The Wise and the Foolish Merchant: This was a bit of a long story but it is about a foolish and a thrifty merchant. The foolish merchant thinks he is tricking the thrifty one by telling him he would go to sell his goods first, but he gets tricked by a demon on his journey and gets taken away. The thrifty merchant is smart and becomes aware of the demon's trick during his journey and does not fall for it. I think one lesson we can learn from this story is the importance of being aware of our surroundings. The reason the thrifty merchant did not get tricked is that he noticed the demon (disguised as a man) did not have a shadow, so he was aware that something must be wrong. In any setting, we should be aware of minor details that could reveal to us if something is wrong.
The Elephant Girly-face: This story is about an elephant who hears some robber talk about how people should be bad and kill others. Girly-face, the elephant, overhears them and thinks that is how he should behave too and therefore acts horribly toward others. However, the King makes good people sit outside his cage and Girly-face hears them talking about the importance of being kind, so then he becomes a kind and nice elephant. One lesson we can learn from this story is to avoid negative people and negative talking (gossiping and negative influence). These things always take a negative toll on our self-esteem and can make us behave in ways that are not suitable for us. Therefore, it is better to avoid negative conversations and the people that evoke those conversations.
The Banyan Deer: This story is about a King who loved to eat deer so his townspeople caged to big groups of deer for the King to choose from daily. One day, a mother asked the Banyan Deer King to pardon her life so she could stay with her baby. So the Banyan Deer King (whom the King had already pardoned and said would not be killed) sacrificed himself to the King. Seeing his sacrifice, the King said he would stop hunting the deer. I think one lesson we can learn here is the importance of serving others, especially in a position of power. When we give up something valuable to us for the goodness of others, this typically results in our good deeds being met with good fortune.
The Princes and the Water-Sprite: This tale is about two princes whose father asks them to live in the forest for their safety and their third brother joins as well. The two younger brothers get trapped in the river and the eldest has to answer the Water-sprite’s question to save them. I think the lesson in this tale is the answer to the question of “good fairies”. They are described as “pure in heart who fear to sin”. This is a great lesson to learn because we should always try to have a pure, clean heart and avoid sinning and telling lies.
The King’s White Elephant: This story is about an Elephant whom a group of carpenters help and so he returns the favor by helping them with their work. Soon, he and carpenters work and eat together and when the elephant's son, a white elephant, grows up, the white elephant also works for the carpenters. One day a King saw the white elephant and paid the carpenters great money for it and they lived happily ever after. I think this is a simple story that tells a lot about "giving and receiving" relationships. Although we shouldn’t give just to receive, a symbiotic relationship is beneficial for everyone involved in the long term.
The Ox Who Envied the Pig: This is a simple story about two brothers oxen's and the Little Ox is sad the pig gets fed so much food when the Ox (who do most of the farm work) only get fed grass. However, the pig is fattened so it can be killed and eaten by the people. I think one lesson we can learn is to not envy others. We all have such different stories and backgrounds, so we should not look at others and be jealous of what they have. We do not know what their life story is and what their path will be.
Granny’s Blackie: This story is about an old woman who owned an elephant named Blakie that did not do any work. When Blackie noticed that the old woman worked a lot but was growing frail, he decided to take a job and push wagons for silver. This worked out well and he did all the old woman’s job from thereon. I think one lesson we can learn from this story is to support our elders and those who need our help. We should be thankful that we can work, have a job, and make a living, but some people are not as fortunate, so we should do all in our power to help these people.
The Crab and the Crane: This is the story we read at the beginning of the semester about the Crane that tries to trick the Crab so he can eat him. But the Crab snaps the Crane’s neck, thereby saving himself. I think one lesson to be learned here is to never underestimate anyone. No matter how weak or incompetent someone may seem, we all have something special about ourselves, so we should never think someone else is weaker then we are.
Why the Owl is not King of the Birds: This story is about how the crows thought the owls looked mean and sour and therefore did not want them to be selected as the King of the Birds. Therefore, they selected that Turtle Doves, showing that personality matters and appearance matter. It shows that no matter how capable an individual can be, your personality in the way we present ourselves to others can make a big difference in our future.
Bibliography: Babbitt. Jataka Tales
Author: Ellen C. Babbitt
The Elephant Girly-face: This story is about an elephant who hears some robber talk about how people should be bad and kill others. Girly-face, the elephant, overhears them and thinks that is how he should behave too and therefore acts horribly toward others. However, the King makes good people sit outside his cage and Girly-face hears them talking about the importance of being kind, so then he becomes a kind and nice elephant. One lesson we can learn from this story is to avoid negative people and negative talking (gossiping and negative influence). These things always take a negative toll on our self-esteem and can make us behave in ways that are not suitable for us. Therefore, it is better to avoid negative conversations and the people that evoke those conversations.
The Banyan Deer: This story is about a King who loved to eat deer so his townspeople caged to big groups of deer for the King to choose from daily. One day, a mother asked the Banyan Deer King to pardon her life so she could stay with her baby. So the Banyan Deer King (whom the King had already pardoned and said would not be killed) sacrificed himself to the King. Seeing his sacrifice, the King said he would stop hunting the deer. I think one lesson we can learn here is the importance of serving others, especially in a position of power. When we give up something valuable to us for the goodness of others, this typically results in our good deeds being met with good fortune.
The Princes and the Water-Sprite: This tale is about two princes whose father asks them to live in the forest for their safety and their third brother joins as well. The two younger brothers get trapped in the river and the eldest has to answer the Water-sprite’s question to save them. I think the lesson in this tale is the answer to the question of “good fairies”. They are described as “pure in heart who fear to sin”. This is a great lesson to learn because we should always try to have a pure, clean heart and avoid sinning and telling lies.
The King’s White Elephant: This story is about an Elephant whom a group of carpenters help and so he returns the favor by helping them with their work. Soon, he and carpenters work and eat together and when the elephant's son, a white elephant, grows up, the white elephant also works for the carpenters. One day a King saw the white elephant and paid the carpenters great money for it and they lived happily ever after. I think this is a simple story that tells a lot about "giving and receiving" relationships. Although we shouldn’t give just to receive, a symbiotic relationship is beneficial for everyone involved in the long term.
The Ox Who Envied the Pig: This is a simple story about two brothers oxen's and the Little Ox is sad the pig gets fed so much food when the Ox (who do most of the farm work) only get fed grass. However, the pig is fattened so it can be killed and eaten by the people. I think one lesson we can learn is to not envy others. We all have such different stories and backgrounds, so we should not look at others and be jealous of what they have. We do not know what their life story is and what their path will be.
Granny’s Blackie: This story is about an old woman who owned an elephant named Blakie that did not do any work. When Blackie noticed that the old woman worked a lot but was growing frail, he decided to take a job and push wagons for silver. This worked out well and he did all the old woman’s job from thereon. I think one lesson we can learn from this story is to support our elders and those who need our help. We should be thankful that we can work, have a job, and make a living, but some people are not as fortunate, so we should do all in our power to help these people.
The Crab and the Crane: This is the story we read at the beginning of the semester about the Crane that tries to trick the Crab so he can eat him. But the Crab snaps the Crane’s neck, thereby saving himself. I think one lesson to be learned here is to never underestimate anyone. No matter how weak or incompetent someone may seem, we all have something special about ourselves, so we should never think someone else is weaker then we are.
Why the Owl is not King of the Birds: This story is about how the crows thought the owls looked mean and sour and therefore did not want them to be selected as the King of the Birds. Therefore, they selected that Turtle Doves, showing that personality matters and appearance matter. It shows that no matter how capable an individual can be, your personality in the way we present ourselves to others can make a big difference in our future.
(Image Owls and Crows from the "Why the Owl is not King of the Birds" Tale; image provided by Wikimedia Commons)
Bibliography: Babbitt. Jataka Tales
Author: Ellen C. Babbitt
Comments
Post a Comment