batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l1561-l1655
---
record_id: batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l1561-l1655
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
passage_locator:
label: THE BARLAAM AND JOSAPHAT LITERATURE. / SUMMARY. / PART II. / ON THE HISTORY
OF THE BIRTH STORIES IN INDIA.; lines 1561-1655
start: '1561'
end: '1655'
translation: Buddhist birth stories; or, Jataka tales, Volume 1
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: The passage surveys the history of Jātaka literature in India. It states
that some Brāhmanical myths resemble Buddhist ones, that older Buddhist scriptures
contain stories identical or similar to Jātakas, and that the Cariyā-Piṭaka presents
previous births in which Gotama, as the Bodisat, acquired the Ten Great Perfections
needed to become a Buddha. It also describes related works such as the Jātaka
Mālā and Buddhavaŋsa, and notes that Jātaka stories found in other Pāli Piṭaka
texts are probably older than the Council of Vesāli.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The author says the previous part discussed resemblances between certain Western
tales and Buddhist Birth Stories.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The author states that the Indian history of the Jātaka Book and its stories
remains incomplete and provisional.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The passage reports that later Brāhmanical literature contains myths and legends
somewhat similar to a few Buddhist ones, while also saying none has been traced
in Europe or in the Buddhist collection.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: The passage states that some older Buddhist scriptural passages contain Birth
Stories in identical or similar forms.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: The Cariyā-Piṭaka is described as a Pāli Piṭaka work made to show in which
births Gotama acquired the Ten Great Perfections.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: The Ten Great Perfections are listed as Generosity, Goodness, Renunciation,
Wisdom, Firmness, Patience, Truth, Resolution, Kindness, and Equanimity.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: The passage states that the qualifications needed to make a Buddha are acquired
through many deeds in a long series of consecutive lives, not in one life only.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:8
text: The Buddhavaŋsa is described as a history of all the Buddhas and as giving
accounts of the Bodisat during the lifetimes of twenty-four previous Buddhas.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Gotama
description: Gotama is described as having acquired the Ten Great Perfections in
previous births.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Bodisat or future Buddha
description: The Bodisat, or future Buddha, is the figure whose previous births
illustrate the practice and acquisition of Perfections.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:8
- ev:10
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: King Mahā Sudassana
description: King Mahā Sudassana is mentioned as an exception among isolated stories
that had become a Jātaka.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Aṣvagosha
description: Aṣvagosha is described in a Northern Buddhist tradition as a celebrated
teacher who began a work on ten Births for each of the Ten Perfections.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: previous Buddhas
description: Twenty-four previous Buddhas are mentioned in connection with the Buddhavaŋsa
accounts of the Bodisat’s lives.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
roles:
- id: role:1
label: future Buddha
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:2
basis: The passage identifies Gotama as the Bodisat or future Buddha in relation
to previous births and Perfections.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:8
- id: role:2
label: acquirer of the Ten Great Perfections across births
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:2
basis: The passage says Gotama acquired the Ten Great Perfections in particular
births and that Buddha-making qualifications result from many deeds over consecutive
lives.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: role:3
label: Jātaka story figure
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The story of King Mahā Sudassana is singled out among Birth Stories discussed
in older Buddhist scriptural passages.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:4
label: celebrated teacher and attributed authorial figure
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: A Northern Buddhist tradition says Aṣvagosha began a work on Births for the
Ten Perfections.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: role:5
label: previous Buddhas
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The Buddhavaŋsa gives accounts associated with twenty-four previous Buddhas.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
symbols: []
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Survey of Indian Jātaka history
summary: The author frames the Indian history of the Jātaka Book as largely unwritten,
incomplete, and dependent on rare manuscript authorities.
figure_refs: []
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Comparison of Jātaka stories with related literatures
summary: The passage notes resemblances with Western tales, possible similarities
in later Brāhmanical literature, and identical or similar forms in older Buddhist
scriptures.
figure_refs: []
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:3
label: Previous births and acquisition of Perfections
summary: The Cariyā-Piṭaka is described as showing the births in which Gotama, the
Bodisat or future Buddha, acquired the Ten Great Perfections required for Buddhahood.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: scene:4
label: Related works on Birth Stories
summary: The passage discusses the Cariyā-Piṭaka, a Northern Buddhist tradition
about Aṣvagosha, the Sanskrit Jātaka Mālā, and the Buddhavaŋsa as related witnesses
to Birth Stories and Perfections.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Successive births as moral preparation for Buddhahood
taxonomy_refs:
- death_rebirth
basis: The passage explicitly states that the qualifications necessary for making
a Buddha are the result of many deeds performed through a long series of consecutive
lives.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The passage is expository rather than a narrated mythic episode.
- id: motif:2
label: Ten Perfections as required qualities for a Buddha
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The passage lists the Ten Great Perfections, including Wisdom, and says Gotama
acquired them in previous births before becoming a Buddha.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: Only one listed Perfection directly matches the available taxonomy ref
'wisdom'; the full set is a doctrinal pattern rather than a single tale motif.
- id: motif:3
label: Previous-birth stories linked to the future Buddha
taxonomy_refs:
- death_rebirth
basis: The passage describes Birth Stories in which the Bodisat or future Buddha
practices Perfections across former lives.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: The passage summarizes a literary and doctrinal framework, not the content
of individual Jātaka narratives.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage reports that certain Western tales resemble Buddhist Birth Stories.
claim_level: same_motif
target: certain Western tales and Buddhist Birth Stories
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage does not identify the specific tales or motifs in this
line range.
- id: claim:2
claim: The passage reports that some later Brāhmanical myths and legends are somewhat
similar in character to a few Buddhist myths and legends, while also noting that
none has been traced in Europe or in the Buddhist Collection.
claim_level: same_function
target: later Brāhmanical myths and legends compared with Buddhist myths and legends
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
counter_evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: low
limitations: The claim is explicitly cautious and does not name the specific stories
or establish textual transmission.
- id: claim:3
claim: The passage states that older Buddhist scriptures contain Birth Stories in
identical or similar forms to tales included in the Jātaka Book.
claim_level: same_motif
target: older Buddhist scriptural passages and the Jātaka Book
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: The passage names only King Mahā Sudassana in this range and does not
summarize the individual story patterns.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: quote
locator: lines 1565-1569
quote_or_summary: The author says he previously pointed out “the resemblances between
certain Western tales and the Buddhist Birth Stories.”
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation used.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 1573-1579
quote_or_summary: The author states that the history in India of the Jātaka Book
and its stories has scarcely been written and that what follows is incomplete
and provisional.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 1581-1585
quote_or_summary: Some post-Vedic Brāhmanical myths and legends are said to be somewhat
similar to a few Buddhist ones, but none is said to have been traced in Europe
or the Buddhist Collection.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 1587-1596
quote_or_summary: The author expects older Buddhist Scriptures to contain many tales
also in the Jātaka Book in identical or similar forms; several Birth Stories are
already noted, though most have not yet become Jātakas except King Mahā Sudassana.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 1598-1602
quote_or_summary: The Cariyā-Piṭaka is described as showing when and in what births
Gotama acquired the Ten Great Perfections required for becoming a Buddha.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: quote
locator: lines 1599-1601
quote_or_summary: The Ten Great Perfections are listed as “Generosity, Goodness,
Renunciation, Wisdom, Firmness, Patience, Truth, Resolution, Kindness, and Equanimity.”
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation used.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 1602-1609
quote_or_summary: The passage says the qualifications necessary for making a Buddha
are not acquired in one life only, but result from many deeds performed through
a long series of consecutive lives.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 1611-1618
quote_or_summary: The first two Perfections receive whole chapters with ten previous-birth
examples each, and the third chapter gives fifteen examples for the other eight
Perfections; the author suggests the original plan may have been ten Birth Stories
for each Perfection.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 1617-1628
quote_or_summary: A Northern Buddhist tradition says Aṣvagosha began a work of ten
Births for each of the Ten Perfections; the passage also mentions the Sanskrit
Jātaka Mālā of thirty-five Birth Stories illustrating the Ten Perfections.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: lines 1631-1641
quote_or_summary: The Buddhavaŋsa is described as a history of all Buddhas, giving
accounts of the Bodisat during the lifetimes of twenty-four previous Buddhas and
providing authority for twenty-four Birth Stories.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:11
type: summary
locator: lines 1643-1655
quote_or_summary: The passage concludes that Birth Stories also referred to in other
Pāli Piṭaka texts are highly probably older than the Council of Vesāli.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The passage is a scholarly introduction rather than a narrative; motif extraction
is therefore limited to explicitly stated doctrinal and literary patterns.
reviewer_status:
status: needs_review
reviewer: ''
reviewed_at: ''
notes: Machine-generated draft from OpenAI Batch; not human-reviewed.
extracted_by: openai_batch:gpt-5.5
extracted_at: '2026-04-28'
notes: |-
No literal symbolic objects from the available symbol taxonomy are present in the passage.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg__l1561-l1655
passage_sha256=6638113d563ad3490ad3d4bb3b132f2e1417f11d8944a9a874787641144984eb