Bhisa-Jātaka

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Source: Adapted from Archaic Translation by W.H.D. Rouse
JATAKA No. 488

BHISA-JATAKA

"May horse and cows," etc. This story the Master told while living in Jetavana monastery, about a backsliding Brother(Monk). The circumstances will appear under the Kusa Birth (*1). Here again the Master asked--"Is it true, Brother(Monk), that you have backslided?" "Yes, Sir, it is true." "For what cause?" "For sin's sake, Sir." "Brother why do you backslide, after embracing such a faith as this which leads to salvation (nirvana); and all for sin's sake? In days of past, before the Buddha arose, wise men who took to the religious(hermit) life, even they who were outside the pale, made an oath, and renounced a suggested idea connected with temptations or desires!" So saying, he told a story of the past.

Once upon a time, when Brahmadatta was king in Benares, the Bodhisattva was born as the son of a great brahmin magnifico who owned a fortune of eighty crores(x10 million) of money. The name they gave him was my lord Maha-Kancana, the Greater Lord of Gold. At the time when he could but just go upon his feet, another son was born to the brahmin, and they called him my lord Upa-Kancana, the Lesser Lord of Gold. Thus in succession seven sons came, and youngest of all came a daughter, whom they named Kancana-devi, the Lady of Gold.

Maha-Kancana, when he grew up, studied at Taxila all the arts and sciences, and returned home. Then his parents desired to establish him in a household of his own. "We will fetch you," said they, "a girl from a family to be a fit match for you, and then you shall have your own household." But he said, "Mother and father, I want no household. To me the three kinds of existence (*2) are terrible as fires, afflicted with chains like a prison-house, hateful as a dunghill. Never have I known of the deed of kind, not so much as in a dream. You have other sons, ask them to be heads of families and leave me alone." Though they begged him again and again, sent his friends to him and pleaded him by their lips, yet he would none of it. Then his friends asked him, "What do you wish, my good friend, that you care nothing for the enjoying of love and desire?" He told them how he had renounced all the world. When the parents understood this, they made the like proposal to the other sons, but none of them would hear of it; nor yet again did the Lady Kancana. In due course of time the parents died. The wise Maha-Kancana did the funeral rites for his parents; with the treasure of eighty crores(x10 million) he distributed alms generously to beggars and travelling men; then taking with him his six brothers, his sister, a servant man and maidservant, and one companion, he made the great renunciation and retired into the region of Himalaya. There in a pleasant spot near a lotus-lake they built them an hermitage, and lived a holy life eating of the fruits and roots of the forest. When they went into the forest, they went one by one, and if ever one of them saw a fruit or a leaf he would call the rest: there telling all they had seen and heard, they picked up what there was--it seemed like a village market. But the teacher, the ascetic Maha-Kancana, thought to himself: "We have thrown aside a fortune of eighty crores(x10 million) and taken up the religious(hermit) life, and to go about greedily seeking for wild fruits is not seemly. From from now on I will bring the wild fruits by myself." Returning then to the hermitage, in the evening he gathered all together and told them his thought. "You remain here," said he, "and practise the life of the hermit, I will fetch fruit for you." Because of that Upa-Kancana and all the rest broke in, "We have become religious (ascetic) under your wing, it is you should stay behind and practise the life of the hermit. Let our sister remain here also, and the maid be with her: we eight will take turns to fetch the fruit, but you three shall be free from taking a turn." He agreed. From then these eight took a turn to bring in fruit one at a time: the others each received his share of the find, and carried it off to his living-place and remained in his own leaf-hut. Thus they could not be together without cause or reason. He whose turn it was would bring in the provender (there was one enclosure), and laying it on a flat stone would make eleven portions of it; then making the gong sound he would take his own portion and depart to his place of living; the others coming up at the gong-sound, without hustling, but with all due ceremony and order, would take each his allotted portion of the find, then returning to his own place there would eat it, and resume his meditation and religious (ascetic) austerity. After a time they gathered lotus fibres and ate them, and there they dwelling, mortifying themselves with scorching heat and other kind of torments, their senses all dead, striving to induce the ecstatic trance.

By the glory of their virtue Sakka(Indra)'s throne trembled. "Are these released from desire only," said he, "or are they sages? Are they sages? I will find out now." So by his supernatural power for three days he caused the Great Being's share to disappear. On the first day, seeing no share for him, he thought, "My share must have been forgotten." On the second day," There must be some fault in me: (*3) he has not provided my share in the way of due respect." On the third, "Why can it be they provide no share for me? If there be fault in me I will make my peace." So at evening he sounded upon the gong. They all came together, and asked who had sounded the gong. "I did, my brothers." "Why, good master?" "My brothers, who brought in the food three days ago?" One rose up, and said, "I did," standing in all respect. "When you made the division did you set apart a share for me?" "Why yes, master, the share of the eldest." "And who brought food yesterday?" Another rose, and said, "I did," then stood respectfully waiting. "Did you remember me?" "I put by for you the share of the eldest." "To-day who brought the food?" Another arose, and stood respectfully waiting. "Did you remember me in making the division?" "I set aside the share of the eldest for you." Then he said, "Brothers, this is the third day I have had no share. The first day when I saw none, I thought, Doubtless he that made the division has forgotten my share. The second day, I thought there must be some fault in me. But to-day I made up my mind, that if fault there were, I would make my peace, and therefore I summoned you by the sound of this gong. You tell me you have put aside for me these portions of the lotus fibres: I have had none of them. I must find out who has stolen and eaten these. When one has forsaken the world and all the lusts of that, theft is unseemly, be it no more than a lotus-stalk." When they heard these words, they cried out, "Oh what a cruel deed!" and they were all much agitated.

Now the deity which lived in a tree by that hermitage, the highest tree of the forest, came out and sat down in their midst. There was also an elephant, which had been unable under his training to be impassible, and brake the stake he was bound to, and escaped into the woods: from time to time he used to come and salute the band of sages, and now he came also and stood on one side. A monkey also there was, that had been used to make sport with serpents, and had escaped out of the snake-charmer's hands into the forest: he lived in that hermitage, and that day he also greeted the band of ascetics, and stood on one side. Sakka(Indra), resolved to test the ascetics, was there also in a shape invisible beside them. At that moment the Bodhisattva's younger brother, the hermit Upa-Kancana, arose from his seat, and saluting the Buddha, with a bow to the rest of the company, said as follows: "Master, setting aside the rest, may I clear myself from this charge?" "You may, brother." He, standing in the midst of the sages, said, "If I ate those fibres of yours, such and such am I," making a firm oath in the words of the first stanza:

"May horse and cows be his, may silver, gold, A loving wife, these may he precious hold, May he have sons and daughters manytimes,    Brahmin, who stoleyour share of food away (*4)."

On this the ascetics put their hands over their ears, crying, "No, no, sir, that oath is very heavy!" And the Bodhisattva also said, "Brother, your oath is very heavy: you did not eat the food, sit down on your straw mattress." He having thus made his oath and sat down, up rose the second brother, and saluting the Great Being, recited the second stanza to clear himself:

"May he have sons and dresses at his will, Garlands and sandal sweet his hands may fill, His heart be fierce with lust and longing still,    Brahmin, who stoleyour share of food away."

When he sat down, the others each in his turn uttered his own stanza to express his feeling:

"May he have plenty, win both fame and land, Sons, houses, treasures, all at his command, The passing years may he not understand,    Brahmin, who stoleyour share of food away."

"As mighty warrior chief may he be known, As king of kings set on a glorious throne, The earth and its four corners all his own,    Brahmin, who stole your share of food away."

"Be he a brahmin, passion unsubdued, With faith in stars and lucky days existing, Honoured with mighty monarchs' gratitude,    Brahmin, who stole your share of food away."

"A student in the Vedic tradition deep-read, Let all men reverence his holiness, And of the people be he worshipped,    Brahmin, who stole your share of food away."

"By Indra's (*5) gift a village may he hold, Rich, choice, possessed of all the goods fourtimes (*6), And may he die with passions uncontrolled,    Brahmin, who stole your share of food away."

"A village chief, his comrades all around, His joy in dances and sweet music's sound; May the king's favour unto him exceed:    Brahmin, who stole your share of food away (*7)."

"May she be fairest of all womankind, May the high monarch of the whole world find Her chief among ten thousand to his mind,    Brahmin, who stoleyour share of food away (*8)."

"When all the serving maidservants do meet, May she all unabashed sit in her seat, Proud of her gains, and may her food be sweet.    Brahmin, who stole your share of food away (*9)."

"The great Kajangal enclosure be his care, And may he set the ruins in repair, And every day make a new window there, Brahmin, who stole your share of food away (*10)."

"Fast in six hundred bonds may he be caught, From the dear forest to a city brought, overcome with lashs and guiding-pikes, wounded,    Brahmin, who stole your share of food away (*11)."

"Garland on neck, tin earring in each ear, Bound, let him walk the highway, much in fear, And schooled with sticks to serpent kind (*12) come near,    Brahmin, who stole your share of food away."

When oath had been taken in these thirteen stanzas, the Great Being thought, "Perhaps they imagine I am lying myself, and saying that the food was not there when it was." So he made oath on his part in the fourteenth stanza:

"Who swears the food was gone, if it was not,    Let him enjoy desire and its effect, May worldly death be at the last his lot.     The same for you, sirs, if you now suspect."

When the sages had made their oath thus, Sakka(Indra) thought to himself, "Fear nothing; I made these lotus fibres disappear in order to test these men, and they all make oath, disgusted with the deed as if it were a piece of spit. Now I will ask them why they dislike lust and desire." This question he put by questioning the Bodhisattva in the next stanza, after having assumed a visible form:

"What in the world men go for seeking here That thing to many lovely is and dear, Longed-for, delightful in this life: why, then, Have saints no praise for things desired of men?"

By way of answer to this question, the Great Being recited two stanzas:

"Desires are deadly blows and chains to bind, In these both misery and fear we find: When tempted by desires imperial kings (*13) Infatuate do nasty and sinful things.

"These sinners bring on sin, to hell they go    At dissolution of this mortal frame.  Because the misery of lust they know (*14)     Therefore saints praise not lust, but only blame."

When Sakka(Indra) had heard the Great Being's explanation, much moved in heart he repeated the following stanza:

"Myself to test these sages stole away That food, which by the lake-side I did lay. Sages they are indeed and pure and good. O man of holy life, see your food!"

Hearing which the Bodhisattva recited a stanza:

"We are no tumblers, to make sport for you, No kinsmen nor no friends of yours are we. Then why, O king divine, O thousand-eyed, you think the sages must your sport provide?"

And Sakka(Indra) recited the twentieth stanza, making his peace with him:

"You are my teacher, and my father you, From my offence let this protect me now. Forgive me my one error, O wise sage! They who are wise are never fierce in rage."

Then the Great Being forgave Sakka(Indra), king of the gods(angels), and on his own part to reconcile him with the company of sages recited another stanza:

"Happy for holy men one night has been, When the Lord Vasava by us was seen. And, sirs, be happy all in heart to see The food once stolen now restored to me."

Sakka(Indra) saluted the company of sages, and returned to the world of gods(angels). And they caused the mystic trance and the transcendent faculties to spring up within them, and became destined for Brahma's world(ArchAngels).

When the Master had ended this discourse, he said, "Thus, Brethren(Monks), wise men of old made an oath and renounced sin." This said, he explained the truths. At the conclusion of the Truths, the backsliding brother(Monk) was established in the fruit of the First Path(Trance). Identifying the Birth, he recited three stanzas:

"Sariputra, Moggallyana, Punna, Kashyapa, and I, Anuruddha and Ananda then the seven brothers were.

"Uppalavanna was the sister, and Khujjuttara the maid, Satagira was the spirit, Chitta householder the slave,

"The elephant was Parileyya, Madhuvasettha was the ape, Kaludayi then was Sakka(Indra). Now you understand the Birth."

Footnotes:

(1)No. 531

(2)Of sense, of body, without body or form (in the kama-, rupa-, arupa-loka).

(3)Or "it is to remind me respectfully of this that he provides no share for me."

(4)The meaning is, that a man whose heart is set on these things feels pain to part with them, and is hence unfit to die from a Buddhist point of view. The verse is therefore a curse.

(5)Vasava.

(6)The scholar explains this as: populous, rich in grain, in wood, in water. This verse is said by the friendly ascetic.

(7)Spoken by the slave man.

(8)Spoken by Kancana.

(9)Spoken by the slave girl.

(10)Spoken by the tree-spirit. Kajangala, the scholar informs us, was a town where materials were hard to be got. There in Buddha Kashyapa's time a god(angel) had a hard job of it repairing the ruins of an old monastery.

(11)Spoken by the elephant.

(12)The monkey says this: his task was to play with a snake.

(13)Lords of Beings, "an allusion to Sakka(Indra)" (schol.)

(14)Sutta Nipata, 50.