The pursuit of truth developed in different manners in early civilizations.  Today, we are able to wear our philosophy hats - with the epistemology feather attached - and lay out the cognitive routes taken by the curious people of these civilizations.  We can read about and discuss these routes and make them clear to our understanding - at least by methodology, (not necessarily validity of conclusions).  The benefit of our hindsight can make history of philosophy more clear, though early on, the nature of the world was anything but.      
 
In ancient Greece, early notions of self-evident truths and simple experiments followed by sweeping conclusions on the nature of being, were gradually replaced with Socratic style questioning and rational discourse.  Socrates is widely considered the founder of western philosophy.  Through questioning with colleagues, foundational truths were converged upon.  Or, more questions spiraled out.  Socrates and his followers developed a technique for pursuing knowledge.  The framework of this technique persists today in our legal system and sciences.   
 
The Judeo-Christian tradition took a different approach.  The truth came from above.  God laid out the rules of nature and morality.  The chosen one, whether it be Moses, Jesus, or Abraham, were given the knowledge to share with their people.  With direct contact with God, they became the wise men among their people.  The truth was centered around their relationship with the divine.
 
In the east, and this includes Hinduism and Buddhism, the path turned within.  Texts like the The Upanishads and those from ancient Buddhism, like the Pali Canon, share this path.  Primarily turning away from rational discourse and divine intervention, both the pre-Buddhist and pre-Hindu sages derived their truths through internal introspection. 
 
Serious scholars concerned with these trends may be interested in the how and why these approaches differed.  It might even be an interesting thesis to develop a theory of philosophical origination.  To add, was the approach of many Native American tribes another distinguishable form of interpretation, that of communion with truth through nature spirits?  Are there others?  Are all of these approaches simply a spectrum of forms of inquiry, all equally capable of learning truths about reality and patterns of utility?  On the other hand, do these different approaches separate into a hierarchy from most useful to least useful?  Are they tied to relative sophistication of society?  In hunter-gatherer bands, maybe the nature of their reality confines them to creating myths around nature spirits and learning truth through them.  Less time is afforded to ruminate over deeper realities.  Nature spirits provide immediate answers because the world is immediate, or at least day-to-day or week-to-week.  In more advanced city-states like ancient Greece, inquiry transcends magical and mystical interpretations - rational thought and discourse is provided leisure to iterate.  Perhaps, methods are somehow tied to social and societal development.  From another viewpoint, perhaps, they are simply a normal progression out of the particular culture, unique to the culture - the final value of methodology is most importantly weighed against the historical wealth and health of the society in question across time. 
 
However we choose to define the level of culture and methods in ancient India, the pursuit of truth, at face value, turned inward.  This is both true of Buddhist works like the Pali Canon, and those of the ancient works like the Upanishads and the foundational works of Hinduism.  The Pali Canon is believed to be the written teachings of the Buddha, transcribed by his disciples, following his introspective journey into the nature of being.  Outpouring from his internal journey, then, came standards, rules, new words, and clear methods to live correctly.  Complementing these teachings are parables and analogies to make the message clear enough for any commoner.  Early in the Pali Canon, the fundamental concept of "Dhamma", also known as "Dharma" is described.  Dhamma is the "...immanent, invariable order of the universe in which truth, lawful regularity, and virtue are inextricably merged" and it applies to the teachings of the Buddha and, by extension, the conduct prescribed to followers.  In accordance with the Dhamma is the importance of the family unit.  There are sections in the Pali Canon that emphasize this relationship.  Some of the contemporary commentary, supplementing the main Pali Canon texts, reaffirms this notion, "-the Buddha regards the family as the basic unit of social integration and acculturation.  It is especially the close, loving relationships between parents and children that fosters the virtues and sense of humane responsibility essential to a cohesive social order."
 
Mediating the Dhamma is "kamma", also known as "karma".  Kamma is volitional action that presents in the mind, as plans, desires, or outward expression and actions.  Kamma can be both unwholesome (akusala), or wholesome (kusala).  Unwholesome kamma originates from the roots of greed, hatred, and delusion.  Meanwhile, wholesome kamma  from nongreed, nonhatred, and nondelusion.  The perpetuation of unwholesome kamma results in suffering in this life and the next, not only for the originator of unwholesome kamma, but for others as well. 
 
The ultimate goal of the Buddhist practice is to reach "Nibbana", also known as "Nirvana".  Nibbana isn't something beyond the material world.  In fact, it can be obtained within a person's life.  Through Nibbana, one reaches "...the blossoming of wisdom and brings perfect peace, untarnished happiness, and the stilling of the mind's compulsive drives.  Nibbana is the destruction of thirst, the thirst of craving.  It is also the island of safety amid the raging currents of old age, sickness, and death."  Inherent in this path toward reaching Nibbana is an unwavering commitment to truth - even those truths most painful.  Confronting unsettling truths is the path toward liberation.  Psychologists teach this as a fundamental method of normalization - that of overcoming fear by facing it.  With liberation comes enlightenment and true understanding of the four noble truths.  In essence, the four noble truths are the following:  the noble truth of suffering; the noble of the origin of suffering; the noble truth of the cessation of suffering; the noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering. 
 
The Pali Canon goes deep into classes and sub-classes of disciplines and actions leading toward the realization of these nobles truths.  Covering maybe 12,000 pages and maybe 50 books, the texts are the foundation of the Buddhist religion along with the Tibetan Book of the Dead and the Mahayana Sutras.  The anthology I read, edited by Bhikkhu Bodhi, provides a good introduction to the central themes and insights the Buddha shared with his disciples in the Pali Canon.  To undertake a serious scholarship of the complete Pali Canon would be tenuous, but noble, much like the undertaking of the Buddhist practice itself. 
 
My father has long been interested in Buddhism and he's regularly meditated for 30 years with positive benefit.  His primary path in life has focused more on family and career - even so, through his continuous meditation practice he's reached places he can only describe as "transcendent".  Not that it was really needed, (well maybe a bit in our skeptical West), but research has recently vindicated the benefits - mentally, emotionally, and physically - of meditation. 
 
Western science and american-centric attitudes sometimes alienate ancient traditions, whether it be Chinese medicine, shamanism, or religions like Buddhism that involve practices like meditation.  The alienation comes at a price, for there is much to learn from many of these traditions.  As with the Upanishads, the Pali Canon implores us to look within - not without - where we may find the key to our own suffering, fundamentally grounded in ignorance and lies, and the path to liberation from our suffering.   
 
 
 
Summary:  In introduction to a deep and ancient subject complete with snippets of revelatory dialogue, material analogies, and contemporary commentary.  
 
Rating:  4.5

-E.B.
 2019-04-14