Reading Notes: Francis and Thomas Jataka Tales, Part A
I've decided this week to use The Shapes of Stories, as described by Kurt Vonnegut, to classify each of the Jataka readings. I chose the Francis and Thomas Jataka Tales because I wanted to continue comparing each of the ancient Hindu stories with those of other cultures (it's insane how many of them are similar, or even spring from the same source), and their collection contains more than each of the others, giving me several weeks worth of reading.
The Little Guildmaster
This is a delightful tale of pulling one up by one's bootstraps. Shrewd, skillful business and trade is used by the little guildmaster, beginning with a mouse and ending with a fortune and a family. I'm pretty sure I've read other stories along the same lines, but this is always a fun story concept. This falls strongly under the "Creation Story" shape (life quality very poor initially but steadily increasing, and ending with near maximal quality).
The King and the Stick-Gatherer
The king of Benares Brahmadatta has an illegitimate child with a peasant woman, and leaves his signet ring with her on the condition that she return it and the child to him should she bear a male. The boy, who is of course the Bodhisatta reborn, is spurned by the king when the woman brings him back, but his holiness allows him to prove his heritage when the woman protests. If pressed, I would have to say this falls within the "Man in Hole" category. The woman (and her son) have a happy life, until the king refuses to acknowledge his offspring. All is made well in the end.
King Makhadeva's Grey Hairs
A tale of the terrors of aging! I simply have to quote part of this story.
"Lo, these grey hairs that on my head appear
Are Death's own messengers that come to rob
My life. 'Tis time I turned from worldly things,
And in the hermit's path sought saving peace."
I think everyone who reaches about age 25 realizes that they are now mortal. We all sort of waltz through the early ears and take everything for granted, right up until our metabolism slows, our heartburn begins, and our hangovers triple in magnitude. This story also passes for a "Man in Hole" scenario, as his mid-life crisis (the low point of the story) comes full circle with coming to terms with his aging, and actually achieving the Four Perfect States (and eventual rebirth as king again).
The Cold Half of the Month
This actually seems like more of a riddle, as a lion and tiger argue over whether the light or the dark half of the month is colder. The Bodhisatta settles their argument with the statement that the wind, not the light or its absence, is what brings the cold. This was too short of a story to give a proper shape classification.
The Feast for the Dead
I first leapt to the conclusion that the goat was a trickster, and chose to change his doomed fate by arguing that his execution would lead only to pain for his executioner. However, the ending argument by the Bodhisatta (quoted below), speaks more to the cautionary tale mentality espoused by religiously motivated stories.
"If folk but knew the truth that their existence
Is pain, then living things would cease
From taking life. Stern is the slayer's doom."
I was also reminded of The Princess Bride, when Wesley angrily informs the princess that "Life IS pain!" I would give this story a hesitant "New Testament" classification, using the goat as the protagonist.
The Monkeys and the Ogre
The Bodhisatta is represented in this story as King of the Monkeys, a troop 80,000 strong. This works as a bit of an origin story, explaining why all the reeds are hollow around a particular lake. I feel as though this is strongly related to the monkey and the lotus story I read way back in the beginning of this class, in our first round of Jataka tales. This story doesn't seem to have much in the way of classification, as no real trouble threatens the Bodhisatta. I would say this falls under general parable status.
The Guilty Dogs
The Bodhisatta, a dog in this story, addresses cultural discrimination by arguing that those punished for a random act committed by one of their kind are not guilty of the sins of a species. I wonder how much of this is relevant to the caste system history in India. This is a good story, and I would definitely say "Man in Hole" scenario applies here.
The Discontented Ox
This is a fantastic parable which tackles the idea of greener grass existing on the other side. Two oxen on a farm watch a neighboring pig being fed beautiful meals and pampered luxuriously, only to realize that the pig's life was fast approaching its end. After the farmer and his family eat the pig, both of the oxen reflect on their place in life and are grateful to enjoy their meager grass, straw and chaff. This is the first of these tales for this week to fall under the "Which Way is Up" category.
The Peacock's Wooing
Extreme joy carries a peacock from a glorious wedding into shame, as he dances too hard and exposes himself (that's actually what it says). Perhaps the moral of this story is to be humble when life deals you the right cards, and not to take too much pleasure in gloating. I think there needs to be another addition to the existing system of Shapes of Stories, where the protagonist begins low, gets to a very high (near maximal) point, and then is brought crashing back to where he started. I dub this the "I Touched Greatness" story shape.
The Fowler and the Quails
Teamwork, cooperation, and planning are the three mainstays within this story, but all of these are for nothing when bickering disrupts the quail revolt against the fowler. This would fall under the "From Bad to Worse" scenario, as the fowler eventually catches (and eats) them all.
The Oldest of the Animals
A partridge, monkey, and elephant argue over who is oldest under the shade of a banyan tree. The partridge wins the argument by explaining that he pooped out the seed which sprouted into the tree, as neither of the others recalls a time when the tree did not exist. First mention of pooping I've seen yet. This would probably be a "Which Way Is Up" scenario, as there is no real trouble or danger present for any of them.
The Haughty Slave
I was a little confused at first, but I think this is a story about deduction and pride. A slave, trusted with the knowledge of where his master's treasure is buried, refuses to relate the location of the treasure once the master's son has actually ventured out to the area. The Bodhisatta explains to the frustrated son (who is old enough to claim his dead father's treasure now) that the slave gets greedy when they get close to the spot where it is buried. I was a little weirded out by the ending, which had a bit of a "we took excellent care of our slaves, thank you very much" feel to it. Not my favorite, and I'd classify this as yet another "Man in Hole" scenario.
Bibleography
Jataka Tales, H.T. Francis and E.J. Thomas
Web Source: The Shapes of Stories
The Little Guildmaster
This is a delightful tale of pulling one up by one's bootstraps. Shrewd, skillful business and trade is used by the little guildmaster, beginning with a mouse and ending with a fortune and a family. I'm pretty sure I've read other stories along the same lines, but this is always a fun story concept. This falls strongly under the "Creation Story" shape (life quality very poor initially but steadily increasing, and ending with near maximal quality).
The King and the Stick-Gatherer
The king of Benares Brahmadatta has an illegitimate child with a peasant woman, and leaves his signet ring with her on the condition that she return it and the child to him should she bear a male. The boy, who is of course the Bodhisatta reborn, is spurned by the king when the woman brings him back, but his holiness allows him to prove his heritage when the woman protests. If pressed, I would have to say this falls within the "Man in Hole" category. The woman (and her son) have a happy life, until the king refuses to acknowledge his offspring. All is made well in the end.
King Makhadeva's Grey Hairs
A tale of the terrors of aging! I simply have to quote part of this story.
"Lo, these grey hairs that on my head appear
Are Death's own messengers that come to rob
My life. 'Tis time I turned from worldly things,
And in the hermit's path sought saving peace."
I think everyone who reaches about age 25 realizes that they are now mortal. We all sort of waltz through the early ears and take everything for granted, right up until our metabolism slows, our heartburn begins, and our hangovers triple in magnitude. This story also passes for a "Man in Hole" scenario, as his mid-life crisis (the low point of the story) comes full circle with coming to terms with his aging, and actually achieving the Four Perfect States (and eventual rebirth as king again).
The Cold Half of the Month
This actually seems like more of a riddle, as a lion and tiger argue over whether the light or the dark half of the month is colder. The Bodhisatta settles their argument with the statement that the wind, not the light or its absence, is what brings the cold. This was too short of a story to give a proper shape classification.
The Feast for the Dead
I first leapt to the conclusion that the goat was a trickster, and chose to change his doomed fate by arguing that his execution would lead only to pain for his executioner. However, the ending argument by the Bodhisatta (quoted below), speaks more to the cautionary tale mentality espoused by religiously motivated stories.
"If folk but knew the truth that their existence
Is pain, then living things would cease
From taking life. Stern is the slayer's doom."
I was also reminded of The Princess Bride, when Wesley angrily informs the princess that "Life IS pain!" I would give this story a hesitant "New Testament" classification, using the goat as the protagonist.
The Monkeys and the Ogre
The Bodhisatta is represented in this story as King of the Monkeys, a troop 80,000 strong. This works as a bit of an origin story, explaining why all the reeds are hollow around a particular lake. I feel as though this is strongly related to the monkey and the lotus story I read way back in the beginning of this class, in our first round of Jataka tales. This story doesn't seem to have much in the way of classification, as no real trouble threatens the Bodhisatta. I would say this falls under general parable status.
The Guilty Dogs
The Bodhisatta, a dog in this story, addresses cultural discrimination by arguing that those punished for a random act committed by one of their kind are not guilty of the sins of a species. I wonder how much of this is relevant to the caste system history in India. This is a good story, and I would definitely say "Man in Hole" scenario applies here.
The Discontented Ox
This is a fantastic parable which tackles the idea of greener grass existing on the other side. Two oxen on a farm watch a neighboring pig being fed beautiful meals and pampered luxuriously, only to realize that the pig's life was fast approaching its end. After the farmer and his family eat the pig, both of the oxen reflect on their place in life and are grateful to enjoy their meager grass, straw and chaff. This is the first of these tales for this week to fall under the "Which Way is Up" category.
The Peacock's Wooing
Extreme joy carries a peacock from a glorious wedding into shame, as he dances too hard and exposes himself (that's actually what it says). Perhaps the moral of this story is to be humble when life deals you the right cards, and not to take too much pleasure in gloating. I think there needs to be another addition to the existing system of Shapes of Stories, where the protagonist begins low, gets to a very high (near maximal) point, and then is brought crashing back to where he started. I dub this the "I Touched Greatness" story shape.
The Fowler and the Quails
Teamwork, cooperation, and planning are the three mainstays within this story, but all of these are for nothing when bickering disrupts the quail revolt against the fowler. This would fall under the "From Bad to Worse" scenario, as the fowler eventually catches (and eats) them all.
The Oldest of the Animals
A partridge, monkey, and elephant argue over who is oldest under the shade of a banyan tree. The partridge wins the argument by explaining that he pooped out the seed which sprouted into the tree, as neither of the others recalls a time when the tree did not exist. First mention of pooping I've seen yet. This would probably be a "Which Way Is Up" scenario, as there is no real trouble or danger present for any of them.
The Haughty Slave
I was a little confused at first, but I think this is a story about deduction and pride. A slave, trusted with the knowledge of where his master's treasure is buried, refuses to relate the location of the treasure once the master's son has actually ventured out to the area. The Bodhisatta explains to the frustrated son (who is old enough to claim his dead father's treasure now) that the slave gets greedy when they get close to the spot where it is buried. I was a little weirded out by the ending, which had a bit of a "we took excellent care of our slaves, thank you very much" feel to it. Not my favorite, and I'd classify this as yet another "Man in Hole" scenario.
Bibleography
Jataka Tales, H.T. Francis and E.J. Thomas
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