My new project website, hosted within the pages of the Centre for the History of Religion in Asia, is now up and running, and will largely replace this blog. Updated versions of the bibliographies are available to download from the website in pdf format.
A brief description of the project appears in the 2010 issue of the newsletter for the Jaina Studies Centre at SOAS:
http://www.soas.ac.uk/jainastudies/newsletter/
A survey of the key occurrences of birth stories in post-/extra-canonical texts of both the Śvetāmbara and Digambara traditions.[Read More]
A summary of the birth stories found in the Dhammapada commentary, relying upon Burlingame's translation.[Read More]
A consideration of the birth stories contained within three Theravāda commentaries (Jātakatthavaṇṇanā, Dhammapada-aṭṭhakathā and Paramatthadīpanī) and two early extra-canonical texts (Milindapañha and Paññāsajātaka).[Read More]
Summary of the birth stories found in the Chinese translation of the Abhiniṣkramaṇa Sutra.[Read More]
A summary of the birth stories mentioned in Xuanzang's 7th century travelogue.[Read More]
An outline of the birth stories in the Mahāvastu, summarised from J.J. Jones' translation.[Read More]
An outline of the key texts of Indian Buddhism that narrate birth stories.[Read More]
Stories of rebirth found in the Śvetāmbara Uttarādhyayana, summarised from the translation by Jacobi.[Read More]
Stories of rebirth found in the Vipākaśruta, the 11th Aṅga of the Śvetāmbara scriptures, summarised from the translation in Amar Muni's series.[Read More]
Stories of rebirth as found in the Jñātā Dharma Kathāṅga Sūtra, the 6th Aṅga of the Śvetāmbara scriptures, summarised from the translation in Amar Muni's series.[Read More]
Stories of rebirth found in the Bhagavatī Viyāha Paṇṇatti, the 5th Anga of the Jain scriptures, summarised from Deleu's full summary of the text.[Read More]
Summary of the main occurrences of birth stories in the Śvetāmbara Jain scriptures.[Read More]
A survey of all the birth stories found in the Theravāda scriptures.[Read More]
Some notes about the parameters for the survey of sources.[Read More]
My full C.V. is provided here.[Read More]
This blog is for a British Academy post-doctoral research project being carried out by Naomi Appleton in the Centre for the History of Religions in Asia at Cardiff University. The project is intended to run for three years beginning in September 2009. It is my intention to upload bibliographical and discursive material on the project theme for the use of other scholars who may be interested in this area. I welcome all forms of feedback - comments, additions, corrections, criticisms, and questions.
Project Abstract: Buddhism and Jainism share the concepts of karma, rebirth, and the possibility (and desirability) of escape from rebirth, though each has a different interpretation of these. Within the literature of both traditions we find many stories about remembered past births, illustrating progress on the path to awakening, the workings of karma, or the jumbled nature of rebirth that makes renunciation the only way to avoid incest. These stories have much to reveal about Buddhist and Jain attitudes towards the mechanisms of rebirth and the pursuit of long-term (multi-life) religious goals. This project will compare birth stories from the different traditions in relation to: the role of karma in rebirth; the key religious paths and goals; and the role of birth stories in the teaching careers of awakened beings. The project will help to ascertain the distinctively Buddhist and Jain uses of this genre, thereby illuminating both the significance of the stories within each tradition, and the extent of interaction between Buddhist and Jain schools during their formative periods.