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It contains the earliest surviving record of Buddha's teachings and goes by many names. Buddha himself called the religion he founded Dhamma-Vinaya, which meant the doctrine and discipline of the two primary aspects of spiritual teaching he taught. The language of the Theravada texts is called Pali, which was spoken in central India during Buddha’s time. Buddha’s sermons were memorized instead of written; it wasn't until later in history that his teachings were committed to paper. Of course, it can never be proved that the Pali Canon contains the actual words uttered by Buddha. The wisdom the Canon contains has nevertheless served for centuries as an indispensable guide for millions of followers in their quest for awakening. Buddha based his teachings on a direct assessment of our quandary as humans that there is unhappiness and suffering in the world. If Buddha's teachings were to stop there, we might indeed regard them as pessimistic and life as utterly hopeless. However, Buddha offers hope to end suffering and unhappiness. The important point to keep in mind is that Buddha never denied that life holds the possibility of many kinds of beauty and happiness. He also recognized that the different types of happiness that most of us are used to cannot give us lasting satisfaction. Sometimes one must give up on one kind of happiness for something much better, which can be hard to understand if you do not understand Buddha's method. His progressive system of training consistently encourages those that practice it to move on to a deeper level of happiness, one that is greater, nobler, and more fulfilling that what one has previously experienced. Each level of happiness has its rewards, and Buddhism is the serious pursuit of happiness. Buddha claimed that the awakening he discovered is accessible to anyone who is willing to put forth the effort and commitment required to pursue the Noble Eightfold Path to its end.
