The Sama Jataka -Sama is shot by an arrow in his side by King Piliyakka. Care for the elderly
The future Buddha was born as a youg man named Sama, who cared lovingly for his forest-dwelling ascetic parent, who were aged and blind. One day, while fetching water from a pool, Sama was accidentally shot and killed by the arrow of a king who was out hunting in the forest. However, Sama's merit was so great that he came back to life, and even his parent's eyesight was restored.
The Grateful Parrot
The future Buddha was born as Mahasuka, a parrot who lived in a fig tree whose fruit fed him all year long. The God Saka decided to test him., and caused the tree to wither away. The parrot perched on the stump, unperturbed. Saka asked the parrot why he did not fly away. The parrot replied that he could not desert an old friend who had given him so much. On hearing these words, Saka offered him a boon. The parrot asked for his tree to live again, and it sprang back to life.
The Mahasuka Jataka
The Four Friends Jataka
A story in a Buddhist sutra tells of four animal friends. One day they decided to work out who was the eldest and thus the wisest. To determine their ages, they recalled their first memories of a nearby tree. The elephant remembered it as tall as himself, the monkey as a small tree, and the hare as a sapling. However, the bird remembered it as a seed, which he planted himself. In accordance with this, the animals set themselves in order, with the wisest highest, to show respect and harmony. The future Buddha was the bird and the other animals were attendants and disciples.
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