The Lalitavistara is a work of great beauty, with a vision that has no parallel in modern literature. Its elegant style reflects the dignity of its subject, and its rich imagery, building and building until it almost overwhelms the ordinary mind, gives the text the power to touch the heart directly.

In the Lalitavistara , the Buddha himself describes the events from the time before his birth to the time when he first transmitted his realization to others.

In reading the Lalitavistara, it soon becomes evident that the Buddha is being described on several levels at once. First, the Budha is immutable and universal, free of all limitations: onmipresent, already enlightened since beginningless time, and inseparable from the Dharma and the Sangha. At the same time, he is a being whose training through countless lifetimes has made him more than human, greater even than the gods. The many miraculous displays recounted in the Laliltavistara demonstrate that the Buddha moves in a realm not normally accessible to ordinary vision and understanding.

Finally, the Buddha is an individual human being, born in a certain time and place, whose life can be understood on the level of personal growth and inner dynamics. On this level his knowledge is incomplete, and he must discover anew the truths that he will later communicate to others. The Lalitavistara persents this aspect of the Buddha as an emanation or manifestation produced solely for the purpose of isntructing sentient beings.

Keeping these different aspects of the Buddha in mind can help guide the reader through the rich treasures of Lalitavistara.