The History of Term Theravāda

Theravada Buddhism 

Theravada Buddhism is one of the three major sects of Buddhism. It emerged out of a series of schisms that began in the 4th century B.C.E. in the Buddhist communities of India and became prominent in Sri Lanka and southeast Asia including Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos, which has led some to call it Southern Buddhism. Pejoratively labeled the "Hinayana" by Mahayana Buddhism, Theravada schools claim to adhere most accurately to the original practices and doctrines taught by Buddha. The Theravada claims to trace their lineage back to the original followers of the Buddha, to those who literally heard his sermons.

Canon

Theravada Buddhist Tripitaka Canon 

The Theravada canonical writings, a collection of the Buddha's teachings written in the Pali language, are divided into sutta pitaka, vinaya pitaka and abhidamma pitaka. Theravada doctrine is founded on the distinction between samsara and nirvana. The ultimate goal of the Theravada is to escape samsara and enter nirvana. This is accomplished by achieving the status of an arhat, a perfect saint who has been released from the cycle of samsara and will never be reborn again. The Theravada is typically understood to be a rigorous monastic tradition; however, laypeople actively participate in the religion by providing material support to the monks, meditating, and following the basic ethical principles of the Buddha's teachings.

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The History and Development of Pali Language

Pali language

Pāli is a Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is best known as the language of many of the earliest extant Buddhist scriptures, as collected in the Pāḷi Canon. Pali is a literary language of the Prakrit language family and was first written down in Sri Lanka in the first century BCE. Many Theravada sources refer to the Pāli language as "Magadhan" or the "language of Magadha". This identification first appears in the commentaries, and may have been an attempt by Buddhists to associate themselves more closely with the Mauryans.

Relationship of the Buddha's speech to Pāli

Relationship of the Buddha's speech to Pāli, the Canon was eventually transcribed and preserved entirely in it, while the commentarial tradition that accompanied it was translated into Sinhalese and preserved in local languages for several generations. After the death of the Buddha, Pali may have evolved among Buddhists out of the language of the Buddha as a new artificial language. B.Bodhi: While the language is not identical to what Buddha himself would have spoken, it belongs to the same broad linguistic family as those he might have used and originates from the same conceptual matrix.

Today Pāli is studied mainly to gain access to Buddhist scriptures, and is frequently chanted in a ritual context. The secular literature of Pāli historical chronicles, medical texts, and inscriptions is also of great historical importance. Virtually every word in Pāḷi has cognates in the other Prakritic Middle Indo-Aryan languages. The Pali language's resemblance to Sanskrit is often exaggerated by comparing it to later Sanskrit compositions – which were written centuries after Sanskrit ceased to be a living language, and are influenced by developments in Middle Indic.

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Atthapaṭisambhida and Dhammapaṭisambhida

Discrimination of Meaning

Analytical Insight of Consequence & Discrimination of Law or Analytical Insight of Origin – knowledge related to the meanings and classifications which enables one to discern or explain internal and external consequences of a preceding condition (paccaya) analyzed with infinite continuities with additional states yet to arise which demonstrates a greater understanding of impermanence, suffering, and not-self (knowing the cause and effect of the dhammas).  This knowledge is gained from the experiences in the realm of senses, has functionality, and arises based on conditions.   Meaning, as rendered from the Visuddhimagga, is: “a term for the fruit of a cause.  For in accordance with the cause it is served, arrived at, reached, therefore is called ‘meaning’ (or purpose).  But in particular the five things, namely: (1) anything conditionally produced, (2) nibbana, (3) the meaning of what is spoken, (4) kammaresult, and (5) functional consciousness – should be understood as meaning.  When anyone reviews that meaning, any knowledge of his, falling within the category concerned with meaning, is the discrimination of meaning.” Here are some illustrated differences: 

“Knowledge about suffering is the discrimination of meaning; knowledge about the origin of suffering is the discrimination of law.  ...Knowledge about ageing and death is the discrimination of meaning; knowledge about the origin of ageing and death is the discrimination of law...”

Niruttipaṭisambhida: 

Discrimination of Language or Analytical Insight of Philology should be understood as meaning.  When anyone reviews that meaning, any knowledge of his, falling within the category concerned with meaning, is the discrimination of meaning.

mundane and limited to sound... is reasoned-knowledge concerned with the studying, thinking, and listening to the utterance of the natural enunciated language (the spoken words, the sounds or tones as the object, not the concepts) which enables the capacity of effecting the discerning, the explaining, or clarifying the definition of the language used.  When the sound is heard, reasoned-discrimination occurs as to the naturalness of the sound.

Paṭibhaṇapatisambhida:

"Means the discrimination of meaning." Discrimination of Intelligence or Analytical Insight of Knowledge – concerned with development of the illumitive insight or intelligence (perspicuity) which involves the full and correct understanding of the previous categories capable of affecting the discerning, the explaining, the definition of the previously developed knowledge or intelligence.  Discrimination of Intelligence has a measureless object when reviewing supramundane profitable and resultant kinds of knowledge.  There are two planes to operate from: the plane of the student (sekkhabhumi) and the plane of the teacher (asekkha-bhumi). 

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Theravada Position for Scientific Hermeneutical Methods

Saṅgiti Sutta and Dhamma

When the Sangiti Sutta is re-examined readers can interpret that Sariputta was influenced by Socio-religious factors, inspiring the Sangiti Sutta to be a Dhamma ‘textbook’ that should be implemented into  Buddhist Studies – a step towards preventing any future schismatic interpretation and formations of dispensation-vehicles.  Before Sariputta spoke, he had to have inherited the proper understanding of Buddhist Dhamma, in order to structurally-present the lesson – this could not have been done without a firm and critical grasp of the material.  Ideally, if one was in the audience, again:

One receives the teachings and grasps the spirit and the letter

Happiness results and the mind becomes established

Applies mind to the Dhamma – thinking and pondering, concentrating

One is moved to urgency

Once the concept-sign is properly grasped/attained – one penetrates into wisdom 

One becomes established in higher morality, ethics, virtues, etc…  

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Using Excerpts of Selected Buddhist Texts

Nettippakaraṇaṁ

The underappreciated Nettippakaraṇaṁ, a non-canonical Buddhist text in the majority of Buddhist societies (thus less likely to be read) suggests to readers that the phrasing and meanings of the Buddha’s dispensation should be known, as threads – to better instruct one’s pupils/disciples; and thereby becomes most useful for monks conducting missionary activities.  Despite the advantages of the intentionally-designed text, why is its material seldom employed, or rarely applied?  The Nettippakaraṇaṁ, designed for teachers, suggests for teachers to know the temperaments and abilities of their disciples/students.  This would then illuminate that the text should be immediately valued and utilized more often – to distinguish, develop, and purify personality-types for students. 

Attention, therefore, is thus drawn towards the Puggalapaññatti – an Abhidhamma text that illustrates different personality-characteristics; additional material concerning temperaments can be found in the Vimuttimagga and Visuddhimagga, respectively.  Any teacher with this knowledge of temperaments and abilities can better instruct the newer generations of Buddhist - knowing these would greatly benefit Buddhists.

George D. Bond

George D. Bond writes: “Understanding the way in which the …terms apply to the different types of persons, the interpreter would be able to make his preaching of the Dhamma more relevant to his contemporary audience.”

This idea runs parallel to the Buddha’s suggestion for comprehending the student’s main personality-characteristic to ensure that a proper meditation technique is prescribed for the student.  If attention is now drawn towards teaching-methodology, Dr. Justin McDaniel has 

because knowing your audience is important:

Nissaya:

This “supporting-resource” is written for sermon preparations and as a guide to understand source texts.  Narrative nissaya were for the monastic student with specific triggers to recollect general topics.  Although nissaya lean heavily on source texts, only a few phrases are recollected allowing for creative interpretations.  Nissaya, as defined by PTS Dictionary, means: leaning on, or nearby.

Namasadda:

This is a more literal word for word translations from short textual passages, reserved for private monastic lessons, to learn about the function and origin of the syllables – and analyzed against the textual demonstration, perhaps like a glossary.  An aspect of the term, derived from the PTS Dictionary, suggests that namasadda as a term, recollects audible-veneration (sadda = sound).

Vohara: 

This is an idiomatic, common speech (oratory), or mechanical technique that lift words skillfully and perhaps melodically (due to the cadence or pattern to the works) creatively, for oral presentations suited to audience levels.  Audiences are mainly serious students sitting in public sermons and cite long passages with longer explanations taken from commentaries or other sources.  As defined by PTS Dictionary, vohara means: common use or popular logic.

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What advancement of social structure does Ayutthaya have?

Social structure is a systematical way of the society and that’s the thing that man should follow and if we are out of that systematical way of life then we will be in trouble. And that’s why we have to learn the social structure. When we interact with people or society or environment we must follow a certain form of conduct, or certain principle of that society because we belong to it.

Every single man has his own role to play in certain society, in our day today life we have our own position and status to stand with. We must know the different structure of our society, and knowing is not enough, we have to put them into practice with our daily life society.

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Please explain in details what is the Vinaya Tipitaka?

The Compilation of Discipline, which contains the rules laid down for the guidance of the monks and nuns and the regulations prescribed for the harmonious functioning of the monastic order. Basket of (monastic) Discipline - The rules governing the conducts of bhikkhu and bhikkhuni. The regulations pertaining to internal affairs of the Sangha or the monastic order. It is made up into five books.

1.     Pārājika Pāli      

2.     Pācittiya Pāli

3.     Mahāvagga Pāli

4.     Cūl,avagga Pāli

5.     Parivāra Pāli

 Pārājika Pāli and Pācittiya Pāli is suttavibhanga, Mahavagga pali and Culavagga are khnadaka.

•     Suttavibhanga

•      227 and 311 rules for monks nuns (Vin III, IV) Pārājika: ‘Defeat’ – rules entailing expulsion from the Sangha four for bhikkhus and eight for bhikkhunis.

•     Sanghādisesa: a set of rules which require formal participation of the Sangha from beginning to end in the process of making him/her free from the guilt of the offence. Thirteen for bhikkus and seventeen for bhikkunis.

•     Aniyata: indefinite rules two for bhikkus.

•     Nissaggiya pācittiya: rules entailing forfeiture and confession. Thirty for both bhikkus and bhikkunis.

•     Pācittiya: rules entailing confession. Ninty two for bhikkus and hundred sixty six for bhikkunis)

•     Pāt,idesanīya: rules entailing acknowledgement. Four for bhikkus and eight for bhikkunis.

•    Sekhiya: rules of training. Seven five for both bhikkus and bhikkunis.

•     Adhikaran,asamathādhammā: rules for settling disputes. seven for both bhikkus and bhikkunis.

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