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AtthakathaFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Atthakatha (Pali for explanation, commentary)[1] refers

to Pali-language Theravadin Buddhist commentaries to

the canonical Theravadin Tipitaka. These commentaries

give the traditional interpretations of the scriptures. The

major commentaries were based on earlier ones, now

lost, in Old Sinhalese, which were written down at thesame time as the Canon, in the last century BCE. Some

material in the commentaries is found in canonical texts

of other schools of Buddhism, suggesting an early

common source.

As with the Canon itself, the contents of collected

editions of the Theravadin commentaries, compiled from

the fourth century CE onwards, vary between editions.

The minimal collection, found in the Thai edition (1992)

includes the following (Skilling 2002).

Twelve commentaries ascribed to Buddhaghosa:

commentary on the Vinaya Pitaka; one each on

the Digha Nikaya, Majjhima Nikaya, Samyutta

Nikaya and Anguttara Nikaya; four on KhuddakaNikaya books; and three on the Abhidhamma

Pitaka.

Commentaries by Dhammapala on seven books of

the Khuddaka Nikaya.

Four commentaries by various authors on four

other books of the Khuddaka Nikaya.

In addition, the following are included in one or both of

the other two editions: the Burmese Chatthasangayana

edition (a list of contents can be found in Thein Han

1981) and the Sinhalese Simon Hewavitarne Bequest

edition.

Buddhaghosa's Visuddhimagga, a systematic

presentation of the traditional teaching; the

commentaries on the first four nikayas refer to this for the material it details. In both Sinhalese (Mori et al. 1994) and BurmeseThe Patimokkha (Pruitt & Norman 2001, page xxxvi) and its commentary Kankhavitarani, ascribed to Buddhaghosa

Commentary by Dhammapala on the Nettipakarana, a work sometimes included in the canon

Vinayasangaha, a selection of passages from Samantapasadika arranged topically by Sariputta in the twelfth century (Crosby

2006)

Saratthasamuccaya, commentary on the Paritta. In Sinhalese (Malalasekera 1938).

Contents1 Buddhaghosa

2 Dhammapala

3 Other Khuddaka Nikaya commentaries

4 Translations

5 See also

6 Notes

7 Sources

8 External links

Buddhaghosa

Below is a listing of fourth- or fifth-century CE commentator Buddhaghosa's fourteen alleged commentaries (Pli: atthakatha) on the

Pli Tipitaka (Norman 1983).

Pali Tipitaka Commentary

akatha - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atthakatha

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from the

Vinaya Pitaka

Vinaya (general) Samantapasadika

Patimokkha Kankhavitarani

from the

Sutta Pitaka

Digha Nikaya Sumangalavilasini

Majjhima Nikaya Papancasudani

Samyutta Nikaya Saratthappakasini

Anguttara Nikaya Manorathapurani

from the

Khuddaka

Nikaya

Khuddakapatha Paramatthajotika (I)

Dhammapada Dhammapada-atthakatha

Sutta NipataParamatthajotika (II),[2]

Suttanipata-atthakatha

JatakaJatakatthavannana,

or Jataka-atthakatha

from the

Abhidhamma

Pitaka

Dhammasangani Atthasalini

Vibhanga Sammohavinodani

Dhatukatha

Pancappakaranatthakatha

Puggalapannatti

Kathavatthu

Yamaka

Patthana

Only the Visuddhimagga and the commentaries on the first four nikayas are accepted by a consensus of scholars as Buddhaghosa's. [3]

Dhammapala

The commentator Dhammapala's date is uncertain. He wrote after Buddhaghosa, and probably no later than the tenth century. His

Khuddaka Nikaya commentaries are Paramatthadipani comprising

Udana-atthakatha regarding the Udana.Itivuttaka-atthakatha regarding the Itivuttaka.

Vimanavatthu-atthakatha regarding the Vimanavatthu.

Petavatthu-atthakatha regarding the Petavatthu.Theragatha-atthakatha regarding the Theragatha.

Therigatha-atthakatha regarding the Therigatha.

Cariyapitaka-atthakatha regarding the Cariyapitaka.

Other Khuddaka Nikaya commentaries

Other Khuddaka Nikaya commentaries are

Saddhammapajotika by Upasena regarding the Niddesa.

Saddhammappakasini by Mahanama regarding the Patisambhidamagga.

Visuddhajanavilasini by an unknown author regarding the Apadana.Madhuratthavilasini attributed to Buddhadatta regarding the Buddhavamsa.

Three books are included in some editions of the Khuddaka Nikaya: Nettipakarana, Petakopadesa and Milindapaha. Of these only the

Nettipakarana has a commentary in any standard edition.

Translations

Visuddhimagga

The Path of Purity, tr Pe Maung Tin, 192331, 3 volumes; reprinted in 1 volume, Pali Text Society[1]

(http://www.palitext.com) , Oxford

The Path of Purification, tr Nanamoli, Ananda Semage, Colombo, 1956; reprinted Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, Sri

Lanka

Samantapasadika

Introduction translated as "The inception of discipline" by N. A. Jayawickrama, in 1 volume with the Pali, "Vinaya nidana",

1962, PTS, Oxford

Chinese adaptation called Shan chien p'i p'o sha tr P. V. Bapat & Akira Hirakawa, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute,Poona

Patimokkha tr K. R. Norman, 2001, PTS, Oxford

Kankhavitarani: translation by K. R. Norman & William Pruitt in preparation


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Sumangalavilasini (parts)

Introduction translated in a learned journal in the 1830s

Commentary on Brahmajala Sutta, abr tr Bodhi in The All-Embracing Net of Views, BPS, Kandy, 1978

Commentary on Samannaphala Sutta, abr tr Bodhi in The Discourse on the Fruits of Recluseship, BPS, Kandy, 1989Commentary on Maha Nidana Sutta, abr tr Bodhi in The Great Discourse on Causation, BPS, Kandy, 1984

Commentary on Mahaparinibbana Sutta tr Yang-Gyu An, 2003, PTS, Oxford

Papancasudani (parts)

Commentary on Mulapariyaya Sutta, abr tr Bodhi in The Discourse on the Root of Existence, BPS, Kandy, 1980

Commentary on Sammaditthi Sutta, tr Nanamoli in The Discourse on Right View, BPS, Kandy, 1991[4]

Commentary on Satipatthana Sutta, tr Soma in The Way of Mindfulness, Saccanubodha Samiti, Kandy, 1941; reprintedBPS, Kandy

Manorathapurani (parts): stories of leading nuns and laywomen, tr Mabel Bode inJornal of the Royal Asiatic Society, new series,

volume XXV, pages 517-66 & 763-98

Paramatthajotika on Khuddakapatha, tr Nanamoli as "The illustrator of ultimate meaning", in 1 volume with "The minor readings"

(Khuddakapatha), 1960, PTS, Oxford

Dhammapada commentary, translated in two partsStories giving background to verses, tr E. W. Burlingame asBuddhist Legends, 1921, 3 volumes, Harvard Oriental Series;

reprinted PTS, Oxford

Explanations of verses, translated in the Dhammapada translation by John Ross Carter & Mahinda Palihawadana, Oxford

University Press, 1987; included only in the original expensive hardback edition, not the cheap paperback World Classics

edition

Udana commentary tr Peter Masefield, 1994-5, 2 volumes, PTS, Oxford

Itivuttaka commentary tr Peter Masefield forthcoming

Vimanavatthu commentary, tr Peter Masefield as Vimana Stories, 1989, PTS, Oxford

Petavatthu commentary, tr U Ba Kyaw & Peter Masefield asPeta-Stories, 1980, PTS, OxfordTheragatha commentary: substantial extracts translated inPsalms of the Brethren, tr C. A. F. Rhys Davids, 1913; reprinted in

Psalms of the Early Buddhists, PTS, Oxford

Therigatha commentary, tr as The Commentary on the Verses of the Theris, by William Pruitt, 1998, PTS, Oxford

Jataka commentary

Introduction tr as The Story of Gotama Buddha by N. A. Jayawickrama, 1990, PTS, Oxford

Most of the rest is translated in the Jataka translation by E. B. Cowell et al., 18951907, 6 volumes, Cambridge University

Press; reprinted in 3 volumes by PTS, Oxford

Madhuratthavilasini, tr as The Clarifier of the Sweet Meanlngby I. B. Horner, 1978, PTS, Oxford

Atthasalini, tr as The Expositorby Pe Maung Tin, 192021, 2 volumes; reprinted in 1 volume, PTS, OxfordSammohavinodani, tr as The Dispeller of Delusion, by Nanamoli, 198791, 2 volumes, PTS, Oxford

Kathavatthu commentary, tr as The Debates Commentary by B. C. Law, 1940, PTS, Oxford

See also

BuddhaghosaDhammapala

Pali Canon

Pali literature

Subcommentaries, Theravada

Notes

^ Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), pp. 24-25 (http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.0:1:538.pali) , entry forAttha defines

ahakath as "exposition of the sense, explanation, commentary...."

1.

^ In fact this commentary did not originally have this title, but it has become traditionally known by it. Hinber (1996/2000), p. 129 sec. 255,

writes:

Neither the author nor even a title is mentioned in Pj [Paramattha-jotika] II .... Thus, originally Pj II was anonymous, and moreover like

Dhp-a [Dhammapada-atthakatha] and Ja [Jataka-atthavannana] was without an individual title: Pj might have been chosen at a later

date because large parts overlapped with Pj I. [That is, because much of the Khuddakapatha is taken from the Sutta Nipata]. This

connected this commentary to Pj I....

On the whole, however, Pj I and Pj II are so different that it is difficult to imagine a common author.

2.

^ For instance, regarding the Khuddha Nikaya commentaries, Hinber (1996/2000), pp. 1301, sect. 259, 260, writes:

Neither Pj [Paramattha-jotika] I nor Pj II can be dated, not even in relation to each other, except that both presuppose Buddhaghosa. In

spite of the 'Buddhaghosa colophon' added to both commentaries ... no immediate relation to Buddhaghosa can be recognized.... Both

Ja [Jataka-atthavannana] and Dhp-a [Dhammapada-atthakatha] are traditionally ascribed to Buddhaghosa, an assumption which has

been rightly questioned by modern research....

3.

^ Available on-line from "Access to Insight" (1994) at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/nanamoli/wheel377.html.4.

Sources

Crosby, Kate (2006). InJournal of the Pali Text Society, volume XXVIII.

Hinber, Oskar von (1996).Handbook of Pali Literature. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 3-11-014992-3.


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Malalasekera, G.P. (1938).Dictionary of Pali Proper Names, volume II. London: John Murray for the Government of India.

ISBN 0-8288-1721-9.

Mori, Sodo, Y Karunadasa & Toshiichi Endo (1994). Pali Atthakatha Correspondence Table. Oxford: Pali Text Society.

Norman, K.R. (1983).Pali Literature, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz.Pruitt, William & K.R. Norman (2001). The Patimokkha, Oxford, Pali Text Society

Rhys Davids, T.W. & William Stede (eds.) (1921-5). The Pali Text Societys PaliEnglish Dictionary. Chipstead: Pali Text

Society. A general on-line search engine for the PED is available a t http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/pali/. Accessed

2007-05-09.

Skilling, Peter (2002). InJournal of the Pali Text Society, volume XXVII.

Thein Han, U (1981). In The Light of the Dhamma. Online at [2] (http://web.ukonline.co.uk/buddhism/archive.htm) .

External links

Bullitt, John T. (2002).Beyond the Tipitaka: A Field Guide to Post-canonical Pali Literature. Retrieved on 2007-05-09 from"Access to Insight" at: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bullitt/fieldguide.html.

The Path of Purification, Translated from the Pali by Bhikkhu Nanamoli (http://www.abhidhamma.org/visuddhimagga-1.htm) -

first 90 pages.

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