Jesika's Blog

How The Antelope Was Caught      This story was about how this antelope kept wandering through the gardens of the King. The King asked its gardener to capture it. The gardener told the King he needed honey in order to catch it, which he was granted by the King. Very carefully and slowly, the gardener was able to gain the antelope's trust. He put some honey grass and sprinkled it on the ground leading to the castle. The clueless antelope followed the trail and into the castle. They closed the doors behind the animal and instantly it freaked out. The King said how the taste of lust could blind side even an animal. In the end, he let the antelope go back into the forest.      I liked the end of this story and how the King let the animal go instead of killing it or holding it captive. Also, I thought the message of this story was clear and nicely portrayed. Giving into greed could lead to trouble. I could change the setting of this story and use other charac...

The Faithful Friend There was an elephant and a dog who became great friends. Everyday they would eat together and just hang out. One day a peasant wanted to pay the elephant keeper for the dog. The elephant keeper didn't care for the dog, so he took the money. The elephant became depressed after losing his friend and wouldn't eat for several days. They told the king about the situation. He made an announcement to his people that whoever took the dog would be fined.  The man who took the dog turned the dog loose. After, the dog and elephant were reunited and lived happily.  King honored the Bodisat for knowing how the animals felt.  The elephant and dog hanging out. (Source: Wikimedia Commons ) The Monkey That Saved The Herd A buddha was reborn as the King of the monkeys. They lived in a forest near a lake.  An ogre lived at the lake and would eat any animal that would go down to the lake. The King of the monkeys told his people not to drink or ...

The Man Who Worked to Give Alms There was a buddha born as merchant named Vissaya He loved to give back to the community and help people who needed food or anything.  He set up charities all over the city and at his own house. Sakka, the King of the gods, got kind of jealous and worried that he might be replaced by this merchant. Sakka made all the merchants stuff disappear including his charities. As people came to the merchant asking for help, the merchant realized his stuff was gone except a mower. He would mow the grass and tried to use that to give back to his charities. Merchant eventually grew weak, and Sakka asked him why he kept giving alms. Merchant replied that he didn't want to replace him or become a brahma, and just wanted to help. Sakka eventually gave the merchant's wealth back. I think I could rewrite this story in a more modern way in where someone misjudges the others' intentions.  The act of giving alms. (Source: Wikimedia Commons ) Bi...