< Issue No. 3 (2007)Article
Oral Dimensions of Pāli Discourses: Pericopes, other Mnemonic Techniques and the Oral Performance Context
Anālayo, Bhikkhu, Center for Buddhist Studies (University of Hamburg), Dharma Drum Buddhist College
Abstract
The present paper examines the form and function of Pāli discourses as orally transmitted material. The first part takes up formal elements, such as "sound similarities", the "principal of waxing syllables", the frequent use of "repetition", and "pericopes". The second part turns to functional aspects of the Pāli oral tradition, examining its "purposes" and the "reciters" responsible for its performance.