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that every tree was to be pleased with its resident spirit.
There just so happened to be a very wise tree spirit who was the leader of a
large clan. He advised his clan members not to live in free-standing trees.
Instead it would be safer to live in the forest trees near him. The wise tree
spirits settled down in the forest trees with their leader.
But there were also some foolish and arrogant tree spirits. They said to each
other, Why should we live in this crowd? Let us go to the villages, towns
and cities inhabited by human beings. Tree spirits who live there receive the
best offerings. And they are even worshipped by the superstitious people
living in those places. What a life we will have!
So they went to the villages, towns and cities, and moved into the big free-
standing trees, looked after by people. Then one day a big storm came up.
The wind blew strong and hard. The big heavy trees with old stiff branches
did not do well in the storm. Branches fell down, trunks broke in two, and
some were even uprooted. But the trees in the forest, which were
intertwined with each other, were able to bend and support each other in the
mighty wind. They did not break or fall!
The tree spirits in the villages, towns and cities had their tree homes
destroyed. They gathered up their children and returned to the forest. They,
complained to the wise leader about their misfortune in the big lonely trees
in the land of men. He said, This is what happens to arrogant ones who
ignore wise advice and go off by themselves.
The moral is: Fools are deaf to wise words.
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Tale 75 The Fish Who Worked a Miracle
[The Power of Truthfulness]
Once upon a time, the Enlightenment Being was born as a fish in a pond in
northern India. There were many kinds of fish, big and small, living in the
pond with the Bodhisatta.
There came to be a time of severe draught. The rainy season did not come as
usual. The crops of men died, and many ponds, lakes and rivers dried up.
The fish and turtles dug down and buried themselves in the mud, frantically
trying to keep wet and save themselves. The crows were pleased by all this.
They stuck their beaks down into the mud, pulled up the frightened little
fish, and feasted on them.
The suffering of pain and death by the other fish touched the Enlightenment
Being with sadness, and filled him with pity and compassion. He realized
that he was the only one who could save them. But it would take a miracle.
The truth was that he had remained innocent. by never taking the life of
anyone. He was determined to use the power of this wholesome truth to
make rain fall from the sky, and release his relatives from their misery and
death.
He pulled himself up from under the black mud. He was a big fish, and as
black from the mud as, polished ebony. He opened his eyes, which sparkled
like rubies, looked up to the sky, and called on the rain god Pajjunna. He
exclaimed, Oh my friend Pajjunna, god of rain, I am suffering for the sake
of my relatives. Why do you withhold rain from me, who am perfectly
wholesome, and make me suffer in sympathy with all these fish?
I was born among fish, for whom it is customary to eat other fish - even our
own kind, like cannibals! But since I was born, I myself have never eaten
any fish, even one as tiny as a rice grain. In fact, I have never taken life from
anyone. The truthfulness of this my innocence gives me the right to say to
you: Make the rains fall! Relieve the suffering of my relatives!
He said this the way one gives orders to a servant.
And he continued, commanding the mighty rain god Pajjunna: Make rain
fall from the thunderclouds! Do not allow the crows their hidden treasures!
Let the crows feel the sorrow of their unwholesome actions. At the same
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time release me from my sorrow, who have lived in perfect
wholesomeness.
After only a short pause, the sky opened up with a heavy downpour of rain,
relieving many from the fear of death fish, turtles and even humans. And
when the great fish who had worked this miracle eventually died, he was
reborn as he deserved.
The moral is: True innocence relieves the suffering of many.
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Tale 76 The Meditating Security Guard
[Fearlessness]
Once upon a time, the Enlightenment Being was born into a rich and
powerful family. When he grew up he became dissatisfied with going after
the ordinary pleasures of the world. So he gave up his former lifestyle,
including his wealth and position. He went to the foothills of the Himalayas
and became a holy man.
It just so happened that one day he ran out of salt. So he decided to go and
collect alms. He came upon a caravan and went with it part way on its
journey. In the evening they stopped and made camp.
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