Reading Notes: Francis and Thomas Jataka Tales, Part B
For the first half of this week's reading, I chose to categorize each of the short Jataka tales into The Shapes of Stories. While this was fun, I think there are quite a few tales so short or even so different as to not fit precisely into a specific story "shape." So, for this reading I am going to focus on my favorites and why I enjoyed them.
The Stupid Monkeys
This story reminded me so much of the children's book series featuring Amelia Bedelia, a woman whose good intentions always led her astray. I loved that series, and read them as a kid quite often. One of my favorite stories was when she decided to boil and salt the potatoes before planting them in the garden, so that they would be ready to eat when they finished growing. This story talks about practicality and foolishness in much the same way, using foolish monkeys so concerned with saving water they uproot each plant to check the root size before watering. I also think that the monkeys are more concerned with obeying their monkey king that none of them stop to consider the logic of their actions.
Great King Goodness
"Stay the course" is probably the most salient takeaway from this story. The patience of a good and upstanding king (who is of course the Bodhisatta, dedicated to upholding the principles of goodness and avoiding bloodshed, anger, or strife towards all). Perseverance is lauded as possibly the greatest of all virtues in this story, and there almost seems to be a promise implied: Goodness will be rewarded in the end. I admire that his principles of non-violence carry him through near-certain doom, but I am also a little worried by the idea of such dedication. I doubt I would be able to maintain that calmness should those I love be threatened.
The Brahmin's Spell
I did not like this story initially, but after re-reading I found that there was more to it than a simple condemnation of women. I think this story is actually talking about human nature, and the possibility of mischief inherent within all sentient beings. To sum up: a woman, raised her entire life from birth solely in the room and house of the Brahmin, is the good luck charm he invokes each time he plays dice with the king. He always wins, right up until her "goodness" is swiped out from under his nose by a scoundrel employed by the king. The story ends with each man agreeing to the wickedness of women. What I found quite interesting is that in order to achieve a "perfect, virtuous woman," the Brahmin raises this girl from birth in seclusion (a completely isolated existence), and by keeping her so separate achieves basically a god status. The rueful men recounting the awful nature of women could just as easily be seen as a creator mourning the sinful nature of his subjects. That was interesting.
The Grateful Animals
A spoiled king's son and three different animals are all rescued by a kindly hermit (Bodhisatta, of course). While the animals are grateful, and offer all they have to give, the king's son takes offense that he was not attended to before the animals. This is a story that rewards the reader; the king's son gets his comeuppance, and the animals are able to assist the Bodhisatta in turn. I think this is very much in line with a random act of kindness scenario, and this was one of my favorites of all the reading for this half.
Bibleography
Jataka Tales, H.T. Francis and E.J. Thomas
The Stupid Monkeys
This story reminded me so much of the children's book series featuring Amelia Bedelia, a woman whose good intentions always led her astray. I loved that series, and read them as a kid quite often. One of my favorite stories was when she decided to boil and salt the potatoes before planting them in the garden, so that they would be ready to eat when they finished growing. This story talks about practicality and foolishness in much the same way, using foolish monkeys so concerned with saving water they uproot each plant to check the root size before watering. I also think that the monkeys are more concerned with obeying their monkey king that none of them stop to consider the logic of their actions.
Great King Goodness
"Stay the course" is probably the most salient takeaway from this story. The patience of a good and upstanding king (who is of course the Bodhisatta, dedicated to upholding the principles of goodness and avoiding bloodshed, anger, or strife towards all). Perseverance is lauded as possibly the greatest of all virtues in this story, and there almost seems to be a promise implied: Goodness will be rewarded in the end. I admire that his principles of non-violence carry him through near-certain doom, but I am also a little worried by the idea of such dedication. I doubt I would be able to maintain that calmness should those I love be threatened.
The Brahmin's Spell
I did not like this story initially, but after re-reading I found that there was more to it than a simple condemnation of women. I think this story is actually talking about human nature, and the possibility of mischief inherent within all sentient beings. To sum up: a woman, raised her entire life from birth solely in the room and house of the Brahmin, is the good luck charm he invokes each time he plays dice with the king. He always wins, right up until her "goodness" is swiped out from under his nose by a scoundrel employed by the king. The story ends with each man agreeing to the wickedness of women. What I found quite interesting is that in order to achieve a "perfect, virtuous woman," the Brahmin raises this girl from birth in seclusion (a completely isolated existence), and by keeping her so separate achieves basically a god status. The rueful men recounting the awful nature of women could just as easily be seen as a creator mourning the sinful nature of his subjects. That was interesting.
The Grateful Animals
A spoiled king's son and three different animals are all rescued by a kindly hermit (Bodhisatta, of course). While the animals are grateful, and offer all they have to give, the king's son takes offense that he was not attended to before the animals. This is a story that rewards the reader; the king's son gets his comeuppance, and the animals are able to assist the Bodhisatta in turn. I think this is very much in line with a random act of kindness scenario, and this was one of my favorites of all the reading for this half.
"Come Back, Amelia Bedelia" - Peggy Parish
Web Source: Scholastic
Bibleography
Jataka Tales, H.T. Francis and E.J. Thomas
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