Dhamma Wheel Buddhist Forum

Is there a good book or article anyone can recommend that gives an overview of the early schools that came into being after the Buddha died? I am more interested in what is known about the differences in doctrine that started to appear and where they may have led (if anywhere).

Beneath the Wheel wrote:Is there a good book or article anyone can recommend that gives an overview of the early schools that came into being after the Buddha died? I am more interested in what is known about the differences in doctrine that started to appear and where they may have led (if anywhere).

Rupert Gethin's excellent THE FOUNDATIONS OF BUDDHISM.

Besides Tilt's good advice above, here is a short and quick outline from wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_Buddhist_schools" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Cross Currents in Early Buddhism, by S. N. Dube, is probably of interest.