How And Why Tranquil Mind Is Based on the Earliest Teachings of the Buddha

In the world of meditation, countless techniques claim to represent “authentic” Buddhism. But Tranquil Mind takes a unique approach: going directly to the source—the earliest recorded words of the Buddha himself, preserved in the original teachings for over 2,500 years. These original teachings are known as the Pali Canon.

The Pali Canon: Our Most Reliable Source

The Pali Canon, also called the Tipitaka (“Three Baskets”), contains the suttas—discourses attributed to the Buddha and recorded by his enlightened disciples shortly after his death. These texts were meticulously preserved through an oral tradition, with groups of monks memorizing and reciting them together, checking and correcting each word to maintain accuracy.

Around 80 BCE, these teachings were finally written down on palm leaves in Sri Lanka. Today, scholars widely agree that the Pali Canon represents the closest we can get to the Buddha’s actual teachings.

Why Go Back to the Original Teachings?

Over the centuries, various commentaries and interpretations emerged, sometimes diverging significantly from the original instructions. The most influential of these, the Visuddhimagga, was written over 900 years after the Buddha’s death. While valuable, these later works sometimes split practices into separate techniques and added interpretations that may not reflect the Buddha’s original vision.

Tranquil Mind asks a simple but profound question: Why try to “improve” upon the instructions of a fully enlightened Buddha? Rather than relying on interpretations written centuries later, this practice goes directly to the suttas themselves—particularly texts like the Anupada Sutta (MN 111) and the Satipatthana Sutta (MN 10).

What This Means for Your Practice

By following the Buddha’s original instructions, Tranquil Mind reunites two practices that later traditions separated: samatha (tranquility) and vipassana (insight). The Buddha taught them as complementary, meant to be “yoked together” rather than practiced separately.

The result? A complete path that develops both deep peace and penetrating wisdom simultaneously. This is how the Buddha’s own disciples achieved awakening, and it’s the same path available to you today.

When you practice Tranquil Mind, you’re not following a modern innovation or a teacher’s personal interpretation. You’re walking the same path that has led countless practitioners to freedom for 2,600 years—exactly as the Buddha taught it.