Writings of/on Buddha (ritual, Buddhism, spiritual, Buddhism)

[Doc]

I am curious to know if the Buddha ever wrote anything; any literature of some kind with a lot of what he said in his sermons or just about himself. If not, can any of you refer me to any good books about the Buddha? Not just Buddhism, but specifically about his life; where he went, who he talked to, what he said. Stuff like that. I have plenty of books about Buddhism, but I would like to read one about him specifically!

Danke!

[Engyo]

Doc -

As far as we are able to ascertain historically, Siddhartha Gautama left no written records in his own hand. As for stories about Prince Siddhartha and his spiritual quest, there is the famous book Siddhartha by Herman Hesse. There are some other biographies which spend more time talking about his teaching career after his attainment of perfect enlightenment; I will look and see what I can find to recommend.

Another good look at this story of his life (in the beginning at least) is in the movie Little Buddha, with Keanu Reeves. That is reasonably accurate up to the time of his enlightenment under the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya.

Hope this helps......