Does Buddhism have a sacred text like the bible?

Answer 1

Followers of Buddhism do have a sacred text similar to the Christian bible. There are many of these texts read by the followers of the various forms of Buddhism. They include the Pali Canon, Tibetan Book of the Dead, and the Lotus Sutra.

Answer 2

Yes, many. There are three main large branches of Buddhism, Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana and many sects within them. They vary as to which texts are most important and have differences in attribution and translation. There are really way to many to list completely here but here are some of the main ones. There is no single central text like the Torah is in Judaism.

The Buddhavacana are texts which are seen to record the teaching of Buddha. No schools of thought view these as the actual, literal words. In this sense they are not seen as sacred, Buddha is not seen as a deity, but they are special.

The Sutras are perhaps considered the core. They are attributed to Buddha or his close associates.They are:

• Sūtra: prose discourses, especially short declarative discourses.
• Geya: mixed prose and verse discourse. Identified with the Sagāthāvagga of the Saṁyutta Nikāya
• Vyākarana: explanation, analysis. Discourses in question and answer format.
• Gāthā: verse
• Udāna: inspired speech
• Ityukta: beginning with 'thus has the Bhagavan said'
• Jātaka: story of previous life
• Abhutadharma: concerning wonders and miraculous events
• Vaipulya either 'extended discourses' or 'those giving joy' (cf Mahayana Texts)
• Nidāna: in which the teachings are set within their circumstances of origin
• Avadāna: tales of exploits
• Upadesha: defined and considered instructions

In Theravada the texts are called the Pali Canon.

It was arranged in it's current written form in 29 BCE, 454 years after Buddhas death. It has three category of texts:

1) Vinaya Pitaka ("Discipline Basket"), dealing with rules for monks and nuns

2) Sutta Pitaka (Sutra/Sayings Basket), discourses, mostly ascribed to the Buddha, but some to disciples .

3)Abhidhamma Pitaka, described as philosophy, psychology, metaphysics.

The Mahayana use the Chinese Buddhist Canon which has 100 major divisions and runs over 80,000 pages. The traditional name for this canon is Dàzàngjīng (大藏經), which means the "Great Treasury of Sūtras.

The Vajrayana use the Tibetan Kangyur and Tengyur. It has 100 volumes and includes somewhat less early texts than the other two because it was put together later. It includes Tantric materiel not in the others.

Answer 3

Buddhism does not have a single, unified sacred text like The Bible. However, there are several key texts in Buddhism, such as the Tripitaka in Theravada Buddhism and the Mahayana Sutras in Mahayana Buddhism, that are considered important teachings and guides for practitioners.

Answer 4

Typically no, but there are some meditations in the Triptaka and other Sutras that are repeated by some Buddhists while they meditate.