Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611

  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Life of the Buddha

Life of the Buddha

Ashvaghosa
Olivelle, Patrick

Hardcover

Series: Clay Sanskrit Library, Book 10

Biographies GeneralFiction AnthologiesBuddhism

ISBN10: 0814762166
ISBN13: 9780814762165
Publisher: Clay Sanskrit
Published: May 1 2008
Pages: 558
Weight: 0.90
Height: 1.30 Width: 4.50 Depth: 6.50
Language: English

The Buddhist monk Ashva-ghosha composed Life of the Buddha in the first or second century CE probably in Ayódhya. This is the earliest surviving text of the Sanskrit literary genre called kavya and probably provided models for Kali-dasa's more famous works. The most poignant scenes on the path to his Awakening are when the young prince Siddhártha, the future Buddha, is confronted by the reality of sickness, old age, and death, while seduced by the charms of the women employed to keep him at home. A poet of the highest order, Ashva-ghosha's aim is not entertainment but instruction, presenting the Buddha's teaching as the culmination of the Brahmanical tradition. His wonderful descriptions of the bodies of courtesans are ultimately meant to show the transience of beauty.

Also in

Biographies General

View All