There are a total of ten extant manuscripts of the Lalitavistara at Dunhuang. By focusing on these manuscripts, this paper aims to explore the translation sources and later propagation and spread of this ancient account of the life of the Buddha. A comparison of the languages used to write the Dunhuang manuscripts and the Taizi Ruiyingbenqi Jing (an alternate translation version of the Lalitavistara) can verify that some chapters and sections are an exact copy of the Taizi Ruiyingbenqi Jing. It can further be seen that the language used underwent complex changes when it transitioned from hand written manuscripts to block-printed editions. By examining the different texts, the authors infer that the various block-printed editions made using the Southern system of printing are closest to the versions of the Lalitavistara found at Dunhuang, while the editions made with the printing techniques common in the Central Plains have the lowest similarity, a fact which is likely due to differences in the master copy used to print the texts. Between the two systems of printing, there are more clear discrepancies between versions of the block-printed editions made using the Southern system.
