JatakaTalesoftheBuddha:PartI

Retoldby

Ken&VisakaKawasaki

BuddhistPublicationSocietyKandy•SriLanka

BodhiLeavesNo:135Copyright © Kandy; Buddhist Publication Society,(1995)

BPSOnlineEdition©(2014)Digital Transcription Source: BPS and Access toInsightTranscriptionProject

For free distribution. Thisworkmay be republished,reformatted, reprinted and redistributed in any

2

medium. However, any such republication andredistributionistobemadeavailabletothepublicona free and unrestricted basis, and translations andother derivative works are to be clearly marked assuch.

3

W

NamotassaBhagavatoArahatoSammasambuddhassa!

ApannakaJataka

CrossingtheWildernessJat1

hiletheBuddhawasstayingatJetavanaMonastery near Savatthi, the wealthybanker,Anathapindika,wentonedaytopay his respects. His servants carried

masses of flowers, perfume, butter, oil, honey,molasses, cloths, and robes. Anathapindika paidobeisance to the Buddha, presented the offerings hehadbrought,andsatdownrespectfully.Atthattime,Anathapindika was accompanied by five hundredfriendswhowere followers of heretical teachers.HisfriendsalsopaidtheirrespectstotheBuddhaandsatclosetothebanker.TheBuddha’sfaceappearedlikeafullmoon,andhisbodywassurroundedbyaradiantaura.Seatedontheredstoneseat,hewaslikeayounglion roaring with a clear, noble voice as he taughtthemadiscoursefullofsweetnessandbeautifultotheear.

After hearing the Buddha’s teaching, the five

4

hundred gave up their heretical practices and tookrefuge in the TripleGem: the Buddha, theDhamma,and the Sangha.After that, theywent regularlywithAnathapindika to offer flowers and incense and tohear the teaching. They gave liberally, kept theprecepts, and faithfully observed the UposathaDay. [1]Soonafter theBuddhaleftSavatthi toreturntoRajagaha,however,thesemenabandonedtheirnewfaithandrevertedtotheirpreviousbeliefs.

Sevenoreightmonthslater,theBuddhareturnedtoJetavana.Again,Anathapindikabroughtthesefriendsto visit the Buddha. They paid their respects, butAnathapindikaexplainedthattheyhadforsakentheirrefugeandhadresumedtheiroriginalpractices.

The Buddha asked, "Is it true that you haveabandoned refuge in the Triple Gem for refuge inother doctrines?" The Buddha’s voicewas incrediblyclear because throughout myriad aeons He hadalwaysspokentruthfully.

When these men heard it, they were unable toconceal the truth. "Yes,BlessedOne," theyconfessed."Itistrue."

"Disciples," theBuddhasaid"nowherebetweenthelowest of hells below and the highest heaven above,nowhere in all the infinite worlds that stretch rightandleft,istheretheequal,muchlessthesuperior,ofa

5

Buddha. Incalculable is the excellencewhich springsfrom obeying the Precepts and from other virtuousconduct."

ThenhedeclaredthevirtuesoftheTripleGem."Bytaking refuge in theTripleGem,"He told them, "oneescapesfromrebirthinstatesofsuffering."Hefurtherexplained that meditation on the Triple Gem leadsthroughthefourstagestoEnlightenment.

"Inforsakingsucharefugeasthis,"headmonishedthem,"youhavecertainlyerred.Inthepast,too,menwho foolishlymistookwhatwasno refuge for a realrefuge, met disaster. Actually, they fell prey toyakkhas—evil spirits— in thewildernessandwereutterly destroyed. In contrast,menwho clung to thetruthnotonlysurvived,butactuallyprosperedinthatsamewilderness."

Anathapindika raised his clasped hands to hisforehead, praised the Buddha, and asked him to tellthatstoryofthepast.

"In order to dispel the world’s ignorance and toconquer suffering," the Buddha proclaimed, "Ipracticed the Ten Perfections for countless aeons.Listencarefully,andIwillspeak."

Havingtheirfullattention,theBuddhamadeclear,as though he were releasing the full moon frombehindclouds,whatrebirthhadconcealedfromthem.

6

Long,longago,whenBrahmadattawasreigninginBaranasi, the Bodhisatta was born into a merchant’sfamilyandgrewup tobeawise trader.At the sametime, in thesamecity, therewasanothermerchant,avery stupid fellow, with no common sensewhatsoever.

Onedayitsohappenedthatthetwomerchantseachloaded five hundred carts with costly wares ofBaranasi andprepared to leave in the samedirectionatexactlythesametime.Thewisemerchantthought,"If this silly young fool travels with me and if ourthousand carts stay together, itwill be toomuch fortheroad.Findingwoodandwaterforthemenwillbedifficult,andtherewon’tbeenoughgrassfortheoxen.EitherheorImustgofirst."

"Look,"hesaidtotheothermerchant,"thetwoofuscan’t travel together. Would you rather go first orfollowafterme?"

The foolish trader thought, "There will be manyadvantages if I take the lead. I’ll get a roadwhich isnotyetcutup.Myoxenwillhavethepickofthegrass.Mymenwillgetthechoicestwildherbsforcurry.Thewaterwillbeundisturbed.Bestofall,I’llbeabletofixmyownpriceforbarteringmygoods."Consideringalltheseadvantages,hesaid,"Iwillgoaheadofyou,myfriend."

7

TheBodhisattawaspleasedtohearthisbecausehesawmanyadvantagesinfollowingafter.Hereasoned,"Thosecartsgoingfirstwill level theroadwhere it isrough, and I’ll be able to travel along the road theyhavealreadysmoothed.Theiroxenwillgrazeoff thecoarseoldgrass, andminewillpastureon the sweetyoung growthwhichwill spring up in its place.Mymenwill find fresh sweet herbs for currywhere theoldoneshavebeenpicked.Where there is nowater,thefirstcaravanwillhavetodigtosupplythemselves,andwe’llbeabletodrinkatthewellstheyhavedug.Hagglingoverpricesistiringwork;he’lldothework,andIwillbeabletobartermywaresatpriceshehasalreadyfixed."

"Verywell,myfriend,"hesaid,"pleasegofirst."

"Iwill,"saidthefoolishmerchant,andheyokedhiscarts and set out. After a while he came to theoutskirts of a wilderness. He filled all of his hugewater jars withwater before setting out to cross thesixtyyojanas[2]ofdesertwhichlaybeforehim.

Theyakkhawhohauntedthatwildernesshadbeenwatching the caravan. When it had reached themiddle, he used his magic power to conjure up alovely carriage drawn by pure white young bulls.Witharetinueofadozendisguisedyakkhascarryingswordsandshields,herodealonginhiscarriagelikea

8

mighty lord. His hair and clothes were wet, and hehad a wreath of blue lotuses and white water liliesaround his head. His attendants also were drippingwet and draped in garlands. Even the bulls’ hoovesandcarriagewheelsweremuddy.

As the wind was blowing from the front, themerchant was riding at the head of his caravan toescapethedust.Theyakkhadrewhiscarriagebesidethemerchant’sandgreetedhimkindly.Themerchantreturnedthegreetingandmovedhisowncarriage toone side to allow the carts to passwhile he and theyakkhachatted.

"We are on ourway fromBaranasi, sir," explainedthe merchant. "I see that your men are all wet andmuddyandthatyouhavelotusesandwaterlilies.Didit rain while you were on the road? Did you comeacrosspoolswithlotusesandwaterlilies?"

"Whatdoyoumean?"theyakkhaexclaimed."Overthereisthedark-greenstreakofajungle.Beyondthatthereisplentyofwater.Itisalwaysrainingthere,andthere are many lakes with lotuses and water lilies."Then, pretending to be interested in the merchant’sbusiness,heasked,"Whatdoyouhaveinthesecarts?"

"Expensivemerchandise,"answeredthemerchant.

"Whatisinthiscartwhichseemssoheavilyladen?"theyakkhaaskedasthelastcartrolledby.

9

"That’sfullofwater."

"Youwerewisetocarrywaterwithyouthisfar,butthereisnoneedforitnow,sincewaterissoabundantahead. You could travel much faster and lighterwithoutthoseheavyjars.You’dbebetteroffbreakingthemandthrowingthewateraway.Well,goodday,"hesaidsuddenly,asheturnedhiscarriage."Wemustbeonourway.Wehavestoppedtoolongalready."Herodeawayquicklywithhismen.Assoonastheywereoutofsight,heturnedandmadehiswaybacktohisowncity.

Themerchant was so foolish that he followed theyakkha’sadvice.Hebrokeallthejars,withoutsavingevenasinglecupfulofwater,andorderedthementodrive on quickly. Of course, they did not find anywater, and theywere soon exhausted from thirst.Atsunsettheydrewtheircartsintoacircleandtetheredtheoxentothewheels,buttherewasnowaterfortheweary animals. Without water, the men could notcookanyriceeither.Theysanktothegroundandfellasleep.As soonasnight came, theyakkhas attacked,killing every single man and beast. The fiendsdevoured the flesh, leaving only the bones, anddeparted. Skeletons were strewn in every direction,but the five hundred carts stood with their loadsuntouched. Thus the heedless young merchant wasthesolecauseofthedestructionoftheentirecaravan.

10

Allowing sixweeks topass after the foolish traderhad left, theBodhisattasetoutwithhis fivehundredcarts.Whenhereachedtheedgeofthewilderness,hefilledhiswater jars.Thenheassembledhismenandannounced,"Letnotsomuchasahandfulofwaterbeusedwithoutmy permission. Furthermore, there arepoisonous plants in this wilderness. Do not eat anyleaf, flower, or fruit which you have never eatenbefore, without showing it tome first." Having thuscarefullywarnedhismen,heledthecaravanintothewilderness.

When they had reached the middle of thewilderness, the yakkha appeared on the path just asbefore.Themerchantnoticedhisredeyesandfearlessmanner and suspected something strange. "I knowthere is no water in this desert," he said to himself."Furthermore,thisstrangercastsnoshadow.Hemustbe a yakkha. He probably tricked the foolishmerchant,buthedoesn’trealizehowcleverIam."

"Getoutofhere!"heshoutedattheyakkha."Wearemen of business. We do not throw away our waterbeforeweseewheremoreistocomefrom!"

Withoutsayinganymore,theyakkharodeaway.

Assoonastheyakkhashadleft,themerchant’smenapproachedtheirleaderandsaid,"Sir,thosemenwerewearinglotusesandwater liliesontheirheads.Their

11

clothesandhairwerewringingwet.Theytoldusthatup ahead there is a thick forest where it is alwaysraining.Letus throwawayourwater so thatwecanproceedquickerwithlightenedcarts."

Themerchantorderedahaltandsummonedallhismen. "Has any man among you ever heard beforetoday," he asked, "that therewas a lake or a pool inthiswilderness?"

"No, sir," they answered. "It’s known as the’WaterlessDesert.’"

"Wehavejustbeentoldbysomestrangersthatitisraining in the forest justahead.Howfardoesa rain-windcarry?"

"Ayojana,sir."

"Has any man here seen the top of even a singlestorm-cloud?"

"No,sir."

"Howfaroffcanyouseeaflashoflightning?"

"Fourorfiveyojanas,sir."

"Hasanymanhereseenaflashoflightning?"

"No,sir."

"Howfaroffcanamanhearapealofthunder?"

"Twoorthreeyojanas,sir."

12

"Hasanymanhereheardapealofthunder?"

"No,sir."

"Those were not men, but yakkhas," the wisemerchanttoldhismen."Theyarehopingthatwewillthrowawayourwater.Then,whenweareweakandfaint, theywill return to devour us. Since the youngmerchantwhowentbeforeuswasnotamanofgoodsense, most likely he was fooled by them. We mayexpecttofindhiscartsstandingjustastheywerefirstloaded. We will probably see them today. Press onwithallpossiblespeed,withoutthrowingawayadropofwater!"

Justasthemerchanthadpredicted,hiscaravansooncameupon the fivehundred cartswith the skeletonsof men and oxen strewn in every direction. Heordered his men to arrange his carts in a fortifiedcircle,totakecareoftheoxen,andtoprepareanearlysupperforthemselves.Aftertheanimalsandmenhadall safely bedded down, the merchant and hisforemen,swordsinhand,stoodguardallthroughthenight.

At daybreak themerchant replaced his ownweakcarts for stronger ones and exchanged his owncommongoods for themost costlyof theabandonedmerchandise.When he arrived at his destination, hewas able to barter his stock ofwares at twoor three

13

timestheirvalue.Hereturnedtohisowncitywithoutlosingasinglemanoutofallhiscompany.

This story ended, the Buddha said, "Thus it was,laymen, that in times past, the foolish came to utterdestruction, while those who clung to the truthescaped from the yakkhas’ hands, reached their goalinsafety,andreturnedtotheirhomesagain.

"This clinging to the truth not only endowshappiness even up to rebirth in the Realm ofBrahma, [3] but also leadsultimately toArahantship.Following untruth entails rebirth either in the fourstates of punishment or in the lowest conditions ofmankind."AftertheBuddhahadexpoundedtheFourTruths, those fivehundreddiscipleswereestablishedintheFruitoftheFirstPath.

TheBuddhaconcludedhislessonbyidentifyingtheBirth as follows: "The foolish young merchant wasDevadatta, [4] and his men were Devadatta’sfollowers. The wise merchant’s men were thefollowers of theBuddha, and Imyselfwas thatwisemerchant."

SerivavanijaJataka

TheTradersofSeriva

14

Jat3

Sothatadisheartenedbhikkhuwouldhavenoregretsin the future, the Buddha told him this story atSavatthi to encourage him to persevere. "If you giveupyourpracticeinthissublimeteachingwhichleadsto Nibbana," the Buddha told him, "you will sufferlong,likethetraderofSerivawholostagoldenbowlworthahundredthousandpieces."

When asked to explain, theBuddha told this storyofthedistantpast.

Five long aeons ago, theBodhisattawas anhonesttrader selling fancy goods in the kingdom of Seriva.Sometimes he traveledwith another trader from thesame kingdom, a greedy fellow, who handled thesamewares.

OnedaythetwoofthemcrossedtheTelavaharivertodobusiness in thebustling cityofAndhapura.Asusual, to avoid competing with each other, theydividedthecitybetweenthemandbegansellingtheirgoodsfromdoortodoor.

In thatcity therewasa ramshacklemansion.Yearsbeforethefamilyhadbeenrichmerchants,butbythetime of this story their fortunes had dwindled tonothing,andall themenof the familyhaddied.The

15

sole survivorswere a girl andher grandmother, andthesetwoearnedtheirlivingbyworkingforhire.

Thatafternoon,whilethegreedypeddlerwasonhisrounds,hecametothedoorofthatveryhouse,crying,"Beadsforsale!Beadsforsale!"

When the young girl heard his cry, she begged,"Pleasebuymeatrinket,Grandmother."

"We’re very poor, dear. There’s not a cent in thehouse and I can’t think of anything to offer inexchange."

Thegirlsuddenlyrememberedanoldbowl."Look!"she cried. "Here’s an old bowl. It’s of no use to us.Let’strytotradeitforsomethingnice."

Whatthelittlegirlshowedhergrandmotherwasanoldbowlwhichhadbeenusedbythegreatmerchant,the late head of the family.He had always eaten hiscurries served from this beautiful, expensive bowl.After his death it had been thrown among the potsandpansandforgotten.Sinceithadn’tbeenusedforaverylongtime,itwascompletelycoveredwithgrime.Thetwowomenhadnoideaitwasgold.

Theoldwomanaskedthetradertocomeinandsitdown. She showed him the bowl and said, "Sir, mygranddaughterwouldlikeatrinket.Wouldyoubesokind as to take this bowl and give her something or

16

otherinexchange?"

Thepeddlertookthebowlinhishandandturneditover.Suspecting itsvalue,hescratched thebackof itwithaneedle.Afterjustonecovertlook,heknewforcertainthebowlwasrealgold.

Hesat there frowningand thinkinguntilhisgreedgot thebetterofhim.At lasthedecided to try togetthe bowl without giving the woman anythingwhatever for it. Pretending to be angry, he growled,"Why did you bring me this stupid bowl? It isn’tworthhalfacent!"Hethrewthebowltothefloor,gotup,andstalkedoutofthehouseinapparentdisgust.

Since it had been agreed between the two tradersthattheonemighttrythestreetswhichtheotherhadalready covered, the honest peddler came later intothat same street and appeared at the door of thehouse,crying,"Beadsforsale!"

Onceagaintheyounggirlmadethesamerequestofher grandmother, and the old woman replied, "Mydear, the firstpeddler threwourbowlonthegroundandstormedoutof thehouse.Whathavewegot lefttooffer?"

"Oh, but that traderwasnasty,Grandmother.Thisone looks and soundsverykind. I thinkhewill takeit."

17

"Allright,then.Callhimin."

When the peddler came into the house, the twowomengavehima seat and shylyput thebowl intohishands.Immediatelyrecognizingthatthebowlwasgold,he said, "Mother, thisbowl isworthahundredthousand pieces of silver. I’m sorry but I don’t havethatmuchmoney."

Astonishedathiswords, theoldwomansaid, "Sir,anotherpeddlerwhocameherealittlewhileagosaidthatitwasnotworthhalfacent.Hegotangry,threwit on the floor, andwent away. If it wasn’t valuablethen, itmust be because of your own goodness thatthebowlhasturnedintogold.Pleasetakeit,andjustgiveussomethingorotherforit.Wewillbemorethansatisfied."

At that time the peddler had only five hundredpieces of silver and goods worth another fivehundred. He gave everything to the women, askingonlytokeephisscales,hisbag,andeightcoinsforhisreturnfare.Ofcourse,theywerehappytoagree.Afterprofusethanksonbothsides,thetraderhurriedtotheriverwiththegoldenbowl.Hegavehiseightcoinstotheboatmanandgotintotheboat.

Not long after he had left, the greedy peddlerreturnedtothehouse,givingtheimpressionofhavingreluctantlyreconsideredtheiroffer.Heaskedthemto

18

bring out their bowl, saying he would give themsomethingorotherforitafterall.

The oldwoman flew at him. "You scoundrel!" shecried. "You told us that our golden bowl was notworthevenhalfacent.Luckyforus,anhonesttradercameafteryou left and toldus itwas reallyworth ahundred thousand pieces of silver. He gave us athousandforitandtookitaway,soyouaretoolate!"

Whenthepeddlerheardthis,anintensepainsweptover him. "He robbedme!He robbedme!" he cried."Hegotmygoldenbowlworthahundredthousand!"He became hysterical and lost all control. Throwingdown his money and merchandise, he tore off hisshirt, grabbed the beam of his scales for a club, andrantotheriversidetocatchtheothertrader.

Bythetimehegottotheriver,theboatwasalreadyin midstream. He shouted for the boat to return toshore,but thehonestpeddler,whohadalreadypaid,calmlytoldtheferrymantocontinueon.

Thefrustratedtradercouldonlystandthereontheriver-bankandwatchhis rival escapewith thebowl.Thesight so infuriatedhim thata fiercehate swelledupinsidehim.Hisheartgrewhot,andbloodgushedfrom his mouth. Finally, his heart cracked like themudatthebottomofaponddriedupbythesun.Sointense was the unreasoning hatred which he

19

developed against the other trader because of thegoldenbowl,thatheperishedthenandthere.

ThehonesttraderreturnedtoSeriva,wherehelivedafull lifespent incharityandothergoodworks,andpassedawaytofareaccordingtohisdeserts.

When theBuddha finished this story,he identifiedhimself as the honest trader, and Devadatta as thegreedy trader. This was the beginning of theimplacable grudgewhichDevadatta held against theBodhisattathroughinnumerablelives.

MatakabhattaJataka

TheGoatThatLaughedandWeptJat18

Oneday,while the Buddhawas staying in Jetavana,somebhikkhusaskedhim if therewasanybenefit insacrificinggoats,sheep,andotheranimalsasofferingsfordepartedrelatives.

"No,bhikkhus,"repliedtheBuddha."Nogoodevercomes from taking life, not even when it is for the

20

purpose of providing a Feast for theDead." Thenhetoldthisstoryofthepast.

Long,longago,whenBrahmadattawasreigninginBaranasi, a brahman decided to offer a Feast for theDead and bought a goat to sacrifice. "My boys," hesaidtohisstudents,"takethisgoatdowntotheriver,batheit,brushit,hangagarlandarounditsneck,giveitsomegraintoeat,andbringitback."

"Yes,sir,"theyrepliedandledthegoattotheriver.

While they were grooming it, the goat started tolaughwithasoundlikeapotsmashing.Then,justasstrangely,itstartedtoweeploudly.

Theyoung studentswere amazed at this behavior."Whydid you suddenly laugh," they asked the goat,"andwhydoyounowcrysoloudly?"

"Repeat your question when we get back to yourteacher,"thegoatanswered.

The students hurriedly took the goat back to theirmasterandtoldhimwhathadhappenedattheriver.Hearing the story, themaster himself asked the goatwhyithadlaughedandwhyithadwept.

"In times past, brahman," the goat began, "Iwas abrahman who taught the Vedas like you. I, too,sacrificedagoatasanofferingforaFeastfortheDead.Becauseofkillingthatsinglegoat,Ihavehadmyhead

21

cutoff499times.IlaughedaloudwhenIrealizedthatthis is my last birth as an animal to be sacrificed.Today Iwill be freed frommymisery.On the otherhand, I criedwhen I realized that, because of killingme,you, too,maybedoomed to loseyourhead fivehundredtimes.ItwasoutofpityforyouthatIcried."

"Well, goat," said the brahman, "in that case, I amnotgoingtokillyou."

"Brahman!"exclaimedthegoat."Whetherornotyoukillme,Icannotescapedeathtoday."

"Don’tworry,"thebrahmanassuredthegoat."Iwillguardyou."

"You don’t understand," the goat told him. "Yourprotection isweak.The forceofmyevildeed isverystrong."

The brahman untied the goat and said to hisstudents,"Don’tallowanyonetoharmthisgoat."Theyobedientlyfollowedtheanimaltoprotectit.

After the goat was freed, it began to graze. Itstretched out its neck to reach the leaves on a bushgrowing near the top of a large rock. At that veryinstant a lightning bolt hit the rock, breaking off asharp piece of stonewhich flew through the air andneatly cut off the goat’s head. A crowd of peoplegathered around the dead goat and began to talk

22

excitedlyabouttheamazingaccident.

A tree deva [5] had observed everything from thegoat’spurchase to itsdramaticdeath, anddrawingalesson from the incident, admonished the crowd: "Ifpeople only knew that the penalty would be rebirthinto sorrow, they would cease from taking life. Ahorrible doom awaits one who slays." With thisexplanationofthelawofkammathedevainstilledinhis listeners the fear of hell. The people were sofrightenedthattheycompletelygaveupthepracticeofanimal sacrifices. The deva further instructed thepeopleinthePreceptsandurgedthemtodogood.

Eventually,thatdevapassedawaytofareaccordingto his deserts. For several generations after that,people remained faithful to the Precepts and spenttheir lives in charity and meritorious works, so thatmanywererebornintheheavens.

The Buddha ended his lesson and identified theBirthbysaying,"InthosedaysIwasthatdeva."

KuhakaJataka

TheStrawWorthMoreThanGold

23

Jat89

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana about aconniving bhikkhu, who was the source of muchtroubletootherbhikkhus.

Long,longago,whenBrahmadattawasreigninginBaranasi,ashiftyasceticwithlong,mattedhair,livednearacertainlittlevillage.Thelandownerhadbuiltamodest hermitage in the forest for him, and dailyprovidedhimwithexcellentfoodinhisownhouse.

The landowner had a great fear of robbers anddecided that the safest course to protect his moneywas to hide it in an unlikely place. Believing thematted-haired ascetic to be amodel of sainthood, hebrought a hundred pieces of gold to the hermitage,buriedthemthere,andaskedtheascetictokeepwatchoverthetreasure.

"There’snoneedtosaymore,sir, toamanlikemewhohasrenouncedtheworld.Wehermitsnevercovetwhatbelongstoothers."

"That’swonderful," said the landowner,whowentoff with complete confidence in the hermit’sprotestations.

As soon as the landowner was out of sight, the

24

asceticchuckledtohimself,"Why,there’senoughheretolastamanhiswholelife!"

Allowing a fewdays to elapse, the hermit dugupthegoldandreburieditconvenientlybytheroad.Thefollowingmorning,afteramealofriceandsucculentcurriesatthelandowner’shouse,theasceticsaid,"Mygoodsir,I’vebeenstayinghere,supportedbyyou,foralongtime.Frankly,livingsolonginoneplaceislikelivingintheworld,whichisforbiddentoasceticslikeme. I really cannot remain here any longer; the timehascomeformetoleave."

Thelandownerurgedhimtostay,butnothingcouldovercomethehermit’sdetermination.

"Well, then," said the landowner, "if youmust go,goodlucktoyou."Reluctantly,heescortedtheascetictotheoutskirtsofthevillageandreturnedhome.

After walking a short way by himself, the asceticthought it would be a good thing to cajole thelandowner. Sticking a straw in his matted hair, hehurriedbacktothevillage.

"Whatbringsyoubackagain?"askedthesurprisedlandowner.

"Ijustnoticedthatastrawfromyourroofgotstuckinmyhair.Wehermitsmustnottakeanythingwhichhasnotbeengiventous,soIhavebroughtitbackto

25

you."

"Throw it down, sir, and go your way," said thelandowner."Imagine!"hesaidtohimself."Thisasceticissohonesthewon’teventakeastrawwhichdoesnotbelong to him. What a rare person!" Thus, greatlyimpressedbytheascetic’shonesty,thelandownerbidhimfarewellagain.

At that time the Bodhisatta, reborn as amerchant,wastravelingtotheborderonbusinessandhappenedtostopatthatsamelittlevillage,wherehewitnessedtheascetic’sreturnwith thepieceofstraw.Suspiciongrewinhismindthatthehermitmusthaverobbedthelandowner of something. He asked the rich manwhether he had deposited anything in the ascetic’scare.

"Yes,"thelandowneransweredratherhesitantly,"ahundredpiecesofgold."

"Well, why don’t you just go and see if it’s stillsafe?"themerchantsuggested.

Thelandownerwenttothedesertedhermitage,dugwhere he had left his money, and found it gone.Rushing back to the merchant, he cried, "It’s notthere!"

"The thief is certainly that long-haired rascal of anascetic,"saidthemerchant."Let’scatchhim."

26

Thetwomenranaftertherogueandquicklycaughthim.Theykickedhimandbeathimuntilhe showedthemwhere he had hidden the gold.After they hadgotten back the money, the merchant looked at thecoins and scornfully asked the ascetic, "Why didn’tthishundredpiecesofgoldtroubleyourconscienceasmuchasthatstraw?Takecare,youhypocrite,nevertoplaysuchatrickagain!"

Whenhis life ended, themerchantpassedaway tofareaccordingtohisdeserts.

When he had ended his lesson, the Buddha said,"Thus you see, monks, that this monk was asconniving in the past as he is today." Then heidentified the Birth by saying, "This monk was theschemingasceticofthosedays,andIwasthewiseandgoodmerchant."

27

Notes

1. The Uposatha is the full, new, and half-moondays, when many Buddhists observe the EightPrecepts.[Back]

2. Yojana: a unit of distance, about seven miles.[Back]

3. The Realm of Brahma refers to the highestheavens,wherebeingsenjoyradiantbliss.[Back]

4. Devadattawas a cousinof theBuddha.He triedtokilltheMasterseveraltimes,butalwaysfailed.SeeJatakaNo.3,immediatelybelow.[Back]

5. Devas are celestial beings, ranging from thehighestgodstosimpletreespirits.[Back]

28

TableofContents

Titlepage 2ApannakaJataka 4SerivavanijaJataka 14MatakabhattaJataka 20KuhakaJataka 23Notes 28

29