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Davids compares it to Milton's Paradise Regained, as a source of history, and claims that although parts of it were translated into Chinese in the first century of our era, there is no proof of its existence in its present form earlier than the sixth century A.D. Two Thibetan versions, based chiefly on the Lalita Vistara.
What, then, are the jewels of the Buddhist which he would fain see in the world's spiritual treasury? He will tell you that he has many jewels, but that three of them stand out conspicuously the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. Must we not pronounce it the finest of religious narratives, and thank the scholars who made the Lalita Vistara known to us?
An English translation by Bigandet of a Burmese account, which was itself a translation of unknown date made from a Pali version. An account of the death of Gautama, given in Pali and said to be the oldest of all the sources. It is full of wonders created by the fancy of the unknown author, but differs widely from the fancy sketches of the Lalita Vistara of the North. A translation by Mr.
The Lalita Vistara, a Sanscrit work of the Northern Buddhists "full of extravagant fictions" concerning the early portion of Gautama's life.
That is Kapilavastu, the substance of Kapila, where the Buddha was born. In the Lalita Vistâra it is fairyland. There, Gotama the Buddha is the Prince Charming of a sovereign house. But a prince who developed into a nihilist prior to re-becoming the god that anteriorly he had been. It was while in heaven that he selected Mâyâ, a ranee, to be his mother.
T.W. Rhys Davids says of the "Lalita Vistara" which contains a very large proportion of them, and one form of which is said to have been translated into Chinese in the first century A.D., "that there is no real proof that it existed in its present form before the year 600 A.D." The "Romantic Legend" cannot be traced farther back than the third century A.D. Oldenberg says: "No biography of Buddha has come down to us from ancient times, from the age of the Pali texts, and we can safely say that no such biography was in existence then."
The Romantic Legend, from the Sanscrit of the Northern Buddhists, translated into Chinese in the sixth century A.D.; English version by Beal published in 1875. This also is an extravagant poem. This and the Lalita Vistara embrace most of the alleged parallels to the Life of Christ.
In the uplands of Asia, men have loftier ambitions. There they may become Buddha, who perhaps never was, except in legend. In the Lalita Vistâra the legend unfolds. In the strophes of the poem one may assist at the Buddha's birth, an event which is said to have occurred at Kapilavastu. Oriental geography is unacquainted with the place. With the thing even Occidental philosophy is familiar.
In the Northern Buddhist literature embracing both the "Romantic Legend" and the "Lalita Vistara" many incidents of Buddha's childhood are given which show a seeming coincidence with the life of Christ.
They do more, they enchant. Occasionally they seem to combine. The Gospels have obviously nothing in common with the Lalita Vistâra, which is an apocryphal novel of uncertain date. The resemblance that is reflected comes from the Tripitaka, the Three Baskets that constitute the evangels of the Buddhist faith.
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