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While
staying
in
his
gabled chamber, the Buddha told the following story
about a barber living at Vesali who used to do the shaving,
hairdressing and cross-plaiting for a royal household that included
kings and queens, as well as princes and princesses. Indeed he did
everything of this nature that had to be done.
Sheltered in the 'Three Refuges' of Buddha, dharma and sangha, he was a
true believer who resolved to keep the five precepts. For this reason
he would listen to the Master discoursing on the dharma from time to
time.
One day that barber set out for the palace in the company of his son.
When that young man saw a Licchavi girl dressed up in such a fine and
grand style, appearing as if she were a nymph, he was seized by the
desire to have her.
As the barber and his son left the palace, the young man said: "There
is a girl that I have seen. If I can have her for my own, I shall live;
but if I fail to do so, there is nothing but death awaiting me."
Refusing thereafter to touch even a single morsel of food, the barber's
son laid down and hugged the bedstead. When his father saw his son in
such a miserable condition, he said: "Why, son, don't set your mind on
forbidden fruit. You are a nobody--a barber's son; this Licchavi girl
is a highborn lady. You're no match for her. I'll find you somebody
else, a girl more fitting your own place and station."
The lad, however, would not listen to his father. Thereafter the lad's
mother, brother, and sister, aunt and uncle, all his kinsfolk, and all
his friends and companions tried to pacify him but to no avail. And so
the young man pined away for the love he could not have until he
eventually died.
The lad's father performed those rites that are usual for spirits of
the dead, and when the first edge of grief had worn off, he thought he
would wait upon the Master. Taking a large offering of flowers, scents,
and perfumes, he went to the Mahavana. After paying reverence to the
Master, the barber sat down on one side.
"Why have you kept out of sight all this time, layman?" asked the
Buddha. When the barber told the Master what had happened, the Buddha
said: "Ah, layman, this is not the first time that he has perished by
setting his heart on what he must not have. This is merely a repeat
performance of what he has done previously."
At the barber's request, the Buddha told the following story:
During the time when Brahmadatta was the king of Benares, the
Bodhisattva came into the world as a young Lion in the region of the
Himalaya. In that same lion family there were some younger brothers as
well as one sister. They all lived together in a golden cave.
Now a Jackal lived nearby in a Cave of Crystal, which was located on
the side of a silver hill. Upon catching his first glimpse of the
Lioness, the Jackel fell in love with her. But as long as the old Lion
and Lionels lived, he was unable to win any access to her.
After the younger lions lost their parents to the stroke of death, the
brother lions would leave their sister behind whenever they went out to
find something to eat. Once they had obtained food, they would bring
some back for their sister the Lioness to eat.
Once when the seven brothers ventured forth to search for food, the
Jackal would depart his Crystal Cave and visit the Golden Cave. Taking
his stand before the young Lioness, he addressed her slyly with the
seductive and tempting words:
"0 Lioness, I am a four-footed creature and so are you. Therefore be my
mate and I will be your husband! Living together in friendship and
amity, you shall love me forever!"
Upon hearing these words, the Lioness thought to herself: "This Jackal
here is a mean and vile beast, like a man of low caste whereas I am
esteemed to be one of royal issue. That he should speak to me in this
manner is unseemly and evil. How can I live after hearing him say such
things? I will hold my breath until I shall die."
But after thinking for a while, she thought: "Nay. To die in such a
manner would not be comely. My brothers will soon return home. I will
tell the reason for my departure from this world before I put an end to
myself."
Receiving no answer from the Lioness, the Jackal was sure that she
cared nothing for him. So back he went to his Crystal Cave and laid
down in misery.
After killing a buffalo, or an elephant, or what not, one of the young
Lions ate some of it, and then brought back what remained to give to
his sister, inviting her to eat. "No, brother," she said, "not a bite
will I eat for I must die!"
"Why must that be?" her brother asked.
So she told him what had happened.
"Where is this Jackal now?" asked the Lion.
Since she had seen that Jackal lying in the Crystal Cave, she thought
that he must be up in the sky due to the Crystal Cave's transparency.
"Why, brother, cannot you see him there on Silver Mountain, lying up in
the sky?" she said.
Unaware that the Jackal resided in a Crystal Cave, and deeming that he
was truly up in the sky, the young lion sprang, as lions do, to kill
him, and thereby struck hard against the crystal walls. : As his heart
asunder, that Lion fell down to the foot of the mountain and perished
straightway.
When her second brother arrived, the Lioness told him the same tale.
This brother Lion did even as the first, and so fell dead at the foot
of the mountain.
When six of the seven brother Lions had perished in the same way, last
of all entered the Bodhisatta. When his sister had tfinished her story,
the Bodhisattva enquired as to the Jackal's location.
"There he is," she said, "up in the sky, above the Silver Mountain!"
The Bodhisatta thought: "Jackals lying in the sky? Nonsense. I know
that he must be lying in a Crystal Cave."
Repairing to the mountain's foot, the Bodhisattva came upon thdead
bodies of his six brothers.
"I see how it is," he thought. "My brothers were all foolish. Lacking
the fullness of wisdom and not knowing that this is the Crystal Cave,
they beat their hearts out against it, and so perished in that
fruitless attempt. This is what comes of acting out of rashness without
any due reflection."
He then recited the following stanza:
"He who rashly undertakes an enterprise,
Not counting all the issues that may arise,
Like one who burns his mouth in eating food
Falls victim to the plans he did devise."
After repeating these lines, the Lion continued: "My brothers
wanted to kill this Jackal, but knew not how to lay their plans
cleverly. By leaping up too quickly they caused their own deaths. but
this I will not do. Instead, I will make the Jackal's own heart burst
as he lies in the Crystal Cave."
After spying out the path whereby that Jackal used to go up and down
the mountain, the Bodhisattva turned in the path's direction and let
out a lion's roar three times. To that Jackal lying in the Crystal Cave
it was as if the earth and heaven together consisted of one great
roaring! So frightened and astounded was he by that great sound, his
heart burst asunder and he perished on the spot.
The Master continued, "Thus did this Jackal perish upon hearing the
Lion's roar."
And becoming perfectly enlightened, he repeated the second stanza:
On Mount Daddara the Lion gave a roar,
And made Daddara resound again.
Hard by a Jackal lived; he feared full sore
To hear the sound, and burst his heart in twain.
Thus did our Lion cause that Jackal to perish. After placing his dear
brothers together in a single grave, the Bodhisattva told his sister of
their passing and then comforted her. Having resided in that Golden
Cave for the remainder of his live, he then passed away to the place
that his store of merit had earned for him.
When the Master had ended this discourse, he revealed the Truths and
identified the Birth, after which the layman was established in the
fruit of the First Path.
"The barber's son of today was formerly the Jackal and the Licchavi
girl was the young Lioness," said the Buddha. "The six younger Lions
are now six Elders, and I myself was the eldest Lion." (3)
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"The
Elephant from prison freed,
the beast set free from chain,
With words of consolation
went back to the hills again.
Then from the cool and limpid pool,
where elephants frequent,
He with his trunk drew water,
and his mother all besprent."
While dwelling in
the Jetavana grove, the Buddha told the following story about an Elder
Brother of the Order who had continued to support his mother.
Addressing the Brethren, the Master said: "Be not wroth, Brethren, with
yon elder Brother. Of old there have been many wise men, who--even when
born from the wombs of animals--have refused to take food for seven
days after being parted asunder from their own mothers. Even when they
were offered food fit for a king, they did but reply: 'Without my
mother I will not eat.' Yet when they were reunited with their mothers,
they once again partook of food."
The Master then told the following story of the past.
Once upon a time
when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the Bodhisattva was born as a
splendid White Elephant. While living in the Himalaya region, he was
surrounded by a herd of eighty thousand elephants. Since his mother was
blind, the Bodhisattva took great care to give the other elephants
sweet wild fruit to convey to her. Yet to her those other elephants
gave none, themselves eating all that he had provided for her welfare.
When news of
their fickleness reached the Bodhisattva's ears, he decided to leave
the herd and care for his mother on his own. Unknown to the other
elephants, he departed that very night and went off in the direction of
Mount Candorana with his blind mother at his side. In the foothills of
that mountain, he found a cave that had a lake nearby. After installing
her in that cave, he cherished her and ever provided for her welfare.
It eventually came to pass that a certain forester from Benares lost
his bearings in these very hills. No longer knowing the way, the
forester began to lament loudly.
Upon hearing the man's cries, the Bodhisattva thought to himself:
"There is a man in distress over there. It would not be proper if he
came to some harm while I am here nearby to lend aid."
But when the Bodhisattva attempted to approach that lost forester, the
man fled in fear.
"Ho man!" proclaimed the Elephant to that man. "You have no need to
fear of me. Do not flee, but rather tell me why you are weeping?"
"My Lord," for the past seven days I have wandered these hills for I
have lost my way," said the forester.
"Fear not, 0 human," replied the White Elephant, "for I shall put you
back onto the path of men." Then bidding the forester to climb up on
his back, the Bodhisattva carried him back to the road.
Foregoing all sense of gratitude, the man decided to capitalize on his
knowledge of the whereabouts of that incomparable White Elephant. In
order to find his way back to the Bodhisattva's dwelling place, the
wicked man put marks on the trees and hills and then strode off to the
city of Benares.
Owing to the fact that the state elephant had just died, the king of
Benares commanded that the following proclamation be made to the
accompaniment of the beating of drums:
"If any man has seen an elephant in any place that is fit and proper
for the king's riding, let him come forth and declare it!"
When that wicked man came into the king's presence, he said: "I, my
Lord, have seen a splendid white elephant that would be a most suitable
mount for the king's riding. Pray send for the elephant trainer and I
will show him where that noble steed is to be found."
To this the king
readily agreed, sending his own elephant trainer and a great troop of
followers to accompany the wicked man. After arriving back at the
Bodhisattva's dwelling place in the hills near Mount Candorana, they
spied the Bodhisattva feeding down by the lake.
When the Bodhisattva saw the approaching host, he immediately realized
that the danger was no doubt due to the fickleness of that very man who
he had rescued. "As I am very strong, I could easily scatter a thousand
elephants," thought the White Elephant. "And should my anger be
aroused, well then I could destroy all the beasts marching in the army
of an entire kingdom. In giving way to anger, however, I would be
marring my own virtue. Therefore I shall not be angry today, even
though pierced with knives."
Having undertaken this resolution, the White Elephant simply bowed his
head and remained immobile.
Down into the lotus-lake went the king's elephant trainer. Seeing the
beauty of that White Elephant's points, he said: "Come, my son!"
Then seizing him by a trunk that was like unto a silver rope, he led
the White Elephant back to Benares in seven days.
When the Bodhisattva's mother saw that her son came not, she realized
that he must have been caught by the king's men. "Although all these
trees will keep on growing," she wailed, "he shall be far, far away."
"Though far away this elephant should go,
Still olibane and medicinal plant will grow,
Grain, grass, oleander, and lilies white,
On sheltered spots the bluebells dark still blow.
"Somewhere that royal elephant might go,
Full fed by those whose breast and body show;
Bedecked with gold so that King or Prince may ride
Fearless to triumph over the mail-clad foe."
The trainer sent a messenger ahead to inform the king of their arrival.
Upon hearing the good news, the king commanded that the city be
decorated.
When the troop arrived in Benares, the trainer led the Bodhisattva into
a stable that was adorned and decked out with festoons and garlands.
After surrounding the White Elephant with a screen of many colors, he
sent word to the king of their arrival.
The king quickly arrived with all manner of food and caused it to be
offered to the White Elephant, but not a bit of it would the
Bodhisattva eat, saying "Without my mother, I will eat nothing."
Beseeching him to eat, the king said:
"Come, take a morsel, O Elephant, and never pine away:
There's many a way to serve your king that you must do one day."
Hearing this, the Bodhisattva replied:
"Nay, she by Mount Candorana, poor blind and wretched one,
Beats with a foot on some tree-root, without her royal son."
The king then inquired:
"Who is it by Mount Candorana, what blind and wretched one,
Beats with a foot on some tree-root, without her royal son!"
The Bodhisattva replied:
"My mother by Candorana, that blind, and wretched one!
Beats with her foot on some tree-root for lack of me, her son!"
Upon hearing
this, the king granted the Bodhisattva his freedom:
"This mighty Elephant, who feeds his mother, let him go free:
Pray let him go see his mother, and all his family."
The Bodhisattva then gave a discourse on virtue to the king. After
telling that monarch to be careful, he then departed Benares amidst the
plaudits of the multitude, who threw flowers upon him.
The Elephant from prison freed,
the beast set free from chain,
With words of consolation
went back to the hills again.
Then from the cool and limpid pool,
where Elephants frequent,
He with his trunk drew water,
and his mother all besprent."
But the mother of the Bodhisattva, thought it had begun to rain, said:
"Who brings
unseasonable rain--what evil deity?
For he is gone, my own, my son, who used to care for me."
The Bodhisattva replied:
"Rise mother!
Why should you there lie?
Your own, your son has come, for king Vedeha has sent me safely home."
She said: "Long live that king! Long may he bring his realm
prosperity,
Who freed that son who ever hath rendered great respect to me!"
Inspired by the Bodhisattva's innate goodness, the king commanded a
town to built not far from the lake. There he performed continual
service to both the White Elephant and his mother.
After the White Elephant's mother had died and her son had performed
the requisite obsequies, the Bodhisattva went away to dwell in the
Karandaka monastery. Upon hearing the news of his presence, five
hundred sages arrived to dwell in that place. Moreover, the king
undertook the responsibility of providing for them all.
The grateful monarch also commanded that a stone figure be carved in
the very image of that magnificent White Elephant, so that he might pay
great honor to the innate goodness of the Bodhisattva. Ever after the
inhabitants of India came year-by-year. Gathering around that stone
image of the White Elephant, they performed what eventually became
known as the "Elephant Festival."
When the Master had ended this discourse, he declared the Truths. And
at the conclusion of the Truths, the Brother who had supported his
mother was firmly established in the fruit of the First Path.
The Master then identified the Birth: "At that time, Ananda was the
king, the Lady Mahamaya was the she-elephant, and I myself was the
elephant who took care of his mother."
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