Pali and Related Topics

Navy Chaplain Milton Gianulis conducts an Easter morning Orthodox Liturgy candlelight service aboard USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75)

Sacred language

Any language that is cultivated and used primarily in church service or for other religious reasons by people who speak another, primary language in their daily lives.

When the Buddha's sutras were first written down in Pali, there were around 20 schools, each with their own version derived from the original.

The Sūryaprajñaptisūtra, an astronomical work written in Jain Prakrit language (in Devanagari book script), c. 1500

Middle Indo-Aryan languages

The Middle Indo-Aryan languages (or Middle Indic languages, sometimes conflated with the Prakrits, which are a stage of Middle Indic) are a historical group of languages of the Indo-Aryan family.

The early stage is represented by the Ardhamagadhi of the Edicts of Ashoka (c. 250 BC) and Jain Agamas, and by the Pali of the Tripitakas.

The Prakrits (Early Brahmi 𑀧𑁆𑀭𑀸𑀓𑀾𑀢, prākṛta; Devanagari प्राकृत, ; ; ; Kannada: pāgada; Malayalam: prākṛtam; Tamil and Telugu: pāgadam) are a group of vernacular Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 3rd century BCE to the 8th century CE.

The term Prakrit is usually applied to the middle period of Middle Indo-Aryan languages, excluding earlier inscriptions and the later Pali.

Burmese Kammavaca manuscript written in Pali in the 'Burmese' script.

Mahāvaṃsa

The Mahavansa ("Great Chronicle", Pali Mahāvaṃsa) (5th century CE) is the meticulously kept historical chronicle of Sri Lanka written in the style of an epic poem written in the Pali language.

Monks, Tibetan Buddhist monastery, Rato Dratsang, India, January 2015

Sangha

Shakyamuni Buddha and his followers, holding begging bowls, receive offerings. An 18th-century Burmese watercolor.

Upāsakas and Upāsikās performing a short chanting ceremony at Three Ancestors Temple, Anhui, China

Sangha (संघ) is a Sanskrit word used in many Indian languages, including Pali (सङ्घ,saṃgha/saṅgha) meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community"; Sangha is often used as a surname across these religions.

Ancient kingdoms and cities of India during the time of the Buddha (circa 500 BCE) – modern-day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan

Buddhism

Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on a series of original teachings attributed to Gautama Buddha.

The gilded "Emaciated Buddha statue" in an Ubosoth in Bangkok representing the stage of his asceticism

Enlightenment of Buddha, Kushan dynasty, late 2nd to early 3rd century CE, Gandhara.

The Buddha teaching the Four Noble Truths. Sanskrit manuscript. Nalanda, Bihar, India.

Traditional Tibetan Buddhist Thangka depicting the Wheel of Life with its six realms

Ramabhar Stupa in Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh, India is regionally believed to be Buddha's cremation site.

An aniconic depiction of the Buddha's spiritual liberation (moksha) or awakening (bodhi), at Sanchi. The Buddha is not depicted, only symbolized by the Bodhi tree and the empty seat.

Dharma Wheel and triratna symbols from Sanchi Stupa number 2.

Buddhist monks and nuns praying in the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple of Singapore

A depiction of Siddhartha Gautama in a previous life prostrating before the past Buddha Dipankara. After making a resolve to be a Buddha, and receiving a prediction of future Buddhahood, he becomes a "bodhisattva".

Bodhisattva Maitreya, Gandhara (3rd century), Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Sermon in the Deer Park depicted at Wat Chedi Liam, near Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand.

Buddhist monks collect alms in Si Phan Don, Laos. Giving is a key virtue in Buddhism.

An ordination ceremony at Wat Yannawa in Bangkok. The Vinaya codes regulate the various sangha acts, including ordination.

Living at the root of a tree (trukkhamulik'anga) is one of the dhutaṅgas, a series of optional ascetic practices for Buddhist monastics.

Kōdō Sawaki practicing Zazen ("sitting dhyana")

Seated Buddha, Gal Viharaya, Polonnawura, Sri Lanka.

Kamakura Daibutsu, Kōtoku-in, Kamakura, Japan.

Statue of Buddha in Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat, Phitsanulok, Thailand

An 18th century Mongolian miniature which depicts the generation of the Vairocana Mandala

A section of the Northern wall mural at the Lukhang Temple depicting tummo, the three channels (nadis) and phowa

Tibetan Buddhist prostration practice at Jokhang, Tibet.

Vegetarian meal at Buddhist temple. East Asian Buddhism tends to promote vegetarianism.

A depiction of the supposed First Buddhist council at Rajgir. Communal recitation was one of the original ways of transmitting and preserving Early Buddhist texts.

Gandhara birchbark scroll fragments (c. 1st century) from British Library Collection

The Tripiṭaka Koreana in South Korea, an edition of the Chinese Buddhist canon carved and preserved in over 81,000 wood printing blocks

Buddhist monk Geshe Konchog Wangdu reads Mahayana sutras from an old woodblock copy of the Tibetan Kanjur.

Mahākāśyapa meets an Ājīvika ascetic, one of the common Śramaṇa groups in ancient India

Ajanta Caves, Cave 10, a first period type chaitya worship hall with stupa but no idols.

Sanchi Stupa No. 3, near Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh, India.

Map of the Buddhist missions during the reign of Ashoka according to the Edicts of Ashoka.

Extent of Buddhism and trade routes in the 1st century CE.

A Buddhist triad depicting, left to right, a Kushan, the future buddha Maitreya, Gautama Buddha, the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, and a monk. Second–third century. Guimet Museum

Site of Nalanda University, a great center of Mahāyāna thought

Vajrayana adopted deities such as Bhairava, known as Yamantaka in Tibetan Buddhism.

Angkor Thom build by Khmer King Jayavarman VII (c. 1120–1218).

Distribution of major Buddhist traditions

Buddhists of various traditions, Yeunten Ling Tibetan Institute

Monastics and white clad laypersons celebrate Vesak, Vipassakna Dhaurak, Cambodia

Chinese Buddhist monks performing a formal ceremony in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.

Tibetan Buddhists practicing Chöd with various ritual implements, such as the Damaru drum, hand-bell, and Kangling (thighbone trumpet).

Ruins of a temple at the Erdene Zuu Monastery complex in Mongolia.

1893 World Parliament of Religions in Chicago

Interior of the Thai Buddhist wat in Nukari, Nurmijärvi, Finland

Percentage of Buddhists by country, according to the Pew Research Center, as of 2010

A painting by G. B. Hooijer (c. 1916–1919) reconstructing a scene of Borobudur, the largest Buddhist temple in the world.

Frontispiece of the Chinese Diamond Sūtra, the oldest known dated printed book in the world

Two major extant branches of Buddhism are generally recognized by scholars: Theravāda (Pali: "The School of the Elders") and Mahāyāna (Sanskrit: "The Great Vehicle").

Bihar

State in eastern India.

(Sitting L to R): Rajendra Prasad and Anugrah Narayan Sinha during Mahatma Gandhi's 1917 Champaran Satyagraha

Kathak classical dance form, from Bhojpur region

Patna river port on national inland waterways-1 at Gai Ghat

Front view of administrative building of IIT Patna

The name Bihar is derived from the Sanskrit and Pali word vihāra (Devanagari: विहार), meaning "abode".

Pagan Kingdom

The first Burmese kingdom to unify the regions that would later constitute modern-day Myanmar (Burma).

The Tharabha Gate at Bagan (Pagan), the only remaining section of the old walls. The main walls are dated to c. 1020 and the earliest pieces of the walls to c. 980.

Pagan realm at Anawrahta's accession in 1044

Statue of King Anawrahta in front of the DSA

Pagan Empire under Anawrahta; Minimal, if any, control over Arakan; Pagan's suzerainty over Arakan confirmed four decades after his death.

Pagan Empire during Sithu II's reign. Burmese chronicles also claim Kengtung and Chiang Mai. Core areas shown in darker yellow. Peripheral areas in light yellow. Pagan incorporated key ports of Lower Burma into its core administration by the 13th century

Cumulative donations to the Sangha in 25-year periods

Rise of small kingdoms after the fall of Pagan Empire c. 1310. Tai-Shan Realm of Shan states, Lan Na and Sukhothai as well as Ramanya in Lower Burma were Mongol vassals. Myinsaing was the only non-Mongol vassal state in the region.

Burmese nobles partaking in equestrian sports

Pagan commander Aung Zwa in the service of Sithu II

Pagan's prosperous economy built over 10,000 temples.

Modern Burmese alphabet. The Old Burmese script did not have cursive features, which are hallmarks of the modern script.

Frescoes of Buddhist Jataka stories at a Pagan temple

Statute of Vishnu at the Nat-Hlaung Kyaung Temple

Design of 19th century Mandalay Palace followed its Pagan era predecessors

The Burmese language and culture gradually became dominant in the upper Irrawaddy valley, eclipsing the Pyu, Mon and Pali norms by the late 12th century.

Theravada

The Ruwanwelisaya stupa, built by the Sri Lankan King Dutugemunu (c. 140 B.C.E.).

Gold Plates containing fragments of the Pali Tipitaka (5th century) found in Maunggan (a village near the city of Sriksetra).

Bagan, the capital of the Bagan Kingdom. Between the 11th and 13th centuries, more than 10,000 temples, pagodas and monasteries were constructed in the Bagan plains.

A Burmese man meditates in Myanmar. The widespread practice of meditation by laypersons is a modern development in Theravāda.

Thai Forest teacher Ajahn Chah with Ajahn Sumedho (front right), Ajahn Pasanno (rear and left of Sumedho) and other monastics.

Global Vipassana Pagoda, Maharashtra, India. S.N. Goenka laid the foundation for the structure in 2000 and the pagoda opened in 2009. Regular meditation courses are held at the complex.

Pre-modern copies of the Tipiṭaka were preserved in Palm-leaf manuscripts, most of which have not survived the humid climate of South Asia and Southeast Asia.

A full modern set of the Tipiṭaka can fill many volumes (from 40 to over 50 volumes depending on the edition).

Buddhaghosa (right) (c. 5th century), shown here presenting three copies of his influential doctrinal compendium, the Visuddhimagga, to the elders of the Sri Lankan Mahavihara school.

Painting of Buddha's first sermon from Wat Chedi Liem in Thailand

Ledi Sayadaw, was one of the great Abhidhamma scholars of the 20th century as well as a teacher of meditation.

Sakka in Tavatimsa Heaven, Wat Yang Thong, Songkhla, Thailand.

A Burmese illustrated manuscript depicting Sumedha (the future Buddha Gautama) and Dīpankara Buddha.

A statue of the arahant Moggallana, who is identifiable by his dark (nila, i.e. blue/black) skin. He was one of the two most senior disciples of the Buddha and the foremost in psychic powers.

The Dhamma Wheel with eight spokes usually symbolizes the Noble Eightfold Path.

Theravādin monks meditating in Bodh Gaya (Bihar, India)

Ajahn Mun, a key figure in the founding of the Thai Forest Tradition, is widely considered to have been an Arahant in Thailand.

Circumambulation around a temple or a stupa is also a common devotional practice.

Thai monks on pilgrimage in their orange robes.

The ceremony walks with lighted candles in hand around a temple on Vesakha Puja in Uttaradit, Thailand.

A cave kuti (hut) in the Sri Lankan forest monastery Na Uyana Aranya.

Candidates for the Buddhist monkhood being ordained as monks in Thailand

A Buddhist Monk chants evening prayers inside a monastery located near the town of Kantharalak, Thailand.

Thai monks blessing the King of Thailand in Wat Nong Wong, Amphoe Sawankhalok, Sukhothai, Thailand.

Map showing the three major Buddhist divisions in Tibet, Mongolia, Nepal, East and Southeast Asia.

Theravāda (Sinhala, ථේරවාද, lit. "School of the Elders", Sanskrit: 𑀣𑁂𑀭𑀯𑀸𑀤 Sthaviravāda, literally “doctrine of the elders” ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school.

Pāli Canon

In pre-modern times the Pali Canon was not published in book form, but written on thin slices of wood (Palm-leaf manuscript or Bamboo). The leaves are kept on top of each other by thin sticks and the scripture is covered in cloth and kept in a box.

Burmese-Pali manuscript copy of the Buddhist text Mahaniddesa, showing three different types of Burmese script, (top) medium square, (centre) round and (bottom) outline round in red lacquer from the inside of one of the gilded covers

The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language.