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The Case of the Sārasaṅgaha: Reflections on the Reuse of Texts in Medieval Sinhalese Pāli Literature

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Abstract

The Sārasaṅgaha is a Pāli text of XIIth–XIIIth century by the Sinhalese monk Siddhattha Thera. Its themes include the aspiration to become a Buddha, shrines, meditation, theories on rain, wind, gender and more. The main body consists of citations from the Nikāyas, the Jātakas, the Visuddhimagga and above all, from commentarial literature. By analysing the way the Sārasaṅgaha refers to and establishes a dialogue with the quoted works, this paper promotes a new assessment of the cultural and textual tendencies that influenced the development of Buddhist literature especially in the Middle Ages. In particular, the analysis of this text and the quotations of which it is composed reveals the importance of commentarial literature, a literary genre that only recently has attracted the attention of Pāli scholars.

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Abbreviations

A:

Aṅguttaranikāya

Abh:

Abhidhānappadīpikā

Abhv:

Abhidhammattha-vibhāvanī

Abhidh-av:

Abhidhammāvatāra

Abhs:

Abhiadhammattha-saṅgaha

AbhsS:

Abhiadhammattha-saṅgaha-sanne

Ap:

Apadāna

As:

Aṭṭhasālinī

BEFEO:

Bulletin de l’École Française d’Extrême Orient

Bv:

Buddhavaṃsa

Bv-a:

Madhuratthavilāsinī (Buddhavaṃsa-aṭṭhakathā)

Cp:

Cariyāpiṭaka

Cp-a:

Paramatthadīpanī

CSCD:

Chaṭṭha Saṅgāyana CD-ROM (version 3) Vipassanā Research Institute

D:

Dīghanikāya

Dhp:

Dhammapada

Dhp-a:

Dhammapada-aṭṭhakathā

Dhs:

Dhammasaṅgaṇī

Dīp:

Dīpavaṃsa

It:

Itivuttaka

It-a:

Paramatthadīpanī (Itivuttaka-aṭṭhakathā)

Ja:

Jātaka

JIP:

Journal of Indian Philosophy

JPTS:

Journal of Pāli Text Society

Khp:

Khuddakapāṭha

Khp-a:

Khuddakapāṭha-aṭṭhakathā

Kv:

Kathāvatthu

Kv-a:

Kathāvatthu-aṭṭhakathā

M:

Majjhimanikāya

Mhv:

Mahavaṃsa

Mil:

Milindapañho

Mp:

Manorathapūraṇī (Aṅguttaranikāya-aṭṭhakathā)

Mvu:

Mahāvastu

Nett:

Nettipakaraṇa

Paṭis:

Paṭisambhidāmagga

Paṭis - a:

Paṭisambhidāmagga-aṭṭhakathā

Pj:

Pajjamadhu

Pj I:

Paramatthajotikā I (Khuddakapāṭha-aṭṭhakathā)

Pj II:

Paramatthajotikā II (Suttanipāta-aṭṭhakathā)

Pm:

Paramatthamañjūsā

Pp:

Puggalapaññatti

Ppk-a:

Pañcappakaraṇa-aṭṭhakathā

PTS:

Pali Text Society

Pv:

Petavatthu

Pv-a:

Paramatthadīpanī (Petavatthu-aṭṭhakathā)

Ps:

Papañcasūdanī (Majjhimanikāya-aṭṭhakathā)

S:

Saṃyuttanikāya

Sn:

Suttanipāta

S.o.a.s:

School of Oriental and African Studies

Sp:

Samantapāsādikā (Vinaya-aṭṭhakathā)

Spk:

Sāratthappakāsinī (Saṃyuttanikāya-aṭṭhakathā)

Spk-ṭ:

Līnatthappakāsinī

Sp-ṭ:

Sāratthadīpanī

Ss:

Sārasaṅgaha

Su:

Suttasaṅgaha-aṭṭhakathā

Sv:

Sumaṅgalavilāsinī (Dīghanikāya-aṭṭhakathā)

Sv-pṭ:

Dīghanikāya-aṭṭhakathā-ṭīkā

Th, Thī:

Theragāthā and Therīgāthā

Th-a:

Paramatthadīpanī (Theragāthā-aṭṭhakathā)

Thī-a:

Paramatthadīpanī (Therīgāthā-aṭṭhakathā)

Thūp:

Thūpavaṃsa

Ud:

Udāna

Ud-a:

Paramatthadīpanī (Udāna-aṭṭhakathā)

Udāna-v:

Udānavarga

Uj:

Upāsakajanālaṅkāra

Vibh:

Vibhaṅga

Vibh-a:

Sammohavinodanī

Vin:

Vinayapiṭaka

Vism:

Visuddhimagga

Vjb:

Vajirabuddhiṭīkā (ṭīkā of the Sp)

Vv:

Vimānavatthu

Vv-a:

Paramatthadīpanī (Vimānavatthu-aṭṭhakathā)

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  1. “Sapienza” University of Rome, Rome, Italy

    Chiara Neri

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Neri, C. The Case of the Sārasaṅgaha: Reflections on the Reuse of Texts in Medieval Sinhalese Pāli Literature. J Indian Philos 43, 335–388 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10781-014-9241-8

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