Suttapitaka

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The Suttapitaka ( Pali Sutta-piṭaka , Sanskrit सूत्रपिटक sūtrapiṭaka "Sūtra-piṭaka") is the basket of discourses , a collection of dialogues and lectures by the Buddha . Sometimes the basket of discourses seen as the most important part of the “ three basket ” is taken as representative of the entire Pali canon .

Sutta (in Pali ) or Sutra (in Sanskrit ) literally means "thread". In the context of the oral tradition of Buddhist tradition, the term describes a conceptual "red thread", a specific topic of a teaching lecture or dialogue.

In the Suttapitaka the dialogues and lectures are grouped in five different collections ( Nikayas ), some according to their length, others according to their topics or the number of things covered.

About three months after the enlightened had died out (around 483 BCE), the first council with 500 monks took place in Rajagaha in order to define the Buddha's teachings more precisely, bindingly and, above all, in writing . Although the timing of the first council is not without controversy, some scholars suspect that more time passed between the death of the Buddha and the compilation of the "Tripitaka". The first canonical collection, the "Basket of Discourses", was drawn up, which contained regulations on monastic life. In addition, the Buddha's discourses were summarized, which would later be the basis of the Pali canon.

The Longer Collection (Dīgha-Nikāya)

Main article: Digha-Nikaya

The longer lectures contain a total of 34 speeches, including B. The Mahasatipatthana Sutta , which forms the basis for meditation through mindfulness , and the Mahaparinibbana Sutta , in which the last months of the Buddha before his death and of his cremation are described.

The Middle Collection (Majjhima-Nikāya)

Main article: Majjhima-Nikaya

The collection of medium-length lectures contains a total of 152 suttas, arranged in 15 parts ( books ). It contains well-known suttas such as B. the Satipatthana Sutta (MN 10: on the basics of mindfulness) or the Anapanasati sutta (MN 118: on mindfulness in breathing)

The Grouped Collection (Saṃyutta-Nikāya)

Main article: Samyutta nikaya

This collection contains a total of 2,889 suttas grouped into five vaggas ( sections ). Each vagga is in turn subdivided into samyuttas ( chapters ), which contain the mostly shorter discourses organized by topic.

The Lined-up Collection (Anguttara-Nikāya)

Main article: Anguttara-Nikaya

The collection of attachments contains several thousand short suttas, which are summarized in eleven nipata ( books ).

Each book deals with a corresponding number of topics. The book of two z. B. contains suttas that deal with pairs of topics, such as two kinds of happiness , or the sutta about the two people who are "difficult to reward for good" (one's parents). The suttas from the book of three are about "three things", like the three motivations for good , or three kinds of speech .

The Smaller / Shorter Collection (Khuddaka-Nikāya)

Main article: Khuddaka-Nikaya

A collection of 15 short “books” on various subjects, read by the Buddha or his main disciples.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Three basket consisting of Vinayapitaka - rules of the order; Suttapitaka - teachings of the Buddha; Abhidhammapitaka - Treatises, Higher Discourses
  2. ↑ http://palikanon.com/
  3. ↑ https://dsalsrv04.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/pali_query.py?qs=Sutta&searchhws=yes
  4. ↑ So the second of the three sections of the Tipitaka , the Suttapitaka with the Dharma , Sutras
  5. ↑ Karl Eugen Neumann (trans.): The speeches of the Buddha. Longer collection. 2nd Edition. Beyerlein-Steinschulte, Stammbach 1996, ISBN 3-931095-15-0
  6. ↑ palikanon.com: The complete original text of the Digha-Nikaya in German after the translation by Karl Eugen Neumann <>
  7. ↑ The Majjhima Nikaya in German based on the translation by Kay Zumwinkel, Karl Eugen Neumann or (in part) Kurt Schmidt.
  8. ↑ Mettiko Bhikkhu alias Kay Zumwinkel (transl.): Majjhima Nikaya. The Buddha's speeches from the Middle Collection. Uttenbühl: Jhana 2nd edition 2012. ISBN 978-3-931274-13-9 (= ISBN 3-931274-13-6 )
  9. ↑ Samyutta Nikaya in German Almost complete translation by Wilhelm Geiger.
  10. ^ Wilhelm Geiger , Nyanaponika Mahathera, Hellmuth Hecker (trans.): The speeches of the Buddha. Grouped collection. Beyerlein-Steinschulte, Stammbach 1997, ISBN 3-931095-16-9
  11. ↑ Nyânatiloka Mahâthera (transl.), Nyânaponika (Ed. & Ed.): The Discourses of the Buddha from the Lined-up Collection. Beyerlein-Steinschulte, Stammbach 2013, ISBN 978-3591082181
  12. ↑ palikanon.com: Khuddaka Nikāya