Pali canon

piṭaka

piṭaka. Sankskrit and Pāli word meaning ‘basket’, and used as a technical term for the three main divisions of the Buddhist canon, namely the Sūtra Piṭaka, Vinaya Piṭaka, and Abhidharma Piṭaka. In early Buddhism, the term came to be applied collectively to the Pāli Canon, the first division of which was into Sūtra (Pāli, Sutta) and Vinaya only: these comprised the stock paragraphs learnt by heart, and the monastic rules. Independently of this we find the designation ‘Dharma’ (Pāli, Dhamma) applied to the doctrinal portions from which developed the Abhidhamma Piṭaka. Knowledge of the three Piṭakas is a highly regarded accomplishment for members of the Order (Saṃgha) and those who master them are known by the title of ‘tepīṭaka’, literally meaning ‘one who knows the three Piṭakas’.

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Pāli Canon

Pāli Canon. The earliest collections of Buddhist authoritative texts, more usually known as Tipiṭaka (Tripiṭaka), ‘Three Baskets’, because the palm-leaf manuscripts were traditionally kept in three different baskets: Vinaya, (Monastic) Discipline; Sutta, Discourses; Abhidhamma, Further Teachings. The Sutta-pitaka consists of five Nikāyas (Collections): Dīgha (thirty-four ‘long’ discourses/dialogues); Majjhima (150 ‘middle length’ discourses); Saṃyutta (7,762 ‘connected’ discourses, grouped according to subject-matter); Aṅguttara (9,550 ‘single item’ discourses); Khuddaka (fifteen ‘little texts’, listed under Khuddaka). Much has been tr. by the Pali Text Society.

See also BUDDHIST SCRIPTURES; and for further detail, TRIPIṬAKA.

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JOHN BOWKER. "Pāli Canon." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JOHN BOWKER. "Pāli Canon." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-PliCanon.html

JOHN BOWKER. "Pāli Canon." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-PliCanon.html

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Piṭaka

Piṭaka (Pali, ‘basket’), gathered collection of Buddhist texts. The ‘three baskets’, i.e. Tripiṭaka, form a fundamental collection, equivalent to a canon of scriptures.

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JOHN BOWKER. "Piṭaka." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JOHN BOWKER. "Piṭaka." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Piaka.html

JOHN BOWKER. "Piṭaka." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Piaka.html

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Pāli Canon

Pāli Canon. See TripiṬaka.

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DAMIEN KEOWN. "Pāli Canon." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

DAMIEN KEOWN. "Pāli Canon." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O108-PliCanon.html

DAMIEN KEOWN. "Pāli Canon." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O108-PliCanon.html

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Pali canon. (Image by DhJ, GFDL)