Gotama Buddha: A Biography Based on the Most Reliable Texts [Paperback]

Hajime Nakamura (Author), Gaynor Sekimori (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2001

In Gotama Buddha, Professor Hajime Nakamura embarks on a search for the details of the historical Buddha's life. He conducts an exhaustive analysis of both the oldest, most reliable texts and later biographies of the Buddha that contain mythological material.

Carefully sifting these texts to separate facts from embellishments, he constructs a biography that begins with the Indian historical context at the time of Buddha's Birth and takes the reader through all the stages of his life. Professor Nakamura also compares the oldest Buddhist texts with the earliest Jain and Hindu writings and finds surprising similarities that elucidate the significance of the historical Buddha. Archeological discoveries and factual elements from Buddhist art support Professor Nakamura's fascinating story. This is the first of two volumes; The second will be printed at a later date.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, Japanese (translation) --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: Kosei Publishing Company; 1st English Ed edition (September 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 4333018935
• ISBN-13: 978-4333018932
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #630,551 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #42 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( B ) > Buddha

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A well-written and simple book on Buddha's life, January 2, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Santa Clara, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gotama Buddha (Hardcover)

This book deserves an award for its clarity and scholarly presentation of the life-history of the Buddha, while being readable even by the lay-person. The author is a well-known researcher of Eastern philosophical traditions.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The definitive scholarly piece on the life of the Buddha., February 26, 2010

By 

E. Godfrey (Eastish...) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Gotama Buddha: A Biography Based on the Most Reliable Texts (Paperback)

Volume one of two.

While reading this book, you will quickly become aware of how Nakamura is in a completely different league than anyone else who has attempted to write on this topic. His mastery of seemingly every language he has bent his mind to is legendary. When approaching a topic spread about Sanskrit, Pali and Chinese, this skill comes in very handy.

The strength of this book comes from Nakamura's careful examination of a variety of primary sources in their original language. His purpose here is to parse out what probably happened in the life of the Buddha and what is egregious myth. He carefully cites his texts, states what they contain and then juxtaposes this with other texts (often times written later) to demonstrate how first-hand accounts of the Buddha were turned into outlandish superstition. When he cannot say anything definitive, he gives his reasons for why a certain bit of information cannot be known to such a degree. By utilizing these scholarly methods, Nakamura strips away the myth from the man revealing a far more human (and thus far more relatable) image of the Buddha.

By carefully dissecting the myths behind the life of the Buddha, a different character emerges from this process that makes other contemporary renderings of the Buddha seem rather trite in comparison. I would say that this is -the- definitive piece on the Buddha if the book were not so pedantic and probably un-approachable to most. I guess what I'm saying is that you had better be pretty motivated to get into the material or you will end up putting the book down out of boredom. I can assure you though that if you get through it, you will be thankful that you did.

I should also note that the footnotes are extraordinarily useful as Nakamura carefully cited his sources. This makes for a great place to begin future study, especially for getting familiar with the original Pali cannon.