The Jataka or Stories of the Buddha's Former Births (6 Vols. in 3 Pts.)

Jataka stories or birth-legends were widely known in the third century B.C. Each story, narrated by the Buddha, opens with a preface relating the particular circumstances in the Buddha's life, revealing some events in the long series of his previous existence as a Bodhisattva. These stories magnify the glory of the Buddha and illustrate Buddhist doctrines and precepts by appropriate examples.