[Buddha-l] earliest p-s

[Dan Lusthaus]

To return to an earlier matter, namely whether the Sutta Nipata contains the
earliest version of p-s, and if not, how could jumbled and/or partial
versions be seen as jumbled and/or partial versions reconfigured to address
immediate questions, there is the following late section in Sn:

[from Ajitamāṇava-pucchā (Ajita’s Questions) (Sn 1032-1042)]



Ajita asks “What envelops/conceals/obstructs the world” (nivuto loko)?
Buddha replies:



“Ignorance (avijjāya nivuto loko)…”



Ajita’s followup questions elicit mindfulness (sati) and insight (paññā) as
ways to stop the stream (i) of desire (jappa) that pollutes (abhilepana) the
world and (ii) the dukkha that instills fear (of death) in it (dukkham assa
mahabbhayam).



Ajita then asks how to bring nāma-rūpa to an end (uparujjhati)?



Buddha replies: yattha nāmañ ca rūpañ ca asesaṃ uparujjhati / viññāṇassa
nirodhena etth’ etaṃ uparujjhati //

Nāma-rūpa can be brought to a total end by the cessation of consciousness
(Saddhatissa’s tr. modified)



And it concludes with a recommendation to live a life as a wandering
bhikkhu.



Which is easier to imagine: That this is the proto-p-s, or that this
exchange has Buddha judiciously applying portions of some sort of developed
form p-s – with some “term” substitutions (e.g., jappa for taṇhā,
mahabbhayam for “death”) – being applied to address specific questions?



Dan Lusthaus