..... The first doctrinal split in the Buddhist monastic community was that between the Sthaviras and the Mahāsāṅghikas. Because this was the first split, some scholars, such as Edward Conze and A. K. Warder, have suggested that material that is common to both these groups of schools be regarded as the most authentic.
With corresponding footnote:
See Conze’s Thirty Years of Buddhist Studies, p. 9: “Where we find passages in which these two texts, the one in Pali and other in Sanskrit, agree almost word by word, we can assume that they belong to a time antedating the separation of the two schools [Sthaviravādas and Mahāsāṅghikas] , which took place during Asoka’s rule. ... This approach cannot, however, get us beyond 340 BCE with the Sūtra texts, because their Mahāsāṅghika version is lost.” [3] And Warder says “... the agreement of these two schools [Sthaviravādas and Mahāsāṅghikas] should establish the oldest available textual tradition ...” (in Warder, A.K. Indian Buddhism. Buddhism Series. Motilal Banarsidass, 2000).
..... The first doctrinal split in the Buddhist monastic community was that between the Sthaviras and the Mahāsāṅghikas. Because this was the first split, some scholars, such as Edward Conze and A. K. Warder, have suggested that material that is common to both these groups of schools be regarded as the most authentic.
With corresponding footnote:
See Conze’s Thirty Years of Buddhist Studies, p. 9: “Where we find passages in which these two texts, the one in Pali and other in Sanskrit, agree almost word by word, we can assume that they belong to a time antedating the separation of the two schools [Sthaviravādas and Mahāsāṅghikas] , which took place during Asoka’s rule. ... This approach cannot, however, get us beyond 340 BCE with the Sūtra texts, because their Mahāsāṅghika version is lost.” [3] And Warder says “... the agreement of these two schools [Sthaviravādas and Mahāsāṅghikas] should establish the oldest available textual tradition ...” (in Warder, A.K. Indian Buddhism. Buddhism Series. Motilal Banarsidass, 2000).
..... The first doctrinal split in the Buddhist monastic community was that between the Sthaviras and the Mahāsāṅghikas. Because this was the first split, some scholars, such as Edward Conze and A. K. Warder, have suggested that material that is common to both these groups of schools be regarded as the most authentic.
With corresponding footnote:
See Conze’s Thirty Years of Buddhist Studies, p. 9: “Where we find passages in which these two texts, the one in Pali and other in Sanskrit, agree almost word by word, we can assume that they belong to a time antedating the separation of the two schools [Sthaviravādas and Mahāsāṅghikas] , which took place during Asoka’s rule. ... This approach cannot, however, get us beyond 340 BCE with the Sūtra texts, because their Mahāsāṅghika version is lost.” And Warder says “... the agreement of these two schools [Sthaviravādas and Mahāsāṅghikas] should establish the oldest available textual tradition ...” (in Warder, A.K. Indian Buddhism. Buddhism Series. Motilal Banarsidass, 2000).
We possess EBTs from a substantial variety of ancient Indian Buddhist schools, including the Mahāvihāra (modern-day Theravāda) of Sri Lanka, the Dharmaguptaka, Mahāsāṅghika, Mahīśāsaka, Mūlasarvāstivāda, Sarvāstivāda, and others of uncertain affiliation. A century of detailed study has consistently shown that they are essentially identical in doctrine irrespective of transmission lineage.
With corresponding footnote:
The only complete set of EBTs is the Pali version of the Mahāvihāra. Of the other schools we possess EBTs in a variety of degrees of completion, from a majority of the texts of the Sarvāstivāda, to only a few scattered Suttas and the Vinaya of the Mahāsāṅghika. In the case of the Mahāsāṅghika, this would change significantly if it can be established that the Ekottara-āgama in Chinese translation (T 125) belongs to this school.
[TheThe great Belgian scholar Étienne Lamotte says ](in Lamotte, Étienne. History of Indian Buddhism: From the Origins to the Śaka Era. Publications de l’Institut orientaliste de Louvain. Université catholique de Louvain, Institut orientaliste, 1988): “However, with the exceptions of the Mahāyānist interpolations in the Ekottara, which are easily discernible, the variations in question [across the lines of transmission] affect hardly anything except the method of expression or the arrangement of the subjects. The doctrinal basis common to the Āgamas and Nikāyas is remarkably uniform.” This is in stark contrast to non-EBT texts.
... In 1882 Beal described detailed correspondences between Suttas in Chinese and Pali (in Beal, Samuel. Abstract of Four Lectures On Buddhist Literature in China. Biblio-Life, 2010.). He accurately predicted that “when the Vinaya and Āgama collections are thoroughly examined, I can have little doubt we shall find most if not all the Pali Suttas in Chinese form.”
.... Recently, in his detailed and thorough Comparative Study of the Majjhima Nikāya, Anālayo shows that all significant aspects of early Buddhist doctrine are the same across all extant textual transmissions of the Suttas of the Majjhima Nikāya (in Analayo. A Comparative Study of the Majjhima-nikāya. Dharma Drum Academic Publisher, 2011). Among the parallels to the Suttas of the Pali Majjhima Nikāya, the most important textual source, due to its completeness, is the Sarvāstivādin Madhyama Āgama preserved in Chinese. The Sarvāstivāda and Theravāda lineages must have separated approximately at the time of the Asokan missionary activities. This means that these texts have been transmitted separately for almost 2,300 years, including a period of separate oral transmission that lasted several centuries. And yet the doctrinal content is for all intents and purposes identical. This shows how conservative and careful the individual schools were in preserving the EBTs.
Moreover, this conservatism must have been inherited from the more unified—both geographically and doctrinally—form of Buddhism that existed prior to Asoka. There is no reason to imagine that the separate schools would all be conservative in preserving their canonical texts unless they had been conservative prior to their separation. Since comparative studies show that the core doctrinal material of the EBTs has been reliably transmitted for almost 2,300 years, the reasonable inference is that it was reliably transmitted also in the first 150–200 years of Buddhist history.
In addition to the full scale study of the Majjhima Nikāya, there have been multiple smaller studies of various parts of the EBTs. These have confirmed that all the EBTs share a similar level of agreement to what we find between the Suttas of the Majjhima Nikāya and its parallels. Such studies have been carried out for substantial portions of the Saṁyutta Nikāya/Saṁyukta Āgamas, and (in Bingenheimer, Marcus, trans. A Digital Comparative Edition and Partial Translation of the Shorter Chinese Saṁyukta Āgama (T.100). 2011 and in Choong, Mun-keat. The Fundamental Teachings of Early Buddhism: A Comparative Study Based on the Sūtrāṅga Portion of the Pali Saṁyutta-Nikāya and the Chinese Saṁyuktāgama. Harrassowitz, 2000), and to a lesser extent for the Dīgha NikāyaDīgha Nikāya.
Caution needs to be exercised, however, regarding the Ekottara Āgama, which is nominally the collection corresponding to the Pali Aṅguttara Nikāya. Although it shares some significant structural features with the Aṅguttara, the content is often very different. The text is highly erratic and internally inconsistent, possibly being an unfinished draft. Scholars agree that it includes proto-Mahāyānist additions (in Lamotte above and also in Warder below), thereby establishing its late date of completion compared to the rest of the EBTs.
This high degree of correspondence among the EBTs across different lines of transmission does not exist for any other texts of the vast Buddhist corpus. Even in the stylistically oldest part of the Khuddaka Nikāya, such as the Sutta Nipāta, the Udāna, and the Dhammapada, there is substantial divergence between the schools. This is despite the fact that these texts do have a common core, which is found across the different traditions. With texts such as the Abhidhamma, despite a small common core, the divergence is even greater. But the vast majority of Buddhist texts are exclusive to the individual schools and do not have any parallels at all.
We possess EBTs from a substantial variety of ancient Indian Buddhist schools, including the Mahāvihāra (modern-day Theravāda) of Sri Lanka, the Dharmaguptaka, Mahāsāṅghika, Mahīśāsaka, Mūlasarvāstivāda, Sarvāstivāda, and others of uncertain affiliation. A century of detailed study has consistently shown that they are essentially identical in doctrine irrespective of transmission lineage.
With corresponding footnote:
The only complete set of EBTs is the Pali version of the Mahāvihāra. Of the other schools we possess EBTs in a variety of degrees of completion, from a majority of the texts of the Sarvāstivāda, to only a few scattered Suttas and the Vinaya of the Mahāsāṅghika. In the case of the Mahāsāṅghika, this would change significantly if it can be established that the Ekottara-āgama in Chinese translation (T 125) belongs to this school.
[The great Belgian scholar Étienne Lamotte says ]: “However, with the exceptions of the Mahāyānist interpolations in the Ekottara, which are easily discernible, the variations in question [across the lines of transmission] affect hardly anything except the method of expression or the arrangement of the subjects. The doctrinal basis common to the Āgamas and Nikāyas is remarkably uniform.” This is in stark contrast to non-EBT texts.
... In 1882 Beal described detailed correspondences between Suttas in Chinese and Pali (in Beal, Samuel. Abstract of Four Lectures On Buddhist Literature in China. Biblio-Life, 2010.). He accurately predicted that “when the Vinaya and Āgama collections are thoroughly examined, I can have little doubt we shall find most if not all the Pali Suttas in Chinese form.”
Recently, in his detailed and thorough Comparative Study of the Majjhima Nikāya, Anālayo shows that all significant aspects of early Buddhist doctrine are the same across all extant textual transmissions of the Suttas of the Majjhima Nikāya (in Analayo. A Comparative Study of the Majjhima-nikāya. Dharma Drum Academic Publisher, 2011). Among the parallels to the Suttas of the Pali Majjhima Nikāya, the most important textual source, due to its completeness, is the Sarvāstivādin Madhyama Āgama preserved in Chinese. The Sarvāstivāda and Theravāda lineages must have separated approximately at the time of the Asokan missionary activities. This means that these texts have been transmitted separately for almost 2,300 years, including a period of separate oral transmission that lasted several centuries. And yet the doctrinal content is for all intents and purposes identical. This shows how conservative and careful the individual schools were in preserving the EBTs.
Moreover, this conservatism must have been inherited from the more unified—both geographically and doctrinally—form of Buddhism that existed prior to Asoka. There is no reason to imagine that the separate schools would all be conservative in preserving their canonical texts unless they had been conservative prior to their separation. Since comparative studies show that the core doctrinal material of the EBTs has been reliably transmitted for almost 2,300 years, the reasonable inference is that it was reliably transmitted also in the first 150–200 years of Buddhist history.
In addition to the full scale study of the Majjhima Nikāya, there have been multiple smaller studies of various parts of the EBTs. These have confirmed that all the EBTs share a similar level of agreement to what we find between the Suttas of the Majjhima Nikāya and its parallels. Such studies have been carried out for substantial portions of the Saṁyutta Nikāya/Saṁyukta Āgamas, and to a lesser extent for the Dīgha Nikāya.
Caution needs to be exercised, however, regarding the Ekottara Āgama, which is nominally the collection corresponding to the Pali Aṅguttara Nikāya. Although it shares some significant structural features with the Aṅguttara, the content is often very different. The text is highly erratic and internally inconsistent, possibly being an unfinished draft. Scholars agree that it includes proto-Mahāyānist additions, thereby establishing its late date of completion compared to the rest of the EBTs.
This high degree of correspondence among the EBTs across different lines of transmission does not exist for any other texts of the vast Buddhist corpus. Even in the stylistically oldest part of the Khuddaka Nikāya, such as the Sutta Nipāta, the Udāna, and the Dhammapada, there is substantial divergence between the schools. This is despite the fact that these texts do have a common core, which is found across the different traditions. With texts such as the Abhidhamma, despite a small common core, the divergence is even greater. But the vast majority of Buddhist texts are exclusive to the individual schools and do not have any parallels at all.
We possess EBTs from a substantial variety of ancient Indian Buddhist schools, including the Mahāvihāra (modern-day Theravāda) of Sri Lanka, the Dharmaguptaka, Mahāsāṅghika, Mahīśāsaka, Mūlasarvāstivāda, Sarvāstivāda, and others of uncertain affiliation. A century of detailed study has consistently shown that they are essentially identical in doctrine irrespective of transmission lineage.
With corresponding footnote:
The only complete set of EBTs is the Pali version of the Mahāvihāra. Of the other schools we possess EBTs in a variety of degrees of completion, from a majority of the texts of the Sarvāstivāda, to only a few scattered Suttas and the Vinaya of the Mahāsāṅghika. In the case of the Mahāsāṅghika, this would change significantly if it can be established that the Ekottara-āgama in Chinese translation (T 125) belongs to this school.
The great Belgian scholar Étienne Lamotte says (in Lamotte, Étienne. History of Indian Buddhism: From the Origins to the Śaka Era. Publications de l’Institut orientaliste de Louvain. Université catholique de Louvain, Institut orientaliste, 1988): “However, with the exceptions of the Mahāyānist interpolations in the Ekottara, which are easily discernible, the variations in question [across the lines of transmission] affect hardly anything except the method of expression or the arrangement of the subjects. The doctrinal basis common to the Āgamas and Nikāyas is remarkably uniform.” This is in stark contrast to non-EBT texts.
... In 1882 Beal described detailed correspondences between Suttas in Chinese and Pali (in Beal, Samuel. Abstract of Four Lectures On Buddhist Literature in China. Biblio-Life, 2010.). He accurately predicted that “when the Vinaya and Āgama collections are thoroughly examined, I can have little doubt we shall find most if not all the Pali Suttas in Chinese form.”
.... Recently, in his detailed and thorough Comparative Study of the Majjhima Nikāya, Anālayo shows that all significant aspects of early Buddhist doctrine are the same across all extant textual transmissions of the Suttas of the Majjhima Nikāya (in Analayo. A Comparative Study of the Majjhima-nikāya. Dharma Drum Academic Publisher, 2011). Among the parallels to the Suttas of the Pali Majjhima Nikāya, the most important textual source, due to its completeness, is the Sarvāstivādin Madhyama Āgama preserved in Chinese. The Sarvāstivāda and Theravāda lineages must have separated approximately at the time of the Asokan missionary activities. This means that these texts have been transmitted separately for almost 2,300 years, including a period of separate oral transmission that lasted several centuries. And yet the doctrinal content is for all intents and purposes identical. This shows how conservative and careful the individual schools were in preserving the EBTs.
Moreover, this conservatism must have been inherited from the more unified—both geographically and doctrinally—form of Buddhism that existed prior to Asoka. There is no reason to imagine that the separate schools would all be conservative in preserving their canonical texts unless they had been conservative prior to their separation. Since comparative studies show that the core doctrinal material of the EBTs has been reliably transmitted for almost 2,300 years, the reasonable inference is that it was reliably transmitted also in the first 150–200 years of Buddhist history.
In addition to the full scale study of the Majjhima Nikāya, there have been multiple smaller studies of various parts of the EBTs. These have confirmed that all the EBTs share a similar level of agreement to what we find between the Suttas of the Majjhima Nikāya and its parallels. Such studies have been carried out for substantial portions of the Saṁyutta Nikāya/Saṁyukta Āgamas (in Bingenheimer, Marcus, trans. A Digital Comparative Edition and Partial Translation of the Shorter Chinese Saṁyukta Āgama (T.100). 2011 and in Choong, Mun-keat. The Fundamental Teachings of Early Buddhism: A Comparative Study Based on the Sūtrāṅga Portion of the Pali Saṁyutta-Nikāya and the Chinese Saṁyuktāgama. Harrassowitz, 2000), and to a lesser extent for the Dīgha Nikāya.
Caution needs to be exercised, however, regarding the Ekottara Āgama, which is nominally the collection corresponding to the Pali Aṅguttara Nikāya. Although it shares some significant structural features with the Aṅguttara, the content is often very different. The text is highly erratic and internally inconsistent, possibly being an unfinished draft. Scholars agree that it includes proto-Mahāyānist additions (in Lamotte above and also in Warder below), thereby establishing its late date of completion compared to the rest of the EBTs.
This high degree of correspondence among the EBTs across different lines of transmission does not exist for any other texts of the vast Buddhist corpus. Even in the stylistically oldest part of the Khuddaka Nikāya, such as the Sutta Nipāta, the Udāna, and the Dhammapada, there is substantial divergence between the schools. This is despite the fact that these texts do have a common core, which is found across the different traditions. With texts such as the Abhidhamma, despite a small common core, the divergence is even greater. But the vast majority of Buddhist texts are exclusive to the individual schools and do not have any parallels at all.
We possess EBTs from a substantial variety of ancient Indian Buddhist schools, including the Mahāvihāra (modern-day Theravāda) of Sri Lanka, the Dharmaguptaka, Mahāsāṅghika, Mahīśāsaka, Mūlasarvāstivāda, Sarvāstivāda, and others of uncertain affiliation. A century of detailed study has consistently shown that they are essentially identical in doctrine irrespective of transmission lineage.
With corresponding footnote:
The only complete set of EBTs is the Pali version of the Mahāvihāra. Of the other schools we possess EBTs in a variety of degrees of completion, from a majority of the texts of the Sarvāstivāda, to only a few scattered Suttas and the Vinaya of the Mahāsāṅghika. In the case of the Mahāsāṅghika, this would change significantly if it can be established that the Ekottara-āgama in Chinese translation (T 125) belongs to this school.
The[The great Belgian scholar Étienne Lamotte says ]: “However, with the exceptions of the Mahāyānist interpolations in the Ekottara, which are easily discernible, the variations in question [across the lines of transmission] affect hardly anything except the method of expression or the arrangement of the subjects. The doctrinal basis common to the Āgamas and Nikāyas is remarkably uniform.” This is in stark contrast to non-EBT texts.
... In 1882 Beal described detailed correspondences between Suttas in Chinese and Pali (in Beal, Samuel. Abstract of Four Lectures On Buddhist Literature in China. Biblio-Life, 2010.). He accurately predicted that “when the Vinaya and Āgama collections are thoroughly examined, I can have little doubt we shall find most if not all the Pali Suttas in Chinese form.”
Recently, in his detailed and thorough Comparative Study of the Majjhima Nikāya, Anālayo shows that all significant aspects of early Buddhist doctrine are the same across all extant textual transmissions of the Suttas of the Majjhima Nikāya (in Analayo. A Comparative Study of the Majjhima-nikāya. Dharma Drum Academic Publisher, 2011). Among the parallels to the Suttas of the Pali Majjhima Nikāya, the most important textual source, due to its completeness, is the Sarvāstivādin Madhyama Āgama preserved in Chinese. The Sarvāstivāda and Theravāda lineages must have separated approximately at the time of the Asokan missionary activities. This means that these texts have been transmitted separately for almost 2,300 years, including a period of separate oral transmission that lasted several centuries. And yet the doctrinal content is for all intents and purposes identical. This shows how conservative and careful the individual schools were in preserving the EBTs.
Moreover, this conservatism must have been inherited from the more unified—both geographically and doctrinally—form of Buddhism that existed prior to Asoka. There is no reason to imagine that the separate schools would all be conservative in preserving their canonical texts unless they had been conservative prior to their separation. Since comparative studies show that the core doctrinal material of the EBTs has been reliably transmitted for almost 2,300 years, the reasonable inference is that it was reliably transmitted also in the first 150–200 years of Buddhist history.
In addition to the full scale study of the Majjhima Nikāya, there have been multiple smaller studies of various parts of the EBTs. These have confirmed that all the EBTs share a similar level of agreement to what we find between the Suttas of the Majjhima Nikāya and its parallels. Such studies have been carried out for substantial portions of the Saṁyutta Nikāya/Saṁyukta Āgamas, and to a lesser extent for the Dīgha Nikāya.
Caution needs to be exercised, however, regarding the Ekottara Āgama, which is nominally the collection corresponding to the Pali Aṅguttara Nikāya. Although it shares some significant structural features with the Aṅguttara, the content is often very different. The text is highly erratic and internally inconsistent, possibly being an unfinished draft. Scholars agree that it includes proto-Mahāyānist additions, thereby establishing its late date of completion compared to the rest of the EBTs.
This high degree of correspondence among the EBTs across different lines of transmission does not exist for any other texts of the vast Buddhist corpus. Even in the stylistically oldest part of the Khuddaka Nikāya, such as the Sutta Nipāta, the Udāna, and the Dhammapada, there is substantial divergence between the schools. This is despite the fact that these texts do have a common core, which is found across the different traditions. With texts such as the Abhidhamma, despite a small common core, the divergence is even greater. But the vast majority of Buddhist texts are exclusive to the individual schools and do not have any parallels at all.
We possess EBTs from a substantial variety of ancient Indian Buddhist schools, including the Mahāvihāra (modern-day Theravāda) of Sri Lanka, the Dharmaguptaka, Mahāsāṅghika, Mahīśāsaka, Mūlasarvāstivāda, Sarvāstivāda, and others of uncertain affiliation. A century of detailed study has consistently shown that they are essentially identical in doctrine irrespective of transmission lineage.
With corresponding footnote:
The only complete set of EBTs is the Pali version of the Mahāvihāra. Of the other schools we possess EBTs in a variety of degrees of completion, from a majority of the texts of the Sarvāstivāda, to only a few scattered Suttas and the Vinaya of the Mahāsāṅghika. In the case of the Mahāsāṅghika, this would change significantly if it can be established that the Ekottara-āgama in Chinese translation (T 125) belongs to this school.
The great Belgian scholar Étienne Lamotte says ]: “However, with the exceptions of the Mahāyānist interpolations in the Ekottara, which are easily discernible, the variations in question [across the lines of transmission] affect hardly anything except the method of expression or the arrangement of the subjects. The doctrinal basis common to the Āgamas and Nikāyas is remarkably uniform.” This is in stark contrast to non-EBT texts.
... In 1882 Beal described detailed correspondences between Suttas in Chinese and Pali (in Beal, Samuel. Abstract of Four Lectures On Buddhist Literature in China. Biblio-Life, 2010.). He accurately predicted that “when the Vinaya and Āgama collections are thoroughly examined, I can have little doubt we shall find most if not all the Pali Suttas in Chinese form.”
Recently, in his detailed and thorough Comparative Study of the Majjhima Nikāya, Anālayo shows that all significant aspects of early Buddhist doctrine are the same across all extant textual transmissions of the Suttas of the Majjhima Nikāya (in Analayo. A Comparative Study of the Majjhima-nikāya. Dharma Drum Academic Publisher, 2011). Among the parallels to the Suttas of the Pali Majjhima Nikāya, the most important textual source, due to its completeness, is the Sarvāstivādin Madhyama Āgama preserved in Chinese. The Sarvāstivāda and Theravāda lineages must have separated approximately at the time of the Asokan missionary activities. This means that these texts have been transmitted separately for almost 2,300 years, including a period of separate oral transmission that lasted several centuries. And yet the doctrinal content is for all intents and purposes identical. This shows how conservative and careful the individual schools were in preserving the EBTs.
Moreover, this conservatism must have been inherited from the more unified—both geographically and doctrinally—form of Buddhism that existed prior to Asoka. There is no reason to imagine that the separate schools would all be conservative in preserving their canonical texts unless they had been conservative prior to their separation. Since comparative studies show that the core doctrinal material of the EBTs has been reliably transmitted for almost 2,300 years, the reasonable inference is that it was reliably transmitted also in the first 150–200 years of Buddhist history.
In addition to the full scale study of the Majjhima Nikāya, there have been multiple smaller studies of various parts of the EBTs. These have confirmed that all the EBTs share a similar level of agreement to what we find between the Suttas of the Majjhima Nikāya and its parallels. Such studies have been carried out for substantial portions of the Saṁyutta Nikāya/Saṁyukta Āgamas, and to a lesser extent for the Dīgha Nikāya.
Caution needs to be exercised, however, regarding the Ekottara Āgama, which is nominally the collection corresponding to the Pali Aṅguttara Nikāya. Although it shares some significant structural features with the Aṅguttara, the content is often very different. The text is highly erratic and internally inconsistent, possibly being an unfinished draft. Scholars agree that it includes proto-Mahāyānist additions, thereby establishing its late date of completion compared to the rest of the EBTs.
This high degree of correspondence among the EBTs across different lines of transmission does not exist for any other texts of the vast Buddhist corpus. Even in the stylistically oldest part of the Khuddaka Nikāya, such as the Sutta Nipāta, the Udāna, and the Dhammapada, there is substantial divergence between the schools. This is despite the fact that these texts do have a common core, which is found across the different traditions. With texts such as the Abhidhamma, despite a small common core, the divergence is even greater. But the vast majority of Buddhist texts are exclusive to the individual schools and do not have any parallels at all.
We possess EBTs from a substantial variety of ancient Indian Buddhist schools, including the Mahāvihāra (modern-day Theravāda) of Sri Lanka, the Dharmaguptaka, Mahāsāṅghika, Mahīśāsaka, Mūlasarvāstivāda, Sarvāstivāda, and others of uncertain affiliation. A century of detailed study has consistently shown that they are essentially identical in doctrine irrespective of transmission lineage.
With corresponding footnote:
The only complete set of EBTs is the Pali version of the Mahāvihāra. Of the other schools we possess EBTs in a variety of degrees of completion, from a majority of the texts of the Sarvāstivāda, to only a few scattered Suttas and the Vinaya of the Mahāsāṅghika. In the case of the Mahāsāṅghika, this would change significantly if it can be established that the Ekottara-āgama in Chinese translation (T 125) belongs to this school.
[The great Belgian scholar Étienne Lamotte says ]: “However, with the exceptions of the Mahāyānist interpolations in the Ekottara, which are easily discernible, the variations in question [across the lines of transmission] affect hardly anything except the method of expression or the arrangement of the subjects. The doctrinal basis common to the Āgamas and Nikāyas is remarkably uniform.” This is in stark contrast to non-EBT texts.
... In 1882 Beal described detailed correspondences between Suttas in Chinese and Pali (in Beal, Samuel. Abstract of Four Lectures On Buddhist Literature in China. Biblio-Life, 2010.). He accurately predicted that “when the Vinaya and Āgama collections are thoroughly examined, I can have little doubt we shall find most if not all the Pali Suttas in Chinese form.”
Recently, in his detailed and thorough Comparative Study of the Majjhima Nikāya, Anālayo shows that all significant aspects of early Buddhist doctrine are the same across all extant textual transmissions of the Suttas of the Majjhima Nikāya (in Analayo. A Comparative Study of the Majjhima-nikāya. Dharma Drum Academic Publisher, 2011). Among the parallels to the Suttas of the Pali Majjhima Nikāya, the most important textual source, due to its completeness, is the Sarvāstivādin Madhyama Āgama preserved in Chinese. The Sarvāstivāda and Theravāda lineages must have separated approximately at the time of the Asokan missionary activities. This means that these texts have been transmitted separately for almost 2,300 years, including a period of separate oral transmission that lasted several centuries. And yet the doctrinal content is for all intents and purposes identical. This shows how conservative and careful the individual schools were in preserving the EBTs.
Moreover, this conservatism must have been inherited from the more unified—both geographically and doctrinally—form of Buddhism that existed prior to Asoka. There is no reason to imagine that the separate schools would all be conservative in preserving their canonical texts unless they had been conservative prior to their separation. Since comparative studies show that the core doctrinal material of the EBTs has been reliably transmitted for almost 2,300 years, the reasonable inference is that it was reliably transmitted also in the first 150–200 years of Buddhist history.
In addition to the full scale study of the Majjhima Nikāya, there have been multiple smaller studies of various parts of the EBTs. These have confirmed that all the EBTs share a similar level of agreement to what we find between the Suttas of the Majjhima Nikāya and its parallels. Such studies have been carried out for substantial portions of the Saṁyutta Nikāya/Saṁyukta Āgamas, and to a lesser extent for the Dīgha Nikāya.
Caution needs to be exercised, however, regarding the Ekottara Āgama, which is nominally the collection corresponding to the Pali Aṅguttara Nikāya. Although it shares some significant structural features with the Aṅguttara, the content is often very different. The text is highly erratic and internally inconsistent, possibly being an unfinished draft. Scholars agree that it includes proto-Mahāyānist additions, thereby establishing its late date of completion compared to the rest of the EBTs.
This high degree of correspondence among the EBTs across different lines of transmission does not exist for any other texts of the vast Buddhist corpus. Even in the stylistically oldest part of the Khuddaka Nikāya, such as the Sutta Nipāta, the Udāna, and the Dhammapada, there is substantial divergence between the schools. This is despite the fact that these texts do have a common core, which is found across the different traditions. With texts such as the Abhidhamma, despite a small common core, the divergence is even greater. But the vast majority of Buddhist texts are exclusive to the individual schools and do not have any parallels at all.