what is the holy book of the buddhists?

Answer 1

The Dhammapada. This is the words of Buddha. The most important text to me personally.

Answer 2

The use the Tripitaka which is conformed by the sutras, the vinaya and the abhidarma.

I doubt they consider the Tripitaka as "holy" though, that's more a judeo-christian concept. The Tripitaka is more like a book of wisdom, made by men, since buddhism is a non-theistic religion.

I think the content varies too, according to the buddhist school you're referring too.

Answer 3

There isnt a 'Holy Book' as such, they follow the Dharma (Buddhist Teaching)

Buddha never wrote anything but The Works of Buddha are called the Buddhacarita. And there are some writings called the Pali Canon (three Baskets or Tripitaka)


I'm sure if you google Buddhism, Dharma or Buddhacarita you will get what you need to know.

Answer 4

The story goes that from the age of 35 up to 80 Buddha wondered around India giving teachings. These were called 'Sutra's' or 'Threads'. Reportedly he made 84,000 teachings which were recounted from his disciples memory, and written down shortly after his death. Famous sutras are the Lotus sutra, the Heart sutra, Diamond sutra and so forth. The historical Buddha is also attributed as having authored the 'Tantra's', though historians generaly believe these emerged approximately 500 years after his death.

It is taught that all Buddha's teachings were meant to be personal advice, which could be studied as a whole or cherry-picked for nuggets of wisdom. Sutras text books are meant to be treated as holy and with respect, therefore by treating them with respect, you treat wisdom and learning with respect.

Buddhists are also taught that there is value in all spritual teachings and that words of teaching should not be cast aside or ignored due to cultural difference or that of any other kind

Answer 5

Here is a good summary I've pulled and edited from Wikipedia. In general, however, western Buddhists are not fundamentalists in viewing Buddhist texts. While it may be useful to study, the practice of the 8-fold path is more seen as leading to the end of suffering, which is the aim of Buddhism.

"There are a great variety of Buddhist texts. Buddhists place varying value on them; attitudes range from worship of the text itself, to dismissal of some texts as falsification of the ineffable truth. They therefore cannot be called "scripture" in the sense of other religions.

Broadly speaking, the texts come in three types: sutras (i.e. discourses), vinaya (relating to the rules of monastic discipline), and abhidharma (analytical texts). Together these three make up what is known in Sanskrit as the Tripitaka and in Pali as the Tipitaka.

Later texts, such as the Mahayana Sutras, are also considered to be the word of the Buddha, but were transmitted either in secret, via lineages of mythical beings (such as the nagas), or came directly from other Buddhas or bodhisattvas. Some 600 Mahayana Sutras have survived in Sanskrit, or in Chinese and/or Tibetan translation. The most complete Mahayana Canon is in Chinese, though it was originally in Sanskrit. It contains texts from many strands of earlier tradition."

Answer 6

its not a Holy book.. its more of a sacred script called the Thripitaka. this book consists of three volumes all based on the buddha's teachings. th 3 volumes are 1. Sutra Pitaka 2. Vinaya Pitaka 3. Abhi dharma Pitaka. the sutra pitaka consists of buddhist chants, the vinaya pitaka deals with buddhist decipline and behaviour and the Abhidharma pitaka deals with the deeper and more complex concepts of buddhism.

Answer 7

The Tripitaka

Answer 8

Buddism isn't a religion - it's a state of mind philosophy. It doesn't have a 'Holy' book.
There is no official 'Bible' or scripture canon in Buddhism, however check out a book entitled The Diamond Sutra.

http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-903

Answer 9

If you made the decision in finding out to talk Chinese then you should now that the ideal option is a Course for Mandarin.

Answer 10

Diamond Sutra
Heart Sutra

Many many more. It's the sanskrit that puts me off.