Shakyamuni buddha buddhism

Different Buddhist sources contain numerous, varying accounts of his life, with further details appearing only gradually, over time. It is difficult to ascertain the accuracy of many of these details, seeing as the first Buddhist literature was written down only three centuries after Buddha passed away. Nevertheless, just because certain details emerged in written form later than others is not a sufficient reason to discount their validity, as many could have continued to be passed down in oral form.

Generally, traditional biographies of great Buddhist masters, including Buddha himself, were compiled for didactic purposes, not for the sake of mere historical records. More specifically, the biographies were fashioned in such a way as to teach and inspire Buddhist followers to pursue the spiritual path to liberation and enlightenment.

The earliest sources for the life of the Buddha include, within the Theravada scriptures, several Pali suttas from The Collection of Middle-Length Discourses Pali: Majjhima Nikaya and, from the various Hinayana schools, several Vinaya texts concerning monastic rules of discipline. Mahavastu of the Mahasanghika school of Hinayana. Tripitaka, Three Baskets , added, for instance, the detail that Buddha was born as a prince in a royal family.

How did buddha die

Lalitavistara Sutra. Later Mahayana versions of this text borrowed and elaborated on this earlier version, for instance by explaining that Shakyamuni had become enlightened ages ago and, emanating as Prince Siddhartha, was merely demonstrating the way to attain enlightenment in order to instruct others. Eventually some of these biographies were included in The Three Basket-like Collections.

The most famous is Deeds of the Buddha Skt. Buddhacarita by the poet Ashvaghosha, written in the 1st century CE. Other versions appeared even later in the tantras, such as in the Chakrasamvara literature. Prajnaparamitasutra , Perfection of Wisdom Sutras , Buddha simultaneously emanated as Vajradhara and taught the tantras. From each account, we can learn something and gain inspiration.