artwork by Samuel Prout
This certainly wasn't a Fable for children; and it leaves a lot of room for interpretation.. So perhaps it would be best to start off with some background on this Fable.
This Fable is directly connected to the Caste system of Indian Society; in which people are born into rigid social groups; the roots of this social stratification goes as far back as India's Ancient pre-History and persists today.
Now, if you take the tale in this context, the Donkey the Dog, and the Master, are three different castes!
The original moral to the fable was very simple; something like
Keep to your station.
Let's examine the tale from that perspective 1st..
If the Donkey had merely "kept to his station" he would have avoided a severe beating.
The Fable does not seem to judge the dog in his descision to forsake his duty, the dog is keeping to his station; by that i mean he is not out there trying to plow the fields now is he..
Perhaps the thought here is that, if everyone focuses only on their own duties, and responsibilities within their own castes, then the problems that occasionally arise, will resolve themselves somehow.
I could see how someone from the west might interpret this whole story as
Mind your own business!
Now let's take a look at some of the morals brought to this Fable from steemians just like you:
Blind unquestioned devotion to authority can lead to your demise. Rather than dismiss someone's opposing point of view and even trying to correct them. Listen, check it out and then come to your own conclusion. They might have an important and valid point. Also, their motive might not be what you assume.
Kudos SqB! Not much to add when you've spoken like a Wise ole Guru!! Life is a tricky thing, a little caution never seems to hurt..
The moral to me is how easy it is to blind oneself to the character of others. Despite seeing the "master" and his ways with others, the donkey was to sure that he was immune to the temper. His loyalty to the master was built upon an illusion.
The Donkey sure was Loyal; he didn't want to see any harm befall the master, but, oh what a price he paid for such devotion! It should not have been too hard for the donkey to see the dog's point of view, having lived on the same farm for years, never the less the Donkey was certain he was doing the "right" thing, out of duty..
these kinds of tragic misunderstandings happen in life.
"Ah! That's life."
Reading this short story, it is hard not to imagine that things might have easily gone a different way for the Donkey; say for instance, the thief made it into the house, and caused some damge before the donkey brayed, the master may have rewarded him, and beat the dog for not sounding off.. Many, many ways it "might" have gone, but what's done, is done... Like i always say, life is a tricky thing, it's impossible to make the right decision every time, especially under pressure...
The moral of the fable for me is "no good deed goes unpunished."
Now here is a familiar saying, No Good Deed Goes Unpunished; but what does it really mean?
That we shouldn't bother with good deeds? No. That would be catastrophically silly. Does it mean that there is a downside to everything, as well as an uP side? Well, sort of...
It's often used when a good act goes awry..
At least some of the time, kind acts go unappreciated, or are met outright with resentment; and then there is the fact that if they are appreciated, they may often lead to additional, and even unreasonable requests.
This is why a genuine act of kindness seeks no reward; not even a ticket to Heaven.
Thank you @marymg2014 for reminding us ALL that
The Donkey was in fact performing a good Deed
In a Perfect World the Donkey saves the Master's life converting him from a Mean twisted amoral son-of-beehive, to a compassionate Human being;
However,
the true Buddhists do believe in fact, that life is Perfect,
a Perfect Mess!!
the Dali Lama in one of his books, once described it something like this:
the Perfect mouth watering Golden Lotus double cheeseburger of Perfection, complete with your favorite condiments, and all your favorite fixings; now if no one takes the time to savor the smells, to eat and enjoy the hamburger, then it gets wasted. However, once you take a bite and really get into it, you've got a mess on your hands..
We can't seem to have one without the other..
My Wife says the moral she got from it was
Why even have a master?
to which is added,
Submit to no master, instead master yourself.
Here is the original post if you want in on the conversation: https://steemit.com/philosophy/@primal-buddhist/what-is-the-moral-of-this-fable
I understand the context of the fable, yet it seems that most of the responses seem to focus on the donkey only. It seems that the fable illustrates the inevitable consequence of all individuals failing to fulfill their duties and obligations inherent in their station in life. The most important failure of duty lies with the master, as his obvious dissolute behaviors resulted in the discontent of his dog and overreach of his donkey.
Loyalty is two-way obligation: the duty of the subordinate in rendering service towards his master and the obligation of the master in granting privileges towards his subordinate. By this relational debt, societies are bound. When the unworthy master neglected his obligations towards his subordinates in the fable, the entire social system collapsed upon itself, as the dog deserted his station and the donkey reached beyond his station. The moral of the fable is akin to the vulgar sentiment: shit rolls downhill, or as Frank Herbert wrote more eloquently: rot at the core spreads outwards.
and in so doing followed the (1st) Social System context of this Fable all the way through to what must be the original moral/intention to this Fable.
but...