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Secondary sourceBook1883

The Fo-sho-hing-tsan-king, a Life of Buddha

Asvaghosa · 1883

An 1883 English translation of Ashvaghosha's poetic biography of the Buddha, originally written in Sanskrit and translated into Chinese.

A biography of the Buddha's life, translated from Sanskrit through Chinese, used to study his story.

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The Fo-sho-hing-tsan-king, a Life of Buddha
Asvaghosa (trans. Samuel Beal), The Fo-sho-hing-tsan-king, a Life of Buddha, 1883. Scanned book, Internet Archive.

About this source

What it is

This book is a translation by Samuel Beal of the Fo-sho-hing-tsan-king, a poetic life of the Buddha composed by Ashvaghosha. The original was written in Sanskrit, translated into Chinese by Dharmaraksha around 420 AD, and then translated into English in 1883 as part of the Sacred Books of the East series.

Why it matters

Ashvaghosha's biography is one of the earliest surviving literary accounts of the Buddha's life, written centuries after his death but drawing on established traditions. Its translation into Chinese, and later English, shows how Buddhist teachings traveled across cultures and centuries. This text offers insight into how later generations understood and told the story of the Buddha's early life, from his birth to his search for enlightenment.

Look closer

  • Why might a biography written so long after the Buddha's life still be valuable to historians?
  • What challenges might arise when translating a text through two different languages?
  • What parts of the Buddha's life does this poem choose to highlight?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Buddha on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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