Buddhist Discourses from a Perspective of Creative Literature: A Stylistic Analysis of  “Parabhava Sutta” (On Deterioration) and  “Maha-mangala Sutta” (On Amelioration) in Suttanipata

The two discourses “Parabhava Sutta” (Sn 1.6) and “Maha-mangala Sutta” (Sn 2.4) present respectively from a Buddhist perspective some processes of deterioration and amelioration which cause respectively unhappiness and happiness, decline and prosperity, pain and consolation, as well as regret and gratification. They are considered contributory to the code of ethics recommended for the Buddhists to follow. Millions of Buddhists all over the world recite them in their daily life, as their contents are of universal value. Adherence to them is meant to sustain the wellbeing of any individual, irrespective of their age, gender, ethnicity, social standing, or religion. From an aesthetic perspective they signalize the grotesque and the sublime of the human personality universally applicable to any form of literature. There are antagonists in social drama – true-life or fictitious - carrying those vices within themselves, while, protagonists, those virtues. Therefore, they are considered crucial in developing ethical and moral standards in the evaluation of human behaviours portrayed in different contexts. Moreover, the poetics deployed in the projection of these processes of deterioration and amelioration within a precise framework of morality makes them worth to be subjected to a stylistic analysis as works of oral poetry because they help critical thinking along with aesthetic appreciation. That determines the rationale for this paper.