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Avadana (Sanskrit
Sanskrit

Sanskrit is a historical Indo-Aryan language, one of the liturgical languages of Hinduism and Buddhism, and one of the 22 official languages of India....
; Pali cognate: Apadana
Apadana

The Apadana is a collection of biographical stories found in the Khuddaka Nikaya of the Pali Canon, the scriptures of Theravada Buddhism. It is thought by most scholars to be a late addition to the canon, composed during the 1st and 2nd century BCE....
) is the name given to a type of Buddhist literature correlating past lives
Rebirth (Buddhism)

Rebirth in Buddhism is the doctrine that the Consciousness of a person , upon the death or dissolution of the aggregates which make up that person, becomes one of the contributing causes for the arising of a new group of skandhas which may again be conventionally considered a person or individual....
' virtuous deeds to subsequent lives' events. While including accounts from the Pali
Páli

P?li is a village in Gyor-Moson-Sopron county, Hungary.External links...
 Vinaya Pitaka
Vinaya Pitaka

The is a Buddhism scripture, one of the three parts that make up the Tripitaka. Its primary subject matter is the monastic rules for monks and nuns....
 ("Basket of Discipline"), this literature also includes a large number of Sanskrit
Sanskrit

Sanskrit is a historical Indo-Aryan language, one of the liturgical languages of Hinduism and Buddhism, and one of the 22 official languages of India....
 collections, of which the chief are the Mahasa?ghika's Mahavastu
Mahavastu

The Mahavastu is a text of the Lokottaravada school of Early Buddhism. It describes itself as being a historical preface to the Buddhist monastic codes ....
 ("Great Book"), and the Sarvastivada
Sarvastivada

Sarvastivada is an early school of Buddhism that held to 'the existence of all dharmas in the past, present and future, the 'three times'. The Abhidharma , a later text, states:...
's Avadanasataka
Avadanasataka

The Avadanasataka or "Century of Noble Deeds " is an anthology in Sanskrit of legends, primarily concerning Gautama Buddha and the Maurya emperor Ashoka, written by members of the Sarvastivada school of Buddhism....
 (Century of Legends) and Divyavadana
Divyavadana

The Divyavadana, or Divine Stories, is an anthology of Buddhist tales, many originating in the Mulasarvastivada vinaya texts. The stories themselves are therefore quite ancient and may be among the first Buddhist texts ever committed to writing, but this particular collection of them is not attested prior to the eighteenth century....
 (The Heavenly Legend).






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Avadana (Sanskrit
Sanskrit

Sanskrit is a historical Indo-Aryan language, one of the liturgical languages of Hinduism and Buddhism, and one of the 22 official languages of India....
; Pali cognate: Apadana
Apadana

The Apadana is a collection of biographical stories found in the Khuddaka Nikaya of the Pali Canon, the scriptures of Theravada Buddhism. It is thought by most scholars to be a late addition to the canon, composed during the 1st and 2nd century BCE....
) is the name given to a type of Buddhist literature correlating past lives
Rebirth (Buddhism)

Rebirth in Buddhism is the doctrine that the Consciousness of a person , upon the death or dissolution of the aggregates which make up that person, becomes one of the contributing causes for the arising of a new group of skandhas which may again be conventionally considered a person or individual....
' virtuous deeds to subsequent lives' events. While including accounts from the Pali
Páli

P?li is a village in Gyor-Moson-Sopron county, Hungary.External links...
 Vinaya Pitaka
Vinaya Pitaka

The is a Buddhism scripture, one of the three parts that make up the Tripitaka. Its primary subject matter is the monastic rules for monks and nuns....
 ("Basket of Discipline"), this literature also includes a large number of Sanskrit
Sanskrit

Sanskrit is a historical Indo-Aryan language, one of the liturgical languages of Hinduism and Buddhism, and one of the 22 official languages of India....
 collections, of which the chief are the Mahasa?ghika's Mahavastu
Mahavastu

The Mahavastu is a text of the Lokottaravada school of Early Buddhism. It describes itself as being a historical preface to the Buddhist monastic codes ....
 ("Great Book"), and the Sarvastivada
Sarvastivada

Sarvastivada is an early school of Buddhism that held to 'the existence of all dharmas in the past, present and future, the 'three times'. The Abhidharma , a later text, states:...
's Avadanasataka
Avadanasataka

The Avadanasataka or "Century of Noble Deeds " is an anthology in Sanskrit of legends, primarily concerning Gautama Buddha and the Maurya emperor Ashoka, written by members of the Sarvastivada school of Buddhism....
 (Century of Legends) and Divyavadana
Divyavadana

The Divyavadana, or Divine Stories, is an anthology of Buddhist tales, many originating in the Mulasarvastivada vinaya texts. The stories themselves are therefore quite ancient and may be among the first Buddhist texts ever committed to writing, but this particular collection of them is not attested prior to the eighteenth century....
 (The Heavenly Legend). These latter collections include accounts relating to Buddha Gautama and the third-century BC "righteous ruler," Asoka.

Ammongst the most popular avadanas of Northern Hinayana Buddhism are:
  • the story of Sudhana, preserved in the Mahavastu
    Mahavastu

    The Mahavastu is a text of the Lokottaravada school of Early Buddhism. It describes itself as being a historical preface to the Buddhist monastic codes ....
     under the title Kinnarijataka, amongst others, who falls in love with a kinnari and saves her life
  • the Vessantara-jataka, the story of the compassionate prince who gives away everything he owns, including his wife and childen, thereby displaying the virtue of charity
  • the Suvannasankhajataka


Though of later date than most of the canonical Buddhist books, avadanas are held in veneration by the orthodox, and occupy much the same position with regard to Buddhism that the Puranas
Puranas

The Puranas are a group of important Hindu religious texts, notably consisting of narratives of the history of the Universe from creation to destruction, genealogies of the kings, heroes, sages, and demigods, and descriptions of Hindu cosmology, philosophy, and geography....
 do towards Brahminism.

Sources

  • "Avadana." (2008). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved August 20, 2008, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/45339/Avadana


External links