- Udana
The Udana (udna) is a
Buddhist scripture, part of thePali Canon ofTheravada Buddhism . It is included there in theSutta Pitaka 'sKhuddaka Nikaya . The title might be translated "inspired utterances". The book comprises 80 such utterances, most in verse, each preceded by a narrative giving the context in which the Buddha utters it.The famous story of the blind men and the elephant appears in Udana, under "
Tittha Sutta " (Ud. 6.4). [See, for example, [http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/ud/ud.6.04.than.html Thanissaro (1994).] ]tructure of the Udana
The Udana is composed of eight chapters ("vagga") of ten discourses each. The chapter titles are::# "Bodhivagga" (Awakening chapter):# "Mucalindavagga" (King Mucalinda chapter):# "Nandavagga" (Ven. Nanda chapter):# "Meghiyavagga" (Ven. Meghiya chapter):# "IAST|Soṇavagga" (Lay Follower Sona chapter):# "Jaccandhavagga" (Blind From Birth chapter):# "Cullavagga" (Minor chapter):# "IAST|Pāṭaligāmiyavagga" (Pataligamiya chapter)
Each discourse includes a prose portion followed by a verse. At the end of each prose section, as prelude to the verse, the following formulaic text is included:
Then, on realizing the significance of that, the Blessed One on that occasion exclaimed: [Thanissaro's translation, e.g., in [http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/ud/ud.6.04.than.html Thanissaro (1994)] .] "IAST|Atha kho bhagavā etam-atthaṃ viditvā tāyaṃ velāyaṃ imaṃ udānaṃ udānesi:" [SLTP (n.d.).] It is from such "exclamations" ("IAST|udāna") that the collection derives its name.
Dating of text
Some scholars consider this one of the earliest of all Buddhist scriptures, [Nakamura (1980); and, Hinuber (2000), p. 46 (§91).] while others consider it somewhat later. [L. S. Cousins in "Buddhist Studies in Honour of Hammalawa Saddhatissa", ed Dhammapala, Gombrich & Norman, University of Jayawardenepura, 1984, page 56]
Hinuber identifies this type of discourse (although not necessarily the existing collection itself) as being part of the pre-canonical "IAST|navaṅga" (Pali for "nine-fold") which classified discourses according to their form and style, such as "geyya" (mixed prose and verse), "gāthā" (four-lined couplets), "udāna" (utterances) and "jātaka" (birth story). [Hinuber (2000), pp. 7 (§10), 46 (§91); and, Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), p. 348, entry for "Nava" at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.1:1:2826.pali (retrieved 2007-10-12). In particular, Hinuber (2000, p. 46, §91) states: "The Udāna ... belongs to those old texts mentioned already as one of the "IAST|navaṅga".... [I] t does not seem to be impossible that there once was an Ud having only verses such as those in the Udānavarga...."]
Relationship to other sacred texts
Within Buddhist literature, about a fourth of the Udana's prose sections correspond to text elsewhere in the Pali Canon, particularly in the
Vinaya . In addition, in regards to Tibetan Buddhist literature, Hinuber suggests that the Udana formed the original core of the Sanskrit "Udānavarga", to which verses from theDhammapada were added. [Hinuber (2000), pp. 45 (§89), 46 (§91).]In terms of non-Buddhist texts, some Udana concepts can be found in the Vedantic
Upanishad s and inJain texts. [Hinuber (2000), p. 46 (§91).]Translations
* Tr Major-General D. M. Strong, 1902
* "Verses of uplift", in "Minor Anthologies of the Pali Canon", volume II, tr F. L. Woodward, 1935,Pali Text Society [http://www.palitext.com] , Bristol
* Tr John D. Ireland, Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, Sri Lanka, 1990; later reprinted in 1 volume with his translation of theItivuttaka
* Tr Peter Masefield, 1994, Pali Text Society, Bristol; the PTS's preferred translation; its declared aim is to translate in accordance with the commentary's interpretationNotes
Sources
* Hinüber, Oskar von (2000). "A Handbook of Pāli Literature". Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 3-11-016738-7.
* Nakamura (1980). "Indian Buddhism". Japan; reprinted Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi
* Rhys Davids, T.W. & William Stede (eds.) (1921-5). "The Pali Text Society’s Pali–English Dictionary". Chipstead: Pali Text Society. A general on-line search engine for the PED is available at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/pali/.
* Sri Lanka Tripitaka Project (SLTP) (n.d.). "IAST|Paṭhamanānātitthiyasuttaṃ" (Ud. 6-4, in Pali). Retrieved 2007-10-12 from "MettaNet" at http://www.mettanet.org/tipitaka/2Sutta-Pitaka/5Khuddaka-Nikaya/03Udana/06-Jaccandhavaggo-p1.html#six4.
*Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1994). "Tittha Sutta: Various Sectarians (1)" (Ud. 6.4, in English)). Retrieved 2007-10-12 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/ud/ud.6.04.than.html.External links
* [http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/ud/index.html Udana] at Access to Insight; selections from translations by Ireland and Thanissaro.
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