Thereupon, monks, the monkey and the elephant said this to the partridge: “You, sir, are our elder. You will we respect, reverence, venerate, and honor, and in your admonitions will we abide steadfast.”
Accordingly, monks, the partridge prevailed upon the monkey and the elephant to take upon themselves the Five Precepts, and himself also took upon himself the Five Precepts and walked therein. They lived in respect and deference for each other, and had a common life. After death, upon dissolution of the body, they were reborn in a place of bliss, in a heavenly world. This, monks, was called the Holy Life of the Partridge.
Men versed in the Law who honor the aged
Have praise even in this life
And in the next life are in bliss.
B. Uncanonical version.
Jātaka 37: i. 217-220.
On a certain occasion the Teacher admonished a company of monks to show proper respect for their elders. Said he: “In former times, monks, even animals reflected: ‘But it is not becoming in us that we should live without respect or deference for each other, having no common life. Let us find out which one of us is the oldest, and to him let us offer respectful greetings and the other marks of courtesy.’ And when, after diligent inquiry, they knew, ‘He is our elder,’ to him did they offer respectful greetings and the other marks of courtesy. And having so done, they departed, fulfilling the Path to Heaven.” So saying, he related the following Story of the Past:
In times past, on a slope of Himavat, near a certain huge banyan tree, lived three friends: a partridge, a monkey, an elephant. They were without respect or deference for each other, having no common life. And to them occurred the following thought: “It is not proper for us to live thus. Suppose we were to live hereafter offering respectful greetings and the other marks of courtesy to that one of us who is the oldest!” “But which one of us is the oldest?” they considered. “This is the way!” said the three animals one day as they sat at the foot of the banyan tree.
So the partridge and the monkey asked the elephant: “Master elephant, since how long have you known this banyan tree?” He said: “Friends, when I was a young elephant, I used to go with this banyan sapling between my thighs. Moreover, when I stood with the tree between my thighs, the tips of its branches used to rub against my belly. Thus I have known this tree from the time it was a sapling.”