{"id":15,"date":"2010-10-09T09:33:48","date_gmt":"2010-10-09T09:33:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/mindfulnessmatters\/2010\/10\/pali-canon.html"},"modified":"2010-10-09T09:33:48","modified_gmt":"2010-10-09T09:33:48","slug":"pali-canon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/2010\/10\/pali-canon.html","title":{"rendered":"Pali Canon"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\n<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

This past summer I stood in the
\nreference library at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies staring at the Pali
\nCanon. It occupies an entire bookshelf, standing 2.5 by 8 feet tall, comprised
\nof 140 volumes on six and one half shelves. <\/span><\/p>\n

I’d tell you how many
\npages there were, but I can’t read the Pali script. Suffice to say there are
\ntens of thousands (I estimate 30,000). This version is published by the
\nVipassana Research Institute in Burma and is in the original Pali. These <\/span>gold leaf-embossed <\/span>maroon
\nvolumes with their Sanskrit-looking characters (Pali and Sanskrit are closely
\nrelated). <\/span><\/p>\n

These volumes represent
\nthe teachings of the Buddha. Known as the Pitakas (“baskets”) they
\nconsist of the Vinaya (monastic code of discipline), the Suttas (the popular
\ndiscourses), and the Abhidhamma (“a compendium of profound teachings
\nelucidating the functioning and interrelationships of mind, mental factors,
\nmatter, and the phenomena transcending these.” <\/span><\/p>\n

The Pitaka was the written
\ndown version of the oral tradition that persisted at the time of the Buddha and
\nin the years after his death. Recitation of the canon persisted even after it
\nwas written down and continues to do this day. Contemporary Burmese master Mahathera
\nVicittasarabhivamsa can recite the Tipitaka from memory. <\/span><\/p>\n

Over the centuries,
\nthe Pali Canon has been preserved in Burma, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Cambodia
\nand the versions that emerged in these different countries are meaningfully the
\nsame, attesting to the validity of their contents.<\/span><\/p>\n

“The Sangha clearly
\ndemonstrates that in Dhamma there is no place for blind faith, emotional
\ndevotion, or the logician’s hair splitting intellectual acrobatics. The Dhamma
\nis immensely practical.”<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Six Dhamma Councils
\n(Dhamma-Sangitas) “Dhamma Recitations” have taken place over the centuries. “The basic teaching of
\nthe Buddha were first recited by an elder monk and then canted after him in
\nchorus by the whole assembly. The recitation was considered to be authentic
\nwhen it was unanimously approved by all of the monks in attendance.” (from
\nthe Preface of the Pali Canon) The recitations were committed to words at the
\nFourth Council some 500 years after the Buddha’s death.<\/span><\/p>\n

The first council, 500 monks worked for seven months. 100 years later
\nthe second council was convened and settled disagreements regarding the
\nmonastic rules. The third council was convened in326 BCE by King Ashoka with 1000 monks
\nworking for 9 months. The fourth council took place in Sri Lanka in 29 BCE with 500 monks writing
\nit down for the first time. <\/span><\/p>\n

Jumping ahead, the Fifth Council took place in
\nMandalay in 1871. 2400 monks labored for five months inscribing the Tiipitaka
\nonto marble slabs. The sixth council took place in Rangoon in 1954 with 2500 monks
\nfrom all the Theravada countries.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Pali Canon is a rich and fascinating repository of the Buddha’s teachings. From time to time, I will present passages from the Canon.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This past summer I stood in the reference library at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies staring at the Pali Canon. 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Dr. Kozak's ability to translate ancient healing traditions into pragmatic applications suitable for modern lifestyles through the use of metaphors have made him a strong voice in healthcare and business. Beginning with a journey to India in the 80\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s where he took the Bodhisattva vows from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Arnie Dr. Kozak began his lifelong practice in mindfulness meditation. Intent on finding a way to bring the practical healing attributes of mindfulness he began incorporating these techniques in his private practice. In 2002 Dr. Kozak created Exquisite Mind in Burlington, Vermont as a vehicle that could expand his wisdom to larger audiences beyond individual psychotherapy to professionals and corporations, health care providers, public groups and, most recently with Exquisite Mind Golf, amateur and professional golfers. 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He completed his training as a Psychological Fellow at the Harvard Medical School. Prior to founding the Exquisite Mind in 2002, Arnie worked ten years in the private sector for the PKC Corporation consulting on mental health content for this revolutionary software company.","sameAs":["http:\/\/exquisitemind.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/author\/akozak"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/268"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}