Problematic Nature of Sources on Buddhism.

There are a wide range or secondary sources available on Buddhism, both on the internet and in print. During the course of this assignment I used a lot of information from various websites. However, the large majority of information available on the internet concerning Buddhism is actually from different Buddhist associations and groups. Quite often, these associations /groups provide educational sections, which also provide historical sections. I gained most of the information from the internet from three sites: two Buddhist organizations and study notes from LaTrobe University. I have deemed these all to be reliable sources for the simple fact that they are put on the internet by official organizations and they are also put there for academic study.

I also accessed information on Buddhism from a number of different printed resources. As they are printed resources, it can be assumed that they are reliable, however, I did check for corroboration in the information that I gained from all my resources, both printed and on the internet against other sources.

By and large, there is a significant amount of secondary sources available on Buddhism.

Despite the large amount of information available on Buddhism from secondary sources, there is a lack of primary sources concerning Buddhism. From the time period, there is hardly any archaeological or inscriptional evidence relating to Buddhism. Apart from the primary source displayed on this site, the other Buddhist texts are not clearly dated and also must be questioned, as it is possible the beliefs displayed in these texts are post Asoka* Buddhism.

*The emperor Asoka was the first Buddhist emperor of India.

Words � Natalie Gardner
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Photo � Unknown, from gettyimages.com