Buddhist Stories

Weychin SG

About Buddhist Tales (or Jataka Tales)
All ancient civilizations had taken upon them the responsibility of maintaining moral values in society. Though they had different value systems, yet a common factor in those times was propagating moral teachings through storytelling. In Buddhist communities too, Jataka tales were a major source for inculcating in people a deep sense of moral values.

The Jataka tales date back to the third century BC and are considered the oldest form of story-narrating practice. Lack of literacy in those days necessitated the appointment of Jataka storytellers known as Jataka bhanakas. The Jataka bhanakas would travel far and wide to propagate the message of kindness, compassion, generosity, non-violence, self-sacrifice, charity, refrainment from greed etc. through these stories. The Buddha himself used jataka stories to explain concepts like kamma and rebirth and to emphasize the importance of certain moral values.

The Jataka tales depict the Buddha in several of his births in the form of animals. These stories, though simple, are high on moral content considered good for one's emotional, moral and spiritual health. The Buddha is the protagonist and the central character in each of these stories.

Over a couple of thousand years old, the Jataka tales are just as relevant in content in the modern times. Perhaps, even more so. Living in fragmented and nucleus families, children grow up on a staple diet of violence and other negative traits they pick up from the TV. They do not have the luxury of having the good ol' granny to educate them with moral teachings imparted by such stories. In cultures where joint family systems are in practice, one would find children well endowed with moral bearings and emotional strength.

The Jataka tales have stood the test of time and will continue to do so, as long as man remains in material pursuit and is led by greed and selfishness.

Changing times have necessitated the use of new technology to narrate these Jataka tales to the young generation, which we have through the medium of animated stories.

The Blind Men and the Elephant A number of disciples went to the Buddha and said, "Sir, there are living here in Savatthi many wandering hermits and scholars who indulge in constant dispute, some saying that the world is infinite and eternal and others that it is finite and not eternal, some saying that the soul dies with the body and others that it lives on forever, and so forth. What, Sir, would you say concerning them?" The Buddha answered, "Once upon a time there was a certain raja who called to his servant and said, 'Come, good fellow, go and gather together in one place all the men of Savatthi who were born blind... and show them an elephant.' 'Very good, sire,' replied the servant, and he did as he was told. He said to the blind men assembled there, 'Here is an elephant,' and to one man he presented the head of the elephant, to another its ears, to another a tusk, to another the trunk, the foot, back, tail, and tuft of the tail, saying to each one that that was the elephant. "When the blind men had felt the elephant, the raja went to each of them and said to each, 'Well, blind man, have you seen the elephant? Tell me, what sort of thing is an elephant?' "Thereupon the men who were presented with the head answered, 'Sire, an elephant is like a pot.' And the men who had observed the ear replied, 'An elephant is like a winnowing basket.' Those who had been presented with a tusk said it was a ploughshare. Those who knew only the trunk said it was a plough; others said the body was a grainery; the foot, a pillar; the back, a mortar; the tail, a pestle, the tuft of the tail, a brush. "Then they began to quarrel, shouting, 'Yes it is!' 'No, it is not!' 'An elephant is not that!' 'Yes, it's like that!' and so on, till they came to blows over the matter. "Brethren, the raja was delighted with the scene. "Just so are these preachers and scholars holding various views blind and unseeing.... In their ignorance they are by nature quarrelsome, wrangling, and disputatious, each maintaining reality is thus and thus." Then the Exalted One rendered this meaning by uttering this verse of uplift, O how they cling and wrangle, some who claim For preacher and monk the honored name! For, quarreling, each to his view they cling. Such folk see only one side of a thing.

sinweiy SG

Zen has a similar famous story.

A Master saw a disciple who was very zealous in meditation.

The Master said: "Virtuous one, what is your aim in practicing Zazen (meditation)?

The disciple said: "My aim is to become a Buddha."

The the Master picked up a tile and began to polish it on a stone in front of the hermitage.

The disciple said: "What is the Master doing?"

The Master said: "I am polishing this tile to make it a mirror."

The disciple said: "How can you make a mirror by polishing a tile?"

The Master replied: "How can you make a Buddha by practicing Zazen?"

sinweiy SG

There is a wonderful little story about two monks who lived together in a monastery for many years; they were great friends. Then they died within a few months of one another. One of them got reborn in the heaven realms, the other monk got reborn as a worm in a dung pile. The one up in the heaven realms was having a wonderful time, enjoying all the heavenly pleasures. But he started thinking about his friend, "I wonder where my old mate has gone?" So he scanned all of the heaven realms, but could not find a trace of his friend. Then he scanned the realm of human beings, but he could not see any trace of his friend there, so he looked in the realm of animals and then of insects. Finally he found him, reborn as a worm in a dung pile... Wow! He thought: "I am going to help my friend. I am going to go down there to that dung pile and take him up to the heavenly realm so he too can enjoy the heavenly pleasures and bliss of living in these wonderful realms."
So he went down to the dung pile and called his mate. And the little worm wriggled out and said: "Who are you?", "I am your friend. We used to be monks together in a past life, and I have come up to take you to the heaven realms where life is wonderful and blissful." But the worm said: "Go away, get lost!" "But I am your friend, and I live in the heaven realms," and he described the heaven realms to him. But the worm said: "No thank you, I am quite happy here in my dung pile. Please go away." Then the heavenly being thought: "Well if I could only just grab hold of him and take him up to the heaven realms, he could see for himself." So he grabbed hold of the worm and started tugging at him; and the harder he tugged, the harder that worm clung to his pile of dung.
Do you get the moral of the story? How many of us are attached to our pile of dung?

found:-

http://www.viewonbuddhism.org/resources/buddhist_stories.html

sinweiy SG

"A woman who practices reciting Buddha Amitabha's name, is very tough and recites "NAMO AMITABHA BUDDHA" three times daily. Although she is doing this practice for over 10 years, she is still quite mean, shouting at people all the time. She starts her practice lighting incense and hitting a little bell.
A friend wanted to teach her a lesson, and just as she began her recitation, he came to her door and called out: "miss Nuyen, miss Nuyen!".
As this was the time for her practice she got annoyed, but she said to herself: "I have to struggle against my anger, so I will just ignore it." And she continued: "NAMO AMITABHA BUDDHA, NAMO AMITABHA BUDDHA..."
But the man continued to shout her name, and she became more and more oppressive.
She struggled against it and wondered if she should stop the recitation to give the man a piece of her mind, but she continued reciting: "NAMO AMITABHA BUDDHA, NAMO AMITABHA BUDDHA..."
The man outside heard it and continued: "Miss Nuyen, miss Nuyen..."
Then she could not stand it anymore, jumped up, slammed the door and went to the gate and shouted: "Why do you have to behave like that? I am doing my practice and you keep on shouting my name over and over!"
The gentleman smiled at her and said: "I just called your name for ten minutes and you are so angry. You have been calling Amitabha Buddha's name for more then ten years now; just imagine how angry he must be by now!"

sinweiy SG

Eight Earthly Winds

There was a well-known scholar who practiced Buddhism and befriended a chan master. Thinking that he had made great stride in his cultivation, he wrote a poem and asked his attendant to deliver it to the master who lived across the river. The master opened the letter and read the short poem aloud:

"Unmoved by the eight worldly winds, [1]
Serenely I sit on the purplish gold terrace."

A smile broke up on the lips of the master. Picking up an ink brush, he scribbled the word "fart" across the letter and asked that it be delivered back to the scholar.

The scholar was upset and went across the river right away to reprimand the master for being rude. The master laughed as he said, "You said you are no longer moved by the eight worldly winds and yet with just one 'fart', you ran across the river like a rat!"

[1] Eight worldly winds/concerns: Gain and loss, honor and disgrace, praise and blame, happiness and pain.

http://www.sinc.sunysb.edu/Clubs/buddhism/story/index.html

Weychin SG

Demons in the Desert
[The Correct Way of Thinking]

Once upon a time there were two merchants, who were friends. Both of them were getting ready for business trips to sell their merchandise, so they had to decide whether to travel together. They agreed that, since each had about 500 carts, and they were going to the same place along the same road, it would be too crowded to go at the same time.

One decided that it would be much better to go first. He thought, “The road will not be rutted by the carts, the bullocks will be able to choose the best of all the grass, we will find the best fruits and vegetables to eat, my people will appreciate my leadership and, in the end, I will be able to bargain for the best prices.”

The other merchant considered carefully and realized there were advantages to going second. He thought, “My friend’s carts will level the ground so we won’t have to do any road work, his bullocks will eat the old rough grass and new tender shoots will spring up for mine to eat. In the same way, they will pick the old fruits and vegetables and fresh ones will grow for us to enjoy. I won’t have to waste my time bargaining when I can take the price already set and make my profit.” So he agreed to let his friend go first. This friend was sure he’d fooled him and gotten the best of him – so he set out first on the journey.

The merchant who went first had a troublesome time of it. They came to a wilderness called the ‘Waterless Desert’, which the local people said was haunted by demons. When the caravan reached the middle of it, they met a large group coming from the opposite direction. They had carts that were mud smeared and dripping with water. They had lotuses and water lilies in their hands and in the carts. The head man, who had a know-it-all attitude, said to the merchant, “Why are you carrying these heavy loads of water? In a short time you will reach that oasis on the horizon with plenty of water to drink and dates to eat. Your bullocks are tired from pulling those heavy carts filled with extra water – so throw away the water and be kind to your overworked animals!”

Even though the local people had warned them, the merchant did not realize that these were not real people, but demons in disguise. They were even in danger of being eaten by them. Being confident that they were helpful people, he followed their advice and had all his water emptied onto the ground.

As they continued on their way they found no oasis or any water at all. Some realized they’d been fooled by beings that might have been demons, and started to grumble and accuse the merchant. At the end of the day, all the people were tired out. The bullocks were too weak from lack of water to pull their heavy carts. All the people and animals lay down in a haphazard manner and fell into a deep sleep. Lo and behold, during the night the demons came in their true frightening forms and gobbled up all the weak defenseless beings. When they were done there were only bones lying scattered around – not one human or animal was left alive.

After several months, the second merchant began his journey along the same way. When he arrived at the wilderness, he assembled all his people and advised them – “This is called the ‘Waterless Desert’ and I have heard that it is haunted by demons and ghosts. Therefore we should be careful. Since there may be poison plants and foul water, don’t drink any local water without asking me.” In this way they started into the desert.

After getting about halfway through, in the same way as with the first caravan, they were met by the water soaked demons in disguise. They told them the oasis was near and they should throw away their water. But the wise merchant saw through them right away. He knew it didn’t make sense to have an oasis in a place called ‘Waterless Desert’. And besides, these people had bulging red eyes and an aggressive and pushy attitude, so he suspected they might be demons. He told them to leave them alone saying, “We are business men who don’t throw away good water before we know where the next is coming from.”

Then seeing that his own people had doubts, the merchant said to them, “Don’t believe these people, who may be demons, until we actually find water. The oasis they point to may be just an illusion or a mirage. Have you ever heard of water in this ‘Waterless Desert’? Do you feel any rain-wind or see any storm clouds?” They all said, “No”, and he continued, “If we believe these strangers and throw away our water, then later we may not have any to drink or cook with – then we will be weak and thirsty and it would be easy for demons to come and rob us, or even eat us up! Therefore, until we really find water, do not waste even a drop!”

The caravan continued on its way and, that evening, reached the place where the first caravan’s people and bullocks had been killed and eaten by the demons. They found the carts and human and animal bones lying all around. They recognized that the fully loaded carts and the scattered bones belonged to the former caravan. The wise merchant told certain people to stand watch around the camp during the night.

The next morning the people ate breakfast, and fed their bullocks well. They added to their goods the most valuable things left from the first caravan. So they finished their journey very successfully, and returned home safely so that they and their families could enjoy their profits.

The moral is: One must always be wise enough not to be fooled by tricky talk and false appearances.

Weychin SG

Bridge of Monkeys

Once there was a Monkey King who lived on a mountain with his group of 500 monkeys. Once year, due to bad weather, there was nothing to eat. The trees were barren. The Monkey King thought to himself, in this situation, we will all starve to death. However, at the foot of the mountain from where the monkeys lived there was a castle and in the castle garden, the trees were full of fruit.

The Monkey King, although realizing that it was not the right thing to do, sneak? into the garden with his entire group. “Our Beloved King, I’ve never eaten such delicious fruits. I am so ? said one of the monkeys.

“How wonderful”. replied the Monkey King. He was glad to see? friends so happy.

And he led them to the garden day after day. On the morning of the 5th day, as usual, the Monkey King led his 500 monkeys. ? the garden. But today, the guards of the castle were waiting to catch the monkeys.? The Monkey King was the first to notice the trap. He yelled out “Don’t go in garden! Run away!” Having said so he dashed to the front of the group at ? them back via different route from the one they had come thinking they might ambushed if they returned the same way. The 500 monkeys followed their king ? closely. The Monkey King thought, “If we can only cross the valley and make it back mountain we will be safe. If we can only cross the valley”. The monkeys went? ting close to the valley. However, when they got there they found that there was no? bridge./ Previously a fallen tree had served as a bridge, but it had probably ? away/ The Monkey King told the 500 monkeys “Let’s collect some vines an them together.” The monkey scrambled in search of vines They soon returned ? Tried them into a long rope. “There’s not time to lose!”

Trying one end of the rope vine to a tree and the other end to himself he said friends “As soon as I jump across the other side of the valley and tie this end? the rope vine to a tree, all of you use it to cross over to your safety.” After? this, the Monkey King, almost like a bird, flew to other side of valley and g? on to a tree branch. But, suspended in mid-air, he couldn’t move at all. The ? of vine was too short. Looking back, he yelled “Hurry, cross over now”. A? the 500 monkeys starting with the young followed by mother monkeys with the ? bies began crossing over this bridge. The Monkey King again said “Hurry! Now ? Chance”. As they did, the king felt his arms becoming numb. His fingers that ? folding on to the branch were slipping. But the king resolved that no matter happened he had to hold on.

“Hurry, Hurry!”, he whispered to himself with his eyes closed. The King of the ? The and his guards who were chasing the monkeys stopped in their tracks and ? staring at the spectacle before them in amazement. As they did, all 500 of the monkeys completed crossing the valley and the King Monkeys released the branch he was holding on to all this time.

“Quickly go the valley floor and save the Monkey Kin” ordered the King ? guards. And furthermore, from tomorrow, everyday, pick fruit from the castle? den and take it to the monkeys “We shall share our fruits with them”. said the with tears glistening in his eyes.

(From the “Rokudo Jyuukyou&#8221 Wink . The Heart of Sakyamuni, The White Elephant that disappeared in the Sky, by the Hongwanji Publishing Department.)

Weychin SG

The Thief and the Master
One evening, Zen master Shichiri Kojun was reciting sutras when a thief entered his house with a sharp sword, demanding “money or life”.

Without any fear, Shichiri said, “Don’t disturb me! Help yourself with the money, it’s in that drawer”. And he resumed his recitation. The thief was startled by this unexpected reaction, but he proceeded with his business anyway. While he was helping himself with the money, the master stopped and called, “Don’t take all of it. Leave some for me to pay my taxes tomorrow”.

The thief left some money behind and prepared to leave. Just before he left, the master suddenly shouted at him, “You took my money and you didn’t even thank me?! That’s not polite!”. This time, the thief was really shocked at such fearlessness. He thanked the master and ran away. The thief later told his friends that he had never been so frightened in his life.

A few days later, the thief was caught and confessed, among many others, his theft at Shichiri’s house. When the master was called as a witness, he said, “No, this man did not steal anything from me. I gave him the money. He even thanked me for it.” The thief was so touched that he decided to repent. Upon his release from prison, he became a disciple of the master and many years later, he attained Enlightenment.

From: Zen Flesh, Zen Bones; Paul Reps; 1961 Doubleday Anchor Books, New York

Weychin SG

The Tale of the Two Parrots

This is a story of two parrots, who loved to travel far and wide in search of food and visit new places. These two beautiful birds were brothers named Radha and Potthapada. Once, they entered the palace gardens and were caught in a trap laid for birds. Both Radha and Potthapada were brought before the king, who just could not keep his eyes off the stunning birds. The king ordered his men that the birds be kept in a special cage made of gold. They were fed the choicest foods everyday.

Radha and Potthapada were the toast of the king’s palace. Royal guests would stand by the golden cage and admire the birds. Life was very comfortable for them until the day a huge ape was brought to the palace. The ugly ape was named Kalabahu. Soon, all attention that was reserved for the parrots was now Kalabahu’s. People had not seen such a huge ape before. Kalabahu became the center of attraction of all the royal guests and palace officials. They would pour in to have a good look at the ape and his antics that made everyone roar with laughter. As a result, both the parrots started feeling neglected. Nobody cared whether they were fed on time or not.

Potthapada, the younger of the two parrots, was deeply hurt. He confided in his elder brother, “Let us leave here and go elsewhere. Nobody cares for us anymore.” Radha, wiser of the two, replied, “Potthapada, my brother, do not feel so sad. Attention, praise and blame, and honor and dishonor are temporary facets of life. Soon, people will get tired of the ape’s antics and know your true worth.”

And, sure enough, people started disliking the ape, as he began misbehaving and fooling around a bit too much. The king also found his acts offensive, and ordered Kalabahu to be sent back to the forest. People started paying all their attention to the well-behaved and beautiful parrots once again. And, did you know who the intelligent Radha was? He was Buddha in one of his earlier births.

Moral: True worth and ability are always given their due ultimately.

Weychin SG

THE PARABLE OF THE ARROW

Key ideas: Buddha, noble truths, practical living, suffering

The Buddha was sitting in the park when his disciple Malunkyaputta approached him. Malunkyaputta had recently retired from the world and he was concerned that so many things remained unexplained by the Buddha. Was the world eternal or not eternal? Was the soul different from the body? Did the enlightened exist after death or not? He thought, ‘If the Buddha does not explain these things to me, I will give up this training and return to worldly life’.

He put these questions to the Buddha who replied, “Now did I ever say to you that if you led a religious life you would understand these things? It is as if a man had been wounded by an arrow thickly smeared with poison, and his friends, companions relatives were to get a surgeon to heal him, and he were to say, ‘I will not have this arrow pulled out until I know who wounded me, of what caste he is, what his name is, whether he is tall, short or of medium height, what colour his skin is, where he comes from, what kind of bow I was wounded with, what it was made of, whether the arrow was feathered with a vulture’s wing or a heron’s or a hawk’s…..’ Surely the man would die before he knew all this.”

“Whether the view is held that the world is eternal or not, Malunkyaputta, there is still re-birth, old age, death, grief, suffering, sorrow and despair – and these can be destroyed in this life! I have not explained these other things because they are not useful, they are not conducive to tranquillity and Nirvana. What I have explained is suffering, the cause of suffering, the destruction of suffering and the path that leads to the destruction of suffering. This is useful, leading to non-attachment, the absence of passion, perfect knowledge.”

Thus spoke the Buddha, and with joy Malunkyaputta applauded his words.

Majjhima-nikaya

Weychin SG

Finding a New Spring
[Perseverance]

Once upon a time a certain tradesman was leading a caravan to another country to sell his goods. Along the way they came to the edge of a severe hot-sand desert. They asked about, and found that during the day time the sun heats up the fine sand until it’s as hot as charcoal, so no one can walk on it – not even bullocks or camels! So the caravan leader hired a desert guide, one who could follow the stars, so they could travel only at night when the sand cools down. They began the dangerous night time journey across the desert.

A couple of nights later, after eating their evening meal, and waiting for the sand to cool, they started out again. Later that night the desert guide, who was driving the first cart, saw from the stars that they were getting close to the other side of the desert. He had also overeaten, so that when he relaxed, he dozed off to sleep. Then the bullocks who, of course, couldn’t tell directions by reading the stars, gradually turned to the side and went in a big wide circle until they ended up at the same place they had started from!

By then it was morning, and the people realized they were back at the same spot they’d camped at the day before. They lost heart and began to cry about their condition. Since the desert crossing was supposed to be over by now, they had no more water and were afraid they would die of thirst. They even began to blame the caravan leader and the desert guide – “We can do nothing without water!”, they complained.

Then the tradesman thought to himself, “If I lose courage now, in the middle of this disastrous situation, my leadership has no meaning. If I fall to weeping and regretting this misfortune, and do nothing, all these goods and bullocks and even the lives of the people, including myself, may be lost. I must be energetic and face the situation!” So he began walking back and forth, trying to think out a plan to save them all.

Remaining alert, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a small clump of grass. He thought, “Without water, no plant could live in this desert.” So he called over the most energetic of his fellow travellers and asked them to dig up the ground on that very spot. They dug and dug, and after a while they got down to a large stone. Seeing it they stopped, and began to blame the leader again, saying “This effort is useless. We’re just wasting our time!” But the tradesman replied, “No no, my friends, if we give up the effort we will all be ruined and our poor animals will die – let us be encouraged!”

As he said this, he got down into the hole, put his ear to the stone, and heard the sound of flowing water. Immediately, he called over a boy who had been digging and said, “If you give up, we will all perish – so take this heavy hammer and strike the rock.”

The boy lifted the hammer over his head and hit the rock as hard as he could – and he himself was the most surprised when the rock spilt in two and a mighty flow of water gushed out from under it! Suddenly, all the people were overjoyed. They drank and bathed and washed the animals and cooked their food and ate.

sinweiy SG

nice Ven Hai Tao say Buddhist stories:-

海涛法师讲故事

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%E6%B5%B7%E6%B6%9B%E6%B3%95%E5%B8%88%E8%AE%B2%E6%95%85%E4%BA%8B&aq=f

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVqVs7zRa4o&feature=related

Weychin SG

Prince Goodspeaker and the Water Demon
[Chapter 1. Rebirth of the Bodhisatta]

Once upon a time, there was a very righteous king. He had a lovely queen who gave birth to a beautiful baby. This made the king very happy. He decided to give his son a name that might help him in later life. So he called him Prince Goodspeaker.

It just so happened that the prince was no ordinary baby. This was not his first life or his first birth. Millions of years before, he had been a follower of a long-forgotten teaching ‘Buddha’ – a fully ‘Enlightened One’. He had wished with all his heart to become a Buddha just like his beloved master.

He was reborn in many lives – sometimes as poor animals, sometimes as long-living gods and sometimes as human beings. He always tried to learn from his mistakes and develop the ‘Ten Perfections’. This was so he could purify his mind and remove the three root causes of unwholesomeness – the poisons of craving, anger and the delusion of a separate self. By using the Perfections, he would someday be able to replace the poisons with the three purities – nonattachment, loving-kindness and wisdom.

This ‘Great Being’ had been a humble follower of the forgotten Buddha. His goal was to gain the same enlightenment of a Buddha – the experience of complete Truth. So people call him ‘Bodhisatta’, which means ‘Enlightenment Being’. No one really knows about the millions of lives lived by this great hero. But many stories have been told – including this one about a prince called Goodspeaker. After many more rebirths, he became the Buddha who is remembered and loved in all the world today.

Weychin SG

Prince Goodspeaker and the Water Demon
[Chapter 2. The Teaching of the Gods]
In time, the queen gave birth to another son, who was named Prince Moon. Shortly after both children began walking about, their mother suddenly became very sick, and died.

To help him look after his playful children, the king found a princess to become his new queen. In a few years, this queen gave birth to a beautiful bright little boy. He was named Prince Sun. Since the king was so happy, he wanted to please his queen, and reward her for bringing up all three children. So he promised to grant her one wish. The queen considered, and said, “Thank you my lord, I will make my wish at some time in the future.”

As time went on, the three princes grew into wonderful playful youngsters. The queen saw that Prince Goodspeaker was intelligent and understanding. She thought, “If these two older princes remain in the palace, my son, Prince Sun, will never get a chance to be king. Therefore, I must do something to make him the next king.”

One day, when the king was in a good mood, the queen respectfully approached him and reminded him of the promised wish. He was very happy and said, “Ask whatever you want!” The queen said, “Oh my husband and king, grant that after the course of your life is over, my son, Prince Sun, will be the next king.”

The king was shocked by this request. He became angry and said, “My first two children are like bright stars! How can I give the kingdom to my third son? All the people will blame me. That cannot be done!” The queen kept silent.

As happy as the king had been, he now became just as unhappy. He was afraid and filled with doubt. He suspected that the queen might destroy his first-born children by some wicked means. He decided that he must make sure his children were safe.

Secretly, the king called Prince Goodspeaker and Prince Moon to him. He told them of the queen’s dangerous desire. He sadly said that the only safe thing for them to do was to leave the kingdom. They should return only after their father’s death, and take their rightful places ruling the kingdom. The two obedient princes accepted their father’s order and prepared to leave.

In a few days they were ready. They said their sad good-byes to their father and friends, and left the palace. On their way through the royal gardens, they came upon Prince Sun. He had always been very affectionate and friendly towards his two older half-brothers. He was upset to hear that they were leaving for a very long time. So he decided that he too would leave the kingdom. The three friendly princes departed together.

For several months they travelled, until they reached the forest country of the mighty Himalayas. They were very tired and sat down under a tree. The oldest brother, Prince Goodspeaker, said to the youngest, Prince Sun, “Please go down to the nearby lake and fill some lotus leaves with water. Bring them back here so we all can drink.”

They did not know that the beautiful dark blue lake was possessed by a water demon! He was permitted by his demon ruler to eat any beings that he could convince to go into the water. There was also one condition. He could not eat anyone who knew the answer to the question, ‘What is the teaching of the gods?”

When Prince Sun arrived at the shore of the lake, being dry and dirty and tired, he went directly into the water without any investigation. Suddenly the water demon rose up from under the water and captured him. He asked him, “What is the teaching of the gods?” Prince Sun said, “I know the answer to that! The sun and the moon are the teachings of the gods.” “You don’t know the teaching of the gods, so you belong to me!” said the water demon. Then he pulled Prince Sun under the water and locked him up in a deep cave.

Since Prince Sun was delayed, Prince Goodspeaker asked the second brother, Prince Moon, to go down to the lake and bring back water in lotus leaves. When he got there, he too went directly into the water without examining. Again the water demon appeared, grabbed him, and asked, “What is the teaching of the gods?” Prince Moon said, “I know the answer to that! The four directions – North, East, South and West – these are the teachings of the gods.” “You don’t know the teaching of the gods, so you belong to me!”, replied the water demon. Then he locked up Prince Moon in the same underwater cave with Prince Sun.

When both his brothers did not return, Prince Goodspeaker began to worry that they might be in some danger. So he himself went down to the beautiful dark blue lake. As he was a wise and careful person, he did not go directly into the water. Instead, he investigated and saw that there were two sets of footprints leading into the lake – but not coming out again! To protect himself, he got his sword and bow and arrows ready. He began to walk around the lake.

Seeing that this prince did not go straight into the lake, the water demon appeared to him disguised as a humble villager. He said to him, “My dear friend, you look tired and dirty from much walking. Why don’t you get into the water and bathe, drink, and eat some lotus roots?”

Remembering the one-way footprints, Prince Goodspeaker said, “You must be some kind of demon disguised as a human! What have you done with my brothers?” Surprised at being recognized so quickly, the water demon returned to his true ferocious appearance. He replied to the wise prince, “By my rights, I have captured your brothers!”

The prince asked, “For what reason?” “So that soon I can gobble them up!”, the demon answered, “I have permission from my demon ruler to eat all those who go into this lake who do not know the teaching of the gods. If anyone does know the teaching of the gods, I am not allowed to eat him.”

The Prince asked, “Why do you need to know this? What is the advantage to a demon like you, to know the teaching of the gods?” The water demon replied, “I know there must be some advantage to me.” “Then I will tell you what the gods teach,” said Prince Goodspeaker, “but I have a problem. Look at me. I am covered with dust and dirt from travelling. I cannot speak about wise teachings in this condition.”

By now, the water demon realized that this prince was especially wise. So he washed and refreshed him. He gave him water to drink from lotus leaves, and tender lotus roots to eat. He prepared a comfortable seat for him, decorated with pretty wildflowers. After laying aside his sword and bow and arrows, the Enlightenment Being sat on the adorned seat. The ferocious demon sat by his feet, just like a student listening to a respected teacher.

Prince Goodspeaker said, “This is the teaching of the gods:

You should be ashamed to do unwholesome deeds.
You should be afraid to do unwholesome deeds.
You should always do wholesome deeds –
that bring happiness to others, and help mankind.
Then you will shine with the inner light of calm and peacefulness.”

The water demon was pleased with this answer, and said, “Worthy prince, you have completely satisfied my question. You have made me so happy that I will give you back one of your brothers. Which one do you choose?”

Prince Goodspeaker said, “Release my younger brother, Prince Sun.” To this the demon replied, “My lord prince, wise one, you know the teaching of the gods but
you do not practice it!” The prince asked, “Why do you say that?” The demon said, “Because you leave the older one to die, and save the younger. You do not respect
elders!”

The prince then said, “Oh demon, I know the teaching of the gods, and I do practise it. We three princes came to this forest because of the youngest brother. His mother requested our father’s kingdom for him. So it was for our protection that our father sent us here. The young Prince Sun joined us out of friendship. But if we return to the court without him, and say he was eaten by a water demon who wanted to know the teaching of the gods, who would believe us? They would think we killed him because he was the cause of our danger. This would bring shame to us and unhappiness to the kingdom. Fearing such unwholesome results, I tell you again to release the young Prince Sun.”

The water demon was so pleased with this answer that he said, “Well done, well done, my lord. You know the true teaching of the gods, and you do practice that true teaching. I will gladly give back both your brothers!” So saying, he went down into the lake and brought both princes back to shore. They were wet, but unharmed.

Later on, the Bodhisatta gave further helpful advice to the demon. He said, “Oh water demon, my new friend, you must have done many unwholesome deeds in your previous lives, so that you were born as a flesh eating demon. And if you continue in this way, you will be trapped in a terrible state even in later lives. For unwholesome deeds lead to shame, fear and unpleasant rebirth. But wholesome deeds lead to self-respect, peace and pleasant rebirth. Therefore, it would be much better for you to do pure deeds, rather than impure deeds, from now on.” This turned the demon from his past ways, and the princes lived together happily under his protection.

One day, word came that the king had died. So the three princes, as well as their friend the water demon, returned to the capital city. Prince Goodspeaker was crowned as king. Prince Moon became the chief minister, and Prince Sun became commander of the army. The water demon was awarded a safe place to live, where he was well fed, cared for and entertained for the rest of his life. In this way they all acquired wholesome meritorious thoughts, leading to rebirth in a heaven world.

The moral is: Unwholesome actions bring shame and fear. Wholesome actions bring self-respect and peace.

Weychin SG

The Tale of the Lion and the Jackal

In ancient India, a huge lion lived in the forests of the Himalayan mountain range. Although he was strong, he never troubled other animals without reason. One day, after hunting down a buffalo and having a hearty meal, the lion was returning to his cave. He met a jackal on the way, who came to him and said, O’ King, you are the mightiest of all animals. Please accept me as your humble servant.” The lion was kind and said, “As you wish, O’ jackal.” The jackal was smart because he knew he would not have to hunt anymore, and will live on the leftover of the lion’s meals.

From that day on, the jackal served the lion and in return always had a full meal from the leftovers. The jackal was indeed happy, as he never had to go in search of food in the dense forest. Soon, the starving jackal became fat and strong. The other animals in the forest started to fear him because he was close to the lion. The jackal would even go to the forest and bully the small and big animals alike. As there was nothing they could do, the animals started respecting the jackal. Seeing the animals feeling scared of him, the jackal thought, “I am getting powerful. All animals are scared of me. Only the king is stronger than I in the entire forest.”

The next day, the jackal saw a lonely elephant in the forest. He pointed to the distant elephant and said, “O’ King, I will hunt down the elephant for you. So far, I have been feeding on your leftovers, but today you will feed on mine.” The lion was shocked at what he heard, but he warned the jackal to leave the elephant alone. The jackal filled with false pride ran down the hill and pounced upon the elephant from above. The angry elephant lifted the jackal in his trunk and banged him against a tree. The jackal died at once. The wise lion was none other than the Buddha himself.

Moral : The path of false pride always leads to trouble.

sinweiy SG

现代因果实录 Modern records of cause and effect.

http://www.chinese-sutra.url.tw/gbsdiksl.htm

49(?) stories of cause and effect. BEST!

Weychin SG

Açvaghosha saw that every eye was intent upon him, and so he told the story of the white Elephant. He said:

"There was a noble and mighty elephant, an elephant white in color, with a strong trunk and long tusks, trained by a good master, and willing and serviceable in all the work that elephants are put to. And this noble and mighty elephant being led by his guide, the good master who had trained him, came to the land of the blind. And it was noised about in the land of the blind that the noble and mighty elephant, the king of all beasts, the wisest of all animals, the strongest and yet the meekest and kindliest of creatures, had made his appearance in their country. So the wise men and teachers of the blind came to the place where the elephant was and every one began to investigate his shape and figure and form. And when

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the elephant was gone they met and discussed the problem of the noble and mighty beast, and there were some who said he was like a great thick snake; others said he was like a snake of medium size. The former had felt the trunk, the latter the tail. Further there were some who claimed that his figure was like that of a high column, others declared he was large and bulky like a big barrel, still others maintained he was smooth and hard but tapering. Some of the blind had taken hold of one of the legs, others had reached the main body, and still others had touched the tusks. Every one proposed his view and they disputed and controverted, and wrangled, and litigated, and bickered, and quarreled, and called each other names, and each one imprecated all the others, and each one denounced all the others, and they abused and scolded, and they anathematised and excommunicated, and finally every one of them swore that every one else was a liar and was cursed on account of his heresies. These blind men, every one of them honest in his contentions, being sure of having the truth and relying upon his own experience,

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formed schools and sects and factions and behaved in exactly the same way as you see the priests of the different creeds behave. But the master of the noble, mighty elephant knows them all, he knows that every one of them has a parcel of the truth, that every one is right in his way, but wrong in taking his parcel to be the whole truth.

"Not one of these sectarians observed the fact that the elephant was perfectly white and a marvel to see, for all of them were purblind. Yet I would not say that they were either dishonest or hypocrites. They had investigated the truth to the best of their ability.

"The master of the elephant is the Tathâgata, the Enlightened One, the Buddha. He has brought the white elephant representing the truth, the noble and mighty elephant, symbolising strength and wisdom and devotion, into the land of the blind, and he who listens to the Tathâgata will understand all the schools, and all the sects and all the factions that are in possession of parcels of the truth. His doctrine is all-comprehensive, and he who

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takes refuge in Him will cease to bicker, and to contend, and to quarrel."23

* * *

When Açvaghosha had finished the parable of the noble and mighty elephant, the two kings returned from the summer palace carrying with them in a solemn procession the slain tiger, and close behind on a white charger decked with garlands and gay ribbons, rode the hero of the day, one of the generals from the South, whose dart had struck the tiger with fatal precision and death-dealing power.

"Behold the hero of the day!" said Charaka. "And had the conspiracy not miscarried the same man might now be an assassin and a miscreant."

"There is a lesson in it!" replied Açvaghosha, "existence is not desirable for its own sake. That which gives worth to life is the purpose to which it is devoted.

"Our aim is not to live, but whether we die or live, to avoid wrong doing and to let right and justice and lovingkindness prevail. Says the Tathâgata:

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Weychin SG

A SIEVE AND WATER (A Buddhist Story)

Key Ideas: master and disciple, self and selflessness, the divine spirit

The Zen master and his disciple made their way across the sand to the shore. The disciple carried a cup and a sieve. At the water's edge, they stood on a rock, the sea breaking around them in great, frothy swirls. 'Show me how you would fill the sieve with water,' the master said. The disciple stooped and filled the cup with water. He poured it into the sieve. Cup after cup he poured into the heart of the sieve but no matter how quickly he poured, only the smallest remnant caught in the bottom. Even that soon formed a drop and was swallowed in the vastness of the ocean. All the time the master watched, saying nothing. In the end, the disciple faced the master and shrugged. The task was hopeless. Now, the master spoke: 'It is thus with the life of the spirit also,' he said. 'So long as we stand on the rock of I, of myselfness, and seek to pour the divine life into that shell, so certainly shall that life escape us. This is not the way to fill a sieve with water, nor the human spirit with the life of the divine.'

Then the master reached out his hand and took the sieve from the hand of the disciple. He thrust his arm far behind him then launched the sieve as far as he could, out into the face of the deep. For a moment, it lay glinting in the morning sunlight on the face of the water. Then it slipped far below. 'Now, it is full of water,' the master said. 'It will always be so. That is how you fill a sieve with water and the spirit with divine life. You throw the myself, the I, far out and away to sink into the deep sea of the divine life.'

Maurice Lynch

From: RE Today, Summer 2001

Weychin SG

A long time back, in one of his earlier births Buddha was born a monkey named Nandaka.The forests of the Himalayas were his abode where he lived with his younger brother,Chullanandaka . Both brothers together had a band of eighty four thousand monkeys, besides their old blind mother. Since they were kind leaders, the entire band lived in peace and harmony.

Once, while looking for more food, both brothers traveled far away from their abode. But, they sent back food for their blind mother regularly through other monkeys. The monkeys were careless and insensitive to the needs of the blind monkey. They did not feed her, and soon the old monkey became weak and sick. When Nandaka and Chullanandakareturned home, they were shaken to see their mother in such neglected state. Sad, as they were upon learning that their followers did not feed her at all, the two brothers decided to leave the band and live a reclusive life. A banyan tree, deep in the forest, became their new home.

One day, a Brahmin from the Takshila school, abandoning all moral teachings, entered the forest to hunt animals. He aimed his arrow at the mother monkey, and just as he was about to shoot her, Nandaka appeared before the Brahmin and requested to kill him and let his mother go. The Brahmin killed Nandaka , but again aimed the next arrow at the mother monkey. Chullanandaka jumped before the Brahmin and begged to let his mother go, offering his life instead. The Brahmin killed him, and finally, the mother monkey too.

Pleased as punch with his prize, he imagined that his wife and kids would appreciate his smartness and brave deed. Upon reaching his village, people informed him that his house was struck with lightning from the sky. His wife and children were killed in the fire. The Brahmin went mad with grief, as he had lost his entire family.

Moral : When you are cruel to others, fate punishes you with cruelty.

Weychin SG

ONCE ON a time a nice young man used to travel from village to village, selling caps for a living. One summer afternoon when he was crossing some vast forested plains he felt tired and wanted to take a nap in the shade of a mango tree with many branches. He placed his bag of caps beside him beside the trunk and fell asleep. When he woke up in a little while, there were not any caps in his bag.

"Good grief," he said to himself, "Did thieves have to rob me of all people?" Then he noticed that the mango tree was full of cute monkeys wearing colorful caps. He yelled at the monkeys and they screamed back. He made faces at them and they made similar funny faces. He threw a stone at them and they showered him with raw mangoes.

"How do I get my caps back?" he said to himself. Frustrated, he took off his own cap and slammed it on the ground. To his surprise, the monkeys threw their caps too. He did not waste a moment, but collected the caps and went on his way.

Fifty years later his grandson passed through the same jungle. After a long walk he found a nice mango tree with lots of branches and cool shade, and decided to rest a while. A few hours later, when he woke up, all the caps from his bag were gone. He started searching for them and soon found some monkeys who were sitting in the mango tree wearing his caps.

Then he remembered a story his grandfather had used to tell - and waved at the monkeys. The monkeys waved back. He blew his nose and the monkeys blew their noses. He pulled his ears and the monkeys pulled their ears. He threw his cap on the ground and then one of the monkeys jumped down from the mango tree, walked up to him, slapped him on the back and said,

"Do you think only you had a grandfather?"