Associated with the living traditions of folk tale, drama and epic, the Jatakas recount the development of the Bodhisatta the being destined to become the present Buddha in his final life not just through the events of one lifetime but of hundreds. Written in Pali, the language of the Theravada Buddhist canon, the Jatakas comprise one of the largest and oldest collections of stories in the world dating from the fifth century BCE to the third century CE. Generations in South and South-East Asia have grown up with these tales.

This volume contains twenty-six stories drawn from various ancient sources, and each story reflects one of the ten perfections--giving, restraint, renunciation, wisdom, strength, acceptance, truthfulness, resolve, loving kindness and equanimity. A detailed introduction elaborates on the ten perfections, explains the forms of enlightenment as well as the structure, and the historical and geographical contexts of the stories. Sarah Shaw brings to life the teachings of Buddhism for the scholar and lay reader alike.

Jatakas: Birth Stories of the Bodhisatta, Sarah Shaw, Penguin India, Paperback, 339 Pages, $16.00

Sarah Shaw was educated at Manchester University, where she read Greek and English. She did her doctorate in English Literature there and went on to the study of Pali and Sanskrit in Oxford. She has written a book about meditation in the Pali canon, which is being published as part of a series in connection with the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies. She is a teacher and writer and is married with three children. A Buddhist for some years, she practices with the Samatha Association in Britain.

	Contents: Jatakas: Birth Stories of the Bodhisatta
	Acknowlegdements	ix
	List of Abbrviations	xi
	A note on the texts	xiii
	Author's note	xvii
	Introduction	xix
	The Far Past: The Bodhisatta Vow and the Ten Perfections	1
1.	A True Story	7
2.	The Story of Makhadeva	26
3.	The Cane Stalk Story	31
4.	The Story of the Partridge	37
5.	The Vedabbha Mantra	43
6.	The Story of the Five Weapons	51
7.	The Story of the Fish	60
8.	The Hair-Standing-on-End Story	66
9.	The Story of Great King of Glory	75
10.	The Story of More Than a Thousand	80
11.	The Story of the Draining Bucket	84
12.	A Rustic Story	87
13.	The Kusa Grass Story	90
14.	The Cat Story	95
15.	The Story of the Kimsuka Tree	99
16.	The Story of the Tortoise	104
17.	The Story of the One Who Taught Forbearance	108
18.	The Story of the Hare	114
19.	The Story of Nandiya the Deer	122
20.	The Story of the Barleymeal Sack	129
21.	The Story of the Monkey King	142
22.	The Story of the Swift Goose	149
23.	The Story of Campeyya	158
24.	The Story of Temiya, the Dumb Cripple	179
25.	The Story of Mahajanaka	222
26.	The Story of Sama	274
	Further reading and bibliography	311
	Appendix A: The disciples of the Buddha	321
	Appendix B: Cosmology	323
	Appendix C: Indian sites that portray Jatakas	326
	Glossary and index of proper names