The Pali Canon is the earliest surviving written body of Buddhist scripture consisting of 45 volumes that were collected and codified in the 1st century BCE. It represents the authentic teachings of the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, passed down orally in an ancient Indian language known as Pali. This body of text is shared by the Theravada and several Chinese schools of Buddhism and is used as the foundation for scriptural authority in the Vinaya and Abhidhamma traditions.

See also: dependent origination, insight meditation, universal truth, relative truth, noble truth