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| Tipitaka |
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Ti or Tri means three, and pitaka
means basket. Just as a basket is used to
contain necessary articles for a specific use,
each of the three Pitakas contain various
discourses, necessary for a successful
life.
The
teachings of the Buddha are classified into
three major parts: the Vinaya, the Sutta or
Suttanata, and the Abhidhamma, collectively
known as, The Work.
In addition to the three major
parts, there was other discourses authored by
some of the Buddha's prominent disciples, that
he himself endorsed. The Buddha's first sermon
was given two months after his enlightenment at
the Deer Park in Benares,
India.
During
Buddha抯 life time, the monks or disciples came
from various family backgrounds and from many
other walks of life. Some of the new and junior
monks did not understand the rules as well as
the highly experienced senior monks did. Due to
the diversity of the different backgrounds and
understandings of the monks within the temple,
some controversies arose that required the
Buddha to give the final solution to solve the
problem. Before the Buddha attained to Nirvana,
he did not appoint anyone to succeed him.
Instead, he indicated to his followers that the
Doctrine or Dharma, and the Discipline or Vinaya
he had propounded, would continue to provide
guidance and become their 揟eacher?br>
The Doctrine and
the Discipline are together in the Tipitaka, and
are regarded as our highest authority for wisdom
and spiritual beliefs. Followers of Buddhism pay
respect to the Tipitaka because it contains the
words from our great Teacher, the Buddha. Of
greatest importance if one wants to improve
their life through Buddhism, one must believe
and practice the Buddha's teachings. One must
also apply his wisdom to daily living. The
Buddha had discovered all the truth of life and
has given it to us to use in our lives. We also
have free will to decide which path we will
follow; the Buddha's path to peace and
happiness, or the world's path to discord and
misery. Those who follow Buddhist teachings will
attain true happiness and enable to avoid
suffering. People who are interested in
Buddhism, should therefore try to acquaint
themselves with the Tipitaka and consider it as
a guideline to understand Buddhist beliefs or
the pursuit of spiritual endeavors leading one
to greater merit.
The Dharma is timeless. It is just
as applicable to life today as it was when first
taught by the Buddha. It teaches us to avoid
evil, to do good, and to purify our mind
ensuring the desire to sin does not enter our
thoughts easily. Showing loving kindness to
others and maintaining a pure mind will show us
the way to both individual and world
peace.
Buddhist practitioners should have
a proper insight into this most important and
richest treasure of spiritual knowledge and
practical wisdom. This information is in the
book, Tipitaka. The teaching in Tipitaka teaches
us how to cope with any problems that arise in
our daily life, or any type of situation that we
question and struggle with looking for the best
solution. When we follow and practice the
teachings in this book, our lives will benefit
from it.
The
Vinaya Pitaka or the Basket of Discipline deals
with those rules and regulations formulated by
the Buddha for the Orders of Bhikkhus, or the
male monks, and Bhikkhunis, or the fully
ordained nuns. These rules are divided into five
major
sections: | |
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- Mahavagga
- Culavagga
- Khandhakas
- Suttavibhanga
- Parivara
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These five sections
provide a detailed outline for monastic conduct,
rites and ceremonies. Broadly speaking, this can
be compared to the laws and social norms in
secular society.
The Sutta Pitaka contains those
discourses concerning various subjects of
wide-ranged significance, social, moral,
philosophical, and spiritual, and is divided
into five major
sections: | |
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- Digha Nikaya, or the
collection of long discourses.
- Majjhima Nikaya, or the
collection of middle-length
discourses.
- Samyutta Nikaya,
shorther discourses grouped together according
to subject matter.
- Anguttara Nikaya,
shorter discourses with a more scholastic
approach in which subject matter is grouped
according to a numerical formula.
- Khuddaka Nikaya, a
collection of miscellaneous books. (Harris, J.
Elizabeth)
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This is, perhaps, the
most popular Pitaka, since it does not deal in
particular with any specific types of human
concerns or confine to any social groups, but
extends into all social layers and all spheres
of human activities. All that we find in the
Vinaya or the Sutta are those rules or
discourses that the Buddha made in response to
certain problems, questions, or situations that
presented themselves to him. As such, they are
not something detached from life, but concern us
in a very positive and direct
way.
For
example : The Vasettha Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya,
ii, 196ff.). Two Brahmin youths come to the
Buddha because they can not agree whether virtue
or birth determines a person抯 worth. The Buddha
convinces them that human beings are
biologically equal and that it is such things as
morality and freedom from greed, hatred and
delusion that mark human worthiness. (Harris, J.
Elizabeth )
The Abhidhamma deals mostly with
the psychological and philosophical aspects of
the doctrine. Sometimes Abhidhamma is called
憇ystematic philosophy?, a scholastic elaboration
of doctrine, especially as regards to the
analysis of mind.(Gombrich, F. Richard) It is
the most difficult of the three, but is also
very important for intellectual discipline and a
better understanding of the Sutta Pitaka. The
subjects taken for deliberation in this Pitaka
are what Theravada Buddhism considers the
absolute truths, which are four in
number: | |
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- Mind
- Mental Concomitants
- Matter
- Nibbana or in Sanskrit,
Nirvana
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Originally in the Pali
language and sometimes rendered as the Three
Canons, the Tipitaka has been transliterated
into many forms of script and translated into
all major languages of the world. Volumes upon
volumes of commentaries and sub-commentaries
were written on the Tipitaka and they, too, have
been rendered into many
languages.
When the Tipitaka and some other
important works of Buddhism were translated into
English, some Western people were surprised to
find that there were so many beliefs in ancient
religion that are still relevant to the modern
world. An internationally recognized teacher of
Buddhism, Ringu Tulku
stated, | |
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| I think Buddhism can
give a lot to the West, actually not just to the
West, to the whole of humanity because it
teaches compassion, loving kindness and wisdom.
Compassion and wisdom together is very rare and
I think it is something which is very much
wanting in the modern world. Also wanting is
understanding of beings one to another. In
Buddhism we don抰 have barriers of caste, colour
and creed. Such a message is needed today. Also,
Buddhism as a spiritual path is quite rational.
It can be studied with a rational mind. It can
be explored. Questions can be asked. It is not a
system of set rules or beliefs but something one
has to understand. It is also ecological. It
respects the balance within nature and seeks to
live in harmony with nature. Again, this is a
message that is very relevant at the moment.
Then, all Buddhist ideas are based on the notion
of tolerance. The Buddha himself taught that
different people need different teachings. He
said himself that he had taught eighty-four
thousand different kinds of teachings. That in
itself eliminates intolerance. Taking all these
thing together, Buddhism is a practical and
acceptable spiritual teaching for the
world. |
| Harris, J
Elizabeth | | | |
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Work Cited :
Harris, J Elizabeth. What
Buddhists Believe. One world Publications:
Boston, 1998.
Plamintr, Sunthorn Dr.,
Basic Buddhism course.
Bangkok, |
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