Reading Notes: The Crocodile and the Monkey




The Crocodile and the Monkey's Heart from Eastern Stories and Legends by Marie L. Shedlock.

The Crocodile in the River, from Vanarinda Jataka, in The Jataka: Volume 1 translated by Robert Chalmers.

Both of these stories are similar; they involve a crocodile being outwitted by a monkey, who is one of the incarnations of the Buddha in a past life. It seems like the crocodile is always portrayed as...exceedingly unintelligent, to put it lightly. He believes the monkey speaks to a rock regularly, and that his heart is hidden up in a tree because it would fall out with all his swinging. I think I've tried something similar on one of my 5-year old cousins. And even he didn't fall for it.

However, it's not entirely the crocodile's fault. The spurring on of his wife reminds me of the Biblical story of Adam and Eve. Because of her persuasion, the crocodile does something he didn't wish to do, just as Adam partook of the wrong fruit because of persuasion from his wife. If we continue with this analogy, does that make the monkey the serpent, there to deceive the well-intentioned crocodile who is just trying to please his wife? The serpent's most prominent trait was craftiness, as is the monkey's.

A plot twist ready for the silver screen: the monkey-Buddha, traditionally portrayed as a benevolent figure outwitting the wicked machinations of various creatures is actually a subtle mastermind of evil, pettily taking advantage of his vast experience from multiple reincarnations to have some fun at the expense of other creatures' well-beings! All the crocodile wanted was to feed his wife, but not only was he robbed of food, he was robbed of his dignity.

Not sure if it would fly in Hollywood, though.

Upon a third read-through, it clearly states that the crocodile is no mere creature, but actually a past incarnation of Devadatta. I don't know what the history is between the Buddha and the Devadatta, but with some brief research, my understanding is that he is the brother-in-law of the Buddha, and wanted to kill him out of ambition. In trying to do so, he formed a schism in the Buddhist teachings (Sangha) and usurped 500 followers. From this perspective, it seems as if the crocodile does deserve the humiliation! Blinded by and wanting to satisfy his "wife," which could be said to represent his ambition, the crocodile tries to kill the monkey. However, he not only fails but is humiliated.

Is this story deeper than I thought, or am I too deep in thought..?


See you in the next post,
Smith

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