Oldest Buddhist texts in Middle Indo-Aryan language native to the Indian subcontinent
Pre-modern copies of the Tipiṭaka were preserved inPalm-leaf manuscripts, most of which have not survived the humid climate of South Asia and Southeast Asia.
Burmese-Pali manuscript copy of the Buddhist text Mahaniddesa, showing three different types of Burmese script, (top) medium square, (centre) round and (bottom) outline round in red lacquer from the inside of one of the gilded covers
Pali literature is concerned mainly withTheravadaBuddhism, of whichPali (IAST: pāl̤i) is the traditional language. The earliest and most important Pali literature constitutes thePāli Canon, the authoritative scriptures ofTheravada school.
The Pali language is a composite language which draws on variousMiddle Indo-Aryan languages.[1]
Much of the extant Pali literature is from Sri Lanka, which became the headquarters of Theravada for centuries. Most extant Pali literature was written and composed there, though some was also produced in outposts inSouth India.[2] Most of the oldest collection of Pali Literature, thePali Canon, was committed to writing in Sri Lanka at about the first century BCE (though it contains material that is much older, possibly dating to the period ofpre-sectarian Buddhism).[3][4][5]
During the first millennium, Pali literature consisted of two major genres: histories (vamsa) and commentaries (atthakatha). The histories include theDipavamsa and theMahavamsa, which are verse chronicles of Buddhism in India and Sri Lanka.[7]
The commentarial works include the writings ofBuddhaghosa (4th or 5th century CE), who wrote the influentialVisuddhimagga along with various commentaries on the Pali Canon. Several other commentators worked after Buddhaghosa, such asBuddhadatta (c. fifth century), Ananda (sixth century),Dhammapala (at some point before the 12th century) and other anonymous commentators which we do not know by name.[7]
The reform period between the 10th to 13th centuries saw an explosion of new Pali literature.[2] Part of the impulse behind these literary efforts was the fear that warfare on the island could lead to the decline of Buddhism.[8] This literature includes the work of prominent scholars such as Anuruddha, Sumangala, Siddhattha,Sāriputta Thera,Mahākassapa ofDimbulagala and Moggallana Thera.[9][10]
They worked on compilingsubcommentaries to the Tipitaka, grammars, summaries and textbooks on Abhidhamma and Vinaya such as the influentialAbhidhammattha-sangaha of Anuruddha. They also wrotekavya style Pali poetry and philological works. Their work owed much to the influence ofSanskrit grammar and poetics, particularly as interpreted by the Sri Lankan scholar Ratnamati. During this period, these new Pali doctrinal works also show an increasing awareness of topics found in Sanskrit Buddhist Mahayana literature.[11]
From the 15th century onwards, Pali literature has been dominated byBurma, though some has also been written in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, as well as Ceylon.[citation needed] This Burmese literature has in turn been dominated by writings directly or indirectly concerned with theAbhidhamma Pitaka,[citation needed] the part of the Canon variously described as philosophy,psychology, metaphysics etc.
The earliest and most important Pali literature constitutes thePali Tipitaka, the main scripture collection of theTheravada school. These are of Indian origin, and were written down during the reign ofVattagamani Abhaya (29—17 B.C.) inSri Lanka.[12]
The Tipitaka ("Triple Basket"), also known as Pali Canon, is divided into three "baskets" (Pali:piṭaka):[13]
Abhidhamma Piṭaka (Basket ofAbhidhamma, i.e. Philosophical Psychology). According toK.R. Norman, "It is clear that the Abhidhamma is later than the rest of the canon."[14]
These are early works written after the closure of the canon. The first two of these texts are present in theKhuddaka Nikaya of the Burmese and Sri LankanTipitaka but not in the Thai edition. The third text is included only in the Burmese edition. The fourth text is included only in the Sinhalese edition. They are also not mentioned byBuddhaghosa as being part of the canon.[15]
Nettipakarana- "The Book of Guidance", a work on exegesis and hermeneutics
Petakopadesa- "Instruction on the Pitaka", another text on exegesis and hermeneutics
Suttasaṃgaha - A collection of important suttas from the Tipitaka
In the common editions known to the modern Buddhist world, the Nettipakaraṇa, Peṭakopadesa, and Milindapañha are generally considered to be part of theKhuddaka Nikāya of theSutta Piṭaka.
A collection of Pali Commentaries (Atthakatha) were written in Sri Lanka by various (some anonymous) authors, such asBuddhagosa,Dhammapala, Mahanama, Upasena, andBuddhadatta. Buddhagosa writes that he based his commentaries on older works which were brought to Sri Lanka when Buddhism first arrived there, and were translated into Sinhalese. K.R. Norman has written that there is evidence that some parts of the commentaries are very old.[16]
Sub-commentarial works calledTikas are secondary commentaries, that is to say, commentaries on the Atthakathas. Dhammapala is one early author of tikas. He is particularly known for hisParamatthamañjusa, a sub-commentary on theVisuddhimagga.[17]
Amatākaravaṇṇanā (c. 18th century)- According to Kate Crosby, this is one of the most extensive manuals of Esoteric Theravada meditation and was compiled byKandyan Sinhalese students of Thai esoteric meditation masters.[19]
Kaccāyana-vyākarana, Date is unknown but after Buddhaghosa. It's the earliest and most influential grammar of Pali.
Nyasa, orMukhamattadipani by Vimalabuddhi (11th century), a commentary on Kaccayana's Grammar.
Suttaniddesa orNyasapradipa by Chapata or Saddhammajoti-pala
Kaccayana-sara, ab abridgement of Kaccayana's Grammar written by Dhammananda
Rupasiddhi, a re-arrangement ofKaccāyana-vyākarana
Balavatara, a re-arrangement ofKaccāyana-vyākarana
Moggallayana-vyakarana a.k.a.Saddalakkhana, and the auto-commentaryMoggallayanapañcika is a new Pali grammar by Moggallana who created a new school of grammar c. 12th century.
Dhammasattha - A Southeast Asian genre of Buddhist law
Dhammaniti,Lokaniti, Maharahaniti, andRajaniti, collections of aphorisms of worldly wisdom (niti).[31]
Saddanīti, byAggavaṃsa of Arimaddana, an influential Pali grammar; Burma (c. 1154 CE). K.R. Norman calls it "the greatest of extant Pali grammars." It draws on Kaccayana andPanini.[32]
Buddhaghosuppatti - Mahāmaṅgala, Story of Buddhagosa (Burma, 15th century)
Illustrated Pali manuscript of the Abhidhamma chet kamphi (chanting prompts for text chanted at funerals)Illustrated Pali manuscript of the Abhidhamma chet kamphi (chanting prompts for text chanted at funerals)
Cakkavaladipani, a work on cosmology, c. 1520.[31]
Jinakalamali - A Thai Buddhist Chronicle, by a Thai elder named Ratapañña (16th century)
Sangitivamsa - A Thai Chronicle, focusing on the various Buddhist councils (sangiti) from the 18th century
^Norman, Kenneth Roy (1983).Pali Literature. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz. pp. 2–3.ISBN3-447-02285-X.
^abGornall, Alastair (2020).Rewriting Buddhism: Pali Literature and Monastic Reform in Sri Lanka, 1157–1270, pp. 3-4. UCL Press.
^Harvey,Introduction to Buddhism, Cambridge University Press, 1990, p. 3.
^Tse-Fu Kuan. Mindfulness in similes in Early Buddhist literature inEdo Shonin, William Van Gordon,Nirbhay N. Singh. Buddhist Foundations of Mindfulness, page 267.
^Gornall, Alastair (2020).Rewriting Buddhism: Pali Literature and Monastic Reform in Sri Lanka, 1157–1270, p. 38. UCL Press.
^Gornall, Alastair (2020).Rewriting Buddhism: Pali Literature and Monastic Reform in Sri Lanka, 1157–1270, pp. 38-39. UCL Press.
^abcGornall, Alastair (2020).Rewriting Buddhism: Pali Literature and Monastic Reform in Sri Lanka, 1157–1270, pp. 39-41. UCL Press.
^Gornall, Alastair (2020).Rewriting Buddhism: Pali Literature and Monastic Reform in Sri Lanka, 1157–1270, pp. 5-6. UCL Press.
^Perera, HR; Buddhism in Sri Lanka A Short History, Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, Sri Lanka, page
^Gornall, Alastair (2020).Rewriting Buddhism: Pali Literature and Monastic Reform in Sri Lanka, 1157–1270, pp. 14-16. UCL Press.
^Gornall, Alastair (2020).Rewriting Buddhism: Pali Literature and Monastic Reform in Sri Lanka, 1157–1270, pp. 29-30, 37. UCL Press.
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