Oral Tradition

The Sangha memorized the teachings, and there were group recitations at festivals and special occasions. The teachings were rehearsed and authenticated at the First Council, and were handed down from generation to generation accurately by means of these group recitations.

The oral tradition continues today. The Sangha chant selected texts at ceremonies and sometimes the lay people join in. The chanting is considered to be sacred act, in addition to reminding and teaching the Dhamma.

Pali Canon

The Vinaya Pitaka consists of the 227 rules of conduct and discipline applicable to the monastic life of the monks and nuns. It is divided into three parts and, in addition to the rules, give accounts of the circumstances under which a rule was promulgated and exceptions of the rule.

The Sutta Pitaka consists of the main teaching or Dhamma. It is divided into five Nikayas or collections. These are the long teachings (Digha Nikaya), medium length teachings (Majjhima Nikaya), groups of shorter teachings according to common topics (Samyutta Nikaya), a collection arranged to subjects discussed (Angutta Nikaya) and a collection of a variety of shorter texts in verse and prose.

The Abhidamma Pitaka consists of seven books called the higher or further teaching. This is a philosophical analysis and systematization of the teaching and seems to be the scholarly activity of the monks.

The writing was on strips of dried palm leaves cut into rectangles and etched with a metal stylus and rubbed over with carbon ink. A thread was passed through the pages to keep them in order and elaborately painted wooden covers fixed at the ends. This is done even today and is considered to be a meritorious activity.

The Pali Canon has been recited, checked and agreed at the Councils. The whole of it has been translated into English. The Pali Canon was put on a single CD-Rom disk which is published by the American Academy of Religion and Scholar’s Press in Atlanta, USA.

Sanskrit Canon

The Sanskrit Tripitaka, or Canon, displayed the same three divisions as the Pali Canon, namely:

Vinaya Vaibasha – monastic rules
Sutra vaibasha – the Dharma, the five Agamas corresponded to the five Nikayas of the Pali Canon, and
Abhidharma Vaibasha –the scholarly philosophical analysis which differed from the corresponding section of the Pali Canon.

The Sanskrit Canon does not exist in a complete form in India, but does exist in translations in Chinese, Japanese and Tibetan. Sections of it have been unearthed by archaeologists in Central Asia.

Mahayana Texts

Of the many new Sutras written, nine are considered particularly important. Four of the most popular and important are:

Prajnaparamita Sutras (Wisdom, Perfection Sutra), which set out the teachings of Emptiness (Sunyata).
Saddharma Pundarika Sutra (Lotus Sutra), which explains the one-ness of the teachings and praises the Bodhisattva. Mahayana considered this to be the supreme teaching, and it is considered the most important Sutra in China and Japan.
Vimalakirtinirdesa Sutra, which explains that a layperson can become a Bodhisattva.
Sukhavati Sutra teaches that Buddha Amida’s land was open to all believers.

Tantric Texts

With the growth of Tantric Buddhism, new Tantric texts came into being dealing with new ideas. They deal with:

(a) Kriya tantra – ceremonies and rites,

(b) Carya tantra – practical rites,

(c) Yoga tantra – practice of yoga,

(d) Anuttarayoga tantra – higher mysticism.

Tantric Buddhism and now Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana school) emphasize personal teaching and these texts are difficult to read and understand since they need to be complemented by oral teaching.

Examples of tantric texts are:

Hevajra Tantra, Guhya samaja tantra (Union of the triple body of the Buddha) and Kalacakra tantra (Wheel of Time).

Chinese, Korean and Japanese Texts
Buddhism came to China in the 1st century C.E.. The development of Buddhism in China and the recording of the teaching as the Chinese Canon is one of the great achievement s of human civilization.

The Sanskrit texts of different traditions were taken to China and the translation of the texts into Chinese went on from 200 C.E. to about 1200 C.E.. At first non-Chinese, and later Chinese monks, working individually and in teams, carried on the translation work. State translation projects were established. Original Chinese Sutra were added.

The Chinese Tripitaka, or Canon, was compiled and followed the same pattern. There was the Vinaya, Sutra and Abhidharma Pitakas, and it included the original Chinese Sutras. About the 8th century the Chinese invented wood block printing to make multiple copies of the Sutras. The oldest printed book in existence is the Diamond Sutra dated 868 C.E..

The vast Chinese Canon is in the process of being translated into English. The Chinese Tripitaka was translated into Korean about 10th century C.E. and later the Korean Tripitaka was printed. The Chinese Tripitaka was brought to Japan and copied. Sutra coping became an important religious activity in Japan. It was published in the 17th century C.E.. The Chinese Tripitaka and the Pali Tripitaka have been translated into Japanese last century.

Tibetan and Mongolian Canon

Kanjur (Translation of the Word of the Buddha) includes the Vinaya, Sutra and Abhidharma and also the Tantric texts.
Tanjur (Translation of Commentaries) consists of commentaries on the main texts, hymns and also writings on medicine, grammar and so on.

The first edition was published in Beijing in 1410 C.E.. Only a small portion of the Tibetan Canon has been translated into English. The Tibetan Tripitaka was translated into Mongolian in the 18 century C.E..

Commentaries

In addition, as a result of Buddhist study and scholarship, there is a vast amount of commentarial matter published over 2,500 years by Asian scholars in the different countries.