Of Compassion and Depression

In China, a 27-year old man, Yang JinHai, climbed a tree, jumped into the tigers' enclosure at Chengdu Zoo in Sichuan province and offered himself to the tigers. The man reportedly asked the tigers to bit him and make a meal out of him. In the Jataka tales, Buddha when he was a Bodhisattva had also offered himself to a tiger. It was during a drought when he had come across the scrawny starving tiger mother with two of its equally starving cubs which were trying hard to drink milk from their mother. Buddha having pitied the tiger and the cubs, had offered himself to the tiger ,hoping to save them from starvation. The man in China reportedly had not been happy with his job as a security guard and had since the incident,  been treated for depression. Sometimes, I suppose one can do the same deed either out of compassion or depression.

. Boddhisattva's body.