1 - Stories of the Buddha

Summary

After a consideration of the various Buddhist chronologies, Chapter 1 argues that Buddhism derives from a historical figure who lived in north-east India in the fifth century BCE. It then discusses the tradition of the previous lives of the Buddha before proceeding to the main substance of the chapter, drawing on the major traditional biographies of the Buddha – especially the Mahāvastu (first century CE), the Lalitavistara (third–fourth centuries CE), the Buddhacarita (second century CE), the Nidānakathā (second–third centuries CE), the Buddhavamsa (first–second centuries BCE), and the Jātaka tales (500 CE). It covers the stories of the life of the Buddha from his birth to his childhood and youth, his renunciation, and the beginnings of his quest for enlightenment.