Item: Shakyamuni Buddha - Jataka (previous lives)

Shakyamuni Buddha (Tibetan: sha kya tu pa, English: the Sage of the Shakya Clan) surrounded by narrative vignettes depicting nine previous life stories based on the text Jatakamala. This individual work is part of a much larger painting set containing the thirty-four original stories of the Jatakamala along with a further sixty-seven stories supplemented by the 3rd Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje (biographical details). The enlarged text is known as the One Hundred Previous Life Stories (T: kye rab gya tsa). (See blockprint set).

At the top center is story number #12: The Brahman, A Tale of Conscience.

At the top right is story #15: The Fish, The Rewards of Virtue.

At the upper right is story #14: Suparaga, Depending on the Virtuous as Friends.

At the lower right is story #17: The Jar of Liquor, The Virtuous Turning Others from Evil.

At the bottom right is story #19: The Lotus Roots, A Tale of Understanding.

At the bottom left is story #18: The Wealthy Prince, The Virtue of Detachment from Worldly Concerns.

At the lower left is story #16: The Baby Quail, The Power of Honesty.

At the upper left is story #13: She Who Drives Men Mad, A Tale of Self-Control.

At the top left is story #11: Shakra, A Tale of Bravery.

Jeff Watt 11-2000