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　　While in the Sangiti Sutta the doctrinal terms are arranged solely in numerical groups of one to ten, in the Dasuttara Sutta each of these ten groups has tenfold subpision which serves to bring out the practical significance of these groups, for example:

　　"One thing(1) is of great importance, (2) should be developed, (3) should be fully known, (4) should be abandoned, (5) implies decline, (6) implies progress, (7) is hard to penetrate, (8) should be made to arise, (9) should be directly known, (10) should be realized. What is the one thing of great importance

　　 Heedfulness in salutary things..."

　　These texts must have been compiled at a fairly late period of the Buddha”s and the Venerable Sariputta”s life, when there was already in existence a large body of doctrine and carefully transmitted discourses which required organizing for ready use, and also anthologies of salient features of the Dhamma became a useful aid in a comprehensive study of the Teaching. The Sangiti Sutta was delivered at the time of Nigantha Nataputta”s death, on the date of which, however, scholars differ. It was, in fact, this event that occasioned the preaching of the sutta, for it speaks of the dissensions, schisms and doctrinal disagreements that arose among the Jains immediately after the death of their Master, Nigantha Nataputta, otherwise Mahavira. This was taken as a warning example by the Venerable Sariputta, who in his discourse stresses that this text "should be recited by all in concord and without dissension, so that the Holy Life should last long for the welfare and happiness of gods and men." The commentators say that the Sangiti Sutta is meant to convey the "flavor of concord" (samaggi-rasa) in the Teaching, which is strengthened by doctrinal proficiency (desana-kusalata).

　　The practical purpose of the Dasuttara Sutta is indicated in the Venerable Sariputta”s introductory verses:

　　"The Dasuttara (Discourse) I shall proclaim — a teaching for the attainment of Nibbana and the ending of suffering, the release from all bondage."

　　Dasuttaram pavakkhami dhammam nibbanappattiya dukkhas” antakiriyaya sabbaganthapamocanam.

　　It seems likely that these two suttas served as a kind of index to selected teachings. They may have been useful also to those monks who did not memorize a great many texts; to them they may have been helpful in presenting numerous aspects of the Teaching in a form that was easily memorized and assimilated. Both of these discourses admirably illustrate the Venerable Sariputta”s concern with the preservation of the Dhamma, and his systematic way of ensuring that it was transmitted intact in all its details. It was for that purpose that he provided "study aids" such as these and other discourses, together with works like the Niddesa.

　　A summary of other discourses given by the Venerable Sariputta is included at the end of this book. We shall now turn to a consideration of larger canonical works attributed to him.

　　The first is the Niddesa, which belongs to the Khuddaka Nikaya of the Sutta Pitaka. it is the only work of an exclusively commentarial character included in the Pali Tipitaka. Of its two parts, the Maha Niddesa is a commentary to the Atthaka-vagga of the Sutta Nipata, while the Cula Niddesa comments on the Parayana-vagga and the Khaggavisana Sutta, likewise of the Sutta Nipata.

　　The Atthaka-vagga and the Parayana-vagga are the last two books of the Sutta Nipata, and doubtlessly belong to the oldest parts not only of that work but of the entire Sutta Pitaka. They were highly appreciated even in the earlier days of the Sangha, and of the Buddhist laity as well, as is testified by the fact that the Udana records a recital of the Atthaka-vagga by Sona Thera and the Anguttara N…

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