The Banyan Deer

In a past life, the Buddha was born as a magnificent golden deer, the King of the Banyan Deer herd. The King of Benares loved hunting so much that he forced the villagers to drive two herds of deer—the Banyan herd and the Branch herd—into a royal park so he could shoot one every day.

Many deer were wounded unnecessarily in the panic of the hunt. Seeing this, the Banyan Deer King approached the Branch Deer King and proposed a lottery: one deer would voluntarily go to the execution block each day, sparing the rest from terror.

One day, the lot fell to a pregnant doe in the Branch herd. She pleaded with her king, "If I die, two lives are lost. Let my turn come after I have given birth." The Branch Deer King coldly told her she must accept her fate.

Desperate, she went to the Banyan Deer King. He listened with immense compassion and said, "Do not worry. Go in peace." The Banyan Deer King then walked to the execution block and laid his golden head on the chopping block.

The royal cook was stunned to see the golden king offering himself and ran to tell the human king. The King of Benares arrived and asked, "King of Deer, you are exempt from the lottery. Why are you here?"

The Banyan Deer King explained that he could not bear to see a mother and unborn child die, nor could he transfer the lot to another. The human king's heart melted. He not only spared the Banyan Deer King and the doe, but declared that no deer, bird, or fish in his kingdom would ever be killed again.