Week 2: Jataka Tales (Birth Stories of the Buddha) Assignments - Reading - Resources - Image Gallery

Background Reading (3): Terms and Definitions

Depending on the week's assignment, you may have several pages of Background Reading. This week, you have THREE PAGES of Background reading.

1. Frametales: : Let's review the basics!
2. Introduction to Buddhist Jataka Tales
3. Terms and Definitions

Some names and terms. You will encounter a variety of proper names and Buddhist terminology throughout these jataka tales. Some of the most important names and terms are listed here for you to study before you begin the reading.

• Some important people:
  • Ananda: Ananda was a relative of the Buddha, and one of his earliest and most devoted disciples
  • Cinca: Cinca was a woman who claimed to be having an affair with the Buddha and to be pregnant with his child; her deceit was exposed and the Buddha was vindicated
  • Devadatta: Like Ananda, Devadatta was a family relation of the Buddha and an early disciple, but when the Buddha did not name Devadatta as his successor, Devadatta was bitterly resently and plotted to kill the Buddha, but all of his plots failed
  • Kokalika: Kokalika was a monk who eventually became a follower of the renegade Devadatta
  • Moggallana: Moggallana was one of the most favored and important disciples of the Buddha
  • Rahula: Rahula was the only son of the Buddha; he became a monk and follower of the Buddha
  • Sariputta: Sariputta was another very loyal and devoted disciple of the Buddha
• Some important places:
  • Ganga (Ganges): one of the great rivers of India
  • Himalaya: a great mountain range in India
  • Jetavana: a park in Savatthi which was the Buddha's residence for many years during the rainy season
  • Savatthi: the capital town of Kosala in India, where the Buddha's main residence (Jetavana) was located
• Some important religious and mythological terms:
  • Boddhisattva, Bodhisatta: an enlightened being who does not enter nirvana and instead continues to return to this world until all other living beings are enlightened
  • Brahma-realm: the highest heavenly kingdom (Brahma was a creator god in the Hindu pantheon)
  • brahmin: a brahmin is a member of the priestly caste in Hindu culture; brahmins study the Vedas and perform Vedic sacrifices
  • Devas: divine celestial beings, gods
  • Garuda: a mythical bird of enormous strength and power; in Hinduism, Garuda is the vehicle of the god Vishnu
  • Hamsa (or "Golden Mallard"): a celestial bird, also sometimes translated as "swan" or "goose"
  • Nagas: divine serpents associated with fertility, water, and wealth
  • Sprites: the sprites (and fairies) referred to in these stories are the local divinities of woods and springs, nature spirits
  • Tathagata: a term used to refer to the Buddha which means "the one who goes thus" (there have been many interpretations proposed for the meaning of this phrase - it is rather mysterious!)
  • Vedas: the ancient religious hymns in which the traditions of Hinduism are recorded; the earliest collection is called the Rig-Veda

Modern Languages MLLL-2003. World Literature: Frametales. Laura Gibbs, Ph.D. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. You must give the original author credit. You may not use this work for commercial purposes. If you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may distribute the resulting work only under a license identical to this one. Page last updated: October 9, 2004 12:48 PM