Reading Notes: Eastern Stories and Legends, Part B

The Merchant Who Overcame All Obstacles

Buddha was born into a merchant family. The merchants had to travel across a desert to sell their goods. The desert was super hot, so they traveled by night and navigated using the stars. They had to carry all of the wood, water, rice, and oil that they needed during the trip. On the last night before they left camp, the merchant said to throw out all of the supplies as they would be at the trading post that night. The merchants obliged. Sometime at night, the navigator fell asleep and the oxen got turned around. When the pilot woke up, they were in the very spot that they had taken off from. Buddha knew if he lost his temperament, his men would too. So, he kept cool and looked for a solution. Buddha noticed a tuft of grass and knew there must be water. So he and one of his men dug down and found rock. The men were discouraged that they didn't immediately find water, but Buddha still kept his cool. He put his ear to the rock, and he heard running water. He had his men split the rock, and this formed a well deep enough for water for any traveler to drink from it. The men took off for the trading post the next night and made it safely.

The Horse That Held Out to the End

Buddha was now born as a royal horse. The king of Benares was under attack by seven other kings who were jealous of his kingdom. The horse is armored up and going out with a knight to raid the kings' villages one-by-one and bring the kings back as prisoners. The first six raids go smoothly and each of the kings is brought back alive. However, before going out for the final raid, the knight notices that the horse is bleeding and notices the horse has suffered a bad wound. He begins taking the armor off the horse, but the horse tells the knight to put it back on, bandage the wound, and take the horse into the last battle. The horse knew he was the only one who could do it. The knight complies, and sure enough, the final king is captured and brought to Benares. The horse tells the king of Benares that he should take mercy on the kings and make them take an oath of peace, asks the king to rule over his own people with righteousness and justice, and asks the king to honor the knight. The horse then passed away and the king complied with all of the horse's requests.

This is about what I imagined when reading The Horse that Held Out to the End.
The actual image is of an ancient Chinese warrior on a horse.
Image from Wikimedia

Bibliography

Shedlock. "The Merchant Who Overcame All Obstacles". Eastern Stories and Legends. Source

Shedlock. "The Horse That Held Out to the End". Eastern Stories and Legends. Source