Khantivādi-Jātaka

Tipitaka >> Sutta Pitaka >> Khuddaka Nikaya >> Jataka >>Khantivādi-Jātaka

Source: Adapted from Archaic Translation by H.T. Francis and R.A. Neil
JATAKA No. 313

KHANTIVADI-JATAKA

"Whosoever cut of," etc.--This story the Master, while living at Jetavana monastery, told about a full of anger Brother(Monk). The incident that gave rise to the story has been already described. The Master asked that Brother, saying, "Why after taking to holy order of disciples under the path of the Buddha who knows not what anger is, do you show anger? Wise men in past days, though they suffered a thousand stripes (lashes), and had their hands and feet and ears and nose cut off, showed no anger against another." And he then told a story of the olden time.

Once upon a time a king of Kasi named Kalabu reigned at Benares. At that time the Bodhisattva came to life in a brahmin family blessed with eighty crores(x10 million) of treasure, in the form of a youth named Kundakakumara. And when he was of age, he acquired a knowledge of all the sciences at Taxila and afterwards settled down as a householder.

On the death of his parents, looking at his pile of treasure he thought: "My kinsmen who amassed this treasure are all gone without taking it with them: now it is for me to own it and in my turn to depart." Then he carefully selected persons, who by virtue of their almsgiving deserved it, and gave all his wealth to them, and entering the Himalaya country he adopted the ascetic life. There he lived a long time, living on wild fruits. And descending to the inhabited parts for the sake of procuring salt and vinegar he gradually made his way to Benares, where he took up his dwelling in the royal park. Next day he went his rounds in the city for alms, till he came to the door of the commander-in-chief. And he being pleased with the ascetic for the righteousness of his mannerisms, brought him into the house and fed him with the food prepared for himself. And having gained his consent he got him to take up his dwelling in the royal park.

Now one day king Kalabu being inflamed with strong drink came into the park in great pomp, surrounded by a company of dancers. Then he had a couch spread on the royal seat of stone, and lay with his head on the lap of a favourite of the harem, while the dancing girls who were skilful in vocal and instrumental music and in dancing provided a musical entertainment--So great was his magnificence, like to that of Sakka(Indra), Lord of heaven--And the king fell asleep. Then the women said, "He for whose sake we are providing music, is gone to sleep. What need is there for us to sing?" Then they throw aside their lutes and other musical instruments here and there, and set out for the garden, where tempted on by the flowers and fruit-bearing shrubs they were soon frolicing themselves.

At this moment the Bodhisattva was seated in this garden, like a royal elephant in the pride of his vigour, at the foot of a flowering Sal tree, enjoying the bliss of renunciation from the world. So these women in wandering about came upon him and said, "Come here, ladies, and let us sit down and hear somewhat from the priest who is resting at the foot of this tree, until the king awakes." Then they went and saluted him and sitting in a circle round about him, they said, "Tell us something worth hearing." So the Bodhisattva preached the teaching to them.

Meanwhile the royal favourite with a movement of her body woke up the king. And the king on waking up, and not seeing the women asked, "Where are those wretches gone?" "Your Highness," she said, "they are gone away and are sitting in attendance on a certain ascetic." The king in a rage seized his sword and went off in haste, saying, "I will give this false ascetic a lesson." Then those of the women that were most in favour, when they saw the king coming in a rage, went and took the sword from the king's hand and pacified him. Then he came and stood by the Bodhisattva and asked, "What teaching are you preaching, Monk?" "The teaching of patience, Your Majesty," he replied. "What is this patience?" said the king. "The not being angry, when men abuse you and strike you and abuse you." Said the king, "I will see now the reality of your patience," and he summoned his executioner. And he in the way of his office took an axe and a lash of thorns, and clad in a yellow robe and wearing a red garland, came and saluted the king and said, "What is your will, Sire?" "Take and drag off this nasty rogue of an ascetic," said the king, "and throwing him on the ground, with your lash of thorns flog him in front and behind and on both sides, and give him two thousand stripes." This was done. And the Bodhisattva's outer and inner skins were cut through to the flesh, and the blood flowed. The king again asked, "What teaching do you preach, Monk?" "The teaching of patience, Your Highness," he replied. "You fancy that my patience is only skin deep. It is not skin deep, but is fixed deep within my heart, where it cannot be seen by you, Sire." Again the executioner asked, "What is your will, Sire?" The king said, "Cut off both the hands of this false ascetic." So he took his axe, and placing the victim within the fatal circle, he cut off both his hands. Then the king said, "Off with his feet," and his feet were chopped off. And the blood flowed from the extremities of his hands and feet like lac juice from a leaking jar. Again the king asked what teaching he preached. "The teaching of patience, Your Highness," he replied. "You imagine, Sire, that my patience dwells in the extremities of my hands and feet. It is not there, but it is deep seated somewhere else." The king said, "Cut off his nose and ears." The executioner did so. His whole body was now covered with blood. Again the king asked of his teaching. And the asetic said, "Think not that my patience is seated in the tips of my nose and ears: my patience is deep seated within my heart." The king said, "Lie down, false Monk, and from there exalt your patience." And so saying, he struck the Bodhisattva above the heart with his foot, and took himself off.

When he was gone, the commander-in-chief wiped off the blood from the body of the Bodhisattva, putting bandages on the extremities of his hands, feet, ears and nose, and then having gently placed him on a seat, he saluted him and sitting on one side he said, "If, Reverend Sir, you would be angry with one who has sinned against you, be angry with the king, but with no one else." And making this request, he repeated the first stanza:-

Whosoever cut off your nose and ear, and chopped off foot and hand, With him be angry, heroic soul, but spare, we request, this land.

The Bodhisattva on hearing this uttered the second stanza:-

Long live the king, whose cruel hand my body thus has marred, Pure souls like mine such deeds as these with anger never regard.

And just as the king was leaving the garden and at the very moment when be passed out of the range of the Bodhisattva's vision, the mighty earth that is two hundred and forty thousand leagues( x 4.23 km) in thickness split in two, like unto a strong stout cloth garment, and a flame issuing on from Avici seized upon the king, wrapping him up as it were with a royal robe of scarlet wool. Thus did the king sink into the earth just by the garden gate and was firmly fixed in the great Hell of Avici. And the Bodhisattva died on that same day. And the king's servants and the citizens came with perfumes and wreaths and incense in their hands and performed the Bodhisattva's funeral rites. And some said that the Bodhisattva had gone straight back to the Himalayas. But in this they said the thing that was not.

A saint of old, as men have told, Great courage did display: That saint so strong to suffer wrong The Kasi king did kill.

Alas! the debt of vain regret That king will have to pay; When doomed to dwell in lowest Hell, Long will he regret the day.

These two stanzas were inspired by Perfect Wisdom.

The Master, his lesson ended, revealed the Truths and identified the Birth:-At the conclusion of the Truths the bad-tempered Brother(Monk) attained fruition of the Second Path(Trance), while many others attained fruition of the First Path(Trance):-"At that time Devadatta was Kalabu king of Kasi, Sariputra was the Commander-in-Chief, and I myself was the Ascetic, the Preacher of Patience."