Sources of Authority - the Pali Canon Flashcards
background to buddhist texts
- 4 councils: decide rules for monks, tripitaka = 3 bowls/baskets
- seen as the buddhavacana –> transferred orally by arhats, enlightened monks with perfect memory (?)
- canonical texts: dalai lam, thich nhat hanh
- mahayana sutras: authenticity checked due to their adherence to vinaya, dukkha, annata
- pali canon: vinaya, sutta, abhidhamma
the vinaya pitaka
- B rules of conduct for the sangha
- suttavibhanga: 227 rules for monks and 311 for nuns
- khandhaka: rules governing the organisation of the sangha rather than the conduct for individual monks
sutta pitaka
- discourses of the buddha and written source of the buddhist dharma
- digha nikaya contains 34 discourses
- majjhima nikaya contains sermon by a female disciple of the buddha showing how women had a place in early buddhism
- contains realisation that others in other ages may have reached liberation without the teachings of buddhism
- topics include types of karma, dharma, generosity, renunciation and the maintenance of parents, duties for a monk etc
abhidhamma pitaka
- philosophical treatment of the dharma presented in the suttas of the buddha
- dammasangani: existence into the basic dhammas of which all things are made is analysed –> needed to no impose mental constrictions
describe the first buddhist council
- Established to arrive at a consensus on how the teachings of the Buddha could be spread further
- Rules established
- 483 BC after the Buddha’s demise
- Presided over by Monk Mahakassapa
- Main objective was to preserve the Buddha’s teachings
- Ananda: composed the Suttapitaka (Buddha’s teaching) and Upali (monastic code)
- justified: arhats have perfect memory as enlightened beings
describe the second buddhist council
- Conducted under patronage of King Kalasoka
- Presided over by Sabakami
- Discussed 10 disputed points under the Vinaypitaka
- First major split happens → Thera (elder) wanted to preserve the teachings of the Buddha in the original spirit and Mahasanghika (great community) interpreted the Buddha’s teachings more liberally
- Perfect memory used to justify reliability
describe the third buddhist council
- Conducted under the patronage of Emperor Ashoka
- Beginning of M and T split
- Presided by Mohaliputta
- Purifying Buddhism from opportunistic factions and corruption in the Sangha
- Abhidhamma Pitaka was composed here → almost completion of the modern Pali Tripitaka
- Buddhist missionaries sent to other countries
- Buddhist preached by Emperor Ashoka was Theravadan
describe the fourth buddhist council
- Vasumitra and Ashvaghosha presided over the council
- All deliberations in Sanksrit
- Abhidhamma texts translated from Prakrit to Sanskrit
- Led to division of Buddhism into two sects → M and T
- M: idol worship, ritual, Bodhisattvas, Buddha=God, Sanskrit scriptures
- T: original teachings and practices of the Buddha, adhere to Pali scriptures
differences between how T and M use the PC
T
- buddhavacana - words of the B, central source of authority used daily as it encompasses all essential things of B
- learn about historic and symbolic B
- source of PC and he is the teachings –> B appointed no successor, only the word, no contender for leader
- increases its status for monks
- used for education, understanding SB, guide to N!!
M
- entirety is upaya, needed to access the sutras
- sutras have more authority and status as they expand on T ideas (basic truths not ultimate truths)
- PC = lesser vehicle, foundational/roots
- higher teachings of B are believed to be delivered in secret by supernatural beings
differences in how the laity and the sangha use the PC
L
- guidebook –> dhammapada (sutta pitaka), J tales and parables are learnt and applied to life
- ‘the ordinary lay buddhist will never have actually read the canonical material’ CUSH
- accessible in learning key concepts (poison arrow parable, 4 noble T, 8FP, 5 precepts –> generating karmic fruitfulness and N!! –> short summary of main principles so they can learn the dhamma and cultivate virtues (ahimsa, dana, generosity) and application
- helps lead to good rebirth
S
- adhere to VP rules and study complex B concepts from the AP –> strict discipline
- maintaining harmony in a community, 227 and 311 rules
- VP scriptures and recite together once a fortnight
- teaches difficult concepts, 5 aggregates
- ‘dhamma, in SP, is conventional teaching and VP is the ultimate teaching’
- helps lead to nirvana
uses of the pali canon
- chanting and meditation by L and S –> remembering texts and their importance of a particular message
- helps meditation as it clears the mind
- ‘does not have intrinsic value, only instrumental authority’ –> means to nirvana, as meditation is how SB achieved
- educated on key concepts, using upaya to help both S and L
