Retellings of the Buddha's life story have animated and sustained Buddhist thought and practice through some 2,500 years of history. To this day, Buddhist holidays and rituals are pinned to the arc of his biography, celebrating his birth, awakening, teaching, and final nirvana. His story is the model that exemplary Buddhists follow. Often, there is a moment of insight akin to the Buddha's experience with the Four Sights, followed by a great departure from home, and a period of searching that it is hoped will lead to final awakening. The Buddha's story is not just the Buddha's story; it is the story of Buddhism.

In this book, twelve leading scholars of South Asian texts and traditions articulate the Buddha-life blueprint--the underlying and foundational pattern that holds the life story of a buddha together. They retell the episodes of Buddha Gautama's extended life story, while keeping in mind the cosmic, paradigmatic arc of his narrative. The contributors have dedicated their careers to exploring hagiographical materials, each applying their own methodological and theoretical interests to shed new light on the enduring story of Buddhism. Using multiple perspectives, voices, and sources, this volume underscores the multivalent centrality of this story. The book will be an invaluable resource to practicing Buddhists and students of Buddhist Studies to help them engage in the most foundational story of the tradition.

The Buddha: A Storied Life, Vanessa R. Sasson and Kristin Scheible (editors), Oxford University Press, Paperback, 280 pages, $29.95

Editors:
Vanessa R. Sasson is Professor of Religious Studies at Marianopolis College, Research Fellow at the University of the Free State, and Research Member of Centre d'etudes et de recherches sur l'Inde, l'Asie du Sud et sa diaspora at Universite du Quebec a Montreal. She is the author or editor of numerous books, including Yasodhara and the Buddha (2021) and The Gathering: A Story of the First Buddhist Nuns (2023).

Kristin Scheible is Professor of Religion and Humanities at Reed College. She is the author of Reading the Mahavamsa: The Literary Aims of a Theravada Buddhist History (2016).

Contributors:
Naomi Appleton, Senior Lecturer in Asian Religions, University of Edinburgh and Co-Director of the Edinburgh Buddhist Studies Network

Stephen C. Berkwitz, Professor and Department Head of Religious Studies, Missouri State University

David Fiordalis, Associate Professor of Religion, Linfield University and Research Editor, 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha

Charles Hallisey, student of Buddhist literatures and Buddhism and teacher at Harvard Divinity School

Maria Heim, George Lyman Crosby 1896 and Stanley Warfield Crosby Professor in Religion, Amherst College

Jinah Kim, George P. Bickford Professor of Indian and South Asian Art, Harvard University

Todd Lewis, Distinguished Professor of Arts and Humanities and Professor of Religion, College of the Holy Cross

Reiko Ohnuma, Robert 1932 and Barbara Black Professor of Religion and Chair of the Department of Religion, Dartmouth College

Andy Rotman, Sydenham Clark Parsons Professor of Religion, Buddhism, and South Asian Studies, Smith College

Vanessa R. Sasson, Professor of Religious Studies, Marianopolis College and Research Fellow, University of the Free State

Kristin Scheible, Professor of Religion and Humanities, Reed College

John S. Strong, Charles A. Dana Emeritus Professor of Religious Studies, Bates College