Reading Notes: Jataka Tales, Part B (Shedlock)

The Well-Trained Elephant

The Buddha is a white elephant who is “graced with all beauty.” He is praised for his beauty and put in a high position by the king.

The king’s jealousy is so silly. Of course the king is in a higher position than the elephant! Who gets jealous when people praise an animal for its beauty?! Why did the king choose such a beauty in the first place if he was so insecure? I suppose maybe he did it because he’s so focused on image. What’s even more ridiculous is that he decided the elephant needed to be killed, instead of just sent somewhere else to appease his jealousy. How silly.

I like that the mahout looks out for the elephant. He is obedient to the king until he realizes that the king is against the elephant out of jealousy and foolishness. He is gentle with the elephant.

I was surprised when the elephant actually was able to follow the king’s order to raise all his legs off the ground, and I liked that he used that order to spite him.

Buddha teaching a group of five monks, Thai painting.

Source: Wikimedia Commons.

The Wise Physician

I like this story because the girl who learns a lesson is not really foolish or reprehensible, but someone who cannot get over the death of her only child. She is sympathetic, both as the grieving mother and after she learns the lesson from the Buddha. I think most people can relate to the pain of losing someone special and the difficulty of eventually letting go of the grief and mourning.

The Buddha’s lesson is referred to as medicine. Kisagotami originally thinks that it will be medicine to heal her son, but it ends up being “medicine” that heals her.

I like that the Buddha did not even have to tell Kisagotami the lesson. He gave her simple instructions, knowing that she would figure it out on her own.

I found it surprising that she was able to learn the lesson and let go of her son so quickly. I liked the lesson, but I think it would be difficult for a grieving mother to put into practice.

Bibliography: Eastern Stories and Legends by Marie Shedlock. Link to the reading online.

Reading Notes: Jataka Tales, Part A (Shedlock)

The Parrot that Fed His Parents

When the Parrot's father says that his "strength is spent," the Parrot willingly takes on the leadership role, and won't let his parents do any more work. He seems happy to be able to serve them, and he also seems to believe that it is his duty.

The Parrot thinks of his parents as very dear, and never complains about bringing food for them.

Even when the Parrot is captured, he thinks of others. He does not cry out when he is trapped, even though it must have been very painful, because he does not want to startle his flock before they eat.

It's very sad when the Parrot's flock leaves him when they hear him crying out. However, the Parrot doesn't condemn them, but instead is sad and wonders if he has sinned against them.

Why is the Brahmin so harsh with the Parrot even though he loves him? Maybe to test him?

I like the way the Parrot explains what he is doing with the rice: paying off a debt to his parents, giving a loan to his babies, and storing up treasure for others.

It is made clear that the Parrot has no greed, both when he is captured and when he is rewarded. He only takes what he and his family need and no more, even though more is offered to him. I like that the Parrot has the honor of taking his parents to a wonderful place with enough food for them at the end of the story.

The Elephant that Was Honored in Old Age

In this story, the main character is not Buddha but instead a hard-working elephant. Buddha helps her to be honored again after the king disrespects her. Buddha and the story place the emphasis on the elephant, and Buddha's role is helping her.

The elephant is so pitiful because she devoted her life to working for the king and did a great job but was discarded as soon as she was no longer useful. I think many people have felt, at times, as if some people who they serve would throw them out if they were no longer useful.

The Buddha's line about the king only honoring the elephant because he thought he would continue to get something out of her is very powerful. The king should have honored the elephant because she deserved it, not because he wanted to gain something.

The king does not even realize that he is doing something wrong at first. He answers the Buddha in confusion when asked where the elephant is. He changes his ways after hearing the Buddha's message.

The king reminds me of the Parrots flock in "The Parrot that Fed His Parents." Both leave unprotected and vulnerable someone who has helped and been devoted to them. There is a theme of self-sacrifice as well as a theme of others not recognizing or being grateful for that sacrifice.

Elephant statue outside the Dhammikarama Buddhist Temple in Penang, Malaysia.

Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Bibliography: Eastern Stories and Legends by Marie Shedlock. Link to the reading online.

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Faroese Stamp: The Seal Woman.

Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Week 4 Story: Psyche's Psyche

“Alright, Psyche, why don’t you lean back and tell me how this all began?”

Psyche sighed, pushing her weight into the chaise longue and letting her wide eyes wander to the ceiling.

“I suppose it all started when I met my husband that first night. I was scared out of my mind, even though the palace was lovely and I had almost forgotten about the oracle. I was scared, not that he would be a monster as the oracle said, but that he would hurt me. He didn’t, though. He was sweet in voice and touch.”

She looked down at her hands, with their alabaster skin and long, slender fingers. She flipped them over so the palms faced the ceiling and slowly turned them back again, examining them.

“Well, if I’m being accurate, I guess it started with the oracle. I don’t like to think about it much.”

“Why don’t you like to think about the oracle?” asked the therapist.

“Receiving the oracle was a horrible time for my family. It inspired the deepest horror in my parents, and I was almost numb from worry. Imagine being ordered by the gods to be brought up to a cliff and left there by your family, and to be joined in marriage to a horrible monster. I don’t think you can imagine. I don’t like to think about it because of the pain it caused all of us, and because…” she trailed off with misty eyes.

“Why else, Psyche?”

“Because my sisters’ visit yesterday made me think that maybe it’s come true after all. Maybe I didn’t get lucky and escape the will of the gods.”

She quickly looked up and let her eyes dart around the room, not really seeing. Calling their attention back to her hands, she began ripping at her cuticles.

“He has never let me see him. It didn’t bother me before, because he’s shown me nothing but kindness and love since our first moment together. It was such a relief to find, after I had been left on that cliff for a marriage of terror and wretchedness, that he was to be my husband and that palace to be my home. I never questioned his loveliness. I trusted in him completely; how could I not? I know him!”

She was silent for a few moments, listening to the therapist’s whistling breaths.

“But if he’s not a monster, why won’t he let me see him?”

The therapist touched his pen to his lip. “Why are you suddenly concerned about his identity? Has he hurt you?”

“No, no, nothing like that,” breathed Psyche. She hesitated. “My sisters came to visit yesterday, and they told me they heard that a monster lives around here, and they asked me why my husband won’t let me see him. They told me that he’s going to hurt me once I bear a child. They said I can’t trust him.”

She stopped briefly to suck on the cuticle of her ring finger, which she had torn a little too vigorously. She tasted blood.

“And they’re my sisters! Of course my sisters want the best for me! My sweet, darling sisters are trying to save me, but my husband tells me not to listen to them. He says we’ll both suffer if I heed their warnings. Each side tells me I can’t trust the other. How does someone make that choice? How can I choose between people I love, when they’re all telling me that I have to trust them or I’ll get hurt? It feels impossible to make that choice. But I can’t stay in the middle.”

“What choice has to be made?” said the therapist slowly.

“If I don’t see who my husband really is, he might hurt me. Why else would he not allow me to see him? But if I do look at him, he says I’ll bring ruin upon us. If I look at him, I choose my sisters, and if I don’t look, I choose him. There are no options but to either look or not look.”

She spoke faster and faster, spiraling. “I feel crazy. I can’t trust anyone. I can’t know the truth. What can I do? Where can I go where I can be faithful to my sisters and my husband? Where can I go where I know I’ll be safe? In whatever choice I make, there is a threat. What can I do? What can I do? What can I do?”

“Time’s up,” said the therapist. Psyche stared at the ceiling, frozen in her impossible choice.

Author's Note: My story is based on “Cupid and Psyche,” which is about the princess Psyche who is so revered for her beauty that she inspires the jealousy of the goddess Venus. Venus orders Cupid, her son and the god of love, to make Psyche fall in love with a wretched, miserable man. Because of this order, Psyche’s father receives an oracle, or a message from the gods, that she will have to marry a horrible monster. After Psyche is left for the monster to come marry her, she finds not a monster but a beautiful palace. Her husband comes to her only at night and is good to her, but he tells her that she may never look upon him. When Psyche’s sisters find her alive and well, they become wildly jealous of all the nice things she has, and they try to destroy her by convincing her that she is living with a monster. Psyche falls for it, and looks at her husband only to find that he is the beautiful god Cupid! He wakes up and flees, explaining that he fell in love with her despite his mother’s command and could only remain married to her so long as she didn’t know who she was married to. I found the sisters’ conversation with Psyche particularly interesting, because I felt that Psyche was in a horrible bind. She is a very innocent, naïve character, and she wants to trust everyone. Eventually she falls for her sisters’ tricks, and it was easy for me to see how she made such an apparently “foolish” decision. I wanted to explore the inner turmoil that she must have had before deciding to look at her husband against his command.

Bibliography: "Fears and Doubts" from The Golden Ass by Apuleius. Link to the reading online.

Image Information  

Top picture: Chaise longue. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Bottom picture: "Amore e Psiche," painted by Giuseppe Maria Crespi. Source: Wikimedia Commons.