The Quail and the Falcon: A Lesson in Staying Grounded

In a past life, the Bodhisatta was a quail, living as his ancestors had—pecking at food in the fields, hopping over the clods left behind by the plows. One day, feeling adventurous, the quail decided to leave his familiar feeding grounds and fly to the edge of a nearby forest, hoping to find a new source of food. But as he was busy pecking at the ground, a falcon swooped down from the sky and seized him in its talons.

As the falcon flew off with him, the Bodhisatta quail cried out, realizing his mistake. “How foolish I am! Seized in someone else’s territory! If I had stuck to my own field, I would have been safe. The falcon wouldn’t have been able to catch me there.”

The falcon, arrogant and confident in his abilities, heard the quail’s lament and decided to taunt him. “I can catch you anywhere,” the falcon boasted. “Your own patch offers no protection.”

With that, the falcon released the quail from his grasp. The Bodhisatta, ever clever, flew back to his familiar field, where he perched atop a large clod of earth, taunting the falcon in turn. “Come on, falcon! Show me what you can do here!”

The falcon, eager to prove his superiority, swooped down with all his speed. But just as the falcon was about to strike, the quail suddenly rolled off the clod, causing the falcon to crash into the dirt below. The falcon, unable to stop his dive in time, smashed into the ground and died.

In the Lifetime of the Buddha:

In the time of the Buddha, one day during an assembly, the Buddha spoke to his disciples about the importance of sticking to their own districts when collecting alms. He advised them not to wander outside their familiar areas, for doing so might expose them to temptation and danger. To illustrate this point, the Buddha told the story of the Bodhisatta’s past life as a quail and the lesson he had learned from sticking to his own territory.

He explained that just as the quail had been safe in his own feeding ground, so too should his disciples remain within their own districts to avoid distractions and challenges. The Buddha used the story to show that venturing outside one’s familiar, secure domain could lead to unnecessary trouble.

The falcon, in this past life, was an earlier incarnation of Devadatta, a disciple of the Buddha who later became his adversary. Through this story, the Buddha subtly reminded his followers of the dangers of arrogance and the wisdom of staying true to one’s own path.

Moral of the Story: There is wisdom in sticking to what is familiar and staying within one’s boundaries. Venturing into unfamiliar territory may lead to unnecessary risks, while staying grounded in one’s own domain offers safety and success. Avoiding temptation and distraction allows one to stay on the right path.