A History of Indian Literature v2.c19.s6.t3.1

v2.c19.s6.t3.1

While the Mahāvastu itself claims to be a work of the Hīnayāna, but has assimilated features of the Mahāyāna, the Lalita-Vistara¹ is regarded as one of the most sacred Mahāyāna texts, calls itself a Vaipulya-Sūtra ("discourse of great extent")—this being an ordinary term for Mahāyāna Sūtras—and exhibits all the peculiarities of a Mahāyāna Sūtra, although the work originally contained the life-story of the Buddha for the Sarvāstivādins of the Hīnayāna.² However, the mere title Lalita-Vistara, *i.e.*, "the detailed narration of the sport (of the Buddha)," corresponds to Mahāyānistic ideas. The life and work of the Buddha on earth is thus termed "the sport" (lalita) of a supernatural being.³ Even in the introductory chapter, the Buddha appears as an exalted, divine being. It begins, indeed, after the manner of the Pāli Suttas, with the words: "Thus have I heard: once the Lord sojourned at Śrāvastī in the Jeta grove in the garden of Anāthapiṇḍada." However, whereas in the Pāli texts, the actual Sutta begins immediately after these or similar stereotyped introductory words, in which the Master is introduced to us surrounded by a few disciples, or at the most by a following of "five hundred monks," the Lalita-Vistara, like all Vaipulya-Sūtras of the Mahāyāna, first sketches a splendid picture of the Buddha, with divine brilliance shining around it. He is surrounded by 12,000 monks and no less than 32,000 Bodhisattvas, "all only bound to one more rebirth, all born with the perfections of a Bodhisattva, all rejoicing in the knowledge of a Bodhisattva, all in the possession of insight into magic sayings," and so on. While he sits absorbed in deep meditation in the middle watch of the night, a ray of light bursts forth from the parting of his hair, penetrates into the worlds of heaven and plunges all the gods into excitement. The gods immediately begin a song in praise of the exalted Buddha, and soon Iśvara and other gods appear before the Lord, throw themselves at his feet and implore him, for the salvation and blessing of the world, to reveal the excellent Vaipulya-Sūtra, called Lalita-Vistara, while, in extravagant terms, they praise the advantages of this text, which had also been revealed by former Buddhas. By maintaining silence, Buddha gives his consent. It is only after this circumstantial introduction, which occupies a whole, long chapter, that the actual narrative begins, the biography of Buddha, which forms the contents of the work. As a matter of fact, it begins where, in the Nidāna-Kathā, the second section (*avidūrenidāna*) begins: