This is a story that teaches you the importance of knowing your own limits.

A tale from the Buddhist tradition about a community of lions and jackals that learns that friendship is built on trust and generosity retold for young readers.

This is the extended and annotated edition including * an extensive annotation of more than 10.000 words about the history and basics of Buddhism, written by Thomas William Rhys Davids * an interactive table-of-contents * perfect formatting for electronic reading devices The Jātakas refer to a voluminous body of literature native to India concerning the previous births (jāti) of the Buddha. These are the stories that tell about the previous lives of the Buddha, in both human and animal form. The future Buddha may appear in them as a king, an outcast, a god, an elephant—but, in whatever form, he exhibits some virtue that the tale thereby inculcates. The Theravada Jatakas comprise 547 poems, arranged roughly by increasing number of verses. This book comprises poem 1 through 150. (courtesy of wikipedia.com)

Whereas Western intellectuals seek the essence of Buddhism in its doctrines and meditation practices, the traditional Buddhists of Asia absorb the ideas and values of their spiritual heritage through its rich narrative literature about the Buddha and his disciples. The most popular collection of Buddhist stories is, without doubt, the Jatakas. These are the stories of the Buddha's past births, relating his experiences as he passed from life to life on the way to becoming a Buddha. At times he takes the form of a bird, at times he is born as a hare, a monkey, a prince, a merchant, or an ascetic, but in each case he uses the challenges he meets to grow in generosity, virtue, patience, wisdom, and compassion.This anthology of Jatakas, ably told by Ken and Visakha Kawasaki, remains faithful to the original yet presents the stories in clear and simple language. It thereby makes the Jatakas accessible even to young readers and to those for whom English is not their first language.

The age old question of ‘brain or brawn' finds its solution in this enchanting tale.