The Mahāvastu - Vol. 1 (Jones 1987)
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The Mahāvastu. Vol. 1
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Description
The Mahāvastu ("Great Chapter") is a lengthy work of the Lokottaravāda subsect of the Mahāsāṃghika tradition, written in mixed Sanskrit, Pāli, and Prakrit. It is regarded as the earliest biography of the Buddha and belongs to the Vinayapiṭaka, describing itself as a historical preface to the Buddhist monastic codes. Some scholars have regarded the Lokottaravāda as a precursor of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Over half the text comprises avadānas and jātakas — including some with no Pāli antecedent — recounting the past lives of the Buddha as a bodhisattva on the path to awakening.
This first volume, translated by J. J. Jones, was originally published by Luzac & Co. in 1949 as volume 16 of the Sacred Books of the Buddhists series and reissued by the Pāli Text Society, London, in 1987. It opens with the ten bhūmis (stages of spiritual development) and includes sections on the Buddha Dīpaṃkara, the genesis of the world, and a range of avadānas and jātaka narratives. Two further volumes completed the translation in 1952 and 1956.
Citation
Jones, J. J., trans. The Mahāvastu. Vol. 1. Sacred Books of the Buddhists 16. London: The Pāli Text Society, 1987.
Table of contents
- Abbreviations in footnotesvii
- Forewordix
- Prologue1
- Visits to Hell6
- Visits to Other Worlds22
- Abhiya29
- The Many Buddhas39
- Visit to Śuddhāvāsa46
- The Ten Bhūmis53
- The First Bhumi61
- The Second Bhūmi66
- The Third Bhūmi72
- The Fourth Bhūmi79
- The Fifth Bhūmi87
- The Sixth Bhūmi95
- The Seventh Bhūmi100
- The Eighth Bhūmi108
- The Ninth Bhūmi110
- The Tenth Bhūmi112
- Attributes of the Buddha124
- Apparitions140
- Dīpaṃkara152
- Birth of Dīpaṃkara171
- Enlightenment183
- Megha and Meghadatta188
- The Buddha Mangala204
- The Buddha visits Veśālī208
- The Sunshades218
- The Three Birds225
- Plagues of Former Days235
- The Buddha in Veśālī242
- Mālinī249
- Ghaṭikāra and Jyotipāla265
- Genesis of the World285
- History of the Deer Park301
- Indexes313
Interconnections
1 Full translation of
The Mahāvastu or “Great Chapter” is a lengthy work of the Lokottaravāda (Proponents of the Supramundane) subsect of the Mahāsāṃghika (Great Saṅgha) tradition, which some scholars have regarded as a precursor of Mahāyāna Buddhism. It is written in mixed Sanskrit, Pāli, and Prakrit and is regarded as the earliest Sanskrit biography of the Buddha. The work belongs to the Vinayapiṭaka and in fact describes itself as a historical preface to the Buddhist monastic codes (Skt. vinaya). In this regard, it does correspond loosely to the Mahāvagga section of the Khandhaka in the Pāli Vinayapiṭaka. Over half the text comprises avadānas and jatakas (some having no Pāli antecedent), which tell of past lives of the Buddha when he was a bodhisattva on the path to awakening. (Source: 84000)
1 Other editions
The Mahāvastu ("Great Chapter") is a lengthy work of the Lokottaravāda subsect of the Mahāsāṃghika tradition, written in mixed Sanskrit, Pāli, and Prakrit. It is regarded as the earliest biography of the Buddha and belongs to the Vinayapiṭaka, describing itself as a historical preface to the Buddhist monastic codes. Some scholars have regarded the Lokottaravāda as a precursor of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Over half the text comprises avadānas and jātakas—including some with no Pāli antecedent—recounting the past lives of the Buddha as a bodhisattva on the path to awakening.
This first volume, translated by J. J. Jones and published by Luzac & Co. in 1949 as volume 16 of the Sacred Books of the Buddhists series, opens with the ten bhūmis (stages of spiritual development) and includes sections on the Buddha Dīpaṃkara, the genesis of the world, and a range of avadānas and jātaka narratives. Two further volumes followed in 1952 and 1956.
