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Lalitavistara

A Dictionary of Buddhism | 2004 | | Copyright

Lalitavistara (Skt., graceful description). An early sūtra, probably 1st century ce, surviving in Sanskrit and Tibetan, primarily concerned with a biography of the Buddha Śākyamuni up to the start of his teaching mission. This text is thought to have been based on Sarvāstivādin material which was subsequently developed into its present form of 27 chapters in mixed prose and verse. Originally it was probably a non-Mahāyāna work to which Mahāyāna elements were subsequently added. Its depiction of the Buddha in supernatural terms may have been influential in the development of Mahāyāna Buddhology such as the concept of the ‘three bodies’ (trikāya), although this may equally be the result of the influence of Yogācāra Buddhology.

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DAMIEN KEOWN. "Lalitavistara." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

DAMIEN KEOWN. "Lalitavistara." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O108-Lalitavistara.html

DAMIEN KEOWN. "Lalitavistara." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O108-Lalitavistara.html

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Lalitavistara

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions | 1997 | | Copyright

Lalitavistara (Skt., lalita, ‘played’, + vistara, ‘details’). A Buddhist text of about 2nd cent. CE, highly valued in Mahāyāna. The Lalitavistara gives a poetical account of the early life of the Buddha up to the beginning of his ministry.

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JOHN BOWKER. "Lalitavistara." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JOHN BOWKER. "Lalitavistara." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Lalitavistara.html

JOHN BOWKER. "Lalitavistara." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Lalitavistara.html

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