user-1: In Theravada, I know there is union in understanding that the Buddha taught two types of meditation: vipassana (insight) meditation and samatha (tranquility) meditation. However, I have come across various types of these meditation methods over the years, either with an emphasis on samatha meditation, vipassana meditation, or both, all filled with various interpretations. My question is the following:
Putting aside the modern methods of meditation taught by members of the later Sangha and their interpretations as well as going back to the Buddha and his early Sangha, what was it that the Buddha originally taught in regard to meditation (samatha and vipassana meditations) and what instructions did the Buddha give as to how one practices them?
PLEASE REFERENCE THE TIPITAKA OR SOURCES STRICTLY USING THE TIPITAKA.
-Apannaka

user10100: If I explain anything, it is what you called "later interpretations".
If I quote a short Sutta, it is what you called "modern methods"--rearrange Suttas' sequence by my own opinion.
If I quote other Suttas' which is not Ananda's Sutta, people would say "this
Sutta is new, not original."
So, this is the long Sutta by Ananda, the first Tipitaka Memorizer, who we all accept that he is the main answerer at the first Buddhist Council of Theravada.
I can't quote because it is very long. These all are enough for me to meditate follow the Buddha and enough for me to understand and trust the entire Tipitaka Pali, commentary pali, sub-commentary pali, forest-monk tradition, etc.

What was that noble one's spectrum of ethics that the Buddha praised?

See https://suttacentral.net/dn10/en/sujato?h=The%20Entire%20Spectrum%20of%20Ethics#dn10:1.6.5.0

What was that noble one's spectrum of immersion that the Buddha praised?

See https://suttacentral.net/dn10/en/sujato?h=The%20Spectrum%20of%20Immersion#dn10:2.1.0

What was that noble one's spectrum of wisdom that the Buddha praised?

See https://suttacentral.net/dn10/en/sujato?h=The%20Spectrum%20of%20Wisdom#dn10:2.20.0
There are many long Sutta which content something like above Sutta in DN, MN, but by the Buddha directly such as DN2.
However, if one still can't meditate follow above very long Sutta, it's time to trust in Tipitaka Memorizers like, Pa-Auk tawya, Abhidhamma, commentary, etc.

user16297: Links to the most important suttas on meditation here:
https://lucid24.org/misc/raft/index.html (disclosure: my website, most of the sutta translations derived from B. sujato).
You'll want to start with SN 46.3, it shows the causal sequence of how 7 awakening factors leads to samadhi.
SN 54.3 is the basic version explaining 16 steps of breath meditation.
SN 45.8 gives the definitions for noble eightfold path.
Prior to attainment of jhanas, most of the time in meditation will be spent in right effort, explained in detail in AN 4.14
Remember that Buddhism was an oral tradition, so the instructions are terse, and you won't be able to get the full picture on reading through those suttas  once or a few times. You'll need to recite and reflect on it frequently, and consult with knowledgable friends to connect the dots and see the whole picture.
Samatha and vipassana segregation is a late Theravada corruption. In the original suttas on meditation, those qualities are not developed independently of each other, but synergistically, holistically, organically.
edit, answering a comment:
It's easy to misinterpret Yuganaddha Sutta that way (as segregating samatha and vipassana). But if you study carefully all the meditation suttas, you'll find that interpretation is not tenable, not to mention there are very few suttas that like that one period. In light of the collection of meditation suttas and connecting the dots, what  Yuganaddha Sutta is actually saying is that some meditators tend to be stronger in samatha or vipassana, and on their path to arahantship they don't really strengthen the other factor until later stages. The 4th case of the sutta makes it especially clear. Both samatha and vipassana are weak to begin with, and later both are developed in tandem.  So out of the 4 possible cases 50% of them involve developing both samatha and vipassana in tandem. The first two cases, where one is developed first while the other is lacking, is from inherent weakness in the meditator, not because the buddha ever recommended one factor to be developed first.

-1: <p>In Theravada, I know there is union in understanding that the Buddha taught two types of meditation: vipassana (insight) meditation and samatha (tranquility) meditation. However, I have come across various types of these meditation methods over the years, either with an emphasis on samatha meditation, vipassana meditation, or both, all filled with various interpretations. My question is the following:</p>
<p><strong>Putting aside the modern methods of meditation taught by members of the later Sangha and their interpretations as well as going back to the Buddha and his early Sangha, what was it that the Buddha originally taught in regard to meditation (samatha and vipassana meditations) and what instructions did the Buddha give as to how one practices them?</strong></p>
<p><em>PLEASE REFERENCE THE TIPITAKA OR SOURCES STRICTLY USING THE TIPITAKA.</em></p>
<p>-Apannaka</p>
 10100: <p>If I explain anything, it is what you called &quot;later interpretations&quot;.</p>
<p>If I quote a short Sutta, it is what you called &quot;modern methods&quot;--rearrange Suttas' sequence by my own opinion.</p>
<p>If I quote other Suttas' which is not Ananda's Sutta, people would say &quot;this
Sutta is new, not original.&quot;</p>
<p>So, this is the long Sutta by Ananda, the first Tipitaka Memorizer, who we all accept that he is the main answerer at the first Buddhist Council of Theravada.</p>
<p>I can't quote because it is very long. These all are enough for me to meditate follow the Buddha and enough for me to understand and trust the entire Tipitaka Pali, commentary pali, sub-commentary pali, forest-monk tradition, etc.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>What was that noble one's spectrum of ethics that the Buddha praised?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>See <a href="https://suttacentral.net/dn10/en/sujato?h=The%20Entire%20Spectrum%20of%20Ethics#dn10:1.6.5.0" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://suttacentral.net/dn10/en/sujato?h=The%20Entire%20Spectrum%20of%20Ethics#dn10:1.6.5.0</a></p>
<blockquote>
<p>What was that noble one's spectrum of immersion that the Buddha praised?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>See <a href="https://suttacentral.net/dn10/en/sujato?h=The%20Spectrum%20of%20Immersion#dn10:2.1.0" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://suttacentral.net/dn10/en/sujato?h=The%20Spectrum%20of%20Immersion#dn10:2.1.0</a></p>
<blockquote>
<p>What was that noble one's spectrum of wisdom that the Buddha praised?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>See <a href="https://suttacentral.net/dn10/en/sujato?h=The%20Spectrum%20of%20Wisdom#dn10:2.20.0" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://suttacentral.net/dn10/en/sujato?h=The%20Spectrum%20of%20Wisdom#dn10:2.20.0</a></p>
<p>There are many long Sutta which content something like above Sutta in DN, MN, but by the Buddha directly such as DN2.</p>
<p>However, <strong>if one still can't meditate follow above very long Sutta</strong>, it's time to trust in Tipitaka Memorizers like, Pa-Auk tawya, Abhidhamma, commentary, etc.</p>
 16297: <p>Links to the most important suttas on meditation here:
<a href="https://lucid24.org/misc/raft/index.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://lucid24.org/misc/raft/index.html</a> (disclosure: my website, most of the sutta translations derived from B. sujato).
You'll want to start with SN 46.3, it shows the causal sequence of how 7 awakening factors leads to samadhi.
SN 54.3 is the basic version explaining 16 steps of breath meditation.
SN 45.8 gives the definitions for noble eightfold path.
Prior to attainment of jhanas, most of the time in meditation will be spent in right effort, explained in detail in AN 4.14</p>
<p>Remember that Buddhism was an oral tradition, so the instructions are terse, and you won't be able to get the full picture on reading through those suttas  once or a few times. You'll need to recite and reflect on it frequently, and consult with knowledgable friends to connect the dots and see the whole picture.</p>
<p>Samatha and vipassana segregation is a late Theravada corruption. In the original suttas on meditation, those qualities are not developed independently of each other, but synergistically, holistically, organically.</p>
<p>edit, answering a comment:
It's easy to misinterpret Yuganaddha Sutta that way (as segregating samatha and vipassana). But if you study carefully all the meditation suttas, you'll find that interpretation is not tenable, not to mention there are very few suttas that like that one period. In light of the collection of meditation suttas and connecting the dots, what  Yuganaddha Sutta is actually saying is that some meditators tend to be stronger in samatha or vipassana, and on their path to arahantship they don't really strengthen the other factor until later stages. The 4th case of the sutta makes it especially clear. Both samatha and vipassana are weak to begin with, and later both are developed in tandem.  So out of the 4 possible cases 50% of them involve developing both samatha and vipassana in tandem. The first two cases, where one is developed first while the other is lacking, is from inherent weakness in the meditator, not because the buddha ever recommended one factor to be developed first.</p>
