Tripitaka of Buddhism
The Tripitaka are the canonical writings of Buddhism that include sutra-pitaka, vinaya-pitaka, and abhidharma-pitaka. These books emerged in different ages, and here we begin our introduction with the sutra-pitaka and vinaya-pitaka.
After Sakyamuni achieved Buddhahood more than 2,500 years ago, he and his disciples roamed the valley of the Ganges and preached for 45 years before he entered nirvana at Kusinara at the age of 80, but he left no written records of his lectures. After his death, his disciples thought that his words would fall into oblivion if they were not collected in time. In the same year of Sakyamuni’s nirvana, 500 disciples, headed by Mahakasyapa, held the First Samgiti (Council) in Rajagrha. During the meeting, Ananda recited the sutra-pitaka and Upali recited the vinaya-pitaka before the audience. Ananda recalled what, where, and to whom the Buddha had said this, and the audience discussed Ananda’s recollections, made up for what Ananda had forgotten and collected his errors, until consensus was reached on the final version. To indicate that each sutra had been verified after Sakyamuni’s death, it was preceded by the wording, “The following is what I heard…” In very much the same fashion Upali’s recollections of each and every commandment the Buddha had set, the reason why he set it, and where he set it were subjected to the audience’s perusal before they were accepted as the official version of vinaya or commandments.
As no written records were kept of the sutra-pitaka and vinaya-pitaka, they were thus collected and verified. The consensus reached on them during the First Council contributed to peace and unity in the ranks of the followers for a whole century, which historians have dubbed the “primitive period of Buddhism.” However, disagreement gradually flared up in the understanding of these holy words, causing the sangha to come apart into two groups, Theravada and Maha-samghika, which further broke up into 18 or 20 sects. Personal and geographical reasons also contributed to the split. The major sects have each followed their own sutras and commandments for nearly five centuries, a period known in history as the Nikayas Schism or Sectarian Buddhism.
In the first century BC, Buddhists became keenly aware of the inconvenience and lack of cohesion in the oral versions of the sutras and commandments, and so they began to write them down one after another. The first to come out in a written form was the Samyuktagama, the miscellaneous treatise on abstract contemplation and one of the Four Agamas (Four Agamas 阿含经, including Dirghagama 长阿含经, the long treatises on cosmogony; Madhyamagama 中阿含经, the middle treatises on metaphysics; Samyuktagama 杂阿含经, the miscellaneous treatises on abstract contemplation; Ekottaragama 增益阿含经, the numerical treatises). Written versions of the commandments emerged later. Thus for a time it became something of a fashion among the various sects of Buddhism to write down their respective sutras and commandments.
While the Buddhist sects were busy producing written versions of the Buddha’s creeds, classics of Mahayana Buddhism emerged. The major tenets of Mahayana Buddhism originated in the teachings of the Buddha. But just as the development of any ideological school calls for absorption of new things and adapting to society, the same is true of the development of Buddhism. Mahayana Buddhism emerged with such a vengeance that it soon superseded Sectarian Buddhism. The result was that the compilation of Mahayana scriptures and commandments flourished.
However, even to this day, followers of Theravada Buddhism refuse to accept the Mahayana classics. In their opinion, only the Four Agamas are records of the Buddha’s genuine words, and what is contained in the Mahayana scriptures are not. Though this controversy remains unresolved today, it does not prevent the Buddhists of different sects from keeping in touch with one another and coexisting in a friendly manner while preserving their differences.
The differences of opinion among Buddhists stem from different outlooks of the Buddha. Followers of Theravada Buddhism regard the Buddha as a man instead of a god, and a man with high moral values and superb wisdom at that. Mahayana Buddhists believe that he is a god with unfathomable virtue and resourcefulness. This major difference gave rise to tremendous differences in the preaching contained in the Buddhist classics. In China, Mahayana Buddhism is widely followed.
So much about the origin and formation of the scriptures and commandments. The belief that the Buddha himself had personally recounted the Abhidharma-pitaka does not seem plausible, because these treatises are actually his disciples’ work on studies of his words. Historical records are unavailable as to the dates of the emergence of the various books in the Abhidharma-pitaka. It is estimated that they first appeared during the period of Sectarian Buddhism (3rd century-1st century BC). The Adhidharma of Mahayana Buddhism, however, did not begin to thrive until the emergence of such major theoreticians as Asvaghosa, Nagarjuna, Deva, Asanga, and Vasubandhu after the first century.
