Sages of the oldest verses
Explore the old chapters of the Sutta Nipāta on letting go of views, boundless goodwill and the brahmin defined by conduct rather than birth.
An original introduction. This guide accompanies the work; it is neither the complete text nor a translation.
Situating the text
Part of the Khuddaka Nikāya, its five chapters include the Aṭṭhakavagga and the Pārāyanavagga, often regarded as early because other canonical texts quote them and an ancient commentary, the Niddesa, explains them. A Chinese translation of an Aṭṭhakavagga parallel also survives. This collection of discourses in verse, some framed by prose, gathers some of the oldest Buddhist poetry: the Rhinoceros Horn verses on solitary wandering, the discourse on loving-kindness, dialogues with brahmins and the questions of sixteen students in the final chapter. It portrays the sage as someone who has let go of craving and of quarrels about views.
Following the arguments
Beyond views : The Aṭṭhakavagga warns that holding one’s own view as supreme breeds disputes; the sage takes no side in quarrels over doctrines. Loving-kindness : The Metta Sutta asks for boundless goodwill toward all beings, seen and unseen, as a mother protects her only child. Brahmin by conduct : The Vāseṭṭha Sutta argues that one becomes a brahmin through action, not through birth.
Continuing the reading
Begin with the Rhinoceros Horn and loving-kindness discourses of the first chapter, then read the Aṭṭhakavagga in a translation that keeps its verse structure and notes its links with the Niddesa. Part of the Khuddaka Nikāya, its five chapters include the Aṭṭhakavagga and the Pārāyanavagga, often regarded as early because other canonical texts quote them and an ancient commentary, the Niddesa, explains them. A Chinese translation of an Aṭṭhakavagga parallel also survives.
The oldest verses present awakening as freedom from grasping, including grasping at doctrines and at social rank.
Your turn to think.
- Why do the Aṭṭhakavagga poems warn against clinging even to one’s own views?
- How does the Vāseṭṭha discourse redefine a brahmin through conduct rather than birth?
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