The Buddha
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The founder of the Buddhist religion, whose 45-year ministry was memorized and passed down by his disciples in the corpus of literature we now call the Early Buddhist Texts.
Courtesy of Jean-Pierre Dalbéra, CC BY-SA 4.0
Table of Contents
- Articles (16)
- Audio/Video (7)
- Booklets (5)
- Canonical Works (25)
- Essays (5)
- Monographs (5)
- Reference Shelf (1)
Articles (16)
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A translation of the Abhidhānappadīpikā’s entry for the Buddha.
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🥇 Best Of The Library
based on what can be culled from the Madhyama-āgama discourse in comparison with the other versions, it seems possible to arrive at a coherent narrative of [the founding] of the order of nuns.
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there may have been Bhikkhunīs in existence before the request for ordination by Mahāpajāpatī
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⭐ Recommended
a fair number of occurrences in the Buddha’s life would be difficult to explain if he had been omniscient
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scholars have had little to no luck in identifying a Brahmanical source for the 32 marks of a great Man, in spite of the fact that the Buddhist texts are nearly unanimous is stating that this is a Brahmanical concept
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it could be interpreted as a dish that was ‘made well softened,’ that is to say, ‘easily digestible’ and thus suitable
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⭐ Recommended
In recognition of its pre-eminence among the Master’s epithets, the early Buddhist teachers and their successors have applied their wisdom and erudition to fathoming the multiple implications of this suggestive word.
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What is going on? Can the Buddha be feeling these things?
Audio/Video (7)
Booklets (5)
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Peter Harvey gives a thorough discussion of the historical Buddha across these encyclopedia entries.
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If we study these teachings we will gain deeper understanding of how we should purify our own minds, and by studying the responses of the gods we can find models for our own behaviour in relation to the Master and his teaching.
Canonical Works (25)
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there’s no other ascetic or brahmin—whether past, future, or present—whose direct knowledge is superior to the Buddha
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The Buddha lists the 32 Marks which Brahmanical prophecy claim marked him for greatness and explains the specific causes and results that each signify, in this late addition to the Canon.
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Saccaka the debater challenges the Buddha. The Buddha is unimpressed.
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A respected brahmin sends a student to closely examine the Buddha, and see if he measures up to the Brahmanical prophecies.
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It’s incredible, reverends, it’s amazing, the power and might of a Realized One!
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The traditional, commentarial introduction to the Pāli Jātaka collection containing the most famous mythologized biography of the Buddha.
Essays (5)
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One of the most obvious fallacies of modern Theravada Buddhism is the depiction of the Buddha with a full head of hair.
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⭐ Recommended
It is inescapable that, whatever the reading, according to the early texts the Buddha did not have “normal” genitals. And the only reading actually supported by a canonical text is that the Buddha was intersex, and his genitals looked like a woman’s.
Monographs (5)
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here is a book to take up at quiet times
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⭐ Recommended
I invite the reader to join me in a search for what could be found in the textual corpus of early Buddhist discourses
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⭐ Recommended
A classic biography of the Buddha collecting details scattered around the Pāli Canon to form a compelling narrative, The Life of the Buddha presents the historical record in quirky translation, relatively undiluted by the later hagiographies.