"Paracanonical texts" is used by Western scholars to refer to various texts on the fringes of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism (cf. Apocrypha), usually to refer to the following texts sometimes regarded as included in the Pali Canon's Khuddaka Nikaya:
Milindapañha (abbrev. "Mil"; "Questions of Milinda")
The Suttasamgaha includes selected texts primarily from the Pali Canon. The Nettipakarana and the Petakopadesa 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 Pali suttas, contains a dialogue between the Indo-Greek king Menander (in Pāli, Milinda) and the Thera Nāgasena, which illuminates certain important tenets of Buddhism.
The term "paracanonical" is also sometimes applied to the Patimokkha, which is not in the Canon, but a commentary on it, in which most of the text is embedded.
Other terms with similar meanings include "semi-canonical" and "quasi-canonical".
History
The Suttasamgaha is believed to have been composed in Anurādhapura, Sri Lanka.[1]
In Burma, presumably sometime after the closing of the Abhidhamma Pitaka (ca. 200 CE), the paracanonical texts were added to the Khuddaka Nikaya.[2]
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-canonical Pali commentaries.[3] The Burmese Fifth Council inscriptions of the Canon include the same three works.[4] The Burmese Phayre manuscript of the Canon, dated 1841/2, includes the Netti.[5]
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.[6] A modern Burmese teacher has described them as post-canonical.[7]
Translation: The Guide, tr Nanamoli, 1962, Pali Text Society, Bristol.
The nature of the Netti is a matter of some disagreement among scholars. The translator supported by Professor George Bond of Northwestern University, holds that it is a guide to help those who already understand the teachings and present them to others. A. K. Warder, Professor Emeritus of Sanskrit at the University of Toronto, disagrees, maintaining that it covers all aspects of interpretation, not just this one.
The Netti itself says that the Buddha's disciple methods were taught by Kaccana (also Katyayana or Kaccayana), and the colophon says that he composed the book, that Buddha had approved, and that it was recited at the First Council. Scholars do not take this literally, but the translator admits the methods may go back to him. The translator holds that the book is a revised edition of the Petakopadesa, though Professor von Hinüber has questioned this idea. Scholars generally date it somewhere around the beginning of the Common Era.
The Petakopadesa (petakopadesa: "Pitaka-Disclosure") is a Buddhist scripture, sometimes included in the Pāli Canon of Theravada Buddhism.
Translation: Pitaka-Disclosure, tr Nanamoli, 1964, Pali Text Society, Bristol.
The text of the book as handed down in manuscript is very corrupt. This book was regarded as canonical by the head of the Burmese sangha about two centuries ago. It is included in the inscriptions of the Canon approved by the Burmese Fifth Council and in the printed edition of the Sixth Council text.
The Petakopadesa deals with the textual and the exegetical methodology. It is nothing but a different manipulation of the subject-matter discussed in the Nettipakarana. In some places there are quotations from the Tipitaka. B.C. Law says, “its importance lies also in the fact that in places it has quoted the Pāli canonical passages mentioning the sources by such names as Samyuttaka (Samyutta Nikāya) and Ekuttaraka (Ekuttara or Anguttara Nikāya)”. The Petakopadesa describes the cattāri ariyasaccāni or the Four Noble Truths as the central theme or the essence of Buddhism.[citation needed]
The Milindapañhā is a Buddhist scripture, sometimes included in the Pāli Canon of Theravada Buddhism as a book of the Khuddaka Nikaya. It is in the form of a dialogue between King Menander I (or Milinda) of Bactria, who reigned in the second century BCE, and a monk named Nāgasena, not independently known.
Rhys Davids says it is the greatest work of classical Indian prose, though Moritz Winternit says this is true only of the earlier parts, it being generally accepted by scholars that the work is composite, with additions made over some time. In support of this, it is noted that the Chinese versions of the work are substantially shorter. The book is included in the inscriptions of the Canon approved by the Burmese Fifth Council and the printed edition of the Sixth Council text, the Milindapañhā. This work is revered and is one of the most popular and authoritative works of Pāli Buddhism.
What is most interesting about the Milindapañhā is that it is the product of the encounter of two great civilizations — Hellenistic Greece and Buddhist India — and is thus of continuing relevance as the wisdom of the East meets the modern Western world. King Milinda poses questions about dilemmas raised by Buddhist philosophy that we might ask today, and Nāgasena's responses are full of wisdom, wit, and helpful analogies.
The Milindapañha is a Buddhist text which dates from sometime between 100 BC and 200 AD. It purports to record a dialogue between the Indian Buddhist sage Nāgasena, and the 2nd century BC Indo-Greek king Menander I of Bactria, in Sāgalā, present-day Sialkot.
The Sutta Piṭaka is the second of the three divisions of the Tripiṭaka, the definitive canonical collection of scripture of Theravada Buddhism. The other two parts of the Tripiṭaka are the Vinaya Piṭaka and the Abhidhamma Piṭaka. The Sutta Pitaka contains more than 10,000 suttas (teachings) attributed to the Buddha or his close companions.
The Dīgha Nikāya is a Buddhist scriptures collection, the first of the five Nikāyas, or collections, in the Sutta Piṭaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipiṭaka of Theravada Buddhism. Some of the most commonly referenced suttas from the Digha Nikaya include the Mahāparinibbāṇa Sutta, which describes the final days and passing of the Buddha, the Sigālovāda Sutta in which the Buddha discusses ethics and practices for lay followers, and the Samaññaphala Sutta and Brahmajāla Sutta which describe and compare the point of view of the Buddha and other ascetics in India about the universe and time ; and the Poṭṭhapāda Sutta, which describes the benefits and practice of Samatha meditation.
The Majjhima Nikāya is a Buddhist scripture collection, the second of the five Nikāyas, or collections, in the Sutta Piṭaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism. It was composed between 3rd century BCE and 2nd century CE. This nikaya consists of 152 discourses attributed to the Buddha and his chief disciples.
The Khuddaka Nikāya is the last of the five Nikāyas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka, the sacred scriptures of Theravada Buddhism. This nikaya consists of fifteen (Thailand), fifteen, or eighteen books (Burma) in different editions on various topics attributed to Gautama Buddha and his chief disciples.
Pali literature is concerned mainly with Theravada Buddhism, of which Pali is the traditional language. The earliest and most important Pali literature constitutes the Pāli Canon, the authoritative scriptures of Theravada school.
Aṭṭhakathā refers to Pali-language Theravadin Buddhist commentaries to the canonical Theravadin Tipitaka. These commentaries give the traditional interpretations of the scriptures. The major commentaries were based on earlier ones, now lost, in Prakrit and Sinhala, which were written down at the same time as the Canon, in the last century BCE. Some material in the commentaries is found in canonical texts of other schools of Buddhism, suggesting an early common source.
In English translations of Buddhist texts, householder denotes a variety of terms. Most broadly, it refers to any layperson, and most narrowly, to a wealthy and prestigious familial patriarch. In contemporary Buddhist communities, householder is often used synonymously with laity, or non-monastics.
The Khuddakapāṭha is a Theravada Buddhist scripture, the first collection of discourses (suttas) in the Khuddaka Nikāya of the Pali Canon. It may have originated as a handbook for novice monks composed from excerpts of canonical texts.
The Udāna" is a Buddhist scripture, part of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism. It is included there in the Sutta Pitaka's Khuddaka Nikaya. The title might be translated "inspired utterances". The book comprises 80 such utterances, most in verse, each preceded by a narrative giving the context in which the Buddha utters it.
The Niddesa is a Buddhist scripture, part of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism. It is included in the Sutta Pitaka's Khuddaka Nikaya. It is in the form of a commentary on parts of the Suttanipata. The tradition ascribes it to the Buddha's disciple Sariputta. It is divided into two parts:
The Patisambhidamagga is a Buddhist scripture, part of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism. It is included there as the twelfth book of the Sutta Pitaka's Khuddaka Nikaya. Tradition ascribes it to the Buddha's disciple Sariputta. It comprises 30 chapters on different topics, of which the first, on knowledge, makes up about a third of the book.
The Buddhavaṃsa is a hagiographical Buddhist text which describes the life of Gautama Buddha and of the twenty-four Buddhas who preceded him and prophesied his attainment of Buddhahood. It is the fourteenth book of the Khuddaka Nikāya, which in turn is the fifth and last division of the Sutta Piṭaka. The Sutta Piṭaka is one of three piṭakas which together constitute the Tipiṭaka, or Pāli Canon of Theravāda Buddhism.
The Cariyapitaka is a Buddhist scripture, part of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism. It is included there in the Sutta Pitaka's Khuddaka Nikaya, usually as the last of fifteen books. It is a short verse work that includes thirty-five accounts of the Buddha's former lives when he as a bodhisattva exhibited behaviors known as "perfections," prerequisites to buddhahood. This canonical text, along with the Apadana and Buddhavamsa, is believed to be a late addition to the Pali Canon and has been described as "hagiographical."
The Nettipakaraṇa is a Buddhist scripture, sometimes included in the Khuddaka Nikaya of Theravada Buddhism's Pali Canon. The main theme of this text is Buddhist Hermeneutics through a systematization of the Buddha's teachings. It is regarded as canonical by the Burmese Theravada tradition, but isn't included in other Theravada canons.
The Petakopadesa is a Buddhist scripture, sometimes included in the Khuddaka Nikaya of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism.
In Buddhism, the bodhipakkhiyā dhammā are qualities conducive or related to awakening/understanding, i.e. the factors and wholesome qualities which are developed when the mind is trained.
The Anupitaka is the collected non-canonical or extra-canonical Pāli literature of Buddhism.
The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from the Tamrashatiya school.
Bhāṇaka were Buddhist monks who specialized in the memorization and recitation of a specific collection of texts within the Buddhist canon. Lineages of bhāṇakas were responsible for preserving and transmitting the teachings of the Buddha until the canon was committed to writing in the 1st century BC, and declined as the oral transmission of early Buddhism was replaced by writing.
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