Reading Notes: The Hare that was not Afraid to Die

I really enjoyed the main theme of The Hare that was not Afraid. The story starts by starts by stating that Buddha was reborn as the hare who taught other animals lessons. The Hare was a selfless rabbit that was devout compared to the other characters in the story. 

(A Rabbit by Pixabay)

"One day the Buddha said: "Tomorrow is a fast day. Feed any beggars that come to you by giving from your own store of food." They all consented."

With this in mind the other animals collected food. Each animal found food, however, the Hare usually ate grass so he did not collect extra as other "beggars" will most likely not eat it. When the King of the Gods, Sakka, heard of the lesson the Hare told the animals, he wanted to test the animals to see if the animals would follow Buddha's lesson. The animals all gave their food. The hare aka Buddha did not have food so he offered his body/meat. 

Now I think the theme was not to offer your body as meat and kill yourself for others, but I think it was to be more mindful of others. I somewhat disagree with the extent of how far the Hare took it in this story because you can't help others if you're not okay yourself. People shouldn't always benefit at the cost of your self health. For example, if a plane is crashing you have to put on your oxygen mask first before you can properly help someone else. I think I kind of related to this because I have had my fair share of "Burn out" the past couple of years when juggling to many activities at once. I think the world would be a better place if people took in mind actions affect others and actually cared about others like the Hare in the story. 

Bibliography:

The Hare that was not Afraid to Die by Marie L. Shedlock