THE JĀTAKA
OR
STORIES OF THE BUDDHA'S FORMER BIRTHS
No. 392.
BHISAPUPPHA-JĀTAKA.
"You were never," etc.—The Master told this tale while dwelling in Jetavana, concerning a certain Brother. The story is that the Brother had left Jetavana and dwelt in the Kosala kingdom near a certain wood: one day he went down into a lotus-pool [308], and seeing a lotus in flower he stood to leeward and smeltit. Then the goddess who dwelt in that part of the forest frightened him saying, "Sir, you are a thief of odours, this is a kind of theft." He went back in a fright to Jetavana, and saluted the Master and sat down. "Where have you been staying, Brother?" "In such and such a wood, and the goddess frightened me in such and such a way." The Master said, "You are not the first who have been frightened by a goddess when smelling a flower; sages of old have been frightened in like manner," and at the Brother's request he told an old tale.
You were never given that flower you
smell, though it's only a single bloom;
’Tis a species of larceny, reverend sir, you are stealing its perfume.
Then the Bodhisatta spoke the second stanza:—’Tis a species of larceny, reverend sir, you are stealing its perfume.
I neither take nor break the flower:
from afar I smell the bloom.
I cannot tell on what pretence you say I steal perfume.
At the same moment a man was digging in the pool for lotus-fibres
and breaking the lotus-plants. The Bodhisatta seeing him said, "You call a
man thief if he smells the flower from afar: [309] why do you not speak to that
other man?" So in talk with her he spoke the third stanza:—I cannot tell on what pretence you say I steal perfume.
A man who digs the lotus-roots and
breaks the stalks I see:
Why don't you call the conduct of that man disorderly?
The goddess, explaining why she did not speak to him, spoke the
fourth and fifth stanzas:—Why don't you call the conduct of that man disorderly?
Disgusting like a nurse's dress are men
disorderly:
I have no speech with men like him, but I deign to speak to thee.
When a man is free from evil stains and seeks for purity,I have no speech with men like him, but I deign to speak to thee.
A sin like a hair-tip shows on him like a dark cloud in the sky.
So alarmed by her the Bodhisatta in emotion spoke the sixth stanza:—
Surely, fairy, you know me well, to
pity me you deign:
If you see me do the like offence, pray speak to me again.
Then the goddess spoke to him the seventh stanza:—If you see me do the like offence, pray speak to me again.
I am not here to serve you, no hireling
folk are we:
Find, Brother, for yourself the path to reach felicity.
Find, Brother, for yourself the path to reach felicity.
[310] So exhorting him she entered her own abode. The Bodhisatta entered on high meditation and was born in the Brahmaloka world.
No. 393.
VIGHĀSA-JĀTAKA.
"Happy life is theirs," etc.—The Master told this tale while dwelling in the East Garden, concerning some Brethren who were given to amusement. The great Moggallāna had shaken their dwelling and alarmed them. The Brethren sat discussing their fault in the Hall of Truth. The Master being told this said to them, "They are not given to amusement for the first time," and so told an old tale.[311]
Happy life is theirs who live on
remnants left from charity:
Praise in this world is their lot, and in the next felicity.
Then one of them hearing the parrot's words called to the rest,
and spoke the second stanza:—Praise in this world is their lot, and in the next felicity.
Should not wise men listen when a
parrot speaks in human tongue:
Hearken, brethren: ’tis our praises clearly that this bird has sung.
Then the parrot denying this spoke the third stanza:—Hearken, brethren: ’tis our praises clearly that this bird has sung.
Not your praises I am singing,
carrion-eaters: list to me,
Refuse is the food you eat, not remnants left from charity.
Refuse is the food you eat, not remnants left from charity.
When they heard him, they all together spoke the fourth stanza:—
Seven years ordained, with duly
tonsured hair,
In Mejjhārañña here we spend our days,
Living on remnants: if you blame our fare,
Who is it then you praise?
The Great Being spoke the fifth stanza, putting them to shame:—In Mejjhārañña here we spend our days,
Living on remnants: if you blame our fare,
Who is it then you praise?
Leavings of the lion, tiger, ravening
beast, are your supply:
Refuse truly, though ye call it remnants left from charity.
[312] Hearing him the ascetics said, "If we are not eaters of
remnants, then who pray are?" Then he telling them the true meaning spoke
the sixth stanza:—Refuse truly, though ye call it remnants left from charity.
They who giving alms to priests and
brahmins, wants to satisfy
Eat the rest, ’tis they who live on remnants left from charity.
So the Bodhisatta put them to shame and went to his own place.Eat the rest, ’tis they who live on remnants left from charity.
No. 394.
VAṬṬAKA-JĀTAKA.
"Oil and butter," etc.—The Master told this while dwelling in Jetavana, concerning a greedy Brother. Finding that he was greedy the Master said to him, "This is not the first time you are greedy: once before through greed in Benares you were not satisfied with carcases of elephants, oxen, horses and men; and in hopes of getting better food you went to the forest;" and so he told an old tale.him of his food and eating it become fat myself," he perched on a bough above the Bodhisatta. The Bodhisatta [313], without being asked, gave him greeting and spoke the first stanza:—
Oil and butter are your victuals,
nuncle; rich your food, I trow:
Tell me then what is the reason of your leanness, master crow.
Hearing his words the crow spoke three stanzas:—Tell me then what is the reason of your leanness, master crow.
I dwell in midst of many foes, my heart
goes pit-a-pat
In terror as I seek my food: how can a crow be fat?
Crows spend their lives in fear, their wits for mischief ever keen;In terror as I seek my food: how can a crow be fat?
The bits they pick are not enough; good quail, that's why I'm lean.
Rude grass and seeds are all your food: there's little richness there:
Then tell me why you're fat, good quail, on such a scanty fare.
The Bodhisatta hearing him spoke these stanzas, explaining the reason of his fatness:—
I have content and easy mind, short
distances to go,
I live on anything I get, and so I'm fat, good crow.
Content of mind, and happiness with little care of heart,I live on anything I get, and so I'm fat, good crow.
A standard easily attained: that life's the better part.
No. 395.
KĀKA-JĀTAKA. 1
"Our old friend," etc.—The Master told this tale while dwelling in Jetavana, concerning a greedy Brother. The occasion is as above.Benares merchant. A crow became intimate with him and lived there also. Here the story is to be expanded. The cook pulled out the crow's feathers and sprinkled him with flour, then piercing a cowrie he hung it on the crow's neck and threw him into a basket. The Bodhisatta came from the wood, and seeing him made a jest and spoke the first stanza:—
Our old friend! look at him!
A jewel bright he wears;
His beard in gallant trim,
How gay our friend appears!
[315] The crow hearing him spoke the second stanza:—A jewel bright he wears;
His beard in gallant trim,
How gay our friend appears!
My nails and hair had grown so fast,
They hampered me in all I did:
A barber came along at last,
And of superfluous hair I'm rid.
Then the Bodhisatta spoke the third stanza:—They hampered me in all I did:
A barber came along at last,
And of superfluous hair I'm rid.
Granted you got a barber then,
Who has cropped your hair so well:
Round your neck, will you explain,
What's that tinkling like a bell?
Then the crow uttered two stanzas:—Who has cropped your hair so well:
Round your neck, will you explain,
What's that tinkling like a bell?
Men of fashion wear a gem
Round the neck: it's often done:
I am imitating them:
Don't suppose it's just for fun.
Round the neck: it's often done:
I am imitating them:
Don't suppose it's just for fun.
If you're really envious
Of my beard that's trimmed so true:
I can get you barbered thus;
You may have the jewel too.
The Bodhisatta hearing him spoke the sixth stanza:—Of my beard that's trimmed so true:
I can get you barbered thus;
You may have the jewel too.
Nay, ’tis you they best become,
Gem and beard that's trimmed so true.
I find your presence troublesome:
I go with a good-day to you.
[316] With these words he flew up and went elsewhere; and the crow
died then and there.Gem and beard that's trimmed so true.
I find your presence troublesome:
I go with a good-day to you.
Footnotes
195:1 Cf. no. 42, vol. i.; no. 274, vol. ii.BOOK VII. SATTANIPĀTA.
No. 396.
KUKKU-JĀTAKA.
[317] "The peak's a cubit," etc—The Master told this while dwelling in Jetavana, concerning the admonition of a king. The occasion will appear in the Tesakuṇa-Birth. 1[318]
The peak's a cubit and a half in
height,
Eight spans will compass it in circuit round,
Of simsapa and sāra built aright:
Why does it stand so sound?
Hearing him the Bodhisatta thought "I have now got a parable
to admonish the king," and spoke these stanzas:—Eight spans will compass it in circuit round,
Of simsapa and sāra built aright:
Why does it stand so sound?
The thirty rafters bent, of sāra wood,
Set equally, encompass it around,
They press it tightly, for their hold is good:
’Tis set aright and sound.
Set equally, encompass it around,
They press it tightly, for their hold is good:
’Tis set aright and sound.
So is the wise man, girt by faithful
friends,
By steadfast counsellors and pure:
Never from height of fortune he descends:
As rafters hold the peak secure.
[319] While the Bodhisatta was speaking, the king considered his
own conduct, "If there is no peak, the rafters do not stand fast; the peak
does not stand if not held by the rafters; if the rafters break, the peak
falls: and even so a bad king, not holding together his friends and ministers,
his armies, his brahmins and householders, if these break up, is not held by
them but falls from his power: a king must be righteous." At that instant
they brought him a citron as a present. The king said to the Bodhisatta,
"Friend, eat this citron." The Bodhisatta took it and said, "O
king, people who know not how to eat this make it bitter or acid: but wise men
who know take away the bitter, and without removing the acid or spoiling the citron-flavour
they eat it," and by this parable he showed the king the means of
collecting wealth, and spoke two stanzas:—By steadfast counsellors and pure:
Never from height of fortune he descends:
As rafters hold the peak secure.
The rough-skinned citron bitter is to
eat,
If it remain untouched by carver's steel:
Take but the pulp, O king, and it is sweet:
You spoil the sweetness if you add the peel.
If it remain untouched by carver's steel:
Take but the pulp, O king, and it is sweet:
You spoil the sweetness if you add the peel.
Even so the wise man without violence,
Gathers king's dues in village and in town,
Increases wealth, and yet gives no offence:
He walks the way of right and of renown.
[320] The king taking counsel with the Bodhisatta went to a
lotus-tank, and seeing a lotus in flower, with a hue like the new-risen sun,
not defiled by the water, he said: "Friend, that lotus grown in the water
stands undefiled by the water." Then the Bodhisatta said, "O king, so
should a king be," and spoke these stanzas in admonition:—Gathers king's dues in village and in town,
Increases wealth, and yet gives no offence:
He walks the way of right and of renown.
Like the lotus in the pool,
White roots, waters pure, sustain it;
In the sun's face flowering full,
Dust nor mud nor wet can stain it.
So the man whom virtues rule,White roots, waters pure, sustain it;
In the sun's face flowering full,
Dust nor mud nor wet can stain it.
Meek and pure and good we style him:
Like the lotus in the pool
Stain of sin cannot defile him.
[321] The king hearing the Bodhisatta's admonition afterwards ruled his kingdom righteously, and doing good actions, charity and the rest, became destined for heaven.
Footnotes
197:1 No. 521, vol. v.No. 397.
MANOJA-JĀTAKA.
"The bow is bent," etc.—The Master told this while dwelling in the Bamboo Grove, concerning a Brother who kept bad company. The occasion was given at length in the Mahilāmukhata Birth. 1 The Master said, "Brethren, he is not keeping bad company for the first time," and told an old tale.archer thinking "His speed is very great when he comes," did not shoot him, but when he was going away after taking a horse, hampered by the heavy weight, he hit him with a sharp arrow in the hind quarters. The arrow came out at his front quarters and flew in the air. [323] The lion yelled "I am shot." The archer after shooting him twanged his bow like thunder. The jackal hearing the noise of lion and bow said to himself, "My comrade is shot and must be killed, there is no friendship with the dead, I will now go to my old home in the wood," and so he spoke two stanzas:—
The bow is bent, the bowstring sounds
amain;
Manoja, king of beasts, my friend, is slain.
Alas, I seek the woods as best I may:Manoja, king of beasts, my friend, is slain.
Such friendship's naught; others must be my stay.
The lion with a rush came and threw the horse at the den's mouth, falling dead himself. His kinsfolk came out and saw him blood-stained, blood flowing from his wounds, dead from following the wicked; and his father, mother, sister and wife seeing him spoke four stanzas in order:—
His fortune is not prosperous whom
wicked folk entice;
Look at Manoja lying there, through Giriya's advice.
No joy have mothers in a son whose comrades are not good:Look at Manoja lying there, through Giriya's advice.
Look at Manoja lying there all covered with his blood.
And even so fares still the man, in low estate he lies,
Who follows not the counsel of the true friend and the wise.
This, or worse than this, his fate
Who is high, but trusts the low:
[324] See, ’tis thus from kingly state
He has fallen to the bow.
Lastly, the stanza of the Perfect Wisdom:—Who is high, but trusts the low:
[324] See, ’tis thus from kingly state
He has fallen to the bow.
Who follows outcasts is himself out
cast,
Who courts his equals ne’er will be betrayed,
Who bows before the noblest rises fast;
Look therefore to thy betters for thine aid.
Who courts his equals ne’er will be betrayed,
Who bows before the noblest rises fast;
Look therefore to thy betters for thine aid.
Footnotes
199:1 No. 26, vol. i. p. 185.No. 398.
SUTANO-JĀTAKA.
"The King has sent," etc.—The Master told this tale while dwelling in Jetavana, concerning a Brother who supported his mother. The occasion will appear in the Sāma 1 Birth."Was a limit of time fixed, O king?" "No." "That was wrong when you were about it: but never mind, there are many men in the jail." "Then do you manage this affair, and give me life." The minister agreed, and taking a man from the jail every day sent him to the yakkha with a plate of rice without telling him anything. The yakkha eats both rice and man. After a time the jails became empty. The king finding no one to carry the rice shook with fear of death. The minister comforting him said, "O king, desire of wealth is stronger than desire of life: let us put a packet of a thousand pieces on an elephant's back and make proclamation by drum, "Who will take rice and go to the yakkha and get this wealth?" and he did so. The Bodhisatta thought, "I get pence and halfpence for my wages and can hardly support my mother: I will get this wealth and give it her, and then go to the yakkha: if I can get the better of him, well, and if I cannot she will live comfortably": so he told his mother, but she said, "I have enough, dear, I don't need wealth," and so forbade him twice; but the third time without asking her, he said, "Sirs, bring the thousand pieces, I will take the rice." So he gave his mother the thousand pieces and said, "Don't fret, dear; I will overcome the yakkha and give happiness to the people: I will come making your tearful face to laugh," and so saluting her he went to the king with the king's men, and saluting him stood there. The king said, "My good man, will you take the rice?" "Yes, O king." "What should you take with you?" [327] "Your golden slippers, O king." "Why?" "O king, that yakkha gets to eat all people standing on the ground at the foot of the tree: I will stand on slippers, not on his ground." "Anything else?" "Your umbrella, O king." "Why so?" "O king, the yakkha gets to eat all people standing in the shade of his own tree: I will stand in the shade of the umbrella, not of his tree." "Anything else?" "Your sword, O king." "For what purpose?" "O king, even goblins fear those with weapons in their hands." "Anything else?" "Your golden bowl, O king, filled with your own rice." "Why, good man?" "It is not meet for a wise man like me to take coarse food in an earthen dish." The king consented and sent officers to give him all he asked. The Bodhisatta said, "Fear not, O great king, I will come back today having overcome the yakkha and caused you happiness," and so taking the things needful and going to the place, he set men not far front the tree, put on the golden slippers, girt the sword, put the white umbrella over his head, and taking rice in a gold dish went to the yakkha. The yakkha watching the road saw him and thought, "This man comes not as they came on the other days, what is the reason?" The Bodhisatta drawing near the tree pushed the plate of rice in the shadow with the sword-point, and standing near the shadow spoke the first stanza:—
The king has sent thee rice prepared
and seasoned well with meat:
If Makhādeva is at home, let him come forth and eat!
If Makhādeva is at home, let him come forth and eat!
[328] Hearing him the yakkha thought, "I will deceive him, and eat him when he comes into the shadow," and so he spoke the second stanza:—
Come inside, young man, with your seasoned
food,
Both it and you, young man, to eat are good.
Then the Bodhisatta spoke two stanzas:—Both it and you, young man, to eat are good.
Yakkha, you'll lose a great thing for a
small,
Men fearing death will bring no food at all.
You'll have good supply of cheer,Men fearing death will bring no food at all.
Pure and sweet and flavoured to your mind:
But a man to bring it here,
If you eat me, will be hard to find.
[329] The yakkha thought, "The young man speaks sense," and being well disposed spoke two stanzas:—
Young Sutana, my interests are clearly
as you show:
Visit your mother then in peace, you have my leave to go.
Take sword, and parasol, and dish, young man, and go your ways,Visit your mother then in peace, you have my leave to go.
Visit your mother happily and bring her happy days.
Hearing the yakkha's words the Bodhisatta was pleased, thinking, "My task is accomplished, the yakkha overcome, much wealth won and the king's word made good," and so returning thanks to the yakkha he spoke a final stanza:—
With all thy kith and kin, yakkha,
right happy may you be:
The king's command has been performed, and wealth has come to me.
So he admonished the yakkha, saying, "Friend, you did evil
deeds of old, you were cruel and harsh, you ate the flesh and blood of others
and so were born as a yakkha: from henceforth do no murder or the like:"
so telling the blessings of virtue and the misery of vice, he established the
yakkha in the five virtues: then he said, "Why dwell in the forest? come,
I will settle you by the city gate and make you get the best rice." So he
went away with the yakkha, making him take the sword and the other things, and came
to Benares. They told the king that Sutana was come with the yakkha. The king
with his ministers [330] went out to meet the Bodhisatta, settled the yakkha at
the city gate and made him get the best rice: then he entered the town, made
proclamation by drum, and calling a meeting of the townsfolk spoke the praises
of the Bodhisatta and gave him the command of the army: himself was established
in the Bodhisatta's teaching, did the good works of charity and the other
virtues, and became destined for heaven.The king's command has been performed, and wealth has come to me.
Footnotes
201:1 No. 540, vol. vi.201:2 King of the yakkhas.
No. 399.
GIJJHA-JĀTAKA.
"How will the old folks," etc.—The Master told this when dwelling in Jetavana, concerning a Brother who supported his mother.
How will the old folks manage now
within the mountain cave?
For I am fastened in a snare, cruel Nilīya's slave.
[331] The son of a hunter, hearing him lament, spoke the second
stanza, the vulture spoke the third, and so on alternately:—For I am fastened in a snare, cruel Nilīya's slave.
Vulture, what strange laments of yours
are these my ears that reach?
I never heard or saw a bird that uttered human speech.
I tend my aged parents within a mountain cave,I never heard or saw a bird that uttered human speech.
How will the old folks manage now that I've become your slave?
Carrion a vulture sights across a hundred leagues of land;
Why do you fail to see a snare and net so close at hand?
When ruin comes upon a man, and fates his death demand,
He fails to see a snare or net although so close at hand.
Go, tend your aged parents within their mountain-cave,
Go, visit them in peace, you have from me the leave you crave.
O hunter, happiness be thine, with all thy kith and kin:
I'll tend my aged parents their mountain-cave within.
Then the Bodhisatta, freed from the fear of death, joyfully gave thanks and speaking a final stanza took his mouthful of meat, and went away and gave it to his parents.
No. 400.
DABBHAPUPPHA-JĀTAKA. 1
"Friend Anutīracārī," etc.—The Master told this while dwelling in Jetavana, concerning Upananda, of the Sakya tribe. He was ordained in the faith, but forsook the virtues of contentment and the rest and became very greedy. At the beginning of the rains he tried two or three monasteries, leaving at one an umbrella or a shoe, at one a walking-stick or a water-pot, and dwelling in one himself. He began the rains in a country-monastery, and saying, "The Brethren must live contentedly," explained to the Brethren, as if he were making the moon rise in the sky, the way to the noble state of content, praising contentment with the necessaries. Hearing him the Brethren threw away their pleasant robes and vessels, and took pots of clay and robes of dust-rags. He put the others in his own lodging, and when the rains and the pavāraṇā festival were over he filled a cart and went to Jetavana. On the way, behind a monastery in the forest, wrapping his feet with creepers and saying, "Surely something can be got here," he entered the monastery. Two old Brethren had spent the rains there: they had got two coarse cloaks and one fine blanket, and, as they could not divide them, they were pleased to see him, thinking, "This Elder will divide these between us," and said, "Sir, we cannot divide this which is raiment for the rains; we have a dispute about it, do you divide it between us." He consented and giving the two coarse cloaks to them he took the blanket, saying, "This falls to me who know the rules of discipline," and went away. These Elders, who loved the blanket, went with him to Jetavana, and told the matter to the Brethren who knew the rules, saying, "Is it right for those who know the rules to devour plunder thus?" The Brethren seeing the pile of robes and bowls brought by the Elder Upananda, said, "Sir, you have great merit, you have gained much food and raiment." He said, "Sirs, where is my merit? I gained this in such and such a manner," telling them all. In the Hall of Truth they raised a talk, saying, "Sirs, Upananda, of the Sakya tribe, is very covetous and greedy." [333] The Master, finding their subject, said, "Brothers, Upananda's deeds are not suited for progress; when a Brother explains progress to another he should first act suitably himself and then preach to others."
Yourself first stablish in propriety,
Then teach; the wise should not self-seeking be.
By this stanza of the Dhammapada he showed the law and said,
"Brothers, Upananda is not covetous for the first time; he was so before
and he plundered men's property before": and so he told an old tale.Then teach; the wise should not self-seeking be.
going by the river he wrapt his feet in creepers, and went along the bank. At the moment, two otters, Gambhīracārī and Anutīracārī, were standing on the bank looking for fish. Gambhīracārī saw a great rohita fish, and entering the water with a bound he took it by the tail. The fish was strong and went away dragging him. He called to the other, "This great fish will be enough for both of us, come and aid me," speaking the first stanza:—
Friend Anutīracārī, rush to my aid, I
pray:
I've caught a great fish: but by force he's carrying me away.
[334] Hearing him, the other spoke the second stanza:—I've caught a great fish: but by force he's carrying me away.
Gambhīracārī, luck to you! your grip be
firm and stout,
And as a roc would lift a snake, I'll lift the fellow out.
Then the two together took out the rohita fish, laid him on the
ground and killed him: but saying each to the other, "You divide
him," they quarrelled and could not divide him: and so sat down, leaving
him. At the moment the jackal came to the spot. Seeing him, they both saluted
him and said, "Lord of the grey grass-colour, this fish was taken by both
of us together: a dispute arose because we could not divide him: do you make an
equal division and part it," speaking the third stanza:—And as a roc would lift a snake, I'll lift the fellow out.
A strife arose between us, mark! O thou
of grassy hue,
Let our contention, honoured sir, be settled fair by you.
The jackal hearing them, said, declaring his own strength:—Let our contention, honoured sir, be settled fair by you.
I've arbitrated many a case and done it
peacefully:
Let your contention, honoured sirs, be settled fair by me.
Having spoken that stanza, and making the division, he spoke this
stanza:—Let your contention, honoured sirs, be settled fair by me.
Tail, Anutīracārī; Gambhīracārī, head:
The middle to the arbiter will properly be paid.
[335] So having divided the fish, he said, "You eat head and
tail without quarrelling," and seizing the middle portion in his mouth he
ran away before their eyes. They sat downcast, as if they had lost a thousand
pieces, and spoke the sixth stanza:—The middle to the arbiter will properly be paid.
But for our strife, it would have long
sufficed us without fail:
But now the jackal takes the fish, and leaves us head and tail.
The jackal was pleased and thinking "Now I will give my wife
rohita fish to eat," he went to her. She saw him coming and saluting him
spoke a stanza:—But now the jackal takes the fish, and leaves us head and tail.
Even as a king is glad to join a
kingdom to his rule,
So I am glad to see my lord to-day with his mouth full.
So I am glad to see my lord to-day with his mouth full.
Then she asked him about the means of attainment, speaking a stanza:—
How, being of the land, have you from
water caught a fish?
How did you do the feat, my lord? pray answer to my wish.
The jackal, explaining the means to her, spoke the next stanza:—How did you do the feat, my lord? pray answer to my wish.
By strife it is their weakness comes,
by strife their means decay:
By strife the otters lost their prize: Māyāvi, eat the prey.
[336] There is another stanza uttered by the Perfect Wisdom of
Buddha:—By strife the otters lost their prize: Māyāvi, eat the prey.
Even so when strife arises among men,
They seek an arbiter: he's leader then:
Their wealth decays, and the king's coffers gain.
They seek an arbiter: he's leader then:
Their wealth decays, and the king's coffers gain.
Footnotes
205:1 Cf. Folk-lore Journal, iv. 52, Tibetan Tales, p. 332.No. 401.
DASAṆṆAKA-JĀTAKA.
"Dasanna's good sword," etc.—The Master told this, when living in Jetavana, concerning the temptation of a Brother by his wife when a layman. The Brother confessed that he was backsliding for this reason. The Master said, "That woman does you harm: formerly too you were dying of mental sickness owing to her, and got life owing to wise men," and so he told a tale of old.when he went home lay without taking food. His comrades enquired of him and he told them the matter. The king said, "The household priest's son does not appear, how is this?" When he heard the cause, he sent for him and said, "I give her to you for seven days, spend those days at your house and on the eighth send her back." He said, "Very well," and taking her to his house took delight with her. They became enamoured of each other, and keeping it secret they fled by the house door and came to the country of another king. No man knew the place they went to, and their path was like the way of a ship. The king made proclamation by drum round the city, and though he sought in many ways he did not find the place whither she had gone. Then great sorrow for her fell upon him: his heart became hot and poured out blood: after that blood flowed from his entrails, and his sickness became great. The great royal physicians could not cure him. The Bodhisatta thought, "The disease is not in the king, he is touched by mental sickness because he sees not his wife: I will cure him by a certain means"; so he instructed the king's wise counsellors, Āyura and Pukkusa by name, saying, "The king has no sickness, except mental sickness because he sees not the queen: now he is a great helper to us and we will cure him by a certain means: [338] we will have a gathering in the palace-yard and make a man who knows how to do it swallow a sword: we will put the king at a window and make him look down on the gathering: the king seeing the man swallow a sword will ask, "Is there anything harder than that?" Then, my lord Āyura, you should make answer, "It is harder to say "I give up so and so": then he will ask you, my lord Pukkusa, and you should make answer, "O king, if a man says, "I give up so and so" and does not give it, his word is fruitless, no men live or eat or drink by such words; but they who do according to that word and give the thing according to their promise, they do a thing harder than the other: then I will find what to do next." So he made a gathering. Then these three wise men went and told the king, saying, "O great king, there is a gathering in the palace-yard; if men look down on it their sorrow becomes joy, let us go thither": so they took the king, and opening a window made him look down on the gathering. Many people were showing off each his own art which he knew: and a man was swallowing a good sword of thirty-three inches and sharp of edge. The king seeing him thought, "This man is swallowing the sword, I will ask these wise men if there is anything harder than that": so he asked Āyura, speaking the first stanza:—
1
Dasanna's good sword thirsts for blood,
its edge is sharpened perfectly:
Yet ’midst the crowd he swallows it: a harder feat there cannot be:
I ask if anything is hard compared to this: pray answer me.
Yet ’midst the crowd he swallows it: a harder feat there cannot be:
I ask if anything is hard compared to this: pray answer me.
[339] Then he spoke the second stanza in answer:—
Greed may lure a man to swallow swords
though sharpened perfectly:
But to say, "I give this freely," that a harder feat would be;
All things else are easy; royal Māgadha, I've answered thee.
When the king heard wise Āyura's words, he thought, "So then
it is harder to say, "I give this thing," than to swallow a sword: I
said, "I give my queen to the priest's son": I have done a very hard
thing": and so his sorrow at heart became a little lighter. Then thinking,
"Is there anything harder than to say, "I give this thing to
another"?" he talked with wise Pukkusa and spoke the third stanza:—But to say, "I give this freely," that a harder feat would be;
All things else are easy; royal Māgadha, I've answered thee.
Āyura has solved my question, wise in
all philosophy:
Pukkusa I ask the question now, if harder feat there be:
Is there aught that's hard compared to this? pray answer me.
The wise Pukkusa in answer to him spoke the fourth stanza:—Pukkusa I ask the question now, if harder feat there be:
Is there aught that's hard compared to this? pray answer me.
Not by words men live, and not by
language uttered fruitlessly:
But to give and not regret it, that a greater feat would be:
All things else are easy; royal Māgadha, I've answered thee.
[340] The king, hearing this, considered, "I first said,
"I will give the queen to the priest's son," and then I did according
to my word and gave her: surely I have done a hard thing": so his sorrow
became lighter. Then it came into his mind, "There is no one wiser than
wise Senaka, I will ask this question of him": and asking him he spoke the
fifth stanza:—But to give and not regret it, that a greater feat would be:
All things else are easy; royal Māgadha, I've answered thee.
Pukkusa has solved my question, wise in
all philosophy:
Senaka I ask the question now, if harder feat there be:
Is there aught that's hard compared to this? pray answer me.
So Senaka spoke the sixth stanza in answer to him:—Senaka I ask the question now, if harder feat there be:
Is there aught that's hard compared to this? pray answer me.
If a man should give a gift, or small
or great, in charity,
Nor regret the giving after: that a harder feat would be:
All things else are easy: royal Māgadha, I've answered thee.
The king, hearing the Bodhisatta's words, reflected: "I gave
the queen to the priest's son of my own thought: [341] now I cannot control my
thought, I sorrow and pine: this is not worthy of me. If she loved me she would
not forsake her kingdom and flee away: what have I to do with her when she has
not loved me but fled away?" As he thought thus, all his sorrow rolled
away and departed like a drop of water on a lotus leaf. That instant his
entrails were at rest. He became well and happy, and praised the Bodhisatta,
speaking the final stanza:—Nor regret the giving after: that a harder feat would be:
All things else are easy: royal Māgadha, I've answered thee.
Āyura answered question, good Pukkusa
as well:
The words of Senaka the wise all answers do excel.
And after this praise he gave him much wealth in his delightThe words of Senaka the wise all answers do excel.
After the lesson, the Master declared the Truths, and identified the Birth:—after the Truths, the backsliding Brother was established in the fruition of the First Path:—"At that time the queen was the wife of his layman days, the king the backsliding Brother, Āyura was Moggallāna, Pukkusa was Sāriputta, and the wise Senaka was myself."
Footnotes
208:1A kingdom in Central India, apparently a seat of the sword-making art.No. 402.
SATTUBHASTA-JĀTAKA. 1
"Thou art confused," etc.—The Master told this when staying in Jetavana, concerning the Perfection of Wisdom. The occasion of the story will appear in the Ummagga-Birth. 2the fire with fuel, nor a king with his kingdom, nor a fool with sins, nor a woman with three things, intercourse, adornment and child-bearing, nor a brahmin with sacred texts, nor a sage with ecstatic meditation, nor a sekha 1 with honour, nor one free from desire with penance, nor the energetic man with energy, nor the talker with talk, nor the politic man with the council, nor the believer with serving the church, nor the liberal man with giving away, nor the learned with hearing the law, nor the four congregations 2 with seeing the Buddha. So this brahmin woman [343], being unsatisfied with intercourse, wished to put her husband away and do her sin with boldness. So one day in her evil purpose she lay down. When he said, "How is it, wife?" she answered, "Brahmin, I cannot do the work of your house, get me a maid." "Wife, I have no money, what shall I give to get her?" "Seek for money by begging for alms and so get her." "Then, wife, get ready something for my journey." She filled a skin-bag with baked meal and unbaked meal, and gave them to him. The brahmin, going through villages, towns and cities, got seven hundred pieces, and thinking, "This money is enough to buy slaves, male and female," he was returning to his own village: at a certain place convenient for water he opened his sack, and eating some meal he went down to drink water without tying the mouth. Then a black snake in a hollow tree, smelling the meal, entered the bag and lay down in a coil eating the meal. The brahmin came, and without looking inside fastened the sack and putting it on his shoulder went his way. Then a spirit living in a tree, sitting in a hollow of the trunk, said to him on the way, "Brahmin, if you stop on the way you will die, if you go home to-day your wife will die," and vanished. He looked, but not seeing the spirit was afraid and troubled with the fear of death, and so came to the gate of Benares weeping and lamenting. It was the fast on the fifteenth day, the day of the Bodhisatta's preaching, seated on the decorated seat of the law, and a multitude with perfumes and flowers and the like in their hands came in troops to hear the preaching. The brahmin said, "Where are ye going?" and was told, "O brahmin, to-day wise Senaka preaches the law with sweet voice and the power of a Buddha: do you not know?" He thought, "They say he is a wise preacher, and I am troubled with the fear of death: wise men [344] are able to take away even great sorrow: it is right for me too to go there and hear the law." So he went with them, and when the assembly and the king among them had sat down round about the Bodhisatta, he stood at the outside, not far from the seat of the law, with his mealsack on his shoulder, afraid with the fear of death. The Bodhisatta preached as if he were bringing down the river of heaven or showering ambrosia. The multitude became well pleased, and making applause listened to the
preaching. Wise men have far sight. At that moment the Bodhisatta, opening his eyes gracious with the five graces, surveyed the assembly on every side and, seeing that brahmin, thought, "This great assembly has become well pleased and listens to the law, making applause, but that one brahmin is ill pleased and weeps: there must be some sorrow within him to cause his tears: as if touching rust with acid, or making a drop of water roll from a lotus leaf, I will teach him the law, making him free from sorrow and well pleased in mind." So he called him, "Brahmin, I am wise Senaka, now will I make thee free from sorrow, speak boldly," and so talking with him he spoke the first stanza:—
Thou art confused in thought, disturbed
in sense,
Tears streaming from thine eyes are evidence;
What hast thou lost, or what dost wish to gain
By coming hither? Give me answer plain.
[345] Then the brahmin, declaring his cause of sorrow, spoke the
second stanza:—Tears streaming from thine eyes are evidence;
What hast thou lost, or what dost wish to gain
By coming hither? Give me answer plain.
If I go home my wife it is must die,
If I go not, the yakkha said, ’tis I;
That is the thought that pierces cruelly:
Explain the matter, Senaka, to me.
The Bodhisatta, hearing the brahmin's words, spread the net of
knowledge as if throwing a net in the sea, thinking, "There are many
causes of death to beings in this world: some die sunk in the sea, or seized
therein by ravenous fish, some falling in the Ganges, or seized by crocodiles,
some falling from a tree or pierced by a thorn, some struck by weapons of
divers kinds, some by eating poison or hanging or falling from a precipice or
by extreme cold or attacked by diseases of divers kinds, so they die: now among
so many causes of death from which cause shall this brahmin die if he stays on
the road to-day, or his wife if he goes home?" As he considered, he saw
the sack on the brahmin's shoulder and thought, "There must be a snake who
has gone into that sack, and entering he must have gone in from the smell of the
meal when the brahmin at his breakfast had eaten some meal and gone to drink
water without fastening the sack's mouth: the brahmin coming back after
drinking water must have gone on after fastening and taking up the sack without
seeing that the snake had entered: [346] if he stays on the road, he will say
at evening when he rests, "I will eat some meal," and opening the
sack will put in his hand: then the snake will bite him in the hand and destroy
his life: this will be the cause of his death if he stays on the road: but if
he goes home the sack will come into his wife's hand; she will say, "I
will look at the ware within," and opening the sack put in her hand, then
the snake will bite her and destroy her life, and this will be the cause of her
death if he goes home to-day." This he knew by his knowledge of
expedients. Then thisIf I go not, the yakkha said, ’tis I;
That is the thought that pierces cruelly:
Explain the matter, Senaka, to me.
came into his mind, "The snake must be a black snake, brave and fearless; when the sack strikes against the brahmin's broadside, he shows no motion or quivering; he shows no sign of his being there amidst such an assembly: therefore he must be a black snake, brave and fearless:" from his knowledge of expedients he knew this as if he was seeing with a divine eye. So as if he had been a man who had stood by and seen the snake enter the sack, deciding by his knowledge of expedients, the Bodhisatta answering the brahmin's question in the royal assembly spoke the third stanza:—
First with many a doubt I deal,
Now my tongue the truth declares;
Brahmin, in your bag of meal
A snake has entered unawares.
[347] So saying, he asked, "O brahmin, is there any meal in
that sack of yours?" "There is, O sage." "Did you eat some
meal to-day at your breakfast time?" "Yes, O sage." "Where
were you sitting?" "In a wood, at the root of a tree."
"When you ate the meal, and went to drink water, did you fasten the sack's
mouth or not?" "I did not, O sage." "When you drank water
and came back, did you fasten the sack after looking in?" "I fastened
it without looking in, O sage." "O brahmin, when you went to drink
water, I think the snake entered the sack owing to the smell of the meal
without your knowledge: such is the case: therefore put down your sack, set it
in the midst of the assembly and opening the mouth, stand back and taking a
stick beat the sack with it: then when you see a black snake coming out with
its hood spread and hissing, you will have no doubt:" so he spoke the
fourth stanza:—Now my tongue the truth declares;
Brahmin, in your bag of meal
A snake has entered unawares.
Take a stick and beat the sack,
Dumb and double-tongued is he;
Cease your mind with doubts to rack;
Ope the sack, the snake you'll see.
The brahmin, hearing the Great Being's words, did so, though
alarmed and frightened. The snake came out of the sack when his hood was struck
with the stick, and stood looking at the crowd.Dumb and double-tongued is he;
Cease your mind with doubts to rack;
Ope the sack, the snake you'll see.
Frightened, ’midst the assembled rout,
String of meal-sack he untied;
Angry crept a serpent out,
Hood erect, in all his pride.
When the snake came out with hood erect, there was a forecast of
the Bodhisatta as the omniscient Buddha. The multitude began waving cloths and
snapping fingers in thousands, the showers of the seven precious stones were as
showers from a thick cloud, cries of "good" were raised in hundreds
of thousands,String of meal-sack he untied;
Angry crept a serpent out,
Hood erect, in all his pride.
and the noise was like the splitting of the earth. This answering of such a question with the power of a Buddha is not the power of birth, nor the power of men rich in gifts and high family: of what is it the power then? Of knowledge: the man of knowledge makes spiritual insight to increase, opens the door of the noble Paths, enters the great and endless nirvāna and masters the perfection of disciple-hood, pacceka-buddha-hood, and perfect buddha-hood: knowledge is the best among the qualities that bring the great and endless nirvana, the rest are the attendants of knowledge: and so it is said:—
"Wisdom is best," the good
confess,
Like the moon in starry skies;
Virtue, fortune, righteousness,
Are the handmaids of the wise.
Like the moon in starry skies;
Virtue, fortune, righteousness,
Are the handmaids of the wise.
Great, king Janaka, thy gain,
Seeing Senaka the wise.
[349] After praising the king, he took seven hundred pieces from
the bag and praising the Bodhisatta, he spoke a stanza and a half wishing to
give a gift in delight:—Seeing Senaka the wise.
Dread thy wisdom; veils are vain,
Brahmin, to thy piercing eyes.
These seven hundred pieces, see,Brahmin, to thy piercing eyes.
Take them all, I give them thee;
’Tis to thee I owe my life,
And the welfare of my wife.
Hearing this, the Bodhisatta spoke the eighth stanza:—
For reciting poetry
Wise men can't accept a wage;
Rather let us give to thee,
Ere thou take the homeward stage.
So saying, the Bodhisatta made a full thousand pieces to be given
to the brahmin, and asked him, "By whom were you sent to beg for
money?" "By my wife, O sage." [350] "Is your wife old or
young?" "Young, O sage." "Then she is doing sin with
another, and sent you away thinking to do so in security: if you take these
pieces home, she will give to her lover the pieces won by your labour:
therefore you should not go home straight, but only after leaving the pieces
outside the town at the root of a tree or somewhere:" so he sent him away.
He, coming near the village, left his pieces at the root of a tree, and came
home in the evening. His wife at that moment was seated with her lover. The
brahmin stood at the door and said, "Wife." She recognise his voice,
and putting out the lightWise men can't accept a wage;
Rather let us give to thee,
Ere thou take the homeward stage.
opened the door: when the brahmin came in, she took the other and put him at the door: then coming back and not seeing anything in the sack she asked, "Brahmin, what alms have you got on your journey?" "A thousand pieces." "Where is it?" "It is left at such and such a place: never mind, we will get it to-morrow." She went and told her lover. He went and took it as if it were his own treasure. Next day the brahmin went, and not seeing the pieces came to the Bodhisatta, who said, "What is the matter, brahmin?" "I don't see the pieces, O sage." "Did you tell your wife?" "Yes, O sage." Knowing that the wife had told her lover, the Bodhisatta asked, "Brahmin, is there a brahmin who is a friend of your wife's?" "There is, O sage." "Is there one who is a friend of yours?" "Yes, O sage." Then the Great Being caused seven days' expenses to be given him and said, "Go, do you two invite and entertain the first day fourteen brahmins, seven for yourself and seven for your wife: from next day onwards take one less each day, till on the seventh day you invite one brahmin and your wife one: then if you notice that the brahmin your wife asks on the seventh day has come every time, tell me." [351] The brahmin did so, and told the Bodhisatta, "O sage, I have observed the brahmin who is always our guest." The Bodhisatta sent men with him to bring that other brahmin, and asked him, "Did you take a thousand pieces belonging to this brahmin from the root of such and such a tree?" "I did not, O sage." "You do not know that I am the wise Senaka; I will make you fetch those pieces." He was afraid and confessed, saying, "I took them." "What did you do?" "I put them in such and such a place, O sage." The Bodhisatta asked the first brahmin, "Brahmin, will you keep your wife or take another?" "Let me keep her, O sage." The Bodhisatta sent men to fetch the pieces and the wife, and gave the brahmin the pieces from the thief's hand; he punished the other, removing him from the city, punished also the wife, and gave great honour to the brahmin, making him dwell near himself.
Footnotes
210:1 See Folk-lore Journal, iv. 175, Tibetan Tales, viii.210:2 No. 546, vol. vi.
211:1 A holy man who has not attained sainthood.
211:2 Brethren, Sisters, laymen and laywomen.
No. 403.
AṬṬHISENA-JĀTAKA.
"Aṭṭhisena, many beggars," etc.—The Master told this when dwelling in the shrine called Aggāḷava near Āḷavi, concerning the regulations for the building of cells. 1 The occasion was told in the Maṇikaṇṭha Birth 2 above. The Master addressed the Brethren, saying, "Brethren, formerly [352] before Buddha was born in the world, priests of other religions, even though offered their choice by kings, never asked for alms, holding that begging from others was not agreeable or pleasant," and so he told the tale of old time.
Aṭṭhisena,
many beggars, though they're strangers utterly,
Throng to me with their petitions: why hast thou no suit to me?
Throng to me with their petitions: why hast thou no suit to me?
[353] Hearing him the Bodhisatta spoke the second stanza:—
Neither suitor, nor rejector of a suit,
can pleasant be:
That's the reason, be not angry, why I have no suit to thee.
Hearing his words the king spoke three stanzas:—That's the reason, be not angry, why I have no suit to thee.
He who lives by sueing, and has not at
proper season sued,
Makes another fall from merit, fails to gain a livelihood.
He who lives by sueing, and has aye at proper season sued,Makes another fall from merit, fails to gain a livelihood.
Makes another man win merit, gains himself a livelihood.
Men of wisdom are not angry when they see the suitors throng;
Speak, my holy friend; the boon thou askest never can be wrong.
[354] So the Bodhisatta, even though given the choice of the kingdom, made no suit. When the king's wish had been so expressed, the Bodhisatta to show him the priests' way said, "O great king, these suits are preferred by men of worldly desires and householders, not by priests: from their ordination priests must have a pure life unlike a householder: " and so showing the priests' way, he spoke the sixth stanza:—
Sages never make petitions, worthy
laymen ought to know:
Silent stands the noble suitor: sages make petition so.
[355] The king hearing the Bodhisatta's words said, "Sir, if
a wise attendant of his own knowledge gives what ought to be given to his
friend, so I give to you such and such a thing," and so he spoke the
seventh stanza:—Silent stands the noble suitor: sages make petition so.
Brahmin, I offer thee a thousand kine,
Red kine, and eke the leader of the herd:
Hearing but now those generous deeds of thine,
I too in turn to generous deeds am stirred.
When he said this, the Bodhisatta refused, saying, "Great
king, I took the religious life free from defilement: I have no need of
cows." The king abode by his admonition; doing alms and other good works
he became destined for heaven, and not falling away from his meditation, was
born in the Brahma world.Red kine, and eke the leader of the herd:
Hearing but now those generous deeds of thine,
I too in turn to generous deeds am stirred.
Footnotes
216:1 See above, p. 52.216:2 No. 253, vol. ii.
No. 404.
KAPI-JĀTAKA. 1
"Let not the wise man," etc.—The Master told this tale while dwelling in Jetavana, concerning Devadatta being swallowed up by the earth. Finding that the Brethren were talking about this in the Hall of Truth, he said, "Devadatta has not been destroyed with his company now for the first time: he was destroyed before," and he told an old tale.monkey fled although wounded by an arrow, and though he did not fall on the spot [357], fell when he came to the Bodhisatta's place of abode. The monkeys said, "He has died when he reached our place of abode," and told the Bodhisatta that he was dead from a wound he had got. He came and sat down among the assembly of monkeys, and spoke these stanzas by way of exhorting the monkeys with the exhortation of the wise, which is "Men dwelling near their enemies perish in this way:"—
Let not the wise man dwell where dwells
his foe:
One night, two nights, so near will bring him woe.
A fool's a foe to all who trust his word:One night, two nights, so near will bring him woe.
One monkey brought distress on all the herd.
A foolish chief, wise in his own conceit,
Comes ever, like this monkey, to defeat.
A strong fool is not good to guard the herd,
Curse to his kindred, like the decoy-bird.
One strong and wise is good the herd to guard,
Like Indra to the Gods, his kin's reward.
Who virtue, wisdom, learning, doth possess,
His deeds himself and other men will bless.
Therefore virtue, knowledge, learning, and himself let him regard,
Either be a lonely Saint or o'er the flock keep watch and ward.
[358] So the Bodhisatta, becoming king of monkeys, explained the way of learning the Discipline.
Footnotes
218:1 Cf. Kākajātaka, no. 140, vol. i. and Tibetan Tales, xliii.No. 405.
BAKA-BRAHMA-JĀTAKA. 1
"Seventy and two," etc.—The Master told this tale while dwelling in Jetavana, concerning the brahma 2 Baka. In him a false doctrine arose, namely, "This present existence is perpetual, permanent, eternal, unchanging: apart from it there is no salvation or release at all." In a former birth this brahma had oncepractised meditation, so he was born in the Vehapphala heaven. Having spent there an existence of five hundred kalpas, he was born in the Subhakiṇṇa heaven; after sixty-four kalpas there he passed and was born in the Ābhassara heaven, where existence is for eight kalpas. It was there that this false doctrine arose in him. He forgot that he had passed from higher Brahmaloka heavens and had been born in that heaven, and perceiving neither of these things had taken up the false doctrine. The Lord, understanding his reflections, [359] as easily as a strong man can extend his bent arm or bend his extended arm, disappearing from Jetavana, appeared in that Brahmaloka. The brahma, seeing the Lord, said, "Come hither, my lord; welcome, my lord; it is a long time, my lord, since thou hast taken this opportunity, even for coming hither; this world, my lord, is perpetual, it is permanent, it is eternal, it is absolute, it is unchanging; this world is not born, it decays not, it dies not, it passes not away, it is not born again: apart from this world there is no other salvation beyond." When this was said, the Lord said to Baka the brahma, "Baka the brahma has come to ignorance, he has come to ignorance, when he will say that a thing which is not permanent is permanent, and so on, and that there is no other salvation apart from this when there is another salvation." Hearing this the brahma thought, "This one presses me hard, finding out exactly what I say," and as a timid thief, after receiving a few blows, says, "Am I the only thief? so and so and so and so are thieves too," showing his associates; so he, in fear of the Lord's questioning, showing that others were his associates, spoke the first stanza:—
Seventy and two, O Gotama, are we
Righteous and great, from birth and age we're free:
Our heaven is wisdom's home, there's nought above:
And many others will this view approve.
Hearing his words, the Master spoke the second stanza:—Righteous and great, from birth and age we're free:
Our heaven is wisdom's home, there's nought above:
And many others will this view approve.
[360]
Short your existence in this world:
’tis wrong,
Baka, to think existence here is long:
A hundred thousand aeons past and gone
All your existence well to me is known.
Hearing this, Baka spoke the third stanza:—Baka, to think existence here is long:
A hundred thousand aeons past and gone
All your existence well to me is known.
Of wisdom infinite, O Lord, am I:
Birth, age, and sorrow, all beneath me lie:
What should I do with good works, long ago?
Yet tell me something, Lord, that I should know.
Then the Lord, relating and showing him things of past time, spoke
four stanzas:—Birth, age, and sorrow, all beneath me lie:
What should I do with good works, long ago?
Yet tell me something, Lord, that I should know.
To many a man of old thou gavest drink
For thirst and parching drought ready to sink:
That virtuous deed of thine so long ago
Remembering, as if waked from sleep, I know.
[361] By Eṇi's bank thou
sett’st the people freeFor thirst and parching drought ready to sink:
That virtuous deed of thine so long ago
Remembering, as if waked from sleep, I know.
When chained and held in close captivity:
That virtuous deed of thine so long ago
Remembering, as if waked from sleep, I know.
By Ganges' stream the man thou didst set free,
Whose boat was seized by nāga, cruelly
Lusting for flesh, and save him mightily:
That virtuous deed of thine, so long ago
Remembering, as if waked from sleep, I know.
And I was Kappa, thy disciple true,
Thy wisdom and thy virtues all I knew:
And now those deeds of thine so long ago
Remembering, as if waked from sleep, I know.
[363] Hearing his own deeds from the Master's discourse, Baka gave
thanks and spoke this last stanza:—Thy wisdom and thy virtues all I knew:
And now those deeds of thine so long ago
Remembering, as if waked from sleep, I know.
Thou knowest every life that hath been
mine:
Buddha thou art, all wisdom sure is thine:
And sure thy glorious majesty and state
Even this Brahma world illuminate.
So the Master, making known his quality as Buddha and expounding
the Law, shewed forth the Truths. At the end the thoughts of ten thousand
brahmas were freed from attachments and sins. So the Lord became the refuge of
many brahmas, and going back from Brahmaloka to Jetavana preached the law in
the way described and identified the Birth: "At that time Baka the brahma
was the ascetic Kesava, Kappa the disciple was myself."Buddha thou art, all wisdom sure is thine:
And sure thy glorious majesty and state
Even this Brahma world illuminate.
Footnotes
219:1 Cf. Hardy, Manual of Budhism, p. 348.219:2 A brahma means an angel in one of the Brahma-loka heavens, three of which are mentioned below.
Om Tat Sat
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