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Originally posted by Dr Strangelove
I wasn't aware that there was that much diversity of Buddhist scripture.
I wasn't aware that there was that much diversity of Buddhist scripture.
The Canon is a record of the Buddha’s words and includes the complementary sermons and analyses of his disciples.
...
In the early years of Buddhism, regular and systemic group recitation was encouraged to maintain the integrity of the Buddhist Canon. As the Buddha’s message spread, however, discrepancies arose among his disciples and it became necessary to codify the Canon.
Three months after the Buddha entered Parinirvana, the First Council was convened in Rajagaha. The Buddha’s enlightened followers recited and organized the Canon, but did not record the sutras.
The Buddhist Canon was finally committed to writing at the Fourth Council, held during the second century BCE in Kashmir.
...
The Sutras were originally recorded in Pali, but as the Buddha’s disciples disseminated his message throughout Asia, the Canon was translated to reach each new community.
While each Buddhist tradition – Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana – recognizes a different number of sutras and adheres to a slightly different version of the Canon, there are certain core discourses that are universally recommended for newcomers. They include:
*Dhammacakkappavattana-sutta: Setting in motion the Wheel of Truth
*Adittapariyaya-sutta: The Fire Sermon
*Metta-sutta: Universal Love
*Mangala-sutta: Blessings
*Sabbasava-sutta: Getting Rid of all Cares and Troubles
*Satipatthana-sutta: The Foundations of Mindfulness
*Sigalovada-sutta: Domestic and Social Relations
...
In the early years of Buddhism, regular and systemic group recitation was encouraged to maintain the integrity of the Buddhist Canon. As the Buddha’s message spread, however, discrepancies arose among his disciples and it became necessary to codify the Canon.
Three months after the Buddha entered Parinirvana, the First Council was convened in Rajagaha. The Buddha’s enlightened followers recited and organized the Canon, but did not record the sutras.
The Buddhist Canon was finally committed to writing at the Fourth Council, held during the second century BCE in Kashmir.
...
The Sutras were originally recorded in Pali, but as the Buddha’s disciples disseminated his message throughout Asia, the Canon was translated to reach each new community.
While each Buddhist tradition – Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana – recognizes a different number of sutras and adheres to a slightly different version of the Canon, there are certain core discourses that are universally recommended for newcomers. They include:
*Dhammacakkappavattana-sutta: Setting in motion the Wheel of Truth
*Adittapariyaya-sutta: The Fire Sermon
*Metta-sutta: Universal Love
*Mangala-sutta: Blessings
*Sabbasava-sutta: Getting Rid of all Cares and Troubles
*Satipatthana-sutta: The Foundations of Mindfulness
*Sigalovada-sutta: Domestic and Social Relations
The Tripitaka is the Canon of the Buddhists, both Theravada and Mahayana. Thus it is possible to speak of several Canons ... as well as in term of languages like Pali, Chinese and Tibetan. The word is used basically to refer to the literature, the authorship of which is directly or indirectly ascribed to the Buddha himself.
It is generally believed that whatever was the teaching of the Buddha, ... it was rehearsed soon after his death by a fairly representative body of disciples. ... the early Buddhist disciples appear to have remained united for about a century.
The Council of Vesali or the second Buddhist Council saw the break up of this original body and as many as eighteen separate schools were known to exist by about the first century B.C. It is reasonable to assume that each of these schools would have opted to possess a Tripitaka of their own or rather their own recension of the Tripitaka, perhaps with a considerably large common core.
...
in speaking of a Buddhist Canon one has to admit that it is both vast in extent and complex in character. While the earlier and more orthodox schools of Buddhism reserved the term Canonical to refer to the Body of literature, the greater part of which could be reasonably ascribed to the Buddha himself, other traditions which developed further away from the centre of activity of the Buddha and at a relatively later date choose to lay under the term Canon the entire mosaic of Buddhist literature in their possession, which is of varied authorship and is at times extremely heterogeneous in character.
It is generally believed that whatever was the teaching of the Buddha, ... it was rehearsed soon after his death by a fairly representative body of disciples. ... the early Buddhist disciples appear to have remained united for about a century.
The Council of Vesali or the second Buddhist Council saw the break up of this original body and as many as eighteen separate schools were known to exist by about the first century B.C. It is reasonable to assume that each of these schools would have opted to possess a Tripitaka of their own or rather their own recension of the Tripitaka, perhaps with a considerably large common core.
...
in speaking of a Buddhist Canon one has to admit that it is both vast in extent and complex in character. While the earlier and more orthodox schools of Buddhism reserved the term Canonical to refer to the Body of literature, the greater part of which could be reasonably ascribed to the Buddha himself, other traditions which developed further away from the centre of activity of the Buddha and at a relatively later date choose to lay under the term Canon the entire mosaic of Buddhist literature in their possession, which is of varied authorship and is at times extremely heterogeneous in character.
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