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This book analyses and reconstructs the oldest extant pictorial and scriptural narratives of the life of the Buddha. The biography, presented in chronological order, is based on a comparative analysis of the most ancient originals, these scriptures are Chinese translations that have not been rendered into Western languages; they are supplemented by scriptures in the Pali Canon and later Sanskrit texts. Questions of alternate traditions, descrepancies in the texts, iconological symbolism, and regional styles are provided for each event in the life of Buddha. In sum this study examines the origins of the biography and Buddhist doctrine in terms of the culture in which it evolved.