Mirror of Buddhism: Based on Pāli Sources

The volume is organized as a collection of studies and translations focused on central Buddhist doctrines, narratives, and institutions. It opens with materials on the life of the Buddha, including the Buddha’s identity, the story of Sumedha, the list of former Buddhas, the characteristics of a future Buddha, the birth of the Buddha, the young Gotama prince, the Great Retirement, the Great Struggle, the attainment of Buddhahood, and early events after enlightenment. It then expands into historical and comparative topics, including the quest of the historical Śākya-muni, Mahāvīra and the Buddha, ancient Indian kings, and Buddhist councils. The doctrinal and ethical sections examine dukkha, the Buddhist conception of Māra, the image of women in the Jātakas, saṃsāra as the Buddhist philosophy of birth and death, Vinaya discipline, the Middle Way between war and peace, sīla, and nibbāna. The final thematic study discusses the home of Pāli, thereby linking Buddhist doctrine and practice with the linguistic and textual world in which early Buddhist sources were preserved.