Sutta Nipata

Chalmers says that the materials of the Sutta Nipata are not of equal antiquity but it contains some of the oldest Buddhist compositions. Bharat Singh Upadhyaya,{{Cite web |title=पालि साहित्य का इतिहास {{!}} Hindi Book {{!}} Paali Saahity Kaa Itihaas - ePustakalay |url=https://epustakalay.com/book/39577-paali-saahity-kaa-itihaas-by-bharat-singh-upadyay/ |access-date=2023-04-05 |website=epustakalay.com |language=hi-IN}} Maurice Winternitz,{{Cite book |last=Winternitz |first=Maurice |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=utUbzQEACAAJ |title=A History of Indian Literature: A history of Indian literature |language=en}} and Hajime Nakamura{{Cite book |last=Nakamura |first=Hajime |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bW3qDwAAQBAJ |title=Indian Buddhism: A survey with Bibliographical Notes |date=2007-01-01 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0272-8 |language=en}} are other prominent Buddhist scholars who regard its poetry to have originated in the beginnings of Buddhism. A commentary on Sutta Nipata, called Niddesa, is included in the canon itself which points to the antiquity of the text.

Bhabru Rock Edicts or Bairat Temple inscription of Ashoka also mentions many texts from this scripture.

The Sutta Nipāta is divided into five sections:

• I. Uraga Vagga ("The Chapter on the Serpent") : 12 suttas;
• II. Cûla Vagga ("The Minor Chapter") : 14 suttas;
• III. Maha Vagga ("The Great Chapter") : 12 suttas;
• IV. Aṭṭhakavagga Vagga ("The Chapter of Octads") : 16 suttas;
• V. Pārāyana Vagga ( "The Chapter on the Way Beyond") : 16 suttas (plus Introductory and Epilogue).

I. Uraga Vagga ("The Chapter on the Serpent"){{refn|group=note|Sutta names, spellings, and translations are taken from Bodhi Bhikku, The Suttanipāta—other translators may have made different choices.}}

II. Cūla Vagga ("The Minor Chapter")

III. Mahā Vagga ("The Great Chapter")

IV. Atthaka Vagga "The Chapter of Octads"{{refn|group=note|Following Robert Chalmers, it is the term "octad" which is used here. In Pali, the word "atthaka", means eighth/eightfold, (read online:[https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/pali_query.py?qs=atthaka&matchtype=default "Atthaka _2) aṭṭhaka (p.16).])}}{{refn|group=note|Unlike R. Chalmers, the monk Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu chose to translate by octet while specifying: "The name of the Aṭṭhaka (Octets) appears to derive from the fact that four of its poems IV. 2-5) all of which contain the word aṭṭhaka in their titles—are composed of eight verses. Read online: The Octet Chapter (Aṭṭhaka Vagga). Note 1 .''[https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/KN/StNp/StNp4_intro.html#stnp_atthaka_note01]. {{access-date|16 March 2025}}}}

V. Parayana Vagga ("The Chapter on the Way Beyond")

File:Weissagung des Sehers Asita Museum Rietberg RVI 11.jpg predicting the greatness of Siddhartha Gautama as described in Nalaka sutta of Sutta Nipata, Rietberg Museum, Zurich, Switzerland.]]

Some scholarsNakamura, Indian Buddhism, Japan, 1980; reprinted by Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1987, 1989, pp. 45-6. believe that it describes the oldest of all Buddhist practices. Others such as the American Theravada Buddhist monk Bhikkhu BodhiBhikkhu Bodhi, Sutta-Nipāta : The oldest discourses in the Pali Canon (lectures), http://bodhimonastery.org/sutta-nipata.html{{sfn|Bhikkhu Bodhi|2017|p=13}} and K. R. NormanNorman, KR. The Rhinoceros Horn and Other Early Buddhist Poems (Sutta-Nipata), 1985. agree that it contains much early material. In the Chinese Buddhist canon, a version of the Aṭṭhakavagga has survived. Fragmentary materials from a Sanskrit version of the Nipata also survive.{{sfn|Hoernlé|1916|p=709-732}} The Niddesa, a commentary in two parts on the contents of the Atthaka Vagga and portions of the Parayana Vagga, is included in the Pali Canon as a book of the Khuddaka Nikāya. This commentary is traditionally attributed to Śāriputra, and its presence in the canon is regarded as evidence of the relatively early composition of the Sutta Nipāta.{{sfn|Norman|1983|p=70}}{{sfn|Robert Chalmers|1932|p=xv-xvi}}

File:Bimbisara with his royal cortege issuing from the city of Rajagriha to visit the Buddha.jpg with his royal cortege issuing from the city of Rajagriha to visit the Buddha.
Sanchi Stupa, India.]]

Many of the Buddhist legends originate in the Sutta Nipata such as prediction by Asita on the birth of Siddhartha Gautama in the Nalaka sutta or the legendar meeting of King Bimbisara with the Buddha.

Like the authors just mentioned, Hajime Nakamura also considers that the Sutta Nipata is a very ancient collection. According to him, the last two parts, entitled Atthaka vagga (Sn. IV) and Parayana vagga (Sn. V), already existed during the lifetime of Gotama Buddha{{sfn|Nakamura|1987|p=45}}{{,}}.{{sfn|Salomon|Glass|2000|p=14}}

However, the American Theravāda monk Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu takes a more nuanced view. He considers that nothing known to date allows us to conclude with certainty that these are texts of primitive Buddhism (without, however, ruling out the possibility).{{sfn|Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu|2016|p=226-227}}

The Sutta Nipāta (pali), which can be translated as: "selection of instructions", "collection of suttas" or "collection of texts",{{sfn|André Bareau|1985|p=204}} is a collection of sutras from early Buddhism. . It is the fifth book of the Khuddaka Nikāya, "small texts or small discourses", itself being the fifth part of the Sutta Piṭaka, of which it is probably the oldest part.{{sfn|Robert Chalmers|1893|p=xiii}}

Like most early Buddhist collections, it is divided into sections (vagga), five in this case, and contains 70 suttas, plus a prologue and an epilogue,{{sfn|Laurence Khantipalo Mills|2015|p=xiv}}{{refn|group=note|Note regarding the number of suttas in the Sutta Nipāta: Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu indicates 71 or 72 instead of 70, depending on whether or not he includes the prologue and epilogue in his presentations.}}. Among the other canonical texts, only one collection is stylistically close to it, the 1st Sagāthā Vagga section (SN.I), part of the Saṃyutta Nikāya (SN), several of whose suttas are versified in the form of dialogue.{{sfn|Laurence Khantipalo Mills|2015|p=xiv}}

It is distinguished from the other collections of the canon, because all the suttas that compose it are poems written in verse sometimes mixed with a few passages in prose (without any being only in prose).{{sfn|Bhikkhu Bodhi|2017|p=13, 34}} It has 1149 verses.{{sfn|Norman|1983|p=63}}

Three suttas from the Sutta Nipāta are among the most famous of ancient Buddhism, such as: (Sn.I.8) Metta Sutta; (Sn.II.1) Ratana Sutta (Discourse on the Three Treasures); (Sn.II.4) Maṅgala Sutta (Discourse on the Great Blessing).{{sfn|Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu|2016|p=3}} They hold an important place in the ritual of the Theravāda tradition and are recited daily in monasteries, as well as on certain occasions. They are among the texts considered to be protective and sources of spiritual blessing.{{sfn|Bhikkhu Bodhi|2017|p=41}}

Some suttas appear in several collections under the same titles, such as (non-exhaustive list):

: - the Sela Sutta: (Sn.III.7) in the Sutta Nipāta (Sn) and (MN 92) in the Majjhima Nikāya;

:- the Vāseṭṭha Sutta: (Sn.III.9) in the Sutta Nipāta and (MN. 98) in the Majjhima Nikaya{{sfn|Robert Chalmers|1893|p=xv}}{{,}};{{sfn|Norman|1983|p=67}}

:- the Metta Sutta: (Sn. I.8 ) in the Sutta Nipāta and (Khp.9) in the Khuddakapāṭha (Khp);

:- the Ratana Sutta: (Sn II.1) in the Sutta Nipāta and (Khp.6) in the Khuddakapāṭha;

:- the Maṅgala Sutta: (Sn.II.4) in the Sutta Nipāta and (Khp.5) in the Khuddakapāṭha.{{sfn|Robert Chalmers|1893|p=xv}}

The same is true of many verses, which are found in two or even three collections, such as:

:- verses 45 and 46 of (Sn I.3) Khaggavisāṇa Sutta (Alone like a Rhinoceros) which also appear in the Dhammapada (Dhp. XXIII) The Elephant, verses 328 and 329;

:-in the Vinaya Pitaka II.Khandhaka 10.1, The Story of Dīghāvu{{refn|group=note|Another reference in the Vinaya Piṭaka edited by the Pali Text Society: Vinaya I.350.}} and in the Majjhima Nikaya.{{sfn|Robert Chalmers|1893|p=xv}}

In the Chinese Buddhist canon, a version of the Aṭṭhaka Vagga (Sn. IV), as well as fragments of a Sanskrit version of the entire Sutta Nipāta (Sn), have been found{{sfn|Hoernlé|1916|p=709-732}}{{refn|group=note|These two versions were mentioned previously, section "Context".}}

The Khaggavisānasutta, Rhinoceros Sutra (Sn.I.3) also seems to reveal an early form of Buddhist monasticism, which emphasizes individual quest in a manner close to the Indian tradition of the Sannyasa. A fairly complete version of this sutra was found in the Gandhāran Buddhist texts, in 1994, among the oldest known Indian manuscripts.{{sfn|Salomon|Glass|2000|p=5-30}}

The two sections Aṭṭhaka Vagga (Sn. IV) and Pārāyana Vagga (Sn. V), are considered to be considerably earlier than the rest of the Pali canon and would reveal an earlier form of Buddhist religion. This view is based on the literary aspect of the texts, their inclusion in the earliest commentaries, but also because they express Buddhist beliefs in a form different from their more common versions.{{sfn|Gómez|1976|p=137-165}}{{sfn|Salomon|Glass|2000|p=15-16}}

Luis Oscar Gómez notes that they deal respectively with the issues of sensual pleasures in general (not just sexual), and prajñā, the process of liberation. Buddhist meditation is approached from an angle closer to the practice of Samatha-Vipassanā (the first and second stages), although later sutras in the canon will teach a balance between the two.

There is also mention of the "world of formlessness", Ārūpyadhātu, which has led the author to emphasise the proximity of these teachings to those of the Madhyamika school of Mahayana, in which the notion of emptiness, Śūnyatā, plays a central role.{{sfn|Gómez|1976|p=137-165}}

As far as the relationship between the sections is concerned, Indianist authors have different interpretations: Luis Oscar Gómez, considers that the five sections form a homogeneous whole;{{sfn|Gómez |1976|p=137-165}} Tilmann Vetter, considers that they constitute a composite whole, because, according to him, certain suttas (notably those of Sn.IV. Aṭṭhaka Vagga) would have come from ascetic groups having preceded Siddhartha Gautama, and would have been integrated into the Buddhist corpus afterwards{{sfn|Tilmann Vetter|1988|p=101-106}} and André Bareau takes the same line, seeing no logical order in the sections of the Sutta Nipāta, unlike the other collections of the canon.{{sfn|André Bareau|1985|p=204-211}}

Bhikkhu Bodhi, for his part, considers that: {{blockquote|text=For the Sutta Nipata, as for all the texts of early Buddhism, the ultimate goal of spiritual training is said to be nibbāna.{{sfn|Bhikkhu Bodhi|2017|p=49}}}}

• The Silent Sages of Old, Suttas from the Suttanipāta by Ven. Ñāṇadīpa Mahāthera, 2018
• Tr V. Fausbøll, in Sacred Books of the East, volume X, Clarendon/Oxford, 1881; reprinted by Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi (?and by Dover, New York)
• Buddha’s Teachings being the Sutta-nipāta or Discourse-Collection, tr. Robert Chalmers Delhi, India, Motilal Barnasidass Publishers, 1932 (reprint in 1997), 300 p., {{isbn|8120813553|9788120813557}}.Buddha’s Teachings being the Sutta-nipāta or Discourse-Collection, read online: [https://books.google.com/books?id=BauNzgEACAAJ]. {{Access-date|10 August 2021}}.
• Woven cadences of early Buddhists, transl. by E. M. Hare. Sacred Books of the Buddhists vol.15, repr. - London: Oxford University Press, 1947 [https://archive.org/details/bookofdiscipline15hornuoft Internet Archive] (PDF 11.4 MB)
• The Group of Discourses, tr K. R. Norman, 1984, Pali Text Society[http://www.palitext.com], Bristol; the original edition included alternative translations by I. B. Horner & Walpola Rahula; these are currently available in the paperback edition under the title The Rhinoceros Horn and Other Early Buddhist Poems; the current edition under the original title omits these, but includes instead the translator's notes, not included in the paperback
• Tr Saddhatissa, Curzon, London/Humanities Press, New York, 1985
• Tr N. A. Jayawickrama, University of Kelaniya, 2001
• The Discourse Collection Selected Texts from the Sutta Nipata, by John D. Ireland, Access to Insight (BCBS Edition), 2013. Available for free download [https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/ireland/wheel082.html here]
• {{cite book|last=Bodhi|first=Bhikkhu|authorlink=Bhikkhu Bodhi|title=The Suttanipata: An Ancient Collection of the Buddha's Discourses and Its Canonical Commentaries|year=2017|publisher=Wisdom Publications|isbn=9781614294290}}

• Tr Nyanaponika Thera, Verlag Beyerlein & Steinschulte, D 95236 Stammbach, Germany, 3. Auflage 1996

• List of all Khuddaka Nikaya suttas
• Atthakavagga and Parayanavagga, widely considered some of the earliest Buddhist texts
• Rhinoceros Sutta, widely considered one of the earliest Buddhist texts

{{reflist|group=note}}

{{reflist}}

• {{cite book|author=Bhikkhu Bodhi |title= The Suttanipata: An Ancient Collection of the Buddha's Discourses and Its Canonical Commentaries |publisher=Wisdom Publications, Somerville, Massachusetts, United States |pages=1116 |date=2017 |isbn=9781614294290 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ftnADQAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&hl=fr#v=onepage&q&f=false |access-date=15 March 2025}}
• {{cite book|author=Robert Chalmers|title= Buddha’s Teachings : Being the Sutta-nipāta Or Discourse-Collection |publisher= Motilal Barnasidass Publishers |pages=300 |date=1932|isbn=9788120813557 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=N2M1ZDvqYDsC&hl=fr&source=gbs_navlinks_s |access-date=15 March 2025}}
• {{cite book|author= Laurence Khantipalo Mills |title= Sutta Nipāta |publisher= SuttaCentral, Turramurra, New South Wales, Australia|pages=355 |date=2015 |isbn=978-1-921842-17-7 |url= https://ftp.budaedu.org/ebooks/pdf/EN391.pdf |access-date=15 March 2025}}
• {{ cite journal | last = Gómez | first = Luis O. | author-link = Luis O. Gómez | year = 1976 | jstor = 1398186 | title = Proto-Mādhyamika in the Pāli canon | journal = Philosophy East and West | publisher = University of Hawaiʻi Press | volume = 26 | number = 2 | pages = 137–165 }}
• {{cite book|author=Oskar von Hinüber |title= Handbook of Pali Literature |publisher=De Gruyter, Berlin |pages=257 |date=1996 |isbn=3-110-14992-3 |url= https://ia902804.us.archive.org/11/items/0002ahandbookofpaliliteratureoskarvonhinuber/0002%20A-Handbook-of-Pali-Literature-Oskar-Von-Hinuber.pdf }}, passage quoted pp. 48–50 (§ 94-99). {{access-date|15 March 2025}}
• {{cite journal | last = Hoernlé | first = Rudolf | author-link = Rudolf Hoernlé | year = 1916 | jstor = 25189480 | title = The Sutta Nipata in a Sanskrit Version from Eastern Turkestan | journal = Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society | pp = 709–732 }}
• {{cite book| last = Nakamura | first = Hajime | author-link=Hajime Nakamura |title= Indian Buddhism. A Survey with Bibliographical Notes |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass | location = Delhi |pages= 423|date=1987 |isbn=8120802721 |url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Indian_Buddhism.html?id=bW3qDwAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y |access-date=15 March 2025}}. Reprint in 2007.
• {{cite book | last = Norman | first = K. R. |author-link=K. R. Norman |title= Pāli Literature :including the canonical literature in Prakrit and Sanskrit of all the Hīnayāna schools of Buddhism |publisher= Otto Harrassowitz |pages=220 |date=1983 |isbn=3-447-02285-X |url= https://ia800302.us.archive.org/13/items/PaliLiterature/Pali%20Literature.pdf |access-date=15 March 2025}}
• {{cite book|last1 = Salomon | first1 = Richard G. | author1-link =Richard G. Salomon (professor of Asian studies) | first2 = Andrew | last2 = Glass |title= A Gāndhārī Version of the Rhinoceros Sutra: British Library, Alphabet kharoshthi, Fragment 5B |publisher=University of Washington Press |pages=234 |date=2000 |isbn=9780295980355 |url= https://books.google.com/books/about/A_Gāndhārī_Version_of_the_Rhinoceros.html?id=cTmN8Xs9xBkC&redir_esc=y |access-date=15 March 2025}}
• {{citation |last=Singh |first=Upinder |author-link=Upinder Singh |title=A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pq2iCwAAQBAJ |publisher=Pearson |year=2016 |isbn=978-81-317-1677-9 |ref={{sfnref|Upinder Singh|2016}} }}
• {{cite book|author= Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu |title= Sutta Nipāta The Discourse Group |publisher= Mettā Forest Monastery, Valley Center, California (licence CC BY-NC 4.0)|pages=354 |date=2016 |isbn= |url= https://www.dhammatalks.org/Archive/Writings/Ebooks/SuttaNipata210221.pdf }}, or [https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/KN/StNp/index_StNp.html]. {{access-date|15 March 2025}}
• {{cite book|author= Tilmann Vetter|title= The Ideas and Meditative Practices of Early Buddhism: Mysticism in the Aṭṭhakavagga |publisher= Brill Publishers, Leiden, Netherlands |pages= 110|date=1988 |isbn=9789004089594 |url=https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Ideas_and_Meditative_Practices_of_Ea.html?id=RwwVAAAAIAAJ&redir_esc=y |access-date=15 March 2025}}

In French

• {{cite book|author=André Bareau|title=En suivant Bouddha|location=Paris|publisher=Éditions Oxus|date=1985|pages=308|language=fr}} . Reprint in 2000 by Éditions Kiron Le Félin, Paris, 299 p.{{isbn|9782866453640}}.

{{wikiquote}}

• [http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/ Sutta Nipata] (Access to Insight)
• [http://www.bodhimonastery.org/bm/about-buddhism/sutta-nipta.html Sutta Nipata Lectures] taught by Bhikkhu Bodhi
• [https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/KN/StNp/index_StNp.html Translations at dhammatalks.org]
• [https://suttacentral.net/snp?view=normal Suttanipāta - Anthology of Discourses at suttacentral.net]

{{Buddhism topics}}

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Category:Khuddaka Nikaya