It's a disturbing tale. Maybe, only to me, but disturbing because of the reflex reaction that tales like these evoke. There is a visceral reaction of "yeah, the goodie-two-shoe self-sacrificing protagonist who I am supposed to strive to emulate, which is not going to happen because self-preservation takes precedence over self-sacrifice". Even as a Zen adept, I can't shake the primacy of self-preservation. But tales like these, I think, aren't to be taken literally. The fact that they make one reflect about one's connection to other sentient beings is a good start already.