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A violent dragon meets a Bodhisattva on the road one day. The Boddhisattva tells the dragon that he should not kill anymore and should instead adopt the Five Precepts and care for all life. The Boddhisattva inspires the dragon, and afterwards the dragon becomes completely non-violent. But now the children who tend to the animal flocks nearby, seeing that the dragon has become gentle, lose all fear of him. And they begin to torment him, stuffing stones and dirt into his mouth, pulling on his tail, and jumping on his head. Soon the dragon stops eating and becomes very sick.
When the dragon encounters the Bodhisattva again, he complains, "You told me that if I kept the precepts and was compassionate, I would be happy. But now I suffer, and I am not happy at all." To this the Bodhisattva replies: "My son, if you have compassion, morality, and virtue, you must also have wisdom and intelligence. This is the way to protect yourself. The next time the children make you suffer, show them your fire. After that, they will trouble you no more."
Moral: Find the balance between Tolerance and Self-Defense.
| The 5 Precepts are: |
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| 1. To refrain from harming living creatures (killing).
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| 2. To refrain from taking that which is not freely given
(stealing). |
| 3. To refrain from sexual misconduct. |
| 4. To refrain from incorrect speech (lying, harsh
language, slander, idle chit-chat). |
| 5. To refrain from intoxicants which lead to loss of
mindfulness. |
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