Buddha Stories for All

MORAL Wisdom, Leadership, Gratitude READABILITY Advanced INTRODUCTION To avoid being hunted, a deer in a royal park decides to send victims daily, one by one. When a pregnant doe falls victim, th e king of the deer saves not only his own life, but also the lives of all living creatures.

MORAL Wisdom, Leadership, Gratitude READABILITY Intermediate I INTRODUCTION How is the giant saved by the dwarf in the face of danger?

MORAL  Unconditional giving and loving-kindness; Ingratitude READABILITY  Intermediate II INTRODUCTION The story of a good elephant and an ungrateful man REFLECTION In this story, we see how an evil man was not grateful to the elephant who saved his life. What caused the man to be ungrateful? It was because of his greed to get the elephant’s valuable tusks.

MORAL  The power of gratitude, duty and valor READABILITY  Advanced REFLECTION In this story, we can see the value of gratitude. The elephant repaid his kindness by rendering various services to the carpenters who healed his foot and saved his life. Even when the elephant was getting old, it brought his son, the pure white elephant to the carpenter as replacement.

MORAL  Ingrates lose good friendships READABILITY  Intermediate II INTRODUCTION A woodpecker extracts a bone from the throat of a lion, who, afterwards, refuses to help the bird. REFLECTION “ These two people are hard to find in the world. Which two? The one who is first to do a kindness, and the one who is grateful for the kindness done and feels obligated to repay it.” — Aṅguttara-nikāya 2:120