat MJII-".-hIo praaIiao to ulr.1do_to,..-tbem. Be_ tIlat of the __ wliiahba __ --.- 1M ..- of eclu"- the ..-. ODd ba sma _ in 1M _ of tbo AIm""., .. !, ... To tbiI 1I..wed allOOllCl. probablJlater, part;lc-. of 1ibe .-whiah __ .... pco_of .... __ ar .... foar-. __ 10 -tboJdIoapp_ ....... _ar ...... 'lhIp. _aII_ __ to ... ead. To ___ pnIIDd a mythaIDpeal ~ whiah_ an II ., ,. .....of __ of ..... llo_

K. R. Korman PAli Ln.eralUl"\

ia to make the gods confess thcU' own Inferiority to the lluddha. amI to state the {oUy of eeeIung refuge in anyone but hlm_

In the Lohicca.sutt..a (12) IOmc pornu about the etlUcs of teaching are di", euaed, and blamewort.H' and blamele!iS teachers artl f"lumcratcd Thj,; Ica.ds to a re-iteration of thc ~posjtion IICt out in the Siimal1flaphalasutta up to thc state of arolaant.ship.

In the Terijjasutt..a (13) tbe Buddha criticises the position of the brahmans who b&&e their religious life on tbe system of the three I ' tdaa. This is the only .vila in the SIla.kkhandhavagga whieb does not lead up to a discussion of aroAant.ahip. It goes only 8$ far as the four brahmauiJuiras-the four states of mind "'hich lead to rebirth in the heaven of Brahmii.. The Buddha rejects the brahmaniC4! idea. of the thrre rtda" in favour of his own thrt:c tijjiis. Tilt: brahmaos with whom the Buddha was coll\'ersing had thcir own idea about union With Brahmi, and here, as commonly, the Buddha was using the brah-marucal .... :~ Rr-thma in a specifically Buddhist sense.

3.1.2. The Mabii\'agga A number of the 8UUa.! in this volJga include the word J'. hii- in their title,

and it is possible that thoy ba\'C been expanded from shorter ... ':'] but the corresponding 6Idta.r with tho word Cula in their titles no longer Cl.:h. It is, howc,er, possible to deduce that in some eases addition or interpolatio:. ;:l~ occurred. :Most of the 6uJt48 in this VDgga. are legends rather than discourses, 8ht.. tht'.\' hal'e features which sbow them t.o be later than the 8ulla! of the first. va:Jga, "'here the Buddha is only a man, ali\'o or recently dead.

In the Mahlipadiinasutta (14) the lives of the seven Buddhas, i.e. Gotama and his six predecessors, are given as a prehminary t.o laying down the general conditions necessary for the arising of a Buddha, so that their whole cour.;c of actions is in accordance with the reign of law in the world (dll(l.InT1l,:dii). The life of ,'ipassin, the first ofthe Buddhas, is given in detail, including all the miracles of the conception. and birth of a Buddha, and the 32 marks of 8. great man, which have already been mentioned in the AmbaHhasutta (3). Although the inclusion of seven Buddhas and the other features suggest a late origin for this sutt.!..,n it is noteworthy that the 'JXl!1Cca..samuppiida which \,ipassin realises has only ten links instead of the more usual twelve in the form which Gotama reo alised,1O since it omit.

11'7 _ 8&rvIotI_ ...... ofthio _. _tied __ baa _

_ ill. Tart-.. ODd pobliobocLu The Mh1nid1n ... U. (16) " .. &be ~ ez::poPticm of &be 1'.,. ,.,.

"..,. &I .... ill. .... ,.,..... -... ill. .... _,-ftbbojIp of .... VI bha6pin .... Abbldb ...... pi\lll!a .... _ .... 1o .. _0Dd....q.d wi'" sr-fIIr nriety ofp!, .. $loa. .. 'l'be ezpo.itioa. ......... ~.Luda. who deacri_ the psliOM ,,..,. ....... ,..'''' Alia the v'h'pndfn"Ptla (14) ......... tlDalliDb, vis. ""'Ii4 ODd -. .... _. ODd lOla ~blo that tbfI re,.... the tzedttion ftew of .... DrPa ,."h' wIao "..

NOpOIIIibloro.~. , ....... ~ ~of .... ___ of ..... _ba .. _

diIocmnd ia TarImIt.aD. aDd ptNbhacl ll _ JlahIporiDll-h'.' ... (18) _ .... -, of ..... d"'np oftba

Buddba clariDa"""" r.._oflllolll'e. Il10_. ODd .... ~b_ of theroliGo after blo ...... _ I&flIo ........ eo~_ .... -, . ...-in .... CaJJa_ of .... VlllaJa-pilob. of ........ _ held Immedl.~ afterblodeelh,_i\ .......... r ___ .... _u,... __ origiD&IJy ODe M t., DMr&tift. ..

Tbaoe .... _.........-of_ to .... _!!lid _.....,.. ban _ ...... to dldiDsaieh ... ___ .. -." IS 1Iu_ ehown - ..... 1 ofaba epeodoo ill ......... __ iIl_"-""'_" ODd .... _ of .... _1fabI.. ill .... _ iIDpIIoo __ lIIIIIeoIeli ODe tbne C:IIaputDib ....... wbiCIh Iaabd IIIA1It1' of .. lata ..wens. In IOIIle cue. i$ om be Ibowa bcnr addbiaaI 00GUII'8Il. 'ftI;lIdIupwlR wJdab. &001< pIeoe eli .... oad of .... ..-.. iIl_ .... __ ._Ido .. _ ' __ .......... _of~ __ ..

.... _of ... of...... Nfeo, ...... .-of~._ ......

...... of-. ell of_ oleo __ pIeoeill .......... 1 n d'!I\:rL"'. _)-,"dmt ctina: of. Yelle wbloh ... to fDoIade ....... to ..... rh'tr )eadI to au 1IIID! '7 m.tIoa. of. IkIry &boat .... BadabI. .... .... GoapI bynpoallll1lla\_, .. TbaoeIo._to .... ___

" JIaJIa7: W.ut*"""'M, 'DM ",', en a .. TeD I-U. Bet1ID 1'" 1_ (ADAW Ion Hr, .. lIN Hr, 8),

.. 'V1bh 1l1-li. .4Iia. .. ,...._ ... ;hC',.. ... ~ (I) I'" 11). lee W.A1& "I. CA8J', Po 188 n." ..... _-.BY.p.d: ..... p_ lOB, PI'- .... 108: ... _ A. _. "La.....,..._ ....

..... do.... ti211 ~ ... woi,. du~"""'iII. BBPBO LXVI (10'18). pp, 41-101,

.. See BBn Ib.'tmI, :OBi VoL II. P. .,1.

.. See Wuiaaali'Bt BIL. p. 31

..... ___ BY. pp, 101_,

.. Of. D 1[107-11_. IV __ 13,

..... P ...... 8OB,p,I01.Tho __ ybo __ .... _of .... w ___ .. DII81.H.AeBllYaD.n1IOpoIDle4_l __

38 K. R. Norman FA.\) Ln.(lratu~

of Pi1&!iputra which is almost certainly a prophcc~" made lI"ith tll(' benefit of biD~g!!t, &nd 80 must date from the second half of the 4th centur,r B. c.u

The SarviBti\'idin version of this 81d4l has boon published." Thi~ t.oo con-tains some altha additions, including the list of ei~ht.earthquakC3, ",hid) shows that the expansion of the original shorte~ form of the story must prodate the achism between the Sarvistiddins and the Theravidins. A (rag-ment of 1\ Dharmaguptaka version has also been published. u

In the course of the wanderings leading u p to the Buddha's death recounted in the MabiparinibbAnasutta (16), the Buddha tells Ananda of the former great.. ness of tbe city of Kusiniri., which the latter had 8Ilid was an unworthy place (or the Buddha to die in. and the story is told of King Sudassana. who had in-

babit~ Kusinirii when it was II. great citro The ~bhisudtLSSannsutta. (17) st.llrt~ with the same words as arc gi,-ell at that point in t.he prc,-iou9 suJ.t(l, but goes on to tell the full story, It seems to be aimod towards thelaiLY rather thall the bhiUhu .. when it tells of the king's greatness being due t.o gcncrosity (diitw) , self,coDqu~, ,';"'.'iiC,i, and selfcontrol (sam'mma),U

The