This Thesis is documentary research aims to 1) study structures and contents of Kuṇāla Jātaka 2) study the Lord Buddha’s teachings as appeared in Kuṇāla Jātaka 3) analyze the behaviors of women as appeared in Kuṇāla Jātaka.

The research result showed as follows:

Kuṇāla Jātaka is included with five important structures; 1) Paccupana-vaṭthu (present story), the incident that the Buddha stops the war between the two relatives from Kapilavastu and Devadaha town, and ordained 500 princes from both the kingdoms. 2) Atīta- vaṭthu (past story), a story of a bird king Kuṇāla, who refused to be under the authority of his bird wife, and cuckoo king Puṇṇamukha, who was abandoned by his bird wives while sickness. 3) Gātha (verses), poetry verses describing the nature of women or the penalties badly related to women. 4) Veyyakarana (pose-expositions), is the important part in Aṭthakatha (commentaries), which is the explanation of Gātha (verses) or the contents in Pali canon to easily understand. 5) Samodana, the summary of the results showing the Jātaka stories linking the past and present. Whereas the content mentioned about the punishment occurred from Kāma-Rāgha (lustful desire) caused by relationship between men and women, and Ānisaṃsa (benefits) of higher ordination along with guidelines for achieving that benefit.

In Kuṇāla Jātaka, there are three important teachings ; 1) characteristics of undesirable behavior of women, describe many bad nature of women. The behavior of women as a wife often brings trouble to ones husband from not respecting and insulting her husband, cheating her husband. 2) Guidelines to practice related to women for a household men having wife is a good husband must look after his wife both physically and mentally. So far for the Buddhist monks should keep the distance from being related with women. However if involved should be careful, control their senses and be mindful.    3) The practical principles to achieve the goal in Buddhism is to practice chastity life, abstaining from being involved with all forms of women, in order to achieve goodness as a goal in three levels: human prosperity, heavenly prosperity both in Rūpa-bhava (the form sphere) and Arūpa-bhava (the formless sphere) and finally Nibbāna (attainment) prosperity.

Women’s behavior that appeared in Kuṇāla Jātaka are consisted of mostly undesirable behavior which is sexual expression that is inappropriate for feminism, seducing men to be passionate by speaking, expressing various gestures stimulating the sexual arousal of men, not respecting and insulting husband, not doing duty worthy of wife’s position, addicted in Apāyamukha (source of the destruction of the amassed wealth), having affair and being unfaithful to husband, and having selfish behavior and greed in property.

Download