The five āgamas together comprise the Suttapiṭaka of the early Buddhist schools, which had different recensions of each āgama. ReligionFacts provides free, objective information on religion, world religions, comparative religion and religious topics. Buddhism’s Sacred Texts. The Abhidhamma has laid the foundation for what we today call Buddhist psychology, and also contains elements of philosophy and ethics. Salistamba Sutra The Salistamba Sutra or Śālistamba Sūtra (rice stalk or rice sapling sūtra) is an early Buddhist text that shows a few unique features which indicate a turn to the early Mahayana. amzn_assoc_search_bar = "true"; The early Buddhist texts describe a legendary gathering of five hundred arhats (followers) for the purpose of standardizing the Buddha's teachings after his death. It is recited by lamas over a dying or recently deceased person, or sometimes over an effigy of the deceased.

When people first come to investigate Buddhism, they may wonder if there is a Buddhist holy book or something like a Buddhist Bible. It is often used like the Sanskrit word āgama to mean “collection”, “assemblage”, “class” or “group” in both Pāḷi and Sanskrit. It can be a bit overwhelming as it is a bit like an encyclopedia of information, but it’s a wonderful resource to utilize. amzn_assoc_placement = "adunit0"; He offers commentaries and insight in each chapter, outlining key ideas. As my training and study has been in the Theravada school, we’re going to mostly cover the suttas in this tradition.

The late Seventh century saw the rise of another new class of Buddhist texts, the Tantras, which focused on ritual practices and yogic techniques such as the use of Mantras, Dharanis, Mandalas, Mudras and Fire offerings. 20007. The suttas share many qualities of a holy book, but also differ in a few key ways. During the First Buddhist Council, Ananda recited the Sutta Pitaka, and Upali recited the Vinaya Pitaka thirty years after the parinibbana of Gautama Buddha in Rajgir.... Mahayana Sutras The Mahayana sutras are a broad genre of Buddhist scriptures that various traditions of Mahayana Buddhism accept as canonical. My personal go-to is Access to Insight. Together with the 108-volume... Tantras in Buddhism The Buddhist Tantras are a varied group of Indian and Tibetan texts which outline unique views and practices of the Buddhist tantra religious systems. They are largely preserved in the Chinese Buddhist canon, the Tibetan Buddhist canon, and in extant Sanskrit manuscripts. Between the 11th and 14th centuries, the Tibetans translated every available Buddhist text into Tibetan. How do I start reading the Buddhist texts?

There are quite a few notable suttas which I reference quite a bit in my teachings and across this website.

The teachings of the Gautama Buddha can be divided into two broad categories: Dharma “doctrine” and Vinaya “discipline”. Buddhist Texts are those religious texts which are part of the Buddhist tradition. amzn_assoc_tracking_id = "oneminddharma-20"; Mahayana Buddhism reveres the Pali Canon as a sacred text, but adds to it the sutras, written between 200 BCE and 200 CE, which reflect distinctively Mahayana concepts. In addition to earlier foundational Buddhist texts from early Buddhist schools, mostly the Sarvastivada, and mahayana texts, the Tibetan canon includes Tantric texts. The Buddha famously told his chief disciple, Ānanda, that after his death, the Dharma he was leaving behind would continue to be the present teacher, the “guiding light,” to all future Buddhists,. It has been suggested that it is a sign of the influence of shamanism on Tibetan Buddhism. The Suttas – The Buddhist “Holy Book” or Sacred Text When people first come to investigate Buddhism, they may wonder if there is a Buddhist holy book or something like a Buddhist Bible. Berkley Center Contact Information Footer, Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue. Commentaries on the Tantras: 86 volumes; 3055 texts. Burmese-Pali manuscript copy of the Buddhist text Mahaniddesa, showing three different types of Burmese script, (top) medium square, (centre) round and (bottom) outline round in red lacquer from the inside of one of the gilded covers. Buddhism has a wide range of sacred texts and scriptures. Sacred Books . Sacred-Texts Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism Archives Here, in no particular order, are miscellaneous articles about Tibetan Buddhism from various sources on the Internet, mostly predating the World Wide Web. by Lama Choedak, The Very Brief Stages of the Path by Todd Fenner, Buddhist Attitude To Life by Lama Choedak, Dialog on The Tibetan Book of Living & Dying, Entering the Dharma Gate by Jetsun Milarepa, New York Times Interview with the Dalai Lama, The Origin of Bon part 1 by Olmo Lungring, The Origin of Bon part 2 by Olmo Lungring, The Origin of Bon part 3 by Olmo Lungring, The Teaching of Phowa (Transference of Consciousness at the Time of Death), The Culture of Ritual and the Quest for Enlightenment, A Complete Catalogue Of Sakya Lam 'Bras Literature Series, The `No-Self' Nature of People and Things by Charlie Singer, The Blazing Lights of the Sun and Moon by Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche, The Legend of the Great Stupa Jarungkhasor, The Tibetan Buddhist Teachings on Death and Rebirth, Tibetan Yoga and Secret Doctrines (excerpts), Tibetan Meditation, Yoga, and Spiritual Practice Sources- bibliography, Training the Mind and Cultivating Loving-Kindness by Chogyam Trungpa, Exposition of the Views of the Four Indian Schools, The Window of Right View to Life by Lama Choedak. The Tipitaka is very detailed. Sacred Texts There are many Buddhist scriptures and religious texts, which are divided into the categories of canonical (official) and non-canonical. If you are interested in working more in-depth with meditation practices, you can work one-on-one with a teacher at One Mind Dharma. Instead, it is a collection of many volumes, depending on the tradition. The title of this text roughly translates as “Scripture of the... Nikaya Nikaya or Nikāya is a Pāli word meaning “volume”. Below are a handful of books that contain English translations of the Pali Canon, along with some commentary from the translator. The Buddhist Canon Main article: Tibetan Buddhist canon To the Tengyur were assigned commentaries to both Sutras and Tantras, treatises and abhidharma works (both Mahayana and non-Mahayana). Early Buddhist Texts Early Buddhist texts (EBTs), Early Buddhist literature or Early Buddhist discourses refers to the parallel texts shared by the Early Buddhist schools. The former, also called the Sutras (Sanskrit) or Suttas (Pali) are believed to be, either literally or metaphorically, the actual words of the Buddha. If you want to dive into the suttas, we recommend checking out some of the resources below. All Rights Reserved. © 2020 Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs. We are not associated with any religion or organization.