PITAKA, pit'a-kil (Pali, basket). Any one of the three divisions of the Buddhist Scriptures. The three pitakas, collectively termed tripitaka or pitakattoya, 'basket-triad,' are the Vinaya pitaka, or Basket of Discipline, the Stittapifaka, or Basket of Discourses, and the Abhidhumnia pitaka, or Basket of Metaphysics. The pi t Om is composed of live works, the Bhikkhu 1 ibhanga (-honk's Division), Bhikkhuni ga ( Nun's Division), liak(i-l'agga (Great Chap ter ). ( Little Chapter), and Pa (Concluding Text ). While nand' of this is dry and technical, it has many passages of interest. The 8utln-Pitaka is the most im portant of the three for the philosophy and folk lore of Buddhism. It is composed of the follow ing five books: Itigha.Nikaya (Long Collection). Jlajjhinta-N ikaya Colleetion), Sa1ny1t to-..1 ikaga ( Connected Collect ion), .t ng u ta ra &aim (Add-One Collection), and Kkild(laka Nikaga (Little Colleetion), which is subdivided into fifteen parts. fauddoka-Piitha (Little
Text), Sentences), Udirna (Out-Breathing). itiruitoka (Thus Said), Sul ta-A ipata (Descent of Aphorisms), rima na-Va t thu (Palace-Stories), (Ghost-Stories), Th(Ta-G(itha (Stanzas of the elders). Thfri-Gat ha (Stanzas of the Female Elders), di taka (Birth-Stories), _V iddrsa e Ex position l, (Irma (Way of Analy sis ) , A na (Achievement ) . Buddha- (Lineage of the Buddha). and Carig(1-Pitaka (Basket of Conduct). The last pitaka is of all the least interesting. It is composed of seven books, (Enumeration of Du ties), Vibhanga (Division), Kathd-Voithu Sub ject of Discourse), Purignia-Paiiiiatti (Mani festation of Persons), Matti-Kra/0 (Discussion of Elements), Yamaka (Two-fold), and Pat flolan ( Cause). Consult Warren, Buddhism in Transla tions (Cambridge, Mass., ISM).