All living creatures die to be born again, so the Hindus believe. Siddhartha, who became the Buddha, was no exception. It is believed that several lifetimes as a bodhisattva go into the making of Buddha, the Enlightened One. The Bodhisattva is one, who by performing virtuous, kind and intelligent acts, aspires to become a Buddha. The Bodhisattva came in many forms – man, monkey, deer, elephant, lion. Whatever his mortal body, he spreads the message of justice and wisdom, tempered with compassion.
This wisdom, the wisdom of right thinking and right living, is preserved in the Jataka stories the Jataka tales, on which the present title is based, is a collection of 550 stories included in the pali canon. These are based on folklore, legends and ballads of ancient India. We cannot assign definite date to the Jataka stories. Taking into account archaeological and literary evidence, it seems likely that they were compiled in the period between 3rd century BC and 5t century AD. The Jataka tales provide invaluable information about ancient India civilization, culture and philosophy. |
