Week 13 Reading Diary: The Jataka Tales

The Spirit that Lived in a Tree:

• Buddha was re-born as a Tree-Spirit.
• The tree offered its life to protect its children, so the king chose to spare its life.
• The theme of this story was self-sacrifice.

The Hare that Was not Afraid to Die:

• Now Buddha was born as a hare.
• During the fasting day, the hare offered his own flesh to any beggar that came by because he thought the grass that he normally ate would be inadequate.
• When Sakka, King of the Gods, challenged the hare to see if he was true to his word, the hare willingly jumped into the fire.
• Sakka was so impressed that he wished that the hare’s virtue would be known for all the ages to come.
• This was another story about self-sacrifice.

 

The Parrot that Fed His Parents:

• Buddha was born as a parrot.
• As his parents grew old and lost their strength, he took over their responsibilities within the flock and cared for them.
• After he is captured, the parrot explains his intentions to the watchman and is rewarded with one thousand acres of land for his righteousness.
• I really liked this story!

 

The Man Who Worked to Give Alms:

• Buddha was born as a merchant named Vissaya.

• Every day, the merchant would give alms to the less fortunate. Sakka noticed his charity and feared that the merchant was seeking to replace him as king of the gods.

• When Sakka took all of his wealth, the merchant nearly worked himself to death to continue giving alms.

• Sakka was so moved by his charity that he returned his wealth so that the merchant could continue giving alms.

• I also really enjoyed this story!

The King Who Saw the Truth:

• Buddha was born a king.
• When the king gave his eyes to the Brahmin, his sight was restored to him and he could see absolute truth.
• I didn’t enjoy this story as much as the previous two.

 

The Bull that Proved His Gratitude:

• Bodisat was born as a bull.
• The bull put himself to work to earn money for the old woman that took care of him, and in return she took great care of him.
• At the end of her life, the two died together.
• I also wasn’t crazy about this story.

The Horse that Held Out till the End:

• Buddha was born as a horse.
• During a war, the horse saved many kings’ lives, but then he died from a wound that he received in one of the battles.
• This story would have been better if the horse had not died, but then Buddha wouldn’t have been able to go on to his next life.

The Monkey that Saved the Hero:

• Buddha was re-born as the king of the monkeys.
• Why would the ogre expect them to drink from the lake when he just openly admitted that he would take them prisoner and eat them if they did?!
• This story had a neat conclusion that tried to explain why canes that grow around lakes are hollow within.
• I really enjoyed this story.

The Merchant Who Overcame All Obstacles:

• Buddha was born into the family of a merchant.
• This story had a happy ending, but I wasn’t a very big fan.
• I’m glad that the lad did not give up on the well and that everything worked out for them.

 

The Elephant that Was Honored in Old Age:

• Buddha was Prime Minister.
• Buddha stood up for an elderly elephant that had worked very hard for the king and rebuked him for not rewarding her for her service.
• This was a pretty good story, but it was really short.

Grandmother’s Golden Dish:

• Bodisat was a dealer of tin and brassware named Seriva.
• When a hawker tried to cheat an elderly woman and her granddaughter out of their only possession of worth, the Bodisat came along and told them of its true value. He gave them everything that he owned in exchange for it, and left to go try to sell it.
• I wasn’t too sure what the moral of this story was though because nothing really happened to the deceitful hawker and the grandmother wasn’t really rewarded for all of her generosity.

The Elephant that Spared Life:

• Bodisat was born as a nobleman’s son.
• The king ordered that the Bodisat and his followers should be trampled by elephants.
• However, when he saw the Bodisat’s good nature, he chose to spare their lives.
• The man who slandered him became their slave, and the elephant that was to trample them was given as a gift.

How the Antelope Was Caught:

• There was an antelope that frequented Sanjaya’s garden.
• Sanjaya led the antelope into the palace with a trail of honey.
• The moral of this story was not to be greedy, but it didn’t really seem that fitting since the antelope was just enjoying the honey.
• This story wasn’t bad, but it also wasn’t one of my favorites.

The Pupil Who Taught His Teacher:

• Buddha was born into a Brahmin family, and he was known as Law Keeper.
• Young members of Brahmin families do not die young because they conduct themselves so righteously.

 

The Man Who Told a Lie:

• Four divine beings made an appearance on earth at a festival of the gods.
• The false priest was given a wreath of flowers that brought him pain and agony.
• When the gods publicly rebuked him for his dishonesty, they removed the wreath.
• This was another story that I wasn’t crazy about.

 

The Crow that Thought It Knew:

• Bodhisatta was a marsh crow named Viraka, the Strong.
• Savitthaka did not head Viraka’s warning and drowned.
• Viraka had to break the news to Savitthaka’s mate.

 

The River Fish and the Monkey:

• Bodhisatta was born into the family of a landed proprietor.
• When their father passed, his younger brother tried to trick him into losing his share of the inheritance.
• Despite his brother’s treachery, the Bodhisatta still gave him his share.

 

The Dreamer in the Wood:

• Buddha lived alone in the woods.
• When Buddha was granted a boon, he used it selflessly to protect the forest and was granted another boon.
• For his next boon, Buddha wished that nothing would ever be harmed by him.
• Since Buddha requested nothing of food, Sakka granted that the trees would bear fruit perennially as well.

The Rice Measure:

• Bodisat was the king’s valuer.
• Dissatisfied with Bodisat’s honest valuations, the king hired a fool in his place.
• The fools valuation was very inconsistent and ended up making the king look foolish.
• Bodisat was reinstated as the valuer.

The Poisonous Trees:

• The Bodhisatta was born as a merchant.
• Poems are becoming increasingly more important in these tales.
• The Bodhisatta was wise and saved his people from eating poisonous fruit.

The Well-Trained Elephant:

• Bodhisatta was born as a white elephant.
• The elephant proved to be the best-trained elephant and was highly rewarded.
• This story seemed much longer than the others, not sure why because the word count was about the same.

The Wise Physician:

• Buddha was the physician who offered to revive a woman’s dead son if she could bring back mustard seed from a family who has not suffered from lost.
• The woman learned that everybody has suffered the loss of a loved one, which was the overall morale of the quest the Buddha assigned.
• The story would have been better if the son did not have to die.

 

 You can find the original stories at this link:

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/05/story-source-eastern-stories-and.html