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The Authenticity of the Early Buddhist Texts

JasonJason God EmperorArrakis Moderator
edited April 2014 in Philosophy

For anyone interested in the subject of 'early Buddhism,' as well as textual authenticity, Bhikkhu Sujato and Bhikkhu Brahmali's book The Authenticity of the Early Buddhist Texts has recently been published by the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies and is available online. From Bhikkhu Sujato's blog:

The book is essentially a collection of short articles that gather much of what we know about the historical background of Early Buddhism into one place. We believe that the debate on the authenticity of the texts in academic circles has been badly skewed by an unscientific emphasis on extreme scepticism, and it is time for the pendulum to swing back. Anyway, enjoy!

It's not a comprehensive work by any means, but it's definitely worth a look in my opinion.

ToraldrisJeroen

Comments

  • ToraldrisToraldris   -`-,-{@     Zen Nud... Buddhist     @}-,-`-   East Coast, USA Veteran

    @Jason Grazie! That should be interesting reading.

  • ToraldrisToraldris   -`-,-{@     Zen Nud... Buddhist     @}-,-`-   East Coast, USA Veteran

    That was so looooong, even though it was under 200 pages. They certainly did their homework; fully half the space seemed to be references! I've read a lot of the Pali texts, and they do seem to have a similar voice and a coherence that the texts of other traditions lack. Certainly the Buddha isn't the author of every Buddhist tradition or sutra. I wish people could just say "The Buddha didn't really say this, or it's unlikely that he said it, but it's useful for X and Y reasons...". No such luck though.

  • vinlynvinlyn Colorado...for now Veteran

    @AldrisTorvalds said:
    That was so looooong, even though it was under 200 pages. They certainly did their homework; fully half the space seemed to be references! I've read a lot of the Pali texts, and they do seem to have a similar voice and a coherence that the texts of other traditions lack. Certainly the Buddha isn't the author of every Buddhist tradition or sutra. I wish people could just say "The Buddha didn't really say this, or it's unlikely that he said it, but it's useful for X and Y reasons...". No such luck though.

    I agree! And that's why I say that wisdom is wisdom, whatever the source.

    Toraldrisanataman
  • ToraldrisToraldris   -`-,-{@     Zen Nud... Buddhist     @}-,-`-   East Coast, USA Veteran
    edited April 2014

    @vinlyn Agreed. I just wish it could be realism/truth + wisdom at the same time! :D People seem to have this need to make the historical Buddha the author of every tradition, and to make some traditions superior to others by way of illogical or far-fetched reasoning. It's like all skepticism gets turned off in order to foster such beliefs.

    vinlyn
  • DairyLamaDairyLama Veteran Veteran
    edited April 2014

    "We believe that the debate on the authenticity of the texts in academic circles has been badly skewed by an unscientific emphasis on extreme scepticism, and it is time for the pendulum to swing back.."

    I've been saying that for years! :p

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