Undoubtedly the best known collection of Buddhist texts in Sri Lanka is the Catubhàõavàrapàëi, the Text of the Four Recitals. On any given day of the year you would not have to go very far to find a complete recital of these texts being made, usually by monks, in an allnight sitting, as the Buddhist community regards such a recital as being particularly auspicious, bringing safety, peace, and well-being in its wake.

Following the Autumnal Rains Retreat (Vassa) every temple in the land has such a recital to ensure the prosperity of the temple and the community it serves during the coming year; and every night in the temples up and down the land a selection of texts from this collection is recited to promote the safety and happiness of all those who attend such gatherings.

In times of adversity, when ill-health or disease are close at hand, certain discourses will be recited which are thought to be particularly effective in restoring confidence and good health. Other discourses are employed when invisible forces or spirits are behaving antagonistically towards people; and at times certain of these discourses are recited as a blessing upon those who hear them.

In terms of the media it would be hard to find any other book in Sri Lanka that has so many editions available, and most homes in the Buddhist community will possess and prize a copy. The Great Safeguard, or Maha Pirit, which opens the recital has been recorded many times and can be heard morning and evening played over loudspeakers from homes and temples alike.

Enough then should have been said to give an idea of the central role these texts play in the life of Sri Lankan Buddhism, but these recitals are also popular in other Theravàda countries like Myanmar and Thailand, and there is every reason to believe that their popularity is growing in those countries where the Buddhist community forms a small but significant minority like Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Indonesia, and in those Western countries where Buddhism has now taken root.

Whenever these texts are recited let it be for the safety, peace, and happiness of all living beings. Having secured their lives on a firm foundation, may all beings then take steps to develop themselves further, until such time as they arrive at the complete cessation of suffering!

The text of Catubhàõavàrapàëi printed in the main section of this book has been established through a comparison of the following authorities, which are given here along with the abbreviations used in the variant readings:

There are some variations in the text which, as they make little difference in recital have not been noted in the variant readings, but which may usefully be outlined here:

CBhp sometimes prints õ for the more usual n, as in nibbàõa, pahàõa; it also sometimes has ë for l, as in antaëikkha, piëakà.

MPP sometimes prints n where we normally find õ, as in utuparinàma, pisuna.

PPV quite often has ü for ¤, and occasionally in place of other nasals, which is simply an alternative way of representing these sounds.

None of the books are entirely consistent in their usage, which may not be the fault of the editors, but because this is a collection of texts that was originally passed down in different manuscript traditions. However, in this edition I have preferred to prepare a text which is consistent, as far as that is possible.

Printer's errors, like printing tã as the quotation marker, have also not normally been noted, though where they amount to the omission of a word or line they have been included.

Owing to the Sinhala typeface used in MPP & PPV it is impossible to tell the difference between u & å when in combination with certain letters, so that e.g. bhikkhu & bhikkhå are indistinguishable, except by context, and so it was not possible to note variants in this regard.

Although Catubhàõavàrapàëi is a collection of material drawn from the 5 Nikàyas, there are some significant differences between the suttas and other material in the collection and in the source. Below is a synopsis of where these works are originally found, together with a brief outline of the differences that are found (whenever they exist) for reference. It should be noted that variant readings are not mentioned here, but only major differences affecting either the title or contents:

ânandajoti Bhikkhu
August 2002