Long ago,
High in the green mountains,
Where the clouds touch the trees,
There lived a young prince named Mahasattava,
But he was no ordinary prince.
From the time he was small,
He had a heart full of kindness.
While other children played with golden toys,
Mahasattava fed the birds,
Cared for the smallest insects and spoke softly to the trees.
His heart was as vast as the sky,
Filled with love for all living things.
Mahasattava had two older brothers,
Strong and wise,
And together they often wandered into the deep forest that surrounded the palace.
There they listened to the wind,
Watched the rivers flow and learned the wisdom of nature.
One bright morning,
As golden light filtered through the trees,
The three brothers set out on a journey into the forest.
Their sandals brushed against soft moss,
And the air was filled with the songs of the birds.
They walked deeper and deeper,
Past towering bamboo,
Past clear streams,
Until they came upon a quiet valley.
But something was wrong.
The usual sounds of the forest,
The rustling leaves,
The buzzing bees,
Were gone.
Instead,
A heavy silence filled the air.
The birds perched high in the trees,
Unmoving,
And the wind seemed to hold its breath.
Then,
From the shadows of the trees,
They saw her,
A tigress.
She was large and beautiful,
But something was different.
Her ribs showed through her golden fur,
Her eyes,
One fierce and bright,
Were now dull with hunger,
And beside her,
Barely moving,
Lay her three tiny cubs.
They were too weak to lift their heads,
Mahasattava understood in an instant.
The mother was starving.
She had no strength left to hunt,
And without food,
Her cubs would not survive.
His heart ached.
The eldest brother whispered,
We must leave,
Quickly.
The second brother added,
If she is starving,
She may attack.
But Mahasattava did not move.
His eyes were filled with tears of compassion.
She is a mother,
Just like her own.
She is not cruel,
She is only hungry.
His brothers looked at him,
Uncertain.
Even if we wanted to help,
One said.
Even if we wanted to help,
One said.
What can we do?
We have no food to give her.
Mahasattava's heart was quiet,
But his decision was clear.
I have a body,
And a body can be given.
The brothers did not understand his words,
But Mahasattava smiled gently at them.
He knew that his life was not just his own.
Everything in the world was connected,
Trees,
Rivers,
Animals,
People.
If he could give his body to save this mother and her cubs,
Then his life will not be lost.
He would continue through them.
He turned to his brothers and said softly,
Go home,
Tell our parents I love them,
And do not be sad,
For I go with joy.
His brothers,
Sensing something deeper and sacred,
Left in silence.
Now alone,
Mahasattava knelt before the tigress.
Her breath was shallow,
Her eyes half closed,
She was too weak even to eat.
With great tenderness,
The prince walked to the edge of a rocky cliff.
He looked out over the green valley and the endless sky,
And the golden sunlight touching the earth.
He smiled.
May this body,
Which was given to me,
Now be given to another.
And with that,
He left.
The sound startled the tigress,
She opened her weary eyes,
And for the first time in days she found the strength to stand.
The scent fulfilled her senses,
An instinct took over.
She ate,
And life returned to her body.
Her strength grew,
Her breath deepened,
And her cup stirred beside her,
Mewing softly.
By his great compassion,
Mahasattava had given them life.
But Mahasattava's story did not end.
At the moment of his final breath,
The sky filled with light.
The trees,
The rivers,
And the very earth remembered his kindness.
And in that sacred moment,
He was reborn.
Not in a palace,
Nor in a golden cradle,
But in the hearts of all who love,
All who give,
And all who see the world with compassion.
For the greatest gift is not riches,
Nor power,
Nor even wisdom,
Is the gift.
Of a heart willing to love beyond itself.
