Twenty - Five Suttas From Mulapannasa (An Old Book)

The Majjhima Nikaya is a collection of medium length suttas. This Nikaya consists of three divisions. The first division is known as MulaPannasa or the First Fifty (Suttas). The present book contains translation of the twenty five Suttas from this first division. The Suttas are Sabbasava Sutta, Dhammadayada Sutta, Bhayabherava Sutta, Anangana Sutta, Akankheyya Sutta, Vattha Suttas, Culadukkhakkhandha Sutta, Cetokhila Sutta, Madhupindika Sutta, Dnedharistaka Sutta, Alagaddupama Sutta, Rathavinita Sutta, Mahahatthipadopama Sutta, Mahasaropama Sutta, Mahagosinga Sutta, Culasaccaka Sutta, Mahasaccaka Sutta, Mahatanasankhaya Sutta, Mahavedalla Sutta, Culavedalla Sutta, Mahadhammasamadana Sutta,. The book contains Appendices and an Index of the words.

The Burma Pitaka Association was founded on 20th August, 1980, by U Nu, former Prime Minister of Burma, with the concurrence of the Government of the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma headed by the then President, U Ne Win, now Chairman of the Burma Socialist Programme Party. The primary aim of the Association is to promote through translations in English an understanding of the Pitaka texts as interpreted and accepted in Theravada Buddhism.

The Burma Pitaka Association now has twenty- eight members, twelve from Rangoon and sixteen from various parts of the country. Meetings of the Association are held monthly, but members from the districts usually attend only quarterly meetings to hear reports and to decide on policy matters.

The Pitaka texts are divided into three categories which are known as the Three Pitakas.('Pitaka' literally means 'basket'.) Thus they are called Tipitaka in Pali, ('ti' meaning 'three'). The three Pitakas are the Vinaya (containing the Rules of Discipline for the Order of bhikkhus and bhikkhunis), the Suttanta (consisting of Suttas or Discourses), and the Abhidhamma (which deals with more profound philosophical aspects of Buddhism). The overall term for all the texts in these three Pitakas is just Pitaka.

According to this Pitaka classification the Suttanta Pitaka consists of five Nikayas or Collections. These five Nikayas are: Digha Nikaya or Collection of long discourses of the Buddha; Majjhima Nikaya or Collection of medium length’ discourses; Samyutta Nikaya or Collection of groups of shorter discourses connected in subject matter or in the persons involved; Anguttara Nikaya or Collection of numerically graduated divisions, the first division containing discourses dealing with a single factor, the second division containing discourses dealing with two main factors, and so on up to the eleventh division containing discourses dealing with eleven factors; and lastly, Khuddaka Nikaya or Collection of assorted compilations or, as explained by the Venerable Buddhaghosa, 'small books.'

When the Pali Texts as a whole are classified into Nikayas, the five books of Vinaya and the seven books of Abhidhamma are included in the Khuddaka Nikaya together with the Suttas not in the first four Nikayas.

The Majjhima Nikaya, as has been mentioned above, is a Collection of medium length suttas. This Nikaya, like the Digha Nikaya, consists of three divisions. The first division is known as MulaPannasa or the First Fifty (Suttas). It has five sub-divisions or sections, called vaggas, containing ten suttas each. Thus there are fifty medium length suttas in this Division. All these have been translated by ad hoc translators of the Association. But for the present publication the editorial committee has taken and edited only twenty- five of these translations. The second division of Majjhima Nikaya is known as Majjhima Pannasa or the Middle Fifty (Suttas). It also has five sub-divisions or vaggas containing ten suttas each. Translations of twenty-five suttas from the second division of Majjhima Nikaya will be published by the Association after the present publication. The third and last division of Majjhima Nikaya is known as Upari Pannasa or the Topmost Fifty (Suttas). Here, the term ‘topmost’ is not to be taken as implying superiority. In these titles of the divisions, the metaphor is that of an edifice (i.e., the Majjhima Nikaya) with three storeys, the first storey being the Mula Pannasa or the ground floor, at the bottom, with five sections and fifty rooms, the second storey being the Majjhima Pannasa or the middle floor, and the third storey being the Upari Pannasa or the topmost (or uppermost) floor. This third division of Majjhima Nikaya actually contains fifty-two suttas in five vaggas or sub-divisions. The fourth sub-division, the Vibhatga Vagga, contains twelve suttas, the other four sub-divisions ten each. All the suttas in this third division have also been translated.

'Sutta' is generally rendered as ‘discourse’. Literally, sutta means a thread, a string. It is used in the Pitaka to describe a part of the teachings of the Buddha, whether expounded by himself personally or by an eminent disciple. Neither the term '‘text' nor the term 'chapter' seems to be adequate. The English term ‘'discourse' is used as a convenient equivalent, though in a strict sense it does not accurately cover the scope or the form of most suttas. The term exposition might be preferable. The suttas usually begin with a short account of the setting or the occasion for the exposition of an aspect of the Teaching. Many suttas in this Collection are straightforward discourses by the Buddha. A few are also straightforward discourses by eminent disciples like the Venerable Sariputta. Some are amplifications of the Buddha's doctrinal remarks by eminent disciples like the Venerable Sariputta or the Venerable MahaKaccana. In many discourses the mechanism of narration, interlocution between the Buddha and another person, countering of wrong views held by some bhikkhu, questions and answers or discussion between eminent disciples, is used to bring out doctrinal points. of the Teaching. In these suttas similes abound. Some suttas are titled after the major similes used in the sutta.

**Contents and Sample Pages**