Before the Dhammapada begins, the volume places it: it is the second of fifteen works in the Khuddakanikâya — "1. Khuddakapâtha; 2. DHAMMAPADA; 3. Udâna; 4. Itivuttaka; 5. Suttanipâta ..." — itself the fifth of the five Nikâyas. The two texts in this volume, the Dhammapada and the Sutta-Nipâta, are numbers 2 and 5 of that same list, which is why they travel together here.
The Dhammapada and The Sutta-Nipâta — SBE Vol. 10 (trans. F. Max Müller and V. Fausbøll, Clarendon Press, 1881)
The translator’s English as printed (F. Max Müller & V. Fausbøll). The original-language text is not held; names are romanised as the translator printed them.
The fifth, or Khuddakanikaya, comprehends the following works: 1. Khuddakapatha; 2. DHAMMAPADA; 3. Udana; 4. Itivuttaka; 5. Suttanipdta; 6. Vimanavatthu; 7. Petavatthu; 8. Theragatha ; g. Therigatha; 10. Gataka ; 11. Niddesa; 12. Pa¢isambhida; 13. Apadana; 14. Buddhavamsa ; 15. Kariy4-pitaka.
According to another division 2, however, the whole Buddhist canon consists of five Nikayas: the Digha-nikaya, the Magghima-nikaya, the Samyutta-nikaya, the Anguttaranikaya, and the fifth, the Khuddaka-nikaya, which Khuddaka-nikaya is then made to comprehend the whole of the Vinaya (discipline) and Abhidhamma (metaphysics), together with the fifteen books beginning with the Khuddaka-pAzha.
The order of these fifteen books varies, and even, as it would seem, their number. The Dighabh4waka school
1 See Feer, Journal Asiatique, 1871, p. 263. There is now at least one com- f= plete MS. of the Tipitaka, the Phayre MS., at the India Office, and Professor Forchhammer has just published a most useful List of Pali MSS., collected in Burma, the largest collection hitherto known.
? See Childers, s, v. Nikdya, and extracts from Buddhaghosa’s. commentary on the Brahmagala-sutta.
x DHAMMAPADA.
admits twelve books only, and assigns them all to the Abhidhamma, while the Magg/imabh4zakas admit fifteen books, and assign them to the Sutta-pifaka. The order of the fifteen books is: 1. Gataka [10]; 2. Mahdniddesa [11]; 3. Kullaniddesa [11]; 4. Pazisambhidamagga [12]; 5. Suttanipata [5]; 6. DHAMMAPADA [2]; 7. Udana [3]; 8. Itivuttaka [4]; 9. Vimanavatthu [6]; 10. Petavatthu [7]; 11. Theragath4 [8]; 12. Therigatha [9]; 13. Kariy4pidaka [15]; 14. Apad4na [13]; 15. Buddhavamesa [14]}.
The Khuddaka-patha is left out in the second list, and the number is brought to fifteen by dividing Niddesa into Maha-niddesa and Kulla-niddesa.
There is a commentary on the Dhammapada in Pali, and supposed to be written by Buddhaghosa ?, in the first half of the fifth century A.D. In explaining the verses of the Dhammapada, the commentator gives for every or nearly every verse a parable to illustrate its meaning, which is likewise believed to have been uttered by Buddha in his intercourse with his disciples, or in preaching to the multitudes that came to hear him.
DATE OF THE DHAMMAPADA.
The only means of fixing the date of the Dhammapada is trying to ascertain the date of the Buddhist canon of which it forms a part, or the date of Buddhaghosa, who wrote a commentary on it. This, however, is by no means easy, and the evidence on which we have to rely is such that we must not be surprised if those who are accustomed to test historical and chronological evidence
1 The figures within brackets refer to the other list of books in the Khuddaka-nikaya. See also p. xxviii.
The fifth, or Khuddakanikaya, comprehends the following works: 1. Khuddakapatha; 2. DHAMMAPADA; 3. Udana; 4. Itivuttaka; 5. Suttanipdta; 6. Vimanavatthu; 7. Petavatthu; 8. Theragatha ; g. Therigatha; 10. Gataka ; 11. Niddesa; 12. Pa¢isambhida; 13. Apadana; 14. Buddhavamsa ; 15. Kariy4-pitaka.
According to another division 2, however, the whole Buddhist canon consists of five Nikayas: the Digha-nikaya, the Magghima-nikaya, the Samyutta-nikaya, the Anguttaranikaya, and the fifth, the Khuddaka-nikaya, which Khuddaka-nikaya is then made to comprehend the whole of the Vinaya (discipline) and Abhidhamma (metaphysics), together with the fifteen books beginning with the Khuddaka-pAzha.
The order of these fifteen books varies, and even, as it would seem, their number. The Dighabh4waka school
1 See Feer, Journal Asiatique, 1871, p. 263. There is now at least one com- f= plete MS. of the Tipitaka, the Phayre MS., at the India Office, and Professor Forchhammer has just published a most useful List of Pali MSS., collected in Burma, the largest collection hitherto known.
? See Childers, s, v. Nikdya, and extracts from Buddhaghosa’s. commentary on the Brahmagala-sutta.
x DHAMMAPADA.
admits twelve books only, and assigns them all to the Abhidhamma, while the Magg/imabh4zakas admit fifteen books, and assign them to the Sutta-pifaka. The order of the fifteen books is: 1. Gataka [10]; 2. Mahdniddesa [11]; 3. Kullaniddesa [11]; 4. Pazisambhidamagga [12]; 5. Suttanipata [5]; 6. DHAMMAPADA [2]; 7. Udana [3]; 8. Itivuttaka [4]; 9. Vimanavatthu [6]; 10. Petavatthu [7]; 11. Theragath4 [8]; 12. Therigatha [9]; 13. Kariy4pidaka [15]; 14. Apad4na [13]; 15. Buddhavamesa [14]}.
The Khuddaka-patha is left out in the second list, and the number is brought to fifteen by dividing Niddesa into Maha-niddesa and Kulla-niddesa.
There is a commentary on the Dhammapada in Pali, and supposed to be written by Buddhaghosa ?, in the first half of the fifth century A.D. In explaining the verses of the Dhammapada, the commentator gives for every or nearly every verse a parable to illustrate its meaning, which is likewise believed to have been uttered by Buddha in his intercourse with his disciples, or in preaching to the multitudes that came to hear him.
DATE OF THE DHAMMAPADA.
The only means of fixing the date of the Dhammapada is trying to ascertain the date of the Buddhist canon of which it forms a part, or the date of Buddhaghosa, who wrote a commentary on it. This, however, is by no means easy, and the evidence on which we have to rely is such that we must not be surprised if those who are accustomed to test historical and chronological evidence
1 The figures within brackets refer to the other list of books in the Khuddaka-nikaya. See also p. xxviii.
The volume also notes that the arrangement is contested: "According to another division, however, the whole Buddhist canon consists of five Nikâyas: the Dîgha-nikâya, the Magghima-nikâya, the Samyutta-nikâya..." Two schemes for organising the same canon, both current, and the editor prints both rather than choosing. A reader comparing this against a modern edition may find the numbering different for that reason.