I'd like to briefly touch on the Buddha's past life. Many Buddhist scriptures contain stories about animals such as cows, elephants, birds, and insects. Among these, the Jataka tales, is one about a cow.
[The Black Cow's Gratitude]
Once upon a time, an old woman lived in a village near Varanasi, the capital of the Kashi kingdom in central India. One day, a traveler stayed overnight at the old woman's house, but he had no money, so he left a calf in return. The old woman, living alone, loved the cow as if it were her own child and raised it with great care. The calf grew larger and larger each day, eventually growing into a beautiful black cow. Not only was the black cow beautiful, but it was also docile and well-behaved, making it a popular attraction in the village.
While living happily, the black cow couldn't help but wonder, "My grandmother didn't have much money, but she's worked so hard to raise me. Is there something I can do to repay her kindness?" One day, a merchant caravan with 500 carts passed through the village. They attempted to cross a river, but the river was flowing quickly and the riverbed was extremely uneven. The oxen pulling the carts were completely exhausted and refused to move forward. The caravan owner, troubled by this, saw a young, splendid black ox and, convinced that the ox could carry the carts to the other side, asked a villager about its owner. The villager replied that the owner was not there, but that they would be happy to use the black ox to cross the ferry. The caravan owner addressed the black ox, saying, "If you can pull all the carts to the other side, I'll pay you 2 gold per cart, or 1,000 gold for 500 carts." The black ox thought for a moment, then began to move, pulling each cart to the other side. As promised, the caravan owner tied a package containing a large sum of money around the black ox's neck.
When the black ox arrived at the old woman's house, its eyes were bloodshot from all the hard work, it was breathing heavily, and it was extremely tired. Surprised by what she saw, the old woman approached the black cow and, as she was about to stroke it, noticed a bundle around its neck. When she opened it, she found a huge sum of money worth 1,000 gold coins. Worried, the old woman panicked and asked the villagers about it. A villager who had seen what had happened told her the whole story. "The black cow must have been so happy that the old woman was so fond of it, and wanted to thank you." Upon hearing this, the old woman hurried home, carefully washed the black cow, cleaned it, fed it plenty of foods that would give it strength, and stroked it while saying, "Your feelings are enough to make me happy. Don't worry about thanking me, just stay healthy and be by my side forever." From then on, the old woman and the black cow are said to have lived together in harmony, even more so than a real mother and son, and continued to live happily ever after.
[What we can learn from this story]
In India, even before the rise of Buddhism, there was a belief in "reincarnation," the idea that living things return to this world after a certain period of time after death. The next life is believed to be based on one's actions, and the doctrine that "good deeds make one good, and bad deeds make one evil" is found in the sacred texts of Brahmanism, which existed before Buddhism.
Before being born as a prince, the Buddha was reborn as various living creatures, and after numerous good deeds, he became the Buddha (enlightened being). The black cow that appears in this story is the Buddha's previous form, and he repaid kindness and accumulated merit by helping an old woman in need. This story represents the fundamental Buddhist teaching of "compassion," which involves having compassion for people, providing joy, and eliminating suffering.
Reference: Jodoshu Newspaper, Stories about Cows
https://jodo.or.jp/newspaper/special/2142/ |
