Tripitaka 6v62h

TRIPITAKA Origins The Buddha persistently questioned how there could be any real lasting happiness if people was always subjected to impermanence and unsatisfactoriness.After examining disionately in detail the universal law of impermanence and the realities of nature. He proceeded to reveal a comprehensive guide to a wholesome and meaningful living. His ultimate realization of the truth is what is understood as Buddhahood which is elightment, awakening, or illumination a state where ignorance is totally removed from one’s mind. Buddha expounded the sublime Dhamma which is refered as tripitaka1. The Tripitaka was not written during the life of the Buddha The Tripitaka is the earliest collections of Buddhist scripture. Tripitaka was not written down until about the 1st century BCE.there were two languages used which were pali and Sanskrit. The Tripitaka is the doctrinal foundation of Theravada Buddhism.The meaning of tripitaka is three baskets because it is organized into three major sections.the sutra of tripitaka is believed to be more then ten thousand separate texts Here is the story generally accepted by Buddhists about how the Tripitaka originated: The First Buddhist Council About three months after the death of thehistorical Buddha, ca. 480 BCE, 500 of his disciples gathered in Rajagaha, in what is now northeast India. This gathering came to be called the First Buddhist Council. The purpose of the Council was to review the Buddha's teachings and take steps to preserve them. The Council was convened by Mahakasyapa, an outstanding student of the Buddha who became leader of the sangha after the Buddha's death. Mahakasyapa had heard a monk remark that the death of the Buddha meant monks could abandon the rules of discipline and do as they liked. So, the

Council's first order of business was to review the rules of discipline for monks and nuns. A venerable monk named Upali was acknowledged to have the most complete knowledge of the Buddha's rules of monastic conduct. Upali presented all of the Buddha's rules of monastic discipline to the assembly, and his understanding was questioned and discussed by the 500 monks. The assembled monks eventually agreed that Upali's recitation of the rules was correct, and the rules as Upali ed them were adopted by the Council. Then Mahakasyapa called on Ananda, a cousin of the Buddha who had been the Buddha's closest companion. Ananda was famous for his prodigious memory. Ananda recited all of the Buddha's sermons from memory, a feat that surely took several days. (Ananda began all of his recitations with the words "Thus I have heard," and so all Buddhist sutras begin with those words.) The Council agreed that Ananda's recitation was accurate, and the collection of sutras Ananda recited was adopted by the Council. The Third Buddhist Council According to some s, the Third Buddhist Council was convened about 250 BCE to clarify Buddhist doctrine and stop the spread of heresies. (Other s preserved in some schools record an entirely different Third Buddhist Council.) It was at this council that the entire Pali Canon version of the Tripitaka was recited and adopted in final form. Tripitaka contains three baskets which is: -The Vinaya-pitaka which means Basket of Discipline. - The Sutra-pitaka,"Basket of Sutras. -The Abhidharma-pitaka, Basket of Special Teachings.2

The Vinaya-pitaka The Vinaya Pitaka, the first division of the Tipitaka, is the textual framework upon which the monastic community (Sangha) is built. It includes not only the rules governing the life of every Theravada bhikkhu (monk) and bhikkhuni (nun), but also a host of procedures and conventions of etiquette that harmonious relations, both among the monastics themselves, and between the monastics and their lay ers, upon whom they depend for all their material needs. When the Buddha first established the Sangha, the community initially lived in harmony without any codified rules of conduct. As the Sangha gradually grew in number and evolved into a more complex society, occasions inevitably arose when a member would act in an unskillful way. Whenever one of these cases was brought to the Buddha's attention, he would lay down a rule establishing a suitable punishment for the offense, as a deterrent to future misconduct. The Buddha's standard reprimand was itself a powerful corrective: It is not fit, foolish man, it is not becoming, it is not proper, it is unworthy of a recluse, it is not lawful, it ought not to be done. How could you, foolish man, having gone forth under this Dhamma and Discipline which are well-taught, [commit such and such offense]?... It is not, foolish man, for the benefit of unbelievers, nor for the increase in the number of believers, but, foolish man, it is to the detriment of both unbelievers and believers, and it causes wavering in some. The monastic tradition and the rules upon which it is built are sometimes naïvely criticized — particularly here in the West — as irrelevant to the "modern" practice of Buddhism. Some see the Vinaya as a throwback to an archaic patriarchy, based on a hodge-podge of ancient rules and customs — quaint cultural relics that only obscure the essence of "true" Buddhist practice. This misguided view overlooks one crucial fact: it is thanks to the unbroken lineage of monastics who have consistently upheld and protected the rules of the Vinaya for almost 2,600 years that we find ourselves today with the luxury of receiving the priceless

teachings of Dhamma. Were it not for the Vinaya, and for those who continue to keep it alive to this day, there would be no Buddhism. It helps to keep in mind that the name the Buddha gave to the spiritual path he taught was"Dhamma-vinaya" — the Doctrine (Dhamma) and Discipline (Vinaya) — suggesting an integrated body of wisdom and ethical training. The Vinaya is thus an indispensable facet and foundation of all the Buddha's teachings, inseparable from the Dhamma, and worthy of study by all followers — lay and ordained, alike. Lay practitioners will find in the Vinaya Pitaka many valuable lessons concerning human nature, guidance on how to establish and maintain a harmonious community or organization, and many profound teachings of the Dhamma itself. But its greatest value, perhaps, lies in its power to inspire the layperson to consider the extraordinary possibilities presented by a life of true renunciation, a life lived fully in tune with the Dhamma. Contents •

I. Suttavibhanga — the basic rules of conduct (Patimokkha) for bhikkhus

and bhikkhunis, along with the "origin story" for each one. •

II. Khandhaka o

A. Mahavagga — in addition to rules of conduct and etiquette for

the Sangha, this section contains several important sutta-like texts, including an of the period immediately following the Buddha's Awakening, his first sermons to the group of five monks, and stories of how some of his great disciples ed the Sangha and themselves attained Awakening. o

B. Cullavagga — an elaboration of the bhikkhus' etiquette and

duties, as well as the rules and procedures for addressing offences that may be committed within the Sangha. •

III. Parivara — A recapitulation of the previous sections, with summaries of

the rules classified and re-classified in various ways for instructional purposes.

Sutta pitaka The Sutta Pitaka, the second division of the Tipitaka, consists of more than 10,000 suttas (discourses) delivered by the Buddha and his close disciples during and shortly after the Buddha's forty-five year teaching career, as well as many additional verses by other of the Sangha. More than one thousand sutta translations are available on this website. The suttas are grouped into five nikayas, or collections: Digha Nikaya The "Long" Discourses (Pali digha = "long") consists of 34 suttas, including the longest ones in the Canon. The subject matter of these suttas ranges widely, from colorful folkloric s of the beings inhabiting the deva worlds to down-to-earth practical meditation instructions and everything in between. Recent scholarship suggests that a distinguishing trait of the Digha Nikaya may be that it was "intended for the purpose of propaganda, to attract converts to the new religion." [1] Majjhima Nikaya The "Middle-length" Discourses (Pali majjhima = "middle") consists of 152 suttas of varying length. These range from some of the most profound and difficult suttas in the Canon (e.g., MN 1) to engaging stories full of human pathos and drama that illustrate important principles of the law of kamma (e.g., MN 57, MN 86). Samyutta Nikaya The "Grouped" Discourses (Pali samyutta = "group" or "collection") consists of 2,889 relatively short suttas grouped together by theme into 56 samyuttas. Anguttara Nikaya The "Further-factored" Discourses (Pali anga = "factor" + uttara = "beyond," "further") consists of several thousand short suttas, grouped

together into eleven nipatas according to the number of items of Dhamma covered in each sutta. For example, the Eka-nipata("Book of the Ones") contains suttas about a single item of Dhamma; the Duka-nipata("Book of the Twos") contains suttas dealing with two items of Dhamma, and so on. Khuddaka Nikaya The "Division of Short Books" (Pali khudda = "smaller," "lesser"), consisting of fifteen books (eighteen in the Burmese edition): 1. Khuddakapatha — The Short ages 2. Dhammapada — The Path of Dhamma 3. Udana — Exclamations 4. Itivuttaka — The Thus-saids 5. Sutta Nipata — The Sutta Collection 6. Vimanavatthu — Stories of the Celestial Mansions 7. Petavatthu — Stories of the Hungry Ghosts 8. Theragatha — Verses of the Elder Monks 9. Therigatha — Verses of the Elder Nuns 10.

Jataka — Birth Stories

11.

Niddesa — Exposition

12.

Patisambhidamagga — Path of Discrimination

13.

Apadana — Stories

14.

Buddhavamsa — History of the Buddhas

15.

Cariyapitaka — Basket of Conduct

16.

Nettippakarana (Burmese Tipitaka only)

17.

Petakopadesa (Burmese Tipitaka only)

18.

Milindapañha — Questions of Milinda (Burmese Tipitaka

only)