Buddhist Birth Stories Vol 1

Excerpt from Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. 1: Or Jātaka Tales, the Oldest Collection of Folk-Lore Extant IT is well known that amongst the Buddhist Scriptures there is one book in which a large number Of Old stories, fables, and fairy tales, lie enshrined in an edifying commentary; and have thus been preserved for the study and amusement of later times. How this came about is not at present quite certain. The belief of orthodox Buddhists on the subject is this. The Buddha, as occa sion arose, was accustomed throughout his long career to explain and comment on the events happening around him, by telling Of similar events that had occurred in his own previous births. The experience, not Of one lifetime only, but of many lives, was always present to his mind; and it was this experience he so Often used to point a moral, or adorn a tale. The stories so told are said to have been reverently learnt and repeated by his disciples; and immediately after his death 550 Of them were gathered together in one collection, called the Book Of the 550 J atakae or Births; the commentary to which gives for each J Etaka, or Birth Story, an. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

The Commercial Introduction Entitled Nidana-Katha-The Story Of The Lineage-Translated From Prof. V. Fausboll`S Edition Of The Pali Text By T.W. Rhys Davids.

First Published in 2000. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

It is well known that amongst theBuddhist Scriptures there is one book in which a large number of old stories, fables, and fairy tales, lie enshrined in an edifying commentary; and have thus been preserved for the study and amusement of later times. How this came about is not at present quite certain. The belief of orthodox Buddhists on the subject is this. The Buddha, as occasion arose, was accustomed throughout his long career to explain and comment on the events happening around him, by telling of similar events that had occurred in his own previous births. The experience, not of one lifetime only, but of many lives, was always present to his mind; and it was this experience he so often used to point a moral, or adorn a tale.

This book presents an English translation of the Jataka tales, a collection of birth stories that form part of the Buddhist canon. Readers interested in religion, mythology, and folklore will enjoy this collection, which offers insight into the Buddhist worldview and the cultural history of South Asia. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.