and sometimes quasi-historical expression to religious teachings. As noted by scholars such as Thomas Rhys Davids, the earliest texts of Buddhism (such as the Nikāyas and Āgamas) do not present a single coherent and systematic biography of the Buddha. However, there are various references to numerous life events in these texts, and in a few cases gives more extensive accounts of important events in the Buddha's life. All later versions of the Buddha's life derive primarily from these sources. These include: Gautama's birth. Some details of his life growing up. References to the renunciation. The famous story of the “four signs” is told, but regarding the past Buddha Vipassī, not Gautama. Detailed accounts of Gautama's practices before awakening. These include his encounter with earlier teachers, the period of austerities, and his own efforts to develop meditation. Various accounts of the night of the Awakening. The events following awakening are told in a famous narrative that is found either in Sutta or Vinaya. Events involving the Buddha's family, including his return home and the ordination of his son, the rebellion of Devadatta, ordination of the Buddha's step-mother as the first bhikkhuni, found mostly in the Vinayas. The Buddha's last journey, passing away, and subsequent events are told in the Mahāparinibbāna Sutta. Most of the relevant texts from the Pali canon have been gathered and arranged in Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli's The Life of the Buddha. Bhikkhu Sujato has shown that the events of the Buddha's life in the early texts fulfill almost all the stages of Campbell's Hero's Journey, despite the fact that they are not arranged as a coherent narrative. The Hero's Journey becomes much more prominent and complete in later versions of the story. The early texts also include references to Indian deities (devas), extraordinary beings such as Yakkhas, Nagas and other mythic content. The extended life of the Buddha in Jātakas One of the “three knowledges” (tevijjā) of the Buddha was recollecting past lives. However, early texts contain very few actual narratives of past lives. Such stories as are found in the early texts almost always show signs of belonging to the latest strata of those texts. However, in a short time the Buddhist community developed a vast repertoire of stories associated with the Buddha's past lives, known as the Jātakas. There are 550 such stories in the Pali canon, and hundreds more in Chinese, Tibetan, and Sanskrit sources. Several