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Although biographies of the Buddha appear only after two centuries following his Parinirvaana, their importance cannot be underestimated. It was probably through this genie that the teaching and practice of Buddhism became popular for those common folk who did not have the educational background to understand the finer points of Buddhist doctrine. Thus it was that the story of the Buddha took on mythical proportions, exalting him to a level that was transhuman and unique. Within this context also was the establishment of the venue through which the fundamental teachings and practices of Buddhism be presented by the biographers. It is little wonder, therefore, that biographies, birth stories (jaatakas), and parses or edifying stories (avadaana) remained popular among teachers of the lay Buddhist population. In addition, many of the series at Buddhist centers (for instance, on the gates and railings of tumuli or stuupas or at cave temple sites) exhibit scenes of the Buddha's life, another indication of the centrality of the life of the Buddha. This confluence of art and literature helped to make Buddhism a vibrant and meaningful religion to the lay majority.
Since bibliographies of the Buddha evolved in different schools, it is little wonder that variations appear. The earliest complete biography (2nd century B.C.E.), the Mahaavastu, reflects the philosophy of the school from which it derived, the Lokottaravaada. This Mahaasamghika school emphasized the supramundane (lokottara) nature of the Buddha, emphasizing that the body of the Buddha is not of this world, and that his actions are performed merely for convention's sake. On the other hand, the Nidaanakathaa of the Sthaviravaadins (1st c.B.C.E.) reflects the Buddha's more human qualities.
In some ways, the most readable of the biographies, the Lalitavistara, is a product of both the Sthaviravaada and Mahaayaana traditions: originally a product of the Sarvaastivaada (belonging to the Sthaviravaada tradition ) but later adopted and considerably altered and expanded by the Mahaayaanists. It is a text that appears in Sanskrit, Tibetan, and two Chinese visions (Taisho shinshu Daizokyo 186-187), and has appeared in a number of western languages since the 1800s: The present work is a translation based on Philippe Edouard Foucaux's French translation from the Sanskrit and Tibetan, La Lalita Vistara --Development des jeux -- contenant l'histoire du Boudhha Cakya-Mouni depuis sa naissance jusqu'a sa predication (Paris: E. Leroux, 1884 and 1892, Annales du Musee Guimet, vols. 6,19), [1] and the Tibetan translation from the
1. This date reflects the holding in the British Museum. The date of the first volume is also mentioned in the Publisher's Preface of the present work (p. xiv). An earlier translation is mentioned by Donld Lopez in his Prisoners of Shangri-La (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998), p. 158 based on J.W. de Jong's A Brief History of Buddhist Studies in Europe and America, 2nd edition (Delhi: Sri Satguru, 1987; Biblioteca Indo-Buddhica, no. 33), p. 21.
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Sanskrit by Jinamitra, Danasiila, Munivarman, and Ye-shes sde.
What makes the Lalitavistara unique is that its style represents not so much a biography but rather an autobiography, presented in the manner of a Mahaayaana suutra. In the first chapter, we read that a deity implores the Buddha to "once more bring this teaching to light (i.e. to recite once again the suutra known as the Lalitavistara), out of compassion for the world, as medicine for myriads of beings, for the happiness of many beings, for the flowering of the multitudes, for the happiness and greater purpose of gods and men, so that all beings may be well and happy" (p. 10): an indication that the recitation of this suutra, and any suutra for that matter has a purpose that far surpasses a mere entertainment value.
Divided into twenty-seven chapters, the Lalitavistara relates the story of the Buddha from the time of his existence in the Tu.sita Heaven, where he dwelt as the Bodhisattva `Svetaketu, to the more familiar events just prior to, and during, his last rebirth: the descent into the womb of his future mother --Maayaadevii-- "in the form of a small, white elephant with six tusks," his birth ten months later, his skill and superiority in all the worldly arts-martial, literary, mathematical, physical, musical (thereby winning the hand of his future wife Gopaa), his renunciation and going forth from home to homelessness, his practicing of austerities following the renunciation, his receiving of the rice gruel from the daughter of the head villager, Sujaataa, his passage to the tree of Enlightenment, the challenge and defeat of Mara, the Enlightenment, and the events following the Enlightenment culminating in the Turning of the Wheel of Dharma.
The translation is very accessible and to be sure very inspiring for anyone having empathy with these events. The Lalitavistara is one of the very few books that presents Buddhist (Mahaayaanist) teaching in a comprehensive and entertaining fashion. Indeed, I would not hesitate assigning this sutra as primary reading for an introductory class on Buddhism, since it contains all of the major Buddhist teachings and numerous insights into Indian culture. Of added value are a glossary of terms (Sanskrit or English) and lists (in Sanskrit, Tibetan, and English) of the important teachings including the traditional Buddhist cosmological levels, the four applications of mindfulness, the four planes of meditation, and the thirty-seven limbs of enlightenment.
It is rare for any didactic work to be comprehensive being abstruse, entertaining without being vacuous, yet this suutra certainly succeeds as a vehicle that will clearly instruct readers in the life of the Buddha and to cause them to be inspired by that life.