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Religion & Spirituality

Before Buddha Was Buddha: Learning from the Jataka Tales

Before Buddha Was Buddha: Learning from the Jataka Tales

Discover how ordinary beingsâ€”a deer, a robber, a monkey, a parrot, and moreâ€”make up the past lives of the Buddha before he was Buddha.

The jataka tales are ancient Buddhist stories found in both the Pali Canon and Sanskrit tradition, recounting the many past lives and ongoing spiritual work of Shakyamuni Buddha on his way to his final birth as Siddhartha Gautama. In them we find the Buddha facing difficulties, making tough choices, doing hard work, falling down and getting back upâ€”the kind of continuing effort of spiritual practice that all beings face.

Before Buddha was Buddha focuses on a selection of particular jataka tales in which the Buddha in past lives faces temptations and struggles with self-doubt as well as his own shortcomings. In these tales heâ€™s not beyond lifeâ€™s messesâ€”its challenges and disastersâ€”but is down in the mix, trudging through the mud with the rest of us. Each story, presented in brief, is followed by a commentary pointing to its relevance to our lives and practice-realization today.Â
Country USA
Brand Wisdom Publications
Manufacturer Wisdom Publications
Binding Paperback
PartNumber 9781614293545
Height 9
Length 6
Weight 2.314853751
Width 0.5
ReleaseDate 2018-03-20
NumberOfItems 1

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