In Search of the Words of the Buddha

Richard Salomon discusses the efforts of scholars and Buddhist practitioners to isolate the original teachings of the Buddha out of the enormous volume of Buddhist scriptures as they have been preserved in many different Asian languages and countries.

He also discusses the implications of the recent discoveries of the earliest surviving Buddhist manuscripts -- fragile birch-bark scrolls found in clay pots in ancient Gandhara (now northern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan) -- which are believed to be the earliest surviving Buddhist texts. Their importance for Buddhist culture is comparable to that of the Dead Sea Scrolls for Judaism and early Christianity, and Salomon discusses the shifts in point of view and the re-framing of the problem that they necessitate.