The brave little parrot
(source
: Buddhist legend , rafe martins adaptation)
Apply
the four levels of reading to the story "The Brave Little Parrot "
I.
Literal
comprehension
The
source of this story is Buddhist legend . this story basically represents the
essence of Buddhism . once, lord Buddha was born as a little parrot . one
day , the home forest of the parrot
caught fire. As he was flying to a safety place for life , he saw many fellow
animals being trapped by fire with no chance of escape. suddenly a desperate
idea to save their life came to his mind . he flew quickly to the river ,
dipped himself into the water , flew back over the raging fire, shook his wings
and released the few drops of water which still clung to his wings . although
he was badly affected by the extreme heat of the fire , he continued his effort
to put out fire so that he could save the life of his fellows. At that time
some gods were floating over the raging fire. When they saw the hopeless task
of the parrot , they laughed at him . one of the god was touched by his great
task . then he disguised himself as a golden eagle and flew down towards the
parrot . he advised the parrot to stop his task and save his life but the
parrot continued his task. The god who had disguised himself as an eagle grew
ashamed and desired to help the parrot. Stream after stream of tears poured
from his eyes and the fire died down . the miraculous rain gave new life to
every thing . the grass , the plants and the leaves got new freshness . the
parrot also got washed and got new colorful feathers and strength . not a
single animal was harmed . finally , they gave a shout of "hurray"
for their little friend and the miraculous rain of tear.
II.
Interpretation
This
story is trying to tell something about the essence of Buddhism . it tells the
readers that helpfulness and kindness are the true essence of Buddhism . we
should help others who are in difficulty and trouble being selfless. That is
the best religion . we should not give up our task . we get success sooner or
later . we get support for holy mission by others . this story is trying to
tell the readers that a helpful and noble person is always respected and
praised by others . we should have love for other creatures as well . this is
also about the importance of courage for right work and confidence to have
successful achievement in life .
III.
Assimilation
In
spite of being a meaningful story, here are some points that the critical
readers don’t agree to . the readers of the scientific age don’t believe the
parrot to be the reincarnation of Buddha . Does the god take rebirth as a
parrot ? Does as eagle weep in such a miraculous way? Can the tears fall as a
stream ?can all the birds , animals , and plants be restored in no time? Such
incidents are quite impossible in real life . this story is not on the ground
of reality . but it does not mean that there is nothing important in the story
to tell to the readers.
IV.
Assimilation
This
story has brought a great change in me. After reading this story I realized
that kindness and helpfulness are the true essence of life. I understood the
core of Buddhism . while reading this story I identified myself as the parrot .
I felt as if I saw the incident . if I were in that situation , I would like to
put out the fire like the parrot did . this story has aroused a sense of
kindness and helpfulness in my heart . I knew the god helps those people who
help others selflessly .
OTHER IMPORTANT QUESTIONS
FROM THIS LESSON
Ø THE BRAVE LITTLE PARROT CAN BE INTERPRETED AS AN ADVICE TO YOU
ABOUT HOW YOU SHOULD CONDUCT YOUR OWN LIFE . EXPLAIN WHAT THIS ADVICE MIGHT BE.
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