Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche loved telling stories to children. He considered it an effective way to teach them the basic ethics of love and compassion as well as to introduce them to the idea of karma. In the summer of 1990, Rinpoche told a series of children’s stories at Rigdzin Ling, inviting all the neighborhood kids for popcorn and tales from Tibet. This is one of those stories, adapted from the transcript.
Once upon a time, long ago, there were two kings whose small kingdoms were on opposite sides of a mountain in eastern Tibet. The king on one side of the mountain had a hundred very wonderful horses; the king on the other had a hundred very valuable dzos.
Now, a dzo is an unusual animal: half-cow and half-yak. A yak is somewhat like a buffalo with lots of hair. When a yak and a cow mate, they produce a dzo or a dzomo (a female dzo). At the time that this story took place, there were no such things as cars or trucks. So when people traveled, dzos were quite helpful in carrying their packs. Because dzos were so strong and displayed great endurance, people greatly valued them.
The king who owned the hundred horses had one that he loved above the rest because it had extraordinary qualities. It was called “the mirror-faced horse,” as it had a round white spot on its forehead.
The king entrusted the care of his mirror-faced horse, as well as all the others, to one man: the royal horseman. The king knew his horseman to be a very, very honest person. In fact, it was said that throughout his entire life, he had never lied and was careful to speak only the truth.
One day the king who owned a hundred dzos came to visit. As they talked, the hundred-horse king happened to mention his wonderful horseman, saying how great it was that he never lied. The hundred-dzo king said, “That can’t be true. In the realm of human beings, there is no one who has never lied; it’s not possible. You just don’t know that he lies.”
The hundred-horse king was astonished and retorted, “Do you really think so? I myself believe that he would never lie; I am completely confident in him.”
So the two decided to make a bet. The hundred-dzo king said, “All right. If your servant truly never lies, I will give you my hundred dzos. But if I catch him in a lie, you will have to give me your hundred horses.”
Each king was extremely confident that he was correct and certain that he would win.
Now it so happened that the hundred-dzo king had three beautiful daughters. He summoned the most charming and gave her the following instructions: “Dress in plain clothes and go to the royal horseman’s house. Find a way to remain there, and slowly earn his confidence and love. Then you must….” And he quietly whispered the rest into her ear.
Although his daughter was not happy with the request, the king finally convinced her that she had to obey. So she dressed like an ordinary woman and set off for the horseman’s house. When she got there, she knocked on his door and said,
“Please, I am traveling alone; it is late and I have no place to stay. Would you put me up for the night?” Kind and goodhearted, the horseman had such compassion for her that he made up a place in the back of his small house for her to spend the night.
When she got up the next morning, she said, “I don’t feel well. I think that it would be quite difficult for me to travel today. May I please stay a little longer?”
As he did not have the heart to send her away unwell, he agreed to let her stay. Each day that followed, she found a new excuse not to leave, and over time she earned his trust by treating him sweetly and kindly. He liked this very much. Their relationship blossomed, and they eventually married.
One day, the horseman came home to find his new wife in bed, thrashing about and crying. “Oh, I feel terrible! My whole body is filled with pain; I don’t think I will live much longer!”
Upset, the horseman asked, “What can I do to help?”
“Nothing can help. No doctor’s medicine can cure this sickness. Today is the day I am going to die.”
“Please,” he pleaded, “there must be something we can do, some kind of cure. I don’t want to lose you!”
She replied, “Well, there is a cure, but it comes at such a terrible price—I could never ask it of you!”
“I will get whatever is necessary to cure you!” he told her. She looked at him sadly and said, “Only the heart of the mirror-faced horse can cure my sickness. If I can’t have it, I will certainly die. “
Quiet for a long time, the horseman finally shook his head and said, “That will be very difficult.”
As he left the room, he thought, “There is no way I can take the life of the mirror-faced horse. But if I can find another horse’s heart at the market, it might be good enough to cure her.”
Later that day, he returned home with the heart of an ordinary horse and began to prepare it as medicine. He then gave it to her, but she did not improve. She asked him, “Was this potion really made from the heart of the mirror-faced horse?” Because he could not lie, he had to admit that the heart was from an ordinary horse. She told her husband that it was of no use, and indeed her sickness got worse and worse.
The horseman really believed that she was dying, so he decided to obtain the only remedy that would save her: the heart of the mirror-faced horse.
He went to the royal stables and sat by the stall of the mirror-faced horse. He was very sad—he had never taken the life of a single being. But if he did not kill the horse and take the heart, his beloved wife would surely die. He did not know what to do. He talked quietly and gently to the mirror-faced horse, confiding his dilemma and asking for forgiveness. Unbeknownst to the horseman, the horse was an extraordinary being, a great bodhisattva. Without hesitation, it stepped forward to meet the horseman’s knife and offered it’s own life to save that of another.
The horseman hurried home, made the medicine from the heart of the horse, and gave it to his wife. She quickly got better and within a few days was out of bed. The horseman was very happy—that is, until the following morning when he woke up and found out that his wife had left him during the night.
The horseman’s wife returned to her father, the hundred-dzo king, and told him that she had accomplished her mission and that he could move forward with his plan.
“We need to summon your horseman and ask him how all your horses are; you especially need to ask after the health of the mirror-faced horse. We will see whether he lies or not.”
When the horseman received the summons, he became terribly worried and nervous. He thought, “If I tell the king what really happened, he will be so upset. That would not be good. But I have never told a lie. What shall I do?”
He went into a meadow, cut up some grass sod, and made a throne with it. Then he found a tall rock and placed it before the throne. Climbing onto the throne, he pretended that he was the king and that the rock was himself.
His name was Son of Awareness Who Never Lies, so he asked, “Son of Awareness Who Never Lies, tell me: how are all the horses, especially my favorite, mirror-faced horse?”
He quickly changed places, put the rock on the throne to represent the king, and sat before the throne; he replied, “All the horses are very well.” As soon as he said this, the rock fell off the throne.
“This is not a good sign,” he thought.
Then he put the rock back in front of the throne; he climbed onto the throne and said, “Horseman, please tell me about my horses. Is the mirror-faced horse well and happy?”
He quickly switched places again and said, “No.”
Then he imagined that the king asked him, “What has happened?”
He replied, “A woman came to my house and played a trick on me; she convinced me to take the heart of your mirror-faced horse.”
He thought that he saw the rock move a little and say, “Aha!” He took this as a sign that it must be all right to tell the truth. Now that he knew what to do, he went to face the king.
Both kings were extremely confident. The hundred-dzo king was sure that the horseman would lie to save himself. The hundred-horse king was sure that his horseman would never lie under any circumstance.
So the hundred-horse king said to the royal horseman, “Tell me: how is the mirror-faced horse? Are you happy? Are all of the horses well?”
The horseman gathered up his courage and said, “No.”
“What happened?” his king asked.
He then told the king the whole sad story. “One day, a pretty woman came to my house. We began a relationship and got married. But she fell ill and said she was dying. She said that the only thing that would cure her was the heart of your mirror-faced horse. So I did what she asked and killed the horse. Then she left me, so I’ve lost her also. I’m very unhappy.”
To the great surprise of the horseman, his king was not upset. In fact, the king looked rather pleased. He turned to the hundred-dzo king with a smile and said, “This man who always tells the truth brings happiness and prosperity to the kingdom, and the one who didn’t believe it possible now owes me a hundred dzos.” The hundred-horse king was quite happy to double his herd and to prove that there was a man in the human realm would never tell a lie.
So you see that when you have done something wrong, it is probably better to not make it worse by lying about it, and that telling the truth will usually only improve things.
Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche loved telling stories to children. He considered it an effective way to teach them the basic ethics of love and compassion as well as to introduce them to the idea of karma. In the summer of 1990, Rinpoche told a series of children’s stories at Rigdzin Ling, inviting all the neighborhood kids for popcorn and tales from Tibet. This is one of those stories, adapted from the transcript.
Once upon a time, long ago, there were two kings whose small kingdoms were on opposite sides of a mountain in eastern Tibet. The king on one side of the mountain had a hundred very wonderful horses; the king on the other had a hundred very valuable dzos.
Now, a dzo is an unusual animal: half-cow and half-yak. A yak is somewhat like a buffalo with lots of hair. When a yak and a cow mate, they produce a dzo or a dzomo (a female dzo). At the time that this story took place, there were no such things as cars or trucks. So when people traveled, dzos were quite helpful in carrying their packs. Because dzos were so strong and displayed great endurance, people greatly valued them.
The king who owned the hundred horses had one that he loved above the rest because it had extraordinary qualities. It was called “the mirror-faced horse,” as it had a round white spot on its forehead.
The king entrusted the care of his mirror-faced horse, as well as all the others, to one man: the royal horseman. The king knew his horseman to be a very, very honest person. In fact, it was said that throughout his entire life, he had never lied and was careful to speak only the truth.
One day the king who owned a hundred dzos came to visit. As they talked, the hundred-horse king happened to mention his wonderful horseman, saying how great it was that he never lied. The hundred-dzo king said, “That can’t be true. In the realm of human beings, there is no one who has never lied; it’s not possible. You just don’t know that he lies.”
The hundred-horse king was astonished and retorted, “Do you really think so? I myself believe that he would never lie; I am completely confident in him.”
So the two decided to make a bet. The hundred-dzo king said, “All right. If your servant truly never lies, I will give you my hundred dzos. But if I catch him in a lie, you will have to give me your hundred horses.”
Each king was extremely confident that he was correct and certain that he would win.
Now it so happened that the hundred-dzo king had three beautiful daughters. He summoned the most charming and gave her the following instructions: “Dress in plain clothes and go to the royal horseman’s house. Find a way to remain there, and slowly earn his confidence and love. Then you must….” And he quietly whispered the rest into her ear.
Although his daughter was not happy with the request, the king finally convinced her that she had to obey. So she dressed like an ordinary woman and set off for the horseman’s house. When she got there, she knocked on his door and said,
“Please, I am traveling alone; it is late and I have no place to stay. Would you put me up for the night?” Kind and goodhearted, the horseman had such compassion for her that he made up a place in the back of his small house for her to spend the night.
When she got up the next morning, she said, “I don’t feel well. I think that it would be quite difficult for me to travel today. May I please stay a little longer?”
As he did not have the heart to send her away unwell, he agreed to let her stay. Each day that followed, she found a new excuse not to leave, and over time she earned his trust by treating him sweetly and kindly. He liked this very much. Their relationship blossomed, and they eventually married.
One day, the horseman came home to find his new wife in bed, thrashing about and crying. “Oh, I feel terrible! My whole body is filled with pain; I don’t think I will live much longer!”
Upset, the horseman asked, “What can I do to help?”
“Nothing can help. No doctor’s medicine can cure this sickness. Today is the day I am going to die.”
“Please,” he pleaded, “there must be something we can do, some kind of cure. I don’t want to lose you!”
She replied, “Well, there is a cure, but it comes at such a terrible price—I could never ask it of you!”
“I will get whatever is necessary to cure you!” he told her. She looked at him sadly and said, “Only the heart of the mirror-faced horse can cure my sickness. If I can’t have it, I will certainly die. “
Quiet for a long time, the horseman finally shook his head and said, “That will be very difficult.”
As he left the room, he thought, “There is no way I can take the life of the mirror-faced horse. But if I can find another horse’s heart at the market, it might be good enough to cure her.”
Later that day, he returned home with the heart of an ordinary horse and began to prepare it as medicine. He then gave it to her, but she did not improve. She asked him, “Was this potion really made from the heart of the mirror-faced horse?” Because he could not lie, he had to admit that the heart was from an ordinary horse. She told her husband that it was of no use, and indeed her sickness got worse and worse.
The horseman really believed that she was dying, so he decided to obtain the only remedy that would save her: the heart of the mirror-faced horse.
He went to the royal stables and sat by the stall of the mirror-faced horse. He was very sad—he had never taken the life of a single being. But if he did not kill the horse and take the heart, his beloved wife would surely die. He did not know what to do. He talked quietly and gently to the mirror-faced horse, confiding his dilemma and asking for forgiveness. Unbeknownst to the horseman, the horse was an extraordinary being, a great bodhisattva. Without hesitation, it stepped forward to meet the horseman’s knife and offered it’s own life to save that of another.
The horseman hurried home, made the medicine from the heart of the horse, and gave it to his wife. She quickly got better and within a few days was out of bed. The horseman was very happy—that is, until the following morning when he woke up and found out that his wife had left him during the night.
The horseman’s wife returned to her father, the hundred-dzo king, and told him that she had accomplished her mission and that he could move forward with his plan.
“We need to summon your horseman and ask him how all your horses are; you especially need to ask after the health of the mirror-faced horse. We will see whether he lies or not.”
When the horseman received the summons, he became terribly worried and nervous. He thought, “If I tell the king what really happened, he will be so upset. That would not be good. But I have never told a lie. What shall I do?”
He went into a meadow, cut up some grass sod, and made a throne with it. Then he found a tall rock and placed it before the throne. Climbing onto the throne, he pretended that he was the king and that the rock was himself.
His name was Son of Awareness Who Never Lies, so he asked, “Son of Awareness Who Never Lies, tell me: how are all the horses, especially my favorite, mirror-faced horse?”
He quickly changed places, put the rock on the throne to represent the king, and sat before the throne; he replied, “All the horses are very well.” As soon as he said this, the rock fell off the throne.
“This is not a good sign,” he thought.
Then he put the rock back in front of the throne; he climbed onto the throne and said, “Horseman, please tell me about my horses. Is the mirror-faced horse well and happy?”
He quickly switched places again and said, “No.”
Then he imagined that the king asked him, “What has happened?”
He replied, “A woman came to my house and played a trick on me; she convinced me to take the heart of your mirror-faced horse.”
He thought that he saw the rock move a little and say, “Aha!” He took this as a sign that it must be all right to tell the truth. Now that he knew what to do, he went to face the king.
Both kings were extremely confident. The hundred-dzo king was sure that the horseman would lie to save himself. The hundred-horse king was sure that his horseman would never lie under any circumstance.
So the hundred-horse king said to the royal horseman, “Tell me: how is the mirror-faced horse? Are you happy? Are all of the horses well?”
The horseman gathered up his courage and said, “No.”
“What happened?” his king asked.
He then told the king the whole sad story. “One day, a pretty woman came to my house. We began a relationship and got married. But she fell ill and said she was dying. She said that the only thing that would cure her was the heart of your mirror-faced horse. So I did what she asked and killed the horse. Then she left me, so I’ve lost her also. I’m very unhappy.”
To the great surprise of the horseman, his king was not upset. In fact, the king looked rather pleased. He turned to the hundred-dzo king with a smile and said, “This man who always tells the truth brings happiness and prosperity to the kingdom, and the one who didn’t believe it possible now owes me a hundred dzos.” The hundred-horse king was quite happy to double his herd and to prove that there was a man in the human realm would never tell a lie.
So you see that when you have done something wrong, it is probably better to not make it worse by lying about it, and that telling the truth will usually only improve things.
Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche loved telling stories to children. He considered it an effective way to teach them the basic ethics of love and compassion as well as to introduce them to the idea of karma. In the summer of 1990, Rinpoche told a series of children’s stories at Rigdzin Ling, inviting all the neighborhood kids for popcorn and tales from Tibet. This is one of those stories, adapted from the transcript.
Once upon a time, long ago, there were two kings whose small kingdoms were on opposite sides of a mountain in eastern Tibet. The king on one side of the mountain had a hundred very wonderful horses; the king on the other had a hundred very valuable dzos.
Now, a dzo is an unusual animal: half-cow and half-yak. A yak is somewhat like a buffalo with lots of hair. When a yak and a cow mate, they produce a dzo or a dzomo (a female dzo). At the time that this story took place, there were no such things as cars or trucks. So when people traveled, dzos were quite helpful in carrying their packs. Because dzos were so strong and displayed great endurance, people greatly valued them.
The king who owned the hundred horses had one that he loved above the rest because it had extraordinary qualities. It was called “the mirror-faced horse,” as it had a round white spot on its forehead.
The king entrusted the care of his mirror-faced horse, as well as all the others, to one man: the royal horseman. The king knew his horseman to be a very, very honest person. In fact, it was said that throughout his entire life, he had never lied and was careful to speak only the truth.
One day the king who owned a hundred dzos came to visit. As they talked, the hundred-horse king happened to mention his wonderful horseman, saying how great it was that he never lied. The hundred-dzo king said, “That can’t be true. In the realm of human beings, there is no one who has never lied; it’s not possible. You just don’t know that he lies.”
The hundred-horse king was astonished and retorted, “Do you really think so? I myself believe that he would never lie; I am completely confident in him.”
So the two decided to make a bet. The hundred-dzo king said, “All right. If your servant truly never lies, I will give you my hundred dzos. But if I catch him in a lie, you will have to give me your hundred horses.”
Each king was extremely confident that he was correct and certain that he would win.
Now it so happened that the hundred-dzo king had three beautiful daughters. He summoned the most charming and gave her the following instructions: “Dress in plain clothes and go to the royal horseman’s house. Find a way to remain there, and slowly earn his confidence and love. Then you must….” And he quietly whispered the rest into her ear.
Although his daughter was not happy with the request, the king finally convinced her that she had to obey. So she dressed like an ordinary woman and set off for the horseman’s house. When she got there, she knocked on his door and said,
“Please, I am traveling alone; it is late and I have no place to stay. Would you put me up for the night?” Kind and goodhearted, the horseman had such compassion for her that he made up a place in the back of his small house for her to spend the night.
When she got up the next morning, she said, “I don’t feel well. I think that it would be quite difficult for me to travel today. May I please stay a little longer?”
As he did not have the heart to send her away unwell, he agreed to let her stay. Each day that followed, she found a new excuse not to leave, and over time she earned his trust by treating him sweetly and kindly. He liked this very much. Their relationship blossomed, and they eventually married.
One day, the horseman came home to find his new wife in bed, thrashing about and crying. “Oh, I feel terrible! My whole body is filled with pain; I don’t think I will live much longer!”
Upset, the horseman asked, “What can I do to help?”
“Nothing can help. No doctor’s medicine can cure this sickness. Today is the day I am going to die.”
“Please,” he pleaded, “there must be something we can do, some kind of cure. I don’t want to lose you!”
She replied, “Well, there is a cure, but it comes at such a terrible price—I could never ask it of you!”
“I will get whatever is necessary to cure you!” he told her. She looked at him sadly and said, “Only the heart of the mirror-faced horse can cure my sickness. If I can’t have it, I will certainly die. “
Quiet for a long time, the horseman finally shook his head and said, “That will be very difficult.”
As he left the room, he thought, “There is no way I can take the life of the mirror-faced horse. But if I can find another horse’s heart at the market, it might be good enough to cure her.”
Later that day, he returned home with the heart of an ordinary horse and began to prepare it as medicine. He then gave it to her, but she did not improve. She asked him, “Was this potion really made from the heart of the mirror-faced horse?” Because he could not lie, he had to admit that the heart was from an ordinary horse. She told her husband that it was of no use, and indeed her sickness got worse and worse.
The horseman really believed that she was dying, so he decided to obtain the only remedy that would save her: the heart of the mirror-faced horse.
He went to the royal stables and sat by the stall of the mirror-faced horse. He was very sad—he had never taken the life of a single being. But if he did not kill the horse and take the heart, his beloved wife would surely die. He did not know what to do. He talked quietly and gently to the mirror-faced horse, confiding his dilemma and asking for forgiveness. Unbeknownst to the horseman, the horse was an extraordinary being, a great bodhisattva. Without hesitation, it stepped forward to meet the horseman’s knife and offered it’s own life to save that of another.
The horseman hurried home, made the medicine from the heart of the horse, and gave it to his wife. She quickly got better and within a few days was out of bed. The horseman was very happy—that is, until the following morning when he woke up and found out that his wife had left him during the night.
The horseman’s wife returned to her father, the hundred-dzo king, and told him that she had accomplished her mission and that he could move forward with his plan.
“We need to summon your horseman and ask him how all your horses are; you especially need to ask after the health of the mirror-faced horse. We will see whether he lies or not.”
When the horseman received the summons, he became terribly worried and nervous. He thought, “If I tell the king what really happened, he will be so upset. That would not be good. But I have never told a lie. What shall I do?”
He went into a meadow, cut up some grass sod, and made a throne with it. Then he found a tall rock and placed it before the throne. Climbing onto the throne, he pretended that he was the king and that the rock was himself.
His name was Son of Awareness Who Never Lies, so he asked, “Son of Awareness Who Never Lies, tell me: how are all the horses, especially my favorite, mirror-faced horse?”
He quickly changed places, put the rock on the throne to represent the king, and sat before the throne; he replied, “All the horses are very well.” As soon as he said this, the rock fell off the throne.
“This is not a good sign,” he thought.
Then he put the rock back in front of the throne; he climbed onto the throne and said, “Horseman, please tell me about my horses. Is the mirror-faced horse well and happy?”
He quickly switched places again and said, “No.”
Then he imagined that the king asked him, “What has happened?”
He replied, “A woman came to my house and played a trick on me; she convinced me to take the heart of your mirror-faced horse.”
He thought that he saw the rock move a little and say, “Aha!” He took this as a sign that it must be all right to tell the truth. Now that he knew what to do, he went to face the king.
Both kings were extremely confident. The hundred-dzo king was sure that the horseman would lie to save himself. The hundred-horse king was sure that his horseman would never lie under any circumstance.
So the hundred-horse king said to the royal horseman, “Tell me: how is the mirror-faced horse? Are you happy? Are all of the horses well?”
The horseman gathered up his courage and said, “No.”
“What happened?” his king asked.
He then told the king the whole sad story. “One day, a pretty woman came to my house. We began a relationship and got married. But she fell ill and said she was dying. She said that the only thing that would cure her was the heart of your mirror-faced horse. So I did what she asked and killed the horse. Then she left me, so I’ve lost her also. I’m very unhappy.”
To the great surprise of the horseman, his king was not upset. In fact, the king looked rather pleased. He turned to the hundred-dzo king with a smile and said, “This man who always tells the truth brings happiness and prosperity to the kingdom, and the one who didn’t believe it possible now owes me a hundred dzos.” The hundred-horse king was quite happy to double his herd and to prove that there was a man in the human realm would never tell a lie.
So you see that when you have done something wrong, it is probably better to not make it worse by lying about it, and that telling the truth will usually only improve things.
Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche loved telling stories to children. He considered it an effective way to teach them the basic ethics of love and compassion as well as to introduce them to the idea of karma. In the summer of 1990, Rinpoche told a series of children’s stories at Rigdzin Ling, inviting all the neighborhood kids for popcorn and tales from Tibet. This is one of those stories, adapted from the transcript.
Once upon a time, long ago, there were two kings whose small kingdoms were on opposite sides of a mountain in eastern Tibet. The king on one side of the mountain had a hundred very wonderful horses; the king on the other had a hundred very valuable dzos.
Now, a dzo is an unusual animal: half-cow and half-yak. A yak is somewhat like a buffalo with lots of hair. When a yak and a cow mate, they produce a dzo or a dzomo (a female dzo). At the time that this story took place, there were no such things as cars or trucks. So when people traveled, dzos were quite helpful in carrying their packs. Because dzos were so strong and displayed great endurance, people greatly valued them.
The king who owned the hundred horses had one that he loved above the rest because it had extraordinary qualities. It was called “the mirror-faced horse,” as it had a round white spot on its forehead.
The king entrusted the care of his mirror-faced horse, as well as all the others, to one man: the royal horseman. The king knew his horseman to be a very, very honest person. In fact, it was said that throughout his entire life, he had never lied and was careful to speak only the truth.
One day the king who owned a hundred dzos came to visit. As they talked, the hundred-horse king happened to mention his wonderful horseman, saying how great it was that he never lied. The hundred-dzo king said, “That can’t be true. In the realm of human beings, there is no one who has never lied; it’s not possible. You just don’t know that he lies.”
The hundred-horse king was astonished and retorted, “Do you really think so? I myself believe that he would never lie; I am completely confident in him.”
So the two decided to make a bet. The hundred-dzo king said, “All right. If your servant truly never lies, I will give you my hundred dzos. But if I catch him in a lie, you will have to give me your hundred horses.”
Each king was extremely confident that he was correct and certain that he would win.
Now it so happened that the hundred-dzo king had three beautiful daughters. He summoned the most charming and gave her the following instructions: “Dress in plain clothes and go to the royal horseman’s house. Find a way to remain there, and slowly earn his confidence and love. Then you must….” And he quietly whispered the rest into her ear.
Although his daughter was not happy with the request, the king finally convinced her that she had to obey. So she dressed like an ordinary woman and set off for the horseman’s house. When she got there, she knocked on his door and said,
“Please, I am traveling alone; it is late and I have no place to stay. Would you put me up for the night?” Kind and goodhearted, the horseman had such compassion for her that he made up a place in the back of his small house for her to spend the night.
When she got up the next morning, she said, “I don’t feel well. I think that it would be quite difficult for me to travel today. May I please stay a little longer?”
As he did not have the heart to send her away unwell, he agreed to let her stay. Each day that followed, she found a new excuse not to leave, and over time she earned his trust by treating him sweetly and kindly. He liked this very much. Their relationship blossomed, and they eventually married.
One day, the horseman came home to find his new wife in bed, thrashing about and crying. “Oh, I feel terrible! My whole body is filled with pain; I don’t think I will live much longer!”
Upset, the horseman asked, “What can I do to help?”
“Nothing can help. No doctor’s medicine can cure this sickness. Today is the day I am going to die.”
“Please,” he pleaded, “there must be something we can do, some kind of cure. I don’t want to lose you!”
She replied, “Well, there is a cure, but it comes at such a terrible price—I could never ask it of you!”
“I will get whatever is necessary to cure you!” he told her. She looked at him sadly and said, “Only the heart of the mirror-faced horse can cure my sickness. If I can’t have it, I will certainly die. “
Quiet for a long time, the horseman finally shook his head and said, “That will be very difficult.”
As he left the room, he thought, “There is no way I can take the life of the mirror-faced horse. But if I can find another horse’s heart at the market, it might be good enough to cure her.”
Later that day, he returned home with the heart of an ordinary horse and began to prepare it as medicine. He then gave it to her, but she did not improve. She asked him, “Was this potion really made from the heart of the mirror-faced horse?” Because he could not lie, he had to admit that the heart was from an ordinary horse. She told her husband that it was of no use, and indeed her sickness got worse and worse.
The horseman really believed that she was dying, so he decided to obtain the only remedy that would save her: the heart of the mirror-faced horse.
He went to the royal stables and sat by the stall of the mirror-faced horse. He was very sad—he had never taken the life of a single being. But if he did not kill the horse and take the heart, his beloved wife would surely die. He did not know what to do. He talked quietly and gently to the mirror-faced horse, confiding his dilemma and asking for forgiveness. Unbeknownst to the horseman, the horse was an extraordinary being, a great bodhisattva. Without hesitation, it stepped forward to meet the horseman’s knife and offered it’s own life to save that of another.
The horseman hurried home, made the medicine from the heart of the horse, and gave it to his wife. She quickly got better and within a few days was out of bed. The horseman was very happy—that is, until the following morning when he woke up and found out that his wife had left him during the night.
The horseman’s wife returned to her father, the hundred-dzo king, and told him that she had accomplished her mission and that he could move forward with his plan.
“We need to summon your horseman and ask him how all your horses are; you especially need to ask after the health of the mirror-faced horse. We will see whether he lies or not.”
When the horseman received the summons, he became terribly worried and nervous. He thought, “If I tell the king what really happened, he will be so upset. That would not be good. But I have never told a lie. What shall I do?”
He went into a meadow, cut up some grass sod, and made a throne with it. Then he found a tall rock and placed it before the throne. Climbing onto the throne, he pretended that he was the king and that the rock was himself.
His name was Son of Awareness Who Never Lies, so he asked, “Son of Awareness Who Never Lies, tell me: how are all the horses, especially my favorite, mirror-faced horse?”
He quickly changed places, put the rock on the throne to represent the king, and sat before the throne; he replied, “All the horses are very well.” As soon as he said this, the rock fell off the throne.
“This is not a good sign,” he thought.
Then he put the rock back in front of the throne; he climbed onto the throne and said, “Horseman, please tell me about my horses. Is the mirror-faced horse well and happy?”
He quickly switched places again and said, “No.”
Then he imagined that the king asked him, “What has happened?”
He replied, “A woman came to my house and played a trick on me; she convinced me to take the heart of your mirror-faced horse.”
He thought that he saw the rock move a little and say, “Aha!” He took this as a sign that it must be all right to tell the truth. Now that he knew what to do, he went to face the king.
Both kings were extremely confident. The hundred-dzo king was sure that the horseman would lie to save himself. The hundred-horse king was sure that his horseman would never lie under any circumstance.
So the hundred-horse king said to the royal horseman, “Tell me: how is the mirror-faced horse? Are you happy? Are all of the horses well?”
The horseman gathered up his courage and said, “No.”
“What happened?” his king asked.
He then told the king the whole sad story. “One day, a pretty woman came to my house. We began a relationship and got married. But she fell ill and said she was dying. She said that the only thing that would cure her was the heart of your mirror-faced horse. So I did what she asked and killed the horse. Then she left me, so I’ve lost her also. I’m very unhappy.”
To the great surprise of the horseman, his king was not upset. In fact, the king looked rather pleased. He turned to the hundred-dzo king with a smile and said, “This man who always tells the truth brings happiness and prosperity to the kingdom, and the one who didn’t believe it possible now owes me a hundred dzos.” The hundred-horse king was quite happy to double his herd and to prove that there was a man in the human realm would never tell a lie.
So you see that when you have done something wrong, it is probably better to not make it worse by lying about it, and that telling the truth will usually only improve things.
Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche loved telling stories to children. He considered it an effective way to teach them the basic ethics of love and compassion as well as to introduce them to the idea of karma. In the summer of 1990, Rinpoche told a series of children’s stories at Rigdzin Ling, inviting all the neighborhood kids for popcorn and tales from Tibet. This is one of those stories, adapted from the transcript.
Once upon a time, long ago, there were two kings whose small kingdoms were on opposite sides of a mountain in eastern Tibet. The king on one side of the mountain had a hundred very wonderful horses; the king on the other had a hundred very valuable dzos.
Now, a dzo is an unusual animal: half-cow and half-yak. A yak is somewhat like a buffalo with lots of hair. When a yak and a cow mate, they produce a dzo or a dzomo (a female dzo). At the time that this story took place, there were no such things as cars or trucks. So when people traveled, dzos were quite helpful in carrying their packs. Because dzos were so strong and displayed great endurance, people greatly valued them.
The king who owned the hundred horses had one that he loved above the rest because it had extraordinary qualities. It was called “the mirror-faced horse,” as it had a round white spot on its forehead.
The king entrusted the care of his mirror-faced horse, as well as all the others, to one man: the royal horseman. The king knew his horseman to be a very, very honest person. In fact, it was said that throughout his entire life, he had never lied and was careful to speak only the truth.
One day the king who owned a hundred dzos came to visit. As they talked, the hundred-horse king happened to mention his wonderful horseman, saying how great it was that he never lied. The hundred-dzo king said, “That can’t be true. In the realm of human beings, there is no one who has never lied; it’s not possible. You just don’t know that he lies.”
The hundred-horse king was astonished and retorted, “Do you really think so? I myself believe that he would never lie; I am completely confident in him.”
So the two decided to make a bet. The hundred-dzo king said, “All right. If your servant truly never lies, I will give you my hundred dzos. But if I catch him in a lie, you will have to give me your hundred horses.”
Each king was extremely confident that he was correct and certain that he would win.
Now it so happened that the hundred-dzo king had three beautiful daughters. He summoned the most charming and gave her the following instructions: “Dress in plain clothes and go to the royal horseman’s house. Find a way to remain there, and slowly earn his confidence and love. Then you must….” And he quietly whispered the rest into her ear.
Although his daughter was not happy with the request, the king finally convinced her that she had to obey. So she dressed like an ordinary woman and set off for the horseman’s house. When she got there, she knocked on his door and said,
“Please, I am traveling alone; it is late and I have no place to stay. Would you put me up for the night?” Kind and goodhearted, the horseman had such compassion for her that he made up a place in the back of his small house for her to spend the night.
When she got up the next morning, she said, “I don’t feel well. I think that it would be quite difficult for me to travel today. May I please stay a little longer?”
As he did not have the heart to send her away unwell, he agreed to let her stay. Each day that followed, she found a new excuse not to leave, and over time she earned his trust by treating him sweetly and kindly. He liked this very much. Their relationship blossomed, and they eventually married.
One day, the horseman came home to find his new wife in bed, thrashing about and crying. “Oh, I feel terrible! My whole body is filled with pain; I don’t think I will live much longer!”
Upset, the horseman asked, “What can I do to help?”
“Nothing can help. No doctor’s medicine can cure this sickness. Today is the day I am going to die.”
“Please,” he pleaded, “there must be something we can do, some kind of cure. I don’t want to lose you!”
She replied, “Well, there is a cure, but it comes at such a terrible price—I could never ask it of you!”
“I will get whatever is necessary to cure you!” he told her. She looked at him sadly and said, “Only the heart of the mirror-faced horse can cure my sickness. If I can’t have it, I will certainly die. “
Quiet for a long time, the horseman finally shook his head and said, “That will be very difficult.”
As he left the room, he thought, “There is no way I can take the life of the mirror-faced horse. But if I can find another horse’s heart at the market, it might be good enough to cure her.”
Later that day, he returned home with the heart of an ordinary horse and began to prepare it as medicine. He then gave it to her, but she did not improve. She asked him, “Was this potion really made from the heart of the mirror-faced horse?” Because he could not lie, he had to admit that the heart was from an ordinary horse. She told her husband that it was of no use, and indeed her sickness got worse and worse.
The horseman really believed that she was dying, so he decided to obtain the only remedy that would save her: the heart of the mirror-faced horse.
He went to the royal stables and sat by the stall of the mirror-faced horse. He was very sad—he had never taken the life of a single being. But if he did not kill the horse and take the heart, his beloved wife would surely die. He did not know what to do. He talked quietly and gently to the mirror-faced horse, confiding his dilemma and asking for forgiveness. Unbeknownst to the horseman, the horse was an extraordinary being, a great bodhisattva. Without hesitation, it stepped forward to meet the horseman’s knife and offered it’s own life to save that of another.
The horseman hurried home, made the medicine from the heart of the horse, and gave it to his wife. She quickly got better and within a few days was out of bed. The horseman was very happy—that is, until the following morning when he woke up and found out that his wife had left him during the night.
The horseman’s wife returned to her father, the hundred-dzo king, and told him that she had accomplished her mission and that he could move forward with his plan.
“We need to summon your horseman and ask him how all your horses are; you especially need to ask after the health of the mirror-faced horse. We will see whether he lies or not.”
When the horseman received the summons, he became terribly worried and nervous. He thought, “If I tell the king what really happened, he will be so upset. That would not be good. But I have never told a lie. What shall I do?”
He went into a meadow, cut up some grass sod, and made a throne with it. Then he found a tall rock and placed it before the throne. Climbing onto the throne, he pretended that he was the king and that the rock was himself.
His name was Son of Awareness Who Never Lies, so he asked, “Son of Awareness Who Never Lies, tell me: how are all the horses, especially my favorite, mirror-faced horse?”
He quickly changed places, put the rock on the throne to represent the king, and sat before the throne; he replied, “All the horses are very well.” As soon as he said this, the rock fell off the throne.
“This is not a good sign,” he thought.
Then he put the rock back in front of the throne; he climbed onto the throne and said, “Horseman, please tell me about my horses. Is the mirror-faced horse well and happy?”
He quickly switched places again and said, “No.”
Then he imagined that the king asked him, “What has happened?”
He replied, “A woman came to my house and played a trick on me; she convinced me to take the heart of your mirror-faced horse.”
He thought that he saw the rock move a little and say, “Aha!” He took this as a sign that it must be all right to tell the truth. Now that he knew what to do, he went to face the king.
Both kings were extremely confident. The hundred-dzo king was sure that the horseman would lie to save himself. The hundred-horse king was sure that his horseman would never lie under any circumstance.
So the hundred-horse king said to the royal horseman, “Tell me: how is the mirror-faced horse? Are you happy? Are all of the horses well?”
The horseman gathered up his courage and said, “No.”
“What happened?” his king asked.
He then told the king the whole sad story. “One day, a pretty woman came to my house. We began a relationship and got married. But she fell ill and said she was dying. She said that the only thing that would cure her was the heart of your mirror-faced horse. So I did what she asked and killed the horse. Then she left me, so I’ve lost her also. I’m very unhappy.”
To the great surprise of the horseman, his king was not upset. In fact, the king looked rather pleased. He turned to the hundred-dzo king with a smile and said, “This man who always tells the truth brings happiness and prosperity to the kingdom, and the one who didn’t believe it possible now owes me a hundred dzos.” The hundred-horse king was quite happy to double his herd and to prove that there was a man in the human realm would never tell a lie.
So you see that when you have done something wrong, it is probably better to not make it worse by lying about it, and that telling the truth will usually only improve things.
