philippine tarsier - one of the illustrations in the book "Once Upon a Time in Asia."
... brings together stories that reflect the many cultures and peoples of Asia
...Asia’s myths, legends, and stories of real people today demonstrate the values of harmony and the wisdom of respecting others.
James H. Kroeger
with Eugene F. Thalman
and Jason K. Dy
http://www.jesuits.ph/New%20Web/print.html
http://www.maryknollmall.org/description.cfm?ISBN=978-1-57075-637-5
boy with a guitar - one of the illustrations of the book "Once Upon a Time in Asia"
"The Rooster-Head Prince" taken from "Eastern Wisdom for Western Minds" by Victor M. Parachin - Once there was a prince who suffered from a mental illness. The man believed he was a rooster. To the dismay of his family and the royal court, he took off all his clothing, sat under a table, and refused to eat any food but corn seeds. His, father, the king, sent for the best physicians and specialists in the land but none of them could cure the prince from his delusion. Hearing about the prince's plight, a holy man from the kingdom appeared before the king...
God spelled as "D-o-g" taken from "Eastern Wisdom for Western Minds" by Victor M. Parachin - ...To his consternation he saw a large, black dog on the dining table, eating everything in sight... So, the man grabbed a large stick - club, actually, and began beating the dog mercilessly. In pain, the creature limped away... During his prayer God appeared to him once again but this time there were wounds and bruises all over his body. As God walked, he limped.
"The Cobra and the Holy Man" taken from "Eastern Wisdom for Western Minds" by Victor M. Parachin - The cobra was contrite promising not to harm any more villagers. However, the next time the villagers spotted the cobra, they attacked it using sticks and stones. They nearly beat the cobra to death. The cobra crawled away and found the holy man where it complained...
"The Cow and the Pig" taken from "Eastern Wisdom for Western Minds" by Victor M. Parachin - Finally, the Critic said: "Oh, all right. I'll go sleep in the barn." He quickly made his way there. A few minutes later, there was a knock at the farmhouse door. It was the cow and the pig.
"Ganesh and the Kitten" taken from "Eastern Wisdom for Western Minds" by Victor M. Parachin - One of them tells about Ganesh, the elephant-headed God, who was playing in a garden. Nearby in the house was his mother, the Goddess Parvati. She was preparing dinner. Out of boredom, Ganesh picked up a little kitten playing with it rather roughly. She did not enjoy the rough play and hissed at Ganesh hoping he would stop. He didn"t listen and continued bouncing, shaking and finally dropping the kitten which left her with a scratch on her face.
"The Stallion and Herd" taken from "Eastern Wisdom for Western Minds" by Victor M. Parachin - The next day his stallion returned, bringing with him a herd of wild horses, all equally as strong and fast. Again, neighbors rushed over but this time in a festive mood saying, "What good luck." A second time the old farmer responded, "Who knows what is good luck and what is bad luck?"
"Catching a Monkey" taken from "Eastern Wisdom for Western Minds" by Victor M. Parachin - ...the way to catch a monkey in India. You drop a handful of nuts into a jar with a small opening. The monkey comes and puts his hand into the jar, grabs the nuts, and then discovers that he can't get his fist out through the opening. If the monkey would just let go of the nuts, he could escape. But he won't.
"Saved Mosquito" taken from "Eastern Wisdom for Western Minds" by Victor M. Parachin - Following the lecture, the monk and the woman were conversing as the children watched with some boredom. A mosquito landed on the monk's arm beginning to probe for blood. Someone was about to whisk it away when the monk shook his head saying quietly "It takes so little."
"Wild Strawberries and Animals" taken from "Eastern Wisdom for Western Minds" by Victor M. Parachin - Clinging desperately, he looks up to see the bear leaning over the cliff clawing at his head... As he looks down to the ground below... he sees a lion leaping up... As the samurai looks at the branch he is clutching, he sees two groundhogs gnawing away at it... Taking a long, deep breath, the samurai notices, next to his branch, a clump of wild strawberries... With his free hand, the samurai reaches over, picks the strawberry, puts it in his mouth, chews it slowly, and says, "Ah - delicious."
"Scorpion's Nature" taken from "Eastern Wisdom for Western Minds" by Victor M. Parachin - ...two monks who were washing their bowls in the river when they noticed a scorpion that was drowning. One monk immediately scooped it up and set it upon the bank. In the process he was stung. He went back to washing his bowl and again the scorpion fell in. The monk saved the scorpion and was again stung. The other monk asked him, "Friend, why do you continue to save the scorpion when you know it's nature is to sting?"
"Because," the monk replied, "to save it is my nature."
"Yogi and his Companions" taken from "Eastern Wisdom for Western Minds" by Victor M. Parachin - As he left his ashram for his walk, cows from a neighboring village would break from their ropes running to join him. Local dogs trotted alongside, and young children followed behind. The story adds that even wild animals would emerge from the jungle to accompany him, including various kinds of snakes. Hundreds of birds would fly low in the sky, hovering over the yogi and his companions acting as flying squadrons providing protection...
"Twin Wolves Inside Us" taken from "Eastern Wisdom for Western Minds" by Victor M. Parachin - "But what is on the necklace?" the boy asks.
The grandfather takes off the necklace showing it to the boy. On it are the heads of two wolves.
"Grandfather, what do they mean?"
"Well," the grandfather explains, "inside each of us there are two wolves fighting to control us. One of them is scared and mean and has a hunger that can never be filled... The other is brave and kind and shares whatever it has with others..."
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