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Concept
Nettipakaraṇa
Summary
The Nettipakaraṇa (Pali, also called Nettippakarana, abbreviated Netti) is a mythological Buddhist scripture, sometimes included in the Khuddaka Nikaya of Theravada Buddhism's Pali Canon. The main theme of this text is Buddhist Hermeneutics through a systematization of the Buddha's teachings. It is regarded as canonical by the Burmese Theravada tradition, but isn't included in other Theravada canons.
The nature of the Nettipakarana was a matter of some disagreement among scholars. Initially, Western scholars classified it as a commentary, rather than as a canonical text. Further study and comparison with a closely related text, the Petakopadesa eventually revealed that it was a guide to interpretation and the composition of definitive commentaries.
Its translator, supported by Professor George Bond of Northwestern University, described it is a guide to help those who already understand the teaching present it to others. However, A. K. Warder disagreed, maintaining that it covers all aspects of interpretation, not just this. Consensus among contemporary scholars is that it was primarily intended as a guide to interpreting and providing explanation of canonical texts, similar to the Petakopadesa, whose content it resembles.
Verses in the Nettipakarana composed in a poetic meter unknown in Sri Lanka suggest a northern Indian origin for the text that predates the Christian era. It is one of the few post-canonical texts composed in Pāli that predates the work of Buddhaghosa, who quotes from it and uses its methods and technical terms in his own commentaries. The structure of the text- where the later verses are constructed as commentaries on a summary verse- became popular in the first centuries CE, while the āryā meter used for its verses was already being used for such verses around 150 BCE.
The Nettipakarana is ascribed to the Buddha's disciple Kaccana by the text's colophon, introductory verses, and the commentary attributed to Dhammapala. The text's colophon says he composed the book, that it was approved by the Buddha and that it was recited at the First Council.
Official source
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