JOCBS 23: 118–147 ©2023 Aruna Keerthi Gamage Many for One: An Exegetical Method in Mahāvihāra Buddhism Aruna Keerthi Gamage for Jonathan Walters Abstract—The Theriya/Mahāvihāra 1 exegetes teach their audience to read a text, especially the canon 2 , without always sticking to the literal meaning. The intended meaning of such words occurring in the Tipiṭaka is narrower than their literal meaning would suggest. If one does not clearly see these semantic shifts, one is likely to proffer many misinterpretations that were never intended by the original authors of these texts. When exegetes of the Mahāvihāra school encounter an expression in the canon whose literal meaning does not fully or partially match the relevant context, they offer specific hermeneutical strategies to teach the reader 1 In line with traditional records like Dīpavaṃsa (c. 3 rd century CE) and Mahāvaṃsa (5 th century CE), the Theravāda branch of Buddhism was likely first established in Sri Lanka around the 3 rd century BCE. See Dīp VIII 53, 24 –54, 15 ; Mhv XII 82, 1–16 . This branch was split into three schools during the first millennium as 1) Mahāvihāra, 2) Abhayagiri and 3) Jetavana. However, the Mahāvihāra is the only surviving school. This school transmitted all its texts in Pali, a Middle Indian language. In contemporary parlance, we use ‘Theravāda Buddhism’ or ‘Theriya Buddhism’ to denote the teachings transmitted by the Mahāvihāra school. 2 The canon of the Mahāvihāra school is called Tipiṭaka (‘Triple Basket’), which consists of three sections—Vinayapiṭaka or basket of monastic law, Suttapiṭaka or basket of teachings and Abhidhammapiṭaka or basket of higher teachings. This school has extensive exegetical literature elucidating the meaning of the Tipiṭaka, including commentaries (Aṭṭhakathā) and sub-commentaries (Ṭīkā), which can be dated from the 4 th century CE.