Simile of a dog walking behind an elephant

[Dheerayupa]

Hi,

I’m looking for the sutta that has a simile of a dog walking behind an elephant. The dog thinks that he too is an elephant = false association and ego-driven imitation.

Thank you.

[sabbamitta]

Your question reminds me of AN10.99; however, there it’s no dog who tries to imitate the elephant, but a rabbit or a cat. They plunge into a lake after the elephant, but “because their little incarnation finds no footing in the depths”, they’ll sink down or float away.

For “walking behind”, there’s still the one with a donkey following behind a herd of cattle, thinking: ‘I can moo too! I can moo too!’, which is AN3.82.

Probably not exactly what you’re after, but that’s what comes to mind.

[Dheerayupa]

Thank you, Venerable.

I’m looking for a sutta with such a simile because I was thinking about Ajahn Brahm’s teachings about conceit, especially ‘I’m better’.

[Brahmali]

There is also the story of Devadatta, where he tries to imitate the Buddha to his own detriment, which you will find here.

[Dheerayupa]

Dear Ajahn,

Thank you so much

Having read the rest of the sutta, I’m reminded again of what is very crucial to the gradual training:

Bad desires; bad friendship; and after trifling successes, he has stopped short of the goal.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

[Snowbird]

I think you are misremembering.

There is the story of a jackal and a lion in DN24.

‘Once upon a time, Reverend Pāṭikaputta, it occurred to a lion, king of beasts, “Why don’t I make my lair near a certain forest? Towards evening I can emerge from my den, yawn, survey the four quarters, roar my lion’s roar three times, and set out on the hunt. Having slain the very best of the deer herd, and eaten the most tender flesh, I could return to my den.”

And so that’s what he did.

Now, there was an old jackal who had grown fat on the lion’s leavings, becoming arrogant and strong. He thought, “What does the lion, king of beasts, have that I don’t? Why don’t I also make my lair near a certain forest? Towards evening I can emerge from my den, yawn, survey the four quarters, roar my lion’s roar three times, and set out on the hunt. Having slain the very best of the deer herd, and eaten the most tender flesh, I could return to my den.”

And so that’s what he did. But when he tried to roar a lion’s roar, he only managed to squeal and yelp like a jackal. And what is a pathetic jackal’s squeal next to the roar of a lion?

In the same way, reverend, while living off the leavings of the Holy One, enjoying the leftovers of the Holy One, you presume to attack the Realized One, the perfected one, the fully awakened Buddha! Who are the pathetic Pāṭikaputtas to attack the Realized Ones, the perfected ones, the fully awakened Buddhas?’

Elephants don’t have much to offer to dogs, so the lion story makes more sense.

[Snowbird]

There is SN20.9 which has ha similer theme, but it’s just elephants.

There may be a story like what you are asking about in the commentaries, but I worked to really index similes in the CIPS but there is nothing there for elephants.

[Kaz]

Thank you very much everyone. I was able to read a lot of suttas in the same theme in one day to really sink those ideas in. What a amazing fortune I received! Sadhu sadhu sadhu.

[Dheerayupa]

@Snowbird

I worked to really index similes

That sounds interesting. I would very love to see your work.

[Khemarato.bhikkhu]

@Dheerayupa

would very love to see your work.

Well then you’re in luck!

Comprehensive Index of Pali Suttas | ReadingFaithfully

[Snowbird]

@Dheerayupa

That sounds interesting. I would very love to see your work.

@Snowbird

but there is nothing there for elephants.

Yes, I linked to it.

Now, I’m not saying it’s perfect by any means. But similes were one of my main motivations so it’s unlikely I would have missed both “dog” and “elephant”.

And as always (to everyone) I am very happy to receive feedback on things I missed.

[Kaz]

I am very happy to receive the information about CIPS. When hover my mouse to the sutta number, it shows the description.

Combining this with SC search, Discuss and Discover search, and SV-Voice Search card, we can study suttas according to our most needs. Sadhu sadhu sadhu.

[Mkoll]

Another helpful search tool is: Sutta Finder - Search Buddhist Texts by Meaning | A Buddhist View | A Buddhist View

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As an aside, it might not be a bad idea to pin a thread in the Q&A category that lists all these search tools (CIPS, Sutta Finder, SC Search, D&D search, SC-Voice Search, even Google), tips and tricks for searching, and recommends their use before making a new thread asking about something…

[Dheerayupa]

I asked the question because nearly 20 years ago upon knowing that two of his disciples thought that he had psychic powers and talked about it to glorify him, Ajahn Brahm said during his evening talk about a self-enhancement strategy where individuals align themselves with successful people or groups to share in their success, even if they had no role in it or where we claim to have associated with high-status individuals or groups to boost our perceived value in the eyes of others and ourselves (academic term: Basking in Reflected Glory - BIRGing).

It’s one of the most valuable teachings I got from Ajahn Brahm, making me pause and ponder my next speech before telling anyone about high-status people I know. It is a great teaching to train me to be aware of how many times I wanted to be of importance and was going to use this strategy!

My deepest gratitude to Ajahn Brahm.