Lalitavistara Sutra
Encyclopedia
The Lalitavistara Sutra (English: Extensive Sport Sutra) is a Mahayana
Buddhist Vaipulya sutra
that describes the sport
s (lila) of Gautama Buddha
. It is a compilation of various works by no single author and includes some material from the Sarvastivada
school. The scholar P. L. Vaidya dates the finished Sanskrit
text to the 3 BCE (3rd century).
. 'Mantranaya' is not a corruption or misspelling of 'mantrayana' even though it is largely synonymous. Mantranaya is the term for the esoteric tradition on mantra
, a particular lineage of Vajrayana
, in Indonesia
. The clearly Sanskrit sounding 'Mantranaya' is evident in Old Javanese tantric literature, particularly as documented in the oldest esoteric Buddhist tantric text in Old Javanese, the Sang Kyang Kamahayanan Mantranaya refer Kazuko Ishii (1992).
The Lalitavistara Sutra is nothing less than the auto-biography of Buddha. It includes a description of his enlightenment. It is published by Dharma Publishing in Berkeley under the title "Voice of the Buddha: The Beauty of Compassion," as a 2 vol. set.
(in later literature 10^7 but this is uncertain) to a tallakshana (10^53 then).
Mahayana
Mahāyāna is one of the two main existing branches of Buddhism and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophies and practice...
Buddhist Vaipulya sutra
Sutra
Sūtra is an aphorism or a collection of such aphorisms in the form of a manual. Literally it means a thread or line that holds things together and is derived from the verbal root siv-, meaning to sew , as does the medical term...
that describes the sport
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
s (lila) of Gautama Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
. It is a compilation of various works by no single author and includes some material from the Sarvastivada
Sarvastivada
The Sarvāstivāda were an early school of Buddhism that held to 'the existence of all dharmas in the past, present and future, the 'three times'. Vasubandhu's states:-Name:...
school. The scholar P. L. Vaidya dates the finished Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
text to the 3 BCE (3rd century).
Borobodur
The Lalitavistara Sutra was known to the Mantranaya stonemasons of Borobodur, refer: The birth of Buddha (Lalitavistara)The birth of Buddha (Lalitavistara)
-Borobudur reliefs:On Borobudur's reliefs, the story starts from the glorious descent of the Buddha from the Tushita heaven, and ends with his first sermon in the Deer Park near Benares. The relief shows the birth of the Buddha as Prince Siddhārtha, son of King Suddhodana and Queen Maya of...
. 'Mantranaya' is not a corruption or misspelling of 'mantrayana' even though it is largely synonymous. Mantranaya is the term for the esoteric tradition on mantra
Mantra
A mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that is considered capable of "creating transformation"...
, a particular lineage of Vajrayana
Vajrayana
Vajrayāna Buddhism is also known as Tantric Buddhism, Tantrayāna, Mantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Esoteric Buddhism and the Diamond Vehicle...
, in Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. The clearly Sanskrit sounding 'Mantranaya' is evident in Old Javanese tantric literature, particularly as documented in the oldest esoteric Buddhist tantric text in Old Javanese, the Sang Kyang Kamahayanan Mantranaya refer Kazuko Ishii (1992).
The Lalitavistara Sutra is nothing less than the auto-biography of Buddha. It includes a description of his enlightenment. It is published by Dharma Publishing in Berkeley under the title "Voice of the Buddha: The Beauty of Compassion," as a 2 vol. set.
Numerals
In the Lalitavistara the Buddha explains to a mathematician named Arjuna the system of numerals in multiples of 100, starting from a kotiIndian numbering system
The South Asian numbering system, used today in the Indian subcontinent , is based on grouping by two decimal places, rather than the three decimal places commonplace in most parts of the world. This system of measurement introduces separators into numbers in places appropriate to the two-digit...
(in later literature 10^7 but this is uncertain) to a tallakshana (10^53 then).