Which is the oldest commentary?
Chronology of the Commentaries
Chronology of the Commentaries
Felt i should start new topic for this
Which is the oldest commentary?
Which is the oldest commentary?
“Knowing that this body is just like foam,
understanding it has the nature of a mirage,
cutting off Māra’s flower-tipped arrows,
one should go beyond the King of Death’s sight.”
understanding it has the nature of a mirage,
cutting off Māra’s flower-tipped arrows,
one should go beyond the King of Death’s sight.”
-
Dhammanando
- Posts: 6512
- Joined: Tue Dec 30, 2008 10:44 pm
- Location: Mae Wang Huai Rin, Li District, Lamphun
Re: More Commentaries
Hi Craig,
• The definitions of terms in the Vinaya Piṭaka.
• The various suttas in which disciples like Sāriputta and Mahākaccāyana expound at length what the Buddha had expounded in brief.
• The Niddesa of the Khuddaka Nikāya (a commentary to two sections of the Suttanipāta). And perhaps also the Paṭisambhidāmagga.
On the other hand, taking "commentary" in the narrow sense of atthakathā, the oldest extant ones are those of Buddhaghosa, closely followed by those of Dhammapāla. The oldest we know of, but which are no longer extant are the Sinhalese texts from which Buddhaghosa was working — the Mahā-atthakathā, the Mahāpaccarī, and the Kuruṇḍī.
Best wishes,
Dhammanando Bhikkhu
The earliest commentary-like works would be the commentarial content in the Tipiṭaka itself. For example:clw_uk wrote:Which is the oldest commentary?
• The definitions of terms in the Vinaya Piṭaka.
• The various suttas in which disciples like Sāriputta and Mahākaccāyana expound at length what the Buddha had expounded in brief.
• The Niddesa of the Khuddaka Nikāya (a commentary to two sections of the Suttanipāta). And perhaps also the Paṭisambhidāmagga.
On the other hand, taking "commentary" in the narrow sense of atthakathā, the oldest extant ones are those of Buddhaghosa, closely followed by those of Dhammapāla. The oldest we know of, but which are no longer extant are the Sinhalese texts from which Buddhaghosa was working — the Mahā-atthakathā, the Mahāpaccarī, and the Kuruṇḍī.
Best wishes,
Dhammanando Bhikkhu
Yena yena hi maññanti,
tato taṃ hoti aññathā.
In whatever way they conceive it,
It turns out otherwise.
(Sn. 588)
tato taṃ hoti aññathā.
In whatever way they conceive it,
It turns out otherwise.
(Sn. 588)
Re: More Commentaries
Thank you Bhante
“Knowing that this body is just like foam,
understanding it has the nature of a mirage,
cutting off Māra’s flower-tipped arrows,
one should go beyond the King of Death’s sight.”
understanding it has the nature of a mirage,
cutting off Māra’s flower-tipped arrows,
one should go beyond the King of Death’s sight.”