The Jatakas
Page 8
These suttas should be cited here to make it clear that for those who take refuge in the Triple Gem, by virtue of its freedom and its highest good, there is no occurrence of rebirth in the bad destinies:
[97] Those who go for refuge in the Buddha: they will not go to a bad destiny.
When they leave the human body they will fill the ranks of devas, the shining gods.
Those who go for refuge in the dhamma, the teaching: they will not go to a bad destiny.
When they leave the human body they will fill the ranks of devas, the shining gods.
Those who go for refuge in the sangha: they will not go to a bad destiny.
When they leave the human body they will fill the ranks of devas, the shining gods. 25
(from the Mahasamaya sutta)
188. Men who are terrified go to manifold refuge: mountains and forests, gardens, trees and shrines.
189. But this is not the safe refuge, it is not the best refuge. He who has gone to this refuge is not freed from all suffering.
190. But the one who goes to the refuge of the Buddha, the dhamma and the sangha, with right wisdom sees the four noble truths:
191. Suffering, the arising of suffering, the crossing over of suffering and the Ariyan eightfold path that leads to the quelling of suffering.
192. This is the safe refuge, the best refuge. The one who goes to this refuge is freed from all suffering. 26
(from the Dhammapada)
But the Teacher’s talk to them was not quite yet complete. As he said, ‘Lay disciples, the meditation object of the recollection of the Buddha, the meditation object of the recollection of the dhamma, the teaching, and the meditation object of the recollection of the sangha, the followers of the Buddha: each gives stream-entry and its fruit, the one-return and its fruit, the never-return and its fruit and arahatship and its fruit.’ 27 So he delivered the teaching by such methods and said, ‘It is not sensible for you to break your allegiance to such a refuge.’ Then he spoke about the gift of the paths for those that take these meditation objects: ‘There is one thing, bhikkhus, which is to be cultivated, made much of, that leads to complete disenchantment, dispassion, to freedom, to peace, higher knowledge, awakening and nibbana. And what is that? The recollection of the Buddha.’ Each recollection is to be elucidated by this and the other associated suttas. 28
So the Exalted One, with various explanations, admonished the lay disciples. ‘Lay disciples: in times past men sought refuge in what is not a refuge, taking up opinionated ideas and obstructive misconceptions. In a wilderness possessed by non-humans they became food for yakkhas and fell into ruin. But those who were single-minded and clearheaded met with prosperity in that very same wilderness.’ And when he had said this he was silent. And then the householder Anathapindika rose up from his seat and paid homage to the Exalted One, proffering an anjali at the head. Offering praises he said, ‘Sir, it has been made clear to us that at this time these disciples have broken their allegiance to the highest refuge and fallen into opinionated ideas. Now reveal what is hidden to us: [98] the ruin of those opinionated ones in a wilderness haunted by non-humans and the prosperity of those who adhered to the truth. So, Exalted One, make this matter clear to us, as if causing the full moon to rise in the sky.’
Then the Exalted One said, ‘Householder, through measureless time I have fulfilled the ten perfections and I have acquired omniscience for the purpose of the removal of doubt from the world. Apply your ears and listen carefully, as if filling a golden tube with the fat of a lion.’
He produced the arising of memory in the treasurer and, as if breaking open the birthplace of the snow 29 and releasing the full moon, he made clear what another life had kept hidden.
Story from the past
Once upon a time in the city of Varanasi, in the kingdom of Kasi, there was a king called Brahmadatta. 30 At that time the Bodhisatta took rebirth in a family of caravan drivers, and when he was old enough he travelled plying his trade with five hundred waggons: sometimes he went from east to west; sometimes from west to east. Now at Varanasi there was also another caravan leader who was plain foolish, lacking any skill or resourcefulness. At this time the Bodhisatta procured some merchandise of the highest value in Varanasi, filled up five hundred waggons and made preparations for a journey. The foolish caravan leader then and there did exactly the same thing. So the Bodhisatta thought, ‘If this foolish caravan leader travels with me the road will not be able to take a thousand waggons in one convoy. There will not be enough wood and water for people or grass for the oxen. It is better for either him or me to go first.’ So he sent for him and talked it over. ‘It won’t work if the two of us go together: do you want to go first or later?’ he said. The man thought, ‘It will be to my advantage to go first: I’ll go on a road that won’t be broken up, the oxen will eat untouched grass, there will be fresh herbs for curries, clear water, and I’ll be able to fix the price as I like when I sell’. So he said, ‘Sir: I’ll go first.’ [99] The Bodhisatta saw considerable benefits in going later, and thought, ‘If they go first they will make uneven ground level: I’ll go on a path that has already been used. Their oxen will have eaten the tough, tangled grasses, while mine will eat new standing, sweet grasses. In a place where there is no water they will dig the ground and get water so we’ll drink from wells that have been dug by others. Setting prices is life-destroying work. I’ll go later and sell mine when the price has been set.’ Seeing these benefits he said, ‘You go first, sir’.
‘That’s fine, sir,’ said the foolish caravan trader. He yoked his carts and in due course he went on his way until he left human settlements and reached the entrance into the wilderness. Now there are five different types of wilderness. There is a wilderness of thieves, a wilderness of wild beasts, a wilderness without water, a wilderness of yakkhas, and a wilderness with little food. So in a wilderness of thieves thieves beset the road; in a wilderness of wild beasts the road is beset by animals like lions. In a wilderness without water there is no water for drinking or washing. A wilderness of yakkhas is haunted by yakkhas. 31 A wilderness of little food has no roots and vegetables to eat. This particular wilderness was one without water and haunted by yakkhas too.
So the caravan leader loaded very big water jars onto his waggons, filled them with water and entered into the wilderness, which stretched out for sixty yojanas. When he had gone half way through the wilderness the yakkha who lived there thought, ‘I’ll make sure they throw out the water they have collected and then, when they are weak, I will eat them all up.’
So he [100] conjured up a delightful carriage yoked up with pure white young oxen, and sat on it just like a powerful baron, with wet hair and clothes and garlanded with blue and white lotuses wreathed on his head. His carriage had mud smeared on its wheels. He also took with him an entourage of ten or twelve yakkhas carrying bows, quivers, swords and shields in their hands. His attendants went in front and behind him, also with wet hair and wet clothes. They too were adorned with garlands of blue and white lotuses, were chewing lotus stalks, while in their hands they carried red and white lotuses. They were dripping with water and mud.
Now when a strong wind blows caravan leaders like to sit in the carriage in front with their attendants to escape the dust; when the wind blows from behind they go to the back of the line. This time, as there was a headwind, the foolish caravan leader went in front. When the yakkha saw him coming, he pulled up his carriage and greeted him courteously, ‘So, where are you going?’ The caravan leader caused his own carriage to pull up off the road, while giving room for the other waggons to pass, and stood in front of the yakkha. He said, ‘Sir, we come from Varanasi, but you come wearing blue and white lotuses, with red and white lotuses in your hands, chewing lotus stalks, and are all muddy and dripping wet. Did it rain when you were on the road and are there pools covered with lotuses?’ The yakkha listened to this and replied, ‘My friend! Why are you saying that? Over there you can just see a dark streak of forest, and f
rom there on the forest is full of water. It is always raining, the wells are full, and on each side there are pools covered with lotuses.’
Then, while the waggons went on he asked, [101] ‘So where are you taking these waggons?’ The merchant said where he was going.
‘What kind of goods are in that waggon?’ The merchant explained what he was carrying.
‘What kind of goods are in that last waggon, which moves as if it is carrying a heavy load?’
‘Oh, that’s the water.’
‘Well, it was a good idea for you to bring water from over there, but there is really no need for it from now on: there’s plenty of water ahead, and you’ll travel more easily if you break the jars and throw out the water.’ Then he added, ‘Well you’d better get going, we have delayed you.’
The yakkha then went on a little, but when he was out of sight returned back to his own city. The foolish caravan leader, through his own stupid fault, followed the words of the yakkha, had the jars broken and threw the water out, without saving even a handful, and drove his waggons on. But there was not even a drop of water ahead. The men, deprived of water, became worn out. They carried on till sunset and then unharnessed the waggons, rounded them up to form a corral and tied the oxen to the wheels. But there was no water for the oxen and there was not even any rice gruel for the men. The weakened men lay down and fell asleep right where they were. As soon as night fell the yakkhas came out from their city and killed everyone, man and beast, ate their flesh and, leaving the bones behind, went on their way. So, because of this foolish caravan leader they all met their end. Various bits of bones were scattered in all directions while the five hundred waggons remained filled up where they stood.
Now, the Bodhisatta let six weeks go by after the departure of the merchant and then left the city with five hundred waggons until in due course he came to the edge of the wilderness. He filled the water jars, took a good amount of water and had a drum beaten throughout the encampment for everyone to meet together. [102] Then he said, ‘Do not use even a handful of water without asking me for permission. There are poisonous trees in the wilderness, so do not eat so much as a leaf, a flower or a fruit which you have not eaten before, without asking me first.’ Giving this instruction to his men, he entered into the wilderness with the five hundred waggons. When they came to the middle of the wilderness the yakkha appeared before the Great Being in the road, in the same way as he had before the foolish caravan leader. As soon as the Bodhisatta saw him he knew: ‘There is no water here in this wilderness, for it is called the “desert without water”. This fellow is brazen and with red eyes and you cannot see his shadow. Undoubtedly, he prevailed upon the foolish caravan leader that went before to throw out his water, and, waiting until his entourage was worn out, ate them up. But he does not know my native wit and skill in means.’ So he said, ‘Get out of the way! We are merchants: if we do not see water we do not throw out the water we do have. When we do see water to be had we will throw it out, make our waggons light and proceed on our way.’ The yakkha carried on a little and when he was out of sight returned to his own city. When the yakkha had gone the Bodhisatta’s men said to him, ‘Sir, these men pointed out to us a dark streak of forest over there that can just be made out. 32From there on it is always raining. These men were wearing garlands of blue and white lotuses, were carrying red and white lotuses in their hands, and were chewing lotus stalks. Their clothes and hair were dripping wet, with drops of water streaming off them. Let’s throw out the water and we’ll go on our way with light waggons.’
The Bodhisatta listened to what they were saying, got the waggons to stop and assembled all his men. ‘Right. Have any of you ever heard that in this wilderness there was a pool or lotus ponds?’ he asked.
‘No sir, we have not,’ they replied. ‘It is called the “waterless desert”.’
The Bodhisatta questioned them again. ‘So some men have just told us that it is always raining in that dark streak of forest. But how far does a rain-wind carry?’ [103]
‘About a yojana, sir’ they replied.
‘And has this rain-cloud been felt by anyone of you?’
‘No, sir, it has not.’
‘And how far off can you see the tips of a rain-cloud?’
‘From three yojanas, 33 sir.’
‘And has anyone here seen the tip of even one rain-cloud?’
Not one of the men had. Not one had seen any lightning, which they agreed should be seen from four or five yojanas away. And not one had heard any thunder, which they agreed should be heard two or three yojanas away.
‘These are not humans, but yakkhas,’ the Bodhisatta said. ‘They will come back, hoping to eat us up when we are worn out after having had the water thrown away. The foolish caravan leader who went on ahead was not skilled in means. After having the water thrown away he will have been eaten when exhausted. There will be five hundred waggons still standing there all loaded up: today we are going to see them. So do not throw so much as a handful of water away, and let’s get on our way.’ And so he ordered them on.
And as he proceeded he saw the five hundred waggons still loaded up, and the bones of men and oxen scattered in every direction. So he had his waggons unyoked and set in a circle to form a corral. He saw that men and oxen had their evening meal in good time, and ensured that the oxen lay down in the midst of the men. Then, with some strong leaders, he stood guard, with sword in hand, through the three watches of the night, remaining there until the break of day. Early the next day he carried on with his duties, saw that the oxen were fed and then discarded weak waggons for strong ones and substituted less valuable goods for more valuable. Then he went on his way and sold his goods, able to set a price at two or three times the original value. He then returned, with every single one of his men, back to his city.
[104] The Teacher told this story and said, ‘In this way, householder, those who formerly took up opinionated ideas came to complete destruction, while those who kept to the truth escaped from the hands of demons, went where they wanted in safety, and returned back to their own homes.’ And when he had linked the two stories together, as the Fully Awakened Buddha he said this verse:
§ Some said the true position, those with opinions a false. The wise man should take that which is true in order to attain perfect knowledge. 34
[105] In this way the Exalted One spoke to the lay disciples, ‘What is called the path of truth confers the three wholesome attainments, the six sense-sphere heavens, the attainments of the Brahma heaven, and in the end, the way to arahatship. 35
[106] The path of falsity leads to the four descents or to the five lower castes of men.’ He went on to give a dhamma talk and revealed the four noble truths, in sixteen ways. And at the end of this teaching all five hundred lay disciples were established in the fruit of stream-entry.
The Teacher delivered this dhamma talk, made the link between these two stories and then explained the connections with the birth. ‘At that time the foolish caravan leader was Devadatta, and his followers the followers of Devadatta. The followers of the wise caravan leader were the followers of the Buddha and I was the wise caravan leader.’ And he finished his teaching.
Notes
1 See Lakkhana sutta, D III 142–78.
2 I am grateful to Dr Justin Meiland for discussion about this. See for instance, Buddhaghosa, Path of Purification, pp. 117–8 (Vism III 121–2).
3 See A I 26. Anathapindika, a treasurer or banker, is singled out by the Buddha as the foremost of his lay disciples in the practice of hospitality and generosity towards monks, considered in Buddhism a particularly auspicious kind of giving. He bought the Jetavana for the Buddha’s use by spreading out coins that covered its entire surface. As a gahapati, he is both head of a household, an extended family, and a man of private means.
4 See A.L. Basham, The Wonder That Was India, (revised edn, London: Sidgwick and Jackson, 1967), pp. 143–4. Thirty-one Jatakas feature the Bodhisatta as a merchant or trader: four of
them begin the full collection.