[Buddha-l] Written and oral traditions.

[L.S. Cousins]

Chris,

>Writing in India has a long history. The Indus Valley script, most likely to
>have been used for writing a proto-Dravidian language, is found on 
>seals dating from 2600 BCE to 1900 BCE.

Steve Farmer, Michael Witzel et al. claim to have proved that the 
signs on the Indus Valley seals do not represent any kind of writing. 
I find their proof fairly conclusive.

>There are examples of Harrapan 'script' which it is claimed go back to around
>3500 BCE <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/334517.stm>

Signs or emblems, yes, but not any kind of writing.

>The earliest known examples of Brahmi script are inscriptions dated to around
>500 BCE - but, as there are already several variants from that 
>period, it probably originated somewhat earlier.

Are you referring to the marks on potsherds from Sri Lanka ? If so, 
the date is disputed and certainly isn't unequivocal proof of writing 
as early as this. It may give some support to the use of writing 
prior to the reign of Asoka, although Harry Falk has written a book 
arguing that writing was invented early in the reign of Asoka.

>The earliest Kharosthi Script inscriptions appear to be from around 
>300 BCE - i.e. about the same time as Brahmi - mainly in modern-day 
>N. Pakistan and E. Afghanistan.

There is some debate as to which is prior: Brahmii or Kharo.s.thii.

>A couple of months back Abdur Rehman  who works with Ahmad Hassan 
>Dani <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmad_Hasan_Dani> in Pakistan 
>told me they have recently found examples of a script which 
>pre-dates Brahmi & Kharosthi - but is later the than Indus Valley 
>scripts.

I rather doubt this. People often confuse signs and writing. There is 
a lot of wishful thinking in this area.

>Even if writing was used in India at the time of the Buddha (which 
>imo seems increasingly likely) it may have largely been used for 
>ordinary purposes. Passing on religious/philosophical teachings 
>orally may have been considered 'more appropriate'.
>
>A bias towards memory and the spoken word seems prevalent in India 
>where Brahmins still learn to recite the Vedas from memory.

True.

>In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition it is considered vital to receive 
>the oral transmission of any religious text before reading and 
>studying it. Some Tibetan traditions insist that certain ceremonies 
>- particularly monastic ordination -
>are conducted by recitation entirely from memory. Is this the same 
>in other Buddhist traditions?

I am not sure if this is required in Theravaada.

Lance Cousins