Writings/Books: Buddha time versus our time

[form]

Just wondering when Vedas has a big collections of books way before Buddha's birth but during the Buddha's life time, no one bothers to record down the dhamma in books?

[cappuccino]

this teaching is available, this is a miracle

that's all I know

[Manopubbangama]

Just wondering when Vedas has a big collections of books way before Buddha's birth but during the Buddha's life time, no one bothers to record down the dhamma in books?

vedas were oral.

thats why you get so many brahmins shaking their heads up and down and sideways and saying "I come from the mouth of braaahmaaa!" in the suttas.

[form]

Oh i see.

A monk told me he is reading thr vedas, so vedas were also put into writing till much later?

[form]

this teaching is available, this is a miracle

that's all I know

The dhamma u mean?

[cappuccino]

this teaching is available, this is a miracle

that's all I know

The dhamma u mean?

The dhamma

[DNS]

A monk told me he is reading thr vedas, so vedas were also put into writing till much later?

They were put in writing around 1200 BCE to 800 BCE. So they were around during the Buddha's time.

The Pali Canon was oral until around 100 BCE to 50 CE.

[form]

A monk told me he is reading thr vedas, so vedas were also put into writing till much later?

They were put in writing around 1200 BCE to 800 BCE. So they were around during the Buddha's time.

The Pali Canon was oral until around 100 BCE to 50 CE.

Thank you for your reply. What is the reason that the vedas were kept in books much earlier? They see that this is a more reliable form of preservation? Or because of the cost and finding educated people to do it? Or because vedas is meant to rich and educated?

If only the canon has been vetted and finalised by the Buddha.

[santa100]

What is the reason that the vedas were kept in books much earlier?

It was a much older religion (1,700-1,100 BCE). The Buddha established His teaching around 500 BCE.

[mikenz66]

A monk told me he is reading thr vedas, so vedas were also put into writing till much later?

They were put in writing around 1200 BCE to 800 BCE. So they were around during the Buddha's time.

The Pali Canon was oral until around 100 BCE to 50 CE.

There appears to be some disagreement on when they were actually written down:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vedas#Chronology

Transmission of texts in the Vedic period was by oral tradition, preserved with precision with the help of elaborate mnemonic techniques. A literary tradition is traceable in post-Vedic times, after the rise of Buddhism in the Maurya period,[note 3] perhaps earliest in the Kanva recension of the Yajurveda about the 1st century BCE; however oral tradition of transmission remained active. Witzel suggests the possibility of written Vedic texts towards the end of 1st millennium BCE.[41] Some scholars such as Jack Goody state that "the Vedas are not the product of an oral society", basing this view by comparing inconsistencies in the transmitted versions of literature from various oral societies such as the Greek, Serbia and other cultures, then noting that the Vedic literature is too consistent and vast to have been composed and transmitted orally across generations, without being written down.[42] However, adds Goody, the Vedic texts likely involved both a written and oral tradition, calling it a "parallel products of a literate society".[40][42]

Mike

[form]

As i read thru MN this round, i have the impression that it is pretty convincing with suttas where the Buddha talked to different groups of people, comparing, analysing other religion systems at that time with his teachngs. At the same time as i am reading some of the notes, it shows there is some evidence of editing, where the translator has to decide on a portion of a sutta.

Another point i pondered is the dhamma followers of Buddha time were taught to review their experience and actions in mind. In comparison, modern ones like us tend to use writings on note book or computer typing to analyse systematically. So which way is more superior?

[mikenz66]

Another point i pondered is the dhamma followers of Buddha time were taught to review their experience and actions in mind. In comparison, modern ones like us tend to use writings on note book or computer typing to analyse systematically. So which way is more superior?

Though written material is useful to get some understanding, I feel that the practical aspects need to be internalised for practice to be effective. It's not going to be very helpful to stop and pull out your phone or your laptop in the middle of a meditation session to decide what to do next...



Mike

[DNS]

As i read thru MN this round, i have the impression that it is pretty convincing with suttas where the Buddha talked to different groups of people, comparing, analysing other religion systems at that time with his teachngs. At the same time as i am reading some of the notes, it shows there is some evidence of editing, where the translator has to decide on a portion of a sutta.

Yes, there are references to many other religions and paths in the Suttas, giving some evidence that they were already in existence, including the Jains (Niganthas), the Brahmanical religion (precursor to modern Hinduism), and others.

[form]

Another point i pondered is the dhamma followers of Buddha time were taught to review their experience and actions in mind. In comparison, modern ones like us tend to use writings on note book or computer typing to analyse systematically. So which way is more superior?

Though written material is useful to get some understanding, I feel that the practical aspects need to be internalised for practice to be effective. It's not going to be very helpful to stop and pull out your phone or your laptop in the middle of a meditation session to decide what to do next...



Mike

The sixth hinderance? Weapon of Mara? mrgreen:

[salayatananirodha]

oral may be better than writing