The thirty four
stories in Arya Sura''''s Jatakamala are morality tales
about incarnations of the Buddha, as
animals, princes, gods, and humans of all
kinds. Reworked in Sanskrit from older stories, probably in the 4th century AD,
they illustrate the Buddhist virtues.
As well as expounding Buddhist ideas, the stories offer a view of life in
ancient India. They are also charming, and entertaining enough to be read just
for fun.
Each story begins with the statement of a moral.
"No gift given in good faith to a worthy recipient can be called
small, its effect is so great."
"Those who make a practice of good behavior can win over the hearts
even of their enemies."
"Self-respect is what keeps good people from overstepping the bounds
of propriety."
There follows a stereotyped opening sentence and some scene-setting, which
often involves a description of natural beauty or social harmony.
"According to tradition, the Bodhisattva was once born as an ibex in
a remote forest region. In the absence of man it was a peaceful place, inhabited
by all sorts of animals. Trees and shrubs grew in plenty, their roots smothered
by dense undergrowth. Neither the paths nor the borders of the forest showed any
trace of traveler''''s footprints or wheel ruts. It was a landscape of riverbeds,
anthills, gullies, and rough ground."
In other stories the Bodhisattva is a merchant, a supremely able ship''''s
captain, a scion of a great Brahmin family, Sakra lord of the gods, lord of the
fish in quite a small lake, a wild buffalo, and so forth.
From there the stories unfold differently, with a variety of elements. A
typical example might involve encounters with kings, demons, spirits, or
animals, the creation of some tension, and the adoption by the Bodhisattva of an
unexpected or counter-cultural behaviour. This is then explained or expounded on
and brings the story to a happy resolution.
The stories illustrate virtues such as
charity, speaking
truth,
loyalty,
forbearance, and compassion, often taken to extremes. This is done through their
function as parables and through the incorporation of brief sermons and
lectures, and in one case a philosophical disputation.
Some of the ideas in the Jatakamala are strange to modern
sensibilities — avoiding animal sacrifice by creating a police state, for
example — but no more so than many of the Bible stories.
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