The Teachings of the Buddha With the emphasis on the early Sutta & Vinaya

What are the teachings of the Buddha? His teachings are just these 4 noble truths: 1) the truth of non-satisfaction 2) the truth of the origin of non-satisfaction 3) the truth of the cessation of non-satisfaction 4) the truth of the way leading to the cessation of non-satisfaction What is Sutta? Sutta is the collection of discourses given by the Buddha or his main disciples.  What is Vinaya? Vinaya is the collection of monastic disciplinary codes laid down by the Buddha because they are seen fit for higher training. Are there early and later Sutta? Close scrutiny of the Sutta reveals that not all contents of the Sutta were of the same time origin.  We focus on the early Sutta listed below: - Digha Nikaya - Majjhima Nikaya - Anguttara Nikaya - Samyutta Nikaya - Khuddaka Nikaya ( Dhammapada, Sutta Nipata, Theragatha, Therigatha, Itivuttaka, and Udana)  What about later additions in Buddhist Scripture? Since their additions were later, we should focus much more of our study and investigation on the early materials.  These early materials are quite voluminous; and they are sufficient for a good grasp of the Buddha's teachings for they are rehearsed by the fully enlightened Elder Ananda, the personal attendant of the Buddha.

A few concepts that have been wrongly but widely accepted by Buddhists: 1) Vipassana is the only method for attaining enlightenment. One should read Yuganaddha Sutta to know the limitation of the vipassana method. 2) The ability to attain full enlightenment without pre-attainment of jhana (concentration). One should, again, read Yuganaddha Sutta and Mahamalunkya Sutta to understand the indispensability of jhana. So should we simply take the early Sutta & Vinaya as the truth? We should study and investigate their contents.  Only with careful study and investigation--not with blind faith--can these 4 noble truths be clearly seen.