[Buddha-l] Earliest Buddhist Customs and Liturgy

[jkirk]

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
===========
Hi Frantz
I'm guessing that the Vinaya must have a lot of rules on proper monkly
etiquette, re many different interactional occasions.  Have you checked
there?

You can get some data on etiquette by reading in the canon about encounters
between the Buddha and bhikkhus or bhikkhunis, also between each other. 

(One point that has flummoxed me is what precisely does it mean when the
text says that after greeting the Buddha the interlocutor "stood to one
side." I wonder what that looked like.....to the left or the right of the
Buddha? How far to one side? Behind him?)

You will also find etiquette in texts where someone is preparing a seat for
the Buddha preparatory to his delivering a teaching, or interacting in some
way with devotees or disciples. 

As for the Buddha's death scene--the Pali suttas don't say a whole lot about
the social arrangements, right? (sorry it's too late tonight for me to go
get the books and check.)

Best,
Joanna


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