Jātaka literature is composed of some 550 myths and legends that have developed over the centuries about former existences of the Buddha (see Gautama Buddha, Bodhisattva). Some of the tales are clearly Buddhist (see Buddhism) in origin, some are taken from earlier folklore. There are animal tales with morals attached, much as in the tradition of Aesop or the later La Fontaine in Europe. Most important, however, the jātaka literature serves to illustrate the law of karman (see Karman), according to which events can be explained by past occurences. Thus the Bodhisattva develops into the being he has created by his past actions. In a tale that relates to the story contained in the Rāmāyana (see Rāmāyaṇa) of the bridge made between India and Lanka by the monkey king Hanumān (see Hanumān), the Boddhisattva, who in a previous life was a monkey king, saved his monkey followers from archers by making a bridge, of which his own body was a segment, across the Ganges (see Ganges). Unfortunately, the monkey who would be the future Buddha's jealous cousin Devadatta deliberately fell on the king, breaking his back. The monkey king took no revenge but died a beautiful death at Banāras (see Banāras), all the while advising the local king on proper governing. The moral of the tale is centered in the compassion that will become one of the primary attributes of the future Buddha.

A Dictionary of Asian Mythology. Copyright © 2001, 2002 by David Leeming. All rights reserved.