Dhammapada and the Jataka Tales; 1-March-2008 (Day 7 of 7) - Dalai Lama Audio Teachings on Tibetan Buddhism Podcast

Summary: His Holiness gives parting advice to the audience of ordained and lay Buddhists from Tibet and around the world and then concludes the oral transmission of the Jataka Tales. These last tales describe the Great Bodhisattva’s past lives as a monkey whose great compassion wins the respect of a greedy royal hunter; as an ascetic whose great patience triumphs over the violence of a royal sensualist; as a deva who teaches the law of karma to an amoral king; as an elephant who embraces suffering to rescue hundreds persecuted by a cruel ruler; and as a prince whose pure integrity and bravery convert a rogue cannibal king. His Holiness concludes these Monlam teachings by reading short portions from the opening of the Dhammapada and the Jataka Tales, as an auspicious sign of further teachings.