Focusing on the shock (saṃvega) that may occur when one is reminded of things one has forgotten, the paper argues for the ethical significance not so much of remembering the past as of remembering that one has forgotten it. The colorful tales from the Divyāvadāna serve as brilliant and humorous reminders of the enormity of all we have forgotten.

if we consider the Buddha’s hagiography, romantic love proves to be a significant feature of the story.

Although she is abandoned by the Bodhisatta as he makes his Great Departure, the Yasodhara of South Asian hagiography cannot be defined by her abandonment. She is regularly represented as a powerful character with a voice of her own — one who challenges, cries, speaks, and commands. But above all else, the Yasodhara of many of these sources is regularly described as the Buddha’s match.

Formerly, when this young deva was a human being, he undertook faith, virtue, learning, generosity, and wisdom…

The devas complained when a poor man was reborn in heaven, even outshining them!

Early Buddhist literature depicts the animal rebirth as a most “unfortunate destiny” (durgati), won through negative karma and characterized by violence, fear, suffering, and a lack of wisdom, moral agency, or spiritual potential. … major animal characters within the life-story of the Buddha [however] can be seen as “doubles” of the Buddha…

For an interview with the author about this book, see The New Books Network Episode.

Their presence in an avadāna collection forces us to reflect upon what it might mean to be both a jātaka and an avadāna.

On the presence of stories about the Buddha’s past lives (jātakas) inside the Avadāna collections.

Once upon a time, the Bodhisattva was born in a distinguished brahmin family…

A retelling of:

1. the Rsipañcaka Jātaka
2. the Sārthavāha Jātaka
3. the Sarvamdada Jātaka
4. the Matsaranand Āvadāna and
5. the Bhavalubdhak Āvadāna

from the Avadānasārasamuccaya and the Jātakmālāvadāna-sūtra.

Mythology isn’t about “should.” It’s about “is.” It’s about describing life.

Bhante Sujato explains how Buddhist myths work: the ground the stories grew out of and how they were reshaped by Buddhist wisdom.

Note that you can feel free to skip the fourth lecture as it doesn’t add much to the previous three.

The classes can also be viewed as Youtube videos here.

This paper offers a comparative study of a cluster of stories in which the Buddha-to-be makes a sacrifice – of flesh, family members or wealth – in exchange for a single verse of teaching. […] The paper argues that these tales reveal new perspectives on the oft-studied relationship between Buddha and Dharma, and between the Buddha’s physical body and his body of teachings

The disconnect between the popular portrayal of pretas and the reality of these early texts drives the first half of my book, which looks at how the concept of the ghost solidified over time. But what really interested me about these stories was the bodies of these pretas: how horrific they are…

What is interesting about Ajātaśatru is that he is not only a committer of an ānantarya crime, but also an eminent lay disciple of the Buddha. […] Given his transformation, the salvation of Ajātaśatru provides a convenient platform for Buddhist authors to express their ideas on how to balance the workings of karma…

How is it possible that my husband detests me?

No matter how many stories one reads in which the bodhisattva agrees to give his body away, one still holds one’s breath every time the momentous decision is made. One still feels a shudder run up the spine whenever the bodhisattva cuts open his flesh, and the text dwells almost lovingly on the pain and agony endured. It is only the story that engages us to such an extent…

Chuchok fits into this genre of “Thai trickster figures.” When you think about the story not from the perspective of Vessantara but from the perspective of the peasantry, think about how amazing it is that a peasant would even think to ask a member of the royal family for their two children to be his wife’s servants! It’s absurd!

The humor and political themes found in the Northern Thai retellings of the Vessantara (Jujaka?) Jātaka.

We should bear in mind that jātaka is not an inflexible category. The same narrative can fulfill different functions, at one and the same time or at different times, as a jātaka, a deśanā, an ānisaṃsa, a paritta, or a sūtra.

This article begins with a brief history of jātakas, from the Pāli canon in India to the spread of the tales through all of Asia. Skilling then goes on to classify and elaborate on the jātakas as classical (tales found within the Khuddaka-nikya) and non-classical (transmitted outside of the canon and only in certain regions). Throughout the study, Skilling brings various jātaka stories into conversation, as well as various places in Asia where jātaka tales have played an important role in the region’s form of Buddhism.

This article presents an avadāna excerpt found in Śamathadeva’s Abhidharmakośopāyikā-ṭīkā. The tale reports a monk’s change of sex to female, followed by five hundred successive births as a woman, all of which happened as the karmic result of having addressed his fellow monks as women. The avadāna identifies this monk, who is introduced as a reciter of the Tripiṭaka, with the Bodhisattva in a past life.

For an academic discussion of this Mahayana Sutra and its parallels, see Levman’s 2005 article in CJBS.

A true hero will be prepared to sacrifice much of himself or herself for others.

This brief essay discusses two similar Jataka stories that show how the Bodhisattva sacrificed himself to relieve the suffering of others. S. Dhammika muses on the purpose of such stories.

A wise man in the world of the living should avoid bad deeds.

Reflection Questions:

1. What was the cause of this man’s leprosy?
2. How does the Buddha treat him?
3. What attitude towards lepers does this sutta encourage us to have?

I investigate the tale of the Buddhaʼs sojourn in the Heaven of the Thirty-three to teach his mother, based on a translation of a version of this episode in the Saṃyukta-āgama preserved in Chinese, with a view to discerning the gradual development and significance of this tale.

The emergence of a new type of sūtra emphasizing motherly love seems to reflect a powerful current of filial sentimentality conspicuous in Indian Buddhism

In early Buddhism paccekabuddhas are liminal figures in two senses: they appear between Buddhist dispensations, and they are included as a category of awakening between sammāsambuddha and arahat. Because of their appearance in times of no Buddhism, paccekabuddhas feature regularly in jātaka literature, as exemplary renouncers, teachers, or recipients of gifts. This article asks what the liminal status of paccekabuddhas means for their interactions with the Buddha and his past lives as Bodhisatta.

This article looks at the various narrative uses of Paccekabuddhas in the Jataka, Apadna, and also the Pali canon and its commentarial tradition. In particular, Appleton highlights the tension between the bodhisatta and paccekabuddha.

In some works Sadāprarudita is presented as the paragon of one who searches for prajñāpāramitā; in others he is the model for those who desire to serve their gurus. In China, moreover, during the early stage of the Pure Land tradition, Sadāprarudita was regarded as the preeminent exemplar of one practising the niànfósānmèi 念佛三昧 (recollection of the buddhas).

How one character came to represent so much to so many.

The redactors of the Bhaiṣajyavastu seem to have transformed the stories into stories of donations, using opening and closing stock phrases and some additions to the text.

While hell realms seem pretty distant from the serenely meditating monks and mindful contemplation that Buddhism is usually associated with in the Western imagination, Buddhism has some of the most elaborate hell realms in the history of religion.

Let the king provide funding for those who work in trade. Let the king guarantee food and wages for those in government service. Then the people, occupied with their own work, will not harass the realm. The king’s revenues will be great.

A brahmin wishes to undertake a great sacrifice and asks for the Buddha’s advice. The Buddha tells a legend of the past in which a king is persuaded to give up violent sacrifice and instead to devote his resources to supporting the needy citizens of his realm. However, even such a beneficial and non-violent sacrifice pales in comparison to the spiritual sacrifice of giving up our attachments.

I do not recall any mental exultation arising because deities come to me

Ugga the Householder roars his lion’s roar and the Buddha confirms him as a non-returner.

In the traditional world one never hears a story for the first time; every telling is a retelling.

Traditional accounts of the life story of the Buddha contain an apparent paradox: at birth he is virtually omniscient, but by adolescence when he encounters the famous “four sights”—an old man, an ill man, a corpse, and a mendicant—he does not know how to understand them. This article proposes one possible religious meaning visible within this paradox, relating to differing motivations which encourage believers both to begin Buddhist practice, since they share the ignorance the Buddha felt as a young man, and to continue it despite the vast distance to its final goal

Unlike others in the [Vessantara Jātaka], [Yasodharā] never breaks precepts, or puts her own wishes, however noble, before the needs and requirements that the beings in the immediate situation demand: she provides the true moral compass of the tale. […] Maddī, like Vessantara, has to give up everything, but, unlike him, she never lets go of her sense of interconnectedness with other beings: whether her husband, her family, her environment, or, perhaps, her vow

This paper discusses the role of the Buddha’s wife, Yasodharā/Rāhulamūtā, in Pāli Jātakas. Noting her continued popularity in South and Southeast Asian Buddhism, it considers her path to liberation seen as a composite whole, through many lifetimes, and considers some of the literary implications of this multiple depiction.

… he sank and melted down and wasn’t able to stay still. It’s like when ghee or oil is poured onto sand: it sinks and melts down, and can’t remain

A god from the Pure Abodes visits the Buddha and complains about how busy he is.

This is indeed that Jeta’s Grove,
frequented by the Saṅgha of hermits…

A deity who had been the Buddha’s supporter Anāthapiṇḍika in his former life comes to the Buddha and speaks verses in celebration of the Jeta’s Grove, good deeds, the Dhamma, and Venerable Sāriputta.

Ninety-one eons ago, the Buddha Vipassī arose in the world, perfected and fully awakened…

The story of the Buddha Vipassī which later came to be grafted onto Buddha Gotama’s biography.

I had over a thousand sons who were valiant and heroic, crushing the armies of my enemies.

The Buddha recalls the results of his good deeds.

Once upon a time, householder, there was a brahmin named Velāma…

[…but] it would be more fruitful to develop the perception of impermanence—even for as long as a finger-snap—than to do all of these things

The wealthy and devoted lay supporter Anāthapiṇḍika rather curiously says that only poor alms are given in his home. The Buddha praises gracious and bounteous generosity, but meditation surpasses even the greatest offering.

You seek something that cannot be obtained. I am sure that you will die from sadness: it is impossible to get the sun and moon

A deva shows a grieving father the way to end his sorrow.

But I offered them much more food than you did! Yet, I have been born in a lower heavenly world. Having offered very little, how did you receive more happiness than me?

Devas discuss the importance of thinking about the whole Noble Sangha when giving alms instead of individual monks.

I offered all those flowers with a happy mind

Following the precepts, leading a restrained life, practicing generosity, and having faith brings much happiness.

… past-life accounts of women as disciples of former buddhas add a new dimension to the notion of female discipleship in early Buddhism. Gotama was not alone in having a fourfold community

Then Māra came up out of Moggallāna’s mouth and stood against the door

Venerable Mahāmoggallāna confronts the evil one with a surprising tale.

No life is eternal, not even that of the gods;
what then of sensual pleasures so hollow…

The Princess Sumedhā pulls out all the stops to convince her family to let her ordain, showing off her impressive knowledge of the Buddha’s teachings.

The third, and most important, reason [Buddhism uses narratives to communicate its ethics] is that we are narratives ourselves.

A defense of Buddhism as Philosophy from the Western perspective.

When reviewed like this, the whole story appears a piece of improbable fiction, possibly a very distorted account of something which actually did take place. It is strange that a story like this, which does no credit to the Buddha, but quite the opposite, was permitted to remain in the Vinaya.

[the Apadāna] does in fact include a Sumedha story which features the honoring of Dīpaṅkara Buddha with lotus flowers

On the many version of the Buddha’s prophecy across ancient Buddhist literature and art.

The ability of a lineage to carry a particular association is of great benefit to the narratives, for it provides both weight and flexibility.

In the original teachings deeds and their results are presented quite subtly, as everyone, of course, produces many millions of intentional deeds, both good and bad, over the course of their lifetime. And the deeds themselves are often motivated by a mixture of good and bad intentions, which are not purely one or the other.

In the later teachings these subtleties were often obscured by the didactic need to present the message in a clear and unambiguous way, and we find what is in essence a very complex teaching reduced to something rather simplistic: do this bad deed in this life, get a complimentary bad result in the next; do this good deed, get this good result.

Only a man could dream of Heaven as a place where he can lie about all day, surrounded by beautiful women

On how the Buddhists transformed the Indian image of heaven.

This translation by T. W. Rhys Davids also contains his own introduction to the Jātakas, which remains worth a read even a century later.

I invite the reader to join me in a search for what could be found in the textual corpus of early Buddhist discourses

In the first chapter I investigate the bodhisattva conception as such, surveying relevant passages from the early discourses. With the second chapter I turn to the meeting between the previous Buddha Kāśyapa and the bodhisattva Gautama, examining the relation of this meeting to the notion of a vow the bodhisattva took to pursue the path to Buddhahood. The future Buddha Maitreya is the theme of the third chapter, in which I take up the notion of a prediction a bodhisattva receives in assurance of his future success.

It is possible to know the original intent of our sacred literature.

An impassioned defense of mythology and orthodoxy in the modern world.

Master Gotama, what is the cause and condition why human beings are seen to be inferior and superior?

The Buddha explains to a brahmin how your deeds in past lives affect you in this life.

The narrative of MSud also tells the story of Mahāsudassana’s withdrawal from his city into its inner sanctum, the Palace of Dhamma — a journey from the outer world of the city to the inner world of the Palace of Dhamma

Rupert Gethin puts our attention on a myth in the DN we’d normally skip over and wonders how ancient Buddhists would have understood this tale.

I would say that the Nikāyas and Āgamas give us a “historical-realistic perspective” on the Buddha, while the Mahāyāna sūtras give us a “cosmic-metaphysical perspective.”

Bhikkhu Bodhi explores the Bodhisattva ideal from the perspective of the both the Theravāda and Mahayana, with a brief summary of its history. An excellent introduction to this vital topic.