What would one call the vada that prioritizes EBTs?

The Watercooler
42

Suttacentral is a website. EBT is a category of texts.

Early Buddhism refers to a historical way of doing Buddhism, though it has various definitions. Because of this it cannot accurately refer to a modern way of seeing Buddhism vis a vis the early texts. Early Buddhism is in the past.

Also, again, the word vada just means theory, it doesn’t mean that a formalized and separate tradition or organization is being referred to.

2 Likes
43

I think that vada can just mean something broad like “school of thought”? Trying to think about distinguishing features of what is proposed, I guess a core idea is that there are layers or strata of varying earliness in the texts and comparison of parallels is a primary tool, though not the only one, in trying to date the layers. The abhidhamma, and certainly the commentaries, are viewed as a later layer (not directly emanating from the Buddha or even his immediate disciples) and, as such, not canonical. However, they still constituted a major project to understand and systematize the earlier layers, plus are relatively much closer in place and time, so are perceived as still having value (providing invaluable insights at times).

I suppose one cannot expect a unified understanding of the texts (more a “school of thought” regarding a commonality of approach). After all, there seem to have been divergences in understanding regarding the early texts even among the early schools with different abdhidhammas etc. (or quite different takes like the Pudgalavada, Personalists, and their pudgala concept). A commonality of approach to the early texts, likewise, is probably not going to lead to a uniformity of understanding in the present! :slight_smile: So I guess a vada “school of thought” more so in terms of approach rather than content of understanding anyway.

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This is a straw man metaphor, though. Climate science has a very clear consensus that’s updated continuously with the same data being interpreted. The situation with the early Buddhist texts is quite different. There are multiple sectarian data sets, two Abhidharma traditions extant, and even a bunch of Mahayanist writers with their own opinions about the EBTs. Wanting to step back from the sectarian vantage points and look at the sutras independent of that isn’t divisive unless the other person is strongly attached to their sectarian vantage point and want to deny historical reality.

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45

Maybe using a word like “early”. Maybe something like “pubbadhammavāda”?