Читать книгу Garland of the Buddha's Past Lives (Volume 2) - Aryashura - Страница 30

their noticeably short length, neither story contains a description of the forest or a depiction of a clash between animals and humans, both of which are prominent themes in the other animal stories.

10 See, for example, vol. 1, 6.6–7, 15.6, 16.4 and this volume 22.95 [52], 25.27 [14], 25.32 [17], 27.4.

11 See 30.67 [38]: “This must be an elephant only in appearance. For he seems to uphold the fading conduct of the good!”

12 See also 22.39 (and 22.40 [19]–42 [21]), in which the virtuous goose Sumukha states: “The hearts of men are usually false whenever they display tender compassion. Fabricated courtesies and honeyed words conceal a vicious depravity.”

13 See vol. 1, 6.3, 9.76–83, 9.106–107, 15.3 and this volume 21.16–19 [7], 24.3, 25.3, 26.3–5, 27.3–5, 28.9, 2.8.13 [5]–19 [11], 30.3·The forest is also, however, a place of danger for those unaccustomed to it. It is described, for example, as “terrifying with its wild perils” (24.55 [35])·This dangerous aspect is also expressed in ‘The Birth-Story of Suta·soma’ (31), where the forest is the home of the cannibal Kalmasha·pada.

14 The introduction to story 25 states: “Quiet from lack of contact with men, the region was home for various hordes of wild animals and abounded with trees and shrubs.” See also the introduction to story 30: “A home for forest animals, the woods were blessed by a deep and broad lake, while a vast desert, devoid of trees, shrubs and water, concealed it from human habitation on all sides.”

15 See vol. 1, 6.2 and this volume 25.3–5 [1], 33.31 [20], 34.45 [23]. The superiority of the ascetic forest life over the desire-based life of the householder is sometimes expressed through images of beauty. ‘The Smaller Birth-Story of Bodhi’ states (21.7, 21.16): “Moved by her affection for her husband, his wife also shaved off her hair. Freeing her body from the concerns of wearing superficial ornaments, she became adorned only by the glory of her virtue and natural appearance. [...] [She then] adorned the root ________