An Outline of the Pāḷi Canon

The book opens by presenting the Tipiṭaka—literally the “Three Baskets”—as the body of the Buddha’s Teaching preserved through oral transmission after his passing. According to the account presented in the book, the First Council at Rājagaha brought together five hundred Arahants, with Venerable Ānanda answering questions concerning the Dhamma and Venerable Upāli concerning the Vinaya. Two further councils were subsequently held to preserve the teaching, and the Pāḷi Canon was eventually committed to writing at Aluvihāra in Sri Lanka during the reign of King Vaṭṭa Gāmaṇi Abhaya. 

Bomhard’s approach is principally synthetic. As the subtitle indicates, the work is “Compiled from Various Sources”, and individual sections draw upon modern Pāḷi scholarship and translations, including works by Oskar von Hinüber, Russell Webb, Sangharakshita, Bhikkhu Bodhi, Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli, Maurice Walshe, K. R. Norman and others. The References at the end of the volume document this broad source base.

Table of Contents

• Introduction

• 1. Vinaya Piṭaka

• 2. Sutta Piṭaka

• 3. Abhidhamma Piṭaka

• 4. The Three Councils

• References