Early Buddhist Oral Transmission and the Problem of Accurate Source Monitoring

Abstract

A comparative study of two early Buddhist textual collections, the Aṭṭhaka-vagga and the Udāna, points to a process during which commentarial material gradually became part of the canonical text during oral transmission. This relates to the problem of inaccurate monitoring of the source from which a particular type of information stems, which can be related to the potential impact of mindfulness on the generation of false memories. Although the cultivation of mindfulness tends to strengthen various aspects of memory, its potential to empower the mind’s ability to associate can at times result in errors of memory or recognition. The overall picture that emerges in this way helps understand a pattern evident in early Buddhist oral texts, which reflect a concern with precise transmission but at the same time also show substantial additions of later material.