- Elephant School (0:2:10) - Assignment Earth
Wild elephants in India are still captured and trained just as they were in the time of the Buddha for working in state forests. VIDEO - Jataka Tales (a set of Buddhist Aesop's Fables)
- Image: Thangka of the Jataka Tales, Phajoding Gonpa, Bhutan
The Birth of a Banyan Tree
Once upon a time, there was a big banyan tree in the forest beneath the mighty Himalayas. Living near this banyan tree were three very good friends. They were a quail, a monkey, and an elephant. Each of them was quite smart.
But occasionally the three friends got into a disagreement. When this happened, they did not consider the opinion of any one of them to be more valuable. No matter how much experience one had, opinions were treated the same by the others. Having to start from the beginning to reach a solution took them a long time to reach an agreement.
After a while they realized it would save time, and help their friendship, if they could shorten their disagreements. So they decided to consider the most valuable opinion first. Then if they could agree, they would not have to waste time, and possibly become less friendly, by arguing about the other two opinions.
Fortunately, they thought the most valuable opinion was the one based on the most experience. Therefore, they could live together even more peacefully if they gave higher respect to the oldest among them. Only if that one's opinion were clearly wrong, would they need to consider others.
Unfortunately, the elephant and the monkey and the quail had no idea which one was the oldest, because this was a time before age was respected. So they had had no reason to remember their birthdays or record their ages. Then one day, while they were relaxing in the shade of the big banyan tree, the quail and the monkey asked the elephant, "As far back as you can remember, what was the size of this banyan tree?"
The elephant replied, "I remember this tree for a very long time. When I was just a little baby, I used to scratch my belly by rubbing it over the tender shoots on top of this banyan tree."
Then the monkey said, "When I was a curious baby monkey, I used to sit and examine the little seedling banyan. Sometimes I used to bend over and nibble its top tender leaves."
The monkey and the elephant asked the quail, "As far back as you can remember, what was the size of this banyan tree?"
The quail said, "When I was young, I was looking for food in a nearby forest. In that forest, there was a big old banyan tree, which was full of ripe berries. I ate some of those berries, and the next day I was standing right here. This was where I let my droppings fall, and the seeds they contained grew up to be this very tree!"
The monkey and the elephant said, "Aha! Sir quail, you must be the oldest! You deserve our respect and honor. From now on we will pay close attention to your words. Based on your wisdom and experience, advise us when we make mistakes. When there are disagreements, we will give the highest place to your opinion. We ask only that you be honest and just."
The quail replied, "I thank you for your respect, and I promise to always do my best to deserve it." Then the Buddha revealed the characters in this story. He himself, as the Bodhisatta, was the wise quail striving through rebirth for perfect enlightenment. And the moral to the story is: "Respect for the wisdom of elders leads to harmony."
The whistling puppy
This little dog doesn't let the fact that he can't pucker his lips stop him from attempting to whistle. Ultimate Dog Hotel - Dog scratches itch - Surprising kitty
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