A Buddhist Ethical Classic: Aryasura's Jātakamālā

Year 2022, Volume: 19 Issue: 2, 147 - 186, 31.12.2022

Ali Gül

https://doi.org/10.17131/milel.1106956

Abstract

One of the most important aspects of religious traditions is their moral structure. All religions advise their followers to live morally and set out some principles in this sense. Moral principles occupy an important place in the sacred texts of religions. On the other hand, texts based on moral teachings are frequently encountered in the religious literature produced outside the sacred texts. These texts can use various literary genres. In the case of the Buddhist tradition, the stories called Jātaka constitute an important literary genre in this respect. The Jātakas, which can be defined as the past life narratives of Buddha, deal with the virtues he exhibited while he was a bodhisattva, a candidate to become a Buddha. Hundreds of Jātakas are mentioned in the Buddhist tradition. The Jātaka book of the Pali Kanon contains 547 of them. In the Buddhist literature, there are also compilations that take their inspiration from the Jātaka stories. Jātakamālā, written by Aryasura (4th century AD?) and containing thirty-four Jātaka stories, is the most well-known of these collections. This article, on the one hand, will try to introduce Jātakamālā and evaluate its contribution to reflecting the Buddhist moral tradition, on the other hand, it will try to reveal some moral principles of Buddhism within the framework of the stories contained in the work

Keywords

Buddhism, Buddha, Buddhist ethics, Boddhisattva, Jataka tales, Aryasura, Jatakamala

Bir Budist Ahlak Klasiği: Aryaşura’nın Catakamala’sı

Abstract

Dinî geleneklerin en önemli yönlerinden biri ahlaki yapılarıdır. Bütün dinler müntesiplerine ahlaklı yaşamayı salık verir ve bu anlamda birtakım prensipler ortaya koyar. Ahlaki prensipler dinlerin kutsal metinleri içinde önemli bir yer tutar. Öte yandan kutsal metinler dışında üretilen dinî literatürde ahlaki öğretileri esas alan metinlere çokça rastlanır. Bu metinler çeşitli edebî türleri kullanabilir. Budist gelenek söz konusu olduğunda Câtaka adı verilen öyküler, bu açıdan önemli bir edebî türü oluşturur. Buda’nın geçmiş yaşam anlatıları olarak tanımlanabilecek Câtakalar, onun bir bodhisattva yani Buda olma yolunda bir namzet iken sergilediği erdemleri konu edinir. Budist gelenekte yüzlerce Câtakadan söz edilir. Pali Kanon’un Câtaka kitabı bunların 547’sini içerir. Budist literatürde ilhamını Câtaka öykülerinden alan derlemeler de vardır. Aryaşura’nın (MS 4. yüzyıl?) kaleme aldığı ve otuz dört Câtaka öyküsünü barındıran Câtakamâlâ, bu derlemelerin en bilinenidir. Elinizdeki makale, bir taraftan Câtakamâlâ’yı tanıtmaya ve Câtakamâlâ’nın Budist ahlak geleneğini yansıtmadaki katkısını değerlendirmeye çalışırken diğer taraftan eserin içerdiği öyküler çerçevesinde Budizm’in kimi ahlaki esaslarını ortaya koymaya gayret edecektir

Keywords

Budizm, Buda, Budist Ahlak, Bodhisattva, Cataka Öyküleri, Aryaşura, Catakamala

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