The Merchant of Seri - A Jataka Story About the Price of Honesty

Arjuna's Bird's Eye - The One Answer That Changed Everything

Dronacharya placed a wooden bird high on a distant branch and assembled all the princes. One by one he asked them to draw their bow and aim. Before letting anyone shoot he asked one question. "What do you see?" Yudhishthira said he saw the bird, the branch, the tree, the forest, the sky. Drona told him to step aside. Each prince gave a similar answer. Each one was told to put down his bow. Then Arjuna stepped forward. He drew his bow. He closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them Drona asked the same question. "What do you see?" One answer. Three words. New story every day. Follow so you never miss one.

Never Allow a Cat - The Last Words of a Dying Monk and the Long Story Behind Them

A great monk lay dying. His successor sat beside him waiting for whatever wisdom would come in these final moments. The room was full. Everyone leaning forward. The monk opened his eyes and said these words - "Never allow a cat in your life." And died. The successor was baffled. Why a cat? He had no intention of allowing a cat in his life. An old monk who had been in the monastery for decades came to sit with him. "There is a long story behind those words," he said. "He gave you the punch line. Let me tell you the story." New story every day. Follow so you never miss one.

The Baby Quail - A Jataka Story About the One Thing Stronger Than Fire

One day the Buddha was walking through the forests of Magadha with his monks when a great fire broke out ahead of them. The flames spread rapidly. The monks began to panic. The Buddha simply stopped. And the fire stopped too. Right at the spot where he stood. The monks said — it must be your power, Lord, your attainment, that stopped the fire. The Buddha shook his head. "This spot has not burned since long before I was the Buddha. Sit down. I will tell you why." In a previous life he had been born as a tiny quail — wings too small to fly, legs too weak to walk — alone in a nest as a forest fire advanced toward him. What he did next has kept that spot safe from fire for an entire era. New story every day. Follow so you never miss one.

Ajamila - The Man Who Was Saved by a Name He Wasn't Even Trying to Say

Ajaamil was born a Brahmin. Disciplined. Devoted. Obedient. One afternoon on a forest path he saw something that undid eighty-eight years of discipline in a single moment. He abandoned everything he knew. He spent the rest of his life in fraud, deception and sin. As he lay dying he saw three dark terrifying figures approaching with nooses in their hands. In his terror he called out the only name that came to him. His youngest son's name. The boy he loved most. What arrived next — and the argument that broke out at his deathbed — is one of the most extraordinary scenes in the entire Bhagwatam. New story every day. Follow so you never miss one.

Banzo's Sword - The Zen Master Who Taught Everything Without Teaching Anything

Matajuro was disowned by his father for being a mediocre swordsman. He found the great master Banzo and begged to be taught. Banzo told him never to speak of fencing and never to touch a sword. For three years Matajuro cooked, cleaned and carried water. Then one day Banzo crept up behind him with a wooden sword. After that the blow could come from anywhere. Day or night. Without warning. Not a moment passed in any day that he did not have to think of the taste of Banzo's sword. He became the greatest swordsman in the land. New story every day. Follow so you never miss one.