Sutta Nipata

The Sutta Nipata^[1] (literally, "Suttas falling down") is a Buddhist scripture, a sutta collection in the Khuddaka Nikaya, part of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism. All its suttas, thought to originate from before the Buddha's parinibbana, consist largely of verse, though some also contain some prose. It is divided into five sections:

• Uraga Vagga
• Cula Vagga
• Maha Vagga
• Atthaka Vagga
• Parayana Vagga

Some scholars^[2] believe that it describes the oldest of all Buddhist practices. Others such as Bhikkhu Bodhi^[3] and KR Norman^[4] 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.^[5]

Translations

• 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, tr Lord Chalmers, Harvard Oriental Series, 1932
• Woven cadences of early Buddhists, transl. by E. M. Hare. Sacred Books of the Buddhists vol.15, repr. - London: Oxford University Press, 1947 Internet Archive (PDF 11.4 MB)
• The Group of Discourses, tr K. R. Norman, 1984, Pali Text Society, 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

See also

• Sutta Nipata suttas (complete list)
• Atthakavagga and Parayanavagga
• Rhinoceros Sutta

Notes

1. When referencing suttas from the Sutta Nipata the case-sensitive abbreviation "Sn" is used. This is distinguished from the abbreviation "SN" which traditionally refers to the Pali canon's Samyutta Nikaya.
2. Nakamura, Indian Buddhism, Japan, 1980; reprinted by Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1987, 1989, pp. 45-6.
3. Bodhi, Sutta-Nipāta - The oldest discourses in the Pali Canon (lectures), http://bodhimonastery.org/sutta-nipata.html
4. Norman, KR. The Rhinoceros Horn and Other Early Buddhist Poems (Sutta-Nipata), 1985.
5. Hoernle, A. F. Rudolf, The Sutta Nipata in a Sanskrit Version from Eastern Turkestan, The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland (Oct., 1916), pp. 709-732 Published by: Cambridge University Press

External links

• Sutta Nipata (Access to Insight)
• Sutta Nipata Lectures taught by Bhikkhu Bodhi