佛教故事:King Banyan Deer
Soon the royal cook came to kill the willing victim onthe block. But when he saw it was one of the two goldendeer the king had ordered spared， he was afraid to killhim. So he went and told the King of Benares.
The king was surprised， so he went to the park. Hesaid to the golden deer， still lying on the block， "Oh kingof deer， did I not promise to spare your life？ What is thereason you come here like the others？"
King Banyan Deer replied， "Oh king of men， thistime a pregnant doe was unlucky enough to be the one todie. She pleaded for me to spare her， for the sake ofothers as well as her unborn baby and herself. I could nothelp but feel myself in her place， and feel her suffering. Icould not help but weep， to think the little one wouldnever see the dawn， would never taste the dew. And yet，I could not force the pain of death on another， relieved tothink it was not his turn today. So， mighty king， I offer mylife for the sake of the doe and her unborn fawn. Beassured there is no other reason."
The King of Benares was overwhelmed. Powerful ashe was， a tear rolled down his cheek. Then he said， "Ohgreat lord， the golden king of deer， even among humanbeings， I have not seen any such as you！ Such greatcompassion， to share in the suffering of others！ Such greatgenerosity， to give your life for others！ Such greatkindness and tender love for all your fellow deer！ Arise.I decree that you will never be killed by me or anyone elsein my kingdom. And so too， the doe and her babe."
Without yet raising his head， the golden one said，"Are only we to be saved？ What of the other deer in thepark， our friends and kin？" The king said， "My lord， Icannot refuse you， I grant safety and freedom to all thedeer in the park." "And what of the deer outside the park，will they be killed？" asked Banyan. "No my lord， I spareall the deer in my whole kingdom."
Still the golden deer did not raise up his head. Hepleaded， "So the deer will be safe， but what will the otherfour-footed animals do？" "My lord， from now on they tooare safe in my land." "And what of the birds？ They toowant to live." "Yes， my lord， the birds too will be safe fromdeath at the hands of men." "And what of the fish， wholive in the water？" "Even the fish will be free to live， mylord." So saying， the King of Benares granted immunityfrom hunting and killing to all the animals in his land.
Having pleaded for the lives of all creatures， theGreat Being arose.
[Chapter 2. Teaching]
Out of compassion and gratitude， King Banyan Deer—— the Enlightenment Being， taught thc King of Bcnares.He advised him to climb the five steps of training， inorder to purify his mind. He described them by saying， "Itwill benefit you， if you give up the five unwholesomeactions. 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 falling down the first four steps."
He further advised him to do wholesome actions，that would bring happiness in this life and beyond. ThenKing Banyan Deer， and both herds， returned to the forest.
In the fullness of time， the pregnant doe， who hadstayed with Banyan's herd， gave birth to a fawn. He wasas beautiful as a lotus blossom given as an offering to thegods.
When the fawn had grown into a young buck deer，he began playing with Branch Deer's herd. Seeing this， hismother said to him， "Better to die after a short life withthe great compassionate one， than to live a long life withan ordinary one." Afterwards， her son lived happily in theherd of King Banyan Deer.
The only ones left unhappy， were the farmers andvillagers of the kingdom. For， given total immunity by theking， the deer began to fearlessly eat the people's crops.They even grazed in the vegetable gardens inside thevillages and the city of Benares itself！
So the people complained to the king， and askedpermission to kill at least some of the deer as a warning.But the king said， "I myself promised complete immunityto King Banyan Deer. I would give up the kingship beforeI would break my word to him， No one may harm a deer！"
When King Banyan Deer heard of this， he said to allthe deer， "You should not eat the crops that belong toothers." And he sent a message to the people. Instead ofmaking fences， he asked them to tie up bunches of leavesas boundaries around their fields. This began the Indiancustom of marking fields with tied up leaves， which haveprotected them from deer to this very day.
Both King Banyan Deer and the King of Benareslived out their lives in peace， died， and were reborn asthey deserved.
The moral is： Wherever it is found， compassion is asign of greatness.