batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l363-l474
---
record_id: batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l363-l474
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
passage_locator:
label: SUPPLEMENTARY TABLES. / THE BIRTH STORIES. / INDEX 339
/ INTRODUCTION.; lines 363-474
start: '363'
end: '474'
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 introduces the Jātaka or Birth Stories, describes the orthodox
Buddhist account that the Buddha told stories of his former births to explain
present events, and summarizes the alleged early collection and transmission of
these stories. The translator then questions that orthodox history, notes resemblances
between Jātaka tales and Western stories, argues for literal translation, and
begins the specimen tale 'The Ass in the Lion’s Skin,' in which the future Buddha
is born into a peasant family while a hawker disguises his ass with a lion’s skin
so it can graze in fields without being approached by watchmen.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The passage states that a Buddhist scripture contains many old stories, fables,
and fairy tales preserved within an edifying commentary.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The orthodox Buddhist account says the Buddha explained events around him
by telling of similar events in his own previous births.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The passage states that the Buddha’s experience of many lives was present
to his mind and was used to point morals or adorn tales.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:4
text: The orthodox account says disciples learned and repeated the stories, and
that 550 stories were gathered after the Buddha’s death into the Book of the 550
Jātakas or Births.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:5
text: The passage reports a transmission sequence in which the text and commentary
were handed down in Pāli, carried to Ceylon by Mahinda, translated into Siŋhalese,
and later re-translated into Pāli.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:6
text: The translator states that the orthodox Buddhist history of the Birth Stories
is not supported and is contradicted by evidence from Buddhist books themselves.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:7
text: The passage states that many Jātaka fairy tales, parables, fables, riddles,
and comic and moral stories resemble similar stories current in the West.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:8
text: The passage states that in many instances Western stories were borrowed from
Buddhist stories.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:9
text: The translator says the specimen stories should be presented exactly as they
stand in the original for purposes of comparison.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:10
text: The passage introduces the first specimen as a half-moral, half-comic story
titled 'The Ass in the Lion’s Skin,' identified as Sīha-camma Jātaka, Fausböll
No. 189.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:11
text: In the specimen tale, while Brahma-datta reigns in Benāres, the future Buddha
is born into a peasant family and later earns his living by tilling the ground.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:12
text: A hawker travels from place to place with goods carried by an ass.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:13
text: At each place, the hawker removes the ass’s pack, clothes the ass in a lion’s
skin, and releases it into rice and barley fields.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:14
text: Field watchmen see the ass but do not approach because they take it for a
lion.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: The Buddha / Gotama
description: The teacher who, according to the orthodox account, remembers many
previous births and tells former-birth stories to explain events around him.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Disciples of the Buddha
description: Disciples said to have reverently learned and repeated the stories
told by the Buddha.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Mahinda
description: The missionary said to have carried the text and commentary to Ceylon.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Brahma-datta
description: A king reigning in Benāres at the opening of the specimen tale.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Future Buddha as peasant
description: The future Buddha in a previous birth, born into a peasant family and
earning his living by tilling the ground.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Hawker
description: A traveling trader whose goods are carried by an ass and who clothes
the ass in a lion’s skin.
role_refs:
- role:6
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Ass
description: The pack animal used by the hawker, later clothed in a lion’s skin
and released into grain fields.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Field watchmen
description: Watchmen in the fields who see the disguised ass and avoid it because
they believe it is a lion.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
roles:
- id: role:1
label: Former-birth narrator
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The orthodox account says the Buddha tells stories from his previous births
to explain current events.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: Story preservers
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The disciples are said to learn and repeat the stories reverently.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: Missionary transmitter
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Mahinda is said to carry the text and commentary to Ceylon.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:4
label: Reigning king
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The tale opens while Brahma-datta is reigning in Benāres.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:5
label: Peasant cultivator
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The future Buddha is born into a peasant family and tills the ground for
a living.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:6
label: Traveling trader
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The hawker goes from place to place trafficking in goods carried by an ass.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:7
label: Disguiser of animal
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The hawker clothes the ass in a lion’s skin before releasing it in fields.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:8
label: Disguised pack animal
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The ass carries goods, then is dressed in a lion’s skin and mistaken for
a lion.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:9
label: Mistaken observers
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: The watchmen avoid the ass because they take it for a lion.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: Former births
literal_form: The Buddha’s previous births and many lives remembered by him
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: Book of 550 Jātakas
literal_form: A collection of 550 Birth Stories said to have been gathered after
the Buddha’s death
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:3
label: Lion’s skin
literal_form: A lion’s skin used to clothe an ass
associated_figures:
- fig:6
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:4
label: Rice and barley fields
literal_form: Fields into which the disguised ass is released
associated_figures:
- fig:7
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Orthodox account of the Jātaka origin and transmission
summary: The Buddha is said to tell stories of his previous births in response to
events; disciples preserve them; the collected stories and commentary are transmitted
through Pāli, Ceylon, Siŋhalese translation, and later Pāli re-translation.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Critical and comparative framing
summary: The translator questions the orthodox history and explains that Jātaka
tales resemble Western stories, with some Western stories said to be borrowed
from Buddhist ones.
figure_refs: []
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Literal translation policy
summary: The translator argues that exact presentation of the stories is necessary
for comparison and for preserving evidence of early Buddhist beliefs and habits
of thought.
figure_refs: []
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Future Buddha born as peasant
summary: The specimen tale opens with Brahma-datta reigning in Benāres and the future
Buddha born into a peasant family, later living by tilling the ground.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:5
label: Ass disguised as lion
summary: A hawker removes his ass’s pack, dresses the ass in a lion’s skin, releases
it into rice and barley fields, and the watchmen avoid it because they mistake
it for a lion.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Remembered former lives used as moral exempla
taxonomy_refs:
- death_rebirth
- wisdom
basis: The orthodox account says the Buddha remembers many previous births and uses
that experience to explain events, point morals, and tell tales.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy links are broad; the passage presents a doctrinal and narrative
framing rather than a complete single mythic episode.
- id: motif:2
label: Sacred stories preserved through disciples and missionary transmission
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The passage describes disciples learning and repeating the stories, a collection
of 550 Jātakas, and later transmission to Ceylon by Mahinda.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: medium
cautions: This is primarily a textual transmission pattern, not a fully developed
mythic plot motif.
- id: motif:3
label: Animal disguise creates mistaken identity
taxonomy_refs:
- trickster_boundary
basis: The hawker dresses an ass in a lion’s skin and the watchmen avoid it because
they believe it is a lion.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The excerpt ends before the tale’s full outcome or moral is given.
- id: motif:4
label: Buddhist tales migrating into Western story traditions
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage states that many Jātaka stories resemble stories current in the
West and that in many instances Western stories were borrowed from Buddhist ones.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage gives a general claim but no specific Western parallels within
this line range.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage asserts that many Jātaka tales resemble similar stories current
in the West and that, in many instances, Western stories were borrowed from Buddhist
ones.
claim_level: historical_contact
target: Western fairy tales, fables, parables, riddles, comic stories, and moral
stories resembling Jātaka tales
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: This line range provides a general assertion by the translator, not
detailed case-by-case evidence for specific tale parallels.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 367-383
quote_or_summary: The orthodox Buddhist account says the Buddha told stories of
his own previous births to explain events; disciples learned and repeated them;
550 were collected, transmitted in Pāli, carried to Ceylon by Mahinda, translated
into Siŋhalese, and later re-translated into Pāli.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary provided.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 385-407
quote_or_summary: The translator says the orthodox history rests on an insecure
foundation and is contradicted by evidence from Buddhist books themselves; he
proposes critical methods and acknowledges that only probabilities are possible
with current information.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary provided.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 409-418
quote_or_summary: The passage states that many stories in the Jātaka Book resemble
similar stories current in the West and that in many instances Western stories
were borrowed from Buddhist ones.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary provided.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 420-443
quote_or_summary: The translator says exact presentation of the original stories
is essential for comparison and that modifying the translation could distort evidence
of early Buddhist beliefs, habits, and modes of thought.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary provided.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 445-464
quote_or_summary: The first specimen is introduced as 'The Ass in the Lion’s Skin,'
Sīha-camma Jātaka, Fausböll No. 189; it opens with Brahma-datta reigning in Benāres
and the future Buddha born into a peasant family, later living by tilling the
ground.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary provided.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 466-474
quote_or_summary: A hawker travels with goods carried by an ass; when he unloads
it, he dresses the ass in a lion’s skin and releases it into rice and barley fields,
where watchmen avoid it because they take it for a lion.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary provided.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The passage contains both introductory scholarly framing and the beginning
of a narrative tale. Motif extraction is strongest for the ass disguised as a
lion; broader taxonomy links for former births and tale transmission require review.
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: |-
Only the supplied passage and metadata were used. No individual Western parallel was added because the passage gives only a general comparative claim.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg__l363-l474
passage_sha256=ef8f8cf5d40a345d9fa4b2f61c39115c13e8ddac65c561a30a322bf0a760cf72