King Banyan Deer
[Chapter 1.
Compassion]
Once upon a time, an unusual and
beautiful deer was born in the forests near Benares.
Although he was as big as a young
colt, his mother gave birth to him without much difficulties. When he opened
his eyes, they were bright and lively just like sparkling jewels.
His mouth was as crimson as the
reddest forest berries, and his hooves were as black as polished coal. His
little horns glistened like silver. And his body was swathed in fine fur of a
golden hue, like a perfect summer’s dawn. As he grew up, a herd of 500 deer
gathered around him, and he became known as King Banyan Deer. Meanwhile, not
far away, another beautiful buck deer was born. He was also splendidly golden
in colour just like King Banyan deer. In time, a separate herd of 500 deer came
to follow him, and he was known as Branch Deer.
At that time, the King of Benares
was very fond of hunting and of eating venison. He hunted regularly and killed
many deers. Each time he went hunting in a different village, he would order
the people there to stop what they were doing to work in his hunting party. This
disrupted the lives of the villagers for they had to stop their ploughing or
harvesting whenever the king was around. They grew less crops, and soon other
businesses were also affected. Desperate to change their situations, they
gathered one day, discussed and decided to build a large deer
park in Benares for the king.
There, he could hunt by himself, without the need for the services of the
villagers. Soon, the people were hard at work. They dug ponds for the deer to
drink from and planted trees and grasses for them to feed on. When the deer park was completed,
they opened the gates and went out into the nearby forests looking for deer.
When they saw the entire herds of Banyan and Branch deer, they surrounded them.
Then, with sticks and weapons, they created a commotion and drove all of them
into the deer park
before locking the gates up,
trapping the poor deer. After the
deer had settled down, the people went to see the king. “Our crops and incomes have
suffered because of your hunting requirements. We have built a pleasant and
safe deer park
just for you, so that you can go hunting by yourself as and when you like.
Now you can hunt as much as you
want without needing our help.” Curious, the king went to the new deer park for a look. He
was pleased to see vast herds of deer in the park. While observing them, his
eyes caught the sight of two magnificent golden deer with large fully grown
antlers. In awe of their unusual beauty, the king granted specific immunity to
these two outstanding creatures. He ordered that no one was to harm or kill them,
and instructed that they should be kept completely safe at all times. Once
everyday the king would come to hunt a deer for his dinner table. Sometimes,
when he was too busy, he would send his royal cook to do it for him. The poor
deer would then be brought to the chopping block to be butchered for the oven. The
deer would go mad whenever they caught sight of bow and arrows. Fearing for
their lives, they would run around wildly, often injuring themselves in the
event. Many suffered great pain because of this.
One day, King Banyan Deer called
for a meeting with his herd. He also asked Branch Deer and his herd to join in
this meeting. King Banyan Deer addressed them. “Although in the end, there is
no escape from death, this needless suffering due to injuries and wounds can be
prevented. Since the king only wishes to savour the meat of a deer each day,
let one be chosen by us each day to submit himself to the chopping block. The
selection would alternate between the two herds. One day from my herd, and the
following day from Branch Deer’s herd.” Branch Deer agreed. From that day
onwards, the deer that was chosen to be sacrificed meekly surrendered himself
and laid his neck on the block. And so the cook came each day, killed the
waiting victim and prepared the king’s meal. One day, the turn to be
slaughtered fell by chance to a pregnant doe in Branch Deer’s herd. Considering
the welfare of others, her own as well as her unborn child, she went to Branch
Deer and pleaded: “My lord, I am pregnant. Please grant that I may live until I
have delivered my fawn. Then we can take the place of two rather than just one.
This will also save a turn, and
thereby a single life for one long day.” However, Branch Deer refused to accede
to her request. “No, no, I cannot change the rules all of a sudden and put your
turn upon another. The pregnancy is yours, and this baby is your
responsibility. Now leave,” he replied. Failing to make Branch Deer see her
point, the poor mother doe went to King Banyan Deer and explained her plight.
“Go in peace. I will change the rules and put your turn upon another,” he
replied gently. Having said that, the deer king went to the executioner’s
block, and laid his own golden neck down upon it. All went hush and quiet in
the deer park.
Some who told this story even said that the blanket of silence also enveloped
other worlds not seen from here. Soon, the royal cook came to kill the willing
victim on the block. But when he saw it was one of the two golden deer the king
had ordered to spare, he was afraid to kill him. He went back and told the
king. The king was surprised to hear of this strange phenomenon, so he went to
the park. He said to the golden deer, still lying on the block: “Oh king of
deer, did I not promise to spare your life? Why is it that you still come here
like the others?” “Oh king of men, a pregnant doe was unfortunately chosen to
be slaughtered. For the sake of others, her own as well as her unborn child,
she begged me to spare her. I could not help but place myself in her shoes, and
feel her suffering. And I could not help but weep, to think that the little one
would never see the dawn, or ever taste the freshness of dew drops. Yet, I
could not force the pain of death on another. For that would not be fair since
he would be unprepared and relieved thinking it was not his turn today. So,
here I am, mighty king, I offer my life willingly for the sake of the doe and
her unborn fawn. Rest assured there is no other reason,” said King Banyan Deer
majestically. The King of Benares was overwhelmed. Powerful as he was, a tear
rolled down his cheek.
Then he said: “Oh great lord, the
golden king of deer, even among human beings, I have
not seen any such as you! Such
great compassion, to share in the suffering of others! Such great generosity,
to give your life for others! Such great kindness and tender love for all your
fellow deer! Arise.” “I decree that you will never be killed by me or anyone
else in my kingdom. And, so too, the doe and her fawn.” Without raising his
head yet, the golden one asked: “Are we the only ones to be saved? What about
the rest in the park, our friends and families?” The king said: “My lord, I cannot
refuse you. I grant safety and freedom to all the deer in the park.” “And what
about those outside the park? Will they be killed?” asked King Banyan Deer. “No
my lord, I spare all deer in my whole kingdom.”
Still, the golden deer did not
raise his head. He pleaded: “The deer will be safe, but what
about other four-footed animals?”
“My lord, from now on they will be safe in my land.”
“And what about the birds? They
too want to live.” “Yes, my lord, the birds will be safe too from premature
death at the hands of men.” “And what about the fishes?” “Even they will be
free to live, my lord.” So saying, the King of Benares granted immunity from
hunting and killing of all animals in his land. Having pleaded for the lives of
all creatures, King Banyan Deer arose.
[Chapter 2.
Teachings]
Out of compassion and gratitude,
the Bodhisattva - King Banyan Deer, taught the King the Five Precepts. “If you
give up five kinds of unwholesome actions, it will benefit you and purify your
mind. These are:
•
destroying life, for this is not
compassion;
•
taking what is not given, for
this is not generosity;
•
doing wrong in sexual ways, for
this is not loving-kindness;
•
speaking falsely, for this is not
Truth;
•
losing your mind from alcohol,
for this leads to committing erroneous ways that go against
the first four precepts.”
He further advised him to do all
that was good and wholesome, for that would bring happiness in this life and
beyond. Then King Banyan Deer, and both herds, returned to
the forest. Some time later, the
pregnant doe, who had stayed with King Banyan Deer’s herd, gave birth to a
fawn. He was as beautiful as a fresh lotus blossom given as an offering to the
gods. When the fawn had grown into a young buck deer, he began playing with
Branch Deer’s herd. Seeing this, his mother said to him: “Better to die after a
short life with the great compassionate one, than to live a long life with an
ordinary one.” Afterwards, her son lived happily in the herd of King Banyan
Deer. But the farmers and villagers of the kingdom were not happy. Since the
king had given his orders to spare the lives of the deer and other animals, the
deer began to brazenly eat the people’s crops. They even grazed in the
vegetable gardens inside the villages and the city of Benares itself!
So the people complained to the
king, and asked for permission to kill at least some of the
deer as a warning. But the king
replied: “I have given my word to King Banyan Deer that
not a single animal would come to
harm. I would rather give up my kingship than to break my promise to him. No
one is to hurt any of them!” When King
Banyan Deer heard of this incident, he commanded all deer not to eat the crops belonging
to others. Then he sent a message to the people asking them to tie up bunches of
leaves as boundaries around their fields instead of making fences. To this very
day, this Indian custom of marking fields with tied up leaves has protected
crops from deers’ grazing. Both King Banyan Deer and the King of Benares lived
out their lives in peace, died, and were reborn as they deserved.
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