A Buddhist Story
"A violent dragon met a bodhisattva on the road one day. The bodhisattva told the dragon that he should not kill anymore and should instead adopt the Buddhist precepts and care for all life. The bodhisattva inspired the dragon and afterward the dragon became completely nonviolent. But now the children who tended to the animal flocks nearby, seeing that the dragon had become gentle, lost all fear of him. And they began to torment him, stuffing stones and dirt into his mouth, pulling on his tail, and jumping on his head. Soon the dragon stopped eating and became very sick. When the dragon encountered the bodhisattva again, he complained, 'You told me that if I kept the precepts and was compassionate, I would be happy. But now I suffer, and I am not happy at all.' To this the bodhisattva replied, 'My son, if you have compassion, morality, and virtue, you must also have wisdom and intelligence. This is the way to protect yourself. The next time the children make you suff...