Buddhist Path, Buddhist Teachings - Studies in Memory of L.S. Cousins - Naomi Appleton
15. Yaśodharā in Jātakas
Buddhist Path, Buddhist Teachings - Studies in Memory of L.S. Cousins - Naomi Appleton
Sarah Shaw [+]
University of Oxford
Sarah Shaw is a Member of the Faculty of Oriental Studies at the University of Oxford and Honorary Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies.
Description
This paper discusses the role of the Buddha’s wife, Yasodharā/Rāhulamātā, in Pāli Jātakas. Noting her continued popularity in South and Southeast Asian Buddhism, it considers her path to liberation seen as a composite whole, through many lifetimes, and considers some of the literary implications of this multiple depiction. The intention of this paper is to initiate more discussion about this figure as a sympathetic and central presence in Southern Buddhist text and practice.