འཕགས་པ་སངས་རྒྱས་ཀྱ་རྟགས་པ་བརྗད་པ་ཤས་ལྡན་གྱ་མད intro.2

intro.2

The Noble Sūtra of Jñānaka: An Exemplary Tale of the Buddha is one of a number of avadānas (Tib. rtogs pa brjod pa), or exemplary tales, preserved in the Kangyur. Avadāna is a narrative genre of Buddhist literature that describes how virtuous actions play out across lifetimes. True to the avadāna genre, The Sūtra of Jñānaka relates the otherwise unimaginable workings of karma across several lifetimes, beginning with a god in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three. This god has reached the end of his life and foresees his rebirth in the womb of a pig in Vaiśālī, the Licchavi capital at the time of the Buddha. Another god overhears his cries of agony and encourages him to call upon the Buddha, who is staying in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three to give teachings to his mother, who had passed away not long after his birth. The Buddha prompts the dying god to seek refuge in the Three Jewels, and, instead of being reborn to the sow, the god finds himself born into a merchant family in Vaiśālī. Immediately after his birth, he praises the Three Jewels, leading his astounded parents to name him Jñānaka, “He Who Possesses Knowledge.” At the age of eight, Jñānaka encounters the Buddha on an alms round. Recollecting his past life, he offers alms to the Buddha and invites him and his monks to a midday meal at his parents’ home. Jñānaka’s parents make elaborate preparations to receive the Buddha and his monks, which prompts the Buddha to prophesy that Jñānaka’s offerings will act as the cause for his eventual awakening as the buddha known as King of Foremost Knowing.