Dear Robert and friends,

thanks, would you kindly share with us your findings on the study of
the Tipitaka relating to the Jataka. These are my personal thoughts:

I feel that the Jataka is an integrated part of the Theravada
tradition. It is very much a part of the Mahayana tradition too. It
is possible that the Jataka tales can be traced back all the way to
Buddha's time. The stories are interesting and encoded with morals
for the living. Being ignorant of the entire Jataka, I think it stop
short of encouraging the practice of the training of the mind.
Nevertheless, it is a good way of imparting children with good
values, and is good for light reading too. The Jataka is a unique
form of literature different from the four Nikayas. I have read that
these tales are actually Indian folk tales modified such that the
Buddha become the hero of the story. However, I have yet to know of
any Indian folk tales that are similar to a Jataka story. What do you
think? There are several places in the Nikayas where the Buddha
related his past lives. Do you think the Buddha did tell the Jataka
stories? The Jataka stories carries profound Buddhist ideas such as
Kamma and Rebirth. Each book in the Kuddakha Nikaya takes a unique
literature format, and Jataka is no exception. How does this affect
its position within the entire Pali canon? Would an increased
emphasis of Jataka results in a paradigm shift from the Vipassana
practice in the Theravada tradition? Does the Jataka play a part in
the emergence of the Mahayana tradition?

metta,
Yong Peng.

--- In Pali@yahoogroups.com, rjkjp1 wrote:
My studies of the Tipitaka confirm that the Jataka is part of it. The
commentaries to the Jataka are also associated with it and are an
ancient part of the Theravada tradition. I find the Jataka deep in
meaning.