Itivuttaka untranslated

Itivuttaka. The fourth book of the Khuddakanikāya, containing 110 Suttas, each of which begins with the words: vuttaṁ h’etaṁ Bhagavatā, this was spoken by the Bhagavā.

According to Dhammapāla (Iti-a.24ff), the Suttas were preached from time to time by the Buddha to Khujjuttarā at Kosambī. She then repeated them to the five hundred women of Udena’s palace, chief of whom was Sāmāvatī. In order to emphasise to her audience the fact that she was reporting the Buddha’s words and not her own, she prefaced each Sutta with the phrase quoted above. There was no need to describe any special circumstances in which the Suttas were preached, because they were familiar to Khujjuttarā’s audience.

At the Rājagaha Council, Ānanda repeated the Suttas to the Assembly and they were gathered into this collection.

Itivuttaka is also the name given to one of the nine divisions (aṅga) into which the Buddha’s preaching is divided and it is defined as follows: vuttaṁ h’etaṁ Bhagavatā ti ādinayappavattā dasuttarasataṁ suttantā Itivuttakam ti veditabbaṁ (DN­a.i.24).

In the scholiast of the Kummāsapiṇḍajātaka (Ja 415, Ja.iii.409; l.21), the Itivuttaka is mentioned in the plural (Itivuttakesu) and a Sutta is quoted from it, extolling the virtues of generosity. Perhaps, the Itivuttaka was compiled as a result of a critical study of the authentic teachings of the Buddha, considered in a certain light and made for a specific purpose.