Osho Story on Gautam Buddha past life as an Compassionate Elephant

Osho – Once it happened that this elephant who was Buddha in a past life was living in a forest and the forest caught fire, the forest was on fire. It was a very terrible fire. The whole forest was burning and all the animals and birds were escaping from the forest. This elephant was also running. The forest was very big, and from running and the heat all around and the fire he got tired. Just then he saw a tree which was not yet on fire.

There was shade there, so he rested just for a single minute under the shade of the tree. After he had rested, the moment came when he wanted to move. He raised one leg. When he raised his leg a small hare, a white hare, who was also tired from running, came under his foot just to rest there. So this elephant thought, ”If I put my foot on the earth this hare will be killed.”

So he waited. He thought, ”When this hare leaves, when he has rested, then I will move.” But the hare would not move. The hare thought, ”It is beautiful to be under the shade of the elephant, and there is no danger when the elephant is there, and the surrounding trees have not yet caught fire.” So he waited.

The hare did not move and, tired from standing on three legs, many times the elephant thought, ”Crush this hare and move.” But then an idea came to his mind: ”As I love my life this hare also loves his life. If I am escaping for my life and I am afraid of death this hare is also afraid of death.”

So he waited and died waiting there, because the fire came nearer and nearer and the tree caught fire. He waited for the hare and the hare would not move, so the elephant died standing on three legs.

Buddha said, ”Because of that awareness I was born as a man. The elephant changed into another being – man.” And he goes on relating many stories about his past.