Ariyavamsa, Ariyavaṃsa: 1 definition

Introduction:

Ariyavamsa means something in Buddhism, Pali. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.

In Buddhism

Theravada (major branch of Buddhism)

[«previous next»] — Ariyavamsa in Theravada glossary
Source: Pali Kanon: Pali Proper Names

1. Ariyavamsa - A compilation, probably of the life histories of men eminent in the Buddhist Order, made in Ceylon and read aloud publicly for the edification of the people. The reading of the Ariyavamsa seems once to have been a regular feature of gatherings in the Buddhist viharas on feast days. King Voharaka T1ssa made endowments for the giving of alms throughout Ceylon on the occasions when the Ariyavamsa was read (Mhv.xxxvi.38; Mhv.trans.258, n.6). A sutta called Ariyavamsa Sutta is mentioned in the Commentaries (DA.i.50; MA.i.14) as an example of a discourse preached by the Buddha on his own initiative (attajjhasaya). This perhaps refers to the sermon on the four Ariyavamsa in the Anguttara Nikaya (A.ii.27). See also Maha Ariyavamsa.

2. Ariyavamsa - A celebrated teacher and author of the fifteenth century. He came from Pagan and was a member of the Chapata sect. He was a pupil of the famous Ye din (water carrier) of Sagaing (for an account of him see Bode, op. cit., 41f), and with great zeal and enthusiasm learnt the Abhidhammattha vibhavani from his teacher. Later, Ariyavamsa wrote a commentary on this work and called it the Manisaramanjusa. A charming anecdote is related of how he read the work to his colleagues and readily accepted their corrections with gratitude.

Among his other works are the Manidipa, a Tika on the Atthasalini, a grammatical treatise, the Gandhabharana, and a study of the Jatakas called the Jatakavisodhana.

Ariyavamsa spent only a part of his life at Sagaing and afterwards taught at Ava, where the king was sometimes among his listeners. He was among the first of Burmese litterateurs to write a metaphysical work in the vernacular - an Anutika on the Abhidhamma (Sas. p.41ff). The Gandha Vamsa (64-5) attributes to him another work, the Mahanissara (Mahanissaya?), but no mention is made of it in the Sasanavamsa.

context information

Theravāda is a major branch of Buddhism having the the Pali canon (tipitaka) as their canonical literature, which includes the vinaya-pitaka (monastic rules), the sutta-pitaka (Buddhist sermons) and the abhidhamma-pitaka (philosophy and psychology).

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