Stories Buddha Told

One of the books in my collection is a book called I Once Was a Monkey and I use this literature piece to explore on the tenets of Buddha on a primary level.  I ask my students (6th, 4th, and 3rd grades) to choose a couple of stories woven in the piece and make reflections as to what they understand from the stories.

The author Jeanne Lee introduce us to the cycle of fables in Buddhist literature known as the Jatakas, or birth stories, which Buddha originally told to his disciples when occasion arose to illustrate his teachings. There are six retellings using animals as characters and the different fables are all intertwined as one big story.

I personally like the story of The Deceitful Heron, where the heron turns to trickery to be able to eat all the fish from the pond. At the end, the red crab had to resort to violence to get even for the death of all his fish friends. The story is sad but it teaches us valuable lessons.

From the fish perspective we all wanted to move on, to be in better grounds, or in a greener pasture. We often decide without thinking well. We often accept things without doubts and thorough examination. From the heron's perspective we wanted to get all, to acquire what we cannot have, to get rich or filled quickly with ill gains. We sometimes fall weak and succumb to greed and mean manners. From the perspective of the red crab, we have the tendency to protect our own family, to rescue our friends, to help others or defend them from harm. It is innate in us to side with our friends and family, no matter what.

As Buddha mentioned from the book, "In life, there is no reward for untruthfulness. If you trick others and are cruel to them, they will behave the same way toward you in the end." Are you the red crab who is willing to be a protector? Are you the heron who will resort to deceit? Or the fish who craves for a good life desperately sans the sane thinking?

Be good and show your goodness in all your actions, big or small.