Pali,
noun.
Literally '
thread'. Pali form of the
Sanskrit sutra. A discourse by the
Buddha or his contemporary
disciples. Passed along first in an
oral tradition, and later in written form through the
Pali Canon (
tipitaka). It is thought that the use of the word '
thread' stems from the earliest days when the
canon was commited to writing, in
Sri Lanka during the first century B.C.E (at the fourth of the great
Buddhist Councils). The suttas were initially written down on
palm leaves, and a particular discourse was bound to the other leaves with a length of thread. Also could stem from the fact that each sutta is an individual 'thread' of
discourse or reasoning.