On the historical stratification of buddhist doctrine on the evidence of the early buddhist texts

[thomaslaw]

@thomaslaw

saṃyukta-kathā (i.e. the synthesis of the three angas) came first, and then the four-fold Āgama/Nikāya distribution in the formation of EBTs in Early Buddhism.

Accordingly, there were two phases in Early Buddhism: 1. Samyutta/Samyukta Buddhism based on saṃyukta-kathā 相應教, and 2. Nikaya/Agama Buddhism based on the principal four Nikayas/Agamas.

However, the extant Nikayas/Agamas are sectarian texts. One can seek an understanding of early Buddhist teachings by studying them comparatively. We also do not have the Mahāsāṅghika Saṃyukta-āgama; it is not likely to find out accurately what the original version of the Saṃyukta/Saṃyutta text would have been.