PDF Gandhi's Ascetic Activism: Renunciation and Social Action by Veena R. Howard in History

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Excerpt from book: ; other of which his countrymen spoke within three hundred years after his death;is much historically based ?" It is natural that every word that fell from the lips of the Great Master was; as it were; devoured by his disciples. They got it by heart and repeated it by day and by night; in their begging excursions; in their public preachings; and in their private discourses. It is natural that the beloved disciples of the great Buddha would put into colloqual verse the chief events of his life and every word of his lips; and sing them from house to house. Such things do even now take place in India;it must have taken place at the time of the Great Prophet. We have then the chief events of the great Buddha's life and every word that fell from his lips in these original Gathas and Pali Sutras. We can; therefore; write the story of his life on a sure basis and give his teachings as they were really delivered by him. But what are these original Gathas and Pali Sutras ? We shall discuss them in the next Chapter. CHAPTER II. AUTHORITIES ON THE LIFE OF BUDDHA. What are then the authorities on the life of Goutama ? We do not possess now the Theraveda which was recited by the monks in the First Council immediately after the death of their great Master We have now two sets of the Rhys Davids in his Buddhism; p 214 says:"The Southern Buddhists believe that the Theraveda is identical with the Three Pitakas as now exist in Ceylon. This cannot; however; be the case. Some parts of the Pitakas however much of the Theraveda may contain; other parts bear evident marks of later composition. Buddhist Sacred Books;one belonging to the Northern School and the other belonging to the Southern School. The Southerners have their Tri-Pitakas and the Northerners have their Maha Vaipu... Table of Contents CHAPTER V. BRAHMANISM; VRS.; THEISM The development of caste p. 33. Supremecy of the Brahmans and their religion p~