Essay for Week 14: Lessons

This week, the majority of the stories that I read for the Indian Fairy Tales unit contained a lesson of some sort for the reader.  These ranged from lessons that should be common sense, to lessons focusing on morality and the proper way that someone should behave in certain situations. One of the lessons that I remember clearly is that you should not let your greed overwhelm you. In the story The Gold-Giving Serpent, the brahman and the serpent started out forming a solid relationship. They created a mutually beneficial friendship, with the brahman giving the serpent milk and the serpent repaying him with gold. This was destroyed when the brahman placed his greedy son in charge for a few days while he was away. The son saw that the serpent gave gold, assuming that the gold came from the ant-hill the serpent guarded, and decided that he should kill the snake to get to all of the gold. The boy tried to kill the serpent, who retaliated by biting and killing the boy. When the brahman returned he discovered that his son was dead, yet rather than taking the time to mourn his loss, he pushed his grief away and returned to the serpent out of greed. The serpent told him to leave and not return, as their friendship was destroyed by greed. The story teaches that greed can destroy, even deep bonds can fail under its power.  Another story that I thought carried an interesting lesson was The Talkative Tortoise. I thought it was interesting to see how the future Buddha used the fate of a tortoise to teach the king that it is a good thing to be able to hold your tongue. He showed him, and also used a riddle, to tell the king that sometimes it is better to be silent and listen to those around you, rather than speak all the time and overpower and suggestions that may be made.

(Image of the Buddha; Photo Source Wikipedia)