Buddhism: Literature and Buddhist Councils

Buddhism: Literature and Buddhist Councils

Buddhist Literature

One of the first written and structured literary corpuses in Indian history is found in Buddhist literature. The Tripitakas are the oldest, most comprehensive, most methodical compilation of early Buddhist sacred texts.

• Pali, a language spoken in Magadha and South Bihar, was used to write the earliest Buddhist texts, which were mostly composed by learned monks. 
• The themes covered by Buddhist literature are diverse and include the history of the Buddha’s teachings, his life, his followers, and the Sangha.

Canonical Literature

• Vinaya Pitaka – This includes guidelines for maintaining the sangha’s peaceful operation and information on how to organise it.
  • Compiled – First Buddhist Council ( 483 BCE ) 
  • Recited by Upali
  • Subject matter: The regulations guiding monks’ and nuns’ daily lives make up the majority of Vinaya Pitaka.
• Sutta Pitaka – The five Nikayas (collections) that grew out of the Buddha’s core teachings are contained in the Sutta Pitaka.
  • Compiled  – First Buddhist Council ( 483 BCE ) 
  • Ananda performed the first oral recitation of Sutta Pitaka.
  • Subject matter: The core ideas of Buddhism are found in the Sutta Pitaka.
• Abhidhamma Pitaka – It covers a wide range of topics, including ethics, psychology, knowledge theories, and philosophical difficulties.
  • It provides a precise and extensive exposition of the “principles behind the mental and physical processes of the Buddha’s teaching” and expresses the ‘ultimate’ (paramattha) teachings in psycho-philosophical terms.
  • The Buddha formulated the essence of Abhidamma after attaining Enlightenment.
  • Buddha repeated it to Sariputta, who then shared it with his students.
  • Subject: It is a more advanced version of Buddhist teachings.
  • Abhidhamma Pitaka is concerned with philosophy and metaphysics.

Non-Canonical literature

• A vast non-canonical literature developed mostly as commentaries to explain the canonical texts to the Buddhist monks outside India.
• Dipavamsa – Dipavamsa means “Chronicle of an Island”. It is the oldest historical record in Sri Lanka.
  • It is thought to have been compiled in the third or fourth century BCE somewhere in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka, during the reign of King Dhatusena. King Dhatusena erected the Avukana Buddha statue in Sri Lanka.
  • Language –  Pali 
  • It describes the tooth relic and the Bodhi Tree’s arrival in Sri Lanka.
  • It also discusses the arrival of Buddha’s teachings and preachers in Sri Lanka. It states that Buddha visited Kelaniya and Dighavapi in Sri Lanka.
• Mahavamsa – Mahavamsa means  “Great Chronicle”.
  • It is a historical poem about Sri Lankan kings
  • The original version of Mahavamsa was written around the 3rd-4th century BCE, during King Vijaya’s reign.
  • Language – Pali 
  • Mahavamsa, Dipavamsa, and Culavamsa (a minor chronicle) are sometimes referred to as a single entity.
  • It deals with the royal lineages of not only Sri Lanka, but the entire Indian subcontinent, and is regarded as the world’s longest uninterrupted historical chronicle. 
  • It includes facts about Asoka’s consecration as well as Selucus and Alexander.
• Milinda Panha – Milinda Panha means  “Questions of Milinda”.
  • It comprises a conversation between Indo-Greek king Meander and Buddhist monk Nagasena. 
  • Author: Nagasena
  • Language – Pali 
  • It was originally composed in Sanskrit during the second and first centuries BCE.
• Jatakas – The Jataka tales are a significant collection of Buddhist morality stories in which the Buddha describes some of his previous lives on his long journey to enlightenment.
  • Language – Pali 
  • Jataka stories have been depicted in Buddhist architecture throughout the Buddhist world. Some of the oldest illustrations may be seen in Sanchi and Bharhut.
  • The Jatakas shed significant light on social and economic conditions from the sixth to the second centuries BCE. 
  • They also mention political occurrences from the Buddha’s time.

Buddhist Councils

Decline of Buddhism

• Revival of Brahmanical Hinduism- Hinduism was reformed by adopting Buddhist teachings such as vegetarianism and opposing animal sacrifice.
  • Buddha emerging as an avatar of Vishnu in Hindu texts facilitated the assimilation.
• Loss of Royal Patronage – The fall of major Buddhism-following kingdoms such as the Kushanas, as well as the movement of royal support to Brahmanical Hinduism under the Guptas, hastened the decline of Buddhism.
  • The decline of Buddhist sanghas and monasteries was caused by a lack of state backing.
• Ideological Decline – Buddhism was established on egalitarian principles in opposition to Vedic ceremonies and Brahmanical domination. But over time, same issues with corruption, hierarchy, and intricate rituals surfaced in institutional Buddhism. Buddhism’s fundamental philosophical foundation was lost as a result of numerous divisions into sects and subsects.
• Lack of Vernacular Litеraturе- Buddhist monks abandoned Pali in favour of learning Sanskrit, an intellectual language that was seldom comprehended by the general public.
• Foreign Invasions –  Invasions from the northwest, such as the Huns and Turks (Bhakhtiar Khilji), resulted in damage and persecution of Buddhist monks and devotees. These attacks caused havoc at Buddhist monasteries, pilgrimage destinations, and organisations such as Nalanda.