Khuddaka-Nikaya

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The Khuddaka-Nikaya ( The Smaller / Shorter Collection ) is the last of five Nikayas ("Collections") that make up the Suttapitaka . It is a mixture of aphorisms, songs, poems, fairy tales and fables; compiled in 15 independent works.

Note: The Burmese version of the Khuddaka-Nikaya contains three additional books, making it a total of 18 books.

# Surname description
1 Khuddaka-Pātha In 1910 the Walter Markgraf Verlag (Breslau) published the German translation of this little book by Dr. Karl Seidenstücker , which contains nine “didactic pieces”. Starting with the triple refuge and the ten precepts of virtue, the 32 body parts and the (10) questions of the novice are discussed. Discourses then follow: Maṅgala, Ratana, Tirokuḍḍa, Nidhikaṇḍa and Mettā sutta. It is noteworthy that the Tirokuḍḍa and Nidhikaṇḍa sutta only appear here in the Khuddaka-Pātha and nowhere else in the entire Pāli canon, with the Maṅgala, Ratana and Mettā sutta being among the most famous discourses that are recited at almost all Buddhist ceremonies become.
2 Dhammapada This is by far the most frequently translated book from the Pāli canon into German. Probably the best-known translations were made by Paul Dahlke (1919), R. Otto Franke (1923), and Nyanatiloka (1943). In 24 chapters all kinds of topics from a Buddhist point of view are treated in verse form. The Dhammapada is one of the most important books of the Buddhist canon. It is important and clearly formulated for beginners as well as advanced learners in the teaching of the Buddha.
3 Udana Udāna literally means “exclamations”. In eight chapters, (important) memorable verses (“sayings”), i. H. mostly concise verses of the Buddha and explanations on the occasion of the utterances are listed. The first and most accurate translation was made in 1920 by Dr. Karl Seidenstücker in the publishing house of Theodor Lampart in Augsburg with the sub-title: The book of the solemn words of the sublime published.
4th Itivuttaka In 1919, Karl Seidenstücker was the first to translate the Itivuttaka aphorisms into German. Another translation into German was done by Hellmuth Hecker .
5 Sutta-nipāta Is characterized by realistic, haunting and concrete topics. Translated into German by Nyanaponika Mahathera .
6th Vimāna -Vatthu Paths to Heaven is the common title of this book, which was translated from the Pali by Hellmuth Hecker. The focus here is on "cause-effect" and rebirth, especially the fruits of good deeds. Short introductory verses are carried out using frame narrations. It is noteworthy that 50 stories are about women and only 35 about men.
7th Peta-Vatthu The Peta-Vatthu ( Paths into the Realm of the Dead ) is divided into four books with a total of 61 framework narratives and verses. The focus is on showing the consequences of bad thinking, speaking and acting. Also translated into German by Hellmuth Hecker, although the title The Buddhist Book of the Dead is a bit misleading.
8th Thera-Gāthā The verses of the (religious) elders are arranged according to their number. A total of 64 monks have their say in this book, with the monk Vaṅgīsa having the most to say in the “Great Chapter” with 71 verses. The German Indologist Karl Eugen Neumann first translated this work into German at the end of the 19th century. A more recent translation (together with the verses of the nuns) was done by Ekkehard Saß in 2000. Another translation was published by Christine Schoenwerth in 1997 in the publishing house of the old Buddhist community.
9 Therī-Gāthā The verses of the (religious) elder nuns are also arranged according to the number of their verses. However, only 73 nuns have their say here, with the nun Sumedha in the "Big Chapter" with 124 verses being much more talked about than her counterpart Vaṅgīsa in Theragāthā.
10 Jātaka The 547 "Rebirth Tales" are arranged according to the number of their verses. The Vessantara-Jātaka (No. 547) with 764 verses is not only the most extensive, but also the most famous Jātaka and deals with the perfection of giving. The verses contained here are not to be regarded as “stories” or “narratives”, but rather as a kind of memorable verse, which a knowledgeable and eloquent lecturer must decorate with the accompanying narrative. These essential narrations are only included in the commentary. Julius Dutoit's translation of the Jātakas, which he made between 1906 and 1916, correctly incorporated the framework narratives, so that a fairly legible and understandable complete work was created. The Beyerlein / Steinschulte publishing house has a simplified new edition in three instead of 7 volumes. A selection of the Jātakas were also published as “Buddhist fairy tales”.
11 Niddesa
12 Paṭisambhidāmagga The analytical path is clearly a late canonical work. "Knowledge", "Connections" and "Knowledge" are dealt with in an analytical manner in three sections. The procedure is very reminiscent of the Abhidhamma schemes. It is a very enlightening work that especially advanced meditators will find interesting.
13 Apadāna
14th Buddhavaṃsa This book is undoubtedly one of the more recent works in the Pāli canon. It is written entirely in verse. However, these are not kept in the usual eight-syllable measure (sloka) . Occasionally there are also verses with three instead of two lines of eight or more syllables each. Twenty-five awakened people are dealt with here, whereby it becomes clear from the first preface that this work is not about sober factual facts, but about spiritual joy in the listener of the verses presented to him, which can best be described as "edifying verses" to awaken. The content of the second preface then relates to the first Buddha. Interestingly, no further future Buddhas are named in this text. With the presentation of the life path of Buddha Gotama the genealogy is in principle completed. This book was first translated into German by the German monk Santuṭṭho Bhikkhu and self-published in 2017.
15th Cariyā-Piṭaka In this “collection” 35 pieces are put together, which represent in verse form the way of life of the Buddha in earlier existences in which he developed the respective perfections (pāramī) . However, here only accounts of earlier existences of Buddha Gotama from the last world age (kalpa) , and not as in the Jātakas ("rebirth stories ") from a few eons, starting with when the hermit Sumedha was the Buddha. These narratives were presented at the request of Sāriputta, so the commentary on the Cariyā-Pizählaka, which is part of the Paramathadīpanī, says. The obvious purpose of this compilation is to promote or strengthen people's trust or belief in the meritorious “perfections” (pāramī) . Whereby in the Cariyā-Piṭaka not all ten perfections are described, but rather giving (dāna) in the first ten pieces , morality (sīla) in the second ten and the perfection of renunciation (nekkhamma) , des in the remaining fifteen Resolution (adhiṭṭhana) , truthfulness (sacca) , benevolence (mettā) and equanimity (upekkhā) . The German monk Santuṭṭho Bhikkhu translated this book into German and published it in 2016.
16 Nettippakarana (Burmese canon)
17th Petakopadesa (Burmese canon)
18th Milindapañhā King Milinda's questions are only considered canonical in the Burmese three-basket. In the first part, an extremely interesting framework narrative shows how this work came about. In the second part, “Questions about characteristic features” are discussed in four chapters. In the third part, "Solutions to Doubts" are also explained in four chapters. In the fourth part, “Solutions to the two-edged problems” are dealt with in eight chapters. In the fifth part “conclusions” are drawn. The sixth part is about "ascetic vows" "In the eighth and last part" parables "are dealt with in seven chapters. This really very informative book with the sub-title A historical summit in religious world talk was translated into German by the venerable Nyanatiloka, the venerable Nyanaponika has revised it and it was published in 1985 by Ansata-Verlag and was re-published in 1998 by OW Barth.

German-language editions

  • Karl Eugen Neumann (transl.): The speeches of the Buddha. Collections in verse. The Collection of the Fragments (Sutta Nipāta) - The songs of the monks and nuns (Theragāthā / Therīgāthā) - The Path of Truth (Dhammapadam) . Beyerlein-Steinschulte, Stammbach, 2015, ISBN 978-3-931095-95-6
  • Fritz Schäfer (translator): Verses to breathe easy, The Udana Collection . Beyerlein and Steinschulte, Stammbach, 1998, ISBN 3-931095-17-7
  • Hellmuth Hecker (translator): Itivuttaka: Collection of Aphorisms . Beyerlein et al. Steinschulte, Stammbach, 2004, ISBN 3-931095-47-9
  • Nyanaponika Mahathera (transl.): Sutta-Nipata, early Buddhist teaching poems . Beyerlein and Steinschulte, Stammbach, 1996, ISBN 3-931095-06-1
  • Hellmuth Hecker (translator): Vimana-Vatthu: Paths to Heaven . Beyerlein et al. Steinschulte, Stammbach, 2004, ISBN 3-931095-30-4
  • Hellmuth Hecker (translator): Peta-Vatthu: The Buddhist Book of the Dead . Beyerlein et al. Steinschulte, Stammbach, 2004, ISBN 3-931095-31-2
  • Santuttho Bhikkhu (translator): Cariya-Pitaka - way of life. Self-published, 2016, ISBN 978-3-00-054402-6 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ electronic publication in the Konstanz online publication system
  2. ↑ Christine Schoenwerth: Theragāthā: the psalms of the monks of Buddha Gotama . new German version edition. Verl. Old Buddhist community, Utting / Ammersee 1997, ISBN 3-932250-07-9 .
  3. ↑ Santuttho Bhikkhu (transl.): Buddhavamsa - The story of the awakened . Ed .: Santuttho Bhikkhu. Self-published, Berlin 2017, ISBN 978-3-00-057588-4 , p. 214 .
  4. ↑ Santuṭṭho Bhikkhu: Khuddaka-Nikāya 15. Cariyā-Piṭaka - way of life . 1st edition. Santuttho Bhikkhu, Berlin 2016, ISBN 978-3-00-054402-6 .
  5. ↑ Nyanaponika (ed.): Milindapañha: a historical summit in the religious world talk . Barth, Bern, Munich, Vienna 1998, ISBN 3-502-61011-8 .