The Life and Work of Buddhaghosha

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In "The Life and Work of Buddhaghosa' by Bimala Charan Law, the author meticulously reconstructs the history of Buddhaghosa, the eminent commentator of the Theravada School of Buddhism. The book comprises various chapters, each unraveling different aspects of Buddhaghosa's life and contributions. Beginning with a detailed exploration of his life based on his own writings and historical accounts, Law navigates through legends surrounding Buddhaghosa, cautioning against their historical reliability. The author also delves into the origin and development of Buddhist commentaries and provides a comprehensive portrait of Buddhaghosa's life and legacy.

BUDDHAGHOSA Was the most celebrated commentator of the Beard School of Buddhism. An attempt has been mede in the present treatise to build up a connected history of the life and labours of the distinguished exegete. In the first chapter, I have attempted to put together the materials for a life-history of Buddhaghosa as culled from his own works as well as from Dhammakitti's account recorded it the Mahāvamșa. The second chapter deals with the legends which grew about our commentator as mentioned in the Buddhaghosuppatti, the Sasanavarmsa and similar works. Much importance cannot be attached to these legends as they are of little value from the historical point of view. The third chapter treats of the origin and development of Buddhist commentaries, and an important branch of the Buddhist literature, namely, that of the Porānas has been examined in it.

I SET down here at the author's request a few words of Lintroduction to his book on Buddhaghosa and his works. But Mr. Bimala Charan Law as an investigator in that unharvested field, needs no introduction. By me lies his prolegomenon to it, published over two years ago, in the Journal of the Asiatic Socity of Bengal. In that essay, he drew up a list of 14 questions on his present subject. All were of historical interest. All would have to be discussed in any critical history of Buddhaghosa's work. He had there no scope to deal with any one of them. Here the titles of his chapters taken together virtually cover those 14 questions.