Beginer Buddhist Course Syllabus By Ancient Pali Canon (Ganthadhura And Vipassanādhura)

After june 2017, this topic will update on this link.
See also Should Lay Buddhists Teach the Dhamma? and How to find the right Dhamma teacher?

I concluded this subject from cakkhupālatheravatthu in dhammapadaṭṭhakathā and vinayapitaka and commentary. My every topics base on Māhāvihāra Theravāda Buddhism. You can see pali source in Māhāvihāra Theravāda Buddhism cannon.

Cakkhupāla lived with upajjhā, who must graduated in bhikkhuparisūpaṭṭhāpaka course, to practice himself to be graduate in nissayamuccaka course, by memorization method (mukkhapatha).

What is nissayamuccaka course, that every monk, like cakkhupāla, must be done, before choose his way in ganthadhura or vipassanādhura?

There are 2 course of beginner, layman/novice course and nissayamuccaka course.

1. layman/novice course

In the introduction of khuddakapātha-commentary said about that 'At 1st saṅgāyanā, 500 bikkhu had concluded some little texts, that popular to teach the newbie in buddhism. It was called kuddhakapātha. It content 9 texts: saraṇa, sikkhāpada, dvattiṃsākāra, kumārapañha, maṅgalasutta, ratanasutta, tirokuṭṭa, nidhikaṇḍa, mettasutta'.

Note: this is the reason the why all theravāda country always teach to memorize these 9 sutta first. They teach follow to 1st saṅgāyanā commentary's syllabus.

2. nissayamuccaka course

(for person who has done the first course) In ovādakasikkhāpada-commentary wrote about 7 titles course syllabus:

1. Bhikkhu must skillfully memorized bhikkhu and bhikkhuni pāṭimokkha, fluently, be firmly fixed in the mind, understand clearly, word by word, meaning by meaning, and the whole story.
2. Bhikkhu must skillfully memorized 4 bhāṇavāra (about 4 multiple of mahāsatipaṭṭhānasutta), fluently, be firmly fixed in the mind, understand clearly, word by word, meaning by meaning, and the whole story.
3. Bhikkhu must understand every saṇghakamma.
4. Bhikkhu must learn kathāmagga (abbrev of bikkhu advising such as cūḷalāhulovādasutta).
5. Bhikkhu must learn 3 sutta for 3 biṇḍapāta jobs: vivāha, maṅgala, and avamaṅgala.
6. Bhikkhu must understand clearly through samathayānika way or vipassanāyanika way.
7. Bhikkhu must live with upajjhā at least 5 years.

These 7 titles must be done, to be nissayamuccaka. Nissayamuccaka can go everywhere without upajjhā.

When cakkhupāla had done nissayamuccaka course in 5 years, then he made the decision between ganthadhura, or vipassanādhura.

Ganthadhura and Vipassanādhura

In cakkhupālatheravatthu declared Ganthadhura and Vipassanādhura as:

Ganthadhura is job of  nissayamuccaka or higher, who memorized tipitaka and learn commentary such as 1 nikāya, 2 nikāya, or whole tipitaka.

Vipassanādhura is job of  nissayamuccaka or higher, who has not enlighten, then trow every stuff, go to live without 5 kāmaguṇa, then do udayabbayañāṇa and higher, with a purposeful mind (can trow away their life to enlighten) to go to enlighten.

Both need to memorize tipitaka more than nissayamuccaka, too. Ganthadhura memorize books, but Vipassanādhura memorize their sutta and commentary, that they use to meditate.

See: http://unmixedtheravada.blogspot.com/2016/09/tipitaka-memorization-is-rule-of-monks.html

cakkhupālatheravatthu

pabbajissāmevāhaṃ, tātāti tassa viravantasseva satthu santikaṃ gantvā pabbajjaṃ yācitvā laddhapabbajjūpasampado ācariyupajjhāyānaṃ santike pañca vassāni vasitvā vuṭṭhavasso pavāretvā satthāramupasaṅkamitvā vanditvā pucchi – ‘‘bhante, imasmiṃ sāsane kati dhurānī’’ti? ‘‘ganthadhuraṃ, vipassanādhuranti dveyeva dhurāni bhikkhū’’tiฯ ‘‘katamaṃ pana, bhante, ganthadhuraṃ, katamaṃ vipassanādhura’’nti? ‘‘attano paññānurūpena ekaṃ vā dve vā nikāye sakalaṃ vā pana tepiṭakaṃ buddhavacanaṃ uggaṇhitvā tassa dhāraṇaṃ, kathanaṃ, vācananti idaṃ ganthadhuraṃ nāma, sallahukavuttino pana pantasenāsanābhiratassa attabhāve khayavayaṃ paṭṭhapetvā sātaccakiriyavasena vipassanaṃ vaḍḍhetvā arahattaggahaṇanti idaṃ vipassanādhuraṃ nāmā’’tiฯ ‘‘bhante, ahaṃ mahallakakāle pabbajito ganthadhuraṃ pūretuṃ na sakkhissāmi, vipassanādhuraṃ pana pūressāmi, kammaṭṭhānaṃ me kathethā’’tiฯ athassa satthā yāva arahattaṃ kammaṭṭhānaṃ kathesiฯ

so satthāraṃ vanditvā attanā sahagāmino bhikkhū pariyesanto saṭṭhi bhikkhū labhitvā tehi saddhiṃ nikkhamitvā vīsayojanasatamaggaṃ gantvā ekaṃ mahantaṃ paccantagāmaṃ patvā tattha saparivāro piṇḍāya pāvisiฯ manussā vattasampanne bhikkhū disvāva pasannacittā āsanāni paññāpetvā nisīdāpetvā paṇītenāhārena parivisitvā, ‘‘bhante, kuhiṃ ayyā gacchantī’’ti pucchitvā ‘‘yathāphāsukaṭṭhānaṃ upāsakā’’ti vutte paṇḍitā manussā ‘‘vassāvāsaṃ senāsanaṃ pariyesanti bhadantā’’ti ñatvā, ‘‘bhante, sace ayyā imaṃ temāsaṃ idha vaseyyuṃ, mayaṃ saraṇesu patiṭṭhāya sīlāni gaṇheyyāmā’’ti āhaṃsuฯ tepi ‘‘mayaṃ imāni kulāni nissāya bhavanissaraṇaṃ karissāmā’’ti adhivāsesuṃฯ

Lao Monks Reformed By Thai Central Region, About A Hundred Year Ago

Pa-Auk (Burma) equal to Mun Bhuritutta (Thailand). They are tipitaka memorizers.
But nowadays, thai monks are not tipitaka memorizers, and lao monks are the copy of thai monks.

About a hundred year ago, in colonization war, thailand began to lost our tipitaka memorizing system. We need to get western's learning culture to protect our land from colonial possession. The central region of Siam reform memorizing learning system to academic learning system. Mun's students (Phun acaro, etc) were the last tipitaka memorizers of thailand.

Mun was the north-eastern region of thailand, that got reform order from the central region. And Lao was the north-eastern colony of thailand at that time. So Lao tipitaka memorizing learning system had began to lost since that time, too.

Nowadays, Lao monks equal to thai mahanikaya tradition. They are not forest tradition.