THE JĀTAKA
OR
STORIES OF THE BUDDHA'S FORMER BIRTHS
No. 109.
KUṆḌAKAPŪVA-JĀTAKA.
"As fares his worshipper."--This story
was told by the Master when at Sāvatthi, about a very poor man.
Now at Sāvatthi the Brotherhood with the Buddha at their
head used to be entertained now by a single family, now by three or four
families together. Or a body of people or a whole street would club together,
or sometimes the whole city entertained them. But on the occasion now in
question it was a street that was skewing the hospitality. And the inhabitants
had arranged to provide rice-gruel followed by cakes.
Now in that street there lived a very poor man, a hired
labourer, who could not see how he could give the gruel, but resolved to give
cakes. And he scraped out the red powder from empty husks and kneaded it with
water into a round cake. This cake he wrapped in a leaf of swallow-wort, and
baked it in the embers. When it was done, he made up his mind that none but the
Buddha should have it, and accordingly took his stand immediately by the
Master. No sooner had the word been given to offer cakes, than he stepped
forward quicker than anyone else and put his cake in the Master's alms-bowl.
And the Master declined all other cakes offered him and ate the poor man's
cake. Forthwith the whole city talked of nothing but how the All-Enlightened
One had not disdained to eat the poor roan's bran-cake. And from porters to
nobles and King, all classes flocked to the spot, saluted the Master, and
crowded round the poor man,
offering him food, or two to five hundred pieces of money
if he would make over to them the merit of his act.
Thinking he had better ask the Master first, he went to
him and stated his case. "Take what they offer," said the Master,
"and impute your righteousness to all living creatures." So the man
set to work to collect the offerings. Some gave twice as much as others, some
four times as much, others eight times as much, and so on, till nine crores of
gold were contributed.
Returning thanks for the hospitality, the Master went
back to the monastery and after instructing the Brethren and imparting his
blessed teaching to them, retired to his perfumed chamber.
In the evening the King sent for the poor man, and created
him Lord Treasurer.
Assembling in the Hall of Truth the Brethren spoke
together of how the Master, not disdaining the poor man's bran-cake, had eaten
it as though it were ambrosia, and how the poor man had been enriched [423] and
made Lord Treasurer to his great good fortune. And when the Master entered the
Hall and heard what they were talking of, he said, "Brethren, this is not
the first time that I have not disdained to eat that poor man's cake of bran. I
did the same when I was a Tree-sprite, and then too was the means of his being
made Lord Treasurer." So saying he told this story of the past.
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Once on a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares,
the Bodhisatta was a Tree-sprite dwelling in a castor-oil plant. And the
villagers of those days were superstitious about gods. A festival came round
and the villagers offered sacrifices to their respective Tree-sprites. Seeing
this, a poor man shewed worship to the castor-oil tree. All the others had come
with garlands, odours, perfumes, and cakes; but the poor man had only a cake of
husk-powder and water in a cocoanut shell for his tree. Standing before it, he
thought within himself, "Tree-sprites are used to heavenly food, and my
Tree-sprite will not eat this cake of husk-powder. Why then should I lose it
outright? I will eat it myself." And he turned to go away, when the
Bodhisatta from the fork of his tree exclaimed, "My good man, if you were
a great lord you would bring me dainty manchets; but as you are a poor man,
what shall I have to eat if not that cake? Rob me not of my portion." And
he uttered this stanza:--
As fares his
worshipper, a Sprite must fare.
Bring me the cake, nor rob me of my share.
Bring me the cake, nor rob me of my share.
Then the man turned again, and, seeing the Bodhisatta,
offered up his sacrifice. The Bodhisatta fed on the savour and said, "Why
do you worship me?" "I am a poor man, my lord, and I worship you to
be eased of my poverty." [424] "Have no more care for that. You have
sacrificed to one who is grateful and mindful of kindly deeds. Round this tree,
neck to neck, are buried pots of treasure. Go tell the King, and take the
treasure away in waggons to the King's courtyard. There pile it in a heap, and
the King shall be so well-pleased that he will make you Lord Treasurer."
So saying, the Bodhisatta vanished from sight. The
man did as he was bidden, and the King made him Lord
Treasurer. Thus did the poor man by aid of the Bodhisatta come to great
fortune; and when he died, he passed away to fare according to his deserts.
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His lesson ended, the Master identified the Birth by
saying, "The poor man of to-day was also the poor man of those times, and
I the Tree-sprite who dwelt in the castor-oil tree."
No. 110.
SABBASAṀHĀRAKA-PAÑHA.
"There is no All-embracing."--This All-embracing Question will be set out at length in the Ummagga-jātaka 1. This is the end of the All-embracing Question.Footnotes
254:1 Not yet edited; it occurs at the end of the collection of Jātakas.
No. 111.
GADRABHA-PAÑHA.
"Thou think’st thyself a swan."--This
Question as to the Ass will also be set out at length in the Ummagga-jātaka.
This is the end of the Question as to the Ass.
No. 112.
AMARĀDEVĪ-PAÑHA.
"Cakes and gruel."--This question too will be found in the same Jātaka. This is the end of the Question of Queen Amarā 2.Footnotes
254:2 Amarā was the wife of King Mahosadha; of. Milindapañho, page 205. The Bodhisatta was Mahosadha, cf. Jātaka (test) i. p. 53.
No. 113.
SIGĀLA-JĀTAKA.
"The drunken jackal."--This story was
told by the Master while at the Bamboo-grove, about Devadatta. The Brethren had
assembled [425] in the Hall of Truth and were telling how Devadatta had gone to
Gayāsīsa with five hundred followers, whom he was leading into error by
declaring that the Truth was manifest in him "and not in the ascetic
Gotama"; and how by his lies he was breaking up the Brotherhood; and how
he kept two fast-days a week. And as they sate there talking of the wickedness
of Devadatta, the Master entered and was told the subject of their
conversation. "Brethren," said he, "Devadatta was as great a
liar in past times as he is now." So saying, he told this story of the
past.
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Once on a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares,
the Bodhisatta was born a Tree-sprite in a cemetery grove. In those days a
festival was proclaimed in Benares, and the people resolved to sacrifice to the
ogres. So they strewed fish and meat about courtyards, and streets, and other
places, and set out great pots of strong drink. At midnight a jackal came into
the town by the sewer, and regaled himself on the meat and liquor. Crawling
into some bushes, he was fast asleep when morning dawned. Waking up and seeing
it was broad daylight, he know that he could not make his way back at that hour
with safety. So he lay down quietly near the roadside where he could not be
seen, till at last he saw a solitary brahmin on his way to rinse his mouth in
the tank. Then the jackal thought to himself, "Brahmins are a greedy lot.
I must so play on his greediness as to get him to carry me out of the city in
his waist-cloth under his outer robe." So, with a human voice, he cried
"Brahmin."
"Who calls me?" said the brahmin, turning
round. "I, brahmin." "What for?" "I have two hundred
gold pieces, brahmin; and if you will hide me in your waist-cloth under your
outer robe and so get me out of the city without my being seen, you shall have
them all."
Closing with the offer, the greedy brahmin hid the jackal
and carried the beast a little way out of the city. "What place is this,
brahmin?" said the jackal. "Oh, it's such and such a place,"
said the brahmin. "Go on a bit further," said the jackal and kept urging
the brahmin on always a little further, till at last the cremation-park was
reached. [426] "Put me down here," said the jackal; and the brahmin
did so. "Spread your robe out on the ground, brahmin." And the greedy
brahmin did so.
"And now dig up this tree by the roots," said
he, and while the brahmin was at work he walked on to the robe, and dunged and
staled on it in five places,--the four corners and the middle. This done, he
made off into the wood.
Hereon the Bodhisatta, standing in the fork of the tree,
uttered this stanza:--
The drunken
jackal, brahmin, cheats thy trust!
Thou ’lt find not here a hundred cowry-shells,
Far less thy quest, two hundred coins of gold.
Thou ’lt find not here a hundred cowry-shells,
Far less thy quest, two hundred coins of gold.
And when he had repeated these verses, the Bodhisatta
said to the brahmin, "Go now and wash your robe and bathe, and go about
your business." So saying, he vanished from sight, and the brahmin did as
he was bidden, and departed very mortified at having been so tricked.
_____________________________
His lesson ended, the Master identified the Birth by
saying, "Devadatta was the jackal of those days, and I the
Tree-sprite."
No. 114.
MITACINTI-JĀTAKA.
"They twain in fisher's net."--This
story was told by the Master while at Jetavana, about two aged Elders. After a
rainy-season spent in a forest in the country they resolved to seek out the
Master, and got together provisions for their journey. But they kept putting
off their departure day by day, till a month flew by. Then they provided a
fresh supply of provisions, and procrastinated till a second month was gone,
and a third. When their indolence and sluggishness had lost them three months,
they set out and came to Jetavana. Laying aside their bowls and robes in the
common-room, they came into the Master's presence. The Brethren remarked on the
length of the time since the two had visited the Master, and asked the reason.
Then [427] they told their story and all the Brotherhood came to know of the
laziness of these indolent Brethren.
Assembling in the Hall of Truth the Brethren talked
together of this thing. And the Master entered and was told what they were
discussing. Being asked whether they were really so indolent, those Brethren
admitted their short-coming. "Brethren," said he, "in former
times, no less than now, they were indolent and loth to leave their
abode." So saying, he told this story of the past.
_____________________________
Once on a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares,
there lived in the river of Benares three fishes, named Over-thoughtful,
Thoughtful, and
Thoughtless. And they came down-stream from
the wild country to where men dwelt. Hereupon Thoughtful said to the other two,
"This is a dangerous and perilous neighbourhood, where fishermen catch
fish with nets, basket-traps, and such like tackle. Let us be off to the wild
country again." But so lazy were the other two fishes, and so greedy, that
they kept putting off their going from day to day, until they had let three
months slip by. Now fishermen cast their nets into the river; and
Over-thoughtful and Thoughtless were swimming on ahead in quest of food when in
their fully they blindly rushed into the net. Thoughtful, who was behind,
observed the net, and saw the fate of the other two.
"I must save these lazy fools from death,"
thought he. So first he dodged round the net, and splashed in the water in
front of it like a fish that has broken through and gone up stream; and then
doubling back, he splashed about behind it, like a fish that has broken through
and gone down stream. Seeing this, the fishermen thought the fish had broken
the net and all got away; so they pulled it in by one corner and the two fishes
escaped from the net into the open water again. In this way they owed their
lives to Thoughtful.
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His story told, the Master, as Buddha, recited this
stanza:
[428] They twain
in fisher's nets are ta’en;
Them Thoughtful saves and frees again.
Them Thoughtful saves and frees again.
His lesson ended, and the Four Truths expounded (at the
close whereof the aged Brethren gained fruition of the First Path), the Master
identified the Birth by saying: "These two Brethren were then
Over-thoughtful and Thoughtless, and I Thoughtful."
No. 115.
ANUSĀSIKA-JĀTAKA.
"The greed-denouncing bird."--This story
was told by the Master while at Jetavana, about a Sister who gave a warning to
others. For we are told that she came of a good Sāvatthi family, but that from
the day of her entrance into the Order she failed of her duty and was filled
with a gluttonous spirit; she used to seek alms in quarters of the city
unvisited by other Sisters. And dainty food was given her there. Now her
gluttony made her afraid that other Sisters might go there too and take away
from her part of the food. Casting about for a device to stop them from going
and to keep everything to herself, she warned
the other Sisters that it was a dangerous quarter,
troubled by a fierce elephant, a fierce horse, and a fierce dog. And she
besought them not to go there for alms. Accordingly not a single Sister gave so
much as a look in that direction.
Now one day on her way through this district for alms, as
she was hurrying into a house there, a fierce ram butted her with such violence
as to break her leg. Up ran the people and set her leg and brought her on a
litter to the convent of the Sisterhood. And all the Sisters tauntingly said
her broken leg came of her going where she had warned them not to go.
Not long after the Brotherhood came to hear of this; and
one day in the Hall of Truth [429] the Brethren spoke of how this sister had
got her leg broken by a fierce ram in a quarter of the city against which she
had warned the other Sisters; and they condemned her conduct. Entering the Hall
at this moment, the Master asked, and was told, what they were discussing.
"As now, Brethren," said he, "so too in a past time she gave warnings
which she did not follow herself; and then as now she came to harm." So
saying, he told this story of the past.
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Once on a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares,
the Bodhisatta was born a bird, and growing up became king of the birds and
came to the Himalayas with thousands of birds in his train. During their stay
in that place, a certain fierce bird used to go in quest of food along a
highway where she found rice, beans, and other grain dropped by passing waggons.
Casting about how best-to keep the others from coming there too, she addressed
them as follows:--"The highway is full of peril. Along it go elephants and
horses, waggons drawn by fierce oxen, and such like dangerous things. And as it
is impossible to take wing on the instant, don't go there at all." And
because of her warning, the other birds dubbed her 'Warner'.
Now one day when she was feeding along the highway she
heard the sound of a carriage coming swiftly along the road, and turned her
head to look at it. "Oh it's quite a long way off," thought she and
went on as before. Up swift as the wind came the carriage, and before she could
rise, the wheel had crushed her and whirled on its way. At the muster, the King
marked her absence and ordered search to be made for her. And at last she was
found cut in two on the highway and the news was brought to the king.
"Through not following her own caution to the other birds she has been cut
in two," said he, and uttered this stanza:--
The
greed-denouncing bird, to greed a prey,
The chariot wheels leave mangled on the way.
The chariot wheels leave mangled on the way.
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[430] His lesson ended, the Master identified the Birth
by saying, "The warning sister was the bird 'Warner' of those times, and I
the King of the birds."
No. 116.
DUBBACA-JĀTAKA.
"Too much."--This story was told by the Master while at Jetavana, about an unruly Brother whose-own story will be given in the Ninth Book in the Gijjha-jātaka 1.The Master rebuked him in these words:--"As now, so in former days wert thou unruly, Brother, disregarding the counsels of the wise and good. Wherefore, by a javelin thou didst die." So saying, he told this story of the past.
_____________________________
Once on a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the
Bodhisatta was born into an acrobat's family. When he grew up, he was a very
wise and clever fellow. From another acrobat he learned the javelin dance, and
with his master used to travel about exhibiting his skill. Now this master of
his knew the four javelin dance but not the five; but one day when performing
in a certain village, he, being in liquor, had five javelins set up in a row
and gave out that he would dance through the lot.Said the Bodhisatta, "You can't manage all five javelins, master. Have one taken away. If you try the five, you will be run through by the fifth and die."
"Then you don't know what I can do when I try," said the drunken fellow; and paying no heed to the Bodhisatta's words, he danced through four of the javelins only to impale himself on the fifth like the Bassia flower on its stalk. And there he lay groaning. Said the Bodhisatta, "This calamity comes of your disregarding the counsels of the wise and good"; and he uttered this stanza:--
[431] Too much--though sore against my
will--you tried;
Clearing the four, upon the fifth you died.
So saying, he lifted his master from off the javelin point and
duly performed the last offices to his body.Clearing the four, upon the fifth you died.
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His story done, the Master identified the Birth by saying,
"This unruly Brother was the master of those days, and I the pupil."Footnotes
259:1 No. 427.No. 117.
TITTIRA-JĀTAKA.
"As died the partridge."--This story was told by the Master while at Jetavana, about Kokālika, whose story will be found in the Thirteenth Book in the Takkāriya Jātaka 1.Said the Master, "As now, Brethren, so likewise in former times, Kokālika's tongue has worked his destruction."
So saying, he told this story of the past.
_____________________________
Once on a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the
Bodhisatta was born a brahmin in the North country. When he grew up, he
received a complete education at Takkasilā, and, renouncing Lusts, gave up the
world to become a hermit. He won the Five Knowledges and the Eight Attainments,
and all the recluses of the Himalayas to the number of five hundred assembled
together and followed him as their master.Insight was his as he dwelt amid his disciples in the Himalayas.
In those days there was an ascetic suffering from jaundice who was chopping wood with an axe. And a chattering Brother came and sat by him, and directed his work, bidding him give here a chop and there a chop, [432] till the jaundiced ascetic lost his temper. In a rage he cried, "Who are you to teach me how to chop wood?" and lifting up his keen-edged axe stretched the other dead with a single blow. And the Bodhisatta had the body buried.
Now on an ant-hill hard by the hermitage there dwelt a partridge which early and late was always piping on the top of the ant-hill. Recognising the note of a partridge, a sportsman killed the bird and took it off with him. Missing the bird's note, the Bodhisatta asked the hermits why they did not hear their neighbour the partridge now. Then they told him what had happened, and he linked the two events together in this stanza:--
As died the partridge for her clamorous
cry,
So prate and chatter doomed this fool to die.
Having developed within himself the four Perfect States, the
Bodhisatta thus became destined to rebirth in the Brahma Realm.So prate and chatter doomed this fool to die.
_____________________________
Said the Master, "Brethren, as now, so likewise in former days Kokālika's tongue has worked his destruction." And at the close of this lesson he identified the Birth by saying, "Kokālika was the meddling ascetic of those days, my followers the band of hermits, and I their master."
Footnotes
260:1 No. 481. Kokālika was one of Devadatta's schismatics.
No. 118.
VAṬṬAKA-JĀTAKA.
"The thoughtless man."--This story the
Master told while at Jetavana, about the son of Over-Treasurer. This
Over-Treasurer is said to have been a very rich man of Sāvatthi, and his wife
became the mother of a righteous being from the realm of Brahma angels, who
grew up as lovely as Brahma. [433] Now one day when the Kattikā festival had
been proclaimed in Sāvatthi, the whole city gave itself up to the festivities.
His companions, sons of other rich men, had all got wives, but Over-Treasurer's
son had lived so long in the Brahma Realm that he was purged from passion. His
companions plotted together to get him too a sweetheart and make him keep the
feast with them. So going to him they said, "Dear friend, it is the great
feast of Kattikā.. Can't we get a sweetheart for you too, and have a good time
together?" At last his friends picked out a charming girl and decked her
out, and left her at his house, with directions to make her way to his chamber.
But when she entered the room, not a look or a word did she get from the young
merchant. Piqued at this slight to her beauty, she put forth all her graces and
feminine blandishments, smiling meantime so as just to shew her pretty teeth.
The sight of her teeth suggested bones, and his mind was filled with the idea
of bones, till the girl's whole body seemed to him nothing but a chain of
bones. Then he gave her money and bade her begone. But as she came out of the
house a nobleman saw her in the street and gave her a present to accompany him
home.
At the end of seven days the festival was over, and the
girl's mother, seeing her daughter did not come back, went to the young
merchant's friends and asked where she was, and they in turn asked the young
merchant. And he said he had paid her and sent her packing as soon as he saw
her.
Then the girl's mother insisted on having her daughter
restored to her, and brought the young man before the king, who proceeded to
examine into the matter. In answer to the king's questions, the young man
admitted that the girl had been passed on to him, but said he had no knowledge
of her whereabouts, and no means of producing her. Then said the king, "If
he fails to produce the girl, execute him." So the young man was forthwith
hauled off with his hands tied behind his back to be executed, and the whole
city was in an uproar at the news. With hands laid on their breasts the people
followed after him with lamentations, saying, "What means this, sir? You
suffer unjustly."
Then thought the young man [434] "All this sorrow
has befallen me because I was living a lay life. If I can only escape this
danger, I will give up the world and join the Brotherhood of the great Gotama,
the All-Enlightened One."
Now the girl herself heard the uproar and asked what it
meant. Being told, she ran swiftly out, crying, "Stand aside, sirs! let me
pass! let the king's men see me." As soon as she had thus shown herself,
she was handed over to her mother by the king's men, who set the young man free
and went their way.
Surrounded by his friends, the son of Over-Treasurer went
down to the river and bathed. Returning home, he breakfasted and let his
parents know his resolve to give up the world. Then taking cloth for his
ascetic's robe, and followed by a great crowd, he sought out the Master and
with due salutation asked to be admitted to the Brotherhood. A novice first,
and afterwards a full Brother, he meditated on the idea of Bondage till he
gained Insight, and not long afterwards won Arahatship.
Now one day in the Hall of Truth the assembled Brethren
talked of his virtues, recalling how in the hour of danger he had recognized
the excellence of the Truth, and, wisely resolving to give up the world for its
sake, had won that highest fruit which is Arahatship. And as they talked, the
Master entered, and, on his asking, was told what was the subject of their
converse. Whereon he declared to them that, like the son of Over-Treasurer, the
wise of former times, by taking thought in the hour of peril, had escaped
death. So saying, he told this story of the past.
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Once on a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Ḅenares, the
Bodhisatta by change of existence was born a quail. Now in those days there was
a quail-catcher who used to catch numbers of these birds in the forest and take
them home to fatten. When they were fat, he used to sell them to people and so
make a living. And one day he caught the Bodhisatta and brought him home with a
number of other quails. Thought the Bodhisatta to himself, "If I take the
food and drink he gives me, I shall be sold; whilst if I don't eat it, I shall
get so thin, that people will notice it and pass me over, with the result that
I shall be safe. This, then, is what I must do." So he fasted and fasted
till he got so thin that he was nothing but skin and bone, and not a soul would
have him at any price. Having disposed [435] of every one of his birds except
the Bodhisatta, the bird-catcher took the Bodhisatta out of the cage and laid
him on the palms of his hand to see what ailed the bird. Watching when the man
was off his guard, the Bodhisatta spread his wings and flew off to the forest.
Seeing him return, the other quails asked what had become of him so long, and
where he had been. Then he told them he had been caught by a fowler, and, being
asked how he had escaped, replied, that it was by a device he had thought of,
namely, not to take either the food or the drink which the fowler supplied. So
saying, he uttered this stanza:--
The thoughtless
man no profit reaps.--But see
Thought's fruit in me, from death and bondage free.
Thought's fruit in me, from death and bondage free.
In this manner did the Bodhisatta speak of what he had
done.
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His lesson ended, the Master identified the Birth by
saying, "I was the quail that escaped death in those days."
No. 119.
AKĀLARĀVI-JĀTAKA.
"No parents trained."--This story was
told by the Master while at Jetavana, about a Brother who used to be noisy at
wrong seasons. He is said to have come of a good Sāvatthi family and to have
given up the world for the Truth, but to have neglected his duties and despised
instruction. He never took count of the hours for duties, for ministry or for
reciting the texts. Throughout the three watches of the night, as well as the
hours of waking, he was never quiet;--so that the other Brethren could not get
a wink of sleep. Accordingly, the Brethren in the Hall of Truth censured his
conduct. Entering the Hall and learning on enquiry what they were talking
about, the Master said, "Brethren, as now, so in past times, this Brother
was noisy out of season, and for his unseasonable conduct was strangled."
So saying he told this story of the past.
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[436] Once on a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in
Benares, the Bodhisatta was born into a northern brahmin family, and when he
grew up, learned all knowledge and became a teacher of world-wide fame with
five hundred young brahmins studying under him. Now these young brahmins had a
cock who crowed betimes and roused them to their studies. And this cock died.
So they looked all about for another, and one of their number, when picking up
firewood in the cemetery-grove, saw a cock there which he brought home and kept
in a coop. But, as this second cock had been bred in a cemetery, he had no
knowledge of times and seasons, and used to crow casually,--at midnight as well
as at daybreak. Roused by his crowing at midnight, the young brahmins fell to
their studies; by dawn they were tired out and could not for sleepiness keep
their attention on the subject; and when he fell a-crowing in broad day they
did not get a chance of quiet for repeating their lesson. And 'as it was the
cock's crowing both at midnight and by day which had brought their studies to a
standstill, they took the bird and wrung his neck. Then they told their teacher
that they had killed the cock that crowed in and out of season.
Said their teacher, for their edification, "It was
his bad bringing up that brought this cock to his end." So saying, he
uttered this stanza:--
No parents
trained, no teacher taught this bird:
Both in and out of season was he heard.
Both in and out of season was he heard.
Such was the Bodhisatta's teaching on the matter; and
when he had lived his allotted time on earth, he passed away to fare according
to his deserts.
_____________________________
His lesson ended, the Master identified the Birth as
follows,--"This Brother was the cock of those times, who did not know when
not to crow; my disciples were the young brahmins; and I their teacher."
No. 120.
[437] BANDHANAMOKKHA-JĀTAKA.
"Whilst folly's speech"--This story was told by the Master while at Jetavana, about the brahmin-girl Ciñcā, whose history will be given in the Twelfth Book in the Mahāpaduma-jātaka 1. On this occasion the Master said, "Brethren, this is not the first time Ciñcā has laid false accusations against me. She did the like in other times." So saying he told this story of the past.
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Once on a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the
Bodhisatta was born into the chaplain's family, and on his father's death
succeeded to the chaplaincy.Now the king promised to grant whatsoever boon his queen should ask of him, and she said,--"The boon I ask is an easy one; henceforth you must not look on any other woman with eyes of love." At first he refused, but, wearied by her unceasing importunity, was obliged to give way at last. And from that day forward he never cast a glance of love at any one of his sixteen thousand nautch-girls.
Now a disturbance arose on the borders of his kingdom, and after two or three engagements with the robbers, the troops there sent a letter to the king saying that they were unable to carry the matter through. Then the king was anxious to go in person and assembled a mighty host. And he said to his wife, "Dear one, I go to the frontier, where battles will rage ending in victory or defeat. The camp is no place for a woman, and you must stay behind here."
"I can't stop if you go, my lord," said she. But finding the king firm in his decision she made the following request instead,--"Every league,
send a messenger to enquire how I fare." And the king promised to do so. Accordingly, when he marched out with his host, leaving the Bodhisatta in the city, the king sent back a messenger at the end of every league to let the queen know how he was, and to find out how she fared. Of each man as he came she asked what brought him back. And on receiving the answer that he was come to learn how she fared, they queen beckoned the messenger to her and sinned with him. Now the king journeyed two and thirty leagues and sent two and thirty messengers [438], and the queen sinned with them all. And when he had pacified the frontier, to the great joy of the inhabitants, he started on his homeward journey, despatching a second series of thirty-two messengers. And the queen misbehaved with each one of these, as before. Halting his victorious army near the city, the king sent a letter to the Bodhisatta to prepare the city for his entry. The preparations in the city were done, and the Bodhisatta was preparing the palace for the king's arrival, when he came to the queen's apartments. The sight of his great beauty so moved the queen that she called to him to satisfy her lust. But the Bodhisatta pleaded with her, urging the king's honour, and protesting that he shrank from all sin and would not do as she wished. "No thoughts of the king frightened sixty-four of the king's messengers," said she; "and will you for the king's sake fear to do my will?"
Said the Bodhisatta, "Had these messengers thought with me, they would not have acted thus. As for me that know the right, I will not commit this sin."
"Don't talk nonsense," said she. "If you refuse, I will have your head chopped off."
"So be it. Cut off my head in this or in a hundred thousand existences; yet will I not do your bidding."
"All right; I will see," said the queen menacingly. And retiring to her chamber, she scratched herself, put oil on her limbs, clad herself in dirty clothes and feigned to be ill. Then she sent for her slaves and bade them tell the king, when he should ask after her, that she was ill.
Meantime the Bodhisatta had gone to meet the king, who, after marching round the city in solemn procession, entered his palace. Not seeing the queen, he asked where she was, and was told that she was ill. Entering the royal bed-chamber, the king caressed the queen and asked what ailed her. She was silent; but when the king asked the third time, she looked at him and said, "Though my lord the king still lives, yet poor women like me have to own a master."
"What do you mean?"
"The chaplain whom you left to watch over the city came here on pretence of seeing after the palace; and because I would not yield to his will, [439] he beat me to his heart's content and went off."
Then the king fumed with rage, like the crackling of salt or sugar in the fire; and he rushed from the chamber. Calling his servants, he bade them bind the chaplain with his hands behind him, like one condemned to death, and cut off his head at the place of execution. So away they hurried and bound the Bodhisatta. And the drum was beaten to announce the execution.
Thought the Bodhisatta, "Doubtless that wicked queen has already poisoned the king's mind against me, and now must I save myself from this peril." So he said to his captors, "Bring me into the king's presence before you slay me." "Why so?" said they. "Because, as the king's servant, I have toiled greatly on the king's business, and know where great treasures are hidden which I have discovered. If I am not brought before the king, all this wealth will be lost. So lead me to him, and then do your duty."
Accordingly, they brought him before the king, who asked why reverence had not restrained him from such wickedness.
"Sire," answered the Bodhisatta, "I was born a brahmin, and have never taken the life so much as of an emmet or ant. I have never taken what was not my own, even to a blade of grass. Never have I looked with lustful eyes upon another man's wife. Not even in jest have I spoken falsely, and not a drop of strong drink have I ever drunk. Innocent am I, sire; but that wicked woman took me lustfully by the hand, and, being rebuffed, threatened me, nor did she retire to her chamber before she had told me her secret evil-doing. For there were sixty-four messengers who came with letters from you to the queen. Send for these men and ask each whether he did as the queen bade him or not." Then the king had the sixty-four men bound and sent for the queen. And she confessed to having had guilty converse with the men. Then the king ordered off all the sixty-four to be beheaded.
But at this point [440] the Bodhisatta cried out, "Nay, sire, the men are not to blame; for they were constrained by the queen. Wherefore pardon them. And as for the queen:--she is not to blame, for the passions of women are insatiate, and she does but act according to her inborn nature. Wherefore, pardon her also, O king."
Upon this entreaty the king was merciful, and so the Bodhisatta saved the lives of the queen and the sixty-four men, and he gave them each a place to dwell in. Then the Bodhisatta came to the king and said, "Sire, the baseless accusations of folly put the wise in unmerited bonds, but the words of the wise released the foolish. Thus folly wrongfully binds, and wisdom sets free from bonds." So saying, he uttered this stanza:--
Whilst folly's speech doth bind
unrighteously,
At wisdom's word the justly bound go free.
At wisdom's word the justly bound go free.
When he had taught the king the Truth in these verses, he exclaimed, "All this trouble sprang from my living a lay life. I must change my mode of life, and crave your permission, sire, to give up the world." And with the king's permission he gave up the world and quitted his tearful relations and his great wealth to become a recluse. His dwelling was in the Himalayas, and there he won the Higher Knowledges and the Attainments and became destined to rebirth in the Brahma Realm.
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His teaching ended, the Master identified the Birth by saying,
"Ciñcā was the wicked queen of those days, Ānanda the king, and I his
chaplain."Footnotes
264:1 No. 472. Cf. note, page 143.No. 121.
[441] KUSANĀḶI-JĀTAKA.
"Let great and small."--This story was told by the Master while at Jetavana, about Anātha-piṇḍika's true friend. For his acquaintances and friends and relations came to him and tried hard to stop his intimacy with a certain man, saying that neither in birth nor wealth was he Anātha-piṇḍika's equal. But the great merchant replied that friendship should not depend on equality or inequality of externals. And when he went off to his zemindary, he put this friend in charge of his wealth. Everything came to pass as in the Kālakaṇṇi jātaka 1. But, when in this case Anātha-piṇḍika related the danger his house had been in, the Master said, "Layman, a friend rightly so-called is never inferior. The standard is ability to befriend. A friend rightly so-called, though only equal or inferior to one's self, should be held a superior, for all such friends fail not to grapple with trouble which befalls one's self. It is your real friend that has now saved you your wealth. So in days gone by a like real friend saved a Sprite's mansion." Then at Anātha-piṇḍika's request, he told this story of the past.
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Once on a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the
Bodhisatta was born a Sprite in the king's pleasaunce, and dwelt in a clump of
kusa-grass. Now in the same grounds near the king's seat there grew a beautiful
Wishing Tree (also called the Mukkhaka) with straight stem and spreading
branches, which received great favour from the king. Here dwelt one who had
been a mighty deva-king and had been reborn a Tree-sprite. And the Bodhisatta
was on terms of intimate friendship with this Tree-sprite.Now the king's dwelling had only one pillar to support the roof
and that pillar grew shaky. Being told of this, the king sent for carpenters and ordered them to put in a sound pillar and make it secure. So the carpenters [442] looked about for a tree that would do and, not finding one elsewhere, went to the pleasaunce and saw the Mukkhaka. Then away they went back to the king. "Well," said he, "have you found a tree that will do?" "Yes, sire," said they; "but we don't like to fell it." "Why not?" said the king. Then they told him how they had in vain looked everywhere for a tree and did not dare to cut down the sacred tree. "Go and cut it down," said he, "and make the roof secure. I will look out for another tree."
So they went away. And they took a sacrifice to the pleasaunce and offered it to the tree, saying among themselves that they would come and cut it down next day. Hearing their words, the Tree-sprite knew that her home would be destroyed on the morrow, and burst into tears as she clasped her children to her breast, not knowing whither to fly with them. Her friends, the spirits of the forest, came and asked what the matter was. But not one of them could devise how to stay the carpenters' hand, and all embraced her with tears and lamentations. At this moment up came the Bodhisatta to call upon the Tree-sprite and was told the news. "Have no fear," said the Bodhisatta cheerfully. "I will see that the tree is not cut down. Only wait and see what I will do when the carpenters come to-morrow."
Next day when the men came, the Bodhisatta, assuming the shape of a chameleon, was at the tree before they were, and got in at the roots and worked his way up till he got out among the branches, making the tree look full of holes. Then the Bodhisatta rested among the boughs with his head rapidly moving to and fro. Up came the carpenters; and at sight of the chameleon their leader struck the tree with his hand, and exclaimed that the tree was rotten and that they didn't look carefully before making their offerings the day before. And off he went full of scorn for the great strong tree. In this way the Bodhisatta saved the Tree-sprite's home. And when all her friends [443] and acquaintances came to see her, she joyfully sang the praises of the Bodhisatta, as the saviour of her home, saying, "Sprites of the Trees, for all our mighty power we knew not what to do; while a humble Kusa-sprite had wit to save my home for me. Truly we should choose our friends without considering whether they are superiors, equals, or inferiors, making no distinction of rank. For each according to his strength can help a friend in the hour of need." And she repeated this stanza about friendship and its duties:--
Let great and small and equals, all,
Do each their best, if harm befal,
And help a friend in evil plight,
As I was helped by Kusa-sprite.
Do each their best, if harm befal,
And help a friend in evil plight,
As I was helped by Kusa-sprite.
Thus did she teach the assembled devas, adding these words, "Wherefore, such as would escape from an evil plight must not merely consider whether a man is an equal or a superior, but must make friends of the wise whatsoever their station in life." And she lived her life and with the Kusa-sprite finally passed away to fare according to her deserts.
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His lesson ended the Master identified the birth by saying,
"Ānanda was then the Tree-sprite, and I the Kusa-sprite."Footnotes
267:1 No. 83.No. 122.
[444] DUMMEDHA-JĀTAKA.
"Exalted station breeds a fool great woe."--This story was told by the Master while at the Bamboo-grove, about Devadatta. For the Brethren had met together in the Hall of Truth, and were talking of how the sight of the Buddha's perfections and all the distinctive signs of Buddhahood 1 maddened Devadatta; and how in his jealousy he could not bear to hear the praises of the Buddha's utter wisdom. Entering the Hall, the Master asked what was the subject of their converse. And when they told him, he said, "Brethren, as now, so in former times Devadatta was maddened by hearing my praises." So saying, he told this story of the past.
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Once on a time when King Magadha was ruling in Rājagaha in
Magadha, the Bodhisatta was born an elephant. He was white all over and graced
with all the beauty of form described above 2. And because of his beauty the king made him his state
elephant.One festal day the king adorned the city like a city of the devas and, mounted on the elephant in all its trappings, made a solemn procession round the city attended by a great retinue. And all along the route the people were moved by the sight of that peerless elephant to exclaim, "Oh what a stately gait! what proportions! what beauty! what grace! such a white elephant is worthy of an universal monarch." All this praise of his
elephant awoke the king's jealousy and he resolved to have it cast over a precipice and killed. So he summoned the mahout and asked whether he called that a trained elephant.
"Indeed he is well trained, sire," said the mahout. "No, he is very badly trained." "Sire, he is well trained." [445] "If he is so well trained, can you get him to climb to the summit of Mount Vepulla?" "Yes, sire." "Away with you, then," said the king. And he got down from the elephant, making the mahout mount instead, and went himself to the foot of the mountain, whilst the mahout rode on the elephant's back up to the top of Mount Vepulla. The king with his courtiers also climbed the mountain, and had the elephant halted at the brink of a precipice. "Now," said he to the man, "if he is so well trained as you say, make him stand on three legs."
And the mahout on the elephant's back just touched the animal with his goad by way of sign and called to him, "Hi! my beauty, stand on three legs." "Now make him stand on his two fore-legs," said the king. And the Great Being raised his hind-legs and stood on his fore-legs alone. "Now on the hind-legs," said the king, and the obedient elephant raised his fore-legs till he stood on his hind-legs alone. "Now on one leg," said the king, and the elephant stood on one leg.
Seeing that the elephant did not fall over the precipice, the king cried, "Now if you can, make him stand in the air."
Then thought the mahout to himself, "All India cannot shew the match of this elephant for excellence of training. Surely the king must want to make him tumble over the precipice and meet his death." So he whispered in the elephant's ear, "My son, the king wants you to fall over and get killed. He is not worthy of you. If you have power to journey through the air, rise up with me upon your back and fly through the air to Benares."
And the Great Being, endowed as he was with the marvellous powers which flow from Merit, straightway rose up into the air. Then said the mahout, "Sire, this elephant, possessed as he is with the marvellous powers which flow from Merit, is too good for such a worthless fool as you: none but a wise and good king is worthy to be his master. When those who are so worthless as you get an elephant like this, they don't know his value, and so they lose their elephant, and all the rest of their glory and splendour." So saying the mahout, seated on the elephant's neck, recited this stanza:--
Exalted station breeds a fool great
woe;
He proves his own and others' mortal foe.
[446] "And now, goodbye," said he to the king as he
ended this rebuke; and rising in the air, he passed to Benares and halted in
mid-airHe proves his own and others' mortal foe.
over the royal courtyard. And there was a great stir in the city and all cried out, "Look at the state-elephant that has come through the air for our king and is hovering over the royal courtyard." And with all haste the news was conveyed to the king too, who came out and said, "If your coming is for my behoof, alight on the earth." And the Bodhisatta descended from the air. Then the mahout got down and bowed before the king, and in answer to the king's enquiries told the whole story of their leaving Rājagaha. "It was very good of you," said the king, "to come here"; and in his joy he had the city decorated and the elephant installed in his state-stable. Then he divided his kingdom into three portions, and made over one to the Bodhisatta, one to the mahout, and one he kept himself. And his power grew from the day of the Bodhisatta's coming till all India owned his sovereign sway. As Emperor of India, he was charitable and did other good works till he passed away to fare according to his deserts.
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His lesson ended, the Master identified the Birth by saying
"Devadatta was in those days the king of Magadha, Sāriputta the king of
Benares, Ānanda the mahout, and I the elephant."[Note. Cf. Milinda-pañho, 201.]
Footnotes
269:1 See p. 2, and (e.g.) the Sela Sutta (No. 33 of the Sutta Nipāta and No. 92 of the Majjhima Nikāya).269:2 Apparently the reference is to p. 175.
Om Tat Sat
(Continued...)
(Continued...)
(My humble salutations to Sreeman Professor E B Cowell ji and
also Sreeman Robert Chalmers for the collection)
