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buddhavacana

My Journey

This website documents my evolving journey discovering and studying the teachings of the Buddha. I was first introduced to Buddhism in my early teens, through a book called “What Buddhists Believe” by Dr K Sri Dhammananda. The core concepts of Buddhism made a lot of sense to me. However, life took over and I did not pursue my interest in Buddhism until recently, when I retired from an active working career. In the last few years, I started by studying the Pāḷi Canon (translated into English) and other Buddhist texts, and then learnt Pāḷi in order to read the original texts. Lately I have been reading texts outside the Pāḷi Canon, including Sanskrit and Chinese texts in the Mahāyāna and related traditions.

My understanding of who the Buddha was and what the Buddha may have taught have evolved over the years. In hindsight, my perspective when I started was fairly biased. I was mainly exposed to Theravāda Buddhism, from the perspective of books from the Pali Text Society and the Buddhist Publication Society. These books were written mainly by European or Western educated scholars and adherents, and they promoted a rationalist interpretation of Buddhism - the Buddha was a human being, and his teachings can be regarded as a form of philosophy as well as meditative practice. I somehow formed the impression that other forms of Buddhism, such as the Mahāyāna tradition practised in East Asia, and the Vajrayāna tradition practised in Tibet, were later developments that deviated from his “original” teachings, and represented “corrupted” forms of Buddhism. There was a “pure” form of Buddhism based on the so-called “early texts” that represented what the Buddha “really” taught, and recoverable through scholarly research and analysis.12

I discovered this perspective of Buddhism, which I will call “Protestant Buddhism”, is largely a modern invention that arose in the 19th and 20th centuries, influenced by Western ideas of rationalism, empiricism, and Protestant Christianity. It was promoted by scholars and practitioners who sought to reform Buddhism and make it more compatible with modern values and scientific worldview. This perspective often downplays or dismisses the more mystical, devotional, and ritualistic aspects of Buddhism found in other traditions. This view of Buddhism is a reaction against the colonial and missionary critiques of Buddhism as superstitious and irrational, and sought to present Buddhism as a rational and ethical alternative to Western religions. The British colonial administration in Sri Lanka and Burma (Myanmar) supported this movement, as it aligned with their own interests in promoting a more “modern” and “civilised” form of Buddhism that was less threatening to their rule. It is also heavily influenced by the Theosophical Society, founded by Blavatsky and Olcott in 1875, and Protestant Buddhism (at least in Sri Lanka) is largely descended from the Buddhist Theosophical Society (BTS).3

However, the more I read and study (and as my knowledge of Pāḷi increased), the more I realise that this view of Buddhism is a constructed one. The Buddha’s teachings were transmitted orally for several centuries before being written down, and they were subject to various interpretations and adaptations by different communities and cultures. The Pāḷi Canon itself is a collection of texts that were compiled over many centuries, and it reflects a late, sectarian and redacted perspective belonging to the Theravāda tradition.45

We don’t even know whether the Buddha was a historical figure or a mythical one. The earliest texts we have about the Buddha were written several centuries after his death, and they contain many legendary and mythical elements. The Buddha’s life story, as presented in the Pāḷi Canon and other texts, is a mixture of supposedly “historical facts”, hagiography and mythological embellishments. There is no evidence of the Buddha’s existence outside of Buddhist scripture.6

We now know from the discovery of Gāndhārī manuscripts, which are the earliest surviving Buddhist texts, that Mahāyānan texts, such as the Prajñāpāramitā sutras, were composed as early as the 1st century BCE. This challenges the notion that Mahāyāna Buddhism is a later development that deviated from the “original” teachings of the Buddha. It suggests that the Mahāyāna tradition has deep roots in the early Buddhist community, and the Pāḷi canon therefore is a redacted version of the Buddha’s teachings.78

Some scholars such as Gombrich have argued that the Mahāyāna movement may have originated as a textual rather than oral tradition, Tseng has suggested that its practitioners may have been embedded within existing Buddhist sects. Mahāyāna texts may well have been the earliest Buddhist texts to be written down, perhaps even predating the schism or division into sects, and the Pāḷi Canon may have been compiled later to counter the growing influence of Mahāyāna teachings.5

Furthermore, we also know that the Vinaya texts, which are largely consistent across different Buddhist traditions, indicate that the Buddha was regarded from the beginning as a semi divine being with extraordinary qualities and abilities. The Buddha is often described as possessing supernormal powers, such as the ability to read minds, perform miracles, and transcend the limitations of ordinary human existence. So the notion that the Buddha was merely a human teacher and philosopher is also a constructed one.9

The original focus of this website was to document my journey in studying the Pāḷi Canon and related texts, and my progress in learning Pāḷi. However, as my understanding of Buddhism has evolved, I have expanded my focus to include other Buddhist traditions and texts. I have also started exploring the historical and cultural contexts of Buddhism, and how they have influenced the development of different Buddhist traditions.

I still believe the Buddha may have been a historical figure, and his “earliest” teachings (as contained in the Vinaya) may have been a “pure” and “rational” soteriology that can be empirically validated through personal experience. However, I now also appreciate the Mahāyāna perspective that the “Buddha” may simply be a concept, an idealised archetype that represents the highest potential of human beings. Whether he existed as a historical figure or not is irrelevant, as the ultimate objective is for us to understand that the perceptual and subjective world that we experience is ultimately devoid of inherent or substantive existence (or, at the very least, we cannot validate the independent existence or intrinsic qualities of what we perceive outside our perceptions and mental concepts), and when we understand this, we will truly be liberated.

Footnotes

Section titled “Footnotes”

  1. There has been an interest in the so-called “Early Buddhist Texts”, representing the earliest stratum of Buddhist literature, which some believe may contain the closest approximation to the original teachings of the historical Buddha. These texts are primarily found in the Pāḷi Canon of the Theravāda tradition, as well as in other early Buddhist canons such as the Āgamas of the Sarvāstivāda and other early schools. Scholars such as Analayo and Allon, as well as monastics such as Bhikkhu Sujato, have used various methods, including textual criticism, comparative analysis, and historical research, to identify and study these early texts. The goal is to reconstruct the teachings and practices of the Buddha as accurately as possible, shedding light on the origins and development of Buddhism. ↩

  2. Allon, M. Early Buddhist Texts: Their Composition and Transmission. J Indian Philosophy 50, 523–556 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10781-021-09499-6 ↩

  3. Gombrich, R. F. (2006). Theravāda Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo. Routledge. ↩

  4. Cousins, L.S. (2013) The Early Development of Buddhist Literature and Language in India, JOCBS 2013 (5), pp. 89–135. ↩

  5. Collins, Steven, On The Very Idea Of The Pali Canon, JPTS XV(4) pp. 89-126 ↩ ↩2

  6. Drewes, D. (2017). The Idea Of The Historical Buddha. Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, 40, 1–25. https://doi.org/10.2143/JIABS.40.0.3269003 ↩

  7. ALLON, M., SALOMON, R., & GANDHÁRA, E. M. I. T (2010) ORIGIN of the Mahayana - its date, location, motivations, institu. EASTERN BUDDHIST, 4(1), 1. ↩

  8. Tseng, A. A. (2020). Archeological Evidence of Early Mahayana Movement in Gandhara. Exploring the Life and Teachings of Mahayana Buddhists in Asia, 31-134. ↩

  9. Frauwallner, E. (1956). The Earliest Vinaya And The Beginnings Of Buddhist Literature. ROMA Is. M. E. O. ↩