བསད་ནམས་ཀྱ་སྟབས་ཀྱ་རྟགས་པ་བརྗད་པ intro.5

intro.5

The Exemplary Tale of Puṇyabala demonstrates many of the leitmotifs of the avadāna genre. The Buddha relates an inspirational story about the benefits of making merit, and uses illustrative narratives to show how this practice underpins all rival character traits, being the only one that leads directly to spiritual attainment. Although the narrative contains some elements that would be more typical of a jātaka, such as the giving away of body parts,² it is primarily dedicated to explaining and illustrating the primacy and far-reaching efficacy of merit-making in spiritual life and has fewer of the entertaining plot devices that enliven the jātaka versions of this story.