The Pāli Canon

The Pāli Canon is the most complete surviving Buddhist Canon and constitutes the
official collection of writings in the Buddhist tradition of Theravada, as preserved in the
ancient Pāli Indian language. The version of the Sri Lankan Canon is the most complete.

The Pāli Canon consists of texts that the school of Theravada accepts as the true
Teaching (Saddhamma) of the Buddha and as the authentic sacred texts. These consist
of about 40 printed volumes, which are classified into three categories called Tipitaka
(Tripitaka in Sanskrit), i.e. “the Three Baskets”. The Vinaya-piṭaka (the Basket of
Discipline) mainly deals with principles and rules – personal and communal – for male
and female monks. The Sutta-piṭaka (the Basket of Discourse) contains speeches,
teachings, dialogues, meditation instructions, a code of ethics and advice on worldly and
spiritual progress, provided by the Buddha and his leading disciples. Finally,
Abhidhamma-piṭaka (the Basket of Higher Doctrine) contains the most detailed
explanation for the analysis and structure of the mind and matter, for their dependent
nature, but also for their transcendence. It is the first time in the history of human
thought that such a project has been undertaken in a comprehensive and realistic
manner, without the interference of superstition, metaphysics, occultism, mysticism and
mythology.

Shortly before his final rest in Nibbana (parinibbāna), the Buddha made a famous
statement in which he explicitly stated that there was no “inner”, “apocryphal”, “secret”
or “hidden” teaching, by saying: “I have taught the Teaching (Dhamma) without
distinguishing between internal and external. A Buddha has no close-fistedness
( ācariyamuṭṭhi ) as far as their teachings are concerned. (Dīgha Nikāya, Sutta 16).

Buddha also stated that: “What I have taught and explained to you as Dhamma Vinaya
will be your Teacher when I am gone.” (Dīgha Nikāya, Sutta 16).

In Sutta Piṭaka, Aṅguttara Nikāya, Sutta 4.180, the Buddha said that if one claims that:
“This is the Teaching (Dhamma), this is the Vinaya, this is the Master’s message”, his
words should neither be accepted nor rejected. Instead, they should be compared to the
Buddha’s Suttas (Discourses) and Vinaya (Discipline). Only when they are in accordance
with the Suttas and the Vinaya can it be claimed that they are the teaching of the
Buddha. If not, they must be rejected.”

From the above, we can clearly see that Dhamma only refers to the Suttas of the Buddha
and not to any other Teacher. The Buddha foresaw this danger when he proclaimed in
Aṅguttara Nikāya, Sutta 5.88, that even someone who has learned the scriptures and is
well known, famous, with a large commoner and monk following, may still have wrong
views. Thus, the words of others must always be compared to the Suttas and the Vinaya
of the Buddha.

In Saṃyutta Nikāya, Sutta 20.7, the Buddha also foresaw that in the future, there will be
disciples who will not listen to, study or comprehend his Suttas (Discourses). On the
contrary, they will prefer to listen to, study and comprehend the discourses of non-
Buddhists, thus causing the disappearance of the Buddha’s Dhamma. This is a clear
piece of advice by the Buddha, showing that if one wants to call oneself a Buddhist, one
must listen to, study and comprehend the Suttas and not other teachings which,
although they might be called Buddhist, are essentially a mixture of different local
religions and concepts.

Here, we can view the evolution of Buddhism as a river with its source at the top of a
mountain. The water at the source is clean, but as it flows on the slope of the mountain
towards the valley, it becomes increasingly impure, because it gathers dirt, sand, mud,
grass, leaves, etc. Whoever wants to drink the clean water has two options: either go to
the source, or filter the water that is found away from the source, removing the dirt and
impurity.

Similarly, whoever wants to “drink” the pure Teaching of the Buddha has two options:
either to go to the source which is the Pāli Canon, or to filter the Teaching that is found
away from the source by removing the impurity that has accumulated over hundreds of
years, which is painstaking, difficult to achieve and requires great ingenuity.

When asking how the teaching derives its authenticity in relation to others, the answer is
simple: One has to consider when the teachings were first written, by whom, if there
have been references to the era BC., if the teachings contain contradictions when
compared with the Pāli Canon or with each other, etc.

Regarding the issue of contradictions, we will give an example:

The Buddha, as mentioned above, told his disciples shortly before he rested that he had
nothing else to teach them and that he had not kept any of his teachings secret.
However, in Mahayana and Vajrayana, it is taught that the Buddha secretly taught the
“higher teachings” of Mahayana to a smaller circle of students who had a higher
perception. It is therefore implied that the Buddha lied to all of his disciples shortly
before his death. This is not mentioned anywhere in the Pāli Canon and, certainly, lying
does not lead to spiritual release and enlightenment.
In Theravada Buddhism, there are ten perfections (pāramita) which the Buddhas and
their disciples must fulfill in order to attain enlightenment, one of which is the perfection
of truthfulness (sacca-pāramitā).

In Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism, however, there are only six perfections and the
emphasis on the perfection of truthfulness (sacca-pāramitā) is missing.  This absence
leaves room for the fabrication of false and imaginary teachings that are in stark
contrast to the Teachings of the historical Buddha. For these reasons, the reliability of
such teachings is questionable. In the non-Theravadic schools, the so-called “skillfull
means” are taught, i.e., that in order to achieve the purpose of enlightenment or in order
to help beings, a Bodhisattva may commit murder or lie if the circumstances call for it.
These teachings are nowhere to be found in the original texts and are in complete
contradiction with Buddhism.

The above clarifications are deemed necessary especially for the Western people who,
mainly due to ignorance and misinformation, identifies Buddhism almost exclusively
with the Dalai Lama and Tibet.