Udana

The Udana (udna) is a Buddhist scripture, part of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism. It is included there in the Sutta Pitaka's Khuddaka 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 the Dhammapada were added. [Hinuber (2000), pp. 45 (§89), 46 (§91).]

In terms of non-Buddhist texts, some Udana concepts can be found in the Vedantic Upanishads and in Jain 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 the Itivuttaka
* 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 interpretation

Notes

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.