經藏 Sutta pitaka

佛經摘要

《巴利聖典• 經藏• 中部》摘要

經藏介紹 Introduction to Sutta pitaka

《經藏》是世尊以及聖弟子們的言行集。

上座部的《經藏》一共有五部，

即《長部》(Dīghanikāya)、

《中部》(Majjhimanikāya)、

《相應部》(Saüyuttanikāya)、

《增支部》(Aïguttaranikāya)、

《小部》(Khuddakanikāya)。

1、《長部》(Dīghanikāya)。因為收錄的經文篇幅比較長，所以稱為《長部》。共收錄34 部經。

2、《中部》(Majjhimanikāya)。因為收錄的經文篇幅不長不短，中等的，所以稱為《中部》。共收錄152 部經。

3、《相應部》(Saüyuttanikāya)；相應的意思是按內容分門別類，比如把佛陀所說的“五蘊”編在一起，“六處”編在一起，“界”編在一起，“四聖諦”編在一起、“緣起”編在一起，所以稱為《相應部》。一共有56 相

應，7762 部經。

4、《增支部》(Aṅguttaranikāya)。增(uttara)，是增添、更上的意思。 aïga 是部分、支。增支的編輯方法像法數。凡是佛陀所講的“一法”，將之編集在一起。又把“二法”編在一起，“三法”編在一起。比如說“二法”，有止、觀，名、色等等。 “三法”有三種受：苦受、樂受、不苦不樂受；三界：欲界、色界、無色界。由一法一直編到十一法，因此《增支部》有十一集。這是把佛陀所講的和數目有關的經文彙編在一起，共收錄9557 經。

5、《小部》(Khuddakanikāya)。這裡的“小”並不是指篇幅小，或者微不足道。其本意是內容比較龐雜，把前面四部以外的所有經典都收編在這裡。比如說《法句》，如果要編在前面四部的話，不知道應該編在哪一部，於是就編在《小部》。

《小部》一共有15 部，它們是

1.《小誦》

2.《法句》

3.《自說》

4.《如是語》

5.《經集》

6.《天宮故事》

7.《鬼故事》

8.《長老偈》

9.《長老尼偈》

10.《本生》

11.《義釋》

12.《無礙解道》

13.《傳記》

14.《諸佛史》

15.《所行藏》。

《小部》在《經藏》五部中分量最大，凡是不屬於前面四部的全部都歸在《小部》裡。

在緬甸，則再加上《彌林德問》《導論》和《藏釋》，成為18 部。

**The Sutta Piṭaka** is a collection of discourses spoken by the Blessed One and his noble disciples.

In the Theravāda tradition, the Sutta Piṭaka consists of five collections (Nikāyas):

1. **Dīghanikāya** (The Collection of Long Discourses)

It is so named because the discourses it contains are relatively long. This collection comprises 34 suttas.

2. **Majjhimanikāya** (The Collection of Middle-Length Discourses)

It is so named because the discourses it contains are of medium length, neither long nor short. This collection comprises 152 suttas.

3. **Saṁyuttanikāya** (The Collection of Connected Discourses)

The term *saṁyutta* means "connected" or "grouped by subject matter." For example, the Buddha’s teachings on the "Five Aggregates" are compiled together, the "Six Sense Bases" are compiled together, and similarly for "Elements," "Four Noble Truths," and "Dependent Origination." Hence, it is called the *Connected Discourses*. This collection contains 56 *saṁyuttas* (chapters) and a total of 7,762 suttas.

4. **Aṅguttaranikāya** (The Collection of Numerical Discourses)

*Uttara* means "further" or "increasing," and *aṅga* means "part" or "factor." This collection is arranged according to numerical lists. The Buddha’s teachings on "ones" (e.g., one thing) are compiled together, "twos" (e.g., calm and insight, name and form) are compiled together, and "threes" (e.g., three feelings: pleasant, painful, and neutral; three realms: sense-sphere, fine-material, and immaterial) are compiled together. This pattern continues from groups of one up to groups of eleven. Thus, the *Numerical Discourses* consists of eleven *nipātas* (books) and contains a total of 9,557 suttas.

5. **Khuddakanikāya** (The Collection of Minor Texts)

Here, "minor" does not mean short in length or insignificant. Rather, it indicates that the contents are miscellaneous. All the texts not included in the previous four Nikāyas are gathered here. For instance, the *Dhammapada*—if one were to place it in one of the first four collections, it would be unclear where it belongs—so it is included in the *Minor Texts*.

The Khuddakanikāya consists of 15 texts:

1. *Khuddakapāṭha* (The Short Passages)

2. *Dhammapada* (The Path of Dhamma)

3. *Udāna* (Exclamations / Inspired Utterances)

4. *Itivuttaka* (The Thus-Said Discourses)

5. *Suttanipāta* (The Collection of Discourses)

6. *Vimānavatthu* (Stories of Celestial Mansions)

7. *Petavatthu* (Stories of Ghosts)

8. *Theragāthā* (Verses of the Elder Monks)

9. *Therīgāthā* (Verses of the Elder Nuns)

10. *Jātaka* (Birth Stories / The Buddha’s Previous Lives)

11. *Niddesa* (Expositions)

12. *Paṭisambhidāmagga* (The Path of Discrimination)

13. *Apadāna* (Biographies / Lives of the Saints)

14. *Buddhavaṁsa* (The Chronicle of the Buddhas)

15. *Cariyāpiṭaka* (The Basket of Conduct)

The *Khuddakanikāya* is the largest among the five Nikāyas in the Sutta Piṭaka. Any text not belonging to the first four Nikāyas is included here.

In Myanmar (Burma), three additional texts are added—the *Milindapañha* (Questions of King Milinda), the *Nettippakaraṇa* (The Guide), and the *Peṭakopadesa* (Instruction on the Piṭaka)—making a total of 18 texts.