Buddha’s teachings have been reconstructed from stories found mainly in the Sutta Pitaka. These stories describe his miraculous powers and reason rather than display of supernatural power. The world is transient and constantly changing; it is also soulless as there is nothing permanent. Sorrow is intrinsic to human existence. It is by following the path of moderation between severe penance and self-indulgence that human beings can rise above these worldly troubles.
In the earliest form of Buddhism existence of God was irrelevant. Buddha regarded the social world as the creation of humans rather than of divine origin. He advised kings to be humane and ethical. Individual effort was expected to transform social relations. The Buddha emphasised individual agency and righteous action as a means to escape from the cycle of rebirth and attain self-realisation and nirvana. The extinguishing of the ego and desire would thus end the cycle of suffering. The importance attached to conduct and values rather than claims of superiority based on birth, the emphasis placed on fellow feeling and karuna for weaker.
The Buddhist developed an alternative understanding of social inequalities and institutions required to regulate social conflict. In a myth found in Sutta Pitaka they suggest that originally human beings did not have fully evolved bodily forms, nor was the world of plants fully developed. All beings lived in idyllic state of peace, taking from nature only what they needed.
Buddhist Tipitakas means three baskets which hold three types of texts. They were first transmitted orally and then written and classified according to the subject matter. 2. The Vinaya Pitaka included rules and regulations for those who joined the sangha or monastic order. 3. The Sutta Pitaka which contains the teachings of Buddha and the Abhidhamma Pitaka dealt with philosophical matters.
