The Pali Canon

Buddhism revolves around the teachings of Buddha, known popularly in Sanskrit as the dharma, or dhamma in Pali.  Before his death, Buddha reportedly told his followers that the dhamma would be their leader.  It was passed around by word of mouth, dividing into different versions preserved in Pali, Sanskrit, Chinese, and Tibetan, which over three centuries created different sects of Buddhism before the canon was ever even written.  This is another facet that separates it from Mahayana Buddhism, which was from the beginning based on literary texts. ¹ 

The Pali canon is the earliest written form of the Buddha’s teachings, collected in writing around 100 B.C.E. on palm leaves collected in baskets. ²   The story goes that less than a year after his death, hundreds of monks gathered to recite and verify the Buddha’s teachings.  The first was the Sutta Pitaka, the “basket of discourses,” or a verbatim collection of the Buddha’s sermons.  The second is the Vinaya Pitaka, or the “basket of discipline” containing a code of rules the Buddha had dictated to guide monks and nuns through a monastic lifestyle.  The third was the Abidhamma Pitaka, or “that which is above or about the dharma,” which summarizes, systematizes, and clarifies teachings found in the discourses such as meditation. ³   Altogether, they comprise the Tipitaka, or the “three baskets.”  They are known for repetition of passages, sentences, and phrases as well as a rich use of idioms because the teachings were intended for recitation by followers of Buddha and were not formally written until hundreds of years after his death. ⁴   You can read a sample of the Tipitaka here.

It is not known where exactly Pali originated, nor whether it was originally a spoken language at all before the Pali canon was created. ⁵   In modern times, although some monks use it as a spoken language in monasteries, it is not typically used for day to day communication needs and it seems to serve one crucial function: the preservation of the Buddha’s teaching. ⁶  In Southeast Asian countries, it is even believed that hidden within the Pali texts are ultimate and universal truths that can provide solutions to wider problems as well as serve as a source of identity for both nations and individuals. ⁷ 

Since the eleventh century when Theravada Buddhism took a firm hold in Burma, Pali has become part of the development of the Burmese language.  Along with the dhamma being part of Buddhist practice, Pali was also integrated into the language by Burmese kings who held examinations in the Pali texts. ⁸ “The language itself is very unique,” Aung Koe says, explaining that there are some words which cannot be translated from Pali to English or even from Pali to Burmese.  Some Pali scholars even claim that learning Pali “is simply the only way”⁹ to truly understand the teachings of Buddha.