The Hare's Self Sacrifice

[TheoloJer]

I took a quick glance at this story while I was getting homework done. It's a story found in Buddhist scripture about this rabbit sacrificing himself as food so that another animal can get food.

I look at this story and I found a bit similar to Jesus' sacrifice for the sinner on the cross-- in fact, foreshadowing to what was to happen in Jesus' lifetime, except we all know Jesus resurrected and conquered death so that we may have life.

Has anybody read this story? If so, have I represented the story right?

[Battleaxe]

Haven`t seen that one, but on the front of the High Altar of the church Mother Angelica had built, there`s a depiction of the mother swan (or a pelican?) pecking at herself so that the young can suck her blood.

[rossum]

Originally Posted by TheoloJer

I took a quick glance at this story while I was getting homework done. It's a story found in Buddhist scripture about this rabbit sacrificing himself as food so that another animal can get food.

I look at this story and I found a bit similar to Jesus' sacrifice for the sinner on the cross-- in fact, foreshadowing to what was to happen in Jesus' lifetime, except we all know Jesus resurrected and conquered death so that we may have life.

Has anybody read this story? If so, have I represented the story right?

You are probably talking about the Sasa Jataka. There are a great many stories in the Jatakamala, which is where this one comes from.

Something closer to the story of Jesus' sacrifice is the tale of the Prince and the Hungry Tigress where the Buddha in a previous life found a starving Tigress, about to eat her cubs. He threw himself down in front of her, but she was too weak from hunger to kill him, so he broke off a sharp piece of bamboo (he carried no weapons of course) and cut his own throat in order to feed the tigress with his flesh and save both her and her cubs.

The story is in Chapter 18 of the Suvarnaprabhasa sutra.

rossum

[TheoloJer]

Thank you for the insight, Rossum.

I've been reading about Buddhism in Art History, and I'm expected to read 'The Hare's Self Sacrifice' in my Global Lit class this semester, so I want to make sure I know what I'm catching up on.

Something closer to the story of Jesus' sacrifice is the tale of the Prince and the Hungry Tigress where the Buddha in a previous life found a starving Tigress, about to eat her cubs. He threw himself down in front of her, but she was too weak from hunger to kill him, so he broke off a sharp piece of bamboo (he carried no weapons of course) and cut his own throat in order to feed the tigress with his flesh and save both her and her cubs.

Fascinating. In a way, it is kinda foreshadowing of what Christ would accomplish, except that Christ was crucified on a cross for the sins of the world so that the world may know of his sacrifice and his love, and rose again, and commanded his apostles to share and proclaim the heart of the gospel, and ascended to heaven.

Hope you don't mind if I did a little comparison there for you.