Existing of writing in Buddha's time ?

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asahi
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Existing of writing in Buddha's time ?

Post by asahi »

I know about the oral transmission but does writing and inscription on stone or tree leaf already existed in Buddha's time ?
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Paccayata
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Re: Existing of writing in Buddha's time ?

Post by Paccayata »

No. There was some form of writing from the Indus Valley (Harappan) civilization, but that hasn't been deciphered and it'snot known whether or not it was actually linguistic. Even if it was, it seems to have disappeared with thst culture and did not exist by the time of the Buddha. Writing in Sanskrit appeared in the 1st to 4th centuries CE. So that's why there was a such a well-developed oral tradition, such as in the case of the Vedas.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_Indian_epigraphy
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Assaji
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Re: Existing of writing in Buddha's time ?

Post by Assaji »

asahi wrote: Thu Jun 24, 2021 4:15 pm I know about the oral transmission but does writing and inscription on stone or tree leaf already existed in Buddha's time ?
Writing existed, but it was sparsely used:

http://www.ibiblio.org/britishraj/RhysD ... ter07.html
Bundokji
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Re: Existing of writing in Buddha's time ?

Post by Bundokji »

The mark of civilizations is the ability to construct and reconstruct. Prince Gautama is known to have lived in a palace, his father was a king, hence the form of governance was somehow centralized. Central governments are necessary for the idea of agency where literal utterance can be encoded so another agent can reconstruct these forms (characters) into mental utterances. As such, the descriptions of prince Gautama and the historical structure where he lived makes the existing of writing almost certain. The historical records which discussants share are based on historical evidence, which is the scholarly discipline that became conventionally accepted as the reliable way of investigating "historical facts".
And the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus, saying: "Behold now, bhikkhus, I exhort you: All compounded things are subject to vanish. Strive with earnestness!"

This was the last word of the Tathagata.
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robertk
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Re: Existing of writing in Buddha's time ?

Post by robertk »

http://www.aimwell.org/DPPN/isidatta.html
1. Isidatta.– A thera. He was the son of a caravan guide at Vaḍḍhagāma (v.l. Veḷugāma) in Avanti. By correspondence he became the unseen friend of Citta-gahapati of Macchikāsaṇḍa. The latter once sent him a letter regarding the virtues of the Buddha, and Isidatta, being pleased with the account given of the Buddha’s religion, entered the Order under Mahā-Kaccāna and in due course became an Arahant. Later, with Mahā-Kaccāna’s leave, he visited the Buddha in the Majjhimadesa and was warmly received by him (ThagA.i.238). A verse uttered by Isidatta, in response to the Buddha’s enquiry regarding his welfare, is recorded in the Theragāthā (v.120).
asahi
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Re: Existing of writing in Buddha's time ?

Post by asahi »

Here is the concern , if writing already existed and Buddha with his psychic should somehow knew how the transmission would eventually get corrupted , wouldnt it better to preserve dhamma in writing ? Probably Buddha didnt know how the whole thing would turn out .
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