Rediscovering the Buddha legends of the Buddha and their interpretation - Penner, Hans H. 1934- (Oxford New York Oxford University Press, 2009)
Cosmology and the great declaration -- The perfection of giving -- The birth and early life of Gotama -- Flight from the palace -- Enlightenment and liberation -- The Buddha begins to teach -- The Buddha becomes a wonder-worker -- The Buddha meets a king and two brilliant ascetics -- Rules, rules, and more rules -- The Buddha goes home -- The Buddha receives a gift and befriends a king -- Meeting a murderer, a visit home, and a quick trip to heaven -- Devadatta attempts to kill the Buddha -- The buddha's last days -- Once the buddha was a universal monarch -- The last watch and the funeral -- The quest for the historical Buddha -- The cosmological structure -- The legends as rites of passage -- The great agent : universal monarchs and Buddhas -- The gift, the renouncer, and the householder.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Keywords: Gautama Buddha; Religious biography -- India