| Sutta Piṭaka | |
|---|---|
| Type | Canonical texts |
| Parent | Tipiṭaka |
| Contains | Dīgha Nikāya;Majjhima Nikāya;Saṃyutta Nikāya;Aṅguttara Nikāya;Khuddaka Nikāya |
| Compendium | Visuddhimagga |
| Abbreviation | Sutta |
| Pāli Canon |
|---|
_showing_the_events_Wellcome_L0031774.jpg) |
| Theravāda Buddhism |
| Part ofa series on | ||||||||
| Theravāda Buddhism | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||||||
| Buddhism | ||||||||
Key figures
| ||||||||
| ||||||||
| ||||||||
| ||||||||
| Part ofa series on |
| Buddhism |
|---|
 |
TheSutta Piṭaka (also referred to asSūtra Piṭaka orSuttanta Piṭaka; English:Basket of Discourse) is the second of the three divisions of thePali Tripitaka, thedefinitive canonical collection ofscripture ofTheravadaBuddhism. The other two parts of the Tripiṭaka are theVinaya Piṭaka (Basket of Discipline) and theAbhidhamma Piṭaka (Basket of Higher Doctrine). The Sutta Pitaka contains more than 10,000suttas (teachings) attributed tothe Buddha or his close companions.[1]
What was later to become the written scripture of theSutta Pitaka was first orally rehearsed by Buddha’s cousinĀnanda at theFirst Buddhist Council that was held shortly after the Buddha's death. The first council also defined the set of rules (Vinaya) that governed the life of monks and nuns within themonastic community. Tradition holds that little was added to the Canon after this. Scholars are more skeptical, but differ in their degrees ofskepticism.Richard Gombrich thinks most of the first four nikayas (see below) go back to the Buddha, in content but not in form.[2] The late Professor Hirakawa Akira says that the First Council collected only short prose passages or verses expressing important doctrines, and that these were expanded into full length suttas over the next century.[3]
There are fivenikayas (collections) of suttas:
This includesThe Greater Discourse on the Foundations of Mindfulness,The Fruits of the Contemplative Life, andThe Buddha's Last Days. There are 34 long suttas in this nikaya.
This includesShorter Exposition of Kamma,Mindfulness of Breathing, andMindfulness of the Body. There are 152 medium-length suttas in this nikaya.
There are, according to one reckoning, 2,889, but according to the commentary 7,762, shorter suttas in this Nikaya.
These teachings are arranged numerically. It includes, according to the commentary's reckoning, 9,565 short suttas grouped by number from ones to elevens. According toKeown, "there is considerable disparity between the Pāli and the Sarvāstivādin versions, with more than two-thirds of the sūtras found in one but not the other compilation, which suggests that much of this portion of the Sūtra Piṭaka was not formed until a fairly late date."[4]
This is a heterogeneous mix of sermons, doctrines, and poetry attributed to the Buddha and his disciples. The contents vary somewhat between editions. The Thai edition includes 1-15 below, the Sinhalese edition 1-17 and the Burmese edition 1-18.
For more on these editions also seePali Canon
Selections (including material from at least two nikayas):
.svg)
