Subtitles in Dhammapada

Q & A
1

Greetings D&D;

My question is regarding Cakkhupālattheravatthu, Maṫṫhakuṅḋalīvatthu, Tissattheravatthu and so on in the beginning of Dhammapada verses.

There’s several Sariputta and Devadatta related vattus as well.

Why are these sections named for these monks? Are these sections spoken to these monks or by these monks or what’s the deal?

2

The deal is that those are titles of the commentarial stories that explain the situation that led the Buddha to teach the verse.

You can read them here:

https://ancient-buddhist-texts.net/English-Texts/Buddhist-Legends/

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3

Thanks a lot! We learn something staggering about the canon everyday. Sadhu, friend. :slight_smile:

4

You are most welcome.

If you are not familiar with the commentary stories do take some time to check them out. Although they do have quite a few past life stories, they tend to focus more on things that happened in the time of the Buddha. This is where we can find many well known stories.

The Sāmāvatīvatthu alone could be an epic feature length film.

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