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**Ternneowns** · 11-23-2011, 09:01 AM

We weren't around to see what happened exactly and how, so judgments about motive and integrity are speculative. Mahayana teachings developed over a long period of time, among disparate groups and sometimes across large geographical distances. It was some time before any of them got written down. The Mahayana sutras tend to be a patching together -- a suturing, if you will -- of diverse material.

Oral literature tends to work differently from its written equivalents in that it relies on various narrative and mnemonic devices to aid in the transmission from speaker to hearer. This is also true of the Pali Canon, which has different "strata" -- some likely closer to the actual words of the Buddha than others.

There's no real basis for accusations of dishonesty.

11-23-2011, 09:01 AM	#26
Ternneowns Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 541 Senior Member	We weren't around to see what happened exactly and how, so judgments about motive and integrity are speculative. Mahayana teachings developed over a long period of time, among disparate groups and sometimes across large geographical distances. It was some time before any of them got written down. The Mahayana sutras tend to be a patching together -- a suturing, if you will -- of diverse material. Oral literature tends to work differently from its written equivalents in that it relies on various narrative and mnemonic devices to aid in the transmission from speaker to hearer. This is also true of the Pali Canon, which has different "strata" -- some likely closer to the actual words of the Buddha than others. There's no real basis for accusations of dishonesty.
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