Jataka

Jataka (Sanskrit for “Birth”), any of the edifying stories of the previous lives of the founder of Buddhism, Buddha. Because Buddhism accepts the doctrine of rebirth (see Transmigration), it is assumed that the Buddha progressed toward his enlightenment through many preceding existences. According to early Buddhist doctrine, as part of his final enlightenment, the Buddha gained knowledge of all his former lives. Jatakas, frequently originating from the Buddha himself, tell the stories of these lives, presenting the Buddha in various existences—for example, as a prince, a god, and even a deer. Five hundred forty-seven such stories are contained in the early canon of Buddhism known as the Tipitaka, and illustrations of the stories are found as sculptures in Buddhist temples. The Jatakas also relate the meeting of another Buddhist figure, the so-called future Buddha, then called Sumedha, with the first of the 24 Buddhas before him, Dipankara, who foretells Sumedha's eventual enlightenment. In another famous tale, the Buddha comes upon a hungry tigress and her starving cubs and sacrifices himself to feed them. Despite inconsistencies such as the immense lapse of time that was supposed to separate such events from the Buddha's own day, all Jatakas reflect life in early India. Most serve as parables for Buddhist readers, using the Buddha's past lives to instruct the laity, or those outside the Sangha (monastic community), about moral virtue and the law of karma (habit or action).