Reading Notes: The Jataka Tales of India, Part B

Bibliography:
Title: Jataka Tales
Author: Ellen C. Babbitt

The Golden Goose

• The moral of the story was that people shouldn't be greedy and cherish what they receive, rather than asking (or in this case, demanding) for more.
• I like that the feathers were gold in this story instead of the eggs since I believe that the goose that laid the golden eggs was ultimately killed in order to obtain more eggs.

The Stupid Monkeys

• This story definitely teaches you that you shouldn't give someone a task without teaching him/her how to do it beforehand! 

The Cunning Wolf

• Finally a story where the wolf wasn't the antagonist!

The Woodpecker and the Lion

• This story shows that when you don't know how to appreciate people, you will end up losing them.
• The lion in this story did not even say a word of thanks to the woodpecker and even said he was gracious enough to not eat him when the woodpecker helped him get the bone out of his throat. 
• Ungrateful lion!

How the Monkey Saved His Troop

• Wow, the King wanted to eat the monkeys as well as the mangoes.
• The monkey chief was so kind to let all the other monkeys climb on his back.
• I admire that the King was able to see the monkey's actions and decided to take care of him for the rest of his life.

The Hawks and Their Friends

• It's true that you should make friends because once you're in trouble, you have no one else to help pull you back up on your feet
• True friends are friends that will help you when you need them the most and sometimes, they're the hardest to find

The Foolhardy Wolf

• I think the lesson this story teaches is that one shouldn't overstep their boundaries
• This is kind of different than what I believe in. In a way, this is teaching someone to have a fixed mindset. To not try to become better than what they are. 
• The wolf was killed for trying to catch bigger prey after he grew big and strong. 

The Stolen Plow

• This story was a good one!
• I was confused at first as to why the village trader took the man's son and said the bird had carried him off, but then it made sense because the town trader had also told an outrageous lie as to why the plow was gone
• The village trader just wanted his plow back. 

The Lion in Bad Company

• Here, the wolf is the bad guy once again!
• I guess this story is telling us appearances can be deceiving. 
• The wolf tried to play the good guy and called the lion "Great Lion" to get on his good side but then played him and caused left him for dead.

Beauty and Brownie

• I think the lesson here is that you should listen to advice or instructions that are given to you.
• Because Brownie did not listen to his father's instructions, he nearly lost his entire herd.

The Elephant and the Dog

• This story was very cute! 
• I think the moral of this story is that you can make friends with anyone! Even an elephant and a dog were able to become such good friends that separation would cause them depression! 

Image from "The Elephant and the Dog" story.

Source: UN-Textbook.

Reading Notes: The Jataka Tales of India, Part A

Bibliography:
Title: Jataka Tales
Author: Ellen C. Babbitt

The Monkey and the Crocodile

• The monkey in this story is very cunning when he said he left his heart behind. 
• Why did the writer have to call the crocodile "stupid" though? He was just a little Crocodile.
• If his mother wanted to eat something, she should have gotten it herself rather than making her son do it since he doesn't seem to know much about catching monkeys!
• I didn't know that crocodiles closed their eyes when they open their mouth.
• I like that the little Crocodile was very persistent. He really wanted that monkey heart for his mommy Crocodile.

How the Turtle Saved His Own Life

• The king put fish into a lake where his sons would play around in? That doesn't sound safe for the fish at all if the lake was small!
• The poor turtle didn't do anything at all but the king wanted to have it killed. Wow.
• The king and his people were actually really foolish because they found the turtle in the water in the first place. If they put it in water.. it would just be like putting it back where it was living comfortably...

The Turtle Who Couldn't Stop Talking

• This story was kind of twisted. 
• I suppose the lesson here is to not talk too much or it else you'll gets in lots of trouble?
• Turtles are usually very smart in most stories, but in this one, the turtle was not smart at all!

The Ox Who Won the Forfeit

• I feel like the message of this story is to treat others with kindness and that being mean or demanding will not get you anywhere.
• When the man beat the ox, it was flabbergasted and didn't even move an inch, making him lose all his money.
• Once he apologized and spoke to it in a kind way, it drew one hundred carts for him and earned him lots of money.

The Foolish, Timid Rabbit

• This story felt like there wasn't a moral, but I thought it was kind of funny
• The poor little rabbit freaked out whenever a coconut fell on it and thought the world was breaking up. 
• Then every other creature it came across believed it and started running around too! 
• Luckily the lion was there.
• Maybe the moral of the story was that in some dire situations, we all need someone who is level-headed to help us out? haha

The Banyan Deer

• I felt that this was a great story about sacrificing yourself for another.
• In some cases, most people are not as merciful as the king, but luckily the king decided to stop hurting the deer after seeing the King's sacrifice.

The Princes and the Water-Sprite

• This was a good story!
• I like that there was a mysterious element to the story with the riddle given by the water-sprite to each of the princes.
• I felt like because the elder prince was able to answer the question right, he should be given the authority to rule after the king dies. 
• I wonder why the queen wanted the sun prince to become the king? 

The Ox Who Envied the Pig

• I'm not sure how this story teaches the value of hard work.. is it because the pig did not do much work, which is why the farmer chose to make a feast out of the pig instead of the oxen?

"The Ox Who Envied the Prince"

Source: UN-Textbook.

The Crab and the Crane

• The Crane was very deceitful in this story!
• I like that justice was served at the end with the crab killing the crane.
• This is another lesson that tells us what goes around will ultimately come back around aka karma will always get you back!

The Three Fishes

• I think those names are very deserving for each fish! 
• I noticed that in the intro for this story, there are versions of this story where not all of the fishes got away. Is it perhaps the "thoughtless" fish who got caught in the other ones? 

The Tricky Wolf and the Rats

• Why is it that lycanthropes are the characters who are always thought to be "wicked?"
• I think wolves are very honorable animals!
• This story seems like a spin-off of the little red riding hood story.
• The moral of the story here is not to be wicked and greedy.

Review: Borders in the Mind

"Borders? I have never seen one. But I have heard they exist in the minds of some people." image. 

Source: OU Class Announcements.

This is my favorite picture from the recent announcements on March 7, 2017. This is true. If the people of the world just took a moment to get rid of the prejudices and borders they create in their own minds, what a wonderful place the world would be.

Famous Last Words: Post Midterms and Spring Break Spree

Ahhhh~ The break that I've been looking forward to the most since the start of 2017. Spring break always comes as a nice breath of fresh air. The week before spring break was extremely hectic. I felt like I had so much to do, but so little time to do it. Although I am still pressed for time right now, it definitely wasn't as crazy as last week. Whew.

Since I didn't do much writing and reading this week for this class, I don't think I'll have much to say regarding the Indian epics, but let's just see what I can mentally conjure up. I enjoyed this week's reflection and evaluation assignments because I got to voice my opinions regarding various topics. I did do some casual reading over break. I read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Caraval over break. The former was a rather odd book, but slightly funny at the same time due to all the weird characters and stories. The latter was really interesting because there was mystery, magic, and romance all in one book--my favorite genres. I'm glad that I am getting back into reading because I used to be an avid reader before college started. I probably read at least 10 books a week before. It's crazy to think that I've read less than 10 books for fun (I don't count textbooks, although some textbooks are pretty enjoyable) the entire 4 years I've been at OU.

I got to catch up a lot in this class over break. I've done a bunch of extra credit assignments just to get ahead. It seems that if I keep this up, I should be done with this class by the end of Week 11. Yay for early endings!! Although this is one of my more enjoyable classes... Next week, I hope to have time to write a story THAT WILL BLOW EVERYONE'S MIND. Since I only have a few weeks left in this class, I'm going to make the best of it. Especially since I only have 1 story in my portfolio so far. Fingers crossed!

"Believe in yourself." Ant holding up a giant twig meme. 

Source: Memecenter.

EVENT NOTIFICATION

My sorority is hosting a Thai Tea Tuesday on campus on March 21st from 10am to 1pm! We are selling ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS Thai Tea drinks and everyone should come check it out! 

Extra Reading Post: Ganesha's Secret

Ganesha's Secret

• How can anyone with weird heads be gods? 
• Why is there more than one god. 
• The Hindu notion of divine is unique, it is not restricted to a single idea or deity. 
• Each deity is a jigsaw puzzle, that comes together to make an overall God. 
• The world is subjective, for each person there is a different "world"
• I think this is rather profound. If I could write a story about this, that would be really cool. 
• Each world is different, but what matters more? The answer is everyone's world matters. 
• stories, symbols and rituals communicate a myth 
• Many things in life cannot be explained by logic
• Different cultures have different answers as to what happens after death 
• maybe I can write about a story of different perspectives about death 
• Ganesha's head 
• implies power because the elephant is not prey to many 
• the idea of Ganesha is reinforced by the story of his birth
• Parvati married shiva
• while bathing, Parvati molded a doll and created a child that was born without the help of a man
• He was beheaded 
• Shiva gave the child the head of an elephant that was part of the land of immortality 
• Ganesha represents the union of two opposites: Shiva and Parvati

Screenshot by me. 

Bibliography: 

"7 Secrets from Hindu Calendar Art - Chapter 1 Ganesha's Secret" by Epified. 

Wikipedia Trails: from Wonder Woman to The Jade Emperor

1. Wonder Woman
• Wonder Woman is a superheroine in the DC Comic universe. She is a member (founding member) of the Justice League and a warrior princess of the Amazonian people. She was actually sculpted from clay and given life by Athena!
2. The Amazonian people
• They are a fictional society of superhuman, based on the Amazons of Greek mythology. They are made of only women that live on Paradise Island. 
3. Demigod
• This is a term for an individual who is a minor deity, a mortal whose parents are a god and a human being, or someone who has attained divine status. 
• In Hinduism, demigods are deities who were once humans and became gods. 
4. The Jade Emperor
• In Chinese mythology, he is the first god and is the monarch of all heavenly deities
• He is also known was the Heavenly Grandfather or the Great Emperor of Jade
• although he was the head of the pantheon, he was not responsible for creation itself.

Image depicting the Jade Emperor. 

Source: Wikipedia article Jade Emperor.

Growth Mindset towards... Relationships?

For this growth mindset post, I would like to talk about relationships. I was looking at the Growth Mindset Cats page and this really caught my eye. After being in a relationship that lasted a substantial amount of time and leaving it pretty recently, I have learned a few things about relationships and one of the most important things is: relationships require effort. Regardless of whether the relationships are platonic or romantic, I find that there's always a degree of effort that needs to be put in--but there needs to be equal amounts put in by both parties. A lot of people will end up leaving their partners after troubles arise, but few realize that it takes work to overcome these obstacles. The good thing is, after you do put in this effort, you can reap the benefits of having a long-lasting relationship where you can fully trust the other person and enjoy their company without fear of judgment because this person has seen your highest of highs and lowest of lows.

"Relationships require effort" meme of two cats being cute. 

Source: Growth Mindset Cats.