"1. The Jåtakas, the ‘Birth Stories”, deal with all the excellent qualities the Buddha developed during his former lives, although not exclusively with the ten perfections. The “Basket of Conduct”, the Cariyåpițaka, Khuddhaka Nikåya (Minor Anthologies III), describes the perfections and relates how they were developed. The Commentary to this work, written by Dhammapåla in the sixth century, explains them more systematically and in detail. They are also described in an abridged version in the sub commentary (tíka) to the “Brahmajåla Sutta”, of the “Middle Length Sayings”(I, no. 1). The ten perfections are also mentioned in the “Chronicle of Buddhas”, Buddhavaṁsa (Minor Anthologies III)."
These once amazing murals would have served the same purpose for Christians as much of the artwork being discussed in this thread did for Buddhists. Just imagine how impactful these would have been on all people who gazed upon them, but especially on the young and the illiterate. What great teaching tools they must have been. Unfortunately, today, there are many Buddhists who would be against such reliefs if they had Buddhist stories on them, since they doubt the origins of such stories.
“Among the themes of Buddhist visual art, Jātaka stories have mostly reflected on social lives of Bagan people especially on performers and the characters intermingle as main icons and supporting icons in a single scene of jataka stories. The stories gave moral and ethical education to the common people and they were reflected with Bagan life-style. Jātaka stories are depicted at the most temples as interior wall mural painting decoration and adorned at many prominent solid-pagodas as the exterior glaze plaque decoration. Jātakas are mostly illustrated on the side walls of vestibule or entrance hall in the temples. In fact, these real narrative stories are transformed into the static scenes of narrative performance.”
“…A number of inscriptions at Bagan refer to the paintings, mentioning that ‘on the walls
were beautifully painted the scenes from the 500 Jātakas’, and that 'on the walls of the hollow pagoda were painted 14,619 Buddhas and scenes from the 550 Jātakas”.2 To compare with stupa, temple seemed to be more popular as they provide many interior walls and ceilings on which the scenes from the Jātaka could be painted as decoration and education. “Moreover, the paintings of canonical narrative scenes were the most effective means of convincing the common folk how to get the merit of giving alms and of meditation”.
In the inscription dated A.D. 1239, a donor, Siri Mahādhammarajapaṇḍit recorded Pali Pitaka texts following as // Visuddhimagga 1 klam//Sut Sīlakkhandhā 1 klam Majjipannāsa, Suttanipat // Dhātuvaṅ// Mahāvaṅ / Catu-nipat Jat Athakathā / Nibbāna sut//. 4 Among these texts, some Buddhist narrative stories would be cited and represented for narrative scenes and real performance. So many Pitaka texts were used to be dedicated to the monks, they became references of monks who would instruct the artists to illustrate the stories."
—Ko Ko Toe Lwin Thaw, J. Myanmar Acad. Arts Sci. 21.5 (2023): “Jātaka Stories: The Anterior Lives of Buddha.”
"What did these painters depict? The majority of murals across Bagan illustrate Buddhist stories, particularly the Jataka tales. These were visual sermons for a population where literacy was not widespread. Pilgrims could walk through temple corridors and “read” the moral lessons of compassion, generosity, and self-sacrifice through painted imagery.
Some murals, however, were more abstract or symbolic. The Nathlaung Kyaung’s paintings, for example, differ from narrative depictions and may reflect ritual or cosmological themes. This diversity underscores the creative range of Bagan’s artists and their patrons…
Despite these challenges, Bagan’s wall paintings remain one of Asia’s most remarkable artistic legacies. They are more than just ancient art—they are chronicles of faith, collaboration, and cultural exchange. They remind us that the artists of Bagan were not simply painters but storytellers, theologians, and innovators who worked under the blazing summer sun to create images that would endure for centuries."
