The ''Avadānaśataka'' (''A Hundred Tales'') is a
Buddhist
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
anthology in Sanskrit of one hundred
Buddhist
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
avadāna
Avadāna (Sanskrit; Pali: '' Apadāna'') is the name given to a type of Buddhist literature correlating past lives' virtuous deeds to subsequent lives' events.
Richard Salomon described them as "stories, usually narrated by the Buddha, that ...
legends associated with the
Mūlasarvāstivāda
The Mūlasarvāstivāda (; ) was one of the early Buddhist schools of India. The origins of the Mūlasarvāstivāda school and their relationship to the Sarvāstivāda remain largely unknown, although various theories exist.
The continuity of t ...
school.
[Buswell, Robert E; Lopez, Donald S. The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, pp. 81-82. Princeton University Press, Nov 24, 2013.] The Sanskrit text's composition date is uncertain, with an approximate origin around 100 CE or later, between the second and fourth centuries CE.
The collection likely originated in the northwest Indian subcontinent, with some fragments discovered in the
Schøyen Collection
__NOTOC__
The Schøyen Collection is one of the largest private manuscript collections in the world, mostly located in Oslo and London. Formed in the 20th century by the father of current owner Martin Schøyen, it comprises manuscripts of global ...
, possibly from
Bāmiyān.
The
Mūlasarvāstivāda
The Mūlasarvāstivāda (; ) was one of the early Buddhist schools of India. The origins of the Mūlasarvāstivāda school and their relationship to the Sarvāstivāda remain largely unknown, although various theories exist.
The continuity of t ...
affiliation is supported by shared passages with the Divyāvadāna and the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, as well as its textual and thematic parallels.
The ''Avadānaśataka'' is similar to and possibly from the same milieu as the
''Aśokāvadāna'' and the ''
Ratnamālāvadāna''.
The text was later translated into Chinese (as ''Zhuanji baiyuan jing'') and into Tibetan. The Chinese translation dates to the late 5th or early 6th century. Tibetan translation occurred in the early 9th century by Jinamitra and Devacandra.
The Avadānaśataka comprises 100
avadāna
Avadāna (Sanskrit; Pali: '' Apadāna'') is the name given to a type of Buddhist literature correlating past lives' virtuous deeds to subsequent lives' events.
Richard Salomon described them as "stories, usually narrated by the Buddha, that ...
stories arranged in ten chapters. Each chapter has a central theme:
* Chapter one is on prophecies (''vyākaraṇa'') of future buddhahood,
* ''
Jātaka'' tales,
* Prophecies of
pratyekabuddhahood,
* Additional ''jātakas'',
* Tales of ''
preta
''Preta'' (, ''yi dags''), also known as hungry ghost, is the Sanskrit name for a type of supernatural being described in Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Chinese folk religion as undergoing suffering greater than that of humans, particularly ...
'' ("hungry ghosts"),
* Rebirths as ''devas'' ("divinities")
* 7–9. Stories of male and female disciples attaining ''
arhatship
In Buddhism, an ''Arhat'' () or ''Arahant'' (, 𑀅𑀭𑀳𑀦𑁆𑀢𑁆) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved ''Nirvana (Buddhism), Nirvana'' and has been liberated from the Rebirth (Buddhism ...
'',
* Accounts of suffering caused by past misdeeds.
Each tale follows a three-part structure: A frame story set in the present, a recounting of past deeds causing current experiences, and a narrative bridge linking the past and present actors.
Recurring motifs in these tales include devotion to the Buddha, the merits of generosity (
dāna
(Devanagari: , IAST: ) is a Sanskrit and Pali word that connotes the virtue of generosity, charity or giving of alms, in Indian religions and philosophies.
In Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, is the practice of cultivating generosi ...
), and the workings of
karma
Karma (, from , ; ) is an ancient Indian concept that refers to an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptively called ...
. Many stories conclude with a formula highlighting karmic consequences which states: "Black actions bear black fruits, white actions white fruits, and mixed ones mixed fruits. Avoid black and mixed actions; pursue only white."
References
External links
*
Buddhist texts
{{Buddhism-book-stub