UNIDAD FORMATIVA 2

The Khuddaka Nikāya is the fifth division of Sutta Piṭaka. There are 16 independent treatises in this nikāya, but Buddhaghosa enumerated them as 15. It is known as collection of miscellanies or collection of variety of short pieces. According to some scholars, the text of Khuddaka Nikāya was compiled after the four nikāyas. And also, beside Aṭṭhaka Vagga and Parāyana Vagga of Suttanipāta, other pieces were considered to be compiled after the first council.

It is known that some of the parts belong to the earliest period, but other parts belong to the

yo evaṃ tathāgatena anuttaraṃ dhammacakkaṃ pavattitaṃ sammadeva anuppavatteti, yathayidaṃ bhikkhave, sāriputto, sāriputto. bhikkhave, tathāgatena anuttaraṃ dhammacakkaṃ pavattitaṃ sammadeva anuppavattetī'ti.« (5. Anumānapañho - 2. Dhutaṅgapañho)

17 There is also an extra information, and that is the exact pages where the certain nipātas appear. It seems, that those page numbers apply to this five volumed edition of Aṅguttara Nikāya: "The Book of the Gradual Sayings", from Pāli

latest stratum of the Pāli canon. It is to be noted here that when we judge the subject matter of this

nikāya, we see that among the different texts, there was no similarity and they can be mentioned as

independent texts. And also, we can see considerably diverse characteristic there. It is significant that among the Buddhist Ceylon, Burma and Siam there is no satisfactory agreement as to the pieces belonging to it. It was written in verse. The 15 texts are as follows:18

1. Khuddakapāṭha Pāḷi 2. Dhammapada Pāḷi 3. Udāna Pāḷi 4. Itivuttaka Pāḷi 5. Suttanipāta Pāḷi 6. Vimānavatthu Pāḷi 7. Petavatthu Pāḷi 8. Theragāthā Pāḷi 9. Therīgāthā Pāḷi 10. Jātaka Pāḷi 11. Niddesa Pāḷi 12. Paṭisambhiḍāmagga Pāḷi 13. Apadāna Pāḷi 14. Buddhavaṃsa Pāḷi 15. Cariyāpiṭaka Pāḷi 1. Khuddakapāṭha Pāḷi

Khuddakapāṭha is mentioned as first text of Khuddaka Nikāya. It was called 'lesser'. According

to some English scholars, it is the text of the minor sayings. It has 9 short texts. They are: 1. Tisaraṇa 2. Dasasikkhāpada 3. Dvattiṃsākāro 4. Kumārapañhā (Sāmanera Pañhā) 5. Maṅgala Sutta 6. Ratana Sutta 7. Tirokuṭṭa Sutta 8. Nidhikaṇḍa Sutta 9. Mettā Sutta (Karaṇīyamettā Sutta)

There are many facts which are useful for a novice or a sāmanera. Therefore, we can believe, that some of Theras must have composed this for the convenience of sāmaneras. The Khuddakapāṭha received its name from its four texts, which are no doubt very short, compared to the other five texts or five suttas. It can be mentioned as a manual of the Buddhist life. It is evidently a devotional book of daily life.

2. Dhammapada Pāḷi

Dhammapada is the second book of Khuddaka Nikāya. It deals with the sublime teachings of the Buddha. It is a short manual of Buddhist teachings. It has 423 verses, which are sorted to 26

chapters according to the contents eg. Yamaka Vagga, Appamāda Vagga, Citta Vagga, Pubba Vagga,

Bāla Vagga, Paṇḍita Vagga, Arahanta Vagga, Sahassa Vagga, Pāpa Vagga etc.

Dhammapada means 'religious words' or 'religious sayings'. According to Buddhists it contains

the teachings of the Buddha and mentions essential principles of Buddhist philosophy and the Buddhist way of life. But, the compiler of the Dhammapada did not rely on canonical literature. He quoted some joyful (pīti) sayings in India literature.

3. Udāna Pāḷi

Udāna is the third division of Khuddaka Nikāya. It is the joyful utterances of the Buddha on

18 Note given by ven. Kevala: According to Burmese tradition, Khuddaka Nikāya has 19 texts. It comprises also of

special occasions. It is collection of 80 Buddhist stories in 8 chapters or vaggas, eg. Bodhi Vagga,

Mucaliṇḍa Vagga, Nanda Vagga and so on. It is written mostly in verses and hardly ever in prose. It is

rhymed, simple, most of Udāna gives an account on the Buddhist idea of life and Nibbāna, the perfect state of bliss or happiness.

4. Itivuttaka Pāḷi ('Thus said')

Itivuttaka is the fourth book of Khuddaka Nikāya. It is written in prose and verse. It is a book of

quotation of authoritative teachings of the Buddha. It has 122 short suttas, divided into 4 sections or

nipātas. Each of the suttas begins with these words: “This has been said by the Buddha.” “Thus have I

heard.” “By words this meaning was told by the Buddha” and “thus have I heard.”

5. Suttanipāta (collection of suttas)

Suttanipāta is the fifth book of Khuddaka Nikāya. It is collection of 71 suttas, which are written

in verses. It has five vaggas, eg. Uraga Vagga, Cūla Vagga, Mahā Vagga, Aṭṭhaka Vagga and

Parāyana Vagga. The last two vaggas are considered to be earlier teaching of the Buddha. 6. Vimānavatthu Pāḷi (stories of the mansions)

It is the sixth book of Khuddaka Nikāya. It has 85 stories, and it is divided into 7 chapters. It describes various celestial abodes which were inhabited by the devas as a result of their meritorious deeds performed in their previous lives.

7. Petavatthu Pāḷi (stories of departed ones)

It is the seventh book of Khuddaka Nikāya. It has 51 stories in verses, divided into 4 vaggas. There are mentioned stories of petas who were born in hell, because they had done evil deeds while on earth. The main aims of Petavatthu and Vimānavatthu are to remind and reveal the doctrine of kamma.

8. Theragāthā Pāḷi (verses of male elders)

This can be mentioned as the collection of poems. These pomes were ascribed and attributed to the Theras. It is said that some of the poems were uttered by Theras during the Buddha's time. It has 1360 gāthā, which are attributed to 264 monks.

9. Therīgāthā Pāḷi (verses of female elders)

It is also a collection of poems and it contains 522 gāthā, which are attributed to 73 nuns, sisters of Saṅgha.

10. Jātaka Pāḷi (birth stories)

It is the tenth book of Khuddaka Nikāya. The main aim of Jātaka Pāḷi is to inspire the minds of people, to create faith in Buddhism, to popularize the religion of the Buddha. It gives us an account on economic, political and religious life and social customs of ancient India at the time of Buddha. The

Jātaka Pāḷi refers to the tales of the previous existences or the former births of the Buddha. 11. Niddesa Pāḷi (exposition)

It has two parts, Mahāniddesa and Cūlaniddesa. It is a commentarial work, it is described by and ascribed to ven. Sāriputta. It has detailed explanation of 32 suttas of Aṭṭhaka Vagga and

Parāyana Vagga of Suttanipāta Pāḷi.

12. Paṭisambhiḍāmagga Pāḷi (path of discrimination)

It actually belongs to the literature of Abhidhamma type. It describes the nature of analytical knowledge of an Arahant. It discusses 30 doctrinal problems in the form of question and answer.

13. Apadāna Pāḷi (stories of Arahants)

It deals with stories in verse which mention pious Buddhist monks and nuns. It is a narrative work. The title of the book signifies that it is a collection of tales of the pious work of Arahants.

Apadāna Pāḷi has four main sections, such as Buddhāpadāna, Paccekabuddhāpadāna, Therāpadāna

and Therīpadāna.

14. Buddhavaṃsa Pāḷi (chronicles of Buddhas)

There are poetical legends of the 24 Buddhas who are supposed to precede the Gotama

Buddha.

15. Cariyāpiṭaka Pāḷi (basket of conduct)

It is the last book of Khuddaka Nikāya. It belongs to the post-Asokan period. The meaning of the word 'cariya' is 'conduct' – 'cariyāpiṭaka' thus means 'canonical collection of the stories with

reference to the incidents of the Bodhisatta practice.' It is divided into three parts. This treatise contains 35 stories of the Buddha's previous lives.