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The term '''Early Buddhism''' can refer to at least two distinct periods in the [[History of Buddhism]], mostly in the [[History of Buddhism in India]]:
{{merge from|Early Buddhist schools|discuss=Talk:Early Buddhism#Merger proposal|date=April 2021}}
* [[Pre-sectarian Buddhism]], which refers to the teachings and monastic organization and structure, founded by [[Gautama Buddha]].
{{EarlyBuddhism}}
* The [[Early Buddhist schools]], into which pre-sectarian Buddhism split during or after the reign of [[Ashoka]]
The term '''Early Buddhism''' can refer to two distinct periods, both of which are covered in a separate article:
* [[Pre-sectarian Buddhism]], which refers to the teachings and monastic organization and structure, founded by [[Gautama Buddha]]. [[Lambert Schmithausen]] (1987): "the canonical period prior to the development of different schools with their different positions."<ref>Schmithausen (1987) “Part I: Earliest Buddhism,” Panels of the VIIth World Sanskrit Conference Vol. II: Earliest Buddhism and Madhyamaka, ed. David Seyfort Ruegg and Lambert Schmithausen, Leiden: Kern Institute, pp. 1–4.</ref>


{{disambiguation}}
* The [[Early Buddhist schools]], into which pre-sectarian Buddhism split (without formal schisms, in the sense of [[Vinaya]]).

==Time-span==
The period of "Early Buddhism" in the sense of pre-sectarian Buddhism is considered by scholars such as Paul J. Griffiths and Steven Collins to be from the time of the historical Buddha to the reign of [[Ashoka]] (c. 268 to 232 BCE).<ref>Griffiths, Paul J. (1983) “Buddhist Jhana: A Form-Critical Study”, Religion 13, pp. 55–68.</ref><ref>Collins, Steven (1990) “On the Very Idea of the Pali Canon”, Journal of the Pali Text Society 15, pp. 89–126.</ref> Lamotte and Hirakawa both maintain that the first schism in the Buddhist sangha occurred during the reign of Ashoka.<ref>Lamotte, Étienne (1988) History of Indian Buddhism: From the Origins to the Śaka Era, translated from the French by Sara Boin-Webb, Louvain: Peeters Press</ref><ref>Hirakawa, Akira (1990), [https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/handle/10125/23030 A History of Indian Buddhism: From Sakyamuni to Early Mahāyāna], tr. Paul Groner, University of Hawaii Press</ref> According to scholar Collett Cox "most scholars would agree that even though the roots of the earliest recognized groups predate [[Ashoka|Aśoka]], their actual separation did not occur until after his death."{{sfnp|Cox|1995|p=23}}

==Pre-sectarian Buddhism==
{{Main|Pre-sectarian Buddhism}}
Pre-sectarian Buddhism,{{sfn|Hurvitz|1976}} also called "early Buddhism",{{sfn|Nakamura|1989}}{{sfn|Hirakawa|1990}} "the earliest Buddhism",{{sfn|Gombrich|1997|pp=11–12}}{{sfn|Jong|1993|p=25}} and "original Buddhism",{{sfn|Warder|2000}} is the Buddhism that existed before the various [[Schools of Buddhism|subsects of Buddhism]] came into being.<ref group=web name="Bhikkhu Sujato">{{citation|last=Sujato|first=Bhante|authorlink=Bhante Sujato|title=Sects & Sectarianism: The Origins of Buddhist Schools |url=http://www.ahandfulofleaves.org/documents/Articles/Sects%20and%20Sectarianism_The%20Origins%20of%20Buddhist%20Schools_Sujato.pdf|publisher=Santipada|year=2012|ISBN=978-1921842085|pages=81–82}}</ref>

Some of the contents and teachings of this pre-sectarian Buddhism may be deduced from the [[Early Buddhist Texts|earliest Buddhist texts]], which by themselves are already sectarian.{{refn|group=note|name="Hurvitz"|Leon Hurvitz: "... stressed that the written canon in Buddhism is sectarian from the outset, and that presectarian Buddhism must be deduced from the writings as they now exist."{{sfn|Hurvitz|1976}}(quote via Google Scholar search-engine)}}{{refn|group=note|name="Jong"|J.W. De Jong: "It would be hypocritical to assert that nothing can be said about the doctrine of earliest Buddhism [...] the basic ideas of Buddhism found in the canonical writings could very well have been proclaimed by him [the Buddha], transmitted and developed by his disciples and, finally, codified in fixed formulas."{{sfn|Jong|1993|p=25}}}}{{refn|group=note|name="Warder"|A.K Warder: "...a reconstruction of the original Buddhism presupposed by the traditions of the different schools known to us."{{sfn|Warder|1999}}}}

==Early Buddhist schools==
{{Main|Early Buddhist schools}}
The early Buddhist schools are those schools into which the Buddhist [[monasticism|monastic]] [[Sangha (Buddhism)|saṅgha]] initially split, due originally to differences in [[vinaya]] and later also due to doctrinal differences and geographical separation of groups of monks.

===Formation===
The expansion of orally transmitted texts in early Buddhism, and the growing distances between Buddhist communities, fostered specialization and sectarian identification.{{sfnp|Cox|1995|p=23}} The various splits within the monastic organization went together with the introduction and emphasis on [[Abhidhamma|Abhidhammic literature]] by some schools. This literature was specific to each school, and arguments and disputes between the schools were often based on these Abhidhammic writings. However, actual splits were originally based on disagreements on [[vinaya]] (monastic discipline), though later on, by about 100 [[Common Era|CE]] or earlier, they could be based on doctrinal disagreement.<ref>Harvey,''Introduction to Buddhism'', Cambridge University Press, 1990, p. 74</ref> Pre-sectarian Buddhism, however, did not have Abhidhammic scriptures, except perhaps for a basic framework, and not all of the early schools developed an Abhidhamma literature.

The original saṅgha split into the first early schools (generally believed to be the [[Sthavira nikāya]] and the [[Mahāsāṃghika]]) Later, these first early schools split into further divisions such as the [[Sarvastivada|Sarvāstivādin]]s and the [[Dharmaguptaka]]s, and ended up numbering, traditionally, about 18 or 20 schools. In fact, there are several overlapping lists of 18 schools preserved in the Buddhist tradition, totaling about twice as many, though some may be alternative names. It is thought likely that the number is merely conventional.{{cn|date=February 2020}}

===Teachings===
After the Sangha split into the various [[early Buddhist schools]] and the [[Mahayana]], there appeared further elaborations and interpretations of the preserved teachings, and various new doctrines, scriptures and practices. They were composed and developed by the monastic communities, concerning issues deemed important at the time.{{refn|group=note|"By several centuries after the death of the Buddha, the itinerant mendicants following his way had formed settled communities and had changed irrevocably their received methods of both teaching and praxis. These changes were inevitable, a consequence of the growth and geographic dispersion of the practicing communities. Confronted with new challenges and opportunities in an increasingly organized institutional setting, monks expanded and elaborated both doctrine and disciplinary codes, created new textual genres, developed new forms of religious praxis, and eventually divided into numerous sects or schools."<ref>MacMillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 2004, p. 501</ref>}}

====Ideological differences====
The schools sometimes split over ideological differences concerning the "real" meaning of teachings in the ''[[Sutta Pitaka|Sutta Piṭaka]]'', and sometimes over disagreement concerning the proper observance of vinaya. These ideologies became embedded in large works such as the ''[[Abhidhamma Pitaka|Abhidhamma]]''s and commentaries. Comparison of existing versions of the ''Suttapiṭaka'' of various sects shows evidence that ideologies from the ''Abhidhamma''s sometimes found their way back into the ''Suttapiṭaka''s to support the statements made in those ''Abhidhammas''. {{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}

=====Literalism=====
Some of these developments may be seen as later elaborations on the teachings. According to Gombrich, unintentional literalism was a major force for change in the early doctrinal history of Buddhism. This means that texts were interpreted paying too much attention to the precise words used and not enough to the speaker's intention, the spirit of the text. Some later doctrinal developments in the early Buddhist schools show scholastic literalism, which is a tendency to take the words and phrases of earlier texts (maybe the Buddha's own words) in such a way as to read-in distinctions which it was never intended to make.{{refn|group=note|"I would also argue that unintentional literalism has been a major force for change in the early doctrinal history of Buddhism. Texts have been interpreted with too much attention to the precise words used and not enough to the speaker's intention, the spirit of the text. In particular I see in some doctrinal developments what I call scholastic literalism, which is a tendency to take the words and phrases of earlier texts (maybe the Buddha's own words) in such a way as to read in distinctions which it was never intended to make." How Buddhism Began, Richard F. Gombrich, Munshiram Manoharlal, 1997, pp. 21–22}}

=====Preservation of older ideas=====
The later Mahayana schools may have preserved ideas which were abandoned by the "orthodox" Theravada, such as the Three Bodies doctrine, the idea of consciousness (''vijnana'') as a continuum, and devotional elements such as the worship of saints. {{sfn|Lindtner|1997}}{{sfn|Lindtner|1999}}{{refn|group=note|See also [[Atthakavagga and Parayanavagga]]}}

=====Newly introduced concepts=====
Some Buddhist concepts that were not existent in the time of pre-sectarian Buddhism are:
* "Building [[parami]]s" or [[paramitas]]. The ten paramis are described in Theravadin texts of late origin,{{refn|group=note|"Theravada Buddhism, in texts such as [[Cariyapitaka]], [[Buddhavamsa]], and [[Dhammapadatthakatha]], postulates the following ten perfections", Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 2004, p. 632}}{{refn|group=note|"It is evident that the Hinayanists, either to popularize their religion or to interest the laity more in it, incorporated in their doctrines the conception of Bodhisattva and the practice of paramitas. This was effected by the production of new literature: the Jatakas and Avadanas.' Buddhist Sects in India, Nalinaksha Dutt, Motilal Banararsidass Publishers (Delhi), 2nd Edition, 1978, p. 251. The term 'Semi-Mahayana' occurs here as a subtitle.}} while the (Mahayana) paramitas are found in the Mahayana Sutras such as the [[Dasabhumika Sutra]] and the [[Surangama Sutra]], also of late origin.
* The [[Bodhisattva vow]]s, which is only found in the [[Mahayana Sutras]].

====Newly composed scriptures====
In later times, the arguments between the various schools were based in these newly introduced teachings, practices and beliefs, and monks sought to validate these newly introduced teachings and concepts by referring to the older texts ([[Sutta-pitaka]] and [[Vinaya-pitaka]]). Most often, the various new [[Abhidhamma]] and [[Mahayana]] teachings were bases for arguments between sects.{{citation needed|date=November 2014}}

=====Abhidhamma=====
As the last major division of the canon, the Abhidhamma Pitaka has had a checkered history. It was not accepted as canonical by the [[Mahasanghika]] school<ref name="Abhidhamma Pitaka 2008">"Abhidhamma Pitaka." Encyclopædia Britannica. Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2008.</ref><ref>Buddhist Sects in India, Nalinaksha Dutt, 1978, p. 58</ref> and several other schools.{{refn|group=note|"several schools rejected the authority of abhidharma and claimed that abhidharma treatises were composed by fallible, human teachers." in: Macmillan ''Encyclopedia of Buddhism'' (2004), p. 2. (A similar statement can be found on pp. 112 and 756.)}} Another school included most of the [[Khuddaka Nikaya]] within the Abhidhamma Pitaka.<ref name="Abhidhamma Pitaka 2008"/> Also, the Pali version of the Abhidhamma is a strictly Theravada collection, and has little in common with the Abhidhamma works recognized by other Buddhist schools.<ref>"Buddhism." Encyclopædia Britannica. Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2008.</ref> The various Abhidhamma philosophies of the various early schools have no agreement on doctrine<ref name="Kanai Lal Hazra 1994, page 415">Kanai Lal Hazra, Pali Language and Literature – A Systematic Survey and Historical Survey, 1994, Vol. 1, p. 415</ref> and belong to the period of 'Divided Buddhism'<ref name="Kanai Lal Hazra 1994, page 415"/> (as opposed to Undivided Buddhism). The earliest texts of the Pali Canon (the [[Sutta Nipata]] and parts of the [[Jataka]]), together with the first four (and early) [[Nikaya]]s of the [[Suttapitaka]], have no mention of (the texts of) the Abhidhamma Pitaka.<ref name="Kanai Lal Hazra 1994, page 412">Kanai Lal Hazra, Pali Language and Literature – A Systematic Survey and Historical Survey, 1994, Vol. 1, p. 412</ref> The Abhidhamma is also not mentioned at the report of the [[First Buddhist Council]], directly after the death of the Buddha. This report of the first council does mention the existence of the [[Vinaya]] and the five [[Nikaya]]s (of the [[Suttapitaka]]).<ref>I.B. Horner, Book of the Discipline, Volume 5, p. 398</ref><ref>The Mahisasaka Account of the First Council mentions the four agamas here. see http://santifm1.0.googlepages.com/thefirstcouncil(mahisasakaversion){{Dead link|date=August 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Although the literature of the various [[Abhidhamma Pitaka]]s began as a kind of commentarial supplement upon the earlier teachings in the [[Suttapitaka]], it soon led to new doctrinal and textual developments and became the focus of a new form of scholarly monastic life.{{refn|group=note|"Although begun as a pragmatic method of elaborating the received teachings, this scholastic enterprise soon led to new doctrinal and textual developments and became the focus of a new form of scholarly monastic life."}}<ref>MacMillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 2004, p. 1.</ref> The various Abhidhamma works were starting to be composed from about 200 years after the passing away of the Buddha.{{refn|group=note|"Independent abhidharma treatises were composed over a period of at least seven hundred years (ca. third or second centuries B.C.E. to fifth century C.E.).", MacMillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 2004, p. 2}}

Traditionally, it is believed (in Theravadin culture) that the Abhidhamma was taught by Buddha to his late mother who was living in Tavatimsa heaven. However, this is rejected by scholars, who believe that only small parts of the Abhidhamma literature may have been existent in a very early form.{{refn|group=note|"These similarities (between the Abhidhammas of the various schools) suggest either contact among the groups who composed and transmitted these texts, or a common ground of doctrinal exegesis and even textual material predating the emergence of the separate schools.", MacMillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 2004, p. 2}} Some schools of Buddhism had important disagreements on subjects of Abhidhamma, while having a largely similar Sutta-pitaka and Vinaya-pitaka. The arguments and conflicts between them were thus often on matters of philosophical Abhidhammic origin, not on matters concerning the actual words and teachings of Buddha.

One impetus for composing new scriptures like the Adhidhammas of the various schools, according to some scholars{{Who|date=August 2013}}, was that Buddha left no clear statement about the [[ontological]] status of the world – about what ''really'' exists.{{refn|group=note|"If I am right in thinking that the Buddha left no clear statement about the ontological status of the world – about what 'really' exists – this would explain how later Buddhists could disagree about this question." How Buddhism Began, Richard F. Gombrich, Munshiram Manoharlal, 1997, p. 34}} Subsequently, later Buddhists have themselves defined what exists and what not (in the Abhidhammic scriptures), leading to disagreements.

=====Parts of the Khuddaka Nikaya=====
Oliver Abeynayake has the following to say on the dating of the various books in the Khuddaka Nikaya:
<blockquote>
:‘The Khuddaka Nikaya can easily be divided into two strata, one being early and the other late. The texts [[Sutta Nipata]], [[Itivuttaka]], [[Dhammapada]], [[Therigatha]] ([[Theragatha]]), [[Udana]], and [[Jataka tales]] belong to the early stratum. The texts Khuddakapatha, Vimanavatthu, Petavatthu, Niddesa, Patisambhidamagga, Apadana, Buddhavamsa and Cariyapitaka can be categorized in the later stratum.’<ref>A textual and Historical Analysis of the Khuddaka Nikaya – Oliver Abeynayake Ph.D. , Colombo, First Edition – 1984, p. 113.</ref>
</blockquote>
The texts in the early stratum date from before the second council (earlier than 100 years after Buddha’s parinibbana), while the later stratum is from after the second council, which means they are definitely later additions to the Sutta Pitaka, and that they might not have been the original teachings by the Buddha, but later compositions by disciples.

The following books of the Khuddaka Nikaya can thus be regarded as later additions:
*the [[Khuddakapatha]]
*the [[Vimanavatthu]]
*the [[Petavatthu]]
*the [[Niddesa]]
*the [[Patisambhidamagga]]
*the [[Apadana]]
*the [[Buddhavamsa]]
*the [[Cariyapitaka]]
and the following three which are included in the Burmese Canon
*the [[Milindapanha]]
*the [[Nettippakarana]]
*the [[Petakopadesa]]

The original verses of the Jatakas are recognized as being amongst the earliest part of the Canon,<ref name="Kanai Lal Hazra 1994, page 412"/> but the accompanying (and more famous) Jataka Stories are purely commentarial, an obvious later addition.

=====Parivara=====
The [[Parivara]], the last book of the [[Vinaya Pitaka]], is a later addition to the Vinaya Pitaka.<ref>''This work (the Parivara) is in fact a very much later composition, and probably the work of a Ceylonese Thera.'' from: ''Book of the Discipline'', vol. VI, p. ix (translators' introduction)</ref>

=====Other later writings=====
*all literature of the Mahayana (the [[Mahayana Sutra]]s).<ref>''would throw the earliest phase of this literature (the Mahayana Sutras) back to about the beginning of the [[common era]].'', Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 2004, p. 493</ref>
*all commentarial works ([[atthakatha]]) of Theravada and other [[early Buddhist schools]].

==Timeline==

{{Buddhist traditions timeline|notes=1}}

== See also ==
* [[Buddhist council]]
* [[Early Buddhist Texts]]
* [[Index of Buddhism-related articles]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note|2}}

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Sources==

===Printed sources===
{{refbegin}}
* Buswell, Jr., Robert E. (ed.) (2003). ''Encyclopedia of Buddhism'' (MacMillan). {{ISBN|0-02-865718-7}}.
* Cousins, L.S. (1996). "The Dating of the Historical Buddha: A Review Article" in ''Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society'', Series 3, 6.1 (1996): 57–63. Retrieved 29 Nov 2008 from "Indology" at https://www.webcitation.org/5vDULzfTE?url=http://indology.info/papers/cousins/
* {{Citation | last =Cox | first =Collett | year =1995 |title =Disputed Dharmas: Early Buddhist Theories on Existence | publisher =The Institute for Buddhist Studies | place =Tokyo | isbn =4-906267-36-X}}
* [[Ainslie Embree|Embree, Ainslie T.]] (ed.), Stephen N. Hay (ed.), Wm. Theodore de Bary (ed.), A.L. Bashram, R.N. Dandekar, Peter Hardy, J.B. Harrison, V. Raghavan, Royal Weiler, and Andrew Yarrow (1958; 2nd ed. 1988). ''Sources of Indian Tradition: From the Beginning to 1800'' (vol. 1). NY: Columbia U. Press. {{ISBN|0-231-06651-1}}.
* Gombrich, Richard F. (1988; 6th reprint, 2002). ''Theravāda Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo'' (London: Routledge). {{ISBN|0-415-07585-8}}.
* {{Citation | last =Gombrich | first =Richard F. | year =1997 | title =How Buddhism Began | publisher =Munshiram Manoharlal}}
* Harvey, Peter (1990; 15th printing, 2007). ''An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press). {{ISBN|0-521-31333-3}}.
* {{Citation | last =Hirakawa | year =1990 | title =History of Indian Buddhism'', volume 1| publisher =Hawai'i University Press}}
* {{Citation | last =Hurvitz | first =Leon | year =1976 | title =Scripture of the Lotus Blossom of the Fine Dharma | publisher =Columbia University Press}}
* {{Citation | last =Jong | first =J.W. de | year =1993 | title =The Beginnings of Buddhism | journal =The Eastern Buddhist |volume=26 |issue=2}}
* Keown, Damien and Charles S Prebish (eds.) (2004). ''Encyclopedia of Buddhism'' (London: Routledge). {{ISBN|978-0-415-31414-5}}.
* {{Citation | last =Lindtner | first =Christian | year =1997 | title =The Problem of Precanonical Buddhism | journal =Buddhist Studies Review |volume=14 |page=2 | url =https://journal.equinoxpub.com/BSR/article/view/14851/17059}}
* {{Citation | last =Lindtner | first =Christian | year =1999 | title =From Brahmanism to Buddhism | journal =Asian Philosophy |volume=9 |issue=1}}
* {{Citation | last =Nakamura | year =1989 | title =Indian Buddhism | publisher =Motilal Banarsidas}}
* [[Richard Robinson (Buddhism scholar)|Robinson, Richard H.]] and Willard L. Johnson (1970; 3rd ed., 1982). ''The Buddhist Religion: A Historical Introduction'' (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing). {{ISBN|0-534-01027-X}}.
* Williams, Paul with Anthony Tribe (2000). ''Buddhist Thought'' (London: Routledge). {{ISBN|0-415-20701-0}}. Retrieved 29 Nov 2008 from "Google Books" at https://books.google.com/books?id=v0Rpvycf1t0C.
* [https://sites.google.com/site/sectsandsectarianism/SSlulu11.pdf Sects & Sectarianism: The Origins of Buddhist Schools'', Santi Forest Monastery, 2006] by [[Bhikkhu Sujato]]
{{refend}}

===Web-sources===
{{reflist|group=web}}

==External links==
* [http://www.diri-au.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/references-related-to-early-buddhism.pdf Sources on early Buddhism]

{{Buddhism topics}}

[[Category:Early Buddhism| ]]

Latest revision as of 04:52, 14 December 2022

The term Early Buddhism can refer to at least two distinct periods in the History of Buddhism, mostly in the History of Buddhism in India:

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