Sompornnuch Tansrisook
Chulalongkorn University (Thailand)
Dhammavinaya is the most important part among the materials collected in the Buddhist canon and is accompanied by stories, well-structured with an exact theme and formulaic language. This presentation stresses that the stories in the Vinaya and Suttanta transmitted as oral literature helped develop Buddhahood on the Gotama Buddha’s life in Buddhist traditions. The stories, when recited thoroughly, reveal his great effort to establish the Sangha and to carry out missionary work for the benefit and happiness of the people. Along these lines, the Buddhahood known in Buddhist traditions is the great compassion to the world in the effort and finally was raised as a Buddhist goal, not only in Mahāyāna.
(Presented in the International Conference on Buddhist Studies: Buddha's Biography – Buddhist Legends, 18-19 July 2015, Le Meridien Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by Department of Thai, Faculty of Arts, The Pali and Sanskrit Section, Department of Eastern Languages, Faculty of Arts and Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University)