Contemplating the Buddha in the Jatakas

Authors

  • Eviatar Shulman The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/rosa.37510

Keywords:

Buddha, Buddhology, Buddhist Narrative, Jātaka, omniscience, Theravāda

Abstract

This study takes a fresh look at the ideology of (semi-)canonical Jatakas assembled in the Jataka-atthakatha, arguing that they are rather un-interested in biography. Although this notion is normally at the centre of the study of Jataka in modern scholarship, these texts are not driven by an historical approach and do not attempt to relate the Buddha’s path to enlightenment in linear, logical fashion. Rather, Jatakas are interested in what a Buddha actually is, in an inquiry into his very nature, and thus offer a contemplation of his unique form of being. Most specifically, they strive to depict Buddha’s omniscience, which is evident in the narrative framework of the genre, in which Jatakas appear as explanations provided by the Buddha for events in the present. Omniscience is also present as a motivation behind some of the Bodhisatta’s great acts; much of his action can be interpreted as an opening of his mind to its full omniscient potential. Jatakas focus on the conditioning between lives, which the Bodhisatta is often aware of, and which the Buddha observes through his unique knowledge, thereby offering an observation on the patterning of consciousness that develops over time. This includes the very nature of the awakened mind, whose omniscience is shaped by actions carried out in previous existences.

Author Biography

  • Eviatar Shulman, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

    Eviatar Shulman is Senior Lecturer in the Departments of Asian Studies and Religious Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His research focuses today on contemplative and textual practices of early Buddhism. He has published numerous articles in leading journals and is author of Rethinking the Buddha: Early Buddhist Philosophy as Meditative Perception (Cambridge, 2014).

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Published

2018-11-13

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Shulman, E. (2018). Contemplating the Buddha in the Jatakas. Religions of South Asia, 12(1), 9-33. https://doi.org/10.1558/rosa.37510