édité par Guillaume Ducoeur (Université de Strasbourg) et Osmund Bopearachchi (CNRS-ENS)
Knowing that the life of the historical Buddha is recounted in the sacred texts in a variety of ways, depending on chronological, linguistic, geographical and other criteria, we thought it critically important to have a straightforward discussion by organising an international symposium on the subject at the University of Strasbourg on 11 and 12 June 2024.
In fact, some textual narratives do not correspond to the known iconographies, and some iconographies have no corresponding texts. Important events in the life of the Buddha are not homogeneously represented in schools of art in ancient South and Southeast Asia. This fact is directly linked to the marked differences in the way events are recounted in the sacred texts. The many variations include: the manner in which the future Buddha was born; the final motivation that drove him to leave the palace to become an itinerant ascetic; whether or not when he left his household to become homeless, he left behind his newborn son Rāhula; the way in which he spent the time that elapsed between the moment of enlightenment and the first sermon. These shifting storylines have not only guided and perhaps confused artists of the past, but they have also deeply confused modern scholars, especially art historians.
Contributors to this volume include Norihisa BABA, Osmund BOPEARACHCHI, Max DEEG, Guillaume DUCOEUR, Robert GOLDMAN, Lilian HANDLIN, Oskar von HINÜBER, Kyong-kon KIM, Richard SALOMON, Robert SHARF, Peter SKILLING, Monika ZIN.
