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| Theravāda Buddhism |
Bahudhātuka Sutta (Pāli:Bahudhātukasutta; often rendered in English as theBahu-dhātuka Sutta or"Many Kinds of Elements") is a discourse attributed to the Buddha in theMajjhima Nikāya (MN 115) of the Pāli Canon. The sutta presents a teaching on how a mendicant becomes wise by investigating the variousdhātu (elements, bases) and related matrices such as the sense-fields and dependent origination; it also contains passages that have been the subject of scholarly discussion for their treatment of gender and spiritual capacity.[1]
The Bahudhātuka Sutta appears in theMajjhima Nikāya, a collection of middle-length discourses. In the Pāli tradition this sutta functions as an instructional piece describing the qualities of a wise inquirer (paviveka-pañña) who discerns conditioned phenomena by analyzing elements (dhātu), sense-fields (āyatana), and the links of dependent arising (paṭicca-samuppāda). The sutta is extant in Pāli and has parallels and variant readings in other early Buddhist āgama collections.[2]
The discourse opens with praise for a wise person and then lists several sets of elements and fields for contemplative investigation (such as the six internal and external sense bases, the elements, and the modes of dependent origination). It explains that by investigating these domains accurately and insightfully a mendicant becomes “astute” (a true inquirer) and thereby develops liberating wisdom. The sutta also contains a passage that, in some translations and manuscript traditions, asserts impossibilities about what can be attained by women, a passage that has generated considerable interpretative and scholarly attention.[3]
Comparative work has shown that MN 115 preserves an early nucleus describing the elements and dependent arising, while other recensions and translations (for example in the Chinese Madhyama-āgama and Tibetan parallels) display variant expansions or omissions. Scholarly comparison suggests the Pāli version retains an older stratum of the material in some respects, whereas later materials or redactions may account for contentious passages found in certain versions.[4]
A notable area of scholarly interest concerns passages in several manuscripts and translations that appear to limit certain high attainments to men. Analytic and comparative studies have shown that these gendered statements differ among recensions; some parallels (e.g., certain Chinese āgama versions) lack the restrictive wording, leading many scholars to argue that the more controversial lines may be later interpolations or redactions rather than part of the earliest stratum. Modern scholars have debated the implications of these variants for understanding early Buddhist views on gender and spiritual capacity.[5]
Several widely consulted translations and editions are available online: