Reading guide
A different chapter, a different kind of virtue
Where the first chapter's ten stories were about giving something away, this second chapter's ten stories are almost all about a different discipline: not retaliating, not breaking a commitment to non-harm, even when the character in question has every practical ability to strike back.
Enormous strength, deliberately unused
The elephant states his own power directly: strong enough, in his prime, to equal a thousand elephants, with the physical capacity to defeat ‘even a kingdom of men’ if provoked. None of that capacity is used when hunters come to capture him.
Captured while feeding his mother
The elephant is found not in a moment of vulnerability but in an act of care — pulling lotus roots from a pond to feed his mother — and is taken by the trunk without a struggle, on a tamer's word alone, no moat or restraint required.
A vow stated as the reason, not fear
The story is explicit about motive: ‘for the sake of guarding my ethics, and fulfilling my perfection of ethics, I did not let my mind change’, even under blows from hatchets and lances. Restraint here is framed as a discipline actively maintained, not a lack of options.
Key terms
The text
§1“Once I lived in the forest as a elephant who provided for his mother. At that time no-one on earth could equal my virtues.
§2Seeing me in the forest, a forester informed the king about me. ‘Great King, an elephant that befits you is dwelling in the forest grove.
§3No need to dig a moat around him, nor tether him to a post in a pit. Taken by the trunk, he will come here by himself.’
§4When he heard these words, the king, elated, sent an elephant-tamer, a well-trained and expert tutor.
§5When the elephant-tamer reached there, he saw me in a lotus pond, pulling out lotus roots to feed my mother.
§6Discerning my moral virtue, he checked me for marks. Saying, ‘Come, child’, he took me by the trunk.
§7What was at that time the natural strength of my body, would equal a thousand of the elephants of today.
§8If I had been upset with those who came to capture me, I would have had the power to defeat even a kingdom of men.
§9Nevertheless, for the sake of guarding my ethics, and fulfilling my perfection of ethics, I did not let my mind change, even as they caged me.
§10And even were they to beat me with hatchets and lances, I would never become upset, for fear of violating my ethics.”
Self-check quiz
Ten questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.