Reading Notes: More Jatakas Anthology

This week, I read more stories from the Jatakas Anthology. While they were all interesting in their own right, three stood out in particular.

First is The Hawk and The Osprey. This is an interesting story because it involves the animals all working together, but there is no real peril for any character near the end. The hawk goes through different friends to protect himself, and the humans take three times to eventually relent. The interesting way the story is told is in repetition and the patterns used in order to show the cycle the hawk goes through to protect their kin.

Next there was The Grateful Beasts and the Ungrateful Prince. The most interesting part of this story is the Hermit's role in the story. It seems set up for the Prince to be the main character, and I was under the impression that he would experience some kind of lesson. However, the Hermit is the main one. The other interesting part of the story is that the snake, parrot, and rat all are willing to meet their obligations they previously made.

Finally, there was The Golden Goose. This story was interesting because it followed exactly as I would guess. The mother eventually becomes greedy, and the daughters resist. However, as expected, there is some form of karma where the goose leaves them for poverty. Interestingly enough, there is the question of justice in whether or not the daughters deserve to be thrown back into poverty or not.

Buddha with Jatakas Tales, Source: Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography (links included above):
Ellen C. Babbitt, The Golden Goose
Shedlock, The Hawk and The Osprey
W.H.D Rouse, The Grateful Beasts and the Ungrateful Prince

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