Tradition
Buddhism (Theravāda)
Source: Dhammapada · Pali Canon nikāyas
Within-tradition reviewer: pending Quote verification: complete
17
Principles
30
Source books
↗
In the union compass
Principles
This tradition distills to 17 core principles, each traceable to specific verses in Dhammapada · Pali Canon nikāyas.
Read all 17 principles →About this distillation
Distillation of Theravāda Buddhism — Decision Record
This README fixes which texts and which translation are distilled, and who reviewed the choices.
Tradition
- Slug:
buddhism-theravada - Tradition / family: Theravāda Buddhism (the Pali textual tradition; not Mahāyāna/Vajrayāna, which would be separate entries).
- Primary frame in one sentence: a non-theistic path of ethical and mental cultivation leading from dukkha (unsatisfactoriness) to liberation (nibbāna).
Canon selection (what is included, and why)
| Text | Included? | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Dhammapada | yes (first) | Bounded (423 verses), among the most recited/memorized Buddhist texts — high lived-centrality; ideal entry point |
| Pali Canon nikāyas (Sutta Piṭaka) | yes (staged, after Dhammapada) | Full-canon commitment; staged because of size |
| Vinaya & Abhidhamma Piṭaka | noted | Monastic-discipline and scholastic layers; referenced, distilled only if principle-bearing |
- Full-canon commitment: yes, staged — Dhammapada first, then the nikāyas.
Translation policy
- Named translation: F. Max Müller, The Dhammapada, in The Sacred Books of the East, vol. X, part I (Oxford, 1881). Public domain.
- Access: Project Gutenberg #2017 (plain text).
- Why this translation: unambiguously public-domain, a scholarly standard, complete. Caveat: 1881 diction (e.g., "priesthood" for saṅgha, "love" for avera/non-hatred). Where Müller's word choice carries interpretive weight, the Pali term is noted.
- Verse numbering: Müller numbers verses 1–423 continuously; Chapter I = verses 1–20.
- Untranslatable terms to preserve: dukkha, anattā, anicca, nibbāna, dhamma, saṅgha, Māra, taṇhā, mettā. (Müller's English renderings are glossed against these.)
- Quote accuracy: char-for-char verified against Gutenberg #2017 (SBE X). See
quote-audit-buddhism-theravada.md— PASS (248/249 anchors verbatim; 1 fix applied; 4 paraphrase glosses flagged).
Reviewer / standpoint
- Within-tradition reviewer: none secured.
- Therefore: this output is "one structured reading, not authoritative" and the reviewer gap is flagged.
Structure for this tradition
- Atomic unit ("books/"): Dhammapada chapter (vagga); verses cited as
Dhp <n>. - Internal convergence layer?: not for the Dhammapada alone (single text). A convergence pass may apply once nikāya sources are added and treated as multiple independent texts.
- Sensitivity boundaries: none unusual for the Dhammapada; standard care in not over-reading later doctrine into verse.
Files
| File | Status |
|---|---|
| Methodology | done |
| Index and traceability (all 26 chapters) | done |
| Per-chapter extractions | done — 423 verses, 129 chapter principles |
| Core principles | done — 17 principles (13 Dhammapada core + 4 Nikāya sampling additions) |
| Structural analysis | done |
| Rooted compass | done |
Dhammapada: complete. Pali Canon nikāyas: representative sampling underway — first entry the Aṅguttara Nikāya (see the books folder). Public-domain source: Warren, Buddhism in Translations (1896); Woodward & Hare's Gradual Sayings (1932–1936) deferred until U.S. public-domain coverage available (~2028 for Vol I).