Buddhist Stories

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Preface

Most of these stories have appeared in The Young Citizen and Adyar Bulletin during the last few years, and I am grateful to the editors of those magazines for permission to reprint them in book form. The greater parts are translated from The Commentary on the Dhammapada, a large collection of stories illustrative of those moral verses of Buddhism: but some are to be found also in the earlier commentaries ascribed to Buddhaghosa. A few are from the Canonical Books themselves and are familiar to all Buddhists, while one or two are from the large collection of Jataka or Birth Tales. I believe I have made a choice of the best short stories in Buddhist literature. As a rule these illustrative tales are long and involved, tale within tale: but in the case of those presented here, the point is not lost by overwrapping, and they give us a fair knowledge of Buddhist Ethics as they were regarded by pious devotees of two thousand year ago. No Story is later than about AD 500, the period assigned to Buddhaghosa and Dhammapala.

About the Book

The delightful stories appearing in this book are translated mostly from The Commentary on the Dhammapada. Originally published in the magazines The Young Citizen and The Adyar Bulletin, they illustrate the moral teachings of Buddhism in a simple and easy form.

F.L. Woodward was an authority on Buddhist teachings; many of his publications were published by the Pali Text Society, among them Pictures of Buddhist Ceylon, The Buddha's Path of Virtue (translation of the Dhammapada rendered in verses), and Francis Bacon and the Cipher Story .

About the Author

F. L. Woodward was one of the noble bands of Theosophists who had worked for the revival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka under the leadership of Col. H. S. Olcott, President – Founder of the Theosophical Society.

The Mahinda College, Galle, of which he was the Principal for many year is a shining memorial to his devoted services.

Later, Woodward was associated with the Pali Text Society, and edited several of their publications.