batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l3235-l3348
---
record_id: batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l3235-l3348
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
passage_locator:
label: TABLE VII. / THE BODISATS. / TABLE VIII. / THE DISTANT EPOCH.; lines 3235-3348
start: '3235'
end: '3348'
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 presents Sumedha reasoning through similes about seeking Nirvana
and abandoning attachment to the body, then giving away wealth, renouncing pleasures,
leaving Amara for Himavanta, establishing a hermitage near Dhammaka, practicing
as a Rishi, living on wild fruits, and attaining the eight Attainments and five
Supernatural Faculties.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A man fallen into filth who sees a lotus-covered pond should seek the pond;
failure to seek it is described as the man's fault, not the pond's.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: obs:2
text: The passage compares Nirvana to a lake that washes away the stains or defilement
of sin.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: A person surrounded by robbers or foes who has a way of escape should flee;
failure to flee is described as the person's fault, not the road's.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: A sick person who has access to a physician should seek healing; failure to
do so is described as the patient's fault, not the healer's.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: The passage compares failure to seek a spiritual guide with a sick person
failing to seek a physician.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: obs:6
text: Sumedha argues that he should throw off the perishable body like a corpse
bound to the shoulders, filth put on a dungheap, an unseaworthy ship, and company
with robbers.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: The body is described as perishable, foul, corrupting, having nine running
apertures, and capable of causing loss of spiritual good if one is attached to
it.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: After pondering nine similes, Sumedha gives away a large hoard of treasure
to the indigent, wayfarers, sufferers, rich, and poor, and keeps open house.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: obs:9
text: Sumedha renounces material and sensual pleasures and departs from the city
of Amara to Himavanta.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: Near the mountain called Dhammaka, Sumedha makes a hermitage, builds a hut,
and later practices as a Rishi wearing bark garments.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: obs:11
text: Sumedha leaves the hut for the foot of a tree, rejects grain, lives on wild
fruits, and practices in sitting, standing, and walking.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:12
text: Within a week Sumedha becomes possessor of the eight Attainments and the five
Supernatural Faculties, attaining supernatural knowledge.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Sumedha
description: The wise figure who reasons about Nirvana, gives away wealth, renounces
pleasures, goes to Himavanta, practices as a Rishi, and attains supernatural knowledge.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Man in the similes
description: 'A generic man used in examples: fallen into filth, beset by foes or
robbers, sick, carrying jewels or wares, or bearing a corpse.'
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Physician, healer, spiritual guide, or teacher
description: A healer or spiritual teacher who can cure disease or show the road
that ends sin.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Robbers or foes
description: Hostile figures in the similes who surround a man or threaten to steal
his jewels or wares.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Seamen or ship owners
description: Figures in a simile who abandon a rotten, shattered, leaking, or unseaworthy
ship without regret.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Recipients of Sumedha's wealth
description: Indigent people, wayfarers, sufferers, rich, and poor who receive wealth
from Sumedha.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
roles:
- id: role:1
label: renouncer
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Sumedha renounces material and sensual pleasures, leaves Amara, and adopts
ascetic life.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:2
label: ascetic practitioner
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Sumedha makes a hermitage, embraces the ascetic life of a Rishi, lives on
wild fruits, and practices strenuously.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:3
label: donor
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Sumedha gives away many thousand millions of wealth and an immense hoard
of treasure.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:4
label: illustrative example figure
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:5
basis: These figures appear in similes used to frame Sumedha's reasoning.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:5
label: healer or guide
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The physician heals disease; the spiritual guide or teacher knows the road
that puts an end to sin.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:6
label: threatening obstacle
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Robbers or foes surround the man or threaten loss of jewels and wares.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:7
label: beneficiary
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: They receive Sumedha's distributed wealth.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: lake or pond of Nirvana
literal_form: A lotus-covered pond or lake that washes defilement or stains of sin.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: sym:2
label: road or way of bliss
literal_form: A way of escape or blessed road leading to Nirvana.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: healing of the disease of sin
literal_form: Disease, physician, healer, and spiritual teacher imagery applied
to sin and its end.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: sym:4
label: corpse, filth, dungheap, and cesspool
literal_form: Images of a corpse bound to the shoulders, filth placed on a dungheap,
and a cesspool used for the perishable body.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: sym:5
label: broken or unseaworthy ship
literal_form: A rotten, shattered, leaking ship abandoned by seamen or owners.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: sym:6
label: jewels or wares threatened by robbers
literal_form: Jewels, wares, and a robber-like body used to describe the possible
loss of spiritual good.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: sym:7
label: city of Nirvana
literal_form: The deathless city of Nirvana entered after abandoning the perishable
body.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:8
label: Himavanta and Dhammaka mountain
literal_form: Himavanta and the mountain called Dhammaka, near which Sumedha makes
a hermitage.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- mountain
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: sym:9
label: tree foot
literal_form: The foot of a tree where Sumedha lives after forsaking the hut.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:10
label: hermitage and leafy hut
literal_form: A hermitage and leafy hut built near Dhammaka for ascetic practice.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Reasoning about seeking Nirvana
summary: Sumedha reasons through similes of a polluted man seeking a pond, a threatened
man taking a road, and a sick man going to a physician, applying them to seeking
Nirvana and a spiritual teacher.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Reasoning about abandoning the body
summary: Sumedha compares abandoning the perishable body to shaking off a corpse,
leaving filth on a dungheap, deserting a broken ship, and parting from robbers
to preserve valuables.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
- sym:6
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:3
label: Distribution of wealth and departure
summary: After pondering the similes, Sumedha gives away immense treasure, keeps
open house, renounces pleasures, and leaves Amara for Himavanta.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: scene:4
label: Hermitage and ascetic practice
summary: Sumedha establishes a hermitage near Dhammaka, embraces Rishi life, wears
bark garments, moves to a tree foot, lives on wild fruits, practices strenuously,
and gains attainments and supernatural faculties.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:8
- sym:9
- sym:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Renunciatory departure from city and world
taxonomy_refs:
- departure
basis: Sumedha gives away wealth, renounces material and sensual pleasures, departs
from Amara, and goes to Himavanta.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The passage frames the departure as ascetic renunciation rather than travel
adventure.
- id: motif:2
label: Wisdom through corrective similes
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Sumedha reasons and ponders through repeated similes distinguishing the availability
of Nirvana, the road, and the teacher from a person's failure to seek them.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The motif is expressed as doctrinal reflection, not as a contest of wisdom.
- id: motif:3
label: Ascetic quest for supernatural knowledge
taxonomy_refs:
- mystical_quest
basis: Sumedha adopts Rishi ascetic life in a hermitage, practices strenuously,
and attains the eight Attainments, five Supernatural Faculties, and supernatural
knowledge.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The passage emphasizes ascetic discipline and meditation; it does not
describe a quest journey with external trials.
- id: motif:4
label: Abandonment of the corruptible body
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The body is repeatedly compared to a corpse, filth, a leaking ship, and a
robber-like danger, and Sumedha resolves to leave it without regret for Nirvana.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: No available taxonomy reference precisely matches this renunciatory body-imagery
motif.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 3235-3254
quote_or_summary: 'Sumedha reasons with three prose similes: a man in filth should
seek a lotus pond; a man surrounded by robbers should use a way of escape; a sick
man should seek a physician. These are applied to Nirvana, the road to Nirvana,
and the spiritual guide.'
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:2
type: summary
locator: 3255-3273
quote_or_summary: Verses 24-29 restate the similes of the lake of Nirvana, the way
of bliss, and the teacher or healer, emphasizing that failure to seek them is
not their fault.
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: 3274-3295
quote_or_summary: Sumedha argues that he must abandon the perishable body and enter
the city of Nirvana, using similes of a corpse on the shoulders, filth on a dungheap,
an unseaworthy ship, and robbers threatening jewels.
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: 3296-3318
quote_or_summary: 'Verses 30-37 restate the abandonment images: shaking off a corpse,
leaving foul vapours and ordure, deserting a broken ship, and leaving a robber-like
body to avoid losing good.'
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: 3319-3338
quote_or_summary: After pondering nine similes, Sumedha gives away treasure, renounces
pleasures, departs from Amara to Himavanta, builds a hermitage near Dhammaka,
embraces Rishi ascetic life, wears bark garments, lives at a tree foot on wild
fruits, and practices strenuously.
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: summary
locator: 3338-3348
quote_or_summary: Within a week Sumedha attains the eight Attainments, five Supernatural
Faculties, and supernatural knowledge; verses 38-39 say he gave many thousand
millions of wealth to rich and poor, went to Himavanta, and made a hermitage and
leafy hut near Dhammaka.
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: high
notes: The passage is explicit about actions, figures, and images. Motif taxonomy
assignment is cautious because several doctrinal images do not map exactly to
the available motif families. No comparison claims were made because the passage
itself does not support cross-textual comparison.
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: |-
All observations and motif candidates are based only on the supplied passage and metadata.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg__l3235-l3348
passage_sha256=675e7c7f99ba27b478058bb64e8dee6fa74f5db7f5443e899774213731aa2393