collection of legends about Buddhist saints, one of the latest books in the latest section (the Khuddaka Nikāya) of the Sutta Piṭaka (“Basket of Discourse”) of the Pāli canon. This work, which is entirely in verse, presents stories about 547 monks and 40 nuns. For each personage there are tales about one or more previous lives as well as about his or her present existence, all of the tales presented as the words of the Buddha. The deeds these stories commend are meritorious acts of formal piety and charitable service. The Sanskrit cognate of the term is Avadāna.