a collection of scriptures, originally recorded from oral traditions in the 1st century b.c., divided into one of three parts (Pitaka) sermons () the rules of the Buddhist order () and several treatises on philosophy and psychology ()
any of a class of speculative prose treatises composed between the 8th and 6th centuries b.c. and first written a.d. c1300: they represent a philosophical development beyond the Vedas, having as their principal message the unity of Brahman and Atman.