LIZARD AND BIRD

In the ancient past, on a far-away island, there lived giant birds and lizards. The meat of the lizards was so sweet and delicious that the birds were always trying to find a way to catch them. But the lizards could easily see the birds swooping down from the sky. This gave them time to curl up and flash their sharp teeth to frighten the birds. Then the lizards quickly grabbed the birds by their heads and dragged them off to the pond to be drowned. So, many birds were lost and the rest could do nothing but go hungry.

One day after a raging typhoon, a man came to the island. His ship had been wrecked at sea. He had lost everything, all his belongings! Not even a piece of cloth was left to cover his nakedness. All he could do was sit cross-legged under a palm tree. The birds, lizards, and people of the island all agreed that this was a most unusual sight. They thought the man must be an ascetic or religious teacher and offered him food.

   Then one day, the king of the birds came with more food than usual. He asked the ascetic if he could reveal the secret of how to safely catch the lizards. The ascetic said he could not do such a thing because the lizards were also his friends. “How can I betray my friends?” asked the ascetic. But the bird-king promised to bring him abundant food every day if he would just reveal the secret. The ascetic could not resist the temptation and accepted the bird-king’s offer.

   It wasn’t long before the lizard king brought his offering of food. When the ascetic had finished eating, he leaned back with a sigh and said, “How clever you lizards are. Your talents and skills are so good that not even the smartest bird-king can catch you!” Then slyly he asked, “I wonder how you do that? Would you tell me please?”

   “No, no!” said the lizard king. How can I tell you our secret? If I told you, the birds would eat us until none of us were left!”

   Then the ascetic said, "Trust me, I will keep your secret. I just want to hear how clever you are. Please tell me how you do it. Please!” The naked ascetic tried everything he could to win the lizard’s confidence.

   Thinking that the man must be an honorable religious teacher and feeling happy and puffed up by the ascetic’s flattery, the lizard-king dropped his guard. Proudly he said, "The lizards know how to protect themselves from the birds by swallowing small pebbles into their stomachs. We also curl up our tails to protect ourselves from being picked up by the birds. In fending off the birds, the lizards might bite the birds on the head and drag them down to drown in the pond. The weight of the pebbles in our stomachs makes us heavy and the birds cannot fly away with us.  Silly birds! If they only knew how to catch a lizard by the tail and lift him to hang upside-down, the pebbles would be thrown up out of the lizard’s stomach, and then the lizard would become food for the birds.”

   Now the ascetic knew the lizard’s life-saving secret. The next time the bird-king came, the man exchanged the lizard’s secret for his daily meals.

 The bird-king practiced what to do and as soon as he had the know-how, he rode up on a whirlwind and caught the lizard by the tail. The lizard having been caught, was now hanging upside-down in the sky, throwing up all the stones he had swallowed. He reminded himself to be calm so that he could think of a way to escape from this disaster. Suddenly he thought out a way. He said, “I had brought this upon myself, and I do not blame anyone. However, before I become your food, let me chant a sutta for myself.’

   ‘Ha, silly Lizard King, do you think you will be protected simply by chanting a sutta? Well, you may chant any sutta as you wish. However, after your chanting, you will be my meal.’ Said the bird king.

The lizard king was very calm, and with a beautiful, melodious voice he chanted the sutta of ‘The Profits of Friendship’.

   1. He is entertained well

      When he is gone away from his home,

      Many depend on him,

      Who does not deceive friends.

   2. Whatever countries he goes to,

      Whatever market towns, royal cities he visits,

      Everywhere he is honored,

      He who does not deceive friends.

   3. Thieves do not oppress him;

      The king does not despise him;

      He overcomes all foes,

      He who does not deceive friends.

      4. Unangered he comes to his own house;

        He is happy in (an) assembly;

        He is the best of relatives.

        He who does not deceive friends.

      5. Having respected others he is respected;

        Honoring others he himself is honorable;

        He holds splendor and fame;

        He who does not deceive friends.

      6. He honors (others and) receives honor;

        He is disposed to veneration (of noble friends like the Buddha)

        And receives back veneration (in future births);

        He attains glory and fame,

        He who does not deceive friends.

      7. He shines like the fire;

        He is brilliant like a deity;

        He is not abandoned by property;

        He who does not deceive friends.

      8. Cows give production to him;

        Whatever is sown in the field produces plants;

        He enjoys the fruits of sons,

        He who does not deceive friends.

      9. Whether from cavern or from mountain,

        Or from a tree, (if that) man has fallen;

        Dropped, he gets support,

        He who does not deceive friends.

      10. With roots and pith matured,

        Like banyan tree (that) a wind (does not shake),

        Foes do not oppress (him)

        He who does not deceive friends.

   Thus the lizard hung in the air and chanted the sutta. Hearing this, the bird ridiculed the lizard saying, “Lizard-king, my tragic hero, you trusted the ascetic and lost your life-saving secret. Now you are chanting the benefits of one who does not deceive friends. It seems to me deceiving is the way to make a living. In the past, I found it very difficult to catch any one of you for my food. Now, it is easy. I am not the only one who deceives. You see, even the naked ascetic deceives to earn his daily meals.”

   "Indeed, deceiving is a way to make a living. However, it is a wrong way of livelihood. One who lives on wrong livelihood suffers in bad karma. One should choose not to deceive, because he will surely enjoy the good karma. ” replied lizard king.

   “Well, you are right in that aspect. Still, I have to live on your meat. What else can I live on?”

   The lizard king answerd, ‘You can be a vegetarian and live on fruits, nuts, and grains. Why must you live on the meat of other beings? It says in the Dhammapada, ‘He who seeks his own happiness by harming others who also desire to have happiness will not find happiness hereafter. He who seeks his own happiness by not harming others who also desire to have happiness will find happiness hereafter.’ So, having compared oneself to others, one should treat others the way one treats oneself.” lizard king said.

   “Yes, this is true,” replied the bird-king, “but we are genetically made this way. And besides, we have gotten used to the sweet taste of your meat.”

   The lizard, knowing that the bird-king still had mercy in his heart, continued his persuasion. "Let us go to the ascetic and you will find my words to be true. After that, I will teach you how to find good grains and nuts. Trust me, love will break the nature of food chain, and you can be a good vegetarian and give up eating lizard meat. Let us go now.”

   At last the bird-king was convinced. So, together they went to the naked ascetic, and after bowing, the lizard-king said:"I trusted not only my life, but the lives of my whole tribe to you, and you gave me your word that you would never reveal my secret. But you exchanged our lives for your daily meals. You sold our lives! You do not deserve to be an ascetic because you betrayed your true friend. You also betrayed your true nature as a religious teacher. Now, let me ask you a question. Do you feel remorse for what you have done to me?”

   Upon hearing this, the ascetic felt very ashamed for what he had done. He apologized and asked for forgiveness from the lizard king. The lizard king forgave him, and asked him to cultivate loving-kindness. The ascetic vowed to develop loving-kindness. He said, “I will practice loving-kindness and be more compassionate in the future.”

   “Let us be true friends to each other,” proclaimed the bird-king. “Have faith and trust in me. I will be your protector. I will watch for you when I am soaring in the sky.” 

   To this very day, this is the reason why some birds eat only fruits, nuts, and grains and do not live on lizard.