Education through Jātakas in Humanistic Buddhism
Item abstract only
Author
Grey, Leslie See all items with this value
Date
2003
Volume
4
Pages
227-236
ISSN
1530-4108 See all items with this value
Abstract
Education has a pivotal role in Buddhism. Buddha was a great teacher. His pupils were missionaries, who transmitted his doctrines to the people at large. The doctrines were esoteric "morals" above the levels of understanding of the uneducated mass.
He conceived the method of instruction by telling stories which illustrated episodes of his past experiences in which he played the role of people, animals other than himself. At the end of the stories he identified himself. These stories were his "birth-stories" the Jātakas and the Avadānas.
He conceived the method of instruction by telling stories which illustrated episodes of his past experiences in which he played the role of people, animals other than himself. At the end of the stories he identified himself. These stories were his "birth-stories" the Jātakas and the Avadānas.