The Lalita Vistara, or Memoirs of the Early Life of Sakya Sinha

About the Book -It is one of the nine Mahayana texts. The Lalitavistara is a biography of Buddha. It has twenty-seven chapters in which an account of the Buddha legend upto the Sermon of Varanasi. It originally contained the biography of Buddha according to the Sarvastivada school of Hinayana. From the view point of History of religion and literature, it is of immense value.Book has incidents like the Buddha is staying at Jetavana with a large gathering of disciples. One evening, a group of divine beings visit the Buddha and request him to tell the story of his awakening for the benefit of all beings. The Buddha consents. The following morning, the Buddha tells his story to the gathered disciples. He begins the story by telling of his previous life, in which the future Buddha was living in the heavenly realms surrounded by divine pleasures. In this previous life, he was known as the Bodhisattva. The Bodhisattva is enjoying the immense pleasures of his heavenly life, but due to his past aspirations, one day the musical instruments of the heavenly palace call out to him, reminding him of his prior commitment to attain awakening.

Lingue: Sanskrit