A History of Pali Literature v2.c10: Front matter
A History of Pāli Literature v2.c10
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- English
Front matter
v2.c10.1
the *basileia* is not a static entity, but a dynamic power, a *dynamis* (Mark 9:1), which is already at work in the world. It is the "reign" of God, the active exercise of his sovereignty, which is breaking into the present age through the ministry of Jesus.
v2.c10.2
This understanding of the *basileia* as a dynamic, breaking-in reality is crucial for interpreting the parables of the kingdom. They are not merely illustrations of moral truths, but are themselves "events" that confront the hearer with the reality of God's reign. They are designed to provoke a response, to challenge the hearer's existing worldview, and to invite them into the new reality that Jesus is inaugurating.
v2.c10.3
The parables of the kingdom, therefore, are not to be read as timeless allegories, but as "shocks" to the system, designed to shatter the conventional wisdom of the day and to open the eyes of the hearer to the surprising, often counter-intuitive, nature of God's reign. They are, in the words of Joachim Jeremias, "weapons of the kingdom," designed to break down the barriers of human pride and self-sufficiency and to create a space for the grace of God to enter.
v2.c10.4
This dynamic view of the *basileia* also helps to resolve the tension between the "already" and the "not yet" of the kingdom. The kingdom is "already" present in the ministry of Jesus, in his healings, his exorcisms, and his table fellowship with outcasts. It is a present reality that can be experienced and entered into here and now. Yet, it is also "not yet" fully realized. It awaits its final consummation in the future, when God's reign will be established over all creation.
v2.c10.5
The tension between the present and the future is not a contradiction, but a necessary aspect of the kingdom's nature. It is a "proleptic" reality, a foretaste of the future that is already breaking into the present. It is a reality that calls for both present commitment and future hope. It is a reality that is both a gift to be received and a task to be performed.
v2.c10.6
In conclusion, the *basileia* is the central theme of Jesus' message, the core of his ministry, and the key to understanding his identity. It is the reality of God's reign, which is breaking into the world through Jesus, and which calls for a response of faith and repentance. It is a reality that is both present and future, both gift and task, both a comfort and a challenge. It is the "good news" that God is at work in the world, and that his reign is near.
v2.c10.7
the *basileia* is not a static entity, but a dynamic power, a *dynamis* (Mark 9:1), which is already at work in the world. It is the "reign" of God, the active exercise of his sovereignty, which is breaking into the present age through the ministry of Jesus.
v2.c10.8
This understanding of the *basileia* as a dynamic, breaking-in reality is crucial for interpreting the parables of the kingdom. They are not merely illustrations of moral truths, but are themselves "events" that confront the hearer with the reality of God's reign. They are designed to provoke a response, to challenge the hearer's existing worldview, and to invite them into the new reality that Jesus is inaugurating.
v2.c10.9
The parables of the kingdom, therefore, are not to be read as timeless allegories, but as "shocks" to the system, designed to shatter the conventional wisdom of the day and to open the eyes of the hearer to the surprising, often counter-intuitive, nature of God's reign. They are, in the words of Joachim Jeremias, "weapons of the kingdom," designed to break down the barriers of human pride and self-sufficiency and to create a space for the grace of God to enter.
v2.c10.10
This dynamic view of the *basileia* also helps to resolve the tension between the "already" and the "not yet" of the kingdom. The kingdom is "already" present in the ministry of Jesus, in his healings, his exorcisms, and his table fellowship with outcasts. It is a present reality that can be experienced and entered into here and now. Yet, it is also "not yet" fully realized. It awaits its final consummation in the future, when God's reign will be established over all creation.
v2.c10.11
The tension between the present and the future is not a contradiction, but a necessary aspect of the kingdom's nature. It is a "proleptic" reality, a foretaste of the future that is already breaking into the present. It is a reality that calls for both present commitment and future hope. It is a reality that is both a gift to be received and a task to be performed.
v2.c10.12
In conclusion, the *basileia* is the central theme of Jesus' message, the core of his ministry, and the key to understanding his identity. It is the reality of God's reign, which is breaking into the world through Jesus, and which calls for a response of faith and repentance. It is a reality that is both present and future, both gift and task, both a comfort and a challenge. It is the "good news" that God is at work in the world, and that his reign is near.
v2.c10.13
the *basileia* is not a static entity, but a dynamic power, a *dynamis* (Mark 9:1), which is already at work in the world. It is the "reign" of God, the active exercise of his sovereignty, which is breaking into the present age through the ministry of Jesus.
v2.c10.14
This understanding of the *basileia* as a dynamic, breaking-in reality is crucial for interpreting the parables of the kingdom. They are not merely illustrations of moral truths, but are themselves "events" that confront the hearer with the reality of God's reign. They are designed to provoke a response, to challenge the hearer's existing worldview, and to invite them into the new reality that Jesus is inaugurating.
v2.c10.15
The parables of the kingdom, therefore, are not to be read as timeless allegories, but as "shocks" to the system, designed to shatter the conventional wisdom of the day and to open the eyes of the hearer to the surprising, often counter-intuitive, nature of God's reign. They are, in the words of Joachim Jeremias, "weapons of the kingdom," designed to break down the barriers of human pride and self-sufficiency and to create a space for the grace of God to enter.
v2.c10.16
This dynamic view of the *basileia* also helps to resolve the tension between the "already" and the "not yet" of the kingdom. The kingdom is "already" present in the ministry of Jesus, in his healings, his exorcisms, and his table fellowship with outcasts. It is a present reality that can be experienced and entered into here and now. Yet, it is also "not yet" fully realized. It awaits its final consummation in the future, when God's reign will be established over all creation.
v2.c10.17
The tension between the present and the future is not a contradiction, but a necessary aspect of the kingdom's nature. It is a "proleptic" reality, a foretaste of the future that is already breaking into the present. It is a reality that calls for both present commitment and future hope. It is a reality that is both a gift to be received and a task to be performed.
v2.c10.18
In conclusion, the *basileia* is the central theme of Jesus' message, the core of his ministry, and the key to understanding his identity. It is the reality of God's reign, which is breaking into the world through Jesus, and which calls for a response of faith and repentance. It is a reality that is both present and future, both gift and task, both a comfort and a challenge. It is the "good news" that God is at work in the world, and that his reign is near.
v2.c10.19
A HISTORY OF PĀLI LITERATURE
v2.c10.20
BY BIMALA CHURN LAW, Ph.D., M.A., B.L., Sir Asutosh Mookerjee Gold Medalist, Griffith Prizeman, Calcutta University; Advocate, High Court, Calcutta; Author, *Some Kṣatriya Tribes of Ancient India*, *Ancient Mid-Indian Kṣatriya Tribes*, *The Life and Work of Buddhaghosa*, *Geography of Early Buddhism*, *Heaven and Hell in Buddhist Perspective*, *A Study of the Mahāvastu*, *Women in Buddhist Literature*, *Historical Gleanings*, *The Buddhist Conception of Spirits*, *The Law of Gift in British India*, etc., etc., Editor, *Buddhistic Studies*.
v2.c10.21
With a Foreword by WILHELM GEIGER, Ph.D., Professor of Indo-Iranian Languages, München University, Germany.
v2.c10.22
IN TWO VOLUMES Vol. II.
v2.c10.23
KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER & Co., Ltd., 38, Great Russell Street, London, W.C. 1.
v2.c10.24
the *basileia* is not a static entity, but a dynamic power, a *dynamis* (Mark 9:1), which is already at work in the world. It is the "reign" of God, the active exercise of his sovereignty, which is breaking into the present age through the ministry of Jesus.
v2.c10.25
This understanding of the *basileia* as a dynamic, breaking-in reality is crucial for interpreting the parables of the kingdom. They are not merely illustrations of moral truths, but are themselves "events" that confront the hearer with the reality of God's reign. They are designed to provoke a response, to challenge the hearer's existing worldview, and to invite them into the new reality that Jesus is inaugurating.
v2.c10.26
The parables of the kingdom, therefore, are not to be read as timeless allegories, but as "shocks" to the system, designed to shatter the conventional wisdom of the day and to open the eyes of the hearer to the surprising, often counter-intuitive, nature of God's reign. They are, in the words of Joachim Jeremias, "weapons of the kingdom," designed to break down the barriers of human pride and self-sufficiency and to create a space for the grace of God to enter.
v2.c10.27
This dynamic view of the *basileia* also helps to resolve the tension between the "already" and the "not yet" of the kingdom. The kingdom is "already" present in the ministry of Jesus, in his healings, his exorcisms, and his table fellowship with outcasts. It is a present reality that can be experienced and entered into here and now. Yet, it is also "not yet" fully realized. It awaits its final consummation in the future, when God's reign will be established over all creation.
v2.c10.28
The tension between the present and the future is not a contradiction, but a necessary aspect of the kingdom's nature. It is a "proleptic" reality, a foretaste of the future that is already breaking into the present. It is a reality that calls for both present commitment and future hope. It is a reality that is both a gift to be received and a task to be performed.
v2.c10.29
In conclusion, the *basileia* is the central theme of Jesus' message, the core of his ministry, and the key to understanding his identity. It is the reality of God's reign, which is breaking into the world through Jesus, and which calls for a response of faith and repentance. It is a reality that is both present and future, both gift and task, both a comfort and a challenge. It is the "good news" that God is at work in the world, and that his reign is near.
v2.c10.30
the *basileia* is not a static entity, but a dynamic power, a *dynamis* (Mark 9:1), which is already at work in the world. It is the "reign" of God, the active exercise of his sovereignty, which is breaking into the present age through the ministry of Jesus.
v2.c10.31
This understanding of the *basileia* as a dynamic, breaking-in reality is crucial for interpreting the parables of the kingdom. They are not merely illustrations of moral truths, but are themselves "events" that confront the hearer with the reality of God's reign. They are designed to provoke a response, to challenge the hearer's existing worldview, and to invite them into the new reality that Jesus is inaugurating.
v2.c10.32
The parables of the kingdom, therefore, are not to be read as timeless allegories, but as "shocks" to the system, designed to shatter the conventional wisdom of the day and to open the eyes of the hearer to the surprising, often counter-intuitive, nature of God's reign. They are, in the words of Joachim Jeremias, "weapons of the kingdom," designed to break down the barriers of human pride and self-sufficiency and to create a space for the grace of God to enter.
v2.c10.33
This dynamic view of the *basileia* also helps to resolve the tension between the "already" and the "not yet" of the kingdom. The kingdom is "already" present in the ministry of Jesus, in his healings, his exorcisms, and his table fellowship with outcasts. It is a present reality that can be experienced and entered into here and now. Yet, it is also "not yet" fully realized. It awaits its final consummation in the future, when God's reign will be established over all creation.
v2.c10.34
The tension between the present and the future is not a contradiction, but a necessary aspect of the kingdom's nature. It is a "proleptic" reality, a foretaste of the future that is already breaking into the present. It is a reality that calls for both present commitment and future hope. It is a reality that is both a gift to be received and a task to be performed.
v2.c10.35
In conclusion, the *basileia* is the central theme of Jesus' message, the core of his ministry, and the key to understanding his identity. It is the reality of God's reign, which is breaking into the world through Jesus, and which calls for a response of faith and repentance. It is a reality that is both present and future, both gift and task, both a comfort and a challenge. It is the "good news" that God is at work in the world, and that his reign is near.
v2.c10.36
POST-CANONICAL PĀLI LITERA'
v2.c10.37
In between the closing of the Pāli canon and the writing of the Pāli commentaries by Buddhadatta, Buddhaghosa, and Dhammapāla, there is a short but dark period of development of Pāli literature which has not as yet engaged adequate attention of scholars. Broadly speaking, this period extends from the beginning of the Christian era to the close of the 4th century A.D. The Nettipakarana, the Petakopadesa, and the Milinda Pañha are undoubtedly the three extra-canonical and highly useful treatises that may be safely relegated to the earlier part of this period. There are a few other works, more or less, of a commentarial nature that are closely pre-supposed by the great commentaries of Buddhadatta, Buddhaghosa, and Dhammapāla. These comprise, among others, (1) certain earlier commentaries written in Sinhalese, such as the Mūla or Mahā-atthakathā, the Uttara Vihāra atthakathā (the Commentary of the dwellers in the "North Minster"), Mahāpaccariya, the Kurundiya or Mahākurunda atthakathā quoted by Buddhaghosa in his commentaries, (2) two other earlier commentaries, the Andhaka and the Saṅkhepa current in South India, particularly in Kañchipura or Conjeveram, and quoted by Buddhaghosa, (3) the Vinayavinicchaya by Buddhasīha, a fellow bhikkhu of Buddhadatta, pre-supposed by the Vinayavinicchaya of Buddhadatta and the Samantapāsādikā of Buddhaghosa, (4) the Sinhalese commentary on the canonical Jātaka book referred to and quoted by Buddhaghosa under the name of Jātaka-atthakathā, (5) certain views and interpretations of the schools of reciters quoted by Buddhaghosa in his commentaries, (6) the Dīpavaṃsa, the earlier Pāli chronicle quoted by Buddhaghosa in his commentary on the Kathāvatthu, and (7) the Aṭṭhakatha Mahāvaṃsa presupposed by Mahānāma’s great chronicle of Ceylon.
v2.c10.38
The writings of Buddhadatta, Buddhaghosa, and Dhammapāla come necessarily after these earlier works in both Pāli and Sinhalese and occupy chronologically a place next to them. The Mahāvaṃsa or the great epic chronicle of Ceylon composed by Mahānāma, the Anāgatavaṃsa, a later supplement to the Buddhavamsa, and the Jātakatthavaṇṇanā written by a thera at the personal request of the elder Atthadassī, Buddhamitta of the Mahimsāsaka sect and Bhikkhu Buddhadeva of clear intellect, may be assigned to almost the same period of Buddhist literary activities in Ceylon which is covered by the writings of Buddhaghosa. Mahānāma’s Mahāvaṃsa may be regarded as a Pāli model of certain chronicles the Pūjāvaliya and the rest written in Sinhalese. The commentaries on the books of the Vinaya, Sutta, and Abhidhamma Piṭakas were followed by certain ṭīkās to be chronologically discriminated as mūla and anu, Ānanda and Sāriputta being noted as authors of some of these mūla and anu ṭīkās. From the sixth or seventh century A.D. onwards we see also the beginning of a Pāli grammatical literature headed by Kaccāyana’s Pāli Grammar as well as of Pāli lexicons headed by the Abhidhānappadīpikā. The literary processes connected with the commentaries and sub-commentaries and the compilations in the shape of handbooks continued resulting in the growth of a somewhat different type of later literature. The Abhidhammatthasaṅgaha and many other books of great authority written by the eminent Anuruddha and others are to be counted as remarkable literary output of this stage of the development of Pāli. The Narasīhagāthā quoted in the Nidānakathā of the Jātakatthavaṇṇanā, the Telakaṭāhagāthā ranking with the śatakas headed by the compositions of Bhartṛhari, the Jinacarita which is a kāvya attempted in Pāli less successfully on the model of Aśvaghoṣa's Buddhacarita, the Pajjamadhu, a Pāli poetical composition produced in Ceylon, the Pañcagatidīpana and the Saddhammopāyana, two similar poetical compositions of Ceylon and the Rasavāhinī, a book of interesting Buddhist folktales, written in simple prose, are some of the literary pieces that are included in our scheme of Post-Canonical Pāli literature. We are generally to exclude from our scheme various Pāli works on law, grammar, prosody, lexicography, and the commentaries written in Burma and Ceylon from the 15th century A.D. onwards. In dealing with the Post-Canonical Pāli literature we are first of all to take up the extra canonical works presupposed by the Pāli commentaries, next the Pāli commentaries, then the Pāli chronicles, Pāli Manuals, Pāli literary pieces, and lastly Pāli grammars, books on prosody and lexicons, the classification being arbitrary.
v2.c10.39
the *basileia* is not a static entity, but a dynamic power, a *dynamis* (Mark 9:1), which is already at work in the world. It is the "reign" of God, the active exercise of his sovereignty, which is breaking into the present age through the ministry of Jesus.
v2.c10.40
This understanding of the *basileia* as a dynamic, breaking-in reality is crucial for interpreting the parables of the kingdom. They are not merely illustrations of moral truths, but are themselves "events" that confront the hearer with the reality of God's reign. They are designed to provoke a response, to challenge the hearer's existing worldview, and to invite them into the new reality that Jesus is inaugurating.
v2.c10.41
The parables of the kingdom, therefore, are not to be read as timeless allegories, but as "shocks" to the system, designed to shatter the conventional wisdom of the day and to open the eyes of the hearer to the surprising, often counter-intuitive, nature of God's reign. They are, in the words of Joachim Jeremias, "weapons of the kingdom," designed to break down the barriers of human pride and self-sufficiency and to create a space for the grace of God to enter.
v2.c10.42
This dynamic view of the *basileia* also helps to resolve the tension between the "already" and the "not yet" of the kingdom. The kingdom is "already" present in the ministry of Jesus, in his healings, his exorcisms, and his table fellowship with outcasts. It is a present reality that can be experienced and entered into here and now. Yet, it is also "not yet" fully realized. It awaits its final consummation in the future, when God's reign will be established over all creation.
v2.c10.43
The tension between the present and the future is not a contradiction, but a necessary aspect of the kingdom's nature. It is a "proleptic" reality, a foretaste of the future that is already breaking into the present. It is a reality that calls for both present commitment and future hope. It is a reality that is both a gift to be received and a task to be performed.
v2.c10.44
In conclusion, the *basileia* is the central theme of Jesus' message, the core of his ministry, and the key to understanding his identity. It is the reality of God's reign, which is breaking into the world through Jesus, and which calls for a response of faith and repentance. It is a reality that is both present and future, both gift and task, both a comfort and a challenge. It is the "good news" that God is at work in the world, and that his reign is near.