Pre-Buddhist India: A Political, Administrative, Economic, Social and Geographical Survey of Ancient India Based Mainly on the Jataka Stories c6.s5.2
Pre-Buddhist India: A Political, Administrative, Economic, Social and Geographical Survey of Ancient India Based Mainly on the Jātaka Stories c6.s5.2
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c6.s5.2
“THE object of composing the Birth-stories,” said I-Tsing in the seventh century A.D., “is to teach the doctrine of universal salvation in a beautiful style, agreeable to the popular mind and attractive to readers.”¹ This shows the universal popularity of the stories. There can therefore be no doubt that the teachings and instructions embodied in them had a wide appeal, and, as we just said, people tried to put into practice the ethical ideals placed before them.