Buddhist Tales That Will Delight Your Children

Children have within them that spirituality and innate happiness that we aspire to as adults.  We lose, over the years, the natural ability to develop an inner peace that allows us to be good with ourselves and with the outside world.

In addition, in our society, we disconnect our children from themselves, we tell them not to cry when they hurt themselves, not to scream, not to play, not to listen to what their instinct tells them. to do, but rather what those around them believe is more appropriate.

We are more and more aware of this error, which prompts us to take an interest in an education that could allow them to grow in full awareness of themselves. We have a powerful tool at our disposal for this: tales.

It is true that the heyday of Buddhism and Eastern wisdom in our world helps to develop a style of thinking more in tune with the goal we set for ourselves. This is why, in this article, we will study several Buddhist tales that will delight our children and bring them closer to Buddhist teachings:

Siddhartha and the swan

Long ago, in India, there lived a king and a queen. One day the queen gave birth to a baby. They called him Prince Siddhartha. The king and queen were very happy. They invited an old sage to the kingdom to predict the fate of the child.

“Please tell us,” the queen asked the wise old man.
– What will be the fate of our child?

– Your son will be a special child, he replied. He will one day become a great king.

– Hooray! said the king. He will be king like me.

– But, said the wise man, when your child grows up, he will want to leave the palace to help others.

– He won’t do such a thing! exclaimed the king, getting angry with the child. He will be a great king!

The king watched over him all the time. He made sure his child always had the best. He wanted Siddhartha to have the life of a prince. He wanted him to become king. When the prince was seven years old, his father summoned him and said to him:

– Siddhartha, one day you will be king. Now is the time to start preparing. You have a lot to learn. Here are the best teachers on Earth. They will teach you everything you need to know.

“I will give the best of myself, father,” replied the prince.

Siddhartha began his lessons. He did not learn to read or write, but to ride a horse. He learned to use a bow and arrows, as well as to fight and wield a sword. These are the qualities that a mighty king should possess. Siddhartha learned his lessons well. Just like her cousin, Devadatta, as both boys were the same age. The king always kept a close eye on his son.

– How strong the prince is! How smart he is! What does he learn quickly! He will become big and famous!

When Prince Siddhartha finished his lessons, he liked to play in the palace gardens. There lived all kinds of animals: squirrels, rabbits, birds and sheep. Siddhartha liked to watch them. He sat and watched them, keeping such a calm that they weren’t afraid to approach him. Siddhartha liked to play near the lake. Every year a pair of beautiful white swans came to nest nearby. He looked at them behind the rushes. He wanted to know how many eggs there were in the nest, because he liked to see the little ones learning to swim.

One afternoon, Siddhartha was near the lake. Suddenly he heard a sound above him. He looked up. Three beautiful swans were flying above his head. “More swans,” Siddhartha said to himself, “I hope they land on our lake” . But at that precise moment, one of the swans fell from the sky. “Oh no !” cried Siddhartha, running to where the swan had fallen.

“What happened ?” “There’s an arrow going through your wing,” he said. “Someone hurt you.” Siddhartha spoke to him very quietly, so that the swan was not afraid. He began by caressing it delicately. He carefully removed the arrow. He took off his shirt and wrapped the swan very carefully. “You’ll quickly feel better,” he told her. “I’ll be back to see you soon.”

Just then, his cousin Devadatta came running up. “It’s my swan!” he cried. “It was I who touched it, give it to me.” “He’s not yours,” said Siddhartha, “he’s a wild swan”. “I hit him with my arrow, so he’s mine. Give it to me now. ” “No,” said Siddhartha. He is injured and we must help him. ”

The two boys started arguing. “Stop it,” Siddhartha said. “In our kingdom, if people cannot come to an agreement, they ask the king for help. Now let’s go find him. ”  The two children went to look for the king. When they arrived, everyone was busy. “What are you two doing here?” asked one of the king’s ministers. “Can’t you see we’re busy? Go play somewhere else. ” “We didn’t come here to play, but to ask for your help,” says Siddhartha.

“Wait !” cried the king on hearing this. “Don’t scold them. They have every right to consult us. ” He was delighted that Siddhartha knew how to act. “Let the boys tell their story. We will listen to them and give them our opinion. ”

The ministers were puzzled. Who owned the swan, then? “I think I can help you,” a voice said. An old man approached the entrance. “If this swan could talk,” said the old man, he would tell us he wants to fly and swim with the other wild swans. No one wants to feel pain or death. The swan experiences the same thing. He would not go with the one who wanted to kill him. He would go with whoever wanted to help him.

All this time, Devadatta was silent. He had never thought about the fact that animals also have feelings.  He regretted having injured the swan. “Devadatta, you can help me take care of the swan, if you want,” Siddhartha told him.

Siddhartha took care of the swan until he was better. One fine day, when his wing had healed, he took him to the river. “It’s time to say goodbye,” said Siddhartha. Siddhartha and Devadatta watched the swan swim towards the deep water. At that moment, they heard the sound of wings above them. “Look,” said Devadatta, “the others have come back for him.” The swan flew high in the sky and joined his friends. They then flew over the lake for one last time. “They are thanking us,” Siddhartha said, as the swans disappeared towards the mountains to the north.

The wisdom of the three ravens

In everyone’s life, there comes a day when you mature and begin to be part of the adult community. Crows are no exception to this. One day, three young crows had to undergo a test organized by the adult crows who wanted to see if the young crows were mature enough to fly with the adults. The head of the clan asked the first raven,  “What do you think crows should fear most in this world?”

The young raven thought for a moment and replied, “The most horrible thing is an arrow, because it can kill a crow with one blow.”  When the elders heard this, they found it to be a very good answer. They lifted their wings and they cried, quite happy. “What you say is true,” said the chief raven. “Welcome to our community.”
Then the chief asked the second youngster:

“And you, what do you think we should fear the most?”

“I believe a good archer is more dangerous than an arrow,” said the young crow. “Because only an archer can point the arrow at his target and shoot. Without the archer, the arrow is just a stick, like the branch I’m sitting on now. ” The crows felt that was the smartest answer they had ever heard. The parents of the young crow shouted with joy and looked at their son with pride. “You speak very intelligently. We are very happy to be able to welcome you to our community. ” Then the chief raven asked the third youngster: “ And you, what do you think we should fear the most ? ”

“Nothing that has been said so far,” said the young bird. “What we should fear the most is a novice shooter.” What a strange response! The crows were puzzled and felt a slight embarrassment. Most thought that this crow was not smart enough to understand the question.  Until the chief raven asks, “What do you mean by that?”

“My second mate was right; without a shooter there is no reason to fear an arrow. But a good shooter’s arrow will go where it needs to go. So if you listen to the sound of the bowstring, you only have to fly right or left to escape the arrow. But we will never know where the arrow of a novice shooter goes. Even if one is flying, the possibility of the arrow hitting a crow is just as great. Because you just don’t know what is better to do: move or stay still. ”

When the other crows heard this, they realized that this young raven already possessed real wisdom, which he could see beyond things. They spoke of him with respect and admiration, and soon after, they asked him to become the new leader of the group.