Under the Banana Tree

I maintain that the religion of the Buddha with its conception of the Oneness of all Life is very bedrock for true fraternal relationship.

At the foot of a mountain of the Himalayas, there stood a large banana tree. Near that tree, there lived a wise monkey, a cute pigeon, and a large friendly elephant. They had lived together for years and they were very good friends.

They respected one another, and they never quarreled over who should be the leader. They lived together very happily.

They worked together and played together. When they became hungry, they ate bananas from the tree.

However, the time came when they began to think about themselves. They thought: “If we live like this without any rules, men may laugh at us. They have their leaders and rules to obey.”

One day, the three tried to find out who was the eldest. This was a difficult thing for them. But the wise monkey had a fine idea. He said: “I have a good idea. Dear elephant, when you saw this banana tree, how big was it?”

The elephant answered: “Well, let me see, when I was little, this wasn’t a big tree. It was very small, and I used to walk over it. The leaf on top hardly touched me.”

And he asked the monkey: “Dear monkey, how small was the tree when you were little?”

The monkey answered: “Well, when I was little, I used to lie down on the grass. Then I could eat the soft young leaves of the banana tree. So, I have known the tree from the time when it first came out of the ground.”

Then the pigeon spoke: “It is my turn, isn’t it? I don’t remember how many years ago, but long, long ago, on an island far from here, there was a banana tree which was much bigger than this one. As the bananas looked very good, I took one and ate it. It tasted so good that I thought it would be a good idea to plant its seed in some other place so that more people and animals could have bananas to eat. I flew here with the seed, and I buried it in this warm sunny spot. Years have passed, and now it has become a big banana tree.”

Hearing this story, the monkey and the elephant said to the pigeon: “Then you are the oldest of us three. We will obey you. Please love us as much as ever.”

From that time on, the pigeon tried to teach things to his two friends and he tried to live up to his teachings himself. And they led a happier life after that.

					Ekō 118 - Schatten op Zolder
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