translations necessarily preserve only later develop-
ments of Buddhist thought and tradition. Though gen-
erally conservative, Pali literature probably developed
over several centuries before it was committed to writ-
ing. According to the Theravadins, this redaction hap-
pened during the first century B.C.E. in Sri Lanka, when
various disasters decimated the number of Buddhist
monks and threatened the oral tradition. Like the
Vedic texts, early Buddhist literature was composed
during a period of pure orality in India, before script
was introduced during the reign of As ́oka. This early
oral tradition has left obvious traces in the written lit-
erature, particularly in the numerous formulas typical
of oral composition, which were used to facilitate
memorization.
The writing down of the Theravada canon is related
in Theravada church history as preserved in two
chronicles (VAMSA) composed in Pali: the Dlpavamsa
(Chronicle of the Island, ca. 350 C.E.) and the later Ma-
havamsa(Great Chronicle, late fifth century C.E.). Both
give a legendary history of political and religious events
in Sri Lanka; the latter, which was extended several
times, ends with the British conquest in 1815.
Tipitaka (Threefold Basket)
According to the Theravada tradition, the texts com-
mitted to writing comprised the complete Tipitaka
(Sanskrit, Tripitaka), the Threefold Basket—the desig-
nation for the canon in all Buddhist schools. Although
a similar name is also used by the Jains for their holy
scriptures, the choice of the term basketfor a collec-
tion of texts cannot be explained. The Threefold Bas-
ket is, however, not the oldest division of the canonical
texts. An earlier division into nine limbs(nava an ̇ga)
was abandoned at a very early date, most likely when
the collection of texts grew into a large corpus and had
to be regrouped following different principles.
Vinayapitaka (Basket of Discipline).Each of the
Tipitaka’s three parts are made up of collections of
texts concerning three different aspects of Buddhist
community life and teaching. The first part of the
Tipitaka is the Vinayapitaka(Basket of Discipline),
which is further divided into three parts. At the begin-
ning is the Suttavibhan ̇ga(Explanation of the Sutta), an
old commentary in which the sutta itself is embedded.
Suttahere does not mean, as in later usage, a discourse
of the Buddha, but a set of 227 rules (Patimokkha;
Sanskrit, PRATIMOKSA) regulating the life of each indi-
vidual monk. Some of these rules are among the old-
est Buddhist texts preserved, with parallels in the
Vinaya or monastic codes of other schools. The mean-
ing of the title Patimokkhais unclear. This text must
be recited twice each month by monks in every
monastery. In spite of its age, an early development of
this text can be traced. Brief rules, such as “in drink-
ing alcohol, there is an offense,” eventually developed
into much longer and legally complicated formula-
tions. The original brevity reflects the original mean-
ing of sutta(Sanskrit, sutra), “[set of] brief rule(s).”
The first four rules describe offenses entailing an ex-
pulsion from the order (parajika,concerning a chas-
ing away [of a monk from the community]). The
offenses described in the following rules are increas-
ingly less grave. The seventh and last groups of offenses
contain rules for general civilized behavior, and an ap-
pendix enumerates methods to settle disputes. All the
rules are embedded in frame stories, which describe
the occasion that necessitates the creation of such a
rule. The commentary explains single words of the
rules and develops their legal applications.
The second part of the Vinayapitaka,the Khan-
dhaka(sections), contains rules governing the life of
the community as a whole. The Khandhaka,which is
divided into twelve parts, begins with the enlighten-
ment of the Buddha and the founding of the Buddhist
order (SAN ̇GHA) and ends with the reports on the first
two councils at Rajagrha and Vais ́al, respectively. The
tenth part of the Khandhakais devoted to the founda-
tion of the order of NUNS, to which the Buddha agreed
only after much hesitation.
The third and much later part of the Vinayapitaka
is a handbook, the Parivara(ca. first century C.E.). This
handbook comprises a collection of texts containing
brief summaries of the Vinaya, among them an inter-
esting collection of difficult legal questions called
Sedamocanakagatha(Sweat Producing Verses).Suttapitaka (Basket of the Discourses).The sec-
ond part of the Tipitaka, the Suttapitaka(Basket of the
Discourses) is divided into four older parts, which are
mentioned in the Vinayapitaka’s report of the first
council, and a fifth later addition. The name Sutta-
pitaka,however, does not occur in the report on the
council describing the formation of the canon. Single
texts were called veyyakarana(explanation) or dhamma-
pariyaya(discourse on the teaching) before the name
sutta(nta) was introduced at an uncertain date.
The first part of the Suttapitakais made up of twenty-
four texts called the Dlghanikaya(Group of Long Dis-
courses). The Dlghanikayacontains, among other things,
discussions with the six heretics, and one of the most
famous Buddhist texts, the Mahaparinibbana-suttaPALI, BUDDHISTLITERATURE IN