Is there a fully translated book of the Buddha’s writings?

 

Is there a fully translated book of the Buddha’s writings?

by Casey

(Everett, Washington)

I know there are all these books about buddhism, but is there just one book with just what the Buddha wrote? Kinda like a bible for Buddhists?

Answer

Simply put, no. The reason is simple. Just like the Bible was not written by God or by Jesus, but by men, Buddha didn’t write anything himself.

The first written text of Buddhism come well after his death. The tradition wants that his disciples, after his death decided that they needed to put down in writing the Buddha’s teachings and discourses. So, it is accepted that the words are of the Buddha’s but not by him.

According to Wikipedia:
Mahayana sutras (Japanese Buddhism is of that tradition) are traditionally considered by Mahayanists to be the word of the Buddha, but transmitted either in secret, via lineages of supernatural beings (such as the nagas), or revealed directly from other Buddhas or bodhisattvas. Some 600 Mahayana Sutras have survived in Sanskrit, or in Chinese and/or Tibetan translation.

The Taishō Tripiṭaka (Taisho Shinshu Daizokyo in Japanese) is what comes the closest to what you are referring to. It’s also called the Chinese Buddhist Canon: a compilation of all the accepted official texts of Buddhism.

It is a huge body of work though and comes in several volumes. It is available here: English edition of the Chinese Buddhist Canon.
and it is edited by the Numata Center for Buddhist who also publish a neat little book that is a condensed version of the 3,360 works:
Buddha-Dharma: The Way To Enlightenment, Revised Second Edition

Finally, The Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai, or center from the promotion of Buddhism, have a free book called the Teachings of Buddha that is found in hotel rooms in Japan. It is available in several language. You can get your copy here.

I hope this answers your question.

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