The J�taka: "The Cheating Merchant", "The Monkey's Heroic Self-Sacrifice", And "The Hare's Self-Sacrifice"

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Self-Sacrifice," the Bodhisatta is a young hare. The
day before fast day, he tells his friends (a monkey, a jackal, and an
otter) how to observe the holy day. (p. 952) He tells them to sacrifice
their food to beggars, and the one who honors this will be rewarded.
On fast day, the otter steals seven fish that a fisherman had
buried while he was fishing. The otter pretends asks three times if anyone
owns the fish. No one comes forward, so the otter takes the fish home.
Meanwhile, the jackal is out looking for food and finds some in the house
of a field watcher: two spits, a lizard and a pot of milk curd. He asks
three times if anyone owns this food. No one comes forward, so he takes
the food home and thinks of how virtuous he has been. At the same time, the
monkey finds a bunch of mangoes in the jungle.
The Bodhisatta (the hare) realizes he has no food to offer beggers,
so he must sacrifice his own flesh. When Sakka (Indra, the king of gods,
who rewards those who display ...

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