Contentment
Jataka Tales
A carrion-fed crow demands to know what rare delicacy gives a ruddy goose its golden plumage, and hears instead why his own feathers are dark at the root.
A gutter-fed crow demands to know what food makes a goose so golden, and receives nine stanzas explaining that radiance has never come from the plate.
A greedy crow feigns illness to raid a merchant's kitchen alone, but his theft costs him his feathers, his dignity, and finally his life.
Jātaka No. 467: a farmer grieves over his flooded crop, and the Buddha recalls a young physician who cured a king sick with greed.
A young ox envies a pampered pig fed rich rice, until his elder brother reveals the pig is merely being fattened for a wedding feast, not favored at all.
A former king turned monk is accused of boasting when he cries out in joy, until the Buddha reveals the same royal fear and monastic peace from an older life.
Jātaka No. 136: reborn as a golden swan, the Bodhisatta gives his destitute former wife and daughters a feather of gold at a time—until her greed costs the family everything.