Anguttara Nikaya
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Aṇguttara Nikāya
The fourth division of the Sūtra Piṭaka of the Pāli Canon, consisting of eleven sections (nipātas) and 9,557 suttas. It consists of short discourses arranged to a numerical system, probably as an aid to memory. Set out in order are first the units, then the pairs, the triads, and so forth, up to groups of eleven. This method of arrangement has possibly influenced the subject matter as well, as most of the discourses follow a stereotyped formulaic presentation and one seldom finds in it any reasoned arguments. Many of the discourses can be found elsewhere in the canon. It is said that, when the Buddha's religion fades away, the first portion of the Sūtra Piṭaka to disappear will be the Aṇguttara Nikāya from the eleventh section to the first, and in that order. The commentary to the Aṇguttara Nikāya, known by the title of Manorathapūraṇī, was composed by Buddhaghoṣa in the 5th century. A subcommentary to the first seven chapters, by the title of Sāratthamañjūsā, was composed in the 12th century.
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Anguttara Nikaya
| Pali Canon |
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| Vinaya Pitaka |
| Sutta Pitaka |
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| Abhidhamma Pitaka |
The Anguttara Nikaya (aṅguttaranikāya; literally "Increased by One Collection," also translated "Gradual Collection" or "Numerical Discourses") is a Buddhist scripture, the fourth of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that comprise the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism. This nikaya consists of several thousand discourses ascribed to the Buddha and his chief disciples arranged in eleven nipatas, or books, according to the number of dhamma items referenced in them.
The Anguttara Nikaya corresponds to the Ekottara Āgama ("Increased by One Discourses") found in the Sutra Pitikas of various Sanskritic early Buddhists schools, fragments of which survive in Sanskrit. A complete version survives in Chinese translation by the name Zēngyī Ahánjīng (增一阿含經); it is thought to be from either the Mahāsāṃghika or Sarvāstivādin recensions. According to Keown, "there is considerable disparity between the Pāli and the Sarvāstivādin versions, with more than two-thirds of the sūtras found in one but not the other compilation, which suggests that much of this portion of the Sūtra Piṭaka was not formed until a fairly late date."[1]
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Contents
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Translations
- The Book of the Gradual Sayings, tr F. L. Woodward & E. M. Hare, 1932-6, 5 volumes, Pali Text Society[1], Bristol
- A new translation by Bhikkhu Bodhi is forthcoming in September 2012 from Wisdom Publications Source to Order
Selections
- 1st 3 nipatas tr E. R. J. Gooneratne, Ceylon, c1913
- 4th nipata tr A. D. Jayasundare, London, 1925
- anthology ed & tr Nyanaponika, Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, Sri Lanka; revised, with additions & deletions, by Bodhi, as Numerical Discourses of the Buddha, Altamira Press, Oxford/New York/Lanham, Maryland/Walnut Creek, California, 1999
Divisions
The nipatas in this nikaya are:
- The Book of Ones
- The Book of Twos
- The Book of Threes
- The Book of Fours
- The Book of Fives
- The Book of Sixes
- The Book of Sevens
- The Book of Eights
- The Book of Nines
- The Book of Tens
- The Book of Elevens
Appreciation
Translator Bhikkhu Bodhi wrote: "In Anguttara Nikaya, persons are as a rule not reduced to mere collections of aggregates, elements and sense-bases, but are treated as real centers of living experience engaged in a heartfelt quest for happiness and freedom from suffering."(from Intro to Samyutta Nikaya)
See also
References
- ^ A Dictionary of Buddhism, by Damien Keown, Oxford University Press: 2004
External links
- Anguttara Nikaya at quotesofbuddha.com
- Anguttara Nikaya in Pali, English and Sinhala (metta.lk)
- English Translations of the Anguttara Nikaya (accesstoinsight.org
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Oxford Dictionary of Buddhism
A Dictionary of Buddhism. Copyright © 2003, 2004 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
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