Itivuttaka - Book of This Was Said

By: Bhikkhu Mahinda

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

The present book, Itivuttaka, belongs to the Pāḷi Tipiṭaka, the authorized recension for the Theravāda Buddhism. It is unique in the Buddhist Teachings in that it contains teachings recited and collected by a woman named Khujjuttarā (declared by Lord Buddha to be foremost of those who were learned), a maid-servant of the famous Queen Sāmāvati (declared by Lord Buddha to be foremost of those who dwelt in friendship). Whenever Lord Buddha was in Kosambi, Khujjuttarā would go and listen to the teachings. Upon her return she would recite the teachings to the royalty that included queens, princesses, and their maid-servants. To emphasize that she was telling the words of the enlightened one, she prefaced each teaching with the standard formula of “This was said by the Blessed one, said by the Arahant thus I heard”. In this way, while being of a lower class, she in fact became a teacher to the high-class, royal women. Itivuttaka is also one of the nine divisions within which Lord Buddha’s teachings are classified – thus the genesis of this term and this collection is indeed ancient. In this book, both Pāḷi originals and English translations are provided so it’s easier for those who want to learn Pāḷi or just read the translations. A full Pāḷi-English Glossary and detailed Endnotes will help the interested reader to explore further.
This is a completely reworked edition, with numerous textual and grammatical changes. New content has been added and existing content has been updated. Many Pāḷi terms have been modified and now they have been standardized across all the books I have authored.