Dhamma Networks of Digha and Majjhima Nikayas in the Dictionary of Buddhism, Dhamma Compilation Edition and Tipitaka: A Comparative Study

Abstract

                This qualitative documentary research aimed to comparatively study the network of doctrinal groups of the Digha Nikaya and the Majjhima Nikaya as they appear in the Dictionary of Buddhism:  Dhamma Compilation Edition and the Thai Tipitaka: Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya Edition. The data consisted of doctrinal groups from the Digha Nikaya and the Majjhima Nikaya collected from the Dictionary of Buddhism: Dhamma Compilation Edition and the Thai Tipitaka: Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya Edition. The data were analyzed using lexical and structural analyses, then synthesized into Dhamma networks and compared across the two data sources and the canonical texts.

                 The research found that, in total, the doctrinal topics of the Digha and Majjhima Nikayas number 860 topics and 4,942 items. Of these, the dictionary accounts for 163 topics and 1,146 items, while the Tipitaka accounts for 697 topics and 3,796 items. A comparison between the Nikayas shows that, in the dictionary, the number of doctrinal topics in the Digha Nikaya exceeds those in the Majjhima Nikaya by 47 topics, namely 105 and 58 topics respectively. Likewise, in the Tipitaka the Digha Nikaya exceeds the Majjhima Nikaya by 227 topics, namely, 462 and 235, respectively. The doctrinal category with the greatest number of items is the fourfold category, in both the dictionary and in the Tipitaka, with 47 and 161 items, respectively. In the dictionary, the doctrinal network of the Digha Nikaya is most frequently linked through the term “dhamma” in 15 topics, followed by “kama” in 12 topics. For the Majjhima Nikaya there are two key terms, “kaya” and “samma,” each occurring in 6 topics each, followed by “citta” in 5 topics. In the Tipitaka, the most frequent term in the networks of both the Digha and Majjhima Nikayas is “dhamma,” differing only in the number of related topics: 106 and 21 topics, so that the Digha Nikaya exceeds the Majjhima Nikaya by 85 topics. The next most frequent terms are “ariya” and “ayatana,” with 11 and 6 topics, respectively. Considering the overall picture, the term “dhamma” appears in the largest number of topics, 142 in total; therefore, “dhamma” functions as the main hub term of the broadest dhamma network.