What are some good scholarly resources on the historical Buddha? Compared to the historical Jesus, there seems to be a significant gap in available information. I imagine multiple factors contribute to this, including the predominance of Western perspectives in academic research over the past century and the fact that Eastern philosophy and religion may not resonate as deeply with Western audiences. What are some key studies or scholars who have explored this topic in depth?
Welcome aawalkerjj.
I’m not up on current historical/critical scholarship on the historical Buddha. I have some scholarly books about various and particular aspects of Buddhist thought but I suspect that’s not what you’re looking for. I’m going to predict that much of what you want might be in languages other than English, probably in Japanese or Hindi. What you need to do is hook up with an actual Buddhist scholar. I don’t think it would be out of line if you posted your question over at Prof Ehrman’s ‘Recent Posts’. I’m betting he knows of somebody in the Asian studies dept on the staff at Chapel Hill and could give you a name.
If you do this and get some useful info, let us know!
Porphyry you are right. We’re in a lot better shape with Jesus. But interestingly I’ve never heard of anything like Buddha mythicism. is there anyone who doubts that Gautama actually existed?
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