batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l16667-l16811
---
record_id: batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l16667-l16811
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
passage_locator:
label: INDIAN TALES FROM TIBETAN SOURCES. / THE RELIGIONS OF INDIA. / BY A. BARTH.
/ FOOTNOTES:; lines 16667-16811
start: '16667'
end: '16811'
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: "“O house-builder! I have seen (thee). Again a house thou canst not build
for me.”"
summary: The passage explains verses on Nirvāna as the ending of craving and renewed
consciousness, using the image of a house whose supports are destroyed. It gives
a literal translation of the verses, notes parallels for the house image in Manu,
the Lalita Vistara, and the Ādi Granth, and includes footnotes on miracles, relic
legends, Buddhist terms, and related Jātaka references.
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The passage states that pain depends on consciousness and individuality, and
that consciousness is due to grasping, craving, and a sinful condition of heart.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The passage identifies the absence of craving as Nirvāna and says consciousness
will not be renewed after the body dies.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The passage compares individuality to a house supported by beams of sin and
a ridge-pole of care.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:4
text: The Bodisat is described as having become Buddha, reached Nirvāna, solved
the great mystery, found the jewel of salvation, and ended a long struggle.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:5
text: The translated verses describe running through many births while seeking the
architect of a house-like desire.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:6
text: The speaker addresses the house-builder, says he has seen him, and says the
house-builder cannot build the house again.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:7
text: The translated verses say the rafters are broken, the central support is destroyed,
the mind has gone to Nirvāna, and evil desire has been extinguished.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:8
text: The passage says the house figure is also found in Manu, the Lalita Vistara,
and the Ādi Granth.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:9
text: The quoted Ādi Granth passage describes divine knowledge as a storm that destroys
delusion, double-mindedness, spiritual blindness, craving, and folly through house-related
imagery.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:10
text: A footnote glosses Yamaka-pāṭihāriya as literally meaning 'twin-miracle' and
notes uncertainty about the expression.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:11
text: A footnote says a relic legend grew to authenticate and glorify local relics,
and describes Burmese and Ceylonese claims about hair-relics and a Dāgaba.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Bodisat / Buddha
description: The Bodisat is described as now Buddha after reaching Nirvāna and solving
the great mystery.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: House-builder / architect of desire
description: A figure addressed in the translated verses as the house-builder and
earlier sought as the architect of the desire-resembling house.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Speaker of the translated verses
description: The translated verses present a first-person speaker who has run through
many births, sought the architect, and announces the destruction of the house
supports.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Two merchants
description: A footnote refers to two merchants connected with a relic legend, whose
identity is claimed differently in Burmese and Ceylonese traditions.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: seeker through repeated births
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:3
basis: The passage describes a long struggle and the verses describe running through
many births while seeking the architect of the house.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: one who reaches Nirvāna
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The Bodisat is said to be now Buddha and to have reached Nirvāna.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: builder of the desire-like house
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The verses address the house-builder and say he can no longer build the house.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: relic-legend participants
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The footnote connects the two merchants with disputed local claims about
hair-relics.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: house of individuality
literal_form: house
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: sym:2
label: beams, rafters, and central support
literal_form: structural supports of a house
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: jewel of salvation
literal_form: jewel
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:4
label: storm of divine knowledge
literal_form: storm
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:5
label: shutters, posts, ridge-pole, roof, and vessel in the Ādi Granth passage
literal_form: house and vessel imagery
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:6
label: hair-relics and Dāgaba
literal_form: relics and shrine
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Explanation of Nirvāna through house imagery
summary: The passage explains that craving produces consciousness and pain, and
that Nirvāna ends craving and prevents renewed consciousness after bodily death;
the house of individuality loses its supports.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: First-person verses to the house-builder
summary: A first-person speaker recalls many births, seeks the architect of the
house-like desire, addresses the house-builder, and announces the breaking of
the rafters and the destruction of the central support.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Comparison of house imagery across cited texts
summary: The passage notes similar house imagery in Manu, the Lalita Vistara, and
the Ādi Granth, and quotes an Ādi Granth passage where divine knowledge destroys
delusion and craving using house imagery.
figure_refs: []
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Relic legend and local claims
summary: A footnote describes the growth of a relic legend to authenticate local
relics and summarizes Burmese and Ceylonese claims about the two merchants, hair-relics,
and a Dāgaba.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Quest through many births for the maker of bondage
taxonomy_refs:
- mystical_quest
- death_rebirth
basis: The speaker runs through many births seeking the architect of the house-like
desire, and the main explanation describes a long struggle ending when the jewel
of salvation is found.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy labels are approximate; the passage frames the sequence doctrinally
rather than as a separate narrative adventure.
- id: motif:2
label: Destruction of the house of individuality
taxonomy_refs:
- annihilation_union
- death_rebirth
basis: The passage explains Nirvāna through the collapse or destruction of house
supports, with rafters broken, central support destroyed, and renewed consciousness
ended.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: The motif is metaphorical and doctrinal; 'annihilation_union' is only
a rough available taxonomy fit.
- id: motif:3
label: Liberating wisdom destroys delusion and craving
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The cited Ādi Granth passage depicts divine knowledge as a storm that blows
away delusion and breaks down the house-like supports of blindness and craving.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: high
cautions: This motif is drawn from a comparative quotation inside the note, not
from the main Jātaka narrative.
- id: motif:4
label: Local relic-authentication legend
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The footnote explicitly describes the growth of legend to authenticate and
add glory to local relics and gives rival Burmese and Ceylonese claims.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: No supplied taxonomy family directly matches relic-authentication legends.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage itself identifies the house figure as shared with Manu, the Lalita
Vistara, and the Ādi Granth.
claim_level: same_motif
target: House imagery in Manu vi.79-81, Lalita Vistara, and Ādi Granth
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: The passage cites the parallels but does not provide the full Manu
or Lalita Vistara passages, and the comparison remains at the level of imagery.
- id: claim:2
claim: 'The Ādi Granth quotation uses a similar function for house imagery: knowledge
destroys delusion and craving, comparable to the Buddhist verses'' destruction
of the house supports of desire.'
claim_level: same_function
target: Ādi Granth house imagery of divine knowledge destroying delusion and craving
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The religious contexts differ, and the passage gives only a short quotation
from the Ādi Granth.
- id: claim:3
claim: The footnote presents the hair-relic story as an example of a broader pattern
in which legends authenticate and glorify local relics.
claim_level: same_function
target: Local relic-authentication legend pattern
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: The comparison is functional and historiographical; it is not tied
to a specific supplied taxonomy motif.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 16667-16677
quote_or_summary: The passage explains that pain depends on consciousness and individuality;
craving causes consciousness; Nirvāna is the absence of craving; the house of
individuality is supported by beams of sin and a ridge-pole of care; the Bodisat
is now Buddha and has found the jewel of salvation.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: quote
locator: lines 16682-16693
quote_or_summary: The verses describe many births, seeking the architect of the
desire-like house, addressing the house-builder, breaking rafters, destroying
the central support, and arriving at the extinction of evil desire.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; short quotation summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 16695-16704
quote_or_summary: The passage says the house figure is also found in Manu, the Lalita
Vistara, and the Ādi Granth; the quoted Ādi Granth passage presents divine knowledge
as a storm that removes delusion and breaks the supports and roof of craving.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 16714-16720
quote_or_summary: A note glosses Yamaka-pāṭihāriya as 'twin-miracle,' compares other
references, and says the editor is not sure of the expression's meaning.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 16746-16760
quote_or_summary: A footnote describes the growth of legend to authenticate and
glorify local relics, discusses whether the relics were in Orissa, Burma, or Ceylon,
and mentions claims about two merchants, hair-relics, and a Dāgaba.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The passage is largely explanatory and footnoted rather than a continuous
narrative. Motif candidates are therefore mostly metaphorical or historiographical
and need human review for taxonomy fit.
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: |-
Used only the provided passage and metadata. No external taxonomy IDs beyond supplied motif family labels were added.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg__l16667-l16811
passage_sha256=8a0aae6c2efaeffd8d224e14104fc83a084748408ac9a8990f5c802854848e06