The auspicious picture indicating peace and harmony is often seen in Tibetan Buddhist monasteries, shops and houses in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. [Photo/China Tibet Online] 

It is easy to see an interesting picture indicating peace and harmony in Tibetan Buddhist monasteries, shops and houses of local residents.

Depicting four animals, a chicken, a rabbit, a monkey and an elephant from top to bottom, the picture will puzzle the audience about its implication and the relationship among the animals. 

"This picture is drawn from a story told by the Buddha Sakyamuni, founder of Buddhism", said Losang Gyaltsen, a senior monk in the Tashilhunpo Monastery in the Shigatse Prefecture, second largest city of Tibet.

The monk told the story vividly, pointing to a similar picture among the murals in a hall of the Tashilhunpo Monastery.

Long long ago, four animals, namely a chicken, a rabbit, a monkey and an elephant, lived happily in the forest of a place named Gashi in ancient India.

One day, the four gathered together to find out the seniority among them so as to respect the elder.

After a hot discussion, they decided to judge the birth order in accordance with the height of an ancient tree called Lydroda when they met it in their childhoods.

"The tree was as tall as I am now when I met it", said the elephant at first.

"The tree was as tall as I am now when I met it too", said the monkey.

Compared with the elephant, everyone thought the monkey was elder.

"The tree just grew out with two fresh leaves when I saw the tree in my childhood. And I had tasted the pure dew on the leaves", said the rabbit.

Then everyone decided that the rabbit was elder than the elephant and the monkey.

"You three have all seen this tree, but I have only eaten the seed of it. The tree broke the soil and grew after I spilled my dung", said the chicken.

At last, the four made an accordant conclusion that the chicken was the eldest, then was the rabbit, the monkey and the elephant.

From that day on, the four animals were ranked by age whatever they did in daily life.

When they climbed on a steep mountain, the elephant would pack the monkey, and the monkey would pack the rabbit and so on.

Seeing the harmonious scene of the four animals, other animals in the forest took them as an example and respected their elder companions.

The world had no war ever since, and people lived a peaceful life with abundant food and water.

Seeing the prosperity of India, the king took it for granted that it was attributed to his strategies in managing the country; while, his ministers and feudal rulers believed that it was their own power brought the country prosperity.

The king got indignant when hearing the words of his arrogant officials that claimed the credits for themselves, and he decided to find out the real contributor.

The king, in person, sought advice from an immortal living in a garden near the forest.

"The country I reign over is now prosperous where people live and work peacefully and harmoniously with abundant food. Can you tell me whose merit brings such an auspicious scene to my country?" the king asked.

"It's the four animals in your country", the immortal hit the mark with a single comment.

The four animals brought the country peace and prosperity because they got along harmoniously with everyone and respected the elders.

As a carrier of Tibetan culture, the auspicious picture expresses the good wish of Tibetans to jointly develop with other ethnic groups in the world, based on peace, harmony and equality.