Tales and Teachings of the Buddha: The Jâtaka Stories in Relation to the Pâli Canon

John G. Jones

Originally published in 1979, Tales and Teachings of the Buddha aims to further the work done by scholars like Gombrich, Spiro and Tambiah in their field studies of lay Buddhism in Sri Lanka, Burma and Thailand. But whereas they highlight the syncretistic mix of imported Buddhist with indigenous animistic beliefs, Tales and Teachings demonstrates that within the Buddhist tradition itself there is, in the immensely popular Jâtaka tales, a vast fund of folkloric material that is much more congenial to the average layman than the more austere teaching found in the canon proper. In this book, the two aspects of Buddhist tradition are thoroughly explored, revealing the extent to which concessions have been made by the monks to the laity and also the extent to which the monks themselves have been influenced by the folk tradition in which they were reared. The author has completely revised the book for this new edition, correcting minor errors in the original, pruning dead wood, and incorporating some helpful observations gleaned from reviews and correspondence.

From Reviews of the First Edition

“The author is in perfect command of his subject, is never pretentious, tedious, confused or confusing. Mr Jones is well-versed in both Jâtaka and Canon, and is thus able to draw on both not only with apparent ease but also with aptness and accuracy and dependable documentation. The result of Mr Jones's findings on the discrepant attitudes that may be taken by the Jâtaka and the Nikâyas are always revealing and sometimes surprising.” - I. B. Horner, President of the Pâli Text Society

“Jones's thorough work in collecting and classifying examples of stories relating to each point makes the volume a useful port of entry into the vast Jâtaka literature for both students and scholars.” - James P. McDermott, Journal of Asian Studies

“This is a most readable account of one of the most influential sources of Theravâda Buddhism. Mr Jones applies literary critical, historical and psychological instruments to the essentials of the 547 Jâtaka stories and compares them with the canonical doctrine of the Four Nikâyas..... This highly amenable scholarship is a most delightful introduction to a great and influential ethical tradition.” - The Tablet

“This scholarly book should provoke lively debate on matters relating to the practice of Buddhism in lay life, and will moreover serve a very useful purpose if it alerts a wider readership to the quality of the Jâtaka Tales.” - John Snelling, The Middle Way

John Jones has worked in Tamil villages as a pastor, taught New Testament Greek in an Indian Theological College, lectured in philosophy of religion at an English college of education and taught Buddhist Studies at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. His Faiths of the World was published in 1976.

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176 pages
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