The Wind And The Moon – Jataka Tales

Buddha’s Tales for Young and Old
[Friendship]
Once upon a time, there were two very
good friends who lived together in the shade of a
rock. Strange as it may seem, one was a lion and
one was a tiger. They had met when they were too
young to know the difference between lions and
tigers. So they did not think their friendship was
at all unusual. Besides, it was a peaceful part of
the mountains, possibly due to the influence of a
gentle forest monk who lived nearby. He was a
hermit, one who lives far away from other people.
For some unknown reason, one day the two
friends got into a silly argument. The tiger said,
“Everyone knows the cold comes when the moon
wanes from full to new!” The lion said, “Where
did you hear such nonsense? Everyone knows the
cold comes when the moon waxes from new to
full!”
The argument got stronger and stronger.
Neither could convince the other. They could not
reach any conclusion to resolve the growing dis-
pute. They even started calling each other names!
Fearing for their friendship, they decided to go
ask the learned forest monk, who would surely
know about such things.
Visiting the peaceful hermit, the lion and
tiger bowed respectfully and put their question to
him. The friendly monk thought for a while and
then gave his answer. “It can be cold in any phase
of the moon, from new to full and back to new
again. It is the wind that brings the cold, whether
from west or north or east. Therefore, in a way,
you are both right! And neither of you is defeated
by the other. The most important thing is to live
without conflict, to remain united. Unity is best by
all means.”
The lion and tiger thanked the wise hermit.
They were happy to still be friends.
The moral is: Weather comes and weather
goes, but friendship remains.