This is a fun little story from the Pali Jataka book (so early Indian and Theravada in affiliation) that explores a Buddhist karmic response to Vedic sacrifice through the character of a goat: “Feast for the Dead” Jātaka (Matakabhatta-jātaka, Jātakatthavaṇṇanā 18) “If beings only knew…” The Teacher [the Buddha] spoke about the feast for the […]

Here is a short lecture from Dr Naomi Appleton on how Buddhists might respond to the classical “problem of evil”. This lecture relates to Highers / Nat 5 topics such as the three marks of existence, beliefs about human beings and kamma, and meditation practice. It might also be interesting for people studying what other religions […]

Here is a short story about illness and anxiety from an Indian Buddhist text called the Avadanasataka. The text is a Sanskrit collection from around the middle of the first millennium CE, and more information and a full translation of the story can be found in my book Many Buddhas, One Buddha (Sheffield: Equinox, 2020). What I […]

Buddhism through 108 objects in Scotland: Object 1 – A Gandharan relief of the Dipankara story This image at the National Museum of Scotland Edinburgh shows the Buddha-to-be in a past life, taking a vow to future buddhahood at the feet of the past buddha Dipankara. Confused? A few things to keep in mind: The […]

With so many introductory books about Buddhism out there, most written by and for Buddhists, how can you find a good scholarly textbook to educate yourself or your students? Here are Naomi Appleton’s top three introductions to Buddhism: Damien Keown – Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction The books in this very short introduction series are […]

I’m a bit obsessed with jataka stories – tales of the past lives of the Buddha. They are a wonderful way into Buddhist ideas, concerns and characters, not to mention fantastic stories in their own right. I made some teaching resources based around jataka stories for an earlier project – “Approaching Religion Through Story” – […]

Here are some resources created by Naomi Appleton and colleagues some years ago, which use stories as a way to open up discussion of key beliefs, values and traditions. They were originally posted here: http://www.storyandreligion.div.ed.ac.uk/schools/resources/ The resources are aimed at upper primary and early secondary school level, and are mapped onto aspects of the Scottish […]