Lives of the Buddha with Sarah Shaw

In this ten part lecture series Sarah Shaw explores several stories from the Jatakas, stories of the previous lives of the Gautama Buddha both in human and animal form. The stories are entertaining and allegorical. Sarah connects these tales from 4th and 5th century B.C.E. with their relevance for our lives today. Session 1: Sarah discusses the Bodhisatta vow and the 10 perfections, The Dipa?kara Jataka Session 2: Sarah explains the structure of Jataka tales and explores why birth stories are important. She shares the story: Lost in the wilderness. Apa??aka-jataka: a True Story, Jataka 1 Session 3: Sarah explains how Jatakas were heard and how to cope with moral dilemmas, the people of Kuru and their code: Kurudhamma-Jataka (Jataka 276) Session 4: The historical background of the Jatakas. Why are birth stories important? Session 5: Protection and story of the golden peacock The Peacock Story, Mora Jataka (Jataka 159) Session 6: Sarah discusses Jataka 541: Nemi Jataka about king Nemi Session 7: Jataka 55: Pañcavudha-jataka, the five weapons story. Session 8: Jataka 385. Nandiyamiga-jataka. The story of the Buddha's life as Nandiya, the deer. Session 9: Mahosadha or Ummagga Jataka , Jataka 546 Session 10: Sarah concludes the course with the final life of the Buddha Sarah Shaw received her Phd in English from Manchester University. After studying Pali and Sanskrit at Oxford, she began teaching and writing on Buddhist subjects. She has written several books on meditation theory and practice, and jataka literature. She is the author of several books including Introduction to Buddhist Meditation, The Jatakas: Birth Stories of the Bodhisattaand her most recent book, The Spirit of Buddhist Meditation. She is a member of the Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford, and Wolfson College. She is a fellow of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies.