The Equals
When Brahma-dutt ruled Banaras, Bodhisatva was born as a lion. The lion used to dwell in a cave with his mate. One day, he stood on top of the hill and looked round for some prey. He saw some hares and deers frisking and playing in a meadow by the side of a pond. The lion gave a roar and ran down the hill towards the meadow. But as he ran past the pond he got stuck in a mire and the creatures playing on the meadow scattered away.
Every time the lion made an effort to get out of the mire he got deeper into it. So he kept quiet, anxiously hoping that someone would come there and rescue him. For a whole week the lion was in that mire without food and water when he saw a jackal come to the pond to drink water.
The jackal too saw the …show more content…
“Let us be equals and live together. Come and live with me in my cave.” The jackal agreed, and came with his mate to live with the lions in their cave. He was flattered by the idea of being equal with the lions but he knew very well of the handicap involved I living away from his own race.
The lion too was conscious of the fact that his friend made a great sacrifice in coming to live with him. So he treated the jackal as his equal in every respect and behaved so carefully that the jackal never felt that he was living with his superiors. But the lion’s mate had no scruples. She looked upon the jackal’s mate as her social inferior. Nor did the fox’s mate resent it, since she accepted her inferiority.
But the trouble started with the coming of next generation of lions and jackals. The young ones played with one another as if there was no difference between them, and the lion’s mate did not like it at all. She called her young aside and said to them, “Look, kids! Those foxes are our inferiors. Do not let them play with you as though they are your equals. Let them keep their distance. Do you understand? …show more content…
The jackal told him everything. The lion asked his mate, “Is it true that you look down upon the young jackals?”
“Why not?” she retorted. “I certainly resent the idea of the young jackals playing with our young as though they were our equals. That jackal has successfully doped you into thinking that he is your equal, but I am going to prevent my kid’s minds from being poised that way.”
“Is that so?” said the lion. “Well, let me inform you how the jackal happened to dope me. Do you remember that I did not come home for a whole week? Well, at that time I was stuck up in a bog without food or water. Just as I was about to die this jackal came along and got me out very cleverly. Had it not been for him I wouldn’t have been here, nor the kids. To claim superiority over the one who saved you from death is a great crime. Insulting him is insulting your own kith and kin. ”
On hearing this the lion’s mate was so very ashamed of herself that she begged the jackal’s mate to pardon her. After that the lions and the jackals lived like equals for seven
When Brahma-dutt ruled Banaras, Bodhisatva was born as a lion. The lion used to dwell in a cave with his mate. One day, he stood on top of the hill and looked round for some prey. He saw some hares and deers frisking and playing in a meadow by the side of a pond. The lion gave a roar and ran down the hill towards the meadow. But as he ran past the pond he got stuck in a mire and the creatures playing on the meadow scattered away.
Every time the lion made an effort to get out of the mire he got deeper into it. So he kept quiet, anxiously hoping that someone would come there and rescue him. For a whole week the lion was in that mire without food and water when he saw a jackal come to the pond to drink water.
The jackal too saw the …show more content…
“Let us be equals and live together. Come and live with me in my cave.” The jackal agreed, and came with his mate to live with the lions in their cave. He was flattered by the idea of being equal with the lions but he knew very well of the handicap involved I living away from his own race.
The lion too was conscious of the fact that his friend made a great sacrifice in coming to live with him. So he treated the jackal as his equal in every respect and behaved so carefully that the jackal never felt that he was living with his superiors. But the lion’s mate had no scruples. She looked upon the jackal’s mate as her social inferior. Nor did the fox’s mate resent it, since she accepted her inferiority.
But the trouble started with the coming of next generation of lions and jackals. The young ones played with one another as if there was no difference between them, and the lion’s mate did not like it at all. She called her young aside and said to them, “Look, kids! Those foxes are our inferiors. Do not let them play with you as though they are your equals. Let them keep their distance. Do you understand? …show more content…
The jackal told him everything. The lion asked his mate, “Is it true that you look down upon the young jackals?”
“Why not?” she retorted. “I certainly resent the idea of the young jackals playing with our young as though they were our equals. That jackal has successfully doped you into thinking that he is your equal, but I am going to prevent my kid’s minds from being poised that way.”
“Is that so?” said the lion. “Well, let me inform you how the jackal happened to dope me. Do you remember that I did not come home for a whole week? Well, at that time I was stuck up in a bog without food or water. Just as I was about to die this jackal came along and got me out very cleverly. Had it not been for him I wouldn’t have been here, nor the kids. To claim superiority over the one who saved you from death is a great crime. Insulting him is insulting your own kith and kin. ”
On hearing this the lion’s mate was so very ashamed of herself that she begged the jackal’s mate to pardon her. After that the lions and the jackals lived like equals for seven