Once, the Bodhisattva was born as the prince of Benaras. A fortune-teller proclaimed, “The prince will be a great king.” When the prince turned sixteen, he went to Takshashila to study. When he graduated, his teacher gifted him five weapons and sent him back to Benaras. On the way, the prince passed a forest. The […]
Once a Bodhisattva lived as a spirit in a banyan tree. One day, a poor man came to pray to the tree. He had nothing to offer except a loaf of bread. So, when he saw others offering expensive gifts and sweets to the tree, he felt disheartened. He was about to turn back when
Once, misfortune fell on Mittavinda’s ship. He was set adrift on a bamboo raft. Soon, he reached a Glass Palace and lived with apsaras (fairies). However, in his greed to gain more wealth, he left them. Finally, Mittavinda reached hell. There, he saw a man with a sharp wheel around his neck. It looked like
Once, a monk and his followers were travelling through a thick forest. The monk warned his followers, “Stay away from poisonous trees and fruits.” The group soon reached a village. A Whatnot tree stood outside the village. It looked exactly like a mango tree. Some of the group members ate the fruits without thinking. The
Once, a gang of cheats lived in Benaras. One day, they planned to rob a rich man. They added a sleeping potion to orange juice and decided to make the rich man drink it. Once he slept, they intended to rob his money and jewellery. With such a plan, the cheats erected a temporary roadside
Ananda, the son of King Badfruit, grew up in Champa. When he learnt that his father had been cheated by his own brother, he set out to reclaim his kingdom. While Ananda’s ship sailed at sea, a violent storm damaged his ship. Everybody, except Ananda, was killed. Ananda was the Bodhisattva, so he swam for
Once, King Badfruit ruled Mithila. One day, the king’s servant informed him that his brother Poorfruit wanted to kill him. So, the king locked Poorfruit in a dungeon. Poorfruit prayed, “Let the chains fall off if I have done no wrong.” Miraculously, the chains fell off, the dungeon doors opened and Poorfruit fled to a
The King of Benaras was a kusala (skilful) king. He would not give harsh punishment to any of his subjects. Once, a minister of his court who was a naraka in his previous birth was caught for dishonesty. However, instead of punishing him, the king only banished him. The minister then went to the King
Once, the Bodhisattva was born as the son of a King. The people in the kingdom were very superstitious and would offer animal sacrifices to gods to get their wishes fulfilled. Saddened by the killing of helpless animals, the prince devised a plan to stop it. He rode in his grand chariot to a banyan
Once, a rich family lived in Benaras. They arranged for their son to marry a beautiful girl from a nearby village. Since they had not consulted their astrologer about this, he got filled with patigha or resentment. So, on the wedding day, he met the girl’s family and told them that the stars were unfavourable
A monk knew a mantra that could make precious jewels fall from the sky. However, he could use this power only once a year according to the position of the planets. One day, the monk and his followers set out for a village. On the way, a gang of kidnappers captured them. They wanted ransom.
Once, a large troop of monkeys lived in the garden of a king. New Year was approaching and the royal gardener wanted to join the three-day celebrations. So, he requested the monkey-king to take over his duty of watering the trees and the plants. The next day, the monkeys filled up the buckets and began
Prince Goodspeaker had a younger brother named Prince Moon. Their mother died when they were young. So, the king married again. The new queen had a boy named Prince Sun. The queen wanted to make Prince Sun the next king. The king was worried that the queen might harm his elder sons, so he sent
Once, a king and a queen had a beautiful baby. They named him Prince Goodspeaker. The king hoped this name would help his son in later life. The prince was no ordinary baby. He was an ardent follower of the Buddha–the Enlightened One. He wanted to gain enlightenment like the Buddha. He was reborn in
Once, a bald carpenter was famous for his shiny head. He was very wise and was liked by all the villagers. One day, a bumblebee saw his shiny head and decided to have a feast. The bald carpenter was busy with his work and did not notice. After a while, he saw the bumblebee and