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A History of Pali Literature v2.c12: Chapter V

A History of Pāli Literature v2.c12

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English

Contents

Chapter V

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Before proceeding to deal with the Pāli commentaries it would be interesting to record here biographical sketches of three of the most celebrated Buddhist scholiasts.

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Buddhadatta, a contemporary of Buddhaghosa, was a celebrity of the Mahāvihāra of Ceylon and was an inhabitant of the Kāverī region in the kingdom of the Choḷas. He was born in Uragapura (modern Uraiyūr)¹ and flourished during the reign of King Accutavikkanta of the Kalamba (Kadamba) dynasty. His works which were all written in the famous monastery erected by Kaṇhadāsa (Kiṣṇadāsa) or Veṇhudāsa (Viṣṇudāsa), evidently a new Vaiṣṇava reformer of the Deccan,² on the banks of the river Kāverī are so far as known to comprise the following:

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¹ Barua, Religion of Asoka; Bhandarkar, Asoka, 2nd Ed., p. 42.

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² Skandapurāṇa, Brahmakhaṇḍa.

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(1) Uttaravinicchaya
(2) Vinayavinicchaya
(3) Abhidhammāvatāra
(4) Rūpārūpavibhāga
(5) Madhuratthavilāsinī, a commentary on the Buddhavamsa. } Known as Buddhadatta’s Manuals.

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He was a patriotic poet of considerable reputation. It is stated in the Vinayavinicchaya that when Buddhadatta was going to India from Ceylon, he was met by Buddhaghosa who was then proceeding to Ceylon at the request of the Buddhist monks of India with the object of translating the Sinhalese commentaries into Pāli. Hearing of the mission of Buddhaghosa of whose deep learning he was fully convinced and delighted thereat Buddhadatta spoke thus, “ When you finish the commentaries, please send them up to me so that I may summarise your labours ”. Buddhaghosa said that he would gladly comply with this request and the Pāli commentaries were accordingly placed in the hands of Buddhadatta who summed up the commentaries on the Abhidhamma in the Abhidhammāvatāra and those on the Vinaya in the Vinayavinicchaya (vide Buddhadatta’s Manuals or Summaries of Abhidhamma, edited by A. P. Buddhadatta, for the P.T.S. in 1915, p. xix). Buddhadatta was no doubt a great scholar. From the Vinayavinicchaya commentary we know that he was highly esteemed by the eminent commentators, Sāriputta Saṅgharāja, Buddhaghosa, and other great scholars of the period for his scholarly attainments (cf. Mādisāpi kavī honti Buddhadatte divaṅgate).

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Buddhadatta opens his scheme with a fourfold division of the compendium, e.g., mind, mental properties, material quality, and Nibbāna; while Buddhaghosa expounds his psychology in terms of the five Khandhas. In this respect Buddhadatta’s representation is perhaps better than that of Buddhaghosa.¹

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¹ Mrs. Rhys Davids, Buddhist Psychology, Second Ed., p. 174.

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There is no reason to disbelieve the statement that the two teachers met each other. It is clear that they drew materials from the same source. This fact well explains why the Visuddhimagga and the Abhidhammāvatāra have so many points in common. Buddhadatta has rendered invaluable service to the study of the Abhidhamma tradition which has survived in Theravada Buddhism to the present day. The legendary account is that Buddhadatta put in a condensed shape that which Buddhaghosa handed on in Pāli from the Sinhalese commentaries. “ But the psychology and philosophy are presented through the prism of a second vigorous intellect, under fresh aspects, in a style often less discursive and more graphic than that of the great commentator, and with a strikingly rich vocabulary.”

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As we have already pointed out that when on sea Buddhadatta met Buddhaghosa and learnt that the latter was going to Ceylon to render the Sinhalese commentaries into Pāli. He requested Buddhaghosa to send him the commentaries when finished so that he might summarise his labours. Buddhaghosa complied with his request. Buddhadatta then summed up the commentaries on the Abhidhamma in the Abhidhammāvatāra and then on the Vinaya in the Vinayavinicchaya. Mrs. Rhys Davids says, “It is probably right to conclude that they both were but handing on an analytical formula which had evolved between their own time and that of the final closing of the Abhidhamma Piṭaka (Buddhist Psychology, Second Ed., p. 179).

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Like Buddhaghosa, Buddhadatta employed the simile of the purblind and the lame to explain the relation between Nāma and Rūpa (Abhidhammāvatāra, P.T.S., p. 115). Buddhadatta’s division of the term into Samūha and Asamūha is another interesting point (ibid., p. 83). It will be remembered that such a division of terms as this was far in advance of the older classification embodied in the Puggalapaññatti commentary (P.T.S., p. 173).

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Supposing that Kumāragupta I of the Imperial Gupta dynasty was a contemporary King of Ceylon and that Buddhaghosa was a contemporary of Thera Buddhadatta it follows that King Accutavikkanta of the Kalamba dynasty was a contemporary of Kumāragupta I.

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According to Rev. A. P. Buddhadatta, Buddhadatta was either older than Buddhaghosa or of the same age with him. “Ayampana Buddhadattācariyo Buddhaghosācariyena samāna vassiko vā thokam vuddhataro vā ti sallakkhema” (Viññāpanam, pp. xiii-xiv, Buddhadatta’s Manuals, 1915). This statement is however doubtful. In the Buddhaghosuppatti (p. 50) we find Buddhadatta addressing Buddhaghosa by the epithet ‘Āvusa’ which is applied to one who is younger in age. The passage runs thus “ Āvuso Buddhaghosa, ahaṃ tayā pubbe Laṅkādīpe Bhagavato sāsanaṃ kātum āgatomhī ti vatvā, ahaṃ appāyuko . . . . .”. This shows that according to the tradition recorded in the Buddhaghosuppatti, Buddhaghosa was younger than Buddhadatta.

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The different accounts of the comparative age of Buddhadatta and Buddhaghosa are hardly reconcilable. The account given in the introduction of the Abhidhammāvatāra clearly shows that Buddhadatta lived to write abridgments of some of Buddhaghosa’s works. This goes against the legend contained in the Buddhaghosuppatti that Buddhadatta left Ceylon earlier than Buddhaghosa without translating the Sinhalese Aṭṭhakathā apprehending that he was not to live long.

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In the history of Pāli literature, the name of Buddhaghosa stands out pre-eminent as one of the greatest commentators and exegetists. He is one of those Indian celebrities who have left for us no other records of their career than their teachings and works to be appraised for what they are worth. So far as his life history is concerned we have nothing except his commentaries and a few legends and traditions, and it is not an easy matter to separate the few grains of biographical detail from the mass of extraneous matter gathered in them. Besides the meagre references that Buddhaghosa himself has made to the details of his life in his great commentaries, the earliest connected account of his life is that contained in the second part of Chapter XXXVII of the great Ceylonese chronicle, the Mahāvaṃsa. This section, however, is considered to be later than the remaining portions of the Chronicle, having been added by Dhammakitti, a Ceylonese Śramaṇa of the middle of the 13th century A.D. This compilation though made after the lapse of more than eight hundred years is not altogether unworthy of credence, and is very probably derived from older materials.

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Buddhaghosa, according to this account, was a brahmin youth born in the neighbourhood of the terrace of the great Bo-tree in Magadha. After he had accomplished himself in the “Vijjā” and the “Sippa” and achieved the knowledge of the three “Vedas”, he established himself in the character of a disputant, in a certain Vihāra. There he was once met by a Buddhist thera who convinced the brahmin youth of the superiority of the Buddha’s doctrine and converted him to the Buddhist faith. As he was as profound in his ‘ghosa’ or eloquence as the Buddha, they conferred on him the appellation of Buddhaghosa or the voice of the Buddha. He had already composed an original work called ‘Ñānodayam’ and written the chapter called “Atthasālinī” on the Dhammasaṅgaṇi. He went to Ceylon to study the Sinhalese Aṭṭhakathā in order to undertake the compilation of a “Paritta-aṭṭhakathā” or a general commentary on the Piṭakattaya. He visited the island in the reign of King Mahānāma, and there at the Mahāpadhāna Hall in the Mahāvihāra at Anurādhapura, he listened to the Aṭṭhakathā and the Theravāda, became thoroughly convinced of the true meaning of the doctrine of the Lord of Dhamma, and then sought the permission of the priesthood to translate the Aṭṭhakathā. In order to convince them of his qualifications he composed the commentary called “Visuddhimaggam” out of only two gāthās which the priests had given him as a test. Most successfully he came out of the test to the rejoicings of the priesthood; and taking up his residence in the secluded Ganthākāra Vihāra at Anurādhapura, he translated according to the grammatical rules of the Magadhas, the whole of the Sinhalese Aṭṭhakathā (into Pāli). Thereafter, the object of his mission being fulfilled, he returned to Jambudvīpa to worship the Bo-tree at Uruvelā in Magadha.

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The most important service that Dhammakitti (the author of the supplementary chapter of the Mahāvaṃsa from which the above account is compiled)¹ renders to our knowledge of the great sage is that he fixes definitely the time when Buddhaghosa lived. The King Mahānāma as the Ceylonese chronicle shows, reigned in the first half of the 5th century A.D. ; and as Buddhaghosa visited Ceylon and worked there during this period we can be certain about the age he lived in. This date is also substantiated by internal evidence derived from the commentaries of Buddhaghosa himself. He shows his acquaintance with the Milinda Pañha as also to other post-canonical Buddhist works, such as the Peṭakopadesa and Anāgatavaṃsa besides some ancient Aṭṭhakathās, and other works which are no longer extant.² It is to be observed that in none of these cases there is the least reason for thinking that any of the works quoted from or referred to by Buddhaghosa was of a later date than that allotted to him by Dhammakitti. The Burmese tradition as recorded by Bishop Bigandet also points to the beginning of the 5th century A.D. as the time when the great commentator is said to have visited the shores of Suvaṇṇabhūmi.³

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¹ The account given by Dhammakitti of the life of Buddhaghosa agrees generally with what the great exegetist has said about himself in his own commentaries, specially in the Nidānakathā or story of the origin of the works at their respective beginnings. For details see my “Buddhaghosa”, pp. 15–24.

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² For details, see my “Buddhaghosa”, pp. 9-10.

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³ Buddhaghosa’s Parables by Capt. T. Rogers, p. xvi, f.n. i.

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Dhammakitti’s account of Buddhaghosa’s proficiency in the Vedas and other branches of brahmanical learning is also substantially correct. It is confirmed by internal evidence from the great exegete’s own commentaries ; they reveal that he was acquainted with the four Vedas as also with the details of Vedic sacrifices. But the Vedic texts were not the only brahmanical works known to Buddhaghosa. He reveals his knowledge of “Itihāsa”, of the brahmanical sūtras as also of the different systems of Hindu Philosophy.

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Besides these comparatively authentic accounts of the life of the great commentator, there is a mass of legendary accounts of his life. Such legends are found in the Buddhaghosuppatti, also known as the Mahābuddhaghosassa Nidānavatthu by the priest Mahāmangala who lived in Ceylon evidently after the time when the Mahāvaṃsa account was written. Other late works of the Southern school such as the Gandhavaṃsa, the Sāsanavaṃsa, and the Saddhammasangaha furnish some additional details. But the accounts of all these works are of the nature of legends in which fact and fiction are often hopelessly blended together. In their kernel, however, they agree in more important points with Dhammakitti’s account in the Mahāvaṃsa. Of further points we learn that Buddhaghosa’s father was one Kesī, a brahmin preceptor who used to instruct the king of the realm in the Vedas; Kesī was, however, later on converted by his son. The Buddhaghosuppatti refers to Buddhaghosa’s deep knowledge of Sanskrit displayed before the Ceylonese monks as also to his quick wisdom.

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Some are of opinion that after having completed his work in Ceylon, Buddhaghosa came to Burma to propagate the Buddhist faith. The Burmese ascribe the new era in their religion to the time when he visited their country from Ceylon. He is said to have brought over from that island to Burma, a copy of Kaccāyana’s Pāli Grammar which he translated into Burmese. He is also credited with having written a commentary on it. A volume of Parables in Burmese language is also attributed to him. The Burmese code of Manu, too, is said to have been introduced into Burma from Ceylon by the same Buddhist scholar. But the code itself is silent on this point. The Chronicles of Ceylon to which we owe the information about Buddhaghosa, and which must have been well-informed on the subject, give no account of his journey to Burma. All serious scholars doubt this tradition.¹

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¹ Hackmann’s Buddhism as a Religion, p. 68.

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Buddhaghosa was not only a metaphysician.

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His scholarship was wide and deep and of an encyclopædic character. His works reveal his knowledge of Astronomy, Grammar, Geography, of the Indian sects and tribes and kings and nobles of Buddhist India, of the fauna and flora of the country, of ancient manners and customs of the land, and of the history of Ceylon.

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The quality and bulk of the work produced in a single life time show that Buddhaghosa must have been toiling steadily and indefatigably, year in and year out, working out the mission with which he was entrusted by his teacher, immured in a cell of the great monastery at Anurādhapura. Such a life is necessarily devoid of events, and we cannot expect to find in it the variety and fulness of the life-story of a great political figure. Born in Northern India, brought up in brahmanic traditions, versed in Sanskrit lore and an adherent of the system of Patañjali, it is really surprising to know how he acquired such a thorough mastery over the Pāli language and literature and over Buddhist religion and philosophy. His was a useful career, and as long as Buddhism remains a living faith among mankind, Buddhaghosa will not cease to be remembered with reverence and gratitude by Buddhist peoples and schools.¹

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¹ For a fuller and more detailed treatment read my book, “The Life and Work of Buddhaghosa”, Thacker Spink & Co., Calcutta, 1923.

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An inhabitant of South India, Dhammapāla dwelt at Padaratittha in the realm of the Damiḷas. He was also a celebrity of the Mahāvihāra. He seems to have based his commentaries on the Sinhalese Aṭṭhakathās which were not preserved in the main land. T. W. Rhys Davids is of the opinion that Dhammapāla and Buddhaghosa seem to have been educated at the same University. In support of this view he refers to the published works of the two writers, a careful study of which shows that they hold very similar views, they appeal to the same authorities, they have the same method of exegesis, they have reached the same stage in philological and etymological science and they have the same lack of any knowledge of the simplest rules of the higher criticism. The conclusion follows that as far as we can at present judge, they must have been trained in the same school (Hastings' Ency. of R. and E., Vol. IV, 701).

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It seems probable that Dhammapāla was born at Kāñcipura, the capital of the Tamil country. Hiuen Tsang who visited Kāñcipura in the 7th century A.D. was told by the brethren there that Dhammapāla had been born here at Kāñcipura.

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The Gandhavaṃsa (p. 60) enumerates the following works ascribed to Dhammapāla: (1) Nettipakaraṇa-aṭṭhakathā, (2) Itivuttaka-aṭṭhakathā, (3) Udāna-aṭṭhakathā, (4) Cariyāpiṭaka-aṭṭhakathā, (5) Thera and Therī-gāthā-aṭṭhakathā, (6) Vimalavilāsinī or the Vimānavatthu-aṭṭhakathā, (7) Vimalavilāsinī, or the Petavatthu-aṭṭhakathā, (8) Paramatthamañjūsā, (9) Līnattha-pakāsinī on the four aṭṭhakathās of the four nikāyas, (10) Līnatthapakāsinī on the Jātaka-aṭṭhakathā, (11) Nettittha-kathāyaṭīkā, (12) Paramattha-dīpanī, and (13) Līnatthavaṇṇanā.

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From his works it appears that Dhammapāla was well read and well informed. His explanation of terms is very clear. His commentaries throw considerable light on the social, religious, moral, and philosophical ideas of time like the commentaries of Buddhaghosa. In his commentaries Dhammapāla follows a regular scheme. First comes an introduction to the whole collection of poems, giving the traditional account of how it came to be put together. Then each poem is taken separately. After explaining how, when, and by whom it was composed each clause in the poem is quoted and explained philologically and exegetically.

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Mrs. Rhys Davids in her introduction to the translation of the Therīgāthā (PSS. of the Sisters, p. xvi) says “ In the 5th or 6th century A.D. either before or just after Buddaghosa had flourished, and written his great commentaries on the prose works of the Vinaya and Sutta Piṭakas, Dhammapāla of Kāñcipura, now Conjeeveram, wrote down in Pāli the unwritten expository material constituting the then extant three Aṭṭhakathās on the Psalms and incorporated it into his commentary on three other books of the Canon, naming the whole ‘Paramatthadīpanī or Elucidation of the Ultimate Meaning ’. He not only gives the ākhyāna in each Psalm but adds a paraphrase in the Pāli of his day, of the more archaic idiom in which the gathas were compiled.” She further points out that the presentation of verses, solemn or otherwise, in a framework of prose narrative is essentially the historical Buddhist way of imparting canonical poetry. Dhammapāla’s chronicles are, for the most part, unduplicated in any other extant work; but not seldom they run on all fours, not only with parallel chronicles in Buddaghosa’s commentaries, but also with a prose framework of poems in Sutta Nipāta or Saṃyutta Nikāya, not to mention the Jātaka (PSS. of the Brethren, p. xxv).

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Origin and growth of the commentaries. According to Indian tradition, a commentary means reading new meanings back into old texts according to one’s own education and outlook. It explains the words and judgments of others as accurately and faithfully as possible; and this remark applies to all commentaries, Sanskrit as well as Pāli. The commentary or bhāṣya, as it is called in Sanskrit, implies, as suggested by the great Sanskrit poet Māgha in his famous kāvya, ‘Śiśupālabadha’, an amplification of a condensed utterance or expression which is rich in meaning and significance:

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“ Saṃkhiptasyāpyatosyaiva vākyasyārtha-garīyasaḥ
Suvistaratarāvācobhāṣyabhūtā bhavantu me”
(ii. 24);

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but at the same time an element of originality is also implied by its definition as given by Bharata in his lexicography. “Those who are versed in the bhāṣyas call that a bhāṣya wherein the meaning of a condensed saying (sūtra) is presented in words that follow the text and where, moreover, the own words of the commentator himself are given.”

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Sūtrārtho varṇyate yatra padaiḥ sūtrānu-
sāribhiḥ
Svapadāni ca varṇyante bhāṣyam bhāṣya-
vidoviduḥ
Iti Liṅgādisaṃgrahaṭīkāyāṃ Bharataḥ ”—
(Śabdakalpadruma).

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The need for an accurate interpretation of the Buddha’s words which formed the guiding principle of life and action of the members of the Saṃgha, was felt from the very first, even during the life time of the Master. There was at that time the advantage of referring a disputed question for solution to the Master himself, and therein we can trace the first stage in the origin of the Buddhistic comments. The Buddhist and Jaina texts tell us that the itinerant teachers of the time wandered about in the country, engaging themselves wherever they stopped in serious discussions on matters relating to religion, philosophy, ethics, morals, and polity. Discussions about the interpretation of the abstruse utterances of the great teachers were frequent and the *raison d’être* of the development of the Buddhist literature, particularly of the commentaries, is to be traced in these discussions. There are numerous interesting passages in the Tripiṭaka, telling us how from time to time contemporary events suggested manifold topics of discussion among the bhikkhus, or how their peace was disturbed by grave doubts calling for explanations either from the Buddha himself or from his disciples. Whenever an interested sophist spoke vehemently in many ways in dispraise of the Buddha, the Doctrine, and the Order (Digha, I);

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whenever another such sophist misinterpreted the Buddha’s opinion (Majjhima, Vol. III, pp. 207-8), whenever a furious discussion broke out in any contemporary brotherhood (Majjhima, Vol. II, Sāmagāma Sutta), or whenever a bhikkhu behaved improperly, the bhikkhus generally assembled under the pavilion to discuss the subject, or were exhorted by the Buddha or by his disciples to safeguard their interests by presenting a strong defence of their case. The Dīgha and Majjhima Nikāyas contain many illuminating expositions of the Buddha, e.g., Mahākammavibhaṅga, the Saḷāyatanavibhaṅga, (Majjhima, Vol. III, pp. 207-222), etc. Then we have from Thera Sāriputta, the chief disciple of the Buddha, a body of expositions of the four Aryan truths, the Saccavibhaṅga. We have also to consider other renowned and profoundly learned disciples of the Buddha, among whom were some women, who in their own way helped forward the process of development of the commentaries. Mahākaccāyana wrote some exegetical works like Kaccāyanagandho, Mahāniruttigandho, etc. We have similar contributions from Mahākoṭṭhita, Moggallāna, Ānanda, Dhammadinnā, and Khemā, but it is needless to multiply instances.

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There is another class of ancient Buddhist literature, the porāṇas, of which our knowledge is at present based only upon some extracts in the aṭṭhakathās. We are told in the Gandhavaṃsa that those who are Porāṇācariyā are also Aṭṭhakathācariyā, or teachers who wrote the aṭṭhakathās, and were evidently the earliest contributors to the commentary literature. A number of quotations made by Buddhaghosa may be found in his works concerning the views of the porāṇas. It shall be noted here that the porāṇas do not represent a consistent school of philosophical thought. Each teacher must have been responsible for himself alone, and it is hopeless to discover any organic connection among the numerous short and long passages attributed to the porāṇas in Buddhaghosa’s writings (vide my “The Life and Work of Buddhaghosa,” Chap. III. There is a paper on the origin of the Buddhist arthakathās with introduction by R. C. Childers, J.R.A.S., 1871, pp. 289–302, which should be consulted).

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The works of Buddhadatta, Buddhaghosa, and Dhammapāla are the most important Pāli commentaries. They are rich in materials for reconstructing a secular and religious history of ancient India. They also throw a flood of light on the philosophical, psychological, and metaphysical aspects of the period with which they deal. A large variety of information is available from these commentaries and hence their importance is very great. Thanks to the indefatigable labours of the Pāli Text Society, London, for printing and publishing a major portion of the Pāli commentaries and making them accessible to the reading public. Besides, there are some other Pāli commentaries, such as the Saddhammapajjotikā or a commentary on the Niddesa written by Upasena; Saddhammapakāsini, a commentary on the Paṭisambhidāmagga written by Mahānāma Thera of Anurādhapura, and the Visuddhajanavilāsinī or a commentary on the Apadāna written by an unknown author.

A. Works of Buddhadatta

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The Abhidhammāvatāra was written by Buddhadatta; and it has been in continuous use amongst the students of the Buddhist scriptures. Buddhadatta was held as a personage of exceptionally high scholarly attainments by Buddhaghosa and others. It is interesting to note the incidents which led to the writing of this work. Buddhadatta was going from Ceylon to India when he was met by Buddhaghosa who was then proceeding to Ceylon for the purpose of rendering the Sinhalese commentaries into Pāli. Knowing the mission of Buddhaghosa, Buddhadatta was highly pleased and spoke thus, “When you finish the commentaries, please send them up to me that I may summarise your labours”. Buddhaghosa consented to comply with his request and the Pāli commentaries were accordingly placed in the hands of Buddhadatta who summed up the commentaries on the Abhidhamma in the Abhidhammāvatāra and that on the Vinaya in the Vinayavinicchaya.¹ He was the author of the Rūpārūpavibhāga and of the commentary on the Buddhavamsa. The Abhidhammāvatāra is written partly in prose and partly in verse. It discusses the following points:—

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¹ *Vide* Buddhadatta’s Manuals, p. xix.

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citta, nibbāna, cetasika (that which relates to the mind), ārammaṇa (object ideation), vipāka citta (consequence of mindfulness), rūpa (form), paññatti (designation), etc.

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The Rūpārūpavibhāga deals with rūpa, arūpa, citta, cetasika, etc. It is written in prose. Rev. A. P. Buddhadatta has edited Buddhadatta’s Manuals or summaries of Abhidhamma (Abhidhammāvatāra and Rūpārūpavibhāga) for the first time for the P.T.S., London.

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The Vinayavinicchaya and Uttaravinicchaya containing the summaries of the Vinaya Piṭaka have been edited by the Rev. A. P. Buddhadatta of Ceylon, and published by the Pāli Text Society of London. These two treatises on the Vinaya seem to have been composed, after the Samantapāsādikā, in an abridged form, in verses. The Vinayavinicchaya contains thirty-one chapters whereas the Uttaravinicchaya contains twenty-three chapters. The author of these treatises was a distinguished thera named Buddhadatta who was a native of Uragapur (or modern Uraiyur) on the banks of the Kāverī in the Chola Kingdom of South India. The Vinayavinicchaya was composed while he was residing in a monastery built by Piṇḍidāsa in the neighbourhood of Bhūtamaṅgala, a prosperous town on the banks of the Kāverī, during the reign of King Acyutavikrama of the Kalamba clan. According to the editor of these treatises Buddhadatta and Buddhaghosa were contemporaries; but the former was senior to the latter. Buddhadatta came to Ceylon earlier, studied the Sinhalese commentaries and summarised them in Pāli.

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There are two Pāli commentaries of these two treatises. The commentary on the Vinayavinicchaya is known as the Vinayasāratthadīpanī and that on the Uttaravinacchaya as the Uttaralinatthapakāsinī supposed to have been written by Vācissara Mahāsāmi. There is also a Sinhalese commentary on the Vinayavinicchaya written by King Parākramabāhu II but this work is now extinct.

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The Vinayavinicchaya opens with the Pārājikakathā in verses and is followed by the Saṅghādisesakathā, Aniyatakathā, Nissaggiya-Pācittiyakathā, Paṭidesaniyakathā, and the Sekhiyakathā. Thus the Bhikkhuvibhaṅga is closed. Then this treatise deals with the Bhikkhunivibhaṅga under the following heads: Pārājikakathā, Saṅghādisesakathā, Nissaggiya-Pācittiyakathā and Paṭidesaniyakathā. Then khaṇḍhakakathā, kammakathā, pakiṇṇakathā, and kammaṭṭhānakathā are narrated in verses. The treatise consists of 3,183 verses which are written in simple language and marked by good diction.

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The Uttaravinicchayakathā consists of 969 verses. Under the Mahāvibhaṅga it treats of the Pārājikakathā, Paṭidesaniyakathā and Sekhiyakathā. Under the Bhikkhunivibhaṅga it deals with Pārājikakathā, Saṅghādisesakathā, Nissaggiyakathā, Pācittiyakathā, Catuvipattikathā, Adhikaraṇappaccayakathā, Khaṇḍhakapucchā, Āpattisamuṭṭhānakathā, Ekuttaranaya, Sedamocakagāthā, Sādhāraṇāsādhāraṇakathā, Lakkhaṇakathā, and Sabbasaṅkalananaya.

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The Madhuratthavilāsinī is a commentary on the Buddhavamsa. The author was Buddhadatta Thera. Spence Hardy mentions a commentary on the Buddhavamsa by Buddhaghosa. This is probably the Atthakathā called the Madhuratthavilāsinī whose authorship is assigned by Grimbolt not to Buddhaghosa but to a Buddhist monk living at the mouth of the Kāverī in South India.¹ There is a valuable edition of this commentary by Yogirala Paññananda Thera revised by Mahāgoḍa Siri Ñānissara Thera, Colombo, 1922.

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¹ Indian Antiquary, April, 1890, Vol. XIX, p. 119.

B. Works of Buddhaghosa

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The Visuddhimagga² was written by Buddhaghosa at the request of the Thera Sanghapāla, it is generally believed, in Ceylon in the beginning of the 5th century A.D., when King Mahānāman was on the throne at Anurādhapura. Buddhaghosa, on reaching the Mahāvihāra (Anurādhapura) entered the Mahāpadhāna Hall, according to the account of the Mahāvamsa, the great Ceylonese Chronicle, and listened to the Sinhalese Atthakathā and the Theravāda, from the beginning to the end, and became thoroughly convinced that they conveyed the true meaning of the doctrines of the Lord of Dhamma. Thereupon paying reverential respect to the priesthood, he thus petitioned: “I am desirous of translating the Atthakathā; give me access to all your books”. The Ceylonese priesthood for the purpose of testing his qualification, gave only two gāthās saying, “Hence prove thy qualification; having satisfied ourselves on this point, we will then let thee have all our books”. From these (taking these gāthās for his text), and consulting the Piṭakattaya, together with the Atthakathā and condensing them into an abridged form, he composed the commentary called the “Visuddhimaggam”.

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² The Visuddhimaggagaṇthi, a Burmese Pāli work, explains the difficult passages of the Visuddhimagga (Bode, Pāli Literature of Burma, p. 19, f.n.).

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The Mahāvaṃsa account of the circumstances that led to the composition of the “Visuddhimagga” agrees substantially with what Buddhaghosa has written about himself in the Nidānakathā or story of the origin of the works at their respective beginnings. Thus in the Nidānakathā to his Visuddhimagga, Buddhaghosa at the very beginning quotes the following gāthā of Buddha’s own saying:—

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“Sīle patiṭṭhāya naro sapañño,
Cittaṃ paññaṃ ca bhāvayaṃ,
Ātāpī nipako bhikkhu,
So imaṃ vijaṭaye jaṭanti.”

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(After having been established in precepts, a wise person should think of samādhi and paññā, an active and wise bhikkhu disentangles this lock.)

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Next he proceeds to record the circumstances under which he wrote his compendium of Buddhism (i.e., the Visuddhimagga). “The real meaning of Sīla, etc., is described by means of this stanza uttered by the great sage. Having acquired ordination in the Order of the Jina and the benefit of the Sīla, etc., which is tranquil and which is the straight path to purity, the yogis who are desirous of obtaining purity, not knowing purity as it is, do not get purity though they exert. I shall speak of the Visuddhimagga according to the instruction of the dwellers of the Mahāvihāra, which is pleasing to them, and which is the correct interpretation : Let all the holy men who are desirous of obtaining purity listen to what I say, attentively” (Visuddhimagga, P.T.S., Vol. I, p. 2).

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At the end of the work again, Buddhaghosa returns to that very gāthā which he has adopted as his text for writing the Visuddhimagga, and after referring to his promise quoted above, thus delivers himself: “The interpretation of the meanings of the Sīla, etc., has been told in the aṭṭhakathās on the five nikāyas. All of them being taken into consideration, the interpretation gradually becomes manifest, being free from all faults due to confusion; and it is for this reason that the Visuddhimagga should be liked by the Yogis who are desirous of obtaining purity and who have pure wisdom.”

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Thus, according to Buddhaghosa, the whole of his Visuddhimagga was written as a commentary on that one gāthā uttered by the Master. Evidently it was this gāthā which the writer of the Mahāvaṃsa account had in his mind when he wrote that the Visuddhimagga was written as a comment on and expansion of the two gāthās which were set by the Sinhalese Saṃgha residing at the Mahāvihāra to test Buddhaghosa’s learning and efficiency. The Visuddhimagga is in fact an abridged edition of the three piṭakas, the Vinaya, the Sutta, and the Abhidhamma, whose main arguments and conclusions are here condensed into a single treatise. In the gāthā itself, of which the Visuddhimagga is a commentary, there is however no mention either of the word “Visuddhi” or “Magga”; but there is mention of sīla, samādhi, and paññā. Strict observance of the sīlas leads to the purification or visuddhi of the kāya or body, while the practice of samādhi leads to the purity of soul and the thinking of paññā to perfect Wisdom. A wise man alone is capable of disentangling the net of cravings and desires and is fit to attain Nirvāṇa. The disentangling of the lock, as it is called, is the final goal, it is called “visuddhi”; and sīla, samādhi, and paññā are the ways or “magga” to attain to it. As the ways or “magga” to attain to Purity or “visuddhi” have been explained in the book, it is called “Visuddhimagga” or “Path of Purity”.

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The vocabulary of the text is astonishingly rich as compared with the archaic simplicity of the piṭakas. The quotations in the Visuddhimagga from the piṭakas, the Sinhalese commentaries, the porāṇas, etc., are numerous; in other words it is an abridged compilation of the three piṭakas together with quotations from aṭṭhakathās. The work deals with kusala, akusala, avyākatadhammas,.

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āyatana, dhātu, satipaṭṭhānas, kammas, pakati and many other topics of Buddhist philosophy, and may be said to contain, in fact, the whole of the Buddhist philosophy in a nutshell. Sīla (conduct, precept), samādhi (concentration) and paññā (wisdom) are the three essential matters which are dealt with in this work. In the chapter on sīla are explained cetanāsīla, cetasika sīla and saṃvarasīla. The advantage of sīla is also mentioned therein. There are in it Pātimokkhasaṃvarasīla and Indriyasaṃvarasīla. Pātimokkha (monastic rule) is saṃvara (restraint) which purports to speak of restraint in form, sound, smell, contact, etc. It is interesting to read the section dealing with various kinds of precepts as well as the section on Dhutaṅgas.

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The subject of concentration is next discussed—its nature, its advantages and disadvantages. Meditation comes in next for explanation—the four stages of meditation : meditation on fire, wind, water, delight, demerits, etc. The section on meditation on demerits is important containing the discussion of a variety of topics, viz. : Buddhānussati (recollection of the Buddha), Dhammānussati (recollection of dhamma), Saṃghānussati (recollection of saṃgha), cāgānussati (recollection of self-sacrifice), devatānussati (recollection of gods), purity on account of recollection, maraṇasati, kāyagatāsati, upasamānussati, mettābhāvanā, karuṇābhāvanā, upekkhābhāvanā, ākāsānañcāyatana-kammaṭṭhāna, akiñcaññāyatanakammaṭṭhānaṃ, nevasaññānā-saññāyatanakammaṭṭhānaṃ, and āhārepaṭikūla-saññābhāvanā. Ten iddhis or miraculous powers next come in for systematic treatment. There is one section on abhiññā (supernatural knowledge) in which is discussed the nature and definition of wisdom, its characteristics, and the advantage of contemplating on it. Rūpa, vedanā, saññā, and saṃkhāra come one after the other for elucidation ; points worth considering in this connection are those on āyatana (abode), indriya (senses), sacca (truth), dukkha (suffering), paṭiccasamuppāda (dependent origination) and nāmarūpa (name and form).

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Maggāmagga Ñāṇadassanavisuddhi is this: this is the right path and this is not the right path, the knowledge which has been well acquired is what is called maggāmaggañāṇadassanavisuddhi. Further may be noted the discussions of the nine important forms, viz.: delight, knowledge, faith, thorough grasp, happiness, emancipation, knowledge of all the four paths, right realisation of the truth and lastly removal of all sins.

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The Visuddhimagga is really an encyclopædia of Buddhism, a good abstract of Buddhist doctrines and metaphysics and a vast treasure house of Buddhist lore. It has earned for its author an everlasting fame. The Sumaṅgalavilāsinī records the contents of the Visuddhimagga in a nutshell. The contents may be stated as follows:—nature of the sīlakathā, dhātudhamma, kammaṭṭhānaṃ together with all the cariyāvidhāni, jhānāni, the whole scope of the samāpatti, the whole of abhiññā, the exposition of the paññā, the khandha, the dhātu, the āyatanāni, indriyāni, cattāriyasaccāni, paccayākārā, the pure and comprehensive nayā, maggā and vipassanabhāvanā.

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Buddhaghosa is strong in his attacks on Pakativāda, i.e., the Sāṃkhya and Yoga systems which believe in the dual principles of Puruṣa and Prakriti. He showed an extravagant zeal for differentiating the Buddhist conception of avijjā from the Prakriti-vādin’s conception of Prakriti as the root cause of things (Visuddhimagga, Vol. II, p. 525). The Visuddhimagga points out that the relation between phassa and its object is the relation between eye and form, ear and sound, mind and object of thought (p. 463). Vedanā is of five kinds, sukhaṃ, dukkhaṃ, somanassaṃ, domanassaṃ and upekkhā (Ibid., Vol. II, p. 460). Saññā is only perception of external appearance of an object, while viññāṇa means thorough knowledge of the thing (Ibid., Vol. II, p. 462). According to the Visuddhimagga (Chap. XIV) we have 51 Saṃkhāras (confections) beginning with phassa (contact) and ending in vicikicchā (doubt). Kamma, according to Buddhaghosa, means consciousness of good or bad, merit and demerit (Visuddhimagga, Vol. II, p. 614). Kamma is of four kinds : kamma which produces result in this life and in the next life, kamma which produces result from time to time and past kamma (Ibid., p. 601). There is no kamma, he says, in vipāka and no vipāka in kamma. Each of them is void by itself, at the same time there is no vipāka without kamma. A kamma is thus void of its vipāka (consequence) which comes through kamma. Vipāka comes into origin on account of kamma (Ibid., Vol. II, p. 603). Consciousness is due to saṃkhāra which is produced by ignorance (Ibid., p. 600). Saṃkhāras owed their existence in the past and will owe their existence in future to avijjā (Ibid., 522 f.). The Visuddhimagga enumerates the twelve āyatanas as cakkhu, rūpa, sota, saddā, jhāna, gandha, jihvā, rasa, kāya, phoṭṭabba, māna, and dhamma (Ibid., Vol. II, p. 481). The sense organs are due to kamma and it is kamma which differentiates them (Ibid., pp. 444-445). In the section on rūpakkhandha, Buddhaghosa has divided rūpa into two, viz. : bhūtarūpa and upādārūpa. By bhūtarūpa four great elements are implied whereas by upādārūpa are implied twenty-four kinds (Ibid., Vol. II, p. 259 ; Ibid., pp. 443-444).

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The Visuddhimagga contains a description of the evil effects of the violation of sīla (Vol. I, pp. 6-58). Buddhaghosa takes the word “ Inda ” in the sense of the Buddha (Visuddhimagga, p. 491). In his Visuddhimagga (Vol. II, Ch. XVI) he mentions twenty-two indriyas beginning from cakkhundriya or organ of the eye and ending with aññātavindriya. Upekkhā (indifference) according to him is of ten kinds beginning from chaḷaṅga (six senses) and ending with parisuddhi (purification) (Visuddhimagga, Vol. I, p. 160). The advantages of practising meditation are the five kinds of happy living (Ibid., Vol. I, p. 84 foll.). Nirvāṇa includes absence of passion, destruction of pride, killing of thirst, freedom from attachment and destruction of all sensual pleasures. These are the attributes of Nirvāṇa (Visuddhimagga, Vol. I, p. 293) which can be attained, it is suggested, through meditation, wisdom, precept, steadfastness, etc. (Vol. I, p. 3).

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Buddhaghosa had a fair knowledge of Anatomy as is evident from his account of the thirty-two parts of the body recorded in his Visuddhimagga¹ (Vol. I, pp. 249–265).

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¹ There is a book called Paramatthamañjūsā which is a scholium on Visuddhimagga. Besides the P.T.S. edition of the Visuddhimagga there is an incomplete edition of this work in Bengali by Gopaldas Choudhury and Samaṇa Puṇṇānanda, 1923. Read H. C. Warren's paper on Buddhaghosa's Visuddhimagga (9th International Congress of Orientalists, London, 1893).

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The Samanatapāsādikā² is a voluminous commentary on the five books of the Vinaya Piṭaka. It was written by Buddhaghosa at the request of the Thera Buddhasiri. The principal contents of the book are as follows :— (1) The cause that led to the holding of the Buddhist council, (2) Selection of members for the Council, (3) The Council cannot be held without Ānanda, (4) Place of the Council, (5) What Ānanda did with Gandhakuṭi, (6) Eighteen Mahāvihāras, (7) Building of a nice pandal for the meeting, (8) Recital of the first and last words of the Buddha, (9) Classification of the Vinaya, Sutta, and the Abhidhamma, (10) How Vinaya was handed down to the third Council, (11) Life of Moggali Brāhmaṇa, (12) Account of Aśoka, (13) Preachers sent by Aśoka, (14) Discussions on pītisukha and jhāna, (15) Importance of Vajjibhūmi and Vajjiputtaka, (16) Various kinds of pregnancy, (17) Account of Mahāvana at Vesālī, (18) Importance of Bharukaccha as a port, (19)

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² Read "Pāli Elements in Chinese Buddhism", of Buddhaghosa's Samantapāsādikā, a commentary found in the Chinese Tripiṭaka by J. Takakusu, 1897.

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Account of Kuṭāgārasālā at Mahāvana at Vaisālī, (20) Discussions on kammaṭṭhāna, sati, samādhi, paṭisambhidā, citta, viññāṇa, indriya and four pārājikadhammas, etc. Unlike other commentaries of this nature, Samantapāsādikā is free from any elaborate tangle of similes and metaphors, and is written in an easy language.¹

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¹ Portions of this work have been edited by Drs. Takakusu and Nagai for the P.T.S., London. Siamese, Sinhalese, and Burmese editions are available respectively in Siam, Ceylon, and Burma. A portion of the Pāli Samantapāsādikā was rendered into Chinese by Saṃghabhadra in the 5th century A.D. (See Nariman's Literary History of Sanskrit Buddhism, p. 263.)

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The facts and contents of historical and geographical interest in this commentary may in short be stated as follows:—

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Once when they were much troubled on account of a famine at Verañjā, the bhikkhus wanted to repair to another place. The Buddha, therefore, crossed the Ganges at Prayāg direct from Verañjā and reached Benares (Vol. I, 201).

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King Ajātasattu ruled Magadha for 24 years (Vol. I, 72). He bore the cost of repairing at Rājagaha 18 Mahāvihāras which were deserted by the bhikkhus after the parinibbāṇa of the Buddha (Vol. I, 9).

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The Blessed One passed away in the eighth year of Ajātasattu’s reign (Vol. I, p. 72).

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The missionaries who were sent to various places to preach the dhamma of Aśoka were all natives of Magadha.

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Udaya Bhadda was one of the kings of Magadha who reigned for 25 years. He was succeeded by Susunāga who ruled for 18 years. Kālāsoka had ten sons who ruled for 23 years. Then came the Nandas who ruled over the country for the same period. The Nanda dynasty was overthrown by Candgutta who ruled the kingdom for 24 years and he was succeeded by Bindusāra who sat on the Magadhan throne for 18 years. He was succeeded by Aśoka who also followed his father for some time in making donations to non-Buddhist ascetics and institutions. But being displeased with them he stopped further charities to them, and gave charities to the Buddhist bhikkhus alone (Vol. I, 44). Asoka’s income from the four gates of the city of Pāṭaliputta was 4,00,000 kahāpaṇas daily. In the sabhā (council) he used to get 1,00,000 kahāpaṇas daily (Vol. I, 52). Rājagaha was a good place having accommodation for a large number of bhikkhus (Vol. I, 8). Asoka is said to have enjoyed undivided sovereignty over all Jambudīpa after slaying all his brothers except Tissa. He reigned without coronation for four years (Vol. I, 41).

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Two other kings of Magadha are mentioned in the Samantapāsādikā, Anuruddha, and Muṇḍa (Vol. I, 72-73). Anuruddha succeeded his father Udāyi Bhadda and reigned for 18 years. Then came Nāga Dāsaka who reigned for 24 years. Nāga Dāsaka was banished by the citizens who anointed the minister named Susunāga as King (Vol. I, 72-73).

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Bimbisāra is stated to have hundred sons (p. 41), and Asoka is said to have built 84,000 vihāras in the whole of Jambudīpa (p. 115). Reference is made to Pāṭaliputta (p. 35) where the King Dhammāsoka would appear and rule the whole of Jambudīpa.

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There were eighteen Mahāvihāras at Rājagaha (p. 9). On one occasion Mahākassapa asked Ānanda about dhamma (p. 15).

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This commentary records the first and the last words of the Master (p. 17).

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The different classifications of the Vinaya, Sutta, and Abhidhamma Piṭakas (p. 18) are detailed in this commentary. It contains also an interesting account of how Vinaya was handed down till the third council (p. 32).

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Then we have accounts of the Thera Moggaliputta Tissa (p. 37), who once went to a mountain named Ahogaṅgā. In order to refute the doctrines of others, the thera composed the Kathāvatthuppakaraṇa (p. 61). The commentary then gives an account of the missionaries sent to different countries by Moggaliputtatisatthera (63-64).

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The Samantapāsādikā refers to Kusinārā, a town of the Mallas, where between the two Sāla trees, on the full moon day of the month of Vesākha, the Blessed One passed away (p. 4).

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There are references to Campā and Gaggarā (p. 121), and to many other places, e.g., Verañjā (once visited by famine), Sāvatthī, Tambapaṇṇi, Suvaṇṇabhūmi, Uttarāpathaka visited by traders in horses (p. 175); Uttara-kuru, Kapilavatthu inhabited by many good families (p. 241), Bhaddiya, a city (p. 280), etc. Further, we are referred to the river Ganges, Bārāṇasi (which was once reached by the Buddha after crossing the Ganges), Soreyya, Vesālī, and Mahāvana (p. 201). Mention is made of a village of the Vajjis (p. 207). We are told of the kings of the Licchavigaṇa (p. 212). There is a reference to Uppalavaṇṇā, a beautiful daughter of a banker of Sāvatthī (p. 272). The commentary speaks of the Gijjhakūṭa mountain at Rājagaha where once the Blessed One dwelt (p. 285) and where Dabba, a Mallian, was once seen with a bhikkhu named Mettiya (p. 598), of Isigili, a mountain, and Kāsi-Kosala countries (p. 286). Bimbisāra is mentioned here as the Lord of the Magadhas who had an army of troops (p. 297).

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There was a golden cetiya (dagoba) built by Prince Uttara (Samantapāsādikā, Vol. III, p. 544). A banker named Ghosita built a monastery which was named after him (Ibid., p. 574). Veḷuvana was a garden surrounded by lapis lazuli and it was beautiful and of blue colour having a vault with a wall 18 cubits in circumference (Ibid., p. 575). During the reign of King Bhātiya there arose a dispute regarding the doctrine between the theras of Mahāvihāra and Abhayagiri (Ibid., 582). Kitāgiri is described as a janapada (Ibid., 613). Sāvatthī is described as a city containing 57 hundred thousand families and Rājagaha is mentioned as a city inhabited by 18 koṭis of human beings (Ibid., p. 614).

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There is a reference to the Gotamaka Cetiya in Vesālī visited by the Buddha (Ibid., p. 636). There is a reference to the Mahā-aṭṭhakathā and Kurundaṭṭhakathā (p. 299).

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The Kaṅkhāvitaraṇī is a masterly commentary on the Pātimokkha, a book of the Vinaya Piṭaka¹; and was written by Buddhaghosa in his own initiative some time between 410 and 432 A.D. A manuscript of an ancient Sinhalese glossary on this work is preserved in the Government Oriental Library, Colombo. The work is remarkable for the restraint and mature judgment that characterise Buddhaghosa’s style. While commenting on the precepts of the Pātimokkha, he has incidentally brought in much new information throwing light on the later development of the monastic life of the Buddhists.

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¹ We have Sinhalese and Burmese editions of this work.

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The Sumaṅgalavilāsinī² is a famous commentary on the Dīgha Nikāya, written by the celebrated Buddhist exegete Buddhaghosa at the request of the Saṅghathera Dāṭha. It is rich in historical information and folklore, and abounds in narratives which throw a flood of light on the social, political, philosophical, and religious history of India at the time of the Buddha. A vivid picture of sports and pastimes as well as valuable geographical and other data of ancient days are carefully provided in it.³ The book gives us a glimpse of the erudite learning of Buddhaghosa who flourished in the 5th century A.D. Its language is a bit less confused than that of his other commentaries.

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² Read Paṭhamasāratthamañjūsā which is a scholium on the Sumaṅgalavilāsinī.

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³ The whole work has been printed and published in Burma, two of the sermons in two parts have been published in Ceylon and there is also an excellent Sinhalese edition in three parts.

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In the introductory verses of his Sumaṅgalavilāsinī, Buddhaghosa makes the following reference to the history of the composition of his commentaries. Thus he observes :—" Through the influence of serene mind and merit which are due to the salutation of the Three Refuges and which put an end to obstacles, in order to explain the meaning of the Dīgha Nikāya containing long suttas, which is a good āgama, described by the Buddhas and minor Buddhas, which brings faith, the Aṭṭhakathās have been sung and afterwards resung from the beginning by five hundred theras, and are brought to the island of Laṅkā by the wise Mahinda and put in the language of the island of Laṅkā for the welfare of its inhabitants. Discarding the Sinhalese language and rendering the Aṭṭhakathās into a good language which is like Tanti and which is free from faults and not rejecting the explanations of the theras who are the dwellers of the Mahāvihāra, who are the lamps of the group of theras and who are good interpreters, I shall explain the meanings, avoiding repetitions, for the delight of the good men and for the long existence of Dhamma."

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Here also Buddhaghosa refers to his Visuddhimagga (S.V., pt. I, p. 2) thus :—" I shall not again discuss what has been well told in the Visuddhimagga. Standing in the midst of the four āgamas, the Visuddhimagga will explain the meaning which has been told there, this being done, you will understand the meaning of the Dīgha Nikāya taking it along with this Aṭṭhakathā" (i.e., Sumaṅgalavilāsinī).

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There are according to Buddhaghosa four kinds of suttas :—(1) Attajjhāsayo, i.e., sutta delivered by the Buddha of his own accord ; (2) Parajjhāsayo, i.e., sutta delivered to suit the intention of others ; (3) Pucchāvasiko, i.e., sutta delivered in answer to the question of the Supremely Enlightened One ; (4) Aṭṭhuppatiko, i.e., sutta delivered in course of delivering other suttas.

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Cites (67)