The University of Nalanda c7.78

c7.78

Buddhism, when originally propounded, say, between the period 522 B.C. and 477 B.C.,—the period when Buddha first became Enlightened, and the years in which he preached his doctrine¹ had no regular books containing the doctrine of Buddha. Nay, even after his death, his teachings were transmitted from generation to generation only orally. It was in the last century of the pre-Christian period or in the beginning of the New Era that they were reduced to writing. The writings being collected together are metaphorically called Pitakas (Baskets or Boxes). They are Sutta Pitaka, Vinaya Pitaka and Abhidhamma Pitaka. The above is merely a sketch of the primitive Buddhism, which was essentially ethical. We shall deal with the history of schism in the Buddhist camp into various schools, the development of Buddhist philosophy with the discovery of Prajñāpāramitā, and philosophical commentaries on it by Nāgārjuna and others, in their respective places. Now, before we revert to the Buddhist philosophy we have to take into account the rise of new systems that originated during the interval when Buddhism was making a steady progress, and their contribution to the curriculum.