The Sutras Tripitaka,
Sutras taught the teachings of Buddha. It is a religious literature. This is not the only sacred text of Buddha, however this text does provide supplementary teachings, rules of conduct, and commentary on transitional states after death. A thread or line that holds things together for verbal root. Sutra is a term that means discourse, and oral traditions and designed were to prompt the best alternative in which the population was illiterate. There were important religious practices and also taught the teachings of key religious figures. In the 1st century Buddhist sutras started to be written in the Pali language. It was also related to Sanskrit. Early Buddhist teachings were compiled into 5 different collections in which were collected in the Tripitaka which was Buddhist text.
Source: http://www.ancient.eu/Sutra/ http://www.findingdulcinea.com/guides/Religion-and-Spirituality/Sacred-Texts.pg_0.html |
Can also be known as the Pali Canon. Signifies the word of Buddha. Incorporates teachings of the pupils. Tripitaka was the earliest collection of the buddhist writings. They were mainly oral, but then in the 3rd century bce they were converted into written texts. They were divided into three baskets and early writings were long leaves that needed to be sewn together onto one side. The three baskets that were divided into were: Discipline basket (Vinaya Pitaka) Discourse basket (Sutra Pitaka) and Special Teachings (Abhidharma Pitaka). They are all collections of short writings containing songs and poetry due to the stories of Buddha and his previous life. Tripitaka is the sole canonical text in Theravada Buddhism.
Sources: http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/history/s_collect.htm http://www.uwyo.edu/religionet/er/buddhism/btexts.htm |
Image from: http://www.sgi-d.org/philosophie/lotos-sutra
http://www.babelstone.co.uk/Tangut/Tripitaka.html Tripitaka |