The Lion that Sprang to Life

Another story from the album of Panchatantra goes like this. Once upon a time, there were four friends in a village. Three of these four friends were learned in all sciences, but had no common sense. The fourth friend by the name of Subuddhi was not much learned in scriptures or sciences, but had common sense. He was quite practical in his approach towards life and knew what was good or bad for him.

One day, the three learned friends thought that there was no use of their learning, unless it brought them money to fulfill their needs. They decided to travel to all distant towns and cities in order to try their luck. They didn’t want to take their fourth friend with them, as he was not learned. However, they agreed to take him along with them, taking into account that he was their friend since childhood.

After this, the four friends set out on a long journey. They wandered from one town to another, looking for an opportunity to earn money. One day, during their journey, they had to cross a dense forest. While passing through the forest, they saw a heap of bones lying under a tree. On seeing the heap, one of the learned friends said, “Friends, this is a good opportunity to test our skills. I think these bones are of a certain animal. Let us bring it to life using the knowledge we have acquired.”

The first friend said, “Fine. I will use my skills to assemble the bones into a skeleton”. Then he chanted some mantra and ordered all the bones to come together forming a skeleton. When the skeleton was ready, the second friend chanted some other mantra, commanding flesh and blood to fill the skeleton and skin to cover it. Now, it looked like a lifeless lion.

As the third learned friend stood up to do the final act of putting life into the lifeless body of the animal, the fourth friend shouted, “Stop! This looks like the body of a lion. If it comes to life, he will kill all of us.” The friend, who was to put life into the body of the animal said, “You are a fool. What do you know in the field of learning and knowledge? Do you think I will lose this opportunity to test my learning? It would be better, if you keep your mouth shut.”

Ignoring what the fourth friend had said, the learned friend started chanting the mantra to bring the animal back to life. The fourth friend shouted, “Wait a minute” and quickly climbed up a tree nearby. The three learned friends laughed on the act of their friend. The third friend put life in the lifeless body of the lion. The lion sprang to life and killed all the three learned men. The fourth friend safely went back to his village.

Moral: Knowledge without common sense is useless.

The Crows and the Serpent

Here is another interesting tale from the collection of Panchatantra. Once upon a time, there stood a huge banyan tree on the outskirts of a small village. In this, tree there lived a pair of crows with their young ones. One day, a snake came to live in the hole at the bottom of the tree. The crows were not happy at the arrival of the snake, but they could do nothing.

After a few days, the female crow hatched a few more eggs and some more baby crows were born. When the crows went out in search of food, the snake crawled up the tree and ate up the babies. When the crows came back, they could not locate their babies. They chased high and low, but to no avail. The crows were full of grief on the sad loss of their young ones.

After a few months, the female crow hatched some more eggs. This time female crow stayed in the nest while the male crow went out in search of food. The snake was greedy and ignoring the presence of the female crow, he crept up the tree and attacked the babies. The female crow who was keeping a watchful eye on her babies, tried to fight with the snake, but she was weak. Hearing the shriek of the female craw, other crows came to help her, but the snake had already eaten the young ones and slithered back into his hole.

This killing became the feature of their life. Every time the crows laid their eggs, the snake crawled up the tree and ate all the young ones. Due to this, the crows were never able to raise their young ones. The crows were sad, but they didn’t know how to get free from this killer snake.

One day, the female crow asked the male crow that she wanted to leave this tree at once. The male crow consoled her by saying that the tree had been their home from the past many years and they should reside here. He considered of asking a wise fox for help in order to get rid of the snake. With this thought, both of them went to the place of the wise fox. The fox welcomed her friends and said, “Both of you seem to be very sad. What happened? “

The crows replied, “We are in a big problem. A snake is after us and he eats up our eggs and the young ones. We seek your help in this matter.” They narrated the whole story to the fox. The fox was intelligent; she thought for a few minutes and then laid out a brilliant plan before them. She said, “Listen carefully and do it as per the plan. In the morning, go to the river bank where the ladies of the royal family would be bathing. They keep their ornaments in a tray on the river bank. The guards keep a watch on them from a distance”.

The fox suggested the crows to pick up a necklace from the tray and fly away making a loud noise. This would make the guards to chase them to the tree where the crows would drop the necklace into the hole of the snake. In order to get the necklace, the guards would kill the snake to save themselves and take the necklace. The crows liked the plan and swore to execute it the next morning.

So, the next morning, the crows were ready with their plan. The crow couple flew to the river bank; the female crow picked up the necklace and flew off. While, the male crow shrieked loudly to attract the guards’ attention. The guards ran after the crows brandishing their sticks and swords. Soon, they reached the banyan tree where they saw the crows dropping the necklace into the snake hole.

As the guards were trying to take the necklace out with the help of a stick, the snake came out of the hole. The snake hissed at them and afraid of him, they killed the snake by sticks and swords. They took the necklace and returned to their place. The crows were happy to see the sight from a distance. They thanked the fox for her help. Thereafter, the crow couple lived happily with their young ones in the banyan tree.

Moral: Intelligence is greater than strength.

The Monkey and the Crocodile

Here is another interesting tale from the Panchatantra collection. Long ago, there lived a monkey named Raktamukha, on a Jamun (Black-berry) tree by the side of a river. The tree was always full of fruits, which were as sweet as nectar. The Monkey used to eat fruits from the tree. Raktamukha was happily passing his days jumping from one tree to another. Once, a crocodile named Karalamukha came out of the waters and took rest under the tree on which the monkey lived.

Raktamukha, who was sitting high on a branch, saw the crocodile taking rest under the tree. The monkey became very eager to talk to the crocodile. Since he had no friends, he wanted to make friends with him. Addressing the crocodile, Raktamukha said, “As you’re taking rest under the tree, you’re my guest and it’s my duty to offer you food.” The monkey gave a lot of Jamuns to the crocodile to eat. The crocodile ate them to his fill. He thanked the monkey for his generosity and went home.

Karalamukha started coming ashore everyday and enjoy the fruits offered by the monkey. Soon they became good friends. Both of them started spending time with each other discussing the world. One day, the crocodile asked the monkey for some Jamuns to take for his wife. The Monkey happily gave the fruits to the crocodile. The crocodile took the fruits cheerfully to his wife and also narrated the whole story to her.

After eating the fruits, the crocodile's wife was overjoyed and said to her husband, "Dear, if these fruits are so tasty, then the monkey who eats these fruits must be ten times tastier. Why don't you bring the heart of this monkey for my meals?” The crocodile was stunned to hear such words from his wife. He replied,” Sweetheart, the monkey is my friend. It would not be fair to take his heart”. The crocodile’s wife was shrewd and pleaded with her husband to bring monkey’s heart for her. The crocodile was unwilling to deceive his friend, but then she insisted on not eating anything till he brought her monkey’s heart.

The Crocodile was left with no other option, but to bring monkey’s heart for his wife. He was afraid that how could he ask for such thing from his friend. He devised a plan and rushed to the monkey. Raktamukha was waiting for his dear friend for the daily meeting. Reaching ashore, Karalamukha asked the monkey in a sad tone, "My wife and I invite you to our home for a dinner. My wife is very angry with me for not having invited you earlier". He stated that his wife is anxious to meet such a nice friend.

Poor monkey didn’t know about the plan and believed the story of crocodile. He asked the crocodile,” I accept your invitation, but how will I go with you? I don’t know how to swim?” The crocodile replied,” Don’t worry. Come and sit on my back. I‘ll take you to my house.” The monkey happily sat on the back of the crocodile and they started their journey. The crocodile entered in the deep waters with an intention to kill the monkey. The monkey got scared to see water all around and asked the crocodile to move slowly.

The crocodile thought that now he could reveal his real intentions to the monkey, as it was impossible for him to escape from the middle of the river. The crocodile gullibly said to the monkey, “I am taking you to my home to please my wife. She wants to eat your heart. She says that since you eat tasty fruits day and night, your heart must be ten times tastier than those fruits."

The monkey was taken aback to hear these words. He had never expected this type of a request from a friend. He kept cool and said wittingly, "Oh dear! Why didn’t you tell me earlier? It would be my privilege to offer my heart to your charming wife. I usually keep my heart safely in the burrow of the tree. In order to serve my heart to your wife, I have to go back to get my heart.”

The foolish crocodile swiftly then swam back to the tree where the monkey lived. On reaching the bank the monkey quickly jumped off the crocodile’s back and climbed up his home tree. The crocodile was in a hurry and realized that the monkey was taking too long in getting his heart. Impatiently he asked, “What is the delay? Get you heart. My wife will be very happy.”

By the time, the monkey had realized that this was a rebirth for him. The monkey laughed and answered, "My dear foolish friend. You've deceived me as a friend. Can any one take out his heart and keep that in a burrow. It was all a trick to save my life and teach a lesson to an unfaithful friend like you. Now go away and don’t ever come back." The crocodile was ashamed for his act and went home with his head bent down.

Moral: At times, presence of mind pays well.

The Two Headed Weaver

It is another funny story from the Panchatantra collection. Once upon a time, there was a weaver by the name Mantharaka. One day when he was weaving the cloth, the wooden frames of his loom broke. He took an axe and went to the forest to bring wood in order to make new frames. He went round the forest but didn’t find the adequate wood for the frames. From the forest, he drifted towards the seashore where he saw a huge tree. He thought that if he could cut wood from the tree, he would have enough wood for all frames and would stay throughout his life.

As the weaver raised his axe to cut the tree, a spirit living on that tree said, “O weaver, this tree is my home and it must be spared in any event, because it prevents my body from the cool breeze which comes from the sea”. Mandharaka said, “Sir, if I don’t cut the tree and take its wood home, then my family will starve and die. So, please go somewhere else as I have to cut this tree.”

The spirit answered, “If you do not cut the tree, I will give you a boon of your choice”. The weaver said,” Sir, in that case, I will go home and ask my wife and friends. When I will return, you must give me what I ask for”.

The spirit agreed to it and the weaver returned home with joy. While coming back to the city, he met his friend, the barber and said,” Friend, a spirit has given me a boon of my choice and gave me time to consult friends and my wife. Tell me what I should demand from him". The barber replied, “My dear friend, demand a kingdom where you could be the king and I would be your Prime Minister. You would be having a palace, where we can enjoy the pleasures of this world. Like this, both of us can enjoy life here and hereafter”.

Mantharaka said, “True. But let me ask my wife too”. The barber said,” A wise man should never ask women for advice. He can give a woman food, clothing, jewelry and above all the duties of marriage, but should never ask for their advice. As women think only of their own benefit and they have low wits.” The weaver replied, “Even though this is true, still I would consult my wife, as she is my better half.”

After this, the weaver quickly went to his home and narrated the whole story of the spirit and his boon to his wife. He also told her that his friend, the barber had advised him to ask for a kingdom. His wife said, “O my lord, what do barber understands? No wise man would consult children or barbers or servants or beggars. A king’s life is full of hardships. He is always worried about friendships, animosities, wars, servants, defense alliances, and duplicity. He never gets a minute’s rest because anyone who rules hardly gets anytime. The same container that is used for comfort can also be used to pour out bad luck. Never envy the life of a king."

The weaver said, "You are right. But you haven’t told me what boon I should choose”. She answered,” Every day you are able to weave a single piece of cloth which is barely enough to meet our daily needs. You should ask for another pair of arms and another head so that you can work on two pieces of cloth at once, one in front of you, and one behind you. The first piece will help us meet our daily needs. The second one will help us meet special needs. Thus, we can sail our life comfortably and happily.”

After listening to his wife, he said,” You are a faithful wife and you have spoken well. I will do what you have suggested.” The weaver happily went to the spirit and said, “Sir, you have kindly given me a choice. I request you to give me two more hands and an extra head.” He had hardly spoken before he was two-headed and four-armed. Rejoiced, he began his homeward journey. People on the way saw him and considered him as a kind of demon. They hammered him with stones and sticks. The poor weaver died at the spot.

Moral: One who has no wits of one’s own will perish.

The Hunter and the Doves

This is one more nice fable from the collection of Panchatantra. Once upon a time, there was a flock of doves that flew in search of food. This flock was led by their king. Once, it happened as such that the flock had flown a long distance and all the doves got tired. The king of doves encouraged the doves to fly a little more. One of the doves picked up pace and found some rice grains scattered under a banyan tree.

All the doves were happy to find the food and happily landed on the ground. As soon as they began to eat the grains, a huge net fall over them and all of them got trapped. The doves fluttered their wings desperately trying to come out, but it was of no avail. Just then, they saw the hunter coming towards them. He appeared quite happy to find a huge number of doves trapped inside the net. The whole flock was frightened on seeing the fowler.

However, the king of doves was very intelligent and clever. He didn’t loose his patience and devised a plan to come out from this adverse situation. He advised to other doves,” In order to get free from the net of this hunter, we should all fly up together clutching the net in our beaks. There is strength in unity. We will decide our next course of action later. Now, come on and let’s fly.”

Hearing to the king, each dove picked up a portion of the huge net and they flew up together, carrying the net with them. The hunter was surprised to see the birds flying, along with the huge net. He ran after the birds, shouting madly, but could not catch them. Soon, they flew high over hills and valleys getting out of his sight.

When the king dove saw that the hunter had given up the chase, he said to his friends, "Now we all have to get out of this net. A mouse lives on the nearby hill. He is good friend of mine. Let's go to him for his help." They flew to a hill near a city of temples where the mouse lived.

When the mouse heard the loud noise of doves’ approach, he got frightened and hid himself deeper into his hole. The King dove asked, “Dear friend, I have come, the king dove. We’re in great difficulty. Please come out and help us.” Hearing the voice of the king dove, the mouse came out of his hole and saw the king dove and his friends trapped in the net. The mouse said,” Oh! Who’s done all this to you? “

The king dove explained the whole story to the mouse. He told him that they require mouse’s help to nibble the net and set them free. The mouse immediately started nibbling the net around the king dove. The king dove said,” No, dear. First set my followers free. A king cannot keep his subjects in pain and enjoy the freedom for himself."

The mouse understood the king’s feelings and praised the king for his nobleness. As per the king’s wish, the mouse nibbled at the portion of the net and one by one all the doves got freed including the king dove. All the doves were happy to get free. They thanked the mouse for his effort and flew away together happily to their destination.

Moral: Strength lies in unity.

The Monkeys and the Bell

This is another nice story from the collection of Hitopadesha Tales/ Stories. Once upon a time, there lived a robber in a village. One day, he stole a temple bell and ran towards the forest. A Tiger heard the jingle of the bell and became curious to locate the sound. As soon as, he saw the robber, he jumped upon him and killed him at once. The bell fell on the ground. After a few days, a group of monkeys passed through that way. They spotted the bell and carried it to their home.

They found the jingle of the bell very interesting. Subsequently every one of them became very fond of the bell and started playing with it. After every tiring day, in the night monkeys would sit on the top of the hill in the forest and enjoy the melodious sound of the bell. The people of the village were afraid of the noise. Soon afterwards, the people from the village found the body of the robber and proclaimed, “Certainly there is an evil spirit around here that kills human beings and then rings the bell to celebrate”.

When the people heard this, they thought that some demon was haunting their village. Without giving any second thought, People started leaving the city in terror. There was an intelligent and bold woman in that village. She thought to herself, “I don’t believe that some demon is haunting this village. I will find out that who is ringing the bell”. At late night, she went into the forest bravely and found that a group of monkeys were playing about and ringing the bell.

Now as the woman knew the secret about the bell, she went to the King and said, “Your Majesty! I'm sure this evil spirit can be conquered by worshipping the Gods. But this will cost money. If you can grant me some money, I will kill the demon and bring happiness to the village”. The King, who was too afraid to get rid of the demon, granted the request of the woman.

On receiving the money, the woman bought some peas, groundnuts and fruits. She arranged a worship of the Gods. She made a circle on the ground, placed all the eatables and started worshipping the Gods. After the ritual, she picked up all the eatables and went into the forest. She placed the fruits and other things under a tree near the hill. She kept a watch of the monkeys from a distance.

As and when the monkeys saw the eatables, they dropped the bell just as the old woman had expected out of them. They ran to pick the eatables. The woman picked up the bell quickly and rushed towards the village. She gave the bell in the court of the King. The King was happy with the brave woman and everyone in the village admired her bravery. The pleased King rewarded the woman for her bravery. Since that day, there was no noise and people lived happily ever after.

Moral: One must not be afraid of trifles. Intelligence and courage succeed against all odds.

The Elephant and the Jackal

This is a nice tale / story from the collection of Hitopadesha Tales. Once upon a time, there lived an Elephant by the name of Karpuratilaka in a forest. He was brutal and haughty by nature. He used to roam in the forest without restraint. All the animals of the forest were afraid of this wild Elephant. Without any purpose, he used to pull down the trees and ripped the branches. In this way, he destroyed innumerable nests with eggs and crushed the nestlings under his massive feet.

In short, he had created all round chaos in the forest. Fierce animals like Lions and Tigers also kept themselves at a safe distance from this Elephant. Once it happened that he destroyed the burrows of the jackals in his merciless stroll. This action of Elephant was not tolerable to the animals and all of them wanted to kill the Elephant. They had a conversation regarding this but thought it was nearly impossible to kill the Elephant due to his gigantic size.

The Jackals were full of rage and planned to call a separate meeting. They were ready to do anything to get rid of the mighty Elephant. But killing the huge Elephant was not a tiny task to do. All of them had a discussion that how could they kill the Elephant. Suddenly, an old Jackal said,”Leave everything on me. I will cleverly bring about his death”. Everyone gave his consent to the idea of the old Jackal.

The next day, old Jackal went to the Elephant, bowed respectfully before him and said, “My Lord! Favor me with your royal glance”. The Elephant looked at him and said in a loud voice, “Who are you? Why you have come here?” The intelligent Jackal replied, “I am only a poor Jackal. Your Majesty, no one can deny your greatness. You are kind-hearted, gentle and possess all qualities of a ruler. Taking these things in the mind, all the animals have chosen you to be their King. Please accept this offer and make us obliged”.

The Elephant appeared to be happy with all the praise thrown by the Jackal. Jackal found the time to be appropriate and further acclaimed, “Your Highness, all the animals are eager to see your kingship ceremony. It will be held in the middle of the forest, where thousands of animals have already gathered to get your glimpse. Our astrologers have told this is the auspicious moment for your crowning. Time is slipping fast. So, please come with me without any delay”.

The Elephant was really pleased by the Jackal’s talk. He always dreamt to become a King. He contemplated that the kingship ceremony will be matter of honor to him. Instantly, he got ready to accompany the Jackal to the place where ceremony was to be held. The Jackal took the Elephant deep into the forest. On the way, they had to walk through a swampy area by the side of a lake. The Jackal walked across the swampy region easily.

But as soon as the Elephant stepped on the swamp, he got stuck in it. He tried his best to come out of the swamp, but to no avail. The more he tried to move out, the more he went deep into it. He got frightened and called out the Jackal, “Friend, Please help me to come out of this mud. I am sinking deep into the mud. Call other animals quickly to help me otherwise I will die”.

The Jackal replied, “I am not going to save you. You deserve this conduct. You are a cruel, arrogant and a merciless creature. You killed our siblings and kids. You have destroyed our burrows and nests of poor birds. You knew everything, but remained indifferent. I am sorry to say that your end has come”. The Jackal left the place immediately and the Elephant kept shouting for help. In a little while, the Elephant disappeared from the scene, sinking into the deep mud.
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Abdullah's Gold

Abdullah was one of the richest men in town, but you could easily mistake him for a beggar. It was his theory that since there were so many people out to rob a rich man, it was safe to pretend to be poor. And so he did.

But he really didn't have to pretend. Stingy to the core he found it very easy to be poor. So what if people sniggered and children called out, "Kanjoos! Kanjoos!" (miser, miser), whenever he passed by in his worn-out clothes. Abdullah became more and more content with his growing pile of money as the years went by.

One day, he bought a huge lump of gold with all the money he had amassed. He dug a hole in the ground near an unused well and buried the gold there. He was sure that no thief would be able to find that place. With this happy thought, Abdullah checked on his treasure daily.
But can you really keep a hiding place hidden if you looked at it every day? Before long, the town was whispering about Abdullah's mysterious visits to the unused well in the dead of the night. It wasn't long before a curious soul discovered the gold, let out a yell of joy and ran away with the miser's treasure.

Naturally, on his next visit, Abdullah found the hole empty. He began howling with grief and soon a crowd had assembled. They watched him grieve the way people mourn the loss of a dear one.

Finally, a neighbour came forward and asked him to stop it. "You want your gold? Just pick up a heavy stone and drop it in the hole. Pretend it is the gold you lost."

"How can you make fun of me at a time like this," wailed the stricken man.

"I'm not making fun of you, friend!" said the wise neighbour. "How did you use the gold while it was here, except gaze at it every day? You could do the same with a stone."

Abdullah was silenced.

The Doctor who 'did not' Cure

An old woman had lost her eyesight completely. So she went to a doctor to help her see again and made a bargain with him in the presence of a few witnesses. The bargain was that: if he could cure her, he would be paid handsomely. But if he couldn't, she would not be obliged to pay him anything.

The doctor had a special ointment. When it was applied in the eyes for a certain period of time, it restored the eyesight of anyone who was sightless.
The doctor began to visit his new patient daily to apply the ointment. But knowing that she couldn't see, he started stealing the valuables in her house, one by one. When there was nothing more left to steal, he decided to cure her and demanded his payment.

When the old woman recovered her eyesight, she saw that her valuables had been stolen and guessed that the doctor was the thief. So, saying that she was not cured, she refused to pay him. The doctor was astonished when she refused to pay and he insisted on his fees. But the old woman refused again and the two went to court.

The judge asked the old woman why she refused to pay the doctor. To this she said: "The doctor is telling the truth. I did promise to give him money if I recovered my sight. However, if I remained blind, I was to give him nothing. Now he declares that he has healed me and so I should pay him. But I am still blind."

Everyone in the court looked at the old woman in great surprise. "How can you say a thing like that? Everyone in the courtroom can see that your eyesight has been restored." said the judge sternly.

"Your honour," replied the old woman. "I really can't see. Before I lost the use of my eyes, I had seen a lot of valuable goods in my house. But now, though the doctor swears I am cured of my blindness, I am not able to see a single thing of value in it."

The judge agreed that the old woman was indeed still blind, and let her go without a trial.

Fearing the Wind

A Tale from India

Retold by Jack Maguire

Long, long, long ago, before the Buddha was the Buddha, a beautiful baby elephant lived in the forest of India. Her skin was as white and silky soft as the feathers of a swan. While she was growing up, all the people who ventured into the forest and happened to see her there were amazed at her beauty. When she was fully grown, her size and strength were so great that the people who saw her were even more astounded. Word spread across the land about this great, big, strong, white, beautiful elephant.

When the king of that land heard about the elephant, he wanted it for himself. He sent his elephant trainers out to find her. After much hunting in the forest, they did. They caught her in a huge, hempen net, drove her back to the palace grounds, and chained her to a stake.

The king wanted to be sure that the elephant would obey his every command, so when the elephant didn't do what the trainers told her to do - and often she couldn't understand what they were asking - they jabbed her with their training sticks. Soon red, blue, and purple bruises broke out all over her beautiful white skin, and she was constantly terrified.

One day the elephant went crazy with fear. She reared up on her hind legs and her chain broke loose. The terror-stricken trainers scurried away, and the beautiful, white elephant escaped. She ran up into the mountains, so far and deep that the trainers couldn't find her. They searched and searched for a long time, but at last they gave up. Eventually they forgot about her.

But the elephant did not forget about them. Every time the wind moaned, whined, shrieked or blasted, she dashed off in terror, racing around in big, loopy circles, thrashing her trunk wildly from side to side.

Even though she was free, she might just as well have been recaptured by the king's trainers, for now her mind was often so troubled she forgot to eat. Her big, strong body became thin and weak. Running in heedless fear, she would frequently trip and collapse over rocks, fallen branches, or holes in the ground. Red, blue, and purple bruises broke out all over her beautiful white skin.

The only thing close to peace the elephant ever felt was when she'd lean against one special tree to catch her breath. This tree had a smooth, thick trunk and a big, sheltering crown of leaves where the wind would gently whisper.

Now at this time the Buddha was this tree.

Whenever the elephant would rest herself against the tree, it could sense the fear that was tormenting her, and so it felt great compassion for her. Finally, one day when the elephant was shaking against its bark harder than she ever had before, the tree could no longer stay silent. Waving its leaves and stirring the wind, it whispered these words:

Do you fear the wind?
It only moves the clouds and dries the dew!
Look inside your mind--
There, fear alone has captured you.

As soon as the tree finished whispering these words, the beautiful elephant smiled. Suddenly she realized that she had nothing to worry about but her own habit of always being afraid. From that day on she was at peace with herself. She enjoyed life in her mountain home. She had finally found her freedom.

Commentary

Jataka tales, from India, recount over five hundred previous lives of the Buddha before he finally achieved enlightenment under a sacred tree. This culminating event happened during his last earthly existence in the sixth century B.C.E. as the mortal prince, Siddhartha Guatama - a lifetime which began and ended beneath sacred trees. In some jataka tales, the Buddha is a human being. In the rest, he is another animal or a plant. In "Fearing the Wind," he is a tree.

Over the centuries, the jataka tales interwove their way into other story canons. For example, a host of them metamorphosed into Aesop's fables during and after Alexander the Great's occupation of Asian territory in the fourth century B.C.E.

I first encountered, admired, and adopted "Fearing the Wind" as a storyteller about twenty years ago. After I became a Zen student a decade later, the tale began resonating for me even more intensely. Part of its appeal to me-and to many of my listeners, young and old-is that it taps real-life memories of turning to a special tree for solace, support, and revitalization.

One of the most memorable trees in my life was a red maple tree in the deep backyard of my childhood home in Columbus, Ohio. When I was a kid, I would often lie on my back at the foot of this tree, with my head just touching the trunk, and stare up through the crown. Something about the kaleidoscopic spread of the branches, internetting sky, clouds, leaves, stars, and planets-in different ways at different times of the day, week, and year-was immensely reassuring and positively spellbinding to me. It was an affirmation of the universe.

I currently conduct workshops that encourage and prepare people create their own "Guardian Project." Focusing on a particular natural feature in their local area, they commit themselves to a three-step process. First, they spend at least a half-hour at a time, at least three days a week, simply witnessing that feature. This means spending time in its presence without doing anything else but being receptive to what is going on with it. Second, at the end of one month, they translate this experience into a work of art that honors the natural feature, that somehow tells its story. Third, they share that work of art with others. People often choose a tree for this project. In doing so, they bestow the same type of "guardianship" on the tree that the tree in this story gives to the elephant.

Sources for this Jataka tale and others:

Davids, Caroline A.F. Rhys. Stories of the Buddha (NY: F.A. Stokes, 1929)

Kahn, Noor Inayat. Twenty Jataka Tales (Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions International, 1975)

Martin, Rafe. The Hungry Tigress: Buddhist Myths, Legends, and Jataka Tales (Cambridge, MA: Yellow Moon Press, 1999)

Jack Maguire is a storyteller based in Highland, NY. Among his many books are Creative Storytelling and The Power of Personal Storytelling (both titles to be hot links to Amazon.com unless you have some preference to another book seller) He performs special storytelling programs on Johnny Appleseed and John Burroughs.