Early Monastic Buddhism v2.c42.s2.t3: Jātakas and Avadānas
Early Monastic Buddhism v2.c42.s2.t3
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Jātakas and Avadānas
v2.c42.s2.t3.1
In the Mahāvastu and the Abhiniṣkramaṇasūtra we have not only a biography of Buddha but also a number of stories dealing with Buddha's supposed previous existences as also other traditions. The underlying object of the stories of Buddha's previous births is to show that each event in this life was the result of a past deed of his. These stories served not only to establish the law of karma which Buddhism had borrowed from the pre-Buddhistic thoughts but also to convince the common folk that any act of theirs would similarly be fruitful, and it may be that some of them might sow the seeds of merit like Siddhārtha Gautama and ultimately attain Buddhahood. In the latter case, they would be Bodhisattvas as was Siddhārtha Gautama in his previous lives. The Lalitavistara refers to the meritorious deeds performed by him in his previous existences¹ but does not give the stories in detail which were to be found partly in the Vinaya piṭaka of the Sarvāstivādins, and partly in the Avadāna collections. The biographies, and particularly the Jātakas, made a strong appeal to the mass, kindled their devotion and gave them an opportunity to express the same by depicting the stories indelibly on stone. These made them feel within their innermost heart that Buddhahood for them was not an impossibility as had so long been preached by the early Buddhists. The task, of course, was arduous and the path long covering several existences and entailing extreme self-sacrifices. This literature therefore gave a new and forceful impetus to the mass, and paved the way for the glorious days which Buddhism had for a long time in the early Christian eras. Observing the effect of the Jātaka stories on the mass, the Sarvāstivādins began to multiply them and produced large collections of these, calling them Avadānas. They incorporated in it stories dealing with the previous birth not only of Buddha but also of his noted disciples. The puritanic Theravādins could not help following them and started making a collection of stories without intermingling them with the biography of Buddha. They however supplied the events of the present life by way of introduction (paccuppannavatthu) and ended the stories by identifying the characters with Buddha and other persons. The object of all these collections was identical, viz., the edification of the mass and popularisation of the religion.
v2.c42.s2.t3.2
¹ Lalitavistara (R. L. Mitra), p. 192:— पुरि तुम सुपुरुष ऋषिवरु यदभूर्ज तव उपगतु भव मम शरणम् । भषि ऋषि द्विजवर नररिपु उपने त्यजि स्वय खकि तनु न च द्विज त्यजसे ॥ खुर ऋषि उपगतु पुरि दुभनिलये रुचि भषि तरुरुह कति इम गष्ये । सुविदित सुगधित यथ तहि किमला तथ तव भवितथ समगिर रचित ॥
v2.c42.s2.t3.3
Strangely enough all these Jātakas and Avadānas are non-Buddhist in character. This have nothing to do with the fundamental teachings of Buddhism—there is not a word about soul, component elements of a being, law of causation, ātman, skandhas, paṭiccasamuppada or nirvāṇa. These stories deal in a general way with moral virtue but not with the śilas, as detailed in the Piṭakas. These speak highly of a retired life but do not discountenance the life of a householder. On the contrary, the stories are concerned mainly with the social life of the householders and not with the unsocial life of a recluse. These do not breathe a word about monks or their life in monasteries. If not for the use of the term ‘Bodhisattva’ in every story, the collections could not have been recognised as forming a part of the Buddhist literature. It is really a universal literature dealing with universal moral principles, and a large number of the stories belongs to the common heritage of the Indians of the pre-Aśokan period. These stories teach more altruistic moral principles than negative ethical ideals (veramaṇis) as was the practice with the Buddhists. The stories well-known to the common folk of the then age were found to be a convenient medium for propagating the Bodhisattva conception and along with it the greatness of the Teacher.