Rabbit in the Moon

We in the western world see the man in the moon, but not so in the eastern world. The Asian world sees a rabbit in the moon. Stories about why this is go back thousands and thousands of years.

Among the many legends about the rabbit in the moon, the most common one goes something like this. A rabbit, monkey, fox and otter were friends. One day the Buddha came along disguised as a hermit begging alms. The monkey climbed the trees and retrieved some fruit and gave it to the hermit. The fox was able to find some milk-curd to present to the hermit. The otter took off into the water and brought the hermit some fish. The hermit built a fire so he could cook the fish while he ate the fruit and drank the milk.

The rabbit had nothing to give the hermit except some grass which the hermit could not eat, so he threw himself in the fire to become a meal for the alms beggar. Immediately the Buddha revealed himself and saved the rabbit from the flames. He then rewarded the rabbit by drawing his picture in the moon.

Another version of the rabbit in the moon story says the rabbit is the companion of the Chinese moon goddess Chang’e, and he is pounding in a mortar making the elixir of life for her.

The Japanese version of the story has the rabbit pounding rice into moon cakes - sounds yummy to us!

For those who are interested in the various stories of the rabbit in the moon you can read more at Moon Lore.

Rabbit in the Moon Continued