[Buddha-l] Earliest Buddhist Customs and Liturgy

[Franz Metcalf]

Hi all,

I'm wondering about the very earliest forms of Buddhist liturgy, things  
bhikkhus would have said and done during the life of the Buddha. Did  
they have standard forms of address? Were there ritual phrases of  
thanks, of greeting, of leave-taking? Had they developed rituals for  
funerals? For dhamma talks? For meals?

To answer my own questions, of course even the earliest sangha had  
developed such forms. The real question is have scholars conjectured  
about what they *were*? Has anyone written about this? (Perhaps my best  
sources so far are from good ol' Access to Insight:  
<http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/khantipalo/ 
wheel083.html#dai> Bhikkhu Khantipalo's description of a wondering  
bhikkhu's life, and  
<http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/kariyawasam/wheel402.html>  
A.G.S. Kariyawasam's survey of Buddhist rituals in Sri Lanka.)

I'm working on a book that will have need of many examples of early  
words and actions, so I thank you all for any leads you give me for  
finding them. It's a bit shocking to me that my googling has not  
resulted in turning up anything more useful than the above, thus far.  
Have these matters been entirely neglected in Buddhist studies?

Much obliged,

Franz