| Quasi-canonical texts | |
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| Type | Quasi-canonical texts Paracanonical texts Canonical texts (sometimes) |
| Parent | Khuddaka Nikāya |
| Contains | Nettipakaraṇa,Peṭakopadesa,Milindapañha |
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| Theravāda Buddhism |
"Quasi-canonical texts"[1][2] is used by Western scholars to refer to various texts on the fringes of thePali Canon ofTheravada Buddhism (cf.Apocrypha), usually to refer to the following texts sometimes regarded as included in thePali Canon'sKhuddaka Nikaya:
The Suttasamgaha includes selected texts primarily from the Pali Canon. TheNettipakarana and thePetakopadesa are introductions to the teachings of Buddhism; these books present methods of interpretation that lead to the knowledge of the good law (saddhamma). Milindapañhā, written in the style of the Palisuttas, contains a dialogue between the Indo-Greek kingMenander (in Pāli, Milinda) and the Thera Nāgasena, which illuminates certain important tenets of Buddhism.
Other terms with similar meanings include "semi-canonical" .
The Suttasamgaha is believed to have been composed inAnurādhapura, Sri Lanka.[4]
In Burma, presumably sometime after the closing of theAbhidhamma Pitaka (ca. 200 CE), the quasicanonical texts were added to the Khuddaka Nikaya.[5]
The Suttasamgaha was included in the 1888 Burmese Piṭakat Samuiṅ, but excluded from the 1956 Burmese Chaṭṭasaṅgāyana edition possibly due to the Suttasamgaha's inclusion of material from the post-canonicalPali commentaries.[6] The Burmese Fifth Council inscriptions of the Canon include the same three works.[7] The Burmese Phayre manuscript of the Canon, dated 1841/2, includes the Netti.[8]
The Nettipakarana, Petakopadesa and Milindapañha appear in the Khuddaka Nikaya of the Burmese Tipitaka, while the Nettipakarana and the Petakopadesa appear in the Sinhalese printed edition.
The head of the Burmese sangha two centuries ago regarded at least the Netti and Petakopadesa as canonical.[9] A modern Burmese teacher has described them as post-canonical.[10]
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