An Anthropological Outline of the Sutta Nipāta: The Contemplative Experience in Early Buddhist Poetry
Religions January 29, 2023 DOI: 10.3390/rel14020172 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Buddhism |
| Citations | 13 |
| Key points | Argues that the Sutta Nipāta reveals how early Buddhist doctrine was shaped in dialectic with orthodox and political forces, and that contemplative practices seeking the 'absolute' (paramattha and brahmavihāra) have been understudied in meditation research. |
Abstract
By examining the Sutta Nipāta, considered one of the collections containing the oldest texts of the Pāli canon, this study aims to reconstruct social, historical, and anthropological aspects of archaic Buddhist doctrine at the time of its definition in dialectic with the forces of orthodoxy and constituted power in 6th century BCE India. This study also provides important insights into the development and definition of contemplative practices devoted to the search for the ‘absolute’ (paramattha and brahmavihāra), which has often received little attention in meditation studies.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on buddhism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mental balance and well-being: Building bridges between Buddhism and Western psychology. | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Buddhist Modernism and the Rhetoric of Meditative Experience | 1995 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Buddhist and Psychological Perspectives on Emotions and Well-Being | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Too Early to Tell: The Potential Impact and Challenges—Ethical and Otherwise—Inherent in the Mainstreaming of Dharma in an Increasingly Dystopian World | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From self to nonself: The Nonself Theory | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 10
- Mindful Apocalypse: Contemplative Anthropology Investigating Experiences of World-Loss in Deep Meditation Religions July 21, 2023
- Reaching the End of the World: An Anthropological Reading of Early Buddhist Medicine and Ascetic Practices Religions February 24, 2023
- Beyond semiosis: early Buddhist phenomenology and theory of consciousness Cogent Arts and Humanities July 16, 2025
- Re-Visioning Ethnography Through Meditative Practice: The Proposal for a Contemplative Anthropology and Its Experience through Visual Elicitation Technique Journal of Contemplative Studies August 6, 2024
- Buddhist Principles of Self-Management: Integrating Morality, Mindfulness, and Wisdom into Modern Leadership and Organizational Practice Millah: Journal of Religious Studies February 22, 2026
and 5 more in the library