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Before Buddha Was Buddha: Learning from the Jataka Tales
Discover how ordinary beings—a deer, a robber, a monkey, a parrot, and more—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 up—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 he’s not beyond life’s messes—its challenges and disasters—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.
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 up—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 he’s not beyond life’s messes—its challenges and disasters—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.
- GenresBuddhismNonfiction
176 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 20, 2018
19 people are currently reading
69 people want to read
About the author
Rafe Martin
41 books46 followersRafe Martin is an award-winning author and storyteller, as well as a lay Zen teacher in the Harada-Yasutani koan line. He is founding teacher of Endless Path Zendo, Rochester, NY.
He is the recipient of the prestigious Empire State Award for the body of his work, as well as multiple American Library Association Notable Book Awards and Parent's Choice Gold Awards. He has been featured at such storytelling events as the Joseph Campbell Festival of Myth and Story, The Sierra Storytelling Festival, and the National Storytelling Festival. He is the father of two grown children and lives with his wife, Rose, in Rochester, NY.
He is the recipient of the prestigious Empire State Award for the body of his work, as well as multiple American Library Association Notable Book Awards and Parent's Choice Gold Awards. He has been featured at such storytelling events as the Joseph Campbell Festival of Myth and Story, The Sierra Storytelling Festival, and the National Storytelling Festival. He is the father of two grown children and lives with his wife, Rose, in Rochester, NY.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 2, 2018
What a breath of fresh air. This book cuts right through our tendencies towards "spiritual materialism" and simply acting the part, and shows - through tales of the Buddha's lifetimes - that doing the actual work of the path towards enlightenment is messy and hard, but also beautiful and freeing and the only real way to get there. It's not about "pretending to be the Buddha," as Martin says, by walking around looking serene, smiling beatifically, spouting platitudes and always being calm. It's about showing up in every. single. moment. Here, NOW.
"It's not enough to sit and meditate and experience calm, silence, and peace - as good as those things are...But we must stand up, walk out of the zendo, and actualize the Way in our life, not just talk about it, not just make the meditation hall into a place to hide out from a crazed and crazy world. We are the way."
And the jataka tales of the thousands of lives of "the Buddha-before-he-was-the-Buddha," a few of which are given in this book and accompanied by insightful, straightforward commentary from Martin, are the map. The Buddha wasn't always perfect, wasn't always enlightened, was once (or a lot of times) just like us. But he seized opportunity after opportunity to learn, try, fail, try again, fail again, on and on until one day he sat under that bodhi tree and all that work paid off. And then he got up again, and got back to work.
"For one on the bodhisattva path, daily life is the context...Daily life and its responsibilities make the Way possible. Its challenges are the Way. They're not obstacles to the Way, nor are they in the way...It's about actualizing practice in the midst of the 'ten thousand things.'"
*Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC, provided by the author and/or the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
"It's not enough to sit and meditate and experience calm, silence, and peace - as good as those things are...But we must stand up, walk out of the zendo, and actualize the Way in our life, not just talk about it, not just make the meditation hall into a place to hide out from a crazed and crazy world. We are the way."
And the jataka tales of the thousands of lives of "the Buddha-before-he-was-the-Buddha," a few of which are given in this book and accompanied by insightful, straightforward commentary from Martin, are the map. The Buddha wasn't always perfect, wasn't always enlightened, was once (or a lot of times) just like us. But he seized opportunity after opportunity to learn, try, fail, try again, fail again, on and on until one day he sat under that bodhi tree and all that work paid off. And then he got up again, and got back to work.
"For one on the bodhisattva path, daily life is the context...Daily life and its responsibilities make the Way possible. Its challenges are the Way. They're not obstacles to the Way, nor are they in the way...It's about actualizing practice in the midst of the 'ten thousand things.'"
*Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC, provided by the author and/or the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
September 6, 2018
Mixed feelings overall, but I think my superficial knowledge of Buddhism has improved a little.
July 24, 2018
Somewhat akin to the role played by the Parables in the Christian tradition, jataka tales exemplify the key values implicit in the Buddhist religion. However, unlike the former stories and analogies, these tales all center on the experiences of the Bodhisattva, with each focused on one of the various forms that Shakyamuni Buddha assumed in his various lives that he spent on Earth before becoming fully awakened to becoming the Buddha. Reaching the highest plane of existence known as Nirvana, where suffering, desire, and sense of self and subject all end, is the final goal of Buddhism. The jatakas show, each in their own small, yet significant, way, how to get there.
In Before Buddha Was Buddha: Learning from the Jataka Tales, Rafe Martin transforms some of the key tales, which are centuries old, by providing the text in a straightforward and highly accessible form that should make sense to even a total newcomer to such readings. Each of the eighteen tales that he recounts in a few short pages is then expounded upon by this professional storyteller and award-winning author of books for both adults and children. The form that the Buddha takes in these tales, which share the experience of one who is on the journey towards Enlightenment, varies from such animals as a monkey and parrot to such humans as a robber and a monk. The grasp of the jatakas, though arising in the East, has a contemporary relevance that is soul-stirring even to the most cynical of westerners.
Martin’s familiarity with writing for both old and young has stood him in good stead for his lifelong mission to provide up-to-date explications of the jataka tales. As an experienced Zen master, with many years of sound practice to his credit, his knowledge and understanding of the basic precepts embodied in these tales means that he is able to make them relevant to the everyday life of all readers who are struggling to cope with the stresses and anxieties of modern-day existence. This is especially so for those who might be searching for a way forward that is less conventional than the straitlaced one of conventional Christian (or other faith’s) practice and worship (although it is even possible, as a traditionalist, to embrace the principles and ethics of Buddhism).
What Buddhism holds out for the followers of other religions, and which is made manifest in the jataka tales, is a unique sense of compassion for all entities, and not purely for humankind. The sacrificial aspect of Buddhism, in terms of which the self is renounced in favor of the greater good, is presented as an essential part of the faith, with the essence of the religion being embodied in the first of the “Great Vows for All”:
The many beings are numberless;
I vow to free them all.
Greed, hatred, and ignorance rise endlessly;
I vow to abandon them all.
Dharma Gates are countless;
I vow to wake to them all.
Buddha’s Way is unattainable;
I vow to embody it all.
The insights that Martin provides into the wealth and depth of spiritual knowledge and healing that are presented in Before Buddha Was Buddha reveal his mastery of this age-old form of expression that has enabled him to become a lay teacher in the Harada-Yasutani koan line, as well as the founding teacher of Endless Path Zendo, Rochester, New York. His previous two books on the jataka tales, The Hungry Tigress: Buddhist Myths, Legends, and Jataka Tales and Endless Path: Awakening within the Buddhist Imagination: Jataka Tales, Zen Practice, and Daily Life, are also well worth consulting if you find that you, too, are seeking guidance on how to live your life to the full.
In Before Buddha Was Buddha: Learning from the Jataka Tales, Rafe Martin transforms some of the key tales, which are centuries old, by providing the text in a straightforward and highly accessible form that should make sense to even a total newcomer to such readings. Each of the eighteen tales that he recounts in a few short pages is then expounded upon by this professional storyteller and award-winning author of books for both adults and children. The form that the Buddha takes in these tales, which share the experience of one who is on the journey towards Enlightenment, varies from such animals as a monkey and parrot to such humans as a robber and a monk. The grasp of the jatakas, though arising in the East, has a contemporary relevance that is soul-stirring even to the most cynical of westerners.
Martin’s familiarity with writing for both old and young has stood him in good stead for his lifelong mission to provide up-to-date explications of the jataka tales. As an experienced Zen master, with many years of sound practice to his credit, his knowledge and understanding of the basic precepts embodied in these tales means that he is able to make them relevant to the everyday life of all readers who are struggling to cope with the stresses and anxieties of modern-day existence. This is especially so for those who might be searching for a way forward that is less conventional than the straitlaced one of conventional Christian (or other faith’s) practice and worship (although it is even possible, as a traditionalist, to embrace the principles and ethics of Buddhism).
What Buddhism holds out for the followers of other religions, and which is made manifest in the jataka tales, is a unique sense of compassion for all entities, and not purely for humankind. The sacrificial aspect of Buddhism, in terms of which the self is renounced in favor of the greater good, is presented as an essential part of the faith, with the essence of the religion being embodied in the first of the “Great Vows for All”:
The many beings are numberless;
I vow to free them all.
Greed, hatred, and ignorance rise endlessly;
I vow to abandon them all.
Dharma Gates are countless;
I vow to wake to them all.
Buddha’s Way is unattainable;
I vow to embody it all.
The insights that Martin provides into the wealth and depth of spiritual knowledge and healing that are presented in Before Buddha Was Buddha reveal his mastery of this age-old form of expression that has enabled him to become a lay teacher in the Harada-Yasutani koan line, as well as the founding teacher of Endless Path Zendo, Rochester, New York. His previous two books on the jataka tales, The Hungry Tigress: Buddhist Myths, Legends, and Jataka Tales and Endless Path: Awakening within the Buddhist Imagination: Jataka Tales, Zen Practice, and Daily Life, are also well worth consulting if you find that you, too, are seeking guidance on how to live your life to the full.
June 6, 2020
This is a lovely book :)
I was just looking for stories and myths, and was surprised by how much i liked the discussions and commentary of each chapter. Very life-affirming, timely and generally inspiring. Makes me on one hand want to dive deeper into both the buddhistic mythology and the kooans of zen, and on the other hand lay down whatever book I am reading and just go out and experience the world.
And practice. Whatever it is I think I can bring to the world, this book makes me want to practice that.
I was just looking for stories and myths, and was surprised by how much i liked the discussions and commentary of each chapter. Very life-affirming, timely and generally inspiring. Makes me on one hand want to dive deeper into both the buddhistic mythology and the kooans of zen, and on the other hand lay down whatever book I am reading and just go out and experience the world.
And practice. Whatever it is I think I can bring to the world, this book makes me want to practice that.
March 21, 2019
2.5
Captivating writing. But sometimes a bit "Yes I get it, move along..."
Technically terms can be overwhelming to beginners. Despite having a basic understanding, I found myself needing a cheat sheet of terms.
Captivating writing. But sometimes a bit "Yes I get it, move along..."
Technically terms can be overwhelming to beginners. Despite having a basic understanding, I found myself needing a cheat sheet of terms.
January 4, 2021
Stimulating re-tellings of the Buddha's experiences through his many lifetimes. Positive encouragement to continue on our own path towards enlightenment. A very accessible read.
November 9, 2021
Preciosos cuentos Jataka, con un analisis y reflexión interesantes.
November 28, 2020
things are explained by examples
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews