I happened to come across a review on a touching Jataka story of a very kind king. King Shiby was famous for his kindness to every being. He saved a pigeon sacrificing himself partly. He is said to have saved Agni (transformed into a pigeon) from the predator Indra (transformed into a hawk). King Shibi accepts the right of the to prey upon the pigeon. Of course, the hawk has to kill other living things to exist.
But the trouble in the story begins when the hawk’s cunning claim of “right to hunt” is heard above “right to live and help”. It is interesting to see that almost every Scripture contains similar contradictory stories and parables. In Hindu tradition, the so called Charvaka approach is there to point out all the holes in the boat.
If we take Bible (Mathew 13:44 &45) those two parables of hidden treasure and jewel are examples. Verses 44 says, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.” Verses 45 says, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.”
The right thing in both cases was to look for the right owner of the property and inform them. When we read those verses with our brains, the above argument may appear quite logical. But when it is read with heart, the verses may mean how much the man and the merchant valued salvation. Same is the case with contradictions in all Scriptures.
