Dhammapāla

Dhammapālawas the name of two or more^{[citation needed]}greatTheravada Buddhistcommentators.

The earlier, born inKanchipuram,is known to us from both theGandhavamsaandthe writings ofXuanzang^{[citation needed]}to have lived atBadara Tittha Viharasouth of modernChennai,and to have written thecommentarieson seven of the shorter canonical books (consisting almost entirely of verses) and also the commentary on theNetti,perhaps the oldestPaliwork outside the canon. Extracts from the latter work, and the whole of three out of the seven others, have been published in Pali by thePali Text Society.These works show great learning, exegetical skill and sound judgment. But as to the meaning of words, or to discussions of the ethical import of his texts, very little can be gathered from his writings of value for the social history of his time. Though in all probability aTamilby birth, he declares, in the opening lines of those of his works that have been edited, that he followed the tradition of the Great Monastery (Maha Vihara) atAnuradhapurainSri Lanka,and the works themselves confirm this in every respect.^[1]

Another writer, probably also calledDhammapala,since he was supposed by the 12th century to be the same, though scholars do not accept this, wrote subcommentaries on the commentaries on theDigha,MajjhimaandSamyuttaNikayas.^{[citation needed]}

A thirdDhammapalawroteSaccasankhepa,a handbook ofabhidhamma.^{[citation needed]}

Sources[edit]

Edmund Hardy inZeitschrift der deutschen morgenlandischen Gesellschaft(1898), pp. 97 foll.
Netti-ppakaranam: The guide, according to Kaccana Thera(ed. E. Hardy, London,Pali Text Society,1902, ASIN B0000CLJ95), especially the Introduction,passim
Theri Gatha Commentary,Peta Vatthu Commentary,andVimna Vutthu Commentary,all three published by the Pali Text Society.
K.R. Norman,Pali Literature,Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden, 1983
Oskar von Hinüber,Handbook of Pali Literature,Walter de Gruyter, Berlin, 1996

References[edit]

^One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Dhammapāla".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 8 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 141–142.

[EB1911-1] One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Dhammapāla".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 8 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 141–142.

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