A critique in the study of Gotama Buddha’s biography in Lalitavistara and Jātakanidāna

Abstract

During the Buddha’s lifetime, it was not important the complete biography of the Gotama Buddha; but after his demise the disciples felt as an important issue for connecting the biography from the fragments throughout the early Buddhist literature both in Lalitavistara (after this will use as LV) of VaipulyaSūtra and the Jātakanidāna (after this will use as JN) inTheravādaBuddhist literature. LV is the first attempt of connecting the life of the Buddha which has two purposes:providing full biography of the Buddha and at the same time elevating the Buddha higher than others beings, while JN was second attempt of connecting the historical Buddha based on early Buddhist texts and post-canonical texts of Buddhavaṃsa and Cariyapiṭakafor the purpose of connecting the Buddha’s biography.In many instances parallel are found between the two texts on the biography of the Gautama Buddhasuch birth,Māyā’s dream, unsullied in the wombs, Māyā’s died in the seventh of Bodhisatta’s birth and so forth.The aim of this paper is to study from critical analysis of the similarity of the Gotama Buddha’s biography between early Mahāyana and the Theravāda Buddhism based on the two texts. In order to achieve the aim, it will discuss the main parallel events of the Gautama Buddha’s biography by giving reasons in the context of Brahmanical society in ancient India and the concept of the development of Buddha concept.