Week 11 Reading: Eastern Stories and Legends, Part B

File:Jataka, Fort comme un boeuf - 2.jpg
Fort comme un boeuf on Wikimedia
This is a continuation of my Eastern Stories and Legends notes. These are all Jataka tales, or stories of the Buddha’s past lives. Most of these tales demonstrate important morals or lessons to live by, and they also show what happens to those who are not kind to others. In addition, they reward those who do kind things for others, and all the stories show the gentle nature of the Buddha.
Two of these tales were very similar, and both were about Bulls. In each, the Bulls have been brought up by kind masters who they wish to repay in some way. The Bulls (who are each living a separate life of the Buddha) decide that they will work to bring some income to their masters.
In the first tale, The Bull That Demanded Fair Treatment, the Bull tells his master to bet with another man. The bet was to be that if the Bull could pull a determined heavy wagon load, then the other man would pay the master. The master agrees to this, but when the time comes for the Bull to pull the load, his master calls him a wretch. The Bull is upset by this and does not understand why his master calls him this, so he does not move. His master is then distraught and the Bull tells him that as he is a good Bull, he should not be referred to as a wretch. When the master and the other man set up a second challenge, they bet double. This time, the master calls the Bull “my beauty,” and the master wins the money.
The second tale is entitled The Bull That Proved His Gratitude. In this tale, the Buddha goes to work a very long, hard day pulling many heavy carts, and he brings back a good portion of money to his “mother.” When she sees the money and then figures out how the Bull acquired it, she grows sad and dies soon after, and the Bull dies with her.
Both of these tales depict the Bull trying to give back to the person that has given him a good life. In the first tale, there is a direct consequence for the master because he mistreated his good Bull.


If you would like to read these tales, click here: link.
“Eastern Tales and Legends.” The Baldwin Project, 2000.

Comments

  1. Kayleigh ZemaitisNovember 19, 2017 at 3:28 PM

    Bridget,

    I did not read these stories, but I wish I would have after reading your post. These sound so interesting! I also love any and all stories involving animals, they are definitely my favorite to do when it comes to retelling. I like the photo that you chose for this assignment. It would be cool if you deleted the white and cut out the photo on your page!

    ReplyDelete

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