Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Reading Notes: Part B of Shedlock's Eastern Stories and Legends

Another book cover
(source: amazon)

It is still very assuming to me that every single one of these stories starts with Buddha. At the beginning, it always addresses that Buddha is in the form of an animal which becomes very clear to the reader that such animal is going to have some sort of good fortune.

The horse that held out to the end showed one of great bravery. There was a lot of violence in this story but it did not give the horse any misdirection. Instead, there was definitely a sense of confidence and perseverance that the horse would indeed make it until the end.

The faithful friend story sounds extremely familiar. I am almost positive the same story was in my reading for last week. I think there was a little variation, but the concept and message was the same. This story just illustrates the power of friendship and the effects it can have.

The elephant that was honored in old age was definitely uplifting. I felt so sorry for the elephant as she lost all of her value and honor just because she had grown weak from age. Of course, Buddha pleads a case for the elephant which causes the king to restore the honor.

The mallard that asked too much was so sad! This man just wanted to provide for his family! I really think the mother should have listened to her daughters. If she would have been patient, the family would not have to worry about money at all but greed was her ultimate downfall.

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Bibliography: Shedlock's Eastern Stories and Legends
Link to these stories

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