Tripiṭaka

Tripiṭaka (Pali: Tipiṭaka) is a Sanskrit word meaning Three Baskets. It is the traditional term used to describe the Bhuddist scriptures. The Tripiṭaka is divided into three sections, each one containing a "basket" of teachings: the Sūtra Piṭaka (Sanskrit; Pali: Sutta Pitaka), the Vinaya Piṭaka (Sanskrit and Pali) and the Abhidharma Piṭaka (Sanskrit; Pali: Abhidhamma Piṭaka).

The three categories

Tripitaka comprises the three main categories of texts that is the Buddhist canon. The three parts of the Pāli canon are not as contemporary as the traditional Buddhist account seems to suggest: the Sūtra Piṭaka is older than the Vinaya Piṭaka, and the Abhidharma Piṭaka represents scholastic developments originated at least two centuries after the other two parts of the canon. The Vinaya Piṭaka appears to have grown gradually as a commentary and justification of the monastic code (Prātimokṣa), which presupposes a transition from a community of wandering mendicants (the Sūtra Piṭaka period ) to a more sedentary monastic community (the Vinaya Piṭaka period). Even within the Sūtra Piṭaka it is possible to detect older and later texts.