noun
pre-sectarian Buddhism; earliest Buddhism; original Buddhism
Academic term in Buddhist studies referring to the earliest phase of Buddhism before the development of distinct schools.
原始仏教の研究は、文献学的な手法が重要です。
Philological methods are important in the study of pre-sectarian Buddhism.
Compound of 原始 (primitive, original) and 仏教 (Buddhism). The exact historical derivation is uncertain; the term is conventionally used in academic contexts.