Once, there was a great disciple of Lord Buddha. One night, he was in deep meditation under a tree. His bald head shone in the bright moonlight. A spirit saw this shining bald head and mischief struck him. He thought, ‘I will break this monk’s concentration by hitting him hard on the head.’ So, it […]
Once, a teacher had many disciples. Among them was a foolish disciple. The teacher thought, ‘Every being can learn. I am sure I can make this disciple a learned man.’ One day, the teacher saw a snake and said to the foolish disciple, “Look! This snake looks like a long rope.” The teacher made this
A man once had special powers. He could read footprints. The king was impressed with his powers and made him his minister. One day, the king himself committed a crime. He and his priest stole the public money and hid it in a safe place. People were upset when they found the money missing. There
Once an ascetic found a baby elephant and reared it as his own. The elephant started growing up over the years. The other ascetics were scared of keeping a wild elephant in their premises. The ascetic’s teacher advised him, “As long as the elephant was a baby, it was okay to keep it in the
Once, a king wished for a palace supported on only one column unlike the other palaces that were supported by many columns. The builders spotted a strong sal tree in the royal garden whose trunk could be used as a column. But this tree was a sacred tree and worshipped by people. A spirit lived
Once, an ascetic heard that the holiest people were those who endured sufferings and tortured their bodies. The ascetic decided to test this theory. Thus, he went to live in the darkest of the forests to be away from any human contact. He ate dirt and ashes. In the summer season, he spent his days
A mother placed her baby on a mat and bathed in the river. A demon wanted to eat the baby. He disguised himself as a woman and asked the mother, “Can I take your baby for a stroll?” The mother agreed. But after some time, the mother saw the woman running. She ran after the
Once, there was a king and a queen. One day, they yet saw a beggar woman at the palace gates. Though the beggar woman was in a poor state yet she had a contented smile on her face. The queen noticed this smile and was attracted to the beggar woman. She took some food for
Once, a queen was childless. She prayed for a child and her wish got fulfilled. Once, the prince heard his father giving a harsh punishment to some men. The prince was disturbed, as he did not want to punish anyone. He decided never to become a king. But, he needed a way to avoid being
A dog was very loyal to his master. His master was also very happy with him. But, his master noticed that his dog went away somewhere in the night and came back in the morning all wet. The master decided to follow his dog one night. He discovered that his dog swam across a river
Once, a king was out in his chariot. His chariot was drawn by two white horses with fine leather straps. When he came back, nobody bothered to unfasten the fine leather straps. The king’s royal dogs chewed on the leather straps. The next day, a servant told the king that some stray dogs had chewed
Long ago, a learned Brahmin had a son. The Brahmin sent his son to a hermitage for education. One day, the teacher decided to test the students. He told them, “I am very poor. I need money. The best way to get money is to steal it.” All the students, except the Brahmin’s son, started
An ascetic was a royal guest of a king. He stayed in the royal park and spent time in meditation. Now the king had a son. The son was ill-tempered. The king had called many teachers to reform his son but they had all given up. The king requested the ascetic to help him. One
Once, there were eight siblings. The eldest, a boy, mastered all the religious books and teachings. He became very famous for his profound knowledge. He renounced the world and became an ascetic. His siblings followed his footsteps. They started dwelling in a forest. The ascetics used to eat lotus stalks for food. They became renowned
There were two kings. One was very kind and the other was very cruel. The kind king’s kingdom flourished partly due to his kindness and partly due to the presence of a Naga serpent. The cruel king’s kingdom did not prosper at all. As a result, people starting leaving their kingdom and went to the