The
Mahāvastu is a text of the Lokottaravāda school of
Early BuddhismThe term Early Buddhism can refer to:* Pre-sectarian Buddhism, which refers to the Teachings and monastic organization and structure, founded by Gautama Buddha....
. It describes itself as being a historical preface to the Buddhist monastic codes (
vinayaThe Vinaya is the regulatory framework for the Buddhist monastic community, or sangha, based in the canonical texts called Vinaya Pitaka. The teachings of the Buddha, or Buddhadharma can be divided into two broad categories: 'Dharma' or doctrine, and 'Vinaya', or discipline...
). Over half of the text is composed of
JātakaThe Jātakas refer to a voluminous body of literature native to India concerning the previous births of the Buddha....
and
AvadānaAvadāna is the name given to a type of Buddhist literature correlating past lives' virtuous deeds to subsequent lives' events...
tales, accounts of the earlier lives of the
BuddhaSiddhārtha 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...
and other
bodhisattvaIn Buddhism, a bodhisattva is either an enlightened existence or an enlightenment-being or, given the variant Sanskrit spelling satva rather than sattva, "heroic-minded one for enlightenment ." The Pali term has sometimes been translated as "wisdom-being," although in modern publications, and...
s.
The Mahāvastu contains prose and verse written in mixed
SanskritSanskrit , 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...
,
Pali
and
PrakritPrakrit is the name for a group of Middle Indic, Indo-Aryan languages, derived from Old Indic dialects. The word itself has a flexible definition, being defined sometimes as, "original, natural, artless, normal, ordinary, usual", or "vernacular", in contrast to the literary and religious...
. It is believed to have been composed between the 2nd century BCE and 4th century CE.
Pali Canon parallels
The Mahāvastu's Jataka tales are similar to those of the
Pali CanonThe Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the only completely surviving early Buddhist canon, and one of the first to be written down...
although significant differences exist in terms of the tales' details. Other parts of the Mahāvastu have more direct parallels in the Pali Canon including from the
Digha NikayaThe Digha Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the first of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism...
(
DNThe Digha Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the first of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism...
19,
Mahāgovinda Sutta), the
Majjhima NikayaThe Majjhima Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the second of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism...
(
MNThe Majjhima Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the second of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism...
26,
Ariyapariyesana Sutta; and, MN 36,
Mahasaccaka Sutta), the
KhuddakapāthaThe Khuddakapatha is a Buddhist scripture, the first collection of discourses in the Khuddaka Nikaya of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism...
, the
DhammapadaThe Dhammapada is a versified Buddhist scripture traditionally ascribed to the Buddha himself. It is one of the best-known texts from the Theravada canon....
(ch. 8,
Sahassa Vagga; and, ch. 25,
Bhikkhu Vagga), the
Sutta NipataThe Sutta Nipata is a Buddhist scripture, a sutta collection in the Khuddaka Nikaya, part of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism. All its suttas consist largely of verse, though some also contain some prose. It is divided into five sections:...
(
SnThe Sutta Nipata is a Buddhist scripture, a sutta collection in the Khuddaka Nikaya, part of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism. All its suttas consist largely of verse, though some also contain some prose. It is divided into five sections:...
1.3,
Khaggavisāa Sutta; Sn 3.1,
Pabbajjā Sutta; and, Sn 3.2,
Padhāna Sutta), the
VimanavatthuThe Vimanavatthu is a Buddhist scripture, the sixth book of the Khuddaka Nikaya in the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism. Its name is Pali for "Vimana Stories". The Vimanavatthu is an anthology of 85 short stories written in verse...
and the
Buddhava
{{Use British English|date=October 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2011}}
{{EarlyBuddhism}}
The Mahāvastu (Sanskrit for "Great Event" or "Great Story") is a text of the Lokottaravāda school of Early BuddhismThe term Early Buddhism can refer to:* Pre-sectarian Buddhism, which refers to the Teachings and monastic organization and structure, founded by Gautama Buddha....
. It describes itself as being a historical preface to the Buddhist monastic codes (
vinayaThe Vinaya is the regulatory framework for the Buddhist monastic community, or sangha, based in the canonical texts called Vinaya Pitaka. The teachings of the Buddha, or Buddhadharma can be divided into two broad categories: 'Dharma' or doctrine, and 'Vinaya', or discipline...
). Over half of the text is composed of
JātakaThe Jātakas refer to a voluminous body of literature native to India concerning the previous births of the Buddha....
and
AvadānaAvadāna is the name given to a type of Buddhist literature correlating past lives' virtuous deeds to subsequent lives' events...
tales, accounts of the earlier lives of the
BuddhaSiddhārtha 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...
and other
bodhisattvaIn Buddhism, a bodhisattva is either an enlightened existence or an enlightenment-being or, given the variant Sanskrit spelling satva rather than sattva, "heroic-minded one for enlightenment ." The Pali term has sometimes been translated as "wisdom-being," although in modern publications, and...
s.
The Mahāvastu contains prose and verse written in mixed
SanskritSanskrit , 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...
,
Pali
and
PrakritPrakrit is the name for a group of Middle Indic, Indo-Aryan languages, derived from Old Indic dialects. The word itself has a flexible definition, being defined sometimes as, "original, natural, artless, normal, ordinary, usual", or "vernacular", in contrast to the literary and religious...
. It is believed to have been composed between the 2nd century BCE and 4th century CE.
Pali Canon parallels
The Mahāvastu's Jataka tales are similar to those of the
Pali CanonThe Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the only completely surviving early Buddhist canon, and one of the first to be written down...
although significant differences exist in terms of the tales' details. Other parts of the Mahāvastu have more direct parallels in the Pali Canon including from the
Digha NikayaThe Digha Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the first of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism...
(
DNThe Digha Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the first of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism...
19,
Mahāgovinda Sutta), the
Majjhima NikayaThe Majjhima Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the second of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism...
(
MNThe Majjhima Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the second of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism...
26,
Ariyapariyesana Sutta; and, MN 36,
Mahasaccaka Sutta), the
KhuddakapāthaThe Khuddakapatha is a Buddhist scripture, the first collection of discourses in the Khuddaka Nikaya of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism...
, the
DhammapadaThe Dhammapada is a versified Buddhist scripture traditionally ascribed to the Buddha himself. It is one of the best-known texts from the Theravada canon....
(ch. 8,
Sahassa Vagga; and, ch. 25,
Bhikkhu Vagga), the
Sutta NipataThe Sutta Nipata is a Buddhist scripture, a sutta collection in the Khuddaka Nikaya, part of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism. All its suttas consist largely of verse, though some also contain some prose. It is divided into five sections:...
(
SnThe Sutta Nipata is a Buddhist scripture, a sutta collection in the Khuddaka Nikaya, part of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism. All its suttas consist largely of verse, though some also contain some prose. It is divided into five sections:...
1.3,
Khaggavisā{{IAST|ṇ}}a Sutta; Sn 3.1,
Pabbajjā Sutta; and, Sn 3.2,
Padhāna Sutta), the
VimanavatthuThe Vimanavatthu is a Buddhist scripture, the sixth book of the Khuddaka Nikaya in the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism. Its name is Pali for "Vimana Stories". The Vimanavatthu is an anthology of 85 short stories written in verse...
and the
Buddhava
{{Use British English|date=October 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2011}}
{{EarlyBuddhism}}
The Mahāvastu (Sanskrit for "Great Event" or "Great Story") is a text of the Lokottaravāda school of Early BuddhismThe term Early Buddhism can refer to:* Pre-sectarian Buddhism, which refers to the Teachings and monastic organization and structure, founded by Gautama Buddha....
. It describes itself as being a historical preface to the Buddhist monastic codes (
vinayaThe Vinaya is the regulatory framework for the Buddhist monastic community, or sangha, based in the canonical texts called Vinaya Pitaka. The teachings of the Buddha, or Buddhadharma can be divided into two broad categories: 'Dharma' or doctrine, and 'Vinaya', or discipline...
). Over half of the text is composed of
JātakaThe Jātakas refer to a voluminous body of literature native to India concerning the previous births of the Buddha....
and
AvadānaAvadāna is the name given to a type of Buddhist literature correlating past lives' virtuous deeds to subsequent lives' events...
tales, accounts of the earlier lives of the
BuddhaSiddhārtha 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...
and other
bodhisattvaIn Buddhism, a bodhisattva is either an enlightened existence or an enlightenment-being or, given the variant Sanskrit spelling satva rather than sattva, "heroic-minded one for enlightenment ." The Pali term has sometimes been translated as "wisdom-being," although in modern publications, and...
s.
The Mahāvastu contains prose and verse written in mixed
SanskritSanskrit , 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...
,
Pali
and
PrakritPrakrit is the name for a group of Middle Indic, Indo-Aryan languages, derived from Old Indic dialects. The word itself has a flexible definition, being defined sometimes as, "original, natural, artless, normal, ordinary, usual", or "vernacular", in contrast to the literary and religious...
. It is believed to have been composed between the 2nd century BCE and 4th century CE.
Pali Canon parallels
The Mahāvastu's Jataka tales are similar to those of the
Pali CanonThe Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the only completely surviving early Buddhist canon, and one of the first to be written down...
although significant differences exist in terms of the tales' details. Other parts of the Mahāvastu have more direct parallels in the Pali Canon including from the
Digha NikayaThe Digha Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the first of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism...
(
DNThe Digha Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the first of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism...
19,
Mahāgovinda Sutta), the
Majjhima NikayaThe Majjhima Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the second of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism...
(
MNThe Majjhima Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the second of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism...
26,
Ariyapariyesana Sutta; and, MN 36,
Mahasaccaka Sutta), the
KhuddakapāthaThe Khuddakapatha is a Buddhist scripture, the first collection of discourses in the Khuddaka Nikaya of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism...
, the
DhammapadaThe Dhammapada is a versified Buddhist scripture traditionally ascribed to the Buddha himself. It is one of the best-known texts from the Theravada canon....
(ch. 8,
Sahassa Vagga; and, ch. 25,
Bhikkhu Vagga), the
Sutta NipataThe Sutta Nipata is a Buddhist scripture, a sutta collection in the Khuddaka Nikaya, part of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism. All its suttas consist largely of verse, though some also contain some prose. It is divided into five sections:...
(
SnThe Sutta Nipata is a Buddhist scripture, a sutta collection in the Khuddaka Nikaya, part of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism. All its suttas consist largely of verse, though some also contain some prose. It is divided into five sections:...
1.3,
Khaggavisā{{IAST|ṇ}}a Sutta; Sn 3.1,
Pabbajjā Sutta; and, Sn 3.2,
Padhāna Sutta), the
VimanavatthuThe Vimanavatthu is a Buddhist scripture, the sixth book of the Khuddaka Nikaya in the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism. Its name is Pali for "Vimana Stories". The Vimanavatthu is an anthology of 85 short stories written in verse...
and the
Buddhava{{IASTThe Buddhavamsa is a Buddhist scripture, part of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism. It is included there in the Sutta Pitaka's Khuddaka Nikaya. It is a fairly short work in verse, in 28 chapters, detailing aspects of the life of Gautama Buddha and the twenty-four preceding Buddhas...
.
Mahayana themes
The Mahāvastu is considered a primary source for the notion of a transcendent (
lokottara) Buddha, common to all
Mahāsā{{IASTThe ' , literally the "Great Saṃgha", was one of the early Buddhist schools in ancient India.The origins of the sect of Buddhism are still extremely uncertain, and the subject of debate among scholars. One reason for the interest in the origins of the school is that their Vinaya recension appears...
schools. According to the Mahāvastu, over the course of many lives, the once-human-born
BuddhaSiddhārtha 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...
developed supramundane abilities including: a painless birth conceived without intercourse; no need for sleep, food, medicine or bathing although engaging in such "in conformity with the world"; omniscience; and, the ability to "suppress
karmaKarma means "action" or "doing"; whatever one does, says, or thinks is a karma. In Buddhism, the term karma is used specifically for those actions which spring from the intention of an unenlightened being.These bring about a fruit or result Karma (Sanskrit, also karman, Pāli: Kamma) means...
."
English translations
- Jones, J.J. (trans.) (1949–56). The Mahāvastu (3 vols.) in Sacred Books of the Buddhists. London: Luzac & Co.
Sources
- Jones, J.J. (trans.) (1949–56). The Mahāvastu (3 vols.). London: Luzac & Co. Retrieved 5 May 2009 from "Internet Archive" Vol. I: http://www.archive.org/details/sacredbooksofbud16londuoft, Vol. II: http://www.archive.org/details/sacredbooksofbud18londuoft, and Vol. III: http://www.archive.org/details/sacredbooksofbud19londuoft.
- Law, Bimala Churn (1930). A Study of the Mahāvastu. Calcutta: Thacker, Spink & Co. Retrieved 26 Nov 2008 from "Internet Archive" at http://www.archive.org/details/studyofthemahava031355mbp.
- "Mahāvastu" (2008). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 26 Nov 2008, from "Encyclopædia Britannica Online" at http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/357994/Mahavastu.
- Ānandajoti Bhikkhu (2007). A Comparative Edition of the Dhammapada. U. of Peradeniya
The University of Peradeniya is a world renowned state university in Sri Lanka, funded by the University Grants Commission...
. Retrieved 25 Nov 2008 from "Ancient Buddhist Texts" at http://www.ancient-buddhist-texts.net/Buddhist-Texts/C3-Comparative-Dhammapada/index.htm.
- J.K. Nariman, Literary History of Sanskrit Buddhism, pp. 11–18 at http://www.us.archive.org/GnuBook/?id=literaryhistoryo00nariuoft#33.
- Williams, Paul (1989/2007). Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-415-02537-9.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahavastu}}