142. The Story of a Jackal [Sigāla-Jātaka]

When the Enlightenment Being was living in the Bamboo Grove temple of Rājagaha, one day old monks assembled in the preaching hall and were discussing Devadatta’s attempts to kill the Buddha. They said, “Devadatta sent the elephant NāÀāgiri to kill the Buddha, but he failed to do so. Then he tried to kill him by pushing rocks from Gijjhakūæa Mountain. And then he sent bowmen to shoot at him. With many such strategies, he was not able to kill the Buddha.” While they were discussing this, the Buddha entered the hall and asked, “Monks, what were you talking about before my arrival?” The monks answered, “Revered one, we were discussing about the attempts of Devadatta to assassinate the Buddha.” The Buddha said, “Oh monks, it is not only in this life that Devadatta has tried to kill me. Even in the past he tried and could not do so.” The monks invited the Buddha to disclose the ancient story. The Buddha then delivered this story of the past:

At one time, King Brahmadatta was ruling in Benares.

At that time, the Enlightenment Being was born a jackal. He lived in a certain cemetery followed by thousands of jackals. Once there was a certain festival in Benares for which people prepared plenty of meat and toddy that they kept everywhere here and there. The people partied day and night until midnight. But they could not finish the prepared toddy. One man came asking for meat and toddy. Many people said, “There is no more meat.” But a certain man said, “While I am here, why do you say there is no meat?” Saying so, he took a club. As the gates of the city were closed, he went out through the sewer ditches, and went to a nearby cemetery. He lay down on the cemetery ground as if he were a dead body. In the meantime, the Enlightenment Being, who was a jackal, went to eat meat. He saw this man lying there and thought, “No doubt, this man is not dead. Nevertheless, it would be wise to test it.” Thinking so, he went to the opposite side of the wind and smelling, he found out that the man was not dead. Thinking that he would make the man look foolish, so as to deceive the man, he made as if he were running away. Then he went near to the club. He took it in his mouth and pulled on it. The man who was holding it, pulled back on it. Then the jackal went away a little bit, and said, “It is difficult to know whether someone who is lying down is dead or alive. But when the club is pulled back, how can that person be dead? He is not even sleeping.”

The man got up and got angry. He threw the club toward the jackal, but missed. He said, “You got away from me!” Then the jackal said, “Yes. I survived! But you will not survive from the four-fold hell!”

Then that man went back alone to the city in the same way as he had come. He entered the city and washed off both himself and his soiled and dirty clothing in the city moat.

At that time the man who went to kill the Enlightenment Being, who was then a jackal, was Devadatta. And I who was born as the king of jackals am today the Buddha.

The moral: “Ill-conceived stratagems cannot deceive a wise person, no matter what his station.”

142. The Story of a Jackal [Sigāla-Jātaka]

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