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The popular image of the hero is ripe for reflection. In this episode, I share two Buddhist teaching stories (jatakas) that offer an interesting perspective.
The Tigress Jataka and The Prince Five Weapons Jataka illustrate different courses of action taken on the path of the bodhisattva. Are the “heroes” in these tales, heroes? What do you think?
So you should view this fleeting world—
A star at dawn, a bubble in a stream,
A flash of lightening in a summer cloud,
A flickering lamp, a phantom, and a dream.
– from the Diamond Sutra, translated by Red Pine
Transcript of Two Jatakas: a thought experiment in heroes and bodhisattvas
Hello, and welcome to Myth Matters, storytelling and conversation about mythology and why myth matters to your life today. I’m your host and personal mythologist Dr. Catherine Svehla. Wherever you may be in this wide, beautiful, crazy world of ours, you are part of this story circle.
Today, I have a little thought experiment for you. Now you may remember that in a recent podcast, I talked about the hero and the journey of Siddhartha who later became the Buddha.
And this put me in mind of jataka stories. Jataka stories are Buddhist teaching stories about the Buddha’s past lives. I definitely find it reassuring to know that Siddhartha did not achieve enlightenment in one lifetime. I want to tell two of these stories to you today, The Tigress Jataka and The Prince Five Weapons Jataka, and I ask you to consider whether or not these stories are stories about a hero. This thought experiment involves delving a little bit more deeply into this idea of the hero and the hero’s journey.
The hero’s journey, which is Joseph Campbell’s monomyth, has had a really big impact on Western culture, and so then on the world. It’s a very popular perspective on life and on the correct life path. Now, of course, there have been critiques of the hero’s journey and the Western notion of heroism ongoing, for a while, and you may well have an opinion about it. But whether or not you find inspiration in this idea, or you find it troubling, it’s important that we collectively examine this notion and consider whether or not it is something that should be carried forward, revived, retooled in some way, expanded upon, or even tossed out. This kind of reflection is a really important part of culture building, and it’s something that involves each one of us right now.
A couple more things from that earlier podcast, which was called “Heroes Buddha and How to Read a Myth, and the story of Siddhartha and his journey to Buddhahood. In the “Power of Myth,” Campbell told Bill Moyers that a hero properly is someone who has given his life to something bigger than himself, or other than himself. And as I mentioned, Campbell used Siddhartha’s journey to Buddhahood, his journey to spiritual enlightenment, as an example of the hero’s journey. Campbell at various points noted that there are really a couple different kinds of warriors. I mean, a warrior in the classical sense, faces physical death. But there are also spiritual warriors, warriors that face a different kind of death. There might be a physical component to it. But on the spiritual plane, we’re most often facing a psychological death. We’re facing a death of ego or a concept of self that has to be transformed in order for us to come to a deeper understanding of the truth about life, self, cosmos. If this is in fact a hero’s journey, once this understanding is achieved, it’s shared with the community.
Now, let’s move on to the first story, the jataka called “The Tigress.” I invite you to consider as you’re listening, whether or not you think this is a story of a hero. And, as always, also notice the moment or the detail in the story that really catches your attention, because this will help you unpack your response to this larger experiment that I’m proposing, this delving into the notion of “the hero.” After I’ve told the story, I’ll share a couple of thoughts with you and then I have another story.
5:22 The Tigress Jataka
A long, long, long time ago, before the Buddha, the Bodhisattva, achieved perfect enlightenment and became the Buddha as we know him, he was born into a family of wealthy Brahmins. The Brahmin caste was a cast of wise people, wise men and teachers typically, so he grew up learning the wisdom and the rituals and the skills of his station. He was a very accomplished man, properly honored by others, respected by the kings and the nobles, as well as the warriors and the merchant class. He was a naturally gifted teacher, so when he became an adult, he decided to guide others along a path of selfless generosity and he left the city went into the forest and established a hermitage, a type of monastery for others who were seeking to live this higher life.
One day, this teacher was out walking with one of his disciples. It had not rained for some weeks and the area was experiencing a very serious drought. The trees were bare, the stream beds were nearly dry. Very few animals and birds around. As they were walking, they heard a series of strange, coughing roars and they stopped to listen. The student said, “Master, those are the roars of a tiger, a hungry tiger. I think we better head back right away.” And the teacher said, “No, wait, let’s listen. Let’s listen a little more closely.” Then he said, “You’re right, those are the roars of a very hungry tiger. But more than that, I think those are the roars of a starving tiger. Let’s go on a little bit further and see if there’s anything that we might be able to do to help.”
The student agreed to this rather reluctantly. They kept walking. In a short time, they came to the edge of a cliff and when they looked down, they saw this starving tigress, roaring miserably, and she had two little cubs with her. Two weak little cubs who were trying to nurse and she kept batting them away. Her ribs were showing, her eyes were glazed over, and as they watched, the teacher realized that in her desperation, this mother tiger was beginning to contemplate eating her own children as food.
“Quick, quick,” the bodhisattva teacher said to the student, “Run back and see if you can find some food for this starving animal. She is going to be driven to eat her own cubs if she doesn’t have food soon and the karma that will arise from that will be terrible. Run back, bring some food and I will wait here and do whatever I can to stop her from harming her cubs until you return.” The student ran off. The teacher watched him go. He turned his attention back to the tigers below. “This is really pitiful,” he thought watching them. The tigress tried to stand up. She was so weak that her hind quarters were dragging on the ground.
Finally, she managed to get up, and growling and sick looking, she made a couple tottering steps toward her two tiny cubs. “My disciple is not going to make it back within time with food,” thought the teacher, “and I can’t just stand idly by and let this happen. Mind is vast and empty and cannot be found. This body is so much matter. This body is merely the manifestation of my own past thoughts back into the endless past. My deepest wish is the liberation of all sentient beings. The liberation of all sentient beings. If I do not act, I’ll regret it.”
He removed his robe and hung it on the branch of a tree. Then he turned to the cliff and like a man preparing to dive into a lake, he put his hands together and he leapt off the edge. The tigress was startled by the crashing sound behind her and she crouched down in fear, and then she looked and saw the bloodied body of the man stretched out on the rocks at the base of the cliff. With her last remaining strength, she lunged forward and began to eat him.
Shortly after, the student returned, full of apologies and empty handed and he saw the teacher’s robe hanging on the tree at the cliff’s edge. He called out his name. There was no response. Fearing what he might see, he looked over the edge of the cliff and he saw the tigress feeding. The student knelt down on the ground and began to weep. And then he dried his eyes, and in awe, he carried the robe as a sacred relic back to the hermitage. There he told the other students what had happened. He led them back to the spot. They festooned the tree with flowers, and when the tigress and her cubs had departed, they climbed down and gathered up the Bodhisattvas bones and built a jeweled stupa in which to house them.
They say that the gods themselves were stunned by what they had witnessed. They came down to earth to where the Bodhisattva’s body had been devoured, and covered the ground with the precious incense made of fine, sandalwood powder. So even now, the Bodhisattva’s selfless deed is remembered by the gods, and by every human who knows this tale. It will never be forgotten as long as there are those who understand the value of that deep compassion that motivates an act of such selfless generosity and compassion.
That kind of compassion is the Buddhist definition of wisdom, and selfless generosity is one of the key virtues that one cultivates along the path to this kind of wisdom. Now I realize that there are some things in this paradigm and so then in this story, that may not resonate with you. You may not be a Buddhist or even be that interested in Buddhist practice, so the idea that the teacher is concerned about the karma of the tiger, for example, or the reliance on the notion of reincarnation, these may not be things that you share, and yet the teacher knows that his body is food. And he overcomes the instinct for self-preservation that we all share in one way or another. Each of us is tasked with coming to terms with the great round of life, with the fact that we eat today and are eaten tomorrow. And our stories, our mythologies, should help us come to this understanding.
There is also the notion of commitment. The Bodhisattva is committed to the liberation of all sentient beings. Now, this may not be your path, and yet, look at this example of commitment.
It’s 100%. He leaps. He leaps– a beautiful and powerful metaphor for an irreversible act, for really going all in. This is a story of someone who made a considered choice in alignment with his deepest convictions, that required the total sacrifice of everything that he was in this current moment and manifestation. Now, I’m not a Buddhist teacher, I can’t plumb the depths of this jataka. From that perspective, it’s beyond me. But I’m offering you this story as one opening into reflection on heroism, on a heroic act, if you think it’s a heroic act, that has nothing to do with guns or brutality, it’s the meeting of a spiritual challenge.
Do you think that the teacher was a hero? Do you think this was heroic, or something else? What do you think about this idea of the Bodhisattva as a hero? It certainly meets the definition of self- sacrifice for a greater cause, which is our common definition and Campbell’s definition. Should we call this heroism? I want to share another story with you, another jataka called Prince Five Weapons, and from the title you can tell it’s a little bit different vibe and maybe closer to what we commonly think of as “heroism.” But before I do, let’s make a little move into a poem to cultivate our meditative space.
18:18
This is a beautiful recording from a supporter of the Myth Matters podcast, Elise Kost, reading her poem “We.” Thank you so much for sharing this recording!
21:22 Prince Five Weapons Jataka
Long, long ago, ages and lifetimes back, the Bodhisattva was born as a prince. And when he was 16 his father, the king said to him, “You are old enough now to choose your life path. Think about what will help you rule when your time comes.” The prince thought about this. He sat in silence all night long, looked into his heart, and the following morning he went to his father and announced. “I’ll go to the city of Takkasila, where the great weapons masters live, and learn to master the five weapons.” The king was happy with his son’s decision and the next morning the prince set out. It was a rather difficult journey. He had to climb high mountains, cross rivers, push through dark forests. Finally, he got to the city of Takkasila and found himself a good teacher, and went to work.
It was very hard work. Every day, when the sun rose, the prince would head out to the practice yard and shoot with bows and arrows. When his quiver was empty, he would hurl a heavy spear, and then he would draw his sword run forward, slash lunge, parry. And finally, he would raise a great club, and smash and pound things with that. Then he would retrieve his arrows and began this cycle over again. And he did this over and over, all day, every day, for a long time.
He got very strong, and the prince’s movements became faster and more sure. After months and then a year of this practice, the old weapons master called the prince to him and said, “You are now well disciplined and accomplished. You are ready to leave this teaching. And I will give you a new name. From now on, you shall be called Prince Five Weapons. Use your strength and your powers for good and luck will go with you.” The prince thanked his teacher and he shouldered his weapons and set off for home.
At a certain point in his journey, the road narrowed down to enter into one of those dark forests. When he got to the edge of the forest, he found that there was this barricade of chopped down logs and soldiers were patrolling the barricade. When they saw him, they called out “Stop, stop you. You can’t go down there. The road is closed. No one is allowed past the barricade.” “Well, why is that?” asked Prince Five Weapons. “Because” said the soldiers, “there’s a monster in this forest, a monster named Sticky Hair, and nobody and no one has managed to get past him. He rips people apart, chews them up, drinks their blood. No one has come out of the forest alive. So, if you value your life you’ll have to backtrack and take another route.”
“Well, this monster sounds pretty dangerous,” said the prince. “Well, he is very dangerous,” said the soldiers. “Well,” said the prince “Should I turn around and run away because danger threatens? I mean, I have made up my mind to do some good in this world. And I’ve spent a lot of time learning how to use these weapons. So, I’m going to go down the path and confront this monster and make it safe for others to travel through this forest.”
The soldiers were astonished at this chutzpah and at first they said no. They refused. They weren’t going to let him go through. But finally, they said okay. The prince was so determined that they stood aside and let him pass. shaking their heads in disbelief. They watched him walk down the path and disappear into the forest.
The prince continued along the road for a while and the further he walked, the taller the trees grew and the underbrush started getting kind of thick and scraggly and the branches were over-arching the road and it got really kind of dark and wild and creepy. And at a point he noticed that the forest was unnaturally quiet. Even the birds had stopped singing. And suddenly there was this huge crash and this big monster, this awful, ugly pile of muscle and yellow teeth and yellow fingernails, covered in a thick coat of dark sticky hair, burst through the trees and loomed over the prince. It was the monster Sticky Hair, of course.
But the prince wasn’t afraid and he said to the monster, “One more step and I’m going to send this arrow through your heart. I am Prince Five Weapons and I’ve come to this forest to make you either change your ways or kill you.” Now the monster laughed. It seemed absurd.
The prince let one of his arrows fly and it went straight, straight, straight, perfect shot straight at the monsters heart and it struck the monster, but it got stuck in all of that sticky hair. It just dangled there harmlessly. The prince put another arrow to his bow, and shot another arrow straight at the monster’s heart, perfect shot except it got stuck in all of that sticky hair. He sent 50 arrows at the monster’s heart, and all of them just hung loosely dangling from the sticky hair. And the monster laughed and laughed, and he shook himself and some of the arrows flew off and landed in the underbrush.
But Prince Five Weapons was not afraid. He picked up his spear and he hurled it with all of his force right at the heart of the monster, and it also went exactly where he intended but also got stuck in the sticky hair. Now his confidence was still completely unfazed. He drew his sword, which was nearly a yard long and razor, razor, sharp, raised it over his head, swung it around one, two, three times and then whoop, struck it at the monsters leg. And it got stuck in the monster sticky hair and it didn’t hurt him at all. And now Sticky Hair was bending down, he was about to grab the prince and gobble him up and Prince Five Weapons was still not afraid. He didn’t beg for his life. Instead, he lifted up his big heavy club and swung it crashing onto the monster’s foot. But that didn’t do any good either. You know what happened? It got stuck in the sticky hair.
Now the monster was bending down to grab him and Prince Five Weapons was still not afraid. He was looking around inside himself for the next weapon and he thought to himself, “You know, when I came into the forest I didn’t come in here because I had this tremendous confidence in my weapons. I came in here because I had tremendous confidence in myself. I know how to fight so I will use my fists.” With all his might, he swung his right fist at the monster and bump, got stuck in the hair. And then he drew back his left fist and boom, got his left fist stuck in the hair. But he still told himself “Why should I fear? I’ve got my legs. My legs are even stronger than my arms,” and he kicked with his right foot and then his left foot at the sticky monster, and I mean any other foe would have definitely felt the blow but the prince was now stuck on the monster.
He summoned up his strength now, to butt the monster with his head. And this he did, and he got stuck. He was completely stuck to the sticky monster. Completely stuck to the sticky monster but he still wasn’t afraid and the monster could feel this. The monster was thinking to himself, “Okay, there’s something very strange going on here. I’m not really sure I like it because every one else, as soon as they see me, they turn and run and it’s been really easy for me to just reach down and grab them up. But this guy, I don’t know. I mean, he didn’t turn around. I mean, he just came straight out and he’s given this fight everything he’s got, so it appears. I wonder if he has some secret weapon. In fact, I bet he does have some secret weapon. There are some heroes in this world with powers that could destroy me. And I better I better check this out before I get hurt.”
So, the monster bent down and asked, “Young man, tell me, do you have a secret weapon?”
“I do,” said the prince. “That’s what I thought,” said the monster. “I carry a sword of truth in my belly,” said the prince, “that is more than razor sharp. If you swallow me, this sword is so keen, it will cut you open from the inside, and I will be out again. I will be free.” And he said this with complete confidence. And the monster said, “I believe you. Your confidence proclaims it all. Just don’t, don’t hurt me. I won’t, I won’t eat you so don’t hurt me.” And very carefully the monster reached down and he pulled Prince Five Weapons from his sticky hair and set him down on the path and said, “okay, you’re free. Just head on through the forest.”
But the prince collected up his weapons and he said, “Well, you can free me but I don’t free you. See, you’re a terrible menace. You have to stop terrorizing people who want to come through this forest. I mean, one of these days, you’re going to have the chance to be a human being. A whole new world of possibility will open up to you. But not with the kind of karma that you’re creating here, doing all of this killing and harming. You’re going to have to stop right now and start being generous and kind. In fact, you know, I, you’re already kind of at a deficit here, but if you start now being the protector of people who come through this forest, you might have a chance for real happiness.”
“Wow, said the monster, “that that really doesn’t sound like a very promising prognosis for my future and I’m going to tell you something, I’ve actually really had enough of the darkness and the cries and the groans, and I’ve even really had enough of the stench of blood and I mean, I’ve been really good at killing and scaring people here in the forest, but I would like to be happy. So, I’m going to take your advice, I will start protecting travelers.” “You keep your word and do as you say,” said Prince Five Weapons, “and you will benefit. And you should know that from time to time I’m going to come back to check on you just in case you need any further reminding.” And the prince picked up his weapons and set off through the forest and when he got to the other side, the soldiers who were patrolling there were astonished and he said, “The way is clear, the path is open. All may walk safely through this forest now. The monster Sticky hair is no more. He is now the protector of these forest paths.”
The prince returned home and he helped his father rule. And later on, he became king and he was known as King Five Weapons, the Opener of the Ways. As for the monster, he followed through on his pledge to the prince. He became Kinder. He helped travelers and not only that, but he cleaned up the forest. He tore down some of the tangled branches and let in the sunlight. And all of this made him happier and happier and more and more peaceful, and every now and again, King Five Weapons would go back to the forest and the two of them would talk. The King always advised the monster to remain true to his vows to do no harm, and to continue down his new path of being kind and generous. “Just keep going down this path,” King Five Weapons told him, “and despite all of the previous bad karma that you built up, your good deeds, they will help you.”
One day, years later, when he was very old and tired, and almost completely bald and blind, the old monster lay down in the woods and as all things must, he passed from this life on into his next existence. Not long after this, King Five Weapons put his kingdom into the hands of his son, and he passed on too.
So, we know that this is another story of the Buddha, of the Bodhisattva, and while he acts out of concern for the safety of other people, he’s also concerned with the karma of monster Sticky Hair. And in this case, he doesn’t sacrifice himself, he fights, he doesn’t become food. We see that part of the Bodhisattva game is knowing the proper response and it’s not always a matter of passivity or sitting back.
And we noticed his courage, right? That’s a very important part of the story. It is repeated over and over again over the course of the fighting. And I don’t know about you, but I certainly have some mixed feelings about that. I mean, on the one hand, it’s obviously essential, essential to his survival and also to his ability than to offer a teaching to the monster and transform the situation. It is his profound confidence that leads the monster to question the situation. And at the same time, there’s something kind of cocky about it, don’t you think? I mean, you have this young prince who strolls into the dark forest and takes on this big monster and, and seems completely unable to entertain the possibility of defeat. But somehow those two things come together and for me, it conveys a sense of the larger story of the destiny of the two that goes beyond their intentions or ability in the moment. This tremendous confidence, which is both I think, the key to his success and also points at a possible weakness, is held by the larger plot that they share.
So, we’re looking at this story from the perspective of heroism, through the lens of this image of the hero, and there are many things about this story that are familiar in terms of the normal “hero,” the hero who goes to battle and defeats the external enemy out there. But let’s consider that for just a moment. It’s interesting how they get completely stuck together, isn’t it? There’s a way in which Prince Five Weapons becomes one with his enemy. And I believe this is an important point in the story. One that is reinforced very subtly, but beautifully, in the description of their deaths. The monster dies and not long after the king also makes his exit. What does this suggest I wonder, about the deeper nature of our enemies and our relationship to those enemies that we undertake to defeat, or these projects that require a heroic effort of us?
I hope that you’ll think about your use of this term hero and consider right now, when do you use the word? Do you think that this notion of heroism is ever misused? What inspires you about the image of the hero and what are your objections to it? Do you think there are more appropriate words or more appropriate images that we could use to broaden our perspectives, to broaden our various lenses and ideas about what an accomplished human being looks like, about the objectives that exist for us as human beings?
There are no spectators right now, my friend, if there ever were. In our ordinary daily round, each one of us is part of the cultural conversation. Each one of us is playing a role in the great unfolding. It’s abundantly clear that our use of language, images, our choice of entertainment, our aesthetics, our tastes–all of these carries social, political, spiritual, and soul-full consequences.
On that note, I have a special request for you that goes along with this thought experiment. Please share this podcast with one other person. Maybe, ideally, someone with whom you’d like to have a conversation about this image of the hero, and the value this concept offers today. Share this podcast with one other person, and I would be happy to hear from you, to get your comments, questions, feedback about how that conversation goes, or your reflections on this notion of heroism.
Welcome to all of the new subscribers to Myth Matters. For those of you who use the transcripts that I post at the website, www.mythicmojo.com. I apologize, but that may be a little bit late. I really needed to give some special attention to my dear cat friend, Harry Michael, who’s been with me for 15 years and is having some issues right now. He’s fine, it’s good. But it does mean that I’m a little bit behind schedule. So, if you go to the website and the transcript isn’t up yet, please come back and check again later.
And that’s it for me. Catherine Svehla and Myth Matters. Thank you so much for listening. Take good care of yourself. And until next time, happy mythmaking and keep the mystery in your life alive.
Useful Links
Free on-line collection of some jataka stories: https://www.pitt.edu/~dash/jataka.html
Elise Kost and Temple of Changes at https://templeofchanges.com/poetry
