Pali Canon

The Pali Canon is the scripture collection of Theravada Buddhism and, in the view of most scholars, the most important source for early Buddhism. It was written down from oral tradition in the last century BC. Pali is the name given to its language.

Authorship and date

The Canon is traditionally described as "The Word of the Buddha" (Buddhavacana). This is not intended literally, the Canon in fact including teachings by followers and accounts of events after the Buddha's death. Being actually said by the historical Buddha is not a necessary requirement for counting as Buddhavacana. Nevertheless, most of the Canon is presented by itself, and accepted by traditional Theravadins, as his actual words, though modern Theravadins do not always take this view.

Among scholars, three approaches have been identified. One group of scholars argue that substantial parts of the Canon show such coherence that they must in substance be the work of a single mind, that of the Buddha himself (around the 5th century BC). A second group, on the contrary, argue that the lack of hard evidence before the writing down of the Canon, or even later, makes it impossible to reach any definite conclusions. The third group avoids such generalizations, focusing on detailed studies of particular points.