Buddhist Birth Stories (Jātaka Tales) — SelectionsBuddhismLegend / Oral TraditionPaliShareBuddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 36T. W. Rhys Davids (1880) - EnglishMoreVersion - 1 availableT. W. Rhys Davids (1880)LanguageEnglishEspañol‹Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 1Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 2Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 3Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 4Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 5Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 6Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 9Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 10Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 11Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 12Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 13Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 14Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 15Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 16Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 18Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 19Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 20Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 21Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 22Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 23Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 24Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 25Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 26Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 27Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 28Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 29Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 30Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 31Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 32Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 33Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 34Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 35Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 36Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 37Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 38Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 39Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 40›Tale No. 36: The Wise Bird and the Fools / Sakuṇa JātakaBuddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 36ListenPlay this chapter in spoken English.Save chapterListen to chapter“The earth-born tree.”--This the Master told when at Jetavana, about a monk whose hut was burned. A certain monk, says the tradition, received from the Teacher a subject for meditation, and leaving Jetavana, took up his abode in a dwelling in a forest near a border village, belonging to the people of Kosala. Now in the very first month his hut was burned down; and he told the people, saying, “My hut is burnt down, and I live in discomfort.” “Our fields are all dried up now,” said they; “we must first irrigate the lands.” When they were well muddy, “We must sow the seed,” said they. When the seed was sown, “We must put up the fences,” was the excuse. When the fences were up, they declared, “There will be cutting, and reaping, and treading-out to do.” And thus, telling first of one thing to be done and then of another, they let three months slip by. The monk passed the three months in discomfort in the open air, and concluded his meditation, but could not bring the rest of his religious exercise to completion. So when Lent was over he returned to the Teacher, and saluting him, took his seat respectfully on one side. The Teacher bade him welcome, and then asked him, “Well, brother, have you spent Lent in comfort? Have you brought your meditation to its conclusion?” He told him what had happened, and said, “As I had no suitable lodging, I did not fully complete the meditation.” “Formerly, O monk,” said the Teacher, “even animals were aware what was suitable for them, and what was not. Why did not you know it?” And he told a tale. * * * * * Long ago, when Brahma-datta was reigning in Benāres, the Bodisat came to life again as a bird, and lived a forest life, attended by a flock of birds, near a lofty tree, with branches forking out on every side. Now one day dust began to fall as the branches of the tree rubbed one against another. Then smoke began to rise. The Bodisat thought, on seeing this,-- “If these two branches go on rubbing like that they will send out sparks of fire, and the fire will fall down and seize on the withered leaves; and the tree itself will soon after be consumed. We can’t stop here; we ought to get away at once to some other place.” And he addressed the flock in this verse: “The earth-born tree, on which We children of the air depend, It, even it, is now emitting fire. Seek then the skies, ye birds! Behold! our very home and refuge Itself has brought forth danger!” Then such of the birds as were wise, and hearkened to the voice of the Bodisat, flew up at once with him into the air, and went elsewhere. But such as were foolish said one to another, “Just so! Just so! He’s always seeing crocodiles in a drop of water!” And paying no attention to what he said, they stopped there. And not long afterwards fire was produced precisely in the way the Bodisat had foreseen, and the tree caught fire. And smoke and flames rising aloft, the birds were blinded by the smoke; they could not get away, and one after another they fell into the fire, and were burnt to death! * * * * * When the Teacher had finished this discourse with the words, “Thus formerly, O monk, even the birds dwelling on the tree-tops knew which place would suit them and which would not. How is it that you knew it not?” he proclaimed the Truths. At the conclusion of the Truths the monk was established in Conversion. And the Teacher made the connexion, and summed up the Jātaka, “The birds who at that time listened to the voice of the Bodisat were the followers of the Buddha, but the Wise Bird was I myself.” ‹Previous chapterBuddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 35Next chapterBuddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 37›Similar passagesBy tradition and source labelFind similarCompare selectedCompare with similarAsk Deep ThoughtSelect passages to search for parallels.Tap any verse to select it, then compare selected passages or ask Deep Thought. Public domain