Upali Sraman

This paper examines the *Śramaṇapañcaśatkārikāpadābhismaraṇa (“Memory Aid for the Manual of Training Novices in Fifty Verses”) attributed to Kamalaśīla, a Vinaya commentary on the Āryamūlasarvāstivādīśrāmaṇerakārikāpañcaśat (Śrāmaṇerakārikā in short), a training manual for novices in fifty verses traditionally attributed to Nāgārjuna. This training manual and its commentary continue to play a vital role in contemporary Tibetan Buddhist monastic education, often supplemented by oral teachings and additional commentaries by Tibetan authors. As one of the first texts studied and memorized by novice monks, the Śrāmaṇerakārikā profoundly shapes their understanding of the ideals of Buddhist monastic life. The commentator interprets the manual not merely as a collection of monastic precepts but as a framework for cultivating the ethical vision of monastic training through daily activities. The commentary expands upon the root verses by showing how their principles apply in lived, practical contexts. This paper argues that the Memory Aid articulates a vision of novice training centred on four interrelated themes fundamental to a flourishing monastic life: devotion, attention, care, and the removal of afflictive thoughts and emotions.

Despite more than two hundred years of modern academic study of the Pali literature, Pali commentaries still remain understudied. We know very little about the reading practices of the traditional Pali commentators and philosophers themselves. Maria Heim is one of the very few scholars invested in filling this major lacuna in Buddhist studies. Heim’s 2014 publication, The Forerunner of All Things: Buddhaghosa on Mind, Intention, and Agency, already illuminated the philosophical acumen of Buddhaghosa, the foremost Pali commentator of the fifth century CE, whose name is intertwined with Theravada Buddhism itself. In her recent publication, the Voice of the Buddha: Buddhaghosa on the Immeasurable Words, Heim continues...