The Sutta Nipāta[1] (lit. 'Section of the Suttas') is a Buddhist scripture, a sutta collection in the Khuddaka Nikaya, part of the Sutta Pitaka of the Pali CanonofTheravada Buddhism. Sutta Nipata is a collection of discourses of Buddha. It is part of an early corpus of Buddhist literature. Chalmers[2] explains that sutta means a consecutive thread of teaching and Oldenberg explained that nipata denotes a small collection.[3]
Chalmers says that the materials of the Sutta Nipata are not of equal antiquity but it contains some of the oldest Buddhist compositions.[2] Bharat Singh Upadhyaya,[4] Maurice Winternitz,[5] and Hajime Nakamura[6] 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 or Calcutta-Bairat inscription of Ashoka also mentions many texts from this scripture.
The Sutta Nipāta is divided into five sections:
Uraga Vagga ("The Chapter on the Serpent")[7]
| Sutta number | Pali title | English title[8] |
|---|---|---|
| Sn I.1 | Uraga Sutta | "The Serpent" |
| Sn I.2 | Dhaniya Sutta | "Discourse to Dhaniya" |
| Sn I.3 | Khaggavisāṇa Sutta | "The Rhinoceros" |
| Sn I.4 | Kasibhāradvāja Sutta | "Brahman Kasibharadvaj" |
| Sn I.5 | Cunda Sutta | "Discourse to Cunda" |
| Sn I.6 | Parābhava Sutta | "Downfall" |
| Sn I.7 | Vasala Sutta | "The Outcast" |
| Sn I.8 | Metta Sutta | "Loving-Kindness" |
| Sn I.9 | Hemavata Sutta | "Discourse to Hemvata" |
| Sn I.10 | Āḷavaka Sutta | "Discourse to Yakkha Alavaka" |
| Sn I.11 | Vijaya Sutta | "Discourse on Disillusionment of the Body" |
| Sn I.12 | Muni Sutta | "Discourse on the Sage" |
Cūla Vagga ("The Minor Chapter")
| Sutta number | Pali title | English title |
|---|---|---|
| Sn II.1 | Ratana Sutta | "Discourse on Three Treasures" |
| Sn II.2 | Āmaghanda Sutta | "Carrion" |
| Sn II.3 | Hiri Sutta | "Discourse on Friendship" |
| Sn II.4 | Mahāmaṅgala Sutta | "Great Blessing" |
| Sn II.5 | Sūciloma Sutta | "Discourse on Yakkha Suciloma" |
| Sn II.6 | Dhammacariya Sutta | "Righteous Conduct" |
| Sn II.7 | Brāhmaṇadhammika Sutta | "The Tradition of the Brahmins" |
| Sn II.8 | Nāvā Sutta | "The Boat" |
| Sn II.9 | Kiṃsīla Sutta | "What Good Behavior?" |
| Sn II.10 | Uṭṭhāna Sutta | "Arouse Yourselves!" |
| Sn II.11 | Rāhula Sutta | "Discourse to Rahula" |
| Sn II.12 | Vaṅgīsa Sutta | "Discourse to Vangisa" |
| Sn II.13 | Sammāparibbājanīya Sutta | "Proper Wandering" |
| Sn II.14 | Dhammika Sutta | "Correct Life of the Mendicant" |
Mahā Vagga ("The Great Chapter")
| Sutta number | Pali title | English title |
|---|---|---|
| Sn III.1 | Pabbajjā Sutta | "The Going Forth" |
| Sn III.2 | Padhāna Sutta | "Striving" |
| Sn III.3 | Subhāsita Sutta | "Well Spoken" |
| Sn III.4 | Sundarikabhāradvāja Sutta | "Discourse to Bharadvaja of Sundarika" |
| Sn III.5 | Māgha Sutta | "Discourse to Magha" |
| Sn III.6 | Sabhiya Sutta | "Discourse to Sabhiya" |
| Sn III.7 | Sela Sutta | "Discourse to Sela" |
| Sn III.8 | Salla Sutta | "The Dart" |
| Sn III.9 | Vāseṭṭha Sutta | "Discourse to Vasettha" |
| Sn III.10 | Kokālika Sutta | "Discourse to Slanderer Kokaliya" |
| Sn III.11 | Nālaka Sutta | "Discourse to Nalaka" |
| Sn III.12 | Dvayatānupassanā Sutta | "Contemplation of Dyads" |
Atthaka Vagga "The Chapter of Octads"
| Sutta number | Pali title | English title |
|---|---|---|
| Sn IV.1 | Kāma Sutta | "Sensual Pleasures" |
| Sn IV.2 | Guhaṭṭhaka Sutta | "The Octad on the Cave" |
| Sn IV.3 | Duṭṭhaṭṭhaka Sutta | "The Octad on the Hostile" |
| Sn IV.4 | Suddhaṭṭhaka Sutta | "The Octad on the Pure" |
| Sn IV.5 | Paramaṭṭhaka Sutta | "The Octad on the Supreme" |
| Sn IV.6 | Jarā Sutta | "Old Age" |
| Sn IV.7 | Tissametteyya Sutta | "Discourse to Tissametteya" |
| Sn IV.8 | Pasūra Sutta | "Discourse to Pasura" |
| Sn IV.9 | Māgandiya Sutta | "Discourse to Magandiya" |
| Sn IV.10 | Purābheda Sutta | "Before the Breakup" |
| Sn IV.11 | Kalahavivāda Sutta | "Quarrels and Disputes" |
| Sn IV.12 | Cūlaviyūha Sutta | "The Smaller Discourse on Deployment" |
| Sn IV.13 | Mahāviyūha Sutta | "The Greater Discourse on Deployment" |
| Sn IV.14 | Tuvaṭaka Sutta | "Quickly" |
| Sn IV.15 | Attadaṇḍa Sutta | "One Who Has Taken Up the Rod" |
| Sn IV.16 | Sāriputta Sutta | "Discourse to Sariputta" |
Parayana Vagga ("The Chapter on the Way Beyond")
| Sutta number | Pali title | English title |
|---|---|---|
| Introductory verses | ||
| Sn V.1 | Ajitamāṇavapucchā | "The Questions of Ajita" |
| Sn V.2 | Tissametteyyamāṇavapucchā | "The Questions of Tissa Metteyya" |
| Sn V.3 | Puṇṇakamāṇavapucchā | "The Questions of Puṇṇaka" |
| Sn V.4 | Mettagūmāṇavapucchā | "The Questions of Mettagū" |
| Sn V.5 | Dhotakamāṇavapucchā | "The Questions of Dhotaka" |
| Sn V.6 | Upasīvamāṇavapucchā | "The Questions of Upasīva" |
| Sn V.7 | Nandamāṇavapucchā | "The Questions of Nanda" |
| Sn V.8 | Hemakamāṇavapucchā | "The Questions of Hemaka" |
| Sn V.9 | Todeyyamāṇavapucchā | "The Questions of Todeyya" |
| Sn V.10 | Kappamāṇavapucchā | "The Questions of Kappa" |
| Sn V.11 | Jatukaṇṇīmāṇavapucchā | "The Questions of Jatukaṇṇī" |
| Sn V.12 | Bhadrāvudhamāṇavapucchā | "The Questions of Bhadrāvudha" |
| Sn V.13 | Udayamāṇavapucchā | "The Questions of Udaya" |
| Sn V.14 | Posālamāṇavapucchā | "The Questions of Posāla" |
| Sn V.15 | Mogharājamāṇavapucchā | "The Questions of Magharāja" |
| Sn V.16 | Piṅgiyamāṇavapucchā | "The Questions of Piṅgiya" |
| epilogue |
Some scholars[9] believe that it describes the oldest of all Buddhist practices. Others such as Bhikkhu Bodhi[10] and K. R. Norman[11] 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.[12] 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 Nipata.[13] Many of the Buddhist legends originate in the Suttanipata such as prediction by Asita on the birth of gautam buddha in the Nalaka sutta or the legendar meeting of King Bimbisara with Gautam Buddha.
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