Still the golden deer did not raise up his head. Hepleaded， "So the deer will be safe， but what will the otherfour-footed animals do？" "My lord， from now on they tooare safe in my land." "And what of the birds？ They toowant to live." "Yes， my lord， the birds too will be safe fromdeath at the hands of men." "And what of the fish， wholive in the water？" "Even the fish will be free to live， mylord." So saying， the King of Benares granted immunityfrom hunting and killing to all the animals in his land.
Having pleaded for the lives of all creatures， theGreat Being arose.
[Chapter 2. Teaching]
Out of compassion and gratitude， King Banyan Deer—— the Enlightenment Being， taught thc King of Bcnares.He advised him to climb the five steps of training， inorder to purify his mind. He described them by saying， "Itwill benefit you， if you give up the five unwholesomeactions. These are：
—— destroying life， for this is not compassion；—— taking what is not given， for this is not generosity；—— doing wrong in sexual ways， for this is not loving- kindness；—— speaking falsely， for this is not Truth；—— losing your mind from alcohol， for this leads to falling down the first four steps."
He further advised him to do wholesome actions，that would bring happiness in this life and beyond. ThenKing Banyan Deer， and both herds， returned to the forest.
In the fullness of time， the pregnant doe， who hadstayed with Banyan's herd， gave birth to a fawn. He wasas beautiful as a lotus blossom given as an offering to thegods.
When the fawn had grown into a young buck deer，he began playing with Branch Deer's herd. Seeing this， hismother said to him， "Better to die after a short life withthe great compassionate one， than to live a long life withan ordinary one." Afterwards， her son lived happily in theherd of King Banyan Deer.
The only ones left unhappy， were the farmers andvillagers of the kingdom. For， given total immunity by theking， the deer began to fearlessly eat the people's crops.They even grazed in the vegetable gardens inside thevillages and the city of Benares itself！
So the people complained to the king， and askedpermission to kill at least some of the deer as a warning.But the king said， "I myself promised complete immunityto King Banyan Deer. I would give up the kingship beforeI would break my word to him， No one may harm a deer！"
When King Banyan Deer heard of this， he said to allthe deer， "You should not eat the crops that belong toothers." And he sent a message to the people. Instead ofmaking fences， he asked them to tie up bunches of leavesas boundaries around their fields. This began the Indiancustom of marking fields with tied up leaves， which haveprotected them from deer to this very day.
Both King Banyan Deer and the King of Benareslived out their lives in peace， died， and were reborn asthey deserved.
The moral is： Wherever it is found， compassion is asign of greatness.
，佛教故事:King Banyan Deer