e, the commandment against stealing--was promulgated.

"At Rajagaha, sir."

"Concerning whom was it spoken?"

"Dhaniya, the potter's son."

"In regard to what matter?"

"The taking of that which had not been given."

For collecting the suttas they relied on the testimony of Ananda and
asked him where the Brahmajala[628] was spoken. He replied "between
Rajagaha and Nalanda at the royal rest-house at Ambalatthika."
"Concerning whom was it spoken?" "Suppiya, the wandering ascetic and
Brahmadatta the young Brahman."

Then follows a similar account of the Samannaphala sutta and we are told
that Ananda was "questioned through the five Nikayas." That is no doubt
an exaggeration as applied to the time immediately after the Buddha's
death, but it is evidence that five Nikayas were in existence when this
chapter was written[629].

3

Lines of growth are clearly discernible in the Vinaya and Sutta Pitakas.
As already mentioned, the Khuddaka-Nikaya is, as a collection, later
than the others although separate books of it, such as the Sutta-nipata
(especially the fourth and fifth books), are among the earliest
documents which we possess. But other books such as the Peta-[630] and
Vimana-vatthu show a distinct difference in tone and are probably
separated from the Buddha by several centuries. Of the other four
Nikayas the Samyutta and Anguttara are the more modern and the Anguttara
mentions Munda, King of Magadha who began to reign about forty years
after the Buddha's death. But even in the two older collections, the
Digha and the Majjhima, we have not reached the lowest stratum. The
first thirteen suttantas of the Digha all contain a very ancient
tractate on morality, and the Samannaphala and following sections of the
Digha and also some suttas of the Majjhima contain either in whole or in
part a treatise on progress in the holy life. These treatises were
probably current as separate portions for recitation before the suttas
in which they are now set were composed.

Similarly, the Vinaya clearly presupposes an old code in the form of a
list of offences called the Patimokkha. The Mahavagga contains a portion
of an ancient word-for-word explanation of this code[631] and most of
the Sutta-vibhanga is an amplification and exposition of it. The
Patimokkha was already in existence when these books were composed, for
we hear[632] that if in a company of Bhikkhus no one knows the
Patimokkha, one of the younger brethren should