You may have discovered there are lots of Buddhist texts and teachings. Jews have their Torah, Christians their Bible, Muslims their Quran, and Hindus their Vedas, but Buddhists have no divinely-inspired central text, or even collection of texts, to serve as a definitive source of orthodox teachings. The texts considered authoritative in at least one sect of Buddhism would fill a decent-sized library. This episode (along with Part 2) is meant to be a brief and broad overview of 2500 years’-worth of Buddhist texts in the Zen lineage. Hopefully, it can give you some context for whatever text you might find yourself reading.
Quicklinks to Article Content:
The Vast Number of Buddhist Texts
What Makes a Buddhist Text Legit?
Understanding the Diversity of Buddhist Texts Using Buddhism’s Family Tree
Canonical Buddhist Texts from Original Buddhism
Rise of the Mahayana
Mahayana Sutras
The Vast Number of Buddhist Texts
For those of us most familiar with religions that rely on central, divinely inspired texts, the sheer number and variety of Buddhist sources can be disorienting and overwhelming. Jews have their Torah, Christians their Bible, Muslims their Quran, and Hindus their Vedas, but Buddhists have no divinely-inspired central text, or even collection of texts, to serve as a definitive source of orthodox teachings. The texts considered authoritative in at least one sect of Buddhism would fill a decent-sized library.
The sheer abundance of Buddhist texts was probably what inspired Dwight Goddard to publish a book he called The Buddhist Bible back in 1932, when English-speaking westerners were starting to get interested in practicing the religion. I remember happily purchasing the book shortly after I got involved in Buddhism in the 1990’s, thinking, “Whew, thank goodness. Now I can get a handle on this tradition.” I was sorely disappointed. Goddard’s book contains translations of four dense Mahayana sutras. They are, indeed, important texts within that branch of Buddhism, but they’re far from being accessible to a beginner. In addition, few Buddhists in the world would recognize the book as being anything approaching a “bible,” or a central text that contained everything that was essential to Buddhism.
Given that there’s no Buddhist bible, what do you study if you’re a Buddhist, or interested in Buddhism? Where do you begin? How much do you really need to know?
In this episode (and in Part 2) I’ll give you an overview of the Buddhist teachings that are found in the lineage of Zen. This is meant to be your 2500-years’-worth-of-Buddhist-texts-in-a-nutshell, to give you some context for whatever text you might find yourself reading. I have to limit myself to texts historically connected to the Zen tradition, or this information would never be able to fit in a nutshell! However, I will try to note where other major traditions branch off from original Buddhism, Mahayana, Chan, and Zen so you’ll have a sense of where other kinds of Buddhist texts fit in. I’ll also briefly discuss how the authority of a given text is measured and viewed by Buddhists. In this episode I get as far as Mahayana Sutras. In the Part 2, which I will release next month, I will continue the overview, covering Mahayana philosophers, Chan teachings including koans, and then Japanese Zen.
Note: In Episodes 67 and 68 (Relating to Buddhist Teachings) I talk about how to choose what to study, and how to relate to the teachings you find, so refer to those episodes for the next steps in engaging a text.
What Makes a Buddhist Text Legit?
Before I begin, let me say a few words about how a text ends up being considered important enough to be preserved and passed through the generations by Buddhists – in other words, how a text ends up in our Buddhist texts “nutshell.”
Buddhists have a different standard than most religions when it comes to deciding whether a particular teaching is legit. There are certainly sects of Buddhism, such as Theravada, which focus primarily on teachings believed to be the word of the actual historical Buddha Shakyamuni or his immediate disciples, and Buddhists everywhere will have admiration and respect for such teachings. But even the Theravadins use and honor other sources, so authentic Buddhist teachings aren’t limited to those given directly by the founder of the religion, who was just a human being and not a god or an emissary of God.
In general, a Buddhist text or teaching produced by an advanced practitioner of Buddhism may be considered every bit as legitimate, useful, and authoritative as something Shakyamuni Buddha said. There are two reasons for this. First, the Buddha taught a method of study and practice that allowed other people to fully awaken to the same thing he had. He would have considered his teaching efforts a failure if this hadn’t happened. Subsequently, people who followed the Buddha’s path to completion could, in turn, teach others. When the Buddha died, he assured his students that they didn’t need him; now they could rely entirely on themselves, and on the Dharma, or teachings, he had left.
In theory, then, in every Dharma generation after that, some people have achieved and verified for themselves exactly what the Buddha did. The teachings and writings of these awakened folks become legitimate sources of inspiration and guidance for subsequent Buddhists.
The second reason there are so many Buddhist texts and teachings is that we verify the legitimacy of a given teaching for ourselves, through our own direct experience. The Buddha himself advised his students to approach teachings this way. One of the classic suttas in the Pali Canon describes the Buddha telling some of his followers, the Kalamas, about how to know whether a given spiritual teaching is legitimate or not:
Now, Kalamas, don’t go by reports, by legends, by traditions, by scripture, by logical conjecture, by inference, by analogies, by agreement through pondering views, by probability, or by the thought, ‘This contemplative is our teacher.’ When you know for yourselves that, ‘These qualities are skillful; these qualities are blameless; these qualities are praised by the wise; these qualities, when adopted & carried out, lead to welfare & to happiness’ — then you should enter & remain in them.[i]
We accept teachings and practices provisionally, just long enough to test their truth and efficacy for ourselves. Obviously, we use some common sense to sort the wheat from the chaff, but when a teaching or text seems okay we still verify its legitimacy through our direct experience. If the writings of a 7th century Chan master guide me to a significant and liberative breakthrough in my practice, I’m going to value her or his teachings as much as I value anything from the original Buddhist canon.
Understanding the Diversity of Buddhist Texts Using Buddhism’s Family Tree
To comprehend the evolution and accumulation of Buddhist texts through the ages, it’s helpful to think of the Buddhist tradition as a family tree.
Buddhism is a lineage tradition, with a strong emphasis on the legitimate passage of the teachings and practices from teacher to student through time. Therefore, most teachers, temples, or Buddhist centers will be able to trace a lineage of teachers back to Shakyamuni Buddha. Part of this lineage will be apocryphal (we are talking about 2,500 years), but the concept of lineage is taken seriously. Like distant relatives in a family tree, Buddhist lineages have diverged greatly over time. Differences between distantly-related lineages include which teachings and texts are treasured and emphasized, the central practices, the emphasis on monasticism, the inclusion of women and lay people, the culture of the Sangha, and even the ultimate goal of the practice. A terminal branch far from yours on the family tree may be a form of Buddhism you barely recognize.
For most forms of Buddhism, the top of Buddhism’s genealogical tree is Shakyamuni Buddha and the most ancient texts and teachings attributed to him, dating from about 2,500 years ago. Early on, tree splits into two major branches, Mahayana and Theravada. Theravada means “way of the elders,” and this branch of Buddhism has done its best to preserve and honor the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha. The Mahayana branch added many texts, concepts, and practices to original Buddhism, and it further branches into Vajrayana, Pure Land, Chan/Zen, and most other schools of Buddhism. Every branch keeps dividing, and the tiny outermost branches – the furthest in time from the origin, or trunk – represent extant lineages of Buddhism.
All the Buddhist branches trace back to common ancestors and all revere the original teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha, but Dharma Study focused on widely divergent lineages may present you with apparent contradictions and competing messages. Each lineage, if they attempted to distill 2,500 years of texts into a Buddhist “bible,” containing everything that seems essential to their understanding and practice, would come up with a very different text.
Note: In fact, even the way the Buddhist family tree is envisioned differs greatly in Vajrayana Buddhism compared to how I have presented it. I found a fascinating and informative graphic called a “Lineage Tree of All Major Buddhist Sects” on the Holy Vajrasana Temple website (linked to in the show notes). It shows the Buddhist lineage tree through time, including color coding by country, a timeline along the right side, and identification of the various extant sects along the bottom of the tree. It depicts four major types of Buddhism and Dharma ancestors on the Vajrayana side include a number of Buddhas other than Shakyamuni, along with celestial bodhisattvas and other Dharma beings. I recommend checking the graphic out for the sense it can give you of how the very complex family tree of Buddhism looks.
Canonical Buddhist Texts from Original Buddhism
The closest thing to a Buddhist bible might be considered the canonical collections of the most ancient Buddhist texts – the ones composed shortly after the time of the Buddha, containing either his words, the words of his close disciples, or monastic regulations compiled by the early Buddhist community. According to the Buddhist story, communities of Buddhist monks met and officially designated which texts were considered canonical – that is, authoritative and genuine – over the course of the first couple hundred years after the Buddha’s death.
In this podcast I refer often to the Pali Canon, one version of this collection of canonical texts. The Pali Canon was recited orally for centuries before being written down in Pali in Sri Lanka in the 1st century BCE, and it’s the central authority of the Theravadin school of Buddhism. The ancient canonical Buddhist texts were also eventually translated into Sanskrit in India and made their way to Tibet, China, and Southeast Asia, so there are other, somewhat different, versions of this original Buddhist canon.
You might think the existence of canonical collections of ancient Buddhist texts – most of them believed to contain words spoken by the Buddha himself – would satisfy our longing for a concise and definitive Buddhist “bible,” but alas. The Buddha taught for 45 years on an amazing array of topics and canons are very long. According to the Access to Insight website, the Pali Text Society’s English translation of the Tipitaka (the three sections of the Pali Canon) “fills over 12,000 pages in approximately fifty hardbound volumes, taking up about five linear feet of shelf space, and costing about US$2,000.”[ii] Fortunately, you can access English translations of quite a few of the most important canonical Buddhist works online, and a nice set of translations of most of the sutta sections of the canon have come out fairly recently from Wisdom Publications. If I had about $250 to spare, I could own 5 volumes totaling over 7,000 pages and have access to most – but not all – of the Pali Canon texts on the central teachings of Theravadin Buddhism.
All extant forms of Buddhism today respect Shakyamuni Buddha and his teachings, but many of them tend to focus on later texts specific to their lineage. If you examine any Buddhist text closely, though, you will see how it remains more or less consistent with the teachings of Shakyamuni, even if it uses very different language and concepts.
For context, Theravadin Buddhism – the largest extant school that focuses primarily on early canonical texts – is the dominant form of Buddhism in Sri Lanka and in Southeast Asia, including Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Malaysia. Theravadin lineages have taken root in the west as well, manifesting both in a traditional form centered around fully-ordained monastic practitioners teaching lay people, and in a form adapted to lay practice and western sensibilities known as Vipassana or Insight Meditation.
Canonical Buddhist texts are delightfully straightforward and down-to-earth. Some of the texts aren’t easy to understand, some seem very dense and philosophical, but many are elegantly clear and present as some of the earliest forms of self-psychoanalysis and therapy. (See Episode 97 – Twelve Pali Canon Suttas Every Buddhist Should Know.) There are some accounts of supernatural powers and occurrences in canonical texts, but such things are not the point of the texts. Buddhism is presented as a rational and gradual path of practice that can be pursued by anyone with sufficient determination. The ultimate goal is presented as Nirvana, or complete disentanglement from the kleshas, or unwholesome mind states that lead to suffering. Most practitioners, however, are not aiming for immediate Nirvana, which is understood to be a goal it takes many lifetimes to attain. Every step along the path is considered beneficial, however, so the canonical texts offer many useful teachings and tools to any Buddhist.
Now we follow the Mahayana branch of the Buddhist tree, leaving Theravada. I should note that while Theravadins always prioritize the teachings of the Buddha, they have their own literature of commentaries and teachings from revered teachers through ages.
Rise of the Mahayana
Around the beginning of the common era, or even before, a school of thought known as Mahayana began to develop within Buddhism. It questioned some of the basic premises of original Buddhism and began to encourage all practitioners to aspire to the path of the bodhisattva, a being who postpones their own entry in Nirvana to be reborn in the world of suffering and help liberate other beings. Mahayanists called their new approach the “great” (maha) “vehicle” (yana) and disparagingly contrasted it with the “small” (hina) yana path of personal salvation from suffering and retreat into the bliss of Nirvana. The defensive sectarianism of the early Mahayanists – who practiced alongside those who held to the “way of the elders” – makes some sense when you realize they were starting to depart from the words of Shakyamuni Buddha himself, as transmitted in sacred canonical texts. They felt a strong compulsion to make their case as a legitimate form of Buddhism.
Many things characterized the Mahayana development. Mahayanists began to see Buddha as a kind of transcendent principle of awakened mind. They populated the Buddhist cosmology with Buddhas of the past and future and other dimensions. Shakyamuni became just one instance – albeit deeply revered – of an awakened being dedicated to teaching others. The practice of devotion to Buddhas became a legitimate way to bring yourself closer to Buddhahood (See Episode 134 – Lotus Sutra 1: What Is Devotion, and How Does It Fulfill the Buddha Way?). There developed a sense of egalitarianism in which lay people and women could be practitioners as advanced as any full-time monk, because the point was a person’s understanding and manifestation of that understanding, not how many lifetimes they had spent purifying themselves of kleshas. Ultimately, all of this rested on a teaching of radical non-duality, in which people are seen as being Buddhas right now, they just haven’t realized it yet. Practice, then, becomes a process of shedding the delusions that prevent us from seeing our true nature.
That is a very incomplete and overgeneralized characterization of Mahayana, but what’s important to note here is that along with this new type of Buddhism came new Buddhist texts very unlike any that had come before. The Mahayanists tried to legitimize their texts by saying either that the texts had been hidden since the time of the Buddha around 500 years earlier, or that they had been delivered by the Buddha himself on occasions that transcended space, time, and death. (In other words, occasions that somehow escaped being recorded in the existing canon.)
Mahayana Sutras
New scriptures evolved known as “Mahayana Sutras.” These texts are often quite long and have no single or identified author. These include the Lotus (Suddharma Pundarika) Sutra, the Perfection of Wisdom (Prajna Paramita) Sutras, the Flower Ornament (Avatamsaka) Sutra, the Lankavatara Sutra, the Mahaparinivana Sutra, and the Vimalakirti Sutra. These texts are called sutras, which in Buddhism implies they are teachings of the Buddha. In most cases the sutras are written as if Shakyamuni Buddha is speaking them, or one of his accomplished disciples is speaking them with Buddha’s blessing.
Mahayana Sutras are often flowery and grand, portraying transcendent scenes with myriad buddhas, bodhisattvas, and world systems. They preach devotion, selflessness, and bodhisattva ideals. They are full of stories and parables, some of which are very beautiful and inspiring. Most give accounts of supernatural occurrences, like the Buddha reading the minds of people in the audience, or universes appearing inside a jewel.
In general, if you’re reading a text that calls itself a “Mahayana Sutra” that has no author, it’s a text that arose between 100 BCE and 300 CE or so, during the time Buddhism was spreading north and east from India to Tibet and China. In most cases, it’s unclear whether such sutras originated in India or in the places Buddhism newly arrived, or whether they began to form in India but continued evolving as they traveled with Buddhism to new countries. Long Mahayana Sutras are often thought to have started with a few chapters and then expanded over time to include additional material, explaining in part why they may seem disorganized or lacking in any coherent theme, plot, or topic. Some, like the Diamond Sutra and Heart Sutra, are thought to be longer sutras distilled back down to their essence.
If all you’ve read is canonical stuff from original Buddhism describing pretty down-to-earth question and answer exchanges between the Buddha and his followers, the Mahayana sutras can seem pretty foreign. Sometimes a student will tell me they are interested in studying the Dharma so they’re going to read the Lotus Sutra. Some of them, of course, get a lot out of it, but internally I think, “Good luck!” I disliked the Lotus Sutra a great deal when I first read it because it was so different than the Zen texts I had encountered, and from the canonical teachings of the Buddha. I didn’t see how it related to my practice at all. It seemed to me like the whole text was endlessly celebrating itself, the Lotus Sutra, but you never actually got to the sutra itself! Over time, I came to love the text, but only after studying it within the context of Sangha.
You may find Mahayana Sutras inspiring or befuddling, but chances are their potential relevance will only become clear if you experience them within the context of a particular lineage tradition. Lineages not only pass on the texts, but also a lineage-specific way of relating to the texts and translating them into practice. Rarely do modern practitioners read a Mahayana sutra as if it’s literally true; instead, we allow the poetic and fantastic imagery to wash over us and set the tone, leaving us receptive to the jewels of teaching found within the text.
In terms of our Buddhist tree, Zen shares these ancient Mahayana Sutra in common with many other lineages of Buddhism. Nichiren Buddhism focuses almost exclusively on the Lotus Sutra, and that sutra is also central to the Tendai school. The Huayen School of Buddhism (in Japanese, Kegon School) considers the Avatamsaka Sutra to be the ultimate teaching of the Buddha. In Chan/Zen, the emptiness teachings of the Prajnaparamita Sutras – including the Heart Sutra – are considered especially pivotal, but we find value in all the Mahayana Sutras. In terms of our branching Buddhist tree, lineages other than Zen generally value the oldest Mahayana Sutras but have added sutras of their own, including the Pure Land school.
The limbs on the Mahayana side of the Buddhist tree evolved into an incredible diversity of texts, philosophies, practices, imageries, and cosmologies. The differences between many extant forms of Buddhism are greater than any you can find between different types of Christianity. In fact, in terms of time and textual evolution, we have reached the other major branching in terms of Buddhism, where Vajrayana – or the “diamond vehicle” – splits off from the rest of Mahayana. Vajrayana lineages – which arose in India and spread to Tibet, the Himalayas, Mongolia, China, and eventually Japan and Korea – respected the earliest Mahayana Sutras but added countless texts, teachings, and esoteric practices. These additions and innovations – often called tantric methods – eventually eclipsed the early Mahayana Sutras in terms of their relevance to most Vajrayana practitioners.
I will continue this overview of Buddhist Texts in Part 2, where I will discuss Mahayana philosophy, Chan texts including koans, and Japanese Zen texts. I hope you’ll tune in!
Endnotes
[i] “Kalama Sutta: To the Kalamas” (AN 3.65), translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Access to Insight (BCBS Edition), 30 November 2013, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an03/an03.065.than.html.
[ii] http://www.accesstoinsight.org/faq.html#tipitaka
