Reading Notes: Eastern Stories and Legends by Shedlock
For this assignment, I chose to finish up the Jataka tales about Buddha. Eastern Stories and Legends by Shedlock. A link to the stories can be found here.
1. The Crow That Thought It Knew
This story is about the Buddha that is reborn as a crow. There was a great famine in the land and all the crows left the area. One crow left to go to the area where the Buddha lived. He saw the Buddha crow dive under the water and catch fish for it's meal. The crow that came to the area thought it would be good to be a servant of this crow that he too could have food to eat. Then the crow was not happy with the arrangement so he thought he could catch his own fish. Viraka, the Buddha fish, warned him that he was not meant to dive into the water like that and that he would not be successful in his ventures. The other crow did not listen to Viraka and drown trying to catch his own fish in the water.
2. The River-Fish and The Money
This story is about Buddha born into a wealthy family. He went into the town to do some family business. As they waited for their boat to arrive, they ate. When he was full, he threw his leftovers into the river to pay respects to the river spirit. The younger brother of the Buddha was very greedy and wanted to take all the money for himself. He packed up rocks to look just like the bag of money his older brother carried. The younger brother thought he would be sly and drop the bag of rocks overboard and pretend the money was gone. What he didn't know is that it was actually the bag of money. The river spirit was so pleased with the blessing from the Buddha that she commanded a fish to swallow the bag of coins to protect them for the Buddha. Some fisherman found the fish and were selling it for 1007 to people who wanted it, but when they went to the Buddha, they offered it to him for 7. When his wife cut it open, she found the bag of money. The river spirit then appeared and explained her gratitude for feeding his leftovers to the fish in the river so she protected him money. Then the Buddha sent his brother 500 of the 1000.
3. The Dreamer in the Wood
This story is about the Buddha that lived in the woods. He ate fruits, flowers, leaves and bark and lived happily. The Sakka, the king of gods, came to the Buddha to test him. The Buddha passed the test and Sakka granted him a favor. The Buddha asked to be free of malice, hatred and greed. Buddha explained to Sakka why these things were bad. The Sakka then granted the Buddha another favor. He said he wants no sickness to be in the forest where he lives. And because the Buddha didn't ask for something for himself, the Sakka gave him yet another favor. His final favor the Buddha asked that he never cause harm to another creature.
4. The Poisonous Tree
In this story, the Buddha is born as a merchant. He had a large caravan of goods to trade. One day, they came to an area that was filled with poisonous trees. The merchant told him caravan to not partake in anything until they consulted him. They came upon a village and outside that village stood a tree that was identical to a mango tree, except it was poisonous. Some of his caravan had eaten the "mangoes" and were sick. The merchant healed them. In the past, the caravans that ate this fruit all died. The villagers would then go in the morning and dispose of the bodies and keep all their belongings. The villagers asked the Buddha how he knew and he recited a poem. And the caravan went about their way. .
5. The Well-Trained Elephant
This story is about the Buddha who is born as a white elephant. Because of his coloring, the king bestowed him with great honor. The elephant was paraded around the city and all it's inhabitants were in awe. The king became jealous of this and plotted to have the elephant killed. The king asked for the elephant to do all these different tricks. Then wanted him to stand on no legs and float in the air. The elephant trainer recognized what he was wanting and warned the elephant. He asked him to fly him and the trainer to the town. The trainer told the king how foolish he was. When they arrived in the nearby town, the king was impressed and he split his kingdom up into three. One part for the elephant to reign, one for the trainer and then kept one third for himself.
6. The Wise Physician
This story is about a woman who had a child that died very young. She went from house to house asking people to provide her medicine to help her child. One of these people told her to go to the Buddha and he would know what to do. He told her to gather mustard seed from a house that had not suffered loss. When she could not find a single house that met that criteria, she accepted her loss and thanked the Buddha for his knowledge.
Not sure that I could rewrite any of these stories in my own words. There weren't any that just grabbed my attention and sparked any ideas.
1. The Crow That Thought It Knew
This story is about the Buddha that is reborn as a crow. There was a great famine in the land and all the crows left the area. One crow left to go to the area where the Buddha lived. He saw the Buddha crow dive under the water and catch fish for it's meal. The crow that came to the area thought it would be good to be a servant of this crow that he too could have food to eat. Then the crow was not happy with the arrangement so he thought he could catch his own fish. Viraka, the Buddha fish, warned him that he was not meant to dive into the water like that and that he would not be successful in his ventures. The other crow did not listen to Viraka and drown trying to catch his own fish in the water.
2. The River-Fish and The Money
This story is about Buddha born into a wealthy family. He went into the town to do some family business. As they waited for their boat to arrive, they ate. When he was full, he threw his leftovers into the river to pay respects to the river spirit. The younger brother of the Buddha was very greedy and wanted to take all the money for himself. He packed up rocks to look just like the bag of money his older brother carried. The younger brother thought he would be sly and drop the bag of rocks overboard and pretend the money was gone. What he didn't know is that it was actually the bag of money. The river spirit was so pleased with the blessing from the Buddha that she commanded a fish to swallow the bag of coins to protect them for the Buddha. Some fisherman found the fish and were selling it for 1007 to people who wanted it, but when they went to the Buddha, they offered it to him for 7. When his wife cut it open, she found the bag of money. The river spirit then appeared and explained her gratitude for feeding his leftovers to the fish in the river so she protected him money. Then the Buddha sent his brother 500 of the 1000.
3. The Dreamer in the Wood
This story is about the Buddha that lived in the woods. He ate fruits, flowers, leaves and bark and lived happily. The Sakka, the king of gods, came to the Buddha to test him. The Buddha passed the test and Sakka granted him a favor. The Buddha asked to be free of malice, hatred and greed. Buddha explained to Sakka why these things were bad. The Sakka then granted the Buddha another favor. He said he wants no sickness to be in the forest where he lives. And because the Buddha didn't ask for something for himself, the Sakka gave him yet another favor. His final favor the Buddha asked that he never cause harm to another creature.
4. The Poisonous Tree
In this story, the Buddha is born as a merchant. He had a large caravan of goods to trade. One day, they came to an area that was filled with poisonous trees. The merchant told him caravan to not partake in anything until they consulted him. They came upon a village and outside that village stood a tree that was identical to a mango tree, except it was poisonous. Some of his caravan had eaten the "mangoes" and were sick. The merchant healed them. In the past, the caravans that ate this fruit all died. The villagers would then go in the morning and dispose of the bodies and keep all their belongings. The villagers asked the Buddha how he knew and he recited a poem. And the caravan went about their way. .
5. The Well-Trained Elephant
This story is about the Buddha who is born as a white elephant. Because of his coloring, the king bestowed him with great honor. The elephant was paraded around the city and all it's inhabitants were in awe. The king became jealous of this and plotted to have the elephant killed. The king asked for the elephant to do all these different tricks. Then wanted him to stand on no legs and float in the air. The elephant trainer recognized what he was wanting and warned the elephant. He asked him to fly him and the trainer to the town. The trainer told the king how foolish he was. When they arrived in the nearby town, the king was impressed and he split his kingdom up into three. One part for the elephant to reign, one for the trainer and then kept one third for himself.
6. The Wise Physician
This story is about a woman who had a child that died very young. She went from house to house asking people to provide her medicine to help her child. One of these people told her to go to the Buddha and he would know what to do. He told her to gather mustard seed from a house that had not suffered loss. When she could not find a single house that met that criteria, she accepted her loss and thanked the Buddha for his knowledge.
Not sure that I could rewrite any of these stories in my own words. There weren't any that just grabbed my attention and sparked any ideas.
Title: White Elephant
Source: Flickr
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