Beautiful Moral Stories-Bodh Katha

[dr.nutanpol]

I would like to share some stories which I came across while reading.


1)  Law of Nature-


  There was once a king who was so cruel and unjust that his subjects yearned for his death or dethronement.

However, one day he surprised them all by announcing that he had decided to turn over a new leaf.

“No more cruelty, no more injustice,” he promised, and he was as good as his word. He became known as the ‘Gentle Monarch’.

Months after his transformation one of his ministers plucked up enough courage to ask him what had brought about his change of heart, and the king answered:

“As I was galloping through my forests I caught sight of a fox being chased by a hound. The fox escaped into his hole but not before the hound had bitten into its leg and lamed it for life. Later I rode into a village and saw the same hound there. It was barking at a man. Even as I watched, the man picked up a huge stone and flung it at the dog, breaking its leg. The man had not gone far when he was kicked by a horse. His knee was shattered and he fell to the ground, disabled for life. The horse began to run but it fell into a hole and broke its leg.

   Reflecting on all that had happened, I thought: ‘Evil begets evil. If I continue in my evil ways, I will surely be overtaken by evil’. So I decided to change”.

The minister went away convinced that the time was ripe to overthrow the king and seize the throne. Immersed in thought, he did not see the steps in front of him and fell, breaking his neck.

— Based on a story in the ‘Tales of Bidpai’, an Arabic version of the Panchatantra.

[dr.nutanpol]

 Story of 4 Dolls-

A sage presented a prince with a set of three small dolls. The prince was not amused.
"Am I a girl that you give me dolls?" he asked.

"This is a gift for a future king," said the man. "If you look carefully, you'll see a hole in the ear of each doll."

"So?"

The sage handed him a piece of string.

"Pass it through each doll," he said.

Intrigued, the prince picked up the first doll and put the string into the ear.
It came out from the other ear.

"This is one type of person," said the man. "Whatever you tell him, comes out from the other ear. He doesn't retain anything."

The prince put the string into the second doll. It came out from the mouth.

"This is the second type of person," said the man. "Whatever you tell him, he tells everybody else."

The prince picked up the third doll and repeated the process. The string did not reappear from anywhere else.

"This is the third type of person," said the man. "Whatever you tell him is locked up within him. It never comes out."

"What is the best type of person?" asked the prince.

The man handed him a fourth doll, in answer.

When the prince put the string into the doll, it came out from the other ear.

"Do it again," said the sage. The prince repeated the process. This time the string came out from the mouth. When he put the string in a third time, it did not come out at all.

"This is the best type of person," said the sage. "To be trustworthy, a man must know when not to listen, when to remain silent and when to speak out."