Book 5

The Buddha: A Short Biography

A balanced introduction to what we know about the life of the Buddha and the stories Buddhists tell about him.

compares academic portraits of the Buddha with that of the Buddhist practitioners
illustrates how the Buddha's biography describes and reinforces Buddhist art, ritual, doctrine, and history and vice versa
explains some Buddhist doctrines through the accounts of the events in the Buddha's life
incorporates materials that preceded the Buddha's birth, i.e., the discussion of the Buddha's previous lives
describes the biography of the Buddha through fragments, autonomous scriptural stories, and vernacular traditions