Godha Jataka (#141)
The Bodhisatta was once an iguana. His son was friends with a chameleon, and the Bodhisatta told him to stop it because their friendship would eventually bring misery. But he did not listen. Eventually the chameleon came to hate the iguana and led a hunter to their burrow. Anticipating this, the Bodhisatta had made an emergency escape tunnel and survived.
Sigala Jataka (#142)
The Bodhisatta was once jackal. A man laid down in the charnel ground pretending to be dead so he could kill a jackal. The Bodhisatta figured out his intent, and to make him look foolish tugged on his club. The man tightened his grip and the Bodhisatta mocked him.
Virocana Jataka (#143)
The Bodhisatta was once a lion. He had a jackal servant who located animals for the Bodhisatta to hunt, then they shared the meat. One day the jackal wanted to kill an elephant, and when he tried, the elephant crushed him to death.
Nanguttha Jataka (#144)
The Bodhisatta was once a fire god worshipper. Some hunters killed and ate an ox he planned to sacrifice, and he was so disgusted that the god could not look after a special offering, he stopped worshipping it and went off to become an ascetic.
Radha Jataka (#145)
The Bodhisatta was once a parrot. He and his brother lived in the home of a brahmin who treated them like his own children. When the brahmin went away for business, his wicked wife brought many lovers into the house. The Bodhisatta and his brother told the brahmin about it when he returned.
Kaka Jataka (#146)
The Bodhisatta was once a spirit of the sea. A pair of crows swam in the ocean, and a fish ate the female. Many crows attempted to save her by draining the sea with their beaks. The Bodhisatta made a ghost appear out of the ocean to frighten them away.
Puppharatta Jataka (#147)
The Bodhisatta was once a spirit of the air. A poor woman wanted to wear special clothes to a festival, and she convinced her husband to break into the royal park to steal some safflower for dyeing them. He was caught and killed. The Bodhisatta saw all this happen.
Sigala Jataka (#148)
The Bodhisatta was once a jackal. He came upon a dead elephant and climbed inside to eat, staying for many days until all the meat was gone. His entrance hole had shrunk, and when he squeezed his way out, all his fur got scraped off. Because of this, he renounced greed.
Ekapanna Jataka (#149)
The Bodhisatta was once an ascetic. He told a wicked young prince to taste a leaf from a seedling. It was poisonous but mild because it was a small plant. When the tree grew, it would become deadly, so the prince pulled it out of the ground. The Bodhisatta said the prince was like the tree, and the people of the kingdom would never allow someone with an attitude like his to become king. The prince understood the lesson and changed his ways.
Sanjiva Jataka (#150)
The Bodhisatta was once a teacher. He taught one of his students a spell for raising the dead; and when he used it on a tiger, it rose up and killed him. The Bodhisatta explained to his other students that you bring misfortune on yourself when you help the wicked.
Rajovada Jataka (#151)
The Bodhisatta was once a king. One day as he rode through his kingdom, his carriage and that of another king met on a section of road too narrow for them to pass. The kings were of equal age and power, so the drivers compared virtues. The other king did good to good people and bad to bad people, while the Bodhisatta bestowed good to everybody and was thus the superior.
Sigala Jataka (#152)
The Bodhisatta was once a lion. A jackal, who lived in a crystal cave, fell in love with the Bodhisatta’s sister, which disgusted her. One by one the Bodhisatta’s brothers went to kill the jackal. Because they thought he was floating in the sky (the crystal was transparent), they leaped at him and died when they hit the wall. The Bodhisatta, on the other hand, roared so loudly that the jackal died of fear.
Sukara Jataka (#153)
The Bodhisatta was once a lion. One day he saw a boar, and since he wasn’t hungry, he planned to come back and eat him another day. He tried to sneak away, but the boar saw him. Thinking the Bodhisatta was afraid, the boar challenged him to a fight, and the Bodhisatta said he would come back in a week. To avoid the fight, the boar covered himself in feces. When the Bodhisatta returned, he chose not to eat the boar because of the filth.
Uraga Jataka (#154)
The Bodhisatta was once an ascetic. A garuda gave chase to a naga who tried to hide by turning himself into a jewel and attaching himself to the Bodhisatta’s clothes. Out of reverence, the garuda did not attack, and the Bodhisatta sat the two together to preach about loving-kindness. They later lived in harmony.
Gagga Jataka (#155)
The Bodhisatta was once a brahmin’s son. One night he and his father had to sleep in a haunted building where a goblin ate anyone who failed to give a blessing after a sneeze. The Bodhisatta convinced the goblin to give up his evil ways.
Alinacitta Jataka (#156)
The Bodhisatta was once a king. His father died shortly before he was born; and in the disarray following the death, a rival king invaded. His father’s beloved state elephant, who was kind and generous to all, single-handedly defeated the enemy and protected the baby Bodhisatta until he was crowned king at age seven.
Guna Jataka (#157)
The Bodhisatta was once a lion. One day while out hunting, he got stuck in mud, and a jackal helped dig him out. They became good friends, but the Bodhisatta’s wife grew jealous and threatened the jackal’s wife to make them leave. Only then did the Bodhisatta tell his wife why they became friends, and the two families lived happily together again.
Suhanu Jataka (#158)
The Bodhisatta was once a king’s advisor. When some horse dealers came to town, the greedy king released a savage horse of his to attack and injure their horses, then he demanded reduced prices. The Bodhisatta told the dealers to bring a similar horse next time. Then the king’s savage horse went right to theirs, and the two horses were friendly because they were alike.
Mora Jataka (#159)
The Bodhisatta was once a golden peacock. He lived deep in the Himalayas, and many hunters tried to catch him for their kings who believed that eating a golden peacock would make them immortal. But because he chanted spells every day, the Bodhisatta was protected. One day a clever hunter brought a peahen to the Bodhisatta’s home, making him feel lust and lose his protection, thus getting caught in a snare. The Bodhisatta told the king he would not become immortal and convinced him to live righteously.
Vinilaka Jataka (#160)
The Bodhisatta was once a king. A goose had two goose sons and one half-crow, half-goose son. The geese carried the half-crow on a stick between their beaks. When he saw the Bodhisatta in his carriage, the half-crow commented that he was like the king and his half brothers like the horses. This insulting air of superiority angered the three geese.
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