Question

Since the Buddha did not write anything himself, have there not been deviations? What reassures us that these compilations are faithful to the teachings of the Buddha?

Answer

The earliest Buddhist scriptures are based on a compilation made after his death of sermons and teachings given over a period of 50 years by Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism. Here are some of the unique characteristics of his preaching method.

As a preacher, the Buddha's basic approach was to gain insight into the character of his audience (personality traits such as disposition, ability to understand, type, degree and content of the problem to be solved, and receptivity) on the basis of the truth he had acquired and to give effective teachings in a timely, flexible and immediate manner in response to these traits.

On the other hand, the disciples and followers of the Buddha who listened to these oral teachings understood them on the basis of their own roots and, to the extent that they were able to understand the content in qualitative and quantitative terms, they engraved it in their minds. This attitude and method of listening is symbolized by the well-known phrase "thus I have heard", which is found at the beginning of many existing sutras.

Under these circumstances, the Buddha's oral teachings were accumulated only from memory by his disciples and followers, but the complete content was naturally diverse and varied in level.

Therefore, after the Buddha's death, the necessity of maintaining and transmitting the whole of his teachings (posthumous teachings) as "Buddhist doctrines," with their contents accurately confirmed by his surviving disciples, before they were lost due to death and the disappearance of memory, was strongly recognized. The most important and urgent undertakings of the Buddhist order at that time were called gatherings (saṅghīti, saṅghāyana) and were carried out soon after the Buddha's death. During the long history of Buddhism, which spans some 2,500 years, other gatherings have been held, six times in all, depending on the historical and social situation and the needs of the Order. The first of these gatherings is historically known as the "First Council". These gatherings continued in India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar (Burma) and other southern Theravada Buddhist countries.

The first gathering is said to have taken place shortly after the Buddha's death, bringing together 500 elders at Gijjhakūṭa on the outskirts of Rājagrha, the capital of Magadha in northern India at the time.

This assembly was presided over by Mahākāśyapa, who led the Buddhist order after the Buddha's death. The posthumous teachings of the Buddha were collected there in the "Dharma" and the "Commandments" (Vinaya).

The Dharma was centered around Ānanda, who was always the Buddha's closest assistant for many years and had the greatest opportunity to hear his teachings in person. Moreover, when the Buddha's ten senior disciples were praised as the "Ten Major Disciples" at a later time, the fact that Ananda and Upali were cited as the "Best in Many Hearings" and the "Best in Keeping the Commandments" respectively is considered a good illustration of their outstanding characteristics. In any case, it was in this first assembly that the posthumous teachings of the Buddha were first compiled and collected, with the confirmation and agreement of many of his most eminent disciples. These texts were then gradually expanded and organized to form the early Pali Buddhist scriptures (Sanzō, Tripiṭaka) that constitute the threefold basket, the original core of the present Buddhist doctrines and teachings.

Thus, the solely oral teachings of the Buddha were compiled after his death on the basis of the memories of his disciples, especially his cousin and faithful assistant Ananda.

Seen from today, we are perhaps entitled to ask ourselves: "Did Ananda hear everything, understand everything and faithfully transmit the teachings of the Buddha without adding his own interpretations? "Did the scribes transcribe what they heard from Ananda, without making mistakes or extrapolating? And then, later, these sutras, commandments and treatises were translated into Chinese with varying degrees of mastery. So yes, does all this reflect well the teaching of the Buddha?

In my opinion, the physical and mental capacities of humans living three thousand years ago and those of the same humans (us) living today are not comparable. Whether in India, Japan or Europe, at the time when cars did not exist and the only way to get around was on foot, walking hundreds of kilometers was normal and did not scare anyone. "It is a twelve-day walk from Kamakura to Kyōto," which is actually 491 kilometers. Who would manage to walk that distance today? Who would ever consider it?

I suppose it's the same for mental, memory, etc. abilities. In the days when there was nothing to write with, the only way to learn was to listen and, at the same time, to use one's memory. And then, we must not forget what is probably the most important thing: Ananda, Upali and all the others, not only listened to the Buddha, heard him, but also practiced as he taught them. This relationship of master to disciple, living together, practicing together made the awakening of the disciples more and more similar to that of the master. Shariputra (Sharihotsu) the "first in wisdom" understood the Buddha's teaching by listening to the ten thus of the chapter of the Means. Four other great disciples, Maudgalyayana, Mahākāśyapa, Kātyāyana, and Subhūti understood it by listening to the parable of the burning house and the three vehicles in the Parable chapter. The rest of the disciples and listeners understood the Buddha's teaching by hearing the causality of the past of the three thousand grains of eon dust in the Transient City chapter. There is absolutely no comparison with us.

The twenty-four successors of Shakyamuni gradually evolved the Buddhist doctrine, clarifying it and adapting it to the times. Later, Zhiyi, Dengyō (both reborn from the bodhisattva King-of-Remed, to whom Shakyamuni entrusted the mission of propagating the Lotus Sutra in the period of the Semblance of the Dharma) further evolved it with the principle of One Thought Three Thousand (ichinen sanzen), until Nichiren Daishōnin put the finishing touch by inscribing the Dai Gohonzon, the materialization of One Thought Three Thousand.

There is thus a continuity from Shakyamuni to the present day, admittedly based primarily on the memory abilities of the early disciples, but one that cannot be questioned.