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The Life of the Victorious Buddha A Simplified Translation of Venerable Medhaṅkara’s Jinacaritaṁ

Anandajoti Bhikkhu

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Description:An English translation of this Medieval verse biography of the Buddha from his Bodhisatta aspiration to the founding of the Jetavana monastery.Translator’s IntroductionThe StoryThis work tells in a concise form the inspiring story of the Bodhisatta’s aspiration for Awakening, its fulfilment at the foot of the Bodhi Tree, and the Early Ministry of the Buddha in the newly founded Sāsana as it has come down to us in the Theravāda tradition.The author Ven. Medhaṅkara follows for the most part the story as it is found in the Jātakanidānaṁ, but he leaves out a number of matters which are present in his model, and concentrates on the main story which gives his narrative greater concision and thrust.The story opens with the youth Sumedha gaining insight into the nature of reality following the passing away of his parents, which is followed by his renunciation of the home life and very successful spiritual practice in the Himālayas.He then comes into contact with a true spiritual teacher, the Buddha Dīpaṅkara, and being inspired by the meeting, he gives up the chance of liberation then and there, and makes his aspiration to attain Buddhahood himself, in order to help all living beings cross the great flood of Saṁsāra.Such a high calling is not so easily fulfilled, of course, and he spends many aeons in self-sacrificial actions in order to fulfil all the moral perfections that make one fit to establish a Sāsana.After being reborn in Heaven, he is urged by the Gods to take birth once more on Earth, and finally fulfil his mission. Having ensured that all the right conditions prevail, he descends and is born on Earth into a virtuous and prosperous family, who nurture and protect him until he reaches maturity.Although in his new existence he is surrounded by all the material pleasures that his position can provide he is dissatisfied, and parallel to the youth Sumedha, he retires to the forest for spiritual practice.After a number of dead-ends and intense, but ultimately futile, practice he overcomes all temptations and defilements, personified by the wicked Māra and his daughters, and attains Complete Awakening at the foot of the Bodhi Tree.His story could have finished there and then, in that glorious liberation from the sorry round of birth and death, but if it had he would not have been the Sambuddha of his aspirations.Instead, being inspired by his realisation that he could help others also to attain the liberation he had gained, he began his ministry, which was to last for forty-five long years, selflessly teaching beings how to escape from the unsatisfactory nature of existence, both by word and example.The story continues with the Buddha’s first teaching, the fulfilment of his promise to teach King Bimbisāra at Rājagaha, and his journey back to his home town of Kapilavatthu, and the conversion of his close family and other clan members.The last event related in the story in any detail, as in the Jātakanidānaṁ is the Buddha’s meeting with the rich merchant Anāthapiṇḍika, and his journey to Sāvatthī, where the merchant purchases and donates Jeta’s Wood to the Saṅgha with the Buddha at its head, by which time the Sāsana is firmly establishing in the Middle Regions of India.There is then a synoptic section which Ven. Medhaṅkara adds to what is found in his source relating where the Buddha spent the Rains Retreats during the 45 years of his teaching career, and indicating the main events that took place during the first twenty of those Retreats.The poem concludes with the author making an extraordinary wish to have the chance to meet the coming Buddha Metteyya and then make his own aspiration for Buddhahood under Him, and getting it confirmed by the future Buddhas.We have made it easy for you to find a PDF Ebooks without any digging. And by having access to our ebooks online or by storing it on your computer, you have convenient answers with The Life of the Victorious Buddha A Simplified Translation of Venerable Medhaṅkara’s Jinacaritaṁ. To get started finding The Life of the Victorious Buddha A Simplified Translation of Venerable Medhaṅkara’s Jinacaritaṁ, you are right to find our website which has a comprehensive collection of manuals listed.
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Format: PDF, EPUB & Kindle Edition

Publisher: ancient-buddhist-texts.net

Release: 2007

ISBN

Description: An English translation of this Medieval verse biography of the Buddha from his Bodhisatta aspiration to the founding of the Jetavana monastery.Translator’s IntroductionThe StoryThis work tells in a concise form the inspiring story of the Bodhisatta’s aspiration for Awakening, its fulfilment at the foot of the Bodhi Tree, and the Early Ministry of the Buddha in the newly founded Sāsana as it has come down to us in the Theravāda tradition.The author Ven. Medhaṅkara follows for the most part the story as it is found in the Jātakanidānaṁ, but he leaves out a number of matters which are present in his model, and concentrates on the main story which gives his narrative greater concision and thrust.The story opens with the youth Sumedha gaining insight into the nature of reality following the passing away of his parents, which is followed by his renunciation of the home life and very successful spiritual practice in the Himālayas.He then comes into contact with a true spiritual teacher, the Buddha Dīpaṅkara, and being inspired by the meeting, he gives up the chance of liberation then and there, and makes his aspiration to attain Buddhahood himself, in order to help all living beings cross the great flood of Saṁsāra.Such a high calling is not so easily fulfilled, of course, and he spends many aeons in self-sacrificial actions in order to fulfil all the moral perfections that make one fit to establish a Sāsana.After being reborn in Heaven, he is urged by the Gods to take birth once more on Earth, and finally fulfil his mission. Having ensured that all the right conditions prevail, he descends and is born on Earth into a virtuous and prosperous family, who nurture and protect him until he reaches maturity.Although in his new existence he is surrounded by all the material pleasures that his position can provide he is dissatisfied, and parallel to the youth Sumedha, he retires to the forest for spiritual practice.After a number of dead-ends and intense, but ultimately futile, practice he overcomes all temptations and defilements, personified by the wicked Māra and his daughters, and attains Complete Awakening at the foot of the Bodhi Tree.His story could have finished there and then, in that glorious liberation from the sorry round of birth and death, but if it had he would not have been the Sambuddha of his aspirations.Instead, being inspired by his realisation that he could help others also to attain the liberation he had gained, he began his ministry, which was to last for forty-five long years, selflessly teaching beings how to escape from the unsatisfactory nature of existence, both by word and example.The story continues with the Buddha’s first teaching, the fulfilment of his promise to teach King Bimbisāra at Rājagaha, and his journey back to his home town of Kapilavatthu, and the conversion of his close family and other clan members.The last event related in the story in any detail, as in the Jātakanidānaṁ is the Buddha’s meeting with the rich merchant Anāthapiṇḍika, and his journey to Sāvatthī, where the merchant purchases and donates Jeta’s Wood to the Saṅgha with the Buddha at its head, by which time the Sāsana is firmly establishing in the Middle Regions of India.There is then a synoptic section which Ven. Medhaṅkara adds to what is found in his source relating where the Buddha spent the Rains Retreats during the 45 years of his teaching career, and indicating the main events that took place during the first twenty of those Retreats.The poem concludes with the author making an extraordinary wish to have the chance to meet the coming Buddha Metteyya and then make his own aspiration for Buddhahood under Him, and getting it confirmed by the future Buddhas.We have made it easy for you to find a PDF Ebooks without any digging. And by having access to our ebooks online or by storing it on your computer, you have convenient answers with The Life of the Victorious Buddha A Simplified Translation of Venerable Medhaṅkara’s Jinacaritaṁ. To get started finding The Life of the Victorious Buddha A Simplified Translation of Venerable Medhaṅkara’s Jinacaritaṁ, you are right to find our website which has a comprehensive collection of manuals listed.
Our library is the biggest of these that have literally hundreds of thousands of different products represented.

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The Life of the Victorious Buddha A Simplified Translation of Venerable Medhaṅkara’s Jinacaritaṁ

The Life of the Victorious Buddha A Simplified Translation of Venerable Medhaṅkara’s Jinacaritaṁ

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