An Anthropological Outline of the Sutta Nipāta: The Contemplative Experience in Early Buddhist Poetry
Religions January 29, 2023 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.3390/rel14020172 via Semantic Scholar
Summary
By analyzing the Sutta Nipāta, an early Pāli canon collection, this work reconstructs the social, historical, and anthropological dimensions of archaic Buddhist doctrine as it formed in dialogue with orthodoxy and power in 6th century BCE India. It also clarifies the development of contemplative practices aimed at the 'absolute' (paramattha and brahmavihāra), an area often overlooked in meditation studies.
Study at a glance
| Design | historical analysis |
|---|---|
| Key finding | The Sutta Nipāta reveals that early Buddhist doctrine was shaped in dialectic with orthodoxy and constituted power in 6th century BCE India, and that contemplative practices for the 'absolute' were defined during this period. |
Abstract
By examining the Sutta Nipāta, considered one of the collections containing the oldest texts of the Pāli canon, this study aims to reconstruct social, historical, and anthropological aspects of archaic Buddhist doctrine at the time of its definition in dialectic with the forces of orthodoxy and constituted power in 6th century BCE India. This study also provides important insights into the development and definition of contemplative practices devoted to the search for the ‘absolute’ (paramattha and brahmavihāra), which has often received little attention in meditation studies.