I. The three main divisions of the Pali Cannon, also known as the Tipitaka (Three Baskets) are:
A. Vinaya Pitaka -- utterances of Venerable Upali at the first Buddhis Council.
B. Sutta Pitaka -- Adana's recollections of Buddha's teachings.
C. Adhimmada Pitaka -- sermon given by Buddha and conveyed to Venerable Sara Putta. This
consists of seven books.
II. There are approximately 20,000 pages in the Pali Cannon.
III. Unless Buddha himself wrote down the words he spoke on a certified (witnessed) document, we can
never be sure that he actually spoke some or all the words making up the "Original Buddhism"
text. The art of oral transmission may have been fairly reliable because it was the only way
teachings were passed on until they became written words. We may assume that the
teachings of Buddha may be "somewhere near" what he said, and that teachings down to us
are the essence of what Buddha said. It is up to us to choose, among his teachings, what
works for us.
There are varying degrees of accuracy. It is important, however, that we may depend on some degree
of accuracy, however, for if we are not being taught what the Buddha taught, even though it may
not be word-for-word, we are then misled.
Nancy Anderson
aka "Lotus"
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