The Jātakas, “birth stories” are a popular genre of Buddhist (and Hindu and Jaina) literature that comprises of some 547 narrative accounts of the former lives of the Buddha-to-be on his Bodhisatta path. In the vein of the tradition of Aesop or the later Jean de La Fontaine in Europe, most of the jātakas are animal fables with related moral teachings.
Each jātaka tale illustrates how the Bodhisatta cultivated various virtues and qualities that eventually factored in his attainment of awakening (bodhi,) at which point he became a Buddha. In life after life, the Bodhisatta is portrayed as an exemplary individual who embodies such virtues as wisdom, prudence, compassion, and ascetic detachment.
The largest and most recognized collection of jātaka stories is the 547 titles in the Jātakatthavaṇṇanā. Some of these 547 have no real story, and some stories repeat under multiple titles. Besides, there are many jātakas in the form of images, frequently without clear textual matches.
The jātaka tales emphasize the Hindu-Buddhist doctrine of karma; according to this law of causality, present events can be explained by virtuous deeds and bad deeds of the past. Thus, a Bodhisatta becomes the superior being he has produced through his precedent righteous actions.
The myths and legends that comprise the jātaka literature have developed over the centuries. Some of the tales are Buddhist in origin, and some are abstracted from prevalent folklore.
Throughout history, the jātaka tales have played a principal role in the propagation of Buddhist teachings. They are the focal point of Buddhist sermons, customs, festivals, spiritual art, and religious performances. As with religious parables, jātakas are intended to disseminate Buddhist teachings amongst the common mass so that jātakas’ principles may elevate physical and mental faculties in their day-to-day affairs and their lives after that.
jātaka stories have been depicted on Buddhist monuments since the first century BCE. In addition to the carvings and engravings, mural paintings of the stories are found in cave temples, such as those at Ajanta in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The ritual of illustrating the Buddha’s past lives at sacred sites continued as Buddhism spread out of India, and the stories remain a popular subject for illustration to this day.
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The virtuous (when injured) grieve not so much for their own pain as for the loss of happiness incurred by their injurers.
—The Jataka Tales
The virtuous retain in their mind the good done to them, whereas the evil they experience drops from their mind, like water from a lotus-petal.
—The Jataka Tales
A heart bound by affection does not mind imminent peril. Worse than death to such a one is the sorrow which the distress of a friend inflicts.
—The Jataka Tales
Worship consists in fulfilling the design (of the person honored), not in offerings of perfumes, garlands, and the like.
—The Jataka Tales
You do not well enticing me to a sinful act. And what you say, that “nobody else will know of it” – will it be less sinful for this reason?
—The Jataka Tales
If you desire to do something pleasing to me, then desist from hunting forever! The poor poor beasts of the forest, being … dull of intellect, are worthy of pity for this very reason.
—The Jataka Tales
It is not as a means of procuring my own happiness that I give in charity, but I love charity that I may do good to the world.
—The Jataka Tales
No fear has any one of me; neither have I fear of any one: in my good-will to all I trust.
—The Jataka Tales
To a righteous man death must bring gladness. For no fear of mishap exists for him who is devoted to a holy life.
—The Jataka Tales
Fulfil the perfection of long-suffering; be thou patient under … reproach.
—The Jataka Tales
Wondering Whom to Read Next?
The Hitopadesha Indian Collection of Fables
The Panchatantra Indian Collection of Fables
The Dhammapada Buddhist Anthology of Verses