Historical Evidence for Buddha

(Siddhartha Gautama)

Posted: August 17, 2005

Relevance of the Historical Evidence for Buddha to Christianity:

The historical evidence for the life of Buddha will be briefly discussed in order to provide the reader with another example of documentation for a religious figure in the ancient world in addition to Jesus. As the reader will probably conclude, the historical documentation for the life and teachings of Jesus is far greater than the historical documentation for the life of Buddha, provided that the reader possesses a general understanding of the historical documentation available for the life and teachings of Jesus.

Historical Evidence for the Life and Teachings of Buddha:

Buddha, or Siddhartha Gautama, was born in North India sometime around 563 B.C.E. and presumably lived a long life, perhaps being about eighty years old when he died (AIHET:192).

“So far as we are aware, he didn’t commit anything to writing. Thus, all we know of Buddha’s teaching has come down to us from others. From the very beginning, though, both an oral tradition and a written tradition developed” (AIHET:212).

“Although the oldest available written Buddhist texts are relatively late, tradition assures us that the texts known as Nikayas contain an early and reliable record of the Buddha’s actual teachings, for immediately after the Buddha’s death a council of monks was summoned to recall and collect these teachings” (ASAP:193).

“Unfortunately, very little is known about Shakyamuni Buddha that we could call historical fact. Historical record keeping was not much practiced in those days, and his followers were far more concerned about preserving his teaching than with the details of his life-and, of course, that’s what really matters” (AIHET:192).

“I want to emphasize this point: Commonly repeated stories about the life of Buddha are the stuff of legend, not history” (AIHET:192).

“Various ancient sources give us information about the life of Buddha. The oldest and most important document is the Pali Canon. Committed to writing in the first century B.C.E., the Pali Canon is a carefully assembled collection of the then-existing scriptural works and traditions regarding Buddha. The accounts in the Pali Canon, however, are really nothing more than two commentaries that deal with two different parts of Buddha’s life. They give us only some basic facts” (AIHET:193).

“ The first complete biography of the Buddha was written in the first century C.E. by the poet Ashvaghosha. This work, known as the Buddha-Charita, is unreservedly mythical; the author was not interested in historical veracity. Many of the legends about Shakyamuni Buddha’s life are derived from the Buddha-Charita” (AIHET:193).

“Approximately four centuries after Buddha’s death, the first great effort was made to gather together the existing sources and determine, insofar as was possible, the true record of Buddha’s life and teaching. This scholarly and thoroughgoing work came to be known as the Pali Canon" (AIHET:212).

“Again, the story of Buddha’s life is much more the stuff of legends than of history. But it’s well worth surveying, however briefly. As you might expect, there are numerous variations to the legends” (AIHET:193).

SUMMARY:

1. The best attestation to Buddha’s life is based on oral tradition.

2. Actual written texts relating details about Buddha’s life and teachings are considerably late.