The Grateful Elephant: And Other Stories Translated from the PāliTwenty-six stories selected from the author's larger work, Buddhist parables. |
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animals approached army ascetic asked became become Benares birds blind boar body Brahmadatta king Brahman called caravan caravan-leader carpenters carts caused certain chariot dear death departed dicer Dighiti king dragon dragon-king drink earth elephant entered evil existence fact father feet five forest four friendship fruit Future Buddha garden gave give gods granted griffin ground hands hatred hawk head heard hearing hundred jewel Kāsi kill king of Kasi king of Kosala kingdom lion little hare living look majesty Master monkey monks mother obtain ogre parable past Prince Dighāvu quail Rain reason region residence respect roots royal ruled saying snakes standing stanza Story sword Teacher Thereupon thing thought told took tree turned tusks uttered walk wealth wilderness wise young younger
Popular passages
Page xviii - Gotama was twenty-nine years old, he saw for the first time an Old Man, a Sick Man, a Dead Man, and a Monk.
Page 26 - At that time a tiny female quail laid her eggs in the elephants' stamping-ground. When the eggs were hatched, the fledglings broke the shells and came out. Before their wings had grown and while they were yet unable to fly, the Great Being came to that spot with his retinue of eighty thousand elephants in search of food. When the tiny quail saw him, she thought: "This elephantking will crush my fledglings and kill them. Well, I will ask of him righteous protection for the defense of my little ones.
Page 61 - I will beat you with my head and pound you into powder and dust" He struck him with his head. That also stuck right to the ogre's hair.
Page 79 - ... not what an elephant is like; that is what an elephant is like." "And precisely so," then runs the moral of the Buddha, "the company of heretics, monks, Brahmans, and wandering ascetics, patient of heresy, delighting in heresy, relying upon the reliance of heretical views, are blind, without eyes: knowing not good, knowing not evil, knowing not right, knowing not wrong, they quarrel and brawl and wrangle and strike one another with the daggers of their tongues, saying, 'This is right, that is...
Page 61 - Master ogre, you have never heard of me before. I am Prince Five-weapons. When I entered this forest infested by you, I took no account of bows and such-like weapons ; when I entered this forest, I took account only of myself. Now I am going to beat you and pound you into powder and dust !" Having thus made known his determination, with a veil he struck the ogre with his right hand.
Page 37 - And king Dighiti of Kosala, O Bhikkhus, together with his consort, went forth to Benares. Wandering from place to place he came to Benares, and there at Benares, O Bhikkhus, king Dighiti of Kosala dwelt, together with his consort, at a certain place near the town, in a potter's dwelling, in disguise, in the guise of a wandering ascetic.
Page 35 - Well, O king, let us see the queen also." madatta of Kasi, was. And, O Bhikkhus, that Brahmawa, the domestic chaplain to king Brahmadatta of Kasi, saw the queen-consort of king Dlghlti of Kosala coming from afar. On seeing her he rose from his seat, adjusted his upper robe so as to cover one shoulder, raised his joined hands to the queen-consort of king Dlghlti of Kosala, and three times uttered this exclamation : " Verily a Kosala king dwells in thy womb ! Verily a Kosala king dwells in thy womb!
Page 163 - ... Vasuki the king of the snakes, seeing him there every day, considered that the serpent world was ruined at one blow: then, after reflecting, he preferred a petition to that Garuda of irresistible might, and made this agreement with him — 'I will send you every day one snake to eat, 0 king of birds, on the hill that rises out of the sand of the sea.
Page 160 - When Kadru and Vinata, two wives of Kacyapa, had a dispute as to the colour of the Sun's horses, they made an agreement that the one that was wrong should become a slave to the other. Kadru, the mother of the snakes, induced her sons to defile the horses of the Sun by spitting venom over them ; thus they looked black instead of white, and Vinata, the mother of Garuda, king of birds, was conquered by this trick and made Kadru's slave. When Garuda came to release her, the snakes asked the nectar from...
Page 37 - Dlghlti of Kosala dwelling, together with his consort, at Benares, at a certain place near the town, in a potter's dwelling, in disguise, in the guise of a wandering ascetic. When he had seen him, he went to the place where king Brahmadatta of Kasi was, and having approached him, he said to king Brahmadatta of Kasi :