A Manual Of Buddhist Historical Traditions (Saddhamma-Sangaha)

The author had made a noble attempt to draw a fine sketch on Buddhist Historical Traditions. The Saddhamma Sangha which is a non-canonical Pali work of a later date has been edited in Roman characters for the first time by N Saddhananda of Ceylon and published in the Journal of the Pali Text Society in 1890. This works as its title suggests, is a compendium of the traditional history of Buddhism. The Saddhamma-Sangha presents a bare outline of ecclesiastical and literary history of Buddhism drawn upon tradition materials. It is a historical record of the past played by Buddhism in Ceylon. The historical value of this work is enhanced by the inclusion of the account of two Buddhism Councils held in Ceylon during the reigns of Devanampiyatissa and Vattagamini. This is an account of the progress of the transmitting first orally, and then by writing, the philosophy and tenets of the Buddhist tradition. This book deals each occurrence in separate chapters, it has account of all the Buddhist councils and of the times when the Tripitaka was committed to writing. In all nine chapters the essence of the book is discussed on the progress of Buddhist thought.