The Hare's Self-Sacrifice

Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in
Benares, the Bodhisatta came to life as a young hare and
lived in a wood. On one side of this wood was the foot of
a mountain, on another side a river, and on the third side
a border-village. The hare had three friends a monkey,
a jackal and an otter. These four wise creatures lived
together and each of them got his food on his own
hunting- ground, and in the evening they again came
together. The hare in his wisdom by way of admonition
preached the Truth to his three companions, teaching
that alms are to be given, the moral law to be observed,
and holy days to be kept. They accepted his admonition
and went each to his own part of the jungle and dwelt
there.

And so in the course of time the Bodhisatta one day
observing the sky, and looking at the moon knew that
the next day would be a fast-day, and addressing his three
companions he said, "To-morrow is a fast-day. Let all
three of you take upon you the moral precepts, and
observe the holy day. To one that stands fast in moral
practice, almsgiving brings a great reward. Therefore
feed any beggars that come to you by giving them food
from your own table." They readily assented, and abode
each in his own place of dwelling.

On the morrow quite early in the morning, the otter
sallied forth to seek his prey and went down to the bank
of the Ganges. Now it came to pass that a fisherman had
landed seven red fish, and stringing them together on a
withe, he had taken and buried them in the sand on
the river's bank. And then he dropped down the stream,
catching more fish. The otter scenting the buried fish, dug
up the sand till he came upon them, and pulling them
out cried thrice, "Does anyone own these fish?" And
not seeing any owner he took hold of the withe with his
teeth and laid the fish in the jungle where he dwelt,
intending to eat them at a fitting time. And then he lay
down, thinking how virtuous he was ! The jackal too
sallied forth in quest of food and found in the hut of a
field-watcher two spits, a lizard and a pot of milk-curd.
And after thrice crying aloud, " To whom do these belong?"
and not finding an owner, he put on his neck the rope for
lifting the pot, and grasping the spits and the lizard with
his teeth, he brought and laid them in his own lair, think-
ing, " In due season I will devour them," and so lay down,
reflecting how virtuous he had been.

The monkey also entered the clump of trees, and
gathering a bunch of mangoes laid them up in his part of
the jungle, meaning to eat them in due season, and then
lay down, thinking how virtuous he was. But the Bodhi-
satta in due time came out, intending to browse on the
kusa-grass, and as he lay in the jungle, the thought
occurred to him, "It is impossible for me to offer grass
to any beggars that may chance to appear, and I have no
sesame, rice, and such like. If any beggar shall appeal to
me, I shall have to give him my own flesh to eat." At this
splendid display of virtue, Sakka's white marble throne
manifested signs of heat. Sakka on reflection discovered
the cause and resolved to put this royal hare to the test.
First of all he w r ent and stood by the otter's dwelling-place,
disguised as a brahmin, and being asked why he stood
there, he replied, "Wise Sir, if I could get something
to eat, after keeping the fast, I would perform all my
ascetic duties." The otter replied, " Very well, I will give
you some food," and as he conversed with him he repeated
the first stanza :

Seven red fish I safely brought to land from Ganges flood,
brahmin, eat thy fill, I pray, and stay within this wood.

The brahmin said, "Let be till to-morrow. I will see
to it by and by." Next he went to the jackal, and when
asked by him why he stood there, he made the same
answer. The jackal, too, readily promised him some
food, and in talking with him repeated the second
stanza :

A lizard aud a jar of curds, the keeper's evening' meal,

Two spits of roasted flesh withal I wrongfully did steal:

Such as I have I give to thee: brahmin, eat, I pray,

If thou shouldst deign within this wood a while with us to stay.

Said the brahmin, "Let be till to-morrow. I will see
to it by and by." Then he went to the monkey, and
when asked what he meant by standing there, he answered
just as before. The monkey readily offered him some food,
and in conversing with him gave utterance to the third
stanza :

An icy stream, a mango ripe, and pleasant greenwood shade,
'Tis thine to enjoy, if thou canst dwell content in forest glade.

Said the brahmin, "Let be till to-morrow. I will see
to it by and by." And he went to the wise hare, and on
being asked by him why he stood there, he made the
same reply. The Bodhisatta on hearing what he wanted
was highly delighted, and said, " Brahmin, you have done
well in coming to me for food. This day will I grant you
a boon that I have never granted before, but you shall
not break the moral law by taking animal life. Go, friend,
and when you have piled together logs of wood, and
kindled a fire, come and let me know, and I will sacrifice
myself by falling into the midst of the flames, and when
my body is roasted, you shall eat my flesh and fulfil all
your ascetic duties." And in thus addressing him the hare
uttered the fourth stanza :

Nor sesame, nor beans, nor rice have I as food to give,

But roast with fire my flesh I yield, if thou with us wouldst live.

Sakka, on hearing what he said, by his miraculous
power caused a heap of burning coals to appear, and
came and told the Bodhisatta. Rising from his bed of
kusa-grass and coming to the place, he thrice shook him-
self that if there were any insects within his coat, they
might escape death. Then offering his whole body as a
free gift he sprang up, and like a royal swan, alighting on
a cluster of lotuses, in an ecstasy of joy he fell on the heap
of live coals. But the flame failed even to heat the pores
of the hair on the body of the Bodhisatta, and it was as
if he had entered a region of frost. Then he addressed
Sakka in these words : " Brahmin, the fire you have
kindled is icy-cold : it fails to heat even the pores of the
hair on my body. What is the meaning of this ? " " Wise
Sir," he replied, " I am no brahmin. I am Sakka, and
I have come to put your virtue to the test." The Bodhi-
satta said, " If not only thou, Sakka, but all the inhabitants
of the world were to try me in this matter of almsgiving,
they would not find in me any unwillingness to give," and
with this the Bodhisatta uttered a cry of exultation like
a lion roaring. Then said Sakka to the Bodhisatta,
"O wise hare, be thy virtue known throughout a whole
seon." And squeezing the mountain, with the essence thus
extracted, he daubed the sign of a hare on the orb of the
moon. And after depositing the hare on a bed of young
kusa-grass, in the same w r ooded part of the jungle, Sakka
returned to his own place in heaven. And these four wise
creatures dwelt happily and harmoniously together, ful-
filling the moral law and observing holy days, till they
departed to fare according to their deeds.