Jataka

Initially the study of horoscope, the term Jātaka evolved into the Buddhist notion of "birth story", in particular stories related to the former births of the Buddha, and later to the birth of who is destined to be a Buddha in the future.

Written around the 3d century CE, the Jataka was a vast compendium of folk tales and mythic literature, primarily associated with the Theravada Buddhist tradition written in Pali. Telling the stories related to the birth of the Buddha became one of the nine types of teaching (sūtra) as defined in the Dharma-saṃgraha.

In Cambodian Buddhist tradition, it includes stories (រឿងរ៉ាវ rungreav) of edifying past experiences, such as 'the ten stories', as told by the Buddha Sakyamuni ('All-Knowing').