Who was the Buddha?

“Buddha” (properly speaking) refers, not to a single individual, but rather to a category of beings: those who have, through their own effort, attained complete enlightenment.

But, more typically, “the Buddha” refers to the Sakyan prince who, in the 5th century BCE Gangetic Plain, first rediscovered nibbāna and taught the way for attaining it.

Over 500 million people now worship the Buddha as their teacher, but the Buddha was no God. Indeed, it’s even said that a Buddha can only arise as a human—never as a deity (deva)— because only the human realm balances the misfortunes and mistakes of life which are necessary to motivate the practice, with the ease and discernment which allow it to ripen.

But while the Buddha was born a man, a man he did not remain. Through his superior striving and wisdom (over countless eons) he was able to transcend gender, caste, creed, identities, views, suffering and even death itself and to teach others how to transcend themselves too. We call such a teacher, “Buddha.”

Prerequisites

If you’re looking for a quick and inspiring biography of the Buddha, I recommend The Biography of Shakyamuni Buddha by Master Hsing Yun. This course goes beyond the basics to reading the primary sources themselves, and therefore requires some comfort reading the Early Buddhist Texts.

Course Materials

This syllabus has no associated lectures. It weaves together several, free books, mostly on the Pāli texts.

Textbooks

Main Anthology

The Life of the Buddha – Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli Thera (.pdf)

• This classic, quirky anthology gives a good presentation of the Canonical account of the Buddha’s life. It will be the primary biography used in this course, and we will follow the book’s ordering of events.

Other Anthologies

To supplement Ñanamoli’s judicious selections from the Pāli Canon, we will use these anthologies to underline a couple themes I think worth dwelling on:

Teacher of the Devas – Susan E. Jootla (.pdf) (.epub)

• To understand the Buddhist cosmology requires seeing the way the Gods and the Buddha related with one another.

Buddha, My Refuge – Laurence Khantipālo Mills (.pdf)

• While it is important to mine the Pāli literature for historical and mythological details, it is also important to not lose sight of the Buddha’s extraordinary personal qualities, explained in this anthology through the nine characteristics of the Buddha.

Primary Texts

There’s one significant primary text in this course, but it isn’t an early text.

The Nidānakathā: Introduction to the Jātaka Stories (.pdf) (.epub)

• This traditional Pāli commentary contains one of the first systematic biographies of the Buddha and formed the basis for many of the later hagiographies. While not necessarily a reliable source of information about the historical Buddha himself, it is of critical importance for understanding the myths and stories about the Buddha which persist today.

Academic Works

A number of articles and essays will be weaved in throughout the course. We’ll also be reading these two, free books:

Original Versions of Some Entries for the Encyclopedia of Buddhism – Peter Harvey (.pdf)

A collection of Encyclopedia articles introducing the Buddha from one of the English language’s best authors of rigorous introductions.

The Genesis of the Bodhisattva Ideal – Bhikkhu Anālayo (.pdf)

In this monograph, the renowned scholar of early Buddhism explores what the early literature can tell us about how the Buddha became the Buddha: a topic of extraordinary importance in later centuries.

The Course

I’ve sequenced the above books into an inter-woven, narrative arc which I (at least!) find compelling.

If I were to actually teach this course, I’d perhaps meet twice per week for 13 weeks. The readings below have been bunched together according to this hypothetical schedule, but for individual study you’re of course welcome to work through the readings as you like.

Introduction

1. [Entries - Peter Harvey] The Early Buddhist Concept of the Buddha

2. [Entries] Past and Future Buddhas

3. [E] Dates of the Buddha
4. [Nidanakatha: The Introduction to the Jatakas] The Introduction by T. W. Rhys Davids
5. [E] The Buddha’s Historical Context

Part 1: Becoming the Buddha

1. [Life of the Buddha] Birth and Childhood
2. DN 30 Lakkhaṇa Sutta: The Marks of a Great Man (.pdf)

   This mythic text gives the 32 characteristics of Gotama’s body, which,legend has it, marked him for greatness at an early age. Note that some of the Suttas are not as early as others!

3. On the Origins of the 32 Marks of a Great Man – Nathan McGovern (.pdf)
4. Politics of the Buddha’s Genitals – Bhante Sujato (.pdf)
5. [E] The Buddha’s Family
6. “Gotama” was probably the clan of the Sakyan family priest – Bhante Sujato

7. Did the Buddha Really Have a Wife and Son? – Matthew Gindin (.pdf)

8. DN 14 Mahāpadāna Sutta: The Great Discourse on the Harvest of Deeds (.pdf)

   This mythic sutta gives the story of the Buddha we may be familiar with… but attributes it to the Buddha Vipassī! It wasn’t until later that this story came to be normalized as true of all Buddhas: our own included.

9. Snp 3.1: Going Forth

   (Bhante Sujato’s translation here is preferred to Ñanamoli’s below)

10. [Life] The Struggle for Enlightenment

11. [Bodhisattva Ideal - Analayo] Chapter 1: Gautama as a Bodhisattva

12. [Nidanakatha] The Middle Epoch

    • Note especially any contrasts to the earlier texts.

13. [E] The Bodhisattva Career in the Theravada
14. [Bodhisattva] Chapter 2: Meeting the Previous Buddha
15. The Sumedhakathā in Pāli Literature and Its Relation to the Northern Buddhist Textual Tradition – Junko Matsumura (.pdf)

16. [Nidanakatha] The Distant Epoch

17. [Buddha, My Refuge] Introduction
18. The Food of Awakening – Bhante Shravasti Dhammika (.pdf)
19. SN 12.10 Gotama Sutta: Gotama (.pdf)
20. The Shape of Victory: the Earth-Touching Gesture in Context – Doug Smith (.pdf)
21. [Life] After the Enlightenment
22. Epithets of the Buddha (.jpeg) (.jpeg)
23. The Meaning of the Word Tathāgata According to the Pāli Commentaries: Text and Introduction – Bhikkhu Bodhi (.pdf) (.pdf)

24. Tathāgata – Bhikkhu Anālayo (.pdf)

25. The Weary Buddha: Why the Buddha Nearly Couldn’t Be Bothered – David Webster (.pdf) (.pdf)
26. [Entries] Pratyeka-buddhas
27. [Entries] Optional: The Four Ennobling Truths

28. [Refuge] Arahaṁ

29. Mvu 94: From Uruvilvā to Ṛṣipatana (.pdf)

30. Lal 26 Dharmacakrapravartana Sūtra (.pdf)

31. [Life] Spreading the Dhamma
32. [L] The Two Chief Disciples
33. SN 4.18 Piṇḍa Sutta: Alms Food (.pdf)

34. [L] Anathapindika: Feeder of the Poor

35. [Nidanakatha] The Last Epoch
36. [Refuge] sammā-sambuddho
37. DN 28 Sampasādanīya Sutta: Inspiring Confidence (.pdf)

Part 2: Establishing the Religion

1. [Entries] Review: The Story of the Buddha

2. [Teacher of the Devas] Introduction: The Devas

3. [Life] Formation of the Order of Nuns
4. A Whisper in the Silence: Nuns Before Mahāpajāpatī – Liz Williams (.pdf) (.pdf)

5. Mahāpajāpatī’s Going Forth in the Madhyama-āgama – Bhikkhu Anālayo (.pdf)

6. Vijjācaraṇa: Knowledge and Conduct – Bhikkhu Anālayo (.pdf)
7. [Refuge] Vijjā-caraṇa-sampanno

8. Tevijja-Vacchagotta Sutta – Bhikkhu Anālayo (.pdf)

9. [L] The Quarrel at Kosambi
10. AN 6.43 Nāga Sutta: The Giant (.pdf)

11. [R] Sugato

12. [L] End of the First Twenty Years
13. MN 35: Cūḷa Saccaka Sutta: The Shorter Discourse With Saccaka (.pdf)
14. [Teacher] Teaching the Devas
15. AN 8.69 Parisā Sutta: Assemblies (.pdf)

16. [R] Locavidū

17. [L] The Middle Period

18. [E] The Buddha’s Style of Teaching

19. [R] Anuttaro purisa-damma-sārathi
20. SN 22.58 Sammāsambuddha Sutta: The Fully Awakened Buddha (.pdf)
21. [L] The Person
22. MN 91 Brahmāyu Sutta: With Brahmāyu (.pdf)

23. The Buddha Was Bald – Eisel Mazard (.pdf)

24. AN 3.35 Hatthaka Sutta: With Hatthaka (.pdf)

25. [L] The Doctrine

26. [E] Anatman

27. [R] Satthā deva-manussānaṁ
28. [T] Devas Honor the Buddha
29. Khp 6: Ratana Sutta (.pdf)

30. [L] Devadatta

31. [R] Buddho
32. [L] Old Age
33. [E] The Buddha and Cakravartins

34. Review: [T] Devas in the Buddha’s Career

35. [L] The Last Year
36. (Optionally) For a short lecture series on the Maha Parinibbana Sutta by Bhante Sujato, see parts one, two, three, and four on YouTube
37. Sūkaramaddava: The Buddha’s Last Meal – John D. Ireland (.pdf) (.pdf)
38. The Cause of the Buddha’s Death – Mettanando Bhikkhu and Oskar von Hinüber (.pdf)
39. [E] Relics of the Buddha

40. [R] Bhagava

41. [E] Early Symbols of the Buddha
42. [L] The First Council
43. [T] Liberation and Conclusion

Epilogue: The Far Future

1. [Bodhisattva] Maitreya

Feedback

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Further Reading

Books

Buddhacarita: In Praise of Buddha’s Acts (2009)

Explorations of Misfortune in the Buddha’s Life: the Buddha’s Misdeeds in His Former Lives and Their Remnants (2009) – Stephan Hillyer Levitt

Love in Buddhism (2013) – Bhante Walpola Piyananda

The Buddha’s Last Bequest: A Translation from the Chinese Tipiṭaka (1967) – Laurence Khantipālo Mills

Canonical Works

The Mahākhandhaka (2021)

MN 77 Mahā Sakuludāyi Sutta: The Greater Discourse to Sakuludāyin (2009)

MN 100 Saṅgārava Sutta: With Saṅgārava (1977)

DN 8 Mahāsīhanāda Sutta: The Longer Discourse on the Lion’s Roar (2018)

MN 27 Cūḷahatthipadopama Sutta: The Shorter Discourse on the Simile of the Elephant’s Footprint (2009)

SN 51.10 Cetiya Sutta: At the Shrine (2018)

But even though the Buddha dropped such an obvious hint, such a clear sign, Ānanda didn’t beg the Buddha, ‘Sir, may the Blessed One please remain for the eon!’

AN 3.36 Devadūta Sutta: Divine Messengers (2012)

Good man, didn’t you see the third divine messenger that appeared among human beings?

Snp 5.19: Preserving the Way to the Beyond (2021)

I shall keep reciting the Way to the Beyond

SN 42.7 Khettūpama Sutta: Simile of the Field (2018)

“Why, exactly, do you teach some people thoroughly and others less thoroughly?”

AN 9.41 Tapussa Sutta: With the Householder Tapussa (1997)

AN 3.63: Venāga (2000)

MN 19 Dvedhāvitakka Sutta: Two Kinds of Thought (2009)

MN 81 Ghaṭikāra Sutta: With Ghaṭikāra (2018) – Roland Kitchen

AN 5.133 Dhammarājā Sutta: The Principled King (2018)

SN 44.1 Khemā Sutta: With Khemā (2000)

Ud 5.2 Appāyuka Sutta: Short-lived (2008)

SN 54.11 Icchānaṅgala Sutta: At Icchānaṅgala (2017)

SN 46.16 Tatiya Gilāna Sutta: The Third Discourse on Illness (2000)

When the Buddha was sick, Mahācunda recited for him the awakening factors.

SN 47.31 Ananussuta Sutta: Unheard Before (2000)

AN 5.7 Kāma Sutta: Sensual Pleasures (2012)

AN 5.104 Samaṇa Sukhumāla Sutta: An Exquisite Ascetic of Ascetics (2018)

SN 45.139 Tathāgata Sutta: The Realized One (2000)

SN 56.38 Dutiyasūriya Sutta: The Second Simile of the Sun (2000)

SN 45.14 Paṭhamauppāda Sutta: Arising (1st) (2018)

Iti 92 Saṅghāṭikaṇṇa Sutta: The Corner of the Cloak (1997)

AN 3.104 Paṭhamaassāda Sutta: Gratification (2018)

AN 5.99 Sīha Sutta: The Lion (2018)

Readings

The Buddha’s Truly Praiseworthy Qualities: According to the Mahāsakuludāyi-sutta and Its Chinese Parallel (2009) – Bhikkhu Anālayo

Given the fact that the praiseworthy qualities of the Buddha are the main theme of the Mahāsakuludāyi-sutta and its parallel, it is not surprising if the tendency to elevate the Buddha’s status would to some degree also have influenced the reciters responsible for transmitting the discourse. A comparison of the two versions in fact reveals several instances where this tendency is at work

The Buddha and Omniscience (2006) – Bhikkhu Anālayo

… a fair number of occurrences in the Buddha’s life would be difficult to explain if he had been omniscient

Cremated Like a King: The Funeral of the Buddha within the Ancient Indian Context (2009) – Oskar von Hinüber

Decoding Two “Miracles” of the Buddha (2012) – Paisarn Likhitpreechakul

This article proposes to “decode” the twin miracle and the miracle to convert Aṅgulimāla as coded repudiations of rival karma theories, and to examine their relevance to the modern world.

The Buddhalakṣaṇa and the Gaṇḍavyūha Sūtra (2005) – Bryan Levman

The Bad Karma of the Buddha (2002) – Guang Xing

The Buddha’s bad karma refers to ten problematic incidents that happened in the life of the historical Buddha. […] The texts related to the bad karma of the Buddha can be divided into two groups: those texts accepting the bad karma and those rejecting the whole matter.

Intertextuality, Contradiction, and Confusion in the Prasādanīya-sūtra, Sampasādanīya-sutta, and 自歡喜經 (Zì huānxǐ jīng) (2016) – Charles DiSimone

The Fruits of Paradox: On the Religious Architecture of the Buddha’s Life Story (2003) – Jonathan A. Silk

The Gāravasutta of the Saṃyutta-nikāya and its Mahāyānist Developments (1981) – Étienne Lamotte

What Did the Buddha Think of Women? (2012) – Bhikkhu Cintita

The Body of the Buddha (2021) – John Powers

The Issue of the Buddha as Vedagū with Reference to the Formation of the Dhamma and the Dialectic with the Brahmins (1982) – Katherine K. Young

Buddha and the Political Events of His Times (2016) – Alexander Berzin

Praises of the Buddha Beyond Praise (1998) – Peter Skilling

A Study of the Buddha’s Travels (2011) – Bhante Shravasti Dhammika

Sāmaññaphala Sutta (2006) – Bhikkhu Anālayo

The End of the Buddha’s Life According to the Ekottarāgama (1999) – André Bareau

Did the Buddha know Sanskrit? (2013) – Richard Gombrich

Audio/Video

Recollections of the Buddha (2007) – Ayya Vayama

Was the Buddha a Hindu? (2014) – Bhante Sujato

Asalha Puja: Celebrating the Turning of the Wheel (2009) – Bhante Yuttadhammo

Writing Yasodhara and the Buddha (2021) – Vanessa Sasson

Reference Shelf

A Map of Jambudīpa (2023)

Advanced Courses

The Majjhima Nikāya

Many stories from life in the early Sangha and the most complex teachings of the Canon, analyzed methodically by Bhikkhu Bodhi.

The Pāli Language: Level 1

An introduction to the language of the Buddha.

or feel free to check out any of our University's other fine offerings.