Inspirational Jataka Stories From Buddhism

By Author: Chip Tolaney
Total Articles: 3764
Comment this article

Gautama Buddha's birth as Prince Siddhartha - during which he achieved Nirvana - was the final of many births as a bodhisattva, an enlightened being who chooses to be reborn on earth so as to help others. The Jataka tales are a compilation of parables that recount 547 of the Buddha's previous lives. The Buddha used these parables to explain to his followers the spirit of his thinking, putting forward guidelines for right behavior and good values. As storytellers carried them to wherever Buddhism took root in Asia, the Jatakas inspired paintings, sculpture & architecture. To this day, they remain to be performed as dances and recitals in Cambodia, Laos & Thailand.
Baka Jataka - Heron Story: One hot summer, the inhabitants of a pond became fearful for their lives as the water began drying up. A heron, sensing their panic, thought up a plan to deceive them and guarantee a huge source of food for him. "There's a big lake nearby. I could transport you over," he offered. The naive fish agreed and queued up to be carried away, one by one. Alas, none of them understood that their forerunners had already become the heron's ...
... extended meal. Finally, a crab was left.
"Why don't you come along too?" invited the heron. "Hmmm...why is he so fascinated about an old crab like me? Something's not correct. On the other hand, the pond's almost dry..." Making up his mind, the crab said, "Why, thanks. But I'm old, I could fall over. Let me get a grasp around your neck with my claws." The heron said ok and off they flew. After some a little while, the bird alighted |rested|sat| on a tree.
"Hey, good fellow, where's the lake? And all my other friends whom you rescued?" "You'll meet them shortly enough, inside my stomach!" scorned the heron and made ready to kill him. But the crab tightened his grasp on the heron's neck, twisting it until the heron screamed for mercy.
"Take me back, you cheat!" The bird flew the crab back, but when it was about to release him into the pond, the crab cut the heron's neck with his pincers. The Bodhisattva, who was then a tree spirit near the pond, remarked that one always reaps the consequence of his doings - this is the rule of karma. If we hurt others, we will sooner or later face the same fate. In difficult times, mindfulness - as in the crab's example - will save us from danger.
Panchayudha Jataka Tale: How do you deal with a life-threatening circumstances? The best-armed man, when he tackles a stronger enemy, is likely to cringe. Can weaponry alone help him? What is true bravery made up of?
The Bodhisattva was once born as a son to King Brahmadatta. At his naming ceremony, the king's priests prophesied that the prince would become a good and noble ruler, recognized for his five arms.
At sixteen, Prince Panchayudha (Five Weapons) left home for Taxila to further his education. On completing his studies, his teacher presented him with four weapons - bow and arrows, a sword, a sharp, pointed wheel and a club. While coming back home, the prince was accosted by a fearsome, sticky-feathered ogre who assumed a variety of horrific shapes to threaten the prince.
Panchayudha battled him with the four weapons and his own limbs and head. Alas, to no avail; all of them got stuck to the ogre's feathers. But the ogre could not kill him, transfixed as he was by the prince's idiom of calmness. "Aren't you scared of dying?" he grunted.
"Not at all. I have 1 weapon left - a thunderbolt in my body. Eat me and you too will be destroyed." Hmmm, thought the ogre... should he gamble? But this man seemed to be saying the truth. He set the prince free!
The fifth weapon that the prince alluded to was his wisdom! He then preached to the ogre, persuading him to abandon his murderous ways, which would only lead to more darkness and suffering in his forthcoming lives. The ogre thereupon agreed to become the guardian of the forest and its nearby villages. The ogre in this tale is a metaphor for ignorance and stupidity. In crisis-like situations, preached the Buddha, cool detachment and mindfulness will save us when all other options are finished.