Page Text
________________
INTRODUCTION.
23. The Dhamma Sangani
24. The Vibhanga 25. The Kathâ Vatthu
26. The Puggala Рaññatti.
27. The Dhâtu Kathâ
28. The Yamakas
29. The Patthâna
Total Abhidhamma.
260*
325
440
75
100
400
600
2200
10,211
Xxxvii
THE ABHIDHAMMA PITAKA.
This shows the total extent of the three Pitakas to be about 10,000 pages 8vo. as printed, or to be printed, by the Pâli Text Society1. If our English Bible, in the older authorised version, were to be printed in the same manner and type and on the same size of page, it would Occupy about 5,oco pages. So that the Buddhist Bible without its repetitions (some of which are very frequent, and others very long), would only occupy about double the space of the English Bible. This would not have been a literature too large to be familiarly known to our author. What is the conclusion which can fairly be drawn, from a comparison of the last list with those preceding it, as to his knowledge of those books now held, by living Buddhists, to be canonical?
C
The answer to this question will be of some importance for another reason beyond the help it will afford towards settling the date of the original Questions of Milinda.' As is well known, Asoka, in the only one of his edicts, addressed specially to the members of the Buddhist Order of mendicants, selects seven portions of the Buddhist Scriptures, which he mentions by name, and expresses his desire that not only the brethren and sisters of the Order, but also the laity, should constantly learn by heart and reflect upon those seven. Now not one of the seven titles which occur in the edict is identical with any of the twenty-nine in the last list. Whereupon certain Indianists have rejoiced at being able to score a point, as they think, against these
This estimate excludes the space occupied by notes. The books marked with an asterisk in the foregoing list have already been printed.
Digitized by Google
| SR No. | 007681 |
| Book Title | Questions of King Milinda Part 01 |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | T W Rhys Davids |
| Publisher | Oxford |
| Publication Year | 1890 |
| Total Pages | 2695 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English |
| File Size | 47 MB |