[Buddha-l] Dharmapala

[L.S. Cousins]

Artur Karp wrote:

> Wouldn't we stand on much surer ground, if we assumed that both the
>
> narratives, the Mhv's and the Jataka's, are modelled on some real
> state ceremonial?
>
I don't have any problem with the supposition that local ceremonial 
customs in Ceylon are in part the model here. I suppose that might be 
what you call 'state' by which I imagine you mean royal or princely, but 
it could also be equally a question of local aristocratic families.

But that doesn't rule out a direct influence of Ja on Mhv. I assume that 
the story of the Mahākapijātaka would have been known by heart to the 
author of the Mahāvaṃsa. By and large Pali works are very much 
interconnected with parallel versions of stories repeated again and again.

Lance