Abhidhamma Pitaka

Abhidhamma is the third great division of the Piṭaka. It is a huge collection of systematically arranged, tabulated and classified doctrines of the Buddha, representing the quintessence of this teaching. Abhidhamma means higher teaching or special teaching; it is unique in its analytical approach, immensity of scope and support for one’s liberation.

The Buddha Dhamma has only one taste, the taste of liberation. But in Suttanta discourses, the Buddha takes into consideration the intellectual level of his audience, and their attainment in pāramīs. He therefore teaches the Dhamma in conventional terms (vohāra vacana), making references to persons and objects as I, we, he, she, man, woman, cow, tree, etc. But in Abhidhamma the Buddha makes no such concessions; he treats the Dhamma entirely in terms of the ultimate reality (paramattha sacca). He analyses every phenomenon into its ultimate constituents. All relative concepts such as man, mountain, etc., are reduced to their ultimate elements which are then precisely defined, classified and systematically arranged.

Vinaya Pitaka

The Vinaya Piṭaka is made up of rules of discipline laid down for regulating the conduct of the Buddha’s disciples who have been admitted into the order as bhikkhus (monks) and bhikkhunis (nuns). These rules embody authoritative injunctions of the Buddha on modes of conduct and restraints on both physical and verbal actions. They deal with transgressions of discipline, and with various categories of restraints and admonitions in accordance with the nature of the offence.

Seven Kinds of Transgression or Offence (Āpatti)

The rules of discipline first laid down by the Buddha are called mūlapaññatti (the root regulation). Those supplemented later are known as anupaññatti. Together they are known as sikkhāpadas (rules of discipline). The act of transgressing these rules of discipline, thereby incurring a penalty by the guilty bhikkhu, is called āpatti, which means “reaching”, “committing”.

The offences for which penalties are laid down may be classified under seven categories depending on their nature:

Suttanta Pitaka

The Suttanta Piṭaka is a collection of all the discourses delivered by the Buddha on various occasions in their entirety. A few discourses delivered by some of the distinguished disciples of the Buddha, such as the Venerable Sāriputta, Mahā Moggallāna, Venerable Ānanda etc., as well as some narratives, are also included in the books of the Suttanta Piṭaka.

Although the discourses were mostly intended for the benefit of bhikkhus and deal with the practice of the pure life and with the explanation of the teaching, there are also several other discourses which deal with the material and moral progress of the lay disciple.

The Suttanta Piṭaka is divided into five separate collections known as nikāyas. They are Dīgha Nikāya, Majjhima Nikāya, Saṃyutta Nikāya, Aṅguttara Nikāya, and Khuddaka Nikāya.

Observances and Practices in the Teaching of the Buddha

Chinese Tripitaka – The Three Baskets

The Chinese Canon is called the Ta-ts’ang-ching or “Great Scripture Store.” The first complete printing of the “Three Baskets” or Tripitaka was completed in 983 C.E., and known as the Shu-pen or Szechuan edition. It included 1076 texts in 480 cases.

The Chinese Tripitaka deserves the special attention of all those concerned with the present development of world Buddhism. It is my humble opinion that only in the study of the Chinese Tripitaka can the contents of Buddhism be fully and totally understood. The Chinese Tripitaka offers the following:

(a) Agamas: All four Agamas belong to the Bhava division. The Madhyamagama

Tripitaka – The Three Baskets

The Tripitaka means three baskets in Sanskrit and Tipitaka is the writing in Pali. The word Tripitaka is used to define the canonical texts or Buddhist scriptures.

The Tipitaka is divided into three parts: the Vinaya-pitaka or code of ethics, the Sutra-pitaka or basket of Buddha teaching, and the Abhidhamma-pitaka or ‘basket of scholasticism’.

The Tripitaka is the Canon of the Buddhists, both Theravada and Mahayana. It is possible to speak of several Canons such as the Sthaviravada, Sarvastivada and Mahayana, as well as in term of languages like Pali, Chinese and Tibetan. The word is used basically to refer to the literature, the authorship of which is directly or indirectly ascribed to the Buddha himself.