European and American studies of Buddha and Buddhism number in the hundreds but all are dependent on a collection of writings known as the Pali Canon. While these writings from the first century BCE are regarded as authoritative they were set down in writing more than 500 years after the death of Buddha. Around 400 BCE, several decades after his death, the First Buddhist Council was held to preserve the existing tradition. What we know of this council does not come from contemporary written records; evidently there were none. According to later accounts, the Buddha's sayings (sutta) and monastic rules (vinaya) were recited in keeping with the purpose of the council; thus, for nearly a century after the accepted death of Buddha (483 BCE), Buddhism existed entirely in oral form. This entails an unspoken assumption: that a recitation of the entire tradition would implant the Buddha's sayings and monastic rules in the minds of all who attended, thus preserving a tradition that was undoubtedly regarded as accurate as received.

The second Buddhist Council arose out of controversy concerning monks accepting money. The outcome is of little concern here other than to say the practice was put to an end. Drawing on limited records from this council, the basic biographical narrative was outlined in a report by Louis de La Vallee Poussin (1905) that has formed the basis for biographies by virtually every Buddhist scholar of the twentieth century. The Third Buddhist Council (c. 251 BCE) was convened by King Asoka more than two hundred years after Buddha's death early in the Mauryan era. From surviving accounts, it has been categorized as the “Great Recital” (Mahasangiti), indicating that the central Buddhist tradition was still largely oral. The fact is we know less about Buddha than we know about Asoka whose Edicts were inscribed on several dozen boulders and pillars across northern India.

Buddha's life and Buddhism did not achieve written form until the first-century BCE when the Fourth Buddhist Council was held in Sri Lanka. Nearly five centuries of legend were set down in writing for the first time, but lack of independent records makes the details impossible to authenticate. The compelling story of his life and teachings scattered through several works is one of the most well-known well beyond India where Buddhism began. His given name was Siddhattha; in English, Siddhartha.