“Yes, there is a lot of Buddhist texts to read, but don’t worry, I’ve downloaded all of it for you.” (Context: The Early Buddhist Canon.) As a skeptic, the very first question I’d ask is: how do I know if the Nikāyas are an authentic...
(Context: The Early Buddhist Canon.) Even though the Nikāyas were formulated at the First Buddhist Council only months after the Buddha passed, the Pali Canon was actually written down much later, like 300 years later[1]. Why did it take so long? For a...
Compilation of discourses With Ānanda and Upāli giving testimony, and the gathering of 500 arahants verifying the correctness of their testimonies, the early Buddhist canon was thus established. The compilation offered up by Ānanda was so large it was divided into...
(Context: Ānanda and Mahā Kassapa’s stories.) Seven days after the Buddha passed, the news reached Mahā Kassapa. He was at that time with a community of five hundred monks not far from Kusinārā. They quickly headed towards Kusinārā. According to the...
“Excellent!” (Context: The Buddha’s Passing.) The Buddha taught for about forty-five years. He left a body of teachings so voluminous it can take somebody reciting it full-time many months to do it. Just an initial detailed study of the...
