Jātaka stories in Theravāda Buddhism : narrating the Bodhisatta path

Jataka stories (stories about the previous births of the Buddha) are very popular in Theravada Buddhist countries, where they are found in both canonical texts and later compositions and collections, and are commonly used in sermons, children's books, plays, poetry, temple illustrations, rituals and festivals. Whilst at first glance many of the stories look like common fables or folktales, Buddhist tradition tells us that the stories illustrate the gradual path to perfection exemplified by the Buddha in his previous births, when he was a bodhisatta (buddha-to-be). Jataka stories have had a long and colourful history, closely intertwined with the development of doctrines about the Buddha, the path to buddhahood, and how Buddhists should behave now the Buddha is no more. This book explores the shifting role of the stories in Buddhist doctrine, practice, and creative expression, finally placing this integral Buddhist genre back in the centre of scholarly understandings of the religion. "Jātaka stories (stories about the previous births of the Buddha) are very popular in Theravada Buddhist countries, where they are commonly used in sermons, children's books, plays, poetry, temple illustrations, rituals and festivals. Buddhist tradition tells us that the stories illustrate the gradual path to perfection exemplified by the Buddha in his previous births, when he was a Bodhisatta (Buddha-to-be). This book explores the shifting role of the stories in Buddhist doctrine, practice, and creative expression, finally placing this integral Buddhist genre back in the centre of scholarly understandings of the religion."--Provided by publisher Cover 1 Contents 6 Preface 8 List of Abbreviations 10 1 What is a Jātaka? 12 2 The Bodhisatta in Jātaka Stories 32 3 The Creation of a Jātaka Genre 52 4 Generic Conventions Embraced and Ignored 76 5 Jātakas and Buddhology 96 6 Jātakas and Biography 120 7 Jātaka Ideology in Practice 134 8 The Perfection of Storytelling 158 Bibliography 170 Index 182 Jakata stories (stories about the previous births of the Buddha) are very popular in Theravada Buddhist countries. This book explores the shifting role of the stories in Buddhist doctrine, practice and creative expression, finally placing this integral Buddhist genre back in the centre of scholarly understandings of the religion.