The third Pitaka is known by the name of Abhidhamma.  Dhamma is the usual designation for the doctrine of the Buddha and Buddhaghosa[609] explains the prefix abhi as signifying excess and distinction, so that this Pitaka is considered pre-eminent because it surpasses the others.  This pre-eminence consists solely in method and scope, not in novelty of matter or charm of diction.  The point of view of the Abhidhamma is certainly later than that of the Sutta Pitaka and in some ways marks an advance, for instead of professing to report the discourses of Gotama it takes the various topics on which he touched, especially psychological ethics, and treats them in a connected and systematic manner.  The style shows some resemblance to Sanskrit sutras for it is so technical both in vocabulary and arrangement that it can hardly be understood without a commentary[610].  According to tradition the Buddha recited the Abhidhamma when he went to heaven to preach to the gods, and this seems a polite way of hinting that it was more than any human congregation could tolerate or understand.  Still throughout the long history of Buddhism it has always been respected as the most profound portion of the scriptures and has not failed to find students.  This Pitaka includes the Katha-vatthu, attributed to Tissa Moggaliputta who is said to have composed it about 250 B.C. in Asoka’s reign[611].

There is another division of the Buddhist scriptures into nine angas or members, namely:  1.  Suttas. 2.  Geyya:  mixed prose and verse. 3.  Gatha:  verse. 4.  Udana:  ecstatic utterances. 5.  Veyyakarana:  explanation. 6.  Itivuttaka:  sayings beginning with the phrase “Thus said the Buddha.” 7.  Jataka:  stories of former births. 8.  Abbhutadhamma:  stories of wonders. 9.  Vedalla:  a word of doubtful meaning, but perhaps questions and answers.  This enumeration is not to be understood as a statement of the sections into which the whole body of scripture was divided but as a description of the various styles of composition recognized as being religious, just as the Old Testament might be said to contain historical books, prophecies, canticles and so on.  Compositions in these various styles must have been current before the work of collection began, as is proved by the fact that all the angas are enumerated in the Majjhima-Nikaya[612].

2

This Tripitaka is written in Pali[613] which is regarded by Buddhist tradition as the language spoken by the Master.  In the time of Asoka the dialect of Magadha must have been understood over the greater part of India, like Hindustani in modern times, but in some details of grammar and phonetics Pali differs from Magadhi Prakrit and seems to have been influenced by Sanskrit and by western dialects.  Being a literary rather than a popular language it was probably a mixed form of speech and it has been conjectured that it was elaborated in Avanti or in Gandhara where was the great Buddhist University of Takshasila.  Subsequently