Aṭṭhakavagga and Pārāyanavagga

The Aṭṭhakavagga (Pali, "Octet Chapter") and the Pārāyanavagga (Pali, "Way to the Far Shore Chapter") are two small collections of suttas within the Pāli Canon of Theravada Buddhism. They are among the earliest existing Buddhist literature, and place considerable emphasis on the rejection of, or non-attachment to, all views. The and the Pārāyanavagga are two small collections of suttas. They are incorporated in the Khuddhaka Nikāya as subdivisions of the Sutta Nipāta, the collection of the words spoken by the Buddha. The suttas portray the Aṭṭhakavagga as some of the Buddha's first sermons; the Udana depicts the Buddha asking a monk to recite Dhamma, and responding approvingly when he recites the Aṭṭhakavagga. Some scholars regard the and the Pārāyanavagga as being considerably earlier in composition than the bulk of the canon, and as revealing an earlier form of Buddhism. They are regarded as earlier because of elements of language and composition, their inclusion in very early commentaries, and also because some have seen them as expressing versions of certain Buddhist beliefs that are different from, and perhaps prior to, their later codified versions. In this thinking, the Pārāyanavagga is somewhat closer to the later tradition than the . The Khaggavisānasutta (Rhinoceros Sutra), also in the Sutta Nipāta, similarly seems to reveal an earlier mode of Buddhist monasticism, which emphasized individual wandering monastics, more in keeping with the Indian sannyāsin tradition. In 1994, a group of texts which are among the earliest Indian manuscripts discovered were found in Gandhara. These texts include a relatively complete version of the Rhinoceros Sutra and textual material from the and Pārāyanavagga. Speaking generally, the and the Pārāyanavagga tend more strongly to emphasize the negative (i.e. those of abstention) sides of asceticism, and show a strong concern with letting go of views, regulating everyday bodily activities, and sexual desires. The Atthakavagga does not give a clear-cut goal such as nirvana, but describes the ideal person.