本文主要介紹巴利語《餓鬼事(Petavatthu)》，這部被歸屬於經藏中《小部(Khuddaka Nikāya)》的經典；它與《天宮事Vimānavatthu)》是姊妹篇，屬於巴利聖典文學中的新部分，兩者皆由偈頌體(gāthā)所構成的，體裁與意義都非常一致。一則敘述餓鬼的悲慘苦報，另則形容生天的幸福；全部故事的根柢是在業因所感的不同果報中，勉以道德的訓誨，布施供養的鼓勵。 本文分成五章節進行論述，第一章為緒論，說明論文的研究動機與目的、研究方法與學界研究成果。第二章為巴利語《餓鬼事》文獻描述；包括：內容簡介、成立年代的推論，並介紹《餓鬼事》之注釋書《勝義燈注(Paramatthadīpanī)》及其作者。第三章是巴利語《餓鬼事》探討；首先釐清「餓鬼」之語義，再者是結構模式及內容特色的說明，並探究其中布施功德轉移(transferred the merit to peta)的觀念。第四章是《餓鬼事•蛇品》譯注。第五章為結論，並談及未來展望。
A Pāli text, Petavatthu, which belongs to the Khuddaka Nikāya of the Pāli Canon, is presented in this thesis. Petavatthu and Vimānavatthu are companion volumes, part of the latest stratum of literature in Pāli Canon, and are composed of gāthā, very similar in genre and meaning. The Petavatthu tells the stories of the departed ones(petas)who are suffering because of the bad actions they committed during their previous existences. On the other hand, the Vimānavatthu describes the grandeur of the heavenly abodes(vimānas) enjoyed by those who have been reborn as devas as a reward of all the meritorious actions done. These two stories manifest “doctrines of Karma” and are chiefly intended for laymen, encouraging them to practice morals and pay tributes. The thesis is divided into five chapters. The first chapter is the introduction, in which the motive, purposes, methods of this research and the extant research results in the academia are included. Chapter two is a literature description of the Petavatthu, including a brief summary of the story, a conjecture about its completion time, and an introduction of its aṭṭhakathā Paramatthadīpanī and the author. Chapter three is a research of the Petavatthu. At first, the meaning of "Peta" is clarified and then the structure patterns and characteristics of the Petavatthu. expounded. At last, the concept of "transferring merits to peta" is probed. Chapter four displays the annotated translation/interpretation for the Petavatthu•Uragavagga, which consists of twelve stories. Chapter five is about the conclusion as well as possible future prospects.
