Anguttara Nikaya

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Pali Canon
Vinaya Pitaka
Sutta Pitaka (Nikayas)
Abhidhamma Pitaka
See also: Early Buddhist Texts, Agamas

The Anguttara Nikaya (aṅguttaranikāya; "Numbered Discourses") is the fourth of the five collections (nikaya) in the Sutta Pitaka of the Pali Canon. This collection consists of several thousand discourses ascribed to the Buddha and his chief disciples arranged in eleven books ("nipatas"), according to the number of items referenced in the discourse.

Bhikkhu Sujato states:

The focus of the Numbered Discourses is on practical matters of everyday relevance. Guidelines of ethics and character predominate.[1]

Bhikkhu Bodhi states:

In Anguttara Nikaya, persons are as a rule not reduced to mere collections of aggregates, elements and sense-bases, but are treated as real centers of living experience engaged in a heartfelt quest for happiness and freedom from suffering.[2]

Overview

Bhikkhu Sujato states:

The Aṅguttara Nikāya is the last and longest of the four primary divisions of the Sutta Piṭaka. The word aṅguttara literally means “up by one factor”, i.e. “incremental”. It refers to the fact that the discourses are arranged by numbered sets, with the numbers increasing by one. I have translated it as Numbered Discourses, while previously it has been translated as the Numerical Discourses or the Gradual Sayings.
[...]
The focus of the Numbered Discourses is on practical matters of everyday relevance. Guidelines of ethics and character predominate. If the Saṁyutta Nikāya gathers the chief teachings on doctrines, the Aṅguttara gathers the teachings on persons. The concerns of the lay community are a major focus, and many teachings deal with how to teach.
The use of numbered sets is found throughout the Buddhist texts, but here it becomes the main organizing principle. The typical Aṅguttara discourse consists of a statement that there is certain number of something; then an explanation of each item; then a conclusion that echoes the introduction. Sometimes a verse is added that summarizes the content. This formal pattern is highly optimized to reinforce learning and memorization. It is, in essence, exactly the same format that is used in the nightly news: begin by listing the news items for today; give the stories of each of the items; and then summarize the highlights once more. The use of numbered sets remains popular today, with the “listicle” being a favorite format for internet articles.
Unlike these modern examples, however, the sets of teachings in the Aṅguttara are strongly structured. They are not merely collections of items on a theme, but make up an integrated sequence. The first item is the most fundamental; the subsequent items evolve from or build upon that; and the final item caps off the sequence.
For this reason the Aṅguttara provides an excellent entry point to the canon, especially for those with a limited amount of time. It only takes a few minutes to read a sutta, and it will contain within itself a complete and useful teaching.[1]

Parallel collections in the Sanskrit tradition

The Anguttara Nikaya corresponds to the Ekottara Agama found in the Sutra Pitikas of various early Buddhists schools of the Sanskrit tradition. A complete version survives in Chinese translation; it is thought to be from either the Mahāsāṃghika or Sarvāstivādin recensions. According to Keown, "there is considerable disparity between the Pāli and the Sarvāstivādin versions, with more than two-thirds of the sūtras found in one but not the other compilation, which suggests that much of this portion of the Sūtra Piṭaka was not formed until a fairly late date."[3]

Bhikkhu Sujato states:

The Aṅguttara Nikāya has a counterpart in the Ekottarikāgama preserved in the Chinese canon (EA). The Ekottarikāgama is a peculiar text of uncertain (possibly Mahāsāṃghika) affiliation, and it differs from the Pali text to a much greater extent than the parallels for DN, MN, and SN. In addition, there are two partial Ekottarikas in Chinese, as well as a number of independent Ekottarika-style suttas. Moreover, a substantial portion of a Sanskrit Ekottarāgama was discovered at Gilgit and has been edited and partially reconstructed by Tripāṭhi. While it is difficult to generalize, it seems as if most of these materials lie closer to the Pali text than does the main EA in Chinese.[1]

Divisions

The nipatas in this nikaya are:

  • Ekakanipāto (The Book of Ones)
  • Dukanipāto (The Book of Twos)
  • Tikanipāto (The Book of Threes)
  • Catukkanipāto (The Book of Fours)
  • Pañcakanipāto (The Book of Fives)
  • Chakkanipāto (The Book of Sixes)
  • Sattakanipāto (The Book of Sevens)
  • Aṭṭhakanipāto (The Book of Eights)
  • Navakanipāto (The Book of Nines)
  • Dasakanipāto (The Book of Tens)
  • Ekādasako nipāto (The Book of Elevens)

For more details see:

Translations

Full translation

Selections

  • 1st 3 nipatas tr E. R. J. Gooneratne, Ceylon, c1913
  • 4th nipata tr A. D. Jayasundare, London, 1925
  • anthology ed & tr Nyanaponika, Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, Sri Lanka; revised, with additions & deletions, by Bodhi, as Numerical Discourses of the Buddha, Altamira Press, Oxford/New York/Lanham, Maryland/Walnut Creek, California, 1999

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The Numbered Discourses: things that are useful every day, SuttaCentral
  2. ↑ from Intro to Samyutta Nikaya
  3. ↑ A Dictionary of Buddhism, by Damien Keown, Oxford University Press: 2004

External links

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