The Aṅguttara Nikāya ('; , also translated "Gradual Collection" or "Numerical Discourses") is a Buddhist scriptures collection, the fourth of the five Nikāyas, or collections, in the Sutta Piṭaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that comprise the Pāli Tipiṭaka of Theravāda Buddhism. This nikāya consists of several thousand discourses ascribed to the Buddha and his chief disciples arranged in eleven "books", according to the number of Dhamma items referenced in them.

Overview

Translator Bhikkhu Bodhi wrote: "In Aṅguttara Nikāya, persons are as a rule not reduced to mere collections of aggregates, elements, and sense-bases, but are treated as real centers of living experience engaged in a heartfelt quest for happiness and freedom from suffering."

Parallel

The Aṅguttara Nikāya corresponds to the Ekottara Āgama ("Increased by One Discourses") found in the Sūtra Piṭakas of various Sanskritic early Buddhists schools, fragments of which survive in Sanskrit. A complete version survives in Chinese translation by the name Zēngyī Ahánjīng (增一阿含經); it is thought to be from either the Mahāsāṃghika or Sarvāstivādin recensions. According to Keown, "there is considerable disparity between the Pāli and the Sarvāstivādin versions, with more than two-thirds of the sūtras found in one but not the other compilation, which suggests that much of this portion of the Sūtra Piṭaka was not formed until a fairly late date."

Divisions

The nipatas in this nikaya are:

{| class="wikitable"

|+

!Nipāta

!Vagga

|-

|Ekakanipāto

(The Book of Ones)

|

  • 1. Rūpādivaggo
  • 2. Nīvaraṇappahānavaggo
  • 3. Akammaniyavaggo
  • 4. Adantavaggo
  • 5. Paṇihitaacchavaggo
  • 6. Accharāsaṅghātavaggo
  • 7. Vīriyārambhādivaggo
  • 8. Kalyāṇamittādivaggo
  • 9. Pamādādivaggo
  • 10. Dutiyapamādādivaggo
  • 11. Adhammavaggo
  • 12. Anāpattivaggo
  • 13. Ekapuggalavaggo
  • 14. Etadaggavaggo
  • 15. Aṭṭhānapāḷi
  • 16. Ekadhammapāḷi
  • 17. Pasādakaradhammavaggo
  • 18. Aparaaccharāsaṅghātavaggo
  • 19. Kāyagatāsativaggo
  • 20. Amatavaggo

|-

|Dukanipāto

(The Book of Twos)

|

  • 1. Kammakaraṇavaggo
  • 2. Adhikaraṇavaggo
  • 3. Bālavaggo
  • 4. Samacittavaggo
  • 5. Parisavaggo
  • (6) 1. Puggalavaggo
  • (7) 2. Sukhavaggo
  • (8) 3. Sanimittavaggo
  • (9) 4. Dhammavaggo
  • (10) 5. Bālavaggo
  • (11) 1. Āsāduppajahavaggo
  • (12) 2. Āyācanavaggo
  • (13) 3. Dānavaggo
  • (14) 4. Santhāravaggo
  • (15) 5. Samāpattivaggo
  • 1. Kodhapeyyālaṃ
  • 2. Akusalapeyyālaṃ
  • 3. Vinayapeyyālaṃ
  • 4. Rāgapeyyālaṃ

|-

|Tikanipāto

(The Book of Threes)

|

  • 1. Bālavaggo
  • 2. Rathakāravaggo
  • 3. Puggalavaggo
  • 4. Devadūtavaggo
  • 5. Cūḷavaggo
  • (6) 1. Brāhmaṇavaggo
  • (7) 2. Mahāvaggo
  • (8) 3. Ānandavaggo
  • (9) 4. Samaṇavaggo
  • (10) 5. Loṇakapallavaggo
  • (11) 1. Sambodhavaggo
  • (12) 2. Āpāyikavaggo
  • (13) 3. Kusināravaggo
  • (14) 4. Yodhājīvavaggo
  • (15) 5. Maṅgalavaggo
  • (16) 6. Acelakavaggo
  • (17) 7. Kammapathapeyyālaṃ
  • (18) 8. Rāgapeyyālaṃ

|-

|Catukkanipāto

(The Book of Fours)

|

  • 1. Bhaṇḍagāmavaggo
  • 2. Caravaggo
  • 3. Uruvelavaggo
  • 4. Cakkavaggo
  • 5. Rohitassavaggo
  • (6) 1. Puññābhisandavaggo
  • (7) 2. Pattakammavaggo
  • (8) 3. Apaṇṇakavaggo
  • (9) 4. Macalavaggo
  • (10) 5. Asuravaggo
  • (11) 1. Valāhakavaggo
  • (12) 2. Kesivaggo
  • (13) 3. Bhayavaggo
  • (14) 4. Puggalavaggo
  • (15) 5. Ābhāvaggo
  • (16) 1. Indriyavaggo
  • (17) 2. Paṭipadāvaggo
  • (18) 3. Sañcetaniyavaggo
  • (19) 4. Brāhmaṇavaggo
  • (20) 5. Mahāvaggo
  • (21) 1. Sappurisavaggo
  • (22) 2. Parisāvaggo
  • (23) 3. Duccaritavaggo
  • (24) 4. Kammavaggo
  • (25) 5. Āpattibhayavaggo
  • (26) 6. Abhiññāvaggo
  • (27) 7. Kammapathavaggo
  • (28) 8. Rāgapeyyālaṃ

|-

|Pañcakanipāto

(The Book of Fives)

|

  • 1. Sekhabalavaggo
  • 2. Balavaggo
  • 3. Pañcaṅgikavaggo
  • 4. Sumanavaggo
  • 5. Muṇḍarājavaggo
  • (6) 1. Nīvaraṇavaggo
  • (7) 2. Saññāvaggo
  • (8) 3. Yodhājīvavaggo
  • (9) 4. Theravaggo
  • (10) 5. Kakudhavaggo
  • (11) 1. Phāsuvihāravaggo
  • (12) 2. Andhakavindavaggo
  • (13) 3. Gilānavaggo
  • (14) 4. Rājavaggo
  • (15) 5. Tikaṇḍakīvaggo
  • (16) 1. Saddhammavaggo
  • (17) 2. Āghātavaggo
  • (18) 3. Upāsakavaggo
  • (19) 4. Araññavaggo
  • (20) 5. Brāhmaṇavaggo
  • (21) 1. Kimilavaggo
  • (22) 2. Akkosakavaggo
  • (23) 3. Dīghacārikavaggo
  • (24) 4. Āvāsikavaggo
  • (25) 5. Duccaritavaggo
  • (26) 6. Upasampadāvaggo
  • 1. Sammutipeyyālaṃ
  • 2. Sikkhāpadapeyyālaṃ
  • 3. Rāgapeyyālaṃ

|-

|Chakkanipāto

(The Book of Sixes)

|

  • 1. Āhuneyyavaggo
  • 2. Sāraṇīyavaggo
  • 3. Anuttariyavaggo
  • 4. Devatāvaggo
  • 5. Dhammikavaggo
  • 6. Mahāvaggo
  • 7. Devatāvaggo
  • 8. Arahattavaggo
  • 9. Sītivaggo
  • 10. Ānisaṃsavaggo
  • 11. Tikavaggo
  • 12. Sāmaññavaggo
  • 13. Rāgapeyyālaṃ

|-

|Sattakanipāto

(The Book of Sevens)

|

  • 1. Dhanavaggo
  • 2. Anusayavaggo
  • 3. Vajjisattakavaggo
  • 4. Devatāvaggo
  • 5. Mahāyaññavaggo
  • 6. Abyākatavaggo
  • 7. Mahāvaggo
  • 8. Vinayavaggo
  • 9. Samaṇavaggo
  • 10. Āhuneyyavaggo
  • 11. Rāgapeyyālaṃ

|-

|Aṭṭhakanipāto

(The Book of Eights)

|

  • 1. Mettāvaggo
  • 2. Mahāvaggo
  • 3. Gahapativaggo
  • 4. Dānavaggo
  • 5. Uposathavaggo
  • (6) 1. Gotamīvaggo
  • (7) 2. Bhūmicālavaggo
  • (8) 3. Yamakavaggo
  • (9) 4. Sativaggo
  • (10) 5. Sāmaññavaggo
  • (11). Rāgapeyyālaṃ

|-

|Navakanipāto

(The Book of Nines)

|

  • 1. Sambodhivaggo
  • 2. Sīhanādavaggo
  • 3. Sattāvāsavaggo
  • 4. Mahāvaggo
  • 5. Sāmaññavaggo
  • (6) 1. Khemavaggo
  • (7) 2. Satipaṭṭhānavaggo
  • (8) 3. Sammappadhānavaggo
  • (9) 4. Iddhipādavaggo
  • (10) 5. Rāgapeyyālaṃ

|-

|Dasakanipāto

(The Book of Tens)

|

  • 1. Ānisaṃsavaggo
  • 2. Nāthavaggo
  • 3. Mahāvaggo
  • 4. Upālivaggo
  • 5. Akkosavaggo
  • (6) 1. Sacittavaggo
  • (7) 2. Yamakavaggo
  • (8) 3. Ākaṅkhavaggo
  • (9) 4. Theravaggo
  • (10) 5. Upālivaggo
  • (11) 1. Samaṇasaññāvaggo
  • (12) 2. Paccorohaṇivaggo
  • (13) 3. Parisuddhavaggo
  • (14) 4. Sādhuvaggo
  • (15) 5. Ariyavaggo
  • (16) 1. Puggalavaggo
  • (17) 2. Jāṇussoṇivaggo
  • (18) 3. Sādhuvaggo
  • (19) 4. Ariyamaggavaggo
  • (20) 5. Aparapuggalavaggo
  • (21) 1. Karajakāyavaggo
  • (22) 2. Sāmaññavaggo
  • 23. Rāgapeyyālaṃ

|-

|Ekādasako nipāto

(The Book of Elevens)

|

  • 1. Nissayavaggo
  • 2. Anussativaggo
  • 3. Sāmaññavaggo
  • 4. Rāgapeyyālaṃ

|}

Translations

Full translation

  • The Book of the Gradual Sayings, tr F. L. Woodward & E. M. Hare, 1932–6, 5 volumes, Pali Text Society[http://www.palitext.com], Bristol
  • Numerical Discourses of the Buddha, tr Bhikkhu Bodhi, 2012, 1 volume, Wisdom Publications [http://www.wisdompubs.org/book/numerical-discourses-buddha], Somerville, MA
  • Bhikkhu Sujato (trans.), The “Numbered” or “Numerical” Discourses, 2018, published online at SuttaCentral and released into the public domain.

Selections

  • 1st 3 nipatas tr E. R. J. Gooneratne, Ceylon, c1913
  • 4th nipata tr A. D. Jayasundare, London, 1925
  • anthology ed & tr Nyanaponika, Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, Sri Lanka; revised, with additions & deletions, by Bodhi, as Numerical Discourses of the Buddha, Altamira Press, Oxford/New York/Lanham, Maryland/Walnut Creek, California, 1999

See also

  • Early Buddhist Texts
  • Dīgha Nikāya
  • Khuddaka Nikāya
  • Majjhima Nikāya
  • Pāli Cannon
  • Saṃyutta Nikāya
  • Sutta Piṭaka
  • Dīghajāṇu Sutta

References

  • Anguttara Nikaya in Pali, English and Sinhala (metta.lk)
  • English Translations of the Anguttara Nikaya (accesstoinsight.org)
  • English translations by Bhikkhu Bodhi of selected Suttas from the Anguttara Nikaya at Wisdom Publications