Buddhist mythology

The Buddhist traditions have created and maintained a vast body of mythological literature. The central myth of Buddhism revolves around the purported events of the life of the Buddha. This is told in relatively realistic terms in the earliest texts, and was soon elaborated into a complex literary mythology. The chief motif of this story, and the most distinctive feature of Buddhist myth, is the Buddha's renunciation: leaving his home and family for a spiritual quest. Alongside this central myth, the traditions contain large numbers of smaller stories, which are usually supposed to convey an ethical or Buddhist teaching. These include the popular Jātakas, folk tales or legends believed to be past lives of Gautama Buddha. Since these are regarded as episodes in the life of the Buddha, they are treated here as “myth”, rather than distinguishing between myth, legend, and folk-tale.Myths are "stories about divine beings, generally arranged in a coherent system; they are revered as true and sacred; they are endorsed by rulers and priests; and closely linked to religion. Once this link is broken, and the actors in the story are not regarded as gods but as human heroes, giants or fairies, it is no longer a myth but a folktale. Where the central actor is divine but the story is trivial … the result is religious legend, not myth." [J. Simpson & S. Roud, "Dictionary of English Folklore," Oxford, 2000, p.254]

Buddhist mythology is maintained in texts, but these have always existed alongside oral traditions of storytelling, as well as creative retellings of myths as drama or artworks.Pia Brancaccioa1 and Xinru Liu, Dionysus and drama in the Buddhist art of Gandhara, Journal of Global History, vol. 4.2, July 2009, pp 219–244Professor Kulatilaka Kumarasinghe, Buddhism in Noh Drama, University of Kelaniya This creative mythology continues to this day, and includes film, television, and musical adaptions of Buddhist myths.

Myth has always been an important part of the way Buddhists see themselves and form communities. Attitudes to myths vary, with some people seeing the stories as entirely factual, while others see them as symbolic. In this article, as in scholarly study of mythology generally, the use of the term “myth” does not imply a value or truth judgement. Rather, it refers to the study of sacred stories and their meaning within a community. Many scholars have long recognized that Buddhism contains one of the world's great mythologies.

Myth of the Buddha's life

In early texts Mythology in Buddhism is used at various intellectual levels in order to give symbolic and sometimes quasi-historical expression to religious teachings. As noted by scholars such as Thomas Rhys Davids, the earliest texts of Buddhism (such as the Nikāyas and Āgamas) do not present a single coherent and systematic biography of the Buddha.Endo, Toshiichi., (2002)Buddha in Theravada Buddhism-A Study of the Concept of Buddha in the Pali Commentaries, pp. 1-2 However, there are various references to numerous life events in these texts, and in a few cases gives more extensive accounts of important events in the Buddha's life. All later versions of the Buddha's life derive primarily from these sources. These include:

Gautama's birth.MN 123, MA 32 Some details of his life growing up. References to the renunciation. The famous story of the “four signs” is told, but regarding the past Buddha Vipassī, not Gautama.DN 14 Mahāpadāna Sutta, also told at Parallels for DN 14 Mahāpadāna (DN ii 1): EA 48.4 (T ii 790a07); T 4 (T i 159a24); T 2 (T i 150a03); T 3 (T i 154b05); DA 1 (T i 001b11); SN 12.65 (SN ii 104); SHT 3, 768, 685 (94–119V), 690, 916, 165.41, 412.34, 1592, 2009, 2032, 2033, 2034, 2172, 2446, 2995; also cf. ix p. 393ff; SF 31 (FUKITA, Takamichi 1987a. Bonbun Daihongyō dai-ni shō oboegaki [A note on chapter 2 of the Mahāvadānasūtra]. Bukkyō Ronsō 31 (Sep): 121–124.); SF 32 (FUKITA, Takamichi 1987b. Bonbun Daihongyō shahon Cat. No. 498 ( = MAV 82, 83) ni kansuru chūkan hōkoku [Provisional report on the MAV Ms. Cat. No. 498]. Bukkyō Bunka Kenkyūsho Shohō 4: 20–19.); SF 36 (FUKITA, Takamichi 2003. The Mahāvadānasūtra: A new edition based on manuscripts discovered in northern Turkestan ( = Sanskrit-Wörterbuch der buddhistischen Texte aus den Turfan-Funden, Beiheft 10). Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.); SF 30 (FUKITA, Takamichi 1985b. Bonbun Daihongyō no fukugen ni kansuru jakkan no mondai [Some problems relating to the reconstruction of the Sanskrit Mahāvadānasūtra]. Indogaku Bukkyōgaku Kenkyū 33.2 (Mar): 547–548.); SF 28 (FUKITA, Takamichi 1982. Bonbun Daihongyō engisetsu no fukugen ni tsuite [On a restoration of the pratītyasamutpāda in the Mahāvadānasūtra]. Bukkyō Shigaku Kenkyū 24/2: 26–43.); SF 33 (FUKITA, Takamichi 1987c. Vipaśyin-Butsu ichie sanga no ninzū o megutte: Bonbun Daihongyō dai-jusshō kessonbubun no fukugen [On the number of bhikṣus in Buddha Vipaśyin’s first Sangha: A reconstruction of the lost part of chapter 10 of the Mahāvadānasūtra]. Jōdo-shū Kyōgakuin Kenkyūsho-hō 9: 22–26.); SF 250 (WALDSCHMIDT, Ernst 1953. Das Mahāvadānasūtra: Ein kanonischer Text über die sieben letzten Buddhas. Sanskrit, verglichen mit dem Pāli nebst einer Analyse der in chinesischer Übersetzung überlieferten Parallelversionen. Auf Grund von Turfan-Handschriften herausgegeben. Teil I-II. Abhandlungen der deutschen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin, Klasse für Sprachen, Literatur und Kunst, 1952/8, 1954/3.); SF 296 (WILLE, Klaus 2006. The Sanskrit Fragments Or. 15003 in the Hoernle Collection. Buddhist Manuscripts from Central Asia, The British Library Sanskrit Fragments, S. Karashima et al. (ed.), Tokyo: Soka University, vol. 1 pp 65–153.); SF 34 (FUKITA, Takamichi 1988a. Daihongyō to Hasōji ni miru kyōtsū no dentō to chihōteki hensen, tokuni Bosatsu-tanjō-densetsu o chūshin to shite [Common tradition and local development of the Mahāvadānasūtra and the Saṃghabhedavastu, particularly focusing on the Bodhisattva’s birth legend]. Hōnen Gakkai Ronsō 6: 5–22.); SF 56 (HARTMANN, Jens-Uwe 1991. Untersuchungen zum Dīrghāgama der Sarvāstivādins. Habilitationsschrift. Göttingen: Georg-August-Universität.); SF 29 (FUKITA, Takamichi 1985a. The Mahāvadāna sūtra: A reconstruction of chapters IV and V. Bukkyō Daigaku Daigakuin Kenkyū Kiyō 13: 17–52.); Uigh frgm (SHŌGAITO, Masahiro 1998. Three Fragments of Uighur Āgama. In LAUT and ÖLMEZ (eds.), Bahşi Ögdisi, Festschrift für Klaus Röhrborn, Freiburg/Istanbul, 363–378.). Retrieved from https://suttacentral.net/dn14 on 20/01/2016. Detailed accounts of Gautama's practices before awakening. These include his encounter with earlier teachers,Parallels for MN 26 Ariyapariyesanā [Pāsarāsi] (MN i 160): MA 204 (T i 775c07); EA 19.1 (T ii 593a24); EA 24.5 (T ii 618a27); T 1450.5 (T xxiv 125c29); T 765.3 (T xvii 679b23); Zh Mi Kd 1 (T xxii 104b23–105a02); Zh Dg Kd 1 (T xxii 779a06); SHT 1332, 1714, 1493; Mvu (BASAK, Radhagovinda 1965. Mahāvastu Avadāna, vol. 2 (Calcutta Sanskrit College Research Series). Calcutta: Sanskrit College. / SENART, Emile 1890. Le Mahāvastu (vol 2): Texte sanscrit publié pour la première fois et accompagné d’introductions et d’un commentaire (Société Asiatique, Collection d’Ouvrages Orientaux, Seconde série. Paris: Imprimerie Nationale.); Lal 16 (VAIDYA, P. L. 1958b. Lalita-vistaraḥ (Buddhist Sanskrit Texts No. 1). Darbhanga: Mithila Institute. / LEFMANN, S. 1902. Lalita Vistara: Leben und Lehre des Çakya-Buddha, Textausgabe mit Varianten-, Metren- und Wörterverzeichnis. Halle: Verlag der Buchhandlung des Waisenhauses.); Sbv (GNOLI, Raniero 1977. The Gilgit manuscript of the Saṅghabhedavastu: Being the 17th and last section of the Vinaya of the Mūlasarvāstivādin, Part I ( = Serie Orientale Roma, XLIX, 1). Roma: Istituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente.); SF 259 (WALDSCHMIDT, Ernst 1957d. Das Catuṣpariṣatsūtra, eine Kanonische Lehrschrift über die Begründung der Buddhistischen Gemeinde. Text in Sanskrit und Tibetisch, verglichen mit dem Pali nebst einer Übersetzung der chinesischen Entsprechung im Vinaya der Mūlasarvāstivādins. Auf Grund von Turfan-Handschriten herausgegeben und bearbeitet. Teil II. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag = Abhandlungen der Deutschen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin, Klasse für Sprachen, Literatur und Kunst, 1956/1.). Retrieved from https://suttacentral.net/mn26 on 20/01/2016. the period of austerities,Parallels for MN 36 Mahāsaccaka (MN i 237): EA 31.8 (T ii 670c02); T 757.2 (T xvii 598a04–599c29); MN 85 (MN ii 91); MN 100 (MN ii 209); MN 85 (MN ii 91); SHT 931, 997A; SF 5 (BONGARD-LEVIN, Gregory 1989. Three New Fragments of the Bodharājakumārasūtra from Eastern Turkestan. Journal of the American Oriental Society 109: 509–512.); SF 64 (HARTMANN, Jens-Uwe 1991. Untersuchungen zum Dīrghāgama der Sarvāstivādins. Habilitationsschrift. Göttingen: Georg-August-Universität.); Mvu (BASAK, Radhagovinda 1965. Mahāvastu Avadāna, vol. 2 (Calcutta Sanskrit College Research Series). Calcutta: Sanskrit College. / SENART, Emile 1890. Le Mahāvastu (vol 2): Texte sanscrit publié pour la première fois et accompagné d’introductions et d’un commentaire (Société Asiatique, Collection d’Ouvrages Orientaux, Seconde série. Paris: Imprimerie Nationale.); Divy 27 (VAIDYA, P. L. 1999. Divyāvadāna (Buddhist Sanskrit Texts No.20). Darbhanga: Mithila Institute. / COWELL, E. B. et al. 1886. The Divyāvadāna, a Collection of Early Buddhist Legends. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.); SF 287 (WILLE, Klaus 2006. The Sanskrit Fragments Or. 15003 in the Hoernle Collection. Buddhist Manuscripts from Central Asia, The British Library Sanskrit Fragments, S. Karashima et al. (ed.), Tokyo: Soka University, vol. 1 pp 65–153.); Lal 17 & Lal 22 (VAIDYA, P. L. 1958b. Lalita-vistaraḥ (Buddhist Sanskrit Texts No. 1). Darbhanga: Mithila Institute. / LEFMANN, S. 1902. Lalita Vistara: Leben und Lehre des Çakya-Buddha, Textausgabe mit Varianten-, Metren- und Wörterverzeichnis. Halle: Verlag der Buchhandlung des Waisenhauses.); Sbv (GNOLI, Raniero 1977. The Gilgit manuscript of the Saṅghabhedavastu: Being the 17th and last section of the Vinaya of the Mūlasarvāstivādin, Part I ( = Serie Orientale Roma, XLIX, 1). Roma: Istituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente.). Retrieved from https://suttacentral.net/mn36 on 20/01/2016. and his own efforts to develop meditation.Parallels for MN 4 Bhayabherava (MN i 16): EA 31.1 (T ii 665b17); SHT 164c+g, 32.33–41, 165.15–16, 500.4, 2401. Retrieved from https://suttacentral.net/mn4 on 20/01/2016.Parallels for MN 19 Dvedhāvitakka (MN i 114): MA 102 (T i 589a11). Retrieved from https://suttacentral.net/mn19 on 20/01/2016.Parallels for MN 128 Upakkilesa (MN iii 152): MA 72 (T i 532c09); EA 24.8 (T ii 626b11); Zh Mi Kd 10B (T xxii 159a02); Zh Mg Bu Vb Pc 4 (T xxii 335a01); T 212.15 (T iv 693b21); Zh Dg Kd 9 (T xxii 880b01); Ja 371 (Ja iii 211); Ja 428 (Ja iii 488); Pi Tv Kd 10.15 (Vin i 342); SHT 1384; SF 13 (DUTT, Nalinaksha 1984a (part 1), 1984b (part 2). Gilgit Manuscripts ( = Bibliotheca Indo-Buddhica No. 16, No. 17). Delhi: Sri Satguru, vol. 3.). Retrieved from https://suttacentral.net/mn128 on 20/01/2016. Various accounts of the night of the Awakening.