{"id":73,"date":"2025-12-21T04:13:03","date_gmt":"2025-12-21T04:13:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gatewaytoinsight.org\/?p=73"},"modified":"2026-01-01T09:38:41","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T09:38:41","slug":"theravada-buddhism-1-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gatewaytoinsight.org\/?p=73","title":{"rendered":"Theravada Buddhism 1.4"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Chapter (4)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The Theravada Pi<\/strong><strong>\u1e6d<\/strong><strong>aka<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What Theravada is<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The meaning of Theravada is explained in the &#8220;Buddhas\u0101san\u0101 Voh\u0101ra Abhidh\u0101n&#8221; dictionary, page 274, as\u2014 &#8220;The word of the Buddha that must be preserved and maintained so that it is not lost through the succession of elders.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;The doctrine that follows the P\u0101li canon, which has been preserved and maintained through successive councils by the elders, starting from Venerable Mah\u0101kassapa, without losing its original form.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is defined as such.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The venerable monks of the Theravada tradition have preserved their Dhamma teachings through oral recitation in the P\u0101li language and through written records. The collection of these teachings is called the &#8220;Pi\u1e6daka.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The meaning of &#8220;Pi\u1e6daka&#8221; is &#8220;basket.&#8221; People carry things they need to transport in baskets. Similarly, because the teachings of the Buddha were carried down from the time of the Lord Buddha himself through successive generations of noble elders by passing them from hand to hand, they are metaphorically called Pi\u1e6daka, like a basket.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Pi\u1e6dakas preserved by the followers of Theravada Buddhism are:<\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Vinaya Pi\u1e6daka,<\/li>\n\n<li>Sutta Pi\u1e6daka,<\/li>\n\n<li>Abhidhamma Pi\u1e6daka\u2014<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are three types. The collection of all three is called the &#8220;Tipi\u1e6daka&#8221; (Three Baskets).<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>(1) The Vinaya Pi<\/strong><strong>\u1e6d<\/strong><strong>aka<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These are the rules of conduct prescribed for male monks and female nuns. This Vinaya Pi\u1e6daka is further divided into 5 books:<\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>P\u0101r\u0101jika P\u0101li: Contains 49\u00a0<em>sikkh\u0101padas<\/em>\u00a0(training rules) intended for monks.<\/li>\n\n<li>P\u0101cittiya P\u0101li: Contains 178\u00a0<em>sikkh\u0101padas<\/em>\u00a0intended for monks and 311\u00a0<em>sikkh\u0101padas<\/em>\u00a0intended for bhikkhun\u012bs.<\/li>\n\n<li>Mah\u0101vagga P\u0101li: Explains the rules of conduct and procedures that the Sangha must follow in 10 chapters.<\/li>\n\n<li>C\u016b\u1e37avagga P\u0101li: Explains the regulations concerning the Sangha community in 12 chapters.<\/li>\n\n<li>Pariv\u0101ra P\u0101li: A summary compilation for those who have memorized the Vinaya\u00a0<em>sikkh\u0101padas<\/em>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>(2) The Sutta Pi<\/strong><strong>\u1e6d<\/strong><strong>aka<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These are the various Dhamma talks and sermons that the Lord Buddha preached, starting from his very first sermon until his final exhortation just before his Parinibb\u0101na, spanning a period of 45 years.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This Sutta Pi\u1e6daka is organized into 5 collections (Nik\u0101yas). They are:<\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>D\u012bgha Nik\u0101ya<\/li>\n\n<li>Majjhima Nik\u0101ya<\/li>\n\n<li>Sa\u1e43yutta Nik\u0101ya<\/li>\n\n<li>A\u1e45guttara Nik\u0101ya<\/li>\n\n<li>Khuddaka Nik\u0101ya<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(a) D\u012bgha Nik\u0101ya: Because it consists of long suttas, it is called the D\u012bgha Nik\u0101ya. This D\u012bgha Nik\u0101ya contains:<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(1) S\u012blakkhandha-vagga, 13 suttas<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(2) Mah\u0101-vagga, 10 suttas<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(3) P\u0101thika-vagga, 11 suttas<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(b) Majjhima Nik\u0101ya: Because it consists of suttas of middle length, not too long and not too short, it is called the Majjhima Nik\u0101ya. This Majjhima Nik\u0101ya contains:<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(1) M\u016blapa\u1e47\u1e47\u0101sa, 50 suttas<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(2) Majjhimapa\u1e47\u1e47\u0101sa, 50 suttas<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(3) Uparipa\u1e47\u1e47\u0101sa, 52 suttas<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(c) Sa\u1e43yutta Nik\u0101ya: Suttas that share a common theme are collected together and are called the Sa\u1e43yutta Nik\u0101ya. This Sa\u1e43yutta Nik\u0101ya contains:<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(1) Sag\u0101th\u0101-vagga, 11 sa\u1e43yuttas<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(2) Nid\u0101na-vagga, 10 sa\u1e43yuttas<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(3) Khandha-vagga, 13 sa\u1e43yuttas<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(4) Sa\u1e37\u0101yatana-vagga, 12 sa\u1e43yuttas<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(5) Mah\u0101-vagga, 12 sa\u1e43yuttas<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(d) A\u1e45guttara Nik\u0101ya: Organized into 11 sections (nip\u0101tas) from the Eka-nip\u0101ta (Book of Ones) to the Ek\u0101dasaka-nip\u0101ta (Book of Elevens), with a total of 9,557 suttas.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(e) Khuddaka Nik\u0101ya: Refers to the collection of scriptures that are supplementary to the previous four nik\u0101yas.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This Khuddaka Nik\u0101ya contains the following books:<\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Khuddakap\u0101\u1e6dha: Contains 9 short texts.<\/li>\n\n<li>Dhammapada: 26 chapters, 423 verses.<\/li>\n\n<li>Ud\u0101na: Inspired utterances of the Buddha. 8 chapters and 82 ud\u0101nas.<\/li>\n\n<li>Itivuttaka: 4 nip\u0101tas, 120 suttas.<\/li>\n\n<li>Suttanip\u0101ta: A collection of short suttas. 5 chapters, 54 suttas, and 61 questions.<\/li>\n\n<li>Vim\u0101navatthu: Describes the celestial mansions of devas. 7 chapters, 83 stories.<\/li>\n\n<li>Petavatthu: Describes the suffering in the ghost realm. 4 chapters, 50 stories.<\/li>\n\n<li>Therag\u0101th\u0101: Verses of the elder monks. 107 elders&#8217; sayings are organized into 21 nip\u0101tas.<\/li>\n\n<li>Ther\u012bg\u0101th\u0101: Verses of the elder nuns. 73 nuns&#8217; statements are organized into 16 nip\u0101tas.<\/li>\n\n<li>J\u0101taka: Describes the previous lives of the Buddha. A small section with 22 nip\u0101tas, 547 J\u0101taka stories.<\/li>\n\n<li>Mah\u0101niddesa: Further explanation of the P\u0101li of the A\u1e6d\u1e6dhaka-vagga of the Suttanip\u0101ta.<\/li>\n\n<li>C\u016b\u1e37aniddesa: Further elaboration on the last 3 vaggas of the Suttanip\u0101ta.<\/li>\n\n<li>Pa\u1e6disambhid\u0101magga: Analysis and explanation of the foundational points of the Dhamma. It has 3 great sections and many subsections.<\/li>\n\n<li>Apad\u0101na: Describes the meritorious deeds of individuals. It describes the lives of 550 elder monks in 55 sections. Additionally, it describes the lives of 40 elder nuns in 4 sections, and continues with the Buddh\u0101pad\u0101na and Paccekabuddh\u0101pad\u0101na.<\/li>\n\n<li>Buddhava\u1e43sa: Describes the life stories of the Buddhas in chronological order. It also includes the Buddhapaki\u1e47\u1e47aka section and the Dh\u0101tubh\u0101jan\u012bya Kath\u0101.<\/li>\n\n<li>Cariy\u0101pi\u1e6daka: Describes the lives in which the Bodhisattva fulfilled the p\u0101ram\u012bs. It contains only 35 of the Buddha&#8217;s previous lives.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>(3) The Abhidhamma Pi<\/strong><strong>\u1e6d<\/strong><strong>aka<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because it contains profound doctrines and subtle natural principles that surpass the Sutta and Vinaya, it is called the Abhidhamma Pi\u1e6daka. This Abhidhamma Pi\u1e6daka is divided into 7 books:<\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Dhammasa\u1e45ga\u1e47\u012b: Divided into 4 major sections, it enumerates the mental and material phenomena of all living and non-living beings.<\/li>\n\n<li>Vibha\u1e45ga: Contains 18 chapters called Vibha\u1e45ga which explain and analyze the phenomena of the Dhamma.<\/li>\n\n<li>Dh\u0101tukath\u0101: Expounds extensively on the ultimate realities (paramattha-dhammas) divided into 14 chapters and 4 methods.<\/li>\n\n<li>Puggalapa\u00f1\u00f1atti: Describes types of individuals from 1 to 10 in 10 major chapters, following the Niddesa.<\/li>\n\n<li>Kath\u0101vatthu: Compiles and presents the tenets of the various Buddhist sects. It compares 500 suttas from the Theravada with 500 suttas from other sects in 23 chapters.<\/li>\n\n<li>Yamaka: Explains how Abhidhamma concepts occur, using 10 pairs (yamakas): M\u016bla (root), Khandha (aggregate), \u0100yatana (sense-base), Dh\u0101tu (element), Sacca (truth), Sa\u1e45kh\u0101ra (formation), Anusaya (latent tendency), Citta (consciousness), Dhamma, and Indriya (faculty).<\/li>\n\n<li>Pa\u1e6d\u1e6dh\u0101na: Pervaded by the 6 Pa\u1e6d\u1e6dh\u0101nas, including the Duka-pa\u1e6d\u1e6dh\u0101na, resulting in 24 Pa\u1e6d\u1e6dh\u0101nas. Each Pa\u1e6d\u1e6dh\u0101na is ranked by 7 v\u0101ras.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In addition to the Pi\u1e6daka texts mentioned above, there are other P\u0101li scriptures. These are the post-Pi\u1e6daka texts, the P\u0101li scriptures that precede the commentaries. These scriptures are found as follows:<\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Nettipakara\u1e47a: Clarifies the terms and meanings related to the Dhamma.<\/li>\n\n<li>Pe\u1e6dakopadesa: Compiles and presents selected points from the three Pi\u1e6dakas.<\/li>\n\n<li>Milindapa\u00f1h\u0101: Thoroughly discusses and presents practices like sati (mindfulness), sam\u0101dhi (concentration), pa\u00f1\u00f1\u0101 (wisdom), and phenomena like phassa (contact) and vedan\u0101 (feeling), which are included in the three Pi\u1e6dakas.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Checking the Buddhist Scriptures<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The followers of Theravada Buddhism inscribed the three Pi\u1e6dakas, the collections of teachings preached by the Buddha, on palm leaves during the Fourth Council.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the Fifth Council, they recorded them in writing on stone slabs.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the Sixth Council, they recorded them in writing on metal plates. The records from the Sixth Council were printed in the following volumes, called the &#8220;Sixth Edition&#8221;:<\/p>\n\n<figure>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Scripture Name<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Number of Books<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Number of Volumes<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Vinaya<\/td>\n<td>5<\/td>\n<td>5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>D\u012bgha Nik\u0101ya<\/td>\n<td>3<\/td>\n<td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Majjhima Nik\u0101ya<\/td>\n<td>3<\/td>\n<td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Sa\u1e43yutta Nik\u0101ya<\/td>\n<td>5<\/td>\n<td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>A\u1e45guttara Nik\u0101ya<\/td>\n<td>11<\/td>\n<td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Khuddaka Nik\u0101ya<\/td>\n<td>19<\/td>\n<td>11<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Abhidhamma<\/td>\n<td>7<\/td>\n<td>12<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Total<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>53<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>40<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Councils, when recorded on palm leaves, stone slabs, and metal plates, the counts were found to be as follows:<\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Number of palm leaves: 6,345 leaves<\/li>\n\n<li>Number of stone slabs: 729 slabs<\/li>\n\n<li>Number of books (volumes): 40 volumes<\/li>\n\n<li>Number of pages: 6,547 pages<\/li>\n\n<li>Number of folios: 13,094 folios<\/li>\n\n<li>Number of lines of text: 404,070 lines<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The total number of characters in the three Pi\u1e6dakas is 11,021,750 (eleven million, twenty-one thousand, seven hundred and fifty).<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"is-content-justification-center is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d05cb3ef wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\"><a href=\"https:\/\/gatewaytoinsight.org\/?p=70\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/gatewaytoinsight.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/previous-button-3d-4.png\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n<figure><a href=\"https:\/\/gatewaytoinsight.org\/?p=75\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/gatewaytoinsight.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/next-button-3d-6.png\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chapter (4) The Theravada Pi\u1e6daka What Theravada is The meaning of Theravada is explained in the &#8220;Buddhas\u0101san\u0101 Voh\u0101ra Abhidh\u0101n&#8221; dictionary, page 274, as\u2014 &#8220;The word of the Buddha that must&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":62,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[6],"class_list":["post-73","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buddhism","tag-ashin-ottama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gatewaytoinsight.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gatewaytoinsight.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gatewaytoinsight.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gatewaytoinsight.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gatewaytoinsight.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=73"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/gatewaytoinsight.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":345,"href":"https:\/\/gatewaytoinsight.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73\/revisions\/345"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gatewaytoinsight.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/62"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gatewaytoinsight.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=73"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gatewaytoinsight.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=73"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gatewaytoinsight.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=73"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}