Paritta

Most paritta involve offering praise to the Buddha or, more broadly, the Triple Gem (Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha). Of these paritta, one of the best known is the Ratana Sutta (Sn 2.1) where, for instance, it states in part:

Whatever treasure there be either here or in the world beyond, whatever precious jewel there be in the heavenly worlds, there is nought comparable to the Tathagata (the Perfect One). This precious jewel is the Buddha. By this (asseveration of the) truth may there be happiness.[7]

A few paritta involve the asking directly for the aid of the Buddha. Examples of this type of paritta verse can be seen in the Candima Sutta (SN 2.9) and Suriya Sutta (SN 2.10) of the Samyutta Nikaya. In these two scriptures, the deities Canda and Surya protect themselves from the attack of the eclipse deity Rahu by reciting short verses praising the Buddha and pleading for his protection:

"O Buddha, the Hero, thou art wholly free from all evil. My adoration to thee. I have fallen into distress. Be thou my refuge."[8][9]

In these cases, the Buddha is shown as specifically hearing and responding to the paritta; he enjoins Rahu to release the captive deities rather than have his "head split into seven pieces".[8]

Another type of paritta relies on the virtue of the individual who is ascribed as reciting the paritta in the Canon, rather than making reference to the virtues of the Buddha. This type of paritta can be seen in the Angulimala Sutta, the story of the murderer-turned-monk Angulimala. On passing a pregnant woman experiencing a difficult labor, Angulimala is moved to provide assistance. Asking the Buddha how he can help, the Buddha tells him to provide a sort of blessing to the woman by reciting a short verse proclaiming his own virtue:

Sister, since I was born in the noble birth, I do not recall intentionally killing a living being. Through this truth may there be wellbeing for you, wellbeing for your fetus.[10]

This verse is now used as a blessing for expectant mothers in the Theravada Buddhist tradition.[11]

In Myanmar, the most popular paritta collection is called Mahāparitta (lit. 'Great Protection'), which comprises eleven texts, with 8 derived from the Milindapañha and commentarial lists.[13] The second is the called the Sīrimaṅgala-paritta, which was compiled by Prime Minister U Nu's Sīrimaṅgala Paritta Association in 1950.[13] This collection consists of thirty-one texts, including eleven from Mahāparitta, and another twenty, including the Buddha's first sermon (Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta), a synopsis of the twenty-four conditions in the Paṭṭhāna, the seventh book of the Abhidhamma Piṭaka, and the Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta, which provides the textual basis for vipassanā meditation.[13] The Paṭṭhāna is the single most popular paritta in Myanmar.[13]

The preferred paritta repertoire in Sri Lanka is known in Sinhala as the Pirit Potha ("The Book of Protection"), Maha Pirit Potha, or Catubhāṇavāraapali ("Text of the Four Recitals").[13] It has also been referred to as the "Buddhist Bible."[14] Copies of this collection are common in the home of Sri Lankans, with children being instructed in the recitations in the morning and before bed.[6] The most commonly recited texts are the Mangala Sutta, Ratana Sutta, Karaniya Metta Sutta, and Khuddakapatha.[6] The most common versions of the Maha Pirit Potha may have originated from a precursor of the Khuddakapatha, which otherwise receives relatively little attention in Theravada countries.[15]

The book typically contains a collection of twenty-four or twenty-nine discourses (suttas)[note 1] almost all delivered by the Buddha, and found scattered in the five original collections (nikayas) in Pali, which form the Sutta Pitaka, the "Canonical Discourses."[2] Below, these discourses and related canonical sources are identified.[note 2]

In Thailand, the most important collection of paritta texts is The Royal Chanting Book, which was compiled by Saṅgharāja Sā Phussadeva under the sponsorship of King Chulalongkorn and published in 1880.[13] The Royal Chanting Book comprises various parittas and suttas, and condensed versions of the three sections of the Pali canon, the Vinaya Piṭaka, Sutta Piṭaka and Abhidhamma Piṭaka, under the titles Phra Vinaya, Phra Sūtra, and Phra Paramartha, respectively.[13] The Jinapañjara is the single most popular paritta in Thailand.[13]