Ratana Sutta
Encyclopedia
The Ratana Sutta is a Buddhist discourse (Sanskrit sutra
Pali, sutta
) found in the Pali Canon
's Sutta Nipata
(Sn 2.1) and Khuddakapatha
(Khp 7); with a parallel in the Mahavastu
. In the Pali it is seventeen verses in length, and in the Sanskrit version nineteen. The Ratana Sutta extols the characteristics of the three ratana
(Pali for "gem" or "jewel" or "treasure") in Buddhism: the Enlightened One (Buddha
), the Teaching (Dhamma) and the noble community of disciples (ariya Sangha
).
Buddhism, according to post-canonical Pali commentaries
, the background story for the Ratana Sutta is that the town of aishali (ancient city)|Vesali](or Visala)] was being plagued by disease, non-human beings and famine; in despair, the townspeople called upon the Buddha
for aid; he had the Ven. Ananda
go through town reciting this discourse leading to the dispersal of the town's woes.
as follows:
countries and institutions, this discourse is often recited as part of religious, public and private ceremonies for the purpose of blessing new endeavors and dispelling inauspicious forces.
Sutra
Sūtra is an aphorism or a collection of such aphorisms in the form of a manual. Literally it means a thread or line that holds things together and is derived from the verbal root siv-, meaning to sew , as does the medical term...
Pali, sutta
Sutra
Sūtra is an aphorism or a collection of such aphorisms in the form of a manual. Literally it means a thread or line that holds things together and is derived from the verbal root siv-, meaning to sew , as does the medical term...
) found in the Pali Canon
Pāli Canon
The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the only completely surviving early Buddhist canon, and one of the first to be written down...
's Sutta Nipata
Sutta Nipata
The Sutta Nipata is a Buddhist scripture, a sutta collection in the Khuddaka Nikaya, part of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism. All its suttas consist largely of verse, though some also contain some prose. It is divided into five sections:...
(Sn 2.1) and Khuddakapatha
Khuddakapatha
The Khuddakapatha is a Buddhist scripture, the first collection of discourses in the Khuddaka Nikaya of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism...
(Khp 7); with a parallel in the Mahavastu
Mahavastu
The Mahāvastu is a text of the Lokottaravāda school of Early Buddhism. It describes itself as being a historical preface to the Buddhist monastic codes...
. In the Pali it is seventeen verses in length, and in the Sanskrit version nineteen. The Ratana Sutta extols the characteristics of the three ratana
Three Jewels
The Three Jewels, also called the Three Treasures, the Siemese Triples, Three Refuges, or the Triple Gem , are the three things that Buddhists take refuge in, and look toward for guidance, in the process known as taking refuge.The Three Jewels are:* BuddhaTaking refuge in the Three Jewels is...
(Pali for "gem" or "jewel" or "treasure") in Buddhism: the Enlightened One (Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
), the Teaching (Dhamma) and the noble community of disciples (ariya Sangha
Sangha
Sangha is a word in Pali or Sanskrit that can be translated roughly as "association" or "assembly," "company" or "community" with common goal, vision or purpose...
).
Background
In TheravadaTheravada
Theravada ; literally, "the Teaching of the Elders" or "the Ancient Teaching", is the oldest surviving Buddhist school. It was founded in India...
Buddhism, according to post-canonical Pali commentaries
Atthakatha
Atthakatha refers to Pali-language Theravadin Buddhist commentaries to the canonical Theravadin Tipitaka. These commentaries give the traditional interpretations of the scriptures. The major commentaries were based on earlier ones, now lost, in Old Sinhalese, which were written down at the same...
, the background story for the Ratana Sutta is that the town of aishali (ancient city)|Vesali](or Visala)] was being plagued by disease, non-human beings and famine; in despair, the townspeople called upon the Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
for aid; he had the Ven. Ananda
Ananda
Ānanda was one of the principal disciples and a devout attendant of the Buddha. Amongst the Buddha's many disciples, Ānanda had the most retentive memory and most of the suttas in the Sutta Pitaka are attributed to his recollection of the Buddha's teachings during the First Buddhist Council...
go through town reciting this discourse leading to the dispersal of the town's woes.
Contents
The Ratana Sutta upholds the Three JewelsThree Jewels
The Three Jewels, also called the Three Treasures, the Siemese Triples, Three Refuges, or the Triple Gem , are the three things that Buddhists take refuge in, and look toward for guidance, in the process known as taking refuge.The Three Jewels are:* BuddhaTaking refuge in the Three Jewels is...
as follows:
- the Buddha as the unequalled Realized One (verse 3: na no samam atthi TathagatenaTathagataTathāgata in Pali and Sanskrit) is the name the Buddha of the scriptures uses when referring to himself. The term means, paradoxically, both one who has thus gone and one who has thus come . Hence, the Tathagata is beyond all coming and going – beyond all transitory phenomena...
) - the Teaching (dhamma) of:
- NirvanaNirvanaNirvāṇa ; ) is a central concept in Indian religions. In sramanic thought, it is the state of being free from suffering. In Hindu philosophy, it is the union with the Supreme being through moksha...
(verse 4: khayam viragam amatam panitam), and - the unsurpassed concentration (verse 5: samadhimSamadhi (Buddhism)In Buddhism, samādhi is mental concentration or composing the mind.-In the early Suttas:In the Pāli canon of the Theravada tradition and the related Āgamas of other early Buddhist schools, samādhi is found in the following contexts:* In the noble eightfold path, "right concentration" In Buddhism,...
) leading to Nirvana
- Nirvana
- the noble Community (ariya sangha) for having:
- attained Nirvana (verses 7: te pattipatta amatam vigayha),
- realized the Four Noble TruthsFour Noble TruthsThe Four Noble Truths are an important principle in Buddhism, classically taught by the Buddha in the Dharmacakra Pravartana Sūtra....
(verses 8-9: yo ariyasaccani avecca passati), and - abandoned the first three fetters (verse 10: tayas su dhamma jahita bhavanti) that bind us to samsaraSamsarathumb|right|200px|Traditional Tibetan painting or [[Thanka]] showing the [[wheel of life]] and realms of saṃsāraSaṅsāra or Saṃsāra , , literally meaning "continuous flow", is the cycle of birth, life, death, rebirth or reincarnation within Hinduism, Buddhism, Bön, Jainism, Sikhism, and other...
.
Use
In TheravadaTheravada
Theravada ; literally, "the Teaching of the Elders" or "the Ancient Teaching", is the oldest surviving Buddhist school. It was founded in India...
countries and institutions, this discourse is often recited as part of religious, public and private ceremonies for the purpose of blessing new endeavors and dispelling inauspicious forces.
See also
- ParittaParittaParitta , generally translated as "protection" or "safeguard," refers to the Buddhist practice of reciting certain verses and scriptures in order to ward off evil fortune or dangerous conditions, as well as to the specific verses and discourses recited as paritta texts...
- traditional Buddhist "protective suttas," including the Ratana Sutta. - Three JewelsThree JewelsThe Three Jewels, also called the Three Treasures, the Siemese Triples, Three Refuges, or the Triple Gem , are the three things that Buddhists take refuge in, and look toward for guidance, in the process known as taking refuge.The Three Jewels are:* BuddhaTaking refuge in the Three Jewels is...
Sources
- Anandajoti Bhikkhu (ed., trans.) (2004). Safeguard Recitals. Kandy: Buddhist Publication SocietyBuddhist Publication SocietyThe Buddhist Publication Society is a charity whose goal is to explain and spread the doctrine of the Buddha. It was founded in Sri Lanka in 1958 by two Sri Lankan Buddhist laymen, A.S. Karunaratna and Richard Abeyasekera, and a European-born Buddhist monk, Nyanaponika Thera...
. ISBN 955-24-0255-7.
- Bodhi, BhikkhuBhikkhu BodhiBhikkhu Bodhi , born Jeffrey Block, is an American Theravada Buddhist monk, ordained in Sri Lanka and currently teaching in the New York/New Jersey area...
(2004). "Sn 2.1 Ratana Sutta — Jewels [part 1]" (lecture). Retrieved from "Bodhi Monastery" at http://www.bodhimonastery.net/courses/Sn/MP3/Sn001_Ratana.mp3 (mp3).
- Piyadassi Thera (ed., trans.) (1999). The Book of Protection: Paritta. Kandy: Buddhist Publication SocietyBuddhist Publication SocietyThe Buddhist Publication Society is a charity whose goal is to explain and spread the doctrine of the Buddha. It was founded in Sri Lanka in 1958 by two Sri Lankan Buddhist laymen, A.S. Karunaratna and Richard Abeyasekera, and a European-born Buddhist monk, Nyanaponika Thera...
. Retrieved 08-14-2008 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/piyadassi/protection.html.
External links
- Piyadassi Thera (trans.) (1999). Ratana Sutta: The Jewel Discourse (Sn 2.1). Retrieved 08-22-2008 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/snp.2.01.piya.html.
- Thanissaro BhikkhuThanissaro BhikkhuṬhānissaro Bhikkhu, also known as Ajaan Geoff, is an American Buddhist monk of the Dhammayut Order , Thai forest kammatthana tradition. He is currently the abbot of Metta Forest Monastery in San Diego County. Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu is a notably skilled and prolific translator of the Pāli Canon...
(trans.) (1994). Ratana Sutta: Treasures (Sn 2.1). Retrieved 08-22-2008 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/snp.2.01.than.html.
- Anandajoti Bhikkhu (trans.) (2004). The Discourse on the Treasures. Part of Safeguard Recitals (300+ pages)
- Chandrabodhi chants the Ratana Sutta and other suttas in an 'Indian style' at freebuddhistaudio