Here is another Jataka about self-sacrifice. This time it tells of a great, compassionate monkey king.

The Great Monkey King

A Tale of Leadership and Self Sacrifice.

Deep in a beautiful and blessed region of the Himalayas, the Bodhisattva lived as the king of the Monkeys. The whole Monkey kingdom inhabited a large banyan tree that was so tall it was believed to be the Lord of the Forest. Its large branches swelled with beautiful and fragrant fruit that sustained the entire kingdom.

One branch of the tree hung over a river. The Bodhisattva, in his wisdom, told his troops that they must always keep that branch from bearing fruit, for if it did, they would never taste the splendor of its growth again. They indeed took great care that this should not happen, yet one day a small fruit far out on the branch that was curled up in a leaf fell into the river. It traveled downstream to where a king was bathing with his harem. Never having smelled such a fragrance, or seen such a food, the king tasted it and was amazed by its wonderful flavor. He proclaimed that such a marvelous fruit was fit only for royalty and decided to find the source.

The king then set off upstream with a large body of armed men. He knew it could not be far because the fruit was still fresh when it reached him, and before long the tree was in sight. An intoxicating aroma more fragrant than ripe mangoes wafted through the ranks of men, but when the king saw monkeys running among the tree’s boughs and branches, he became enraged. He saw them devouring the fruit and felt that they were robbing him of what he craved. He ordered his men to attack.

The warriors strung their bows with arrows and began to shoot, all the while yelling war cries to frighten away the monkeys. The noise was tremendous and the monkeys were frightened, looking to their king for guidance. Some of the men picked up stones, sticks, and spears and rushed the tree as if attacking a hostile fortress. The Bodhisattva however, seeing that his frightened subjects were depending on him, reassured the group. Quickly climbing to the top of the tree, and in one giant leap, he flew to a nearby hilltop where he found a bamboo cane that was tall, strong, and deeply rooted. Fastening the top of the cane to his feet, and leaving it rooted in the earth, he jumped back to his tree home. Holding a branch of the tree taught, he ordered all the monkeys to evacuate across his body and down the cane to safety. Desperate and bewildered by fear, the monkeys wildly scrambled across the body of the king and down the cane. Although his body grew weak and numb, his mind remained firm, for the survival of his subjects was his only concern.

Witnessing this, the human king and his men became overcome with astonishment. They had never seen such strength and wisdom combined with such great self denial and kindness for others. The human king ordered his men to stop attacking. Seeing that the great monkey would not be able to hold his position much longer, as the hordes of frightened monkeys had bruised and torn their leaders limbs, the king ordered a canopy be held up to catch the monkey when he fell. After the monkey landed in the canopy, the king had him carefully lifted onto a soft couch. As he lay there unconscious from pain and exhaustion, the human king had the monkey’s wounds salved and washed with butter and medicinal ointments and before long he recovered his senses.

The human king approached, full of curiosity, admiration, and respect, and asked the great monkey who he was in relation to all the monkeys he had saved. To his great surprise, the monkey replied that he was their king. He explained that as their ruler, he was bound to them with the same affection that parents have for their children. The shocked king retorted that subjects are meant to serve their king and not the other way around, and then inquired why he would dare sacrifice himself for mere servants. The monkey stated that he was unable to overlook suffering in strangers, much less kin, and especially not in those who are intent on looking to him as their leader. He explained to the man that although his body was broken, his mind is totally sound, and that he would happily and patiently wait through the pain of his injuries because the discomfort was nothing in comparison to the joy of saving his subjects. He then asked the human king to look at all that has come from his physical sacrifice, he had now achieved satisfaction, serenity, fame, and even the admiration and honor of a king of men! He continued to explain to the human king that a ruler who does not know kindness will never know such virtues and will in fact, obtain their opposite.

The Monkey Kings last words to the human king was that he must always protect his kingdom with spiritual truth, and to view all subjects, from officials to peasants, humans to animals, as if they were his own children. The great Monkey King then peacefully passed away and ascended into the heavenly realms.

by Monty McKeever

This post will kick off the beginning of a series of Jatakas that will be posted to ElephantTribe. Jatakas are short stories from India that tell of the past lives of the Buddha. The overall structure of the Jataka Tales is all about the cycle of samsara (cycle of birth, death, and reincarnation) that the Buddha had to experience before reaching enlightenment.

The Elephant

A Tale of Self Sacrifice.

At one time, the Bodhisattva took birth as a large Elephant. He lived in a forest far from civilization. The forest contained a lake that was both deep and wide and the entire wilderness was surrounded on all sides by an expansive desert. This beautiful oasis was well suited for the elephant as well as other smaller creatures. Delicious fruit grew on the trees, young shrubs carpeted the earth, and the whole area was bordered with high mountains. The Elephant lived alone as an ascetic and sustained his large body only on leaves and lotus roots, dedicating his time to contemplation on the virtues of contentment and tranquility.

One day while wandering along the forests edge, the Bodhisattva Elephant heard the cries of humans coming from the desert. Their cries began to get louder; surely they were approaching the oasis.

Urged by compassion, he ran towards them swiftly and when they came into sight he saw that it was a large group of men, women, and children, all nearly dead from starvation and thirst. Noticing that they were fearful of him, he called out in a human voice and stated that they need not be frightened. Upon hearing such peaceful and comforting words the people regained their composure and humbly greeted him.

The elders explained that they had been banished by an angry king and that many of them had already died in the desert. The kind Elephant realized that all the fruit in the forest would not be enough to feed them for even a day. He resolved that he must offer his own flesh as food and his organs and intestines as bags to carry water on their journey. He then instructed the people on how to find the great lake and said that just beyond it they would find the corpse of an elephant that had fallen from a mountaintop, not telling them that it would be his own corpse. As the group set out towards the water, he quickly, by another route, started to ascend the mountain. Upon reaching the top he then, feeling great joy and oblivious of the impending painful death below, hurled himself over the edge of the precipice. The impact sounded like an earthquake throughout the entire forest.

Meanwhile, the group of exiles had reached the lake and refreshed themselves with the cool water. Following the Bodhisattva’s directions, they discovered the body of an elephant not far away. At first, they were surprised that the corpse so closely resembled the kind Elephant they had just met. Before long, a clever one in the group determined that it was in fact the same Elephant. Awestruck by the incredibly generous and selfless act of the great beast, they burst into tears of gratitude.

Some in the group thought that they should not eat such a great Bodhisattva, stating that such a magnificent and compassionate being deserves nothing less than a proper cremation ceremony. Once again, the clever one explained that the true way to honor the elephant would be to eat his flesh as the Elephant had intended. The people ate until they were full, made bags to hold water, and crossed the rest of the desert without trouble.

by Monty McKeever 2005