Actions never come to naught,
even after hundreds of millions of years.
When the right conditions gather and the time is right,
then they will have their effect on embodied beings.
—The Divyāvadāna
The Divyāvadāna is a classic, and it is a pleasure that this second
installment of translations from the collection can likewise
find a home in Wisdom Publications’ Classics of Indian
Buddhism series. The title of the text notwithstanding, the “divine stories”
in this collection are also deeply human, recording the trials and
successes of ordinary people as they struggle to live good lives, with
special attention given to their spiritual development. But these are
also stories of charlatans, sages, and sea monsters, feasts and famines,
the miraculous and the mundane, deadly sacrifices and stupendous
gifts, incest and celibacy, evil ministers and wise rulers, wise ministers
and evil rulers. These stories deal with big, meaningful questions: poverty
and moral agency, political power and corruption, love and lust,
death and the afterlife. They are stories to ponder deeply.
Divine Stories
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Divine Stories
Volume two of Rotman's translation of The Divyāvadāna came out in 2017, Part one was out in 2008. Here is part of his Preface to volume 2:
May all seek, find & follow the Path of Buddhas.