Sīlavīmaṁsa-Jātaka2

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Source: Adapted from Archaic Translation by H.T. Francis and R.A. Neil
JATAKA No. 362

SILAVIMAMSA-JATAKA(*1)

"Virtue and learning," etc.--This story the Master, while residing at Jetavana monastery, told concerning a brahmin who would test the power of virtue. The king, they say, owing to his reputation for virtue, regarded him with special honour, beyond what was paid to other brahmins. He thought, "Can it be that the king regards me with special honour, because I am gifted with virtue, or as one devoted to the acquisition of learning? I will just test the comparative importance of virtue and learning."

So one day he took a coin from the royal treasury board. The treasurer, such was his respect for him, did not say a word. It occurred a second time, and the treasurer said nothing. But on the third occasion he had him arrested as one who lived by robbery, and brought him before the king. And when the king asked what his offence was, he charged him with stealing the king's property.

"Is this true, brahmin?" said the king.

"I am not in the habit of stealing your property, Sire," he said, "but I had my doubts as to the relative importance of virtue and learning, and in testing which was the greater of the two, I thrice took a coin, and then I was given into custody and brought before you. Now that I know the greater value of virtue compared with learning, I no longer wish to live a layman's life. I will become an ascetic."

On obtaining leave to do so, without so much as looking back on his house door, he went straight to Jetavana monastery and begged the Master to initiate him. The Master granted him both initiate monk's and Elder monk's holy order of discipleship. And he had been no long time in the holy order of disciples, before he attained to spiritual insight and reached the highest fruition. The incident was discussed in the Hall of Truth, how that a certain brahmin, after proving the power of virtue, took to holy order of disciples and obtaining spiritual insight reached Sainthood. When the Master came and inquired of the Brethren(Monks) what was the nature of the topic they were sitting to discuss, on hearing what it was, he said, "Not this man now only, but sages of old also put virtue to the proof, and by becoming ascetics worked out their own salvation (nirvana)." And with this he told a story of the past.

Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the Bodhisattva was born in a brahmin family. And when he came of age, he acquired every liberal are at Taxila, and on his return to Benares he went to see the king. The king offered him the post of family priest, and as he kept the five moral rules, the king looked upon him with respect as a virtuous man. "Can it be," he thought, "that the king regards me with respect as a virtuous man, or as one devoted to the acquisition of learning?" And the whole story corresponds exactly with the modern instance, but in this case the brahmin said, "Now I know the great importance of virtue compared with learning." And on this he spoke these five stanzas:

Virtue and learning I was glad to test; From now on I doubt not virtue is the best. Virtue excels vain gifts of form and birth, Apart from virtue learning has no worth. A prince or peasant, if to sin enslaved, In neither world front misery is saved. Men of high caste with those of low degree, If virtuous here, in heaven will equal be. Not birth, nor tradition, nor friendship anything avails, Pure virtue only causes future bliss to follow.

Thus did the Great Being sing the praises of virtue, and having gained the consent of the king, that very day he took himself to the Himalaya region, and adopting the religious(hermit) life of an ascetic he developed the Faculties and Attainments, and became destined to birth in the (Realm of ArchAngels).

The Master here ended this lesson and identified the Birth: "At that time it was I myself that put virtue to the test and adopted the religious(hermit) life of an ascetic."

Footnotes:

(1)Compare nos. 86, 290,305 and 330