The Tale of Monkey Brothers

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 Chullanandaka returned 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.

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.

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. 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.