Page:Barlaam and Josaphat. English lives of Buddha.djvu/62

lvi of moral or political instruction. Similarly Judea and India, each probably independently, invented the Parable for the same purpose. Both the Rabbis and the Brahmins found that the best way to point a moral was to adorn a tale. Both Jesus and Buddha adopted the method of their rivals for the purpose of their propaganda. Especially was this the case with Buddha and his followers. A very large part of the Buddhist Scriptures is taken up by parables, and it is to this source that we can ultimately trace the parables of Barlaam, which, equally with those of Bidpai, may be described as the Parables of Buddha.

And, first, what is a Parable? It is a tale with a double meaning, like the Fable or the Allegory. It is distinguished from the Fable as being told of men, not beasts; from the Allegory, by its shortness and greater directness. The Sunday School definition, "An earthly story with a heavenly meaning," is too