After seven years, Dr Appleton launches her latest book, the first complete English translation in over a century of the ten great birth stories that form the Mahanipata of the Jatakatthavannana. Image Dr Appleton's latest book is the fruit of seven years of collaboration with Sarah Shaw a member of the Faculty of Oriental Studies at the University of Oxford and an honorary fellow of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies. It is the first complete English translation in over a century of the ten great birth stories that form the Mahanipata of the Jatakatthavannana. These stories narrate the Bodhisatta’s ten final lives in the human realm before his final life and enlightenment as the Buddha. Replete with adventure, subterfuge, magic, and intrigue, the tales also showcase Buddhist philosophy and morality as they chronicle the multi-life quest of the Bodhisatta to achieve the Ten Perfections—virtues that must be refined before he can reach his final goal of awakening. The translation, in two volumes, is published by Silkworm Books, who are based in Thailand, and is available in hardback and paperback. It includes colour images which help to bring the stories alive. You can read more about Dr Appleton's journey creating the book through her blog: https://naomiappleton.wordpress.com/2015/10/05/new-book-the-ten-great-birth-stories-of-the-buddha/ Visit the publisher's website: http://silkwormbooks.com/products/the-ten-great-birth-stories-of-the-buddha-cloth This article was published on 2024-03-19
