107. The Story of the Slinging Stone

The Buddha who was bringing happiness to people, when he was living at Jetavana monastery, disclosed this story about a certain clever monk and a slingshot.

A certain man in Sāvatthi was skilled in using a slingshot. One day he was listening to the Buddha and he became pleased with the law. Becoming very familiar with the teachings of the Buddha, he became ordained, received higher ordination, and was admitted among the community of monks. Even though he was admitted in the higher ordination of the monks, yet he was not a monk who was devoted too much to the law, and he did not have much respect for the practice of the law.

This monk went one day to take a bath on the bank of the Aciravatī River with a young novice. Meanwhile two white swans were flying in the sky over them. They saw the two swans and the elder Bhikkhu said to the young one, “Shall I put down the swan who is behind by shooting a slinging stone at his eye?”

The young monk said, “How can you put him down? You have no power to put him down by hitting him.”

Then the elder monk said, “Young monk, if you like not only can I hit the swan in the eye on this side, but also on the far side.”

The young monk thought, “He speaks a lie.” And he said, “If so, then do it.”

Then the other monk took a small triangular shaped stone and threw it behind the swan. The stone, making a noise, caught the swan’s attention. Hearing the sound, the swan thought that there was maybe a danger. Thinking so, it turned to hear the sound better. Then the monk took a round stone and hit the swan in one eye. The stone went out through the other eye, and the swan fell down screaming at their feet.

Thereupon the young monk censured him saying, “You have done a very bad thing.” He took him to the Buddha saying, “Sir, this monk has done such a type of bad thing.” Then the omnipresent one censured the monk and said, “Oh monks, this man is not only clever in this life with a slingshot, but also was clever in the past too.”

Then the Buddha told this story of the past:

At one time, there was a king called Brahmadatta in Benares. Our Enlightenment Being at that time became the minister to the king. At the same time, the king had an advisor Brahmin who was very, very talkative. He was a chatterbox. When he started to speak, he did not let others speak. The king thought, “When will I be able to stop the chatter of this man.” And he was thinking of ways to stop this unusual talking of the Brahmin.

In the meantime, there was a certain crippled man who was very clever in slinging stones. Children in the city put this crippled man on a cart, took him near a spreading Banyan tree that was by the city gate, and kept him there under the large shady Banyan tree. They surrounded him, gave him a little bit of money, and asked him to make elephant forms, horse forms, or something like that in the leaves. The crippled man slung stones over the Banyan leaves and he made lion forms, deer forms and bird forms. He made various types of forms. All the leaves of the Banyan tree now had shaped gaps in them.

When the king was on his way to sport in his pleasure garden, he came to this place. The security people sent the children who surrounded the crippled man away. They fled away here and there as the security people hit them. The cripple was unable to move, and he lay under the Banyan tree. When the king came to the Banyan tree and saw that the leaves of the tree were with shaped gaps, and that the shade was no longer perfect, he looked up at the tree sitting on his chariot and saw that all the gaps formed elephant shapes, lion shapes, horse shapes, and the like. He asked, “Who did this?” Then the officers of the king searched and found the crippled man. The king thought, “This man would be a very good help to stop the talkativeness of the Brahmin.”

The king’s officers saw the crippled man lying down under the tree and said, “Your lordship, here is the man.” And they showed him the cripple. The king summoned him and asked all this retinue to go away. He said, “I have a talkative Brahmin in my court. Can you make him silent?” “Your lordship, if I can have a measure of dry goat’s dung, I can silence him.”

The king took the crippled man to his palace, and keeping him behind a curtain that had a hole in its middle, he made a seat in front of that curtain on which he might sit the Brahmin and left the dry goat’s dung with the crippled man. When the Brahmin came to the court, he was asked to sit on that chair. The Brahmin began to speak.

The Brahmin, without letting anyone else speak, began to talk. The crippled man took the pellets of dry goat’s dung one by one and shot them through the hole into the Brahmin’s mouth. The Brahmin could not drop them out from deference to the king, and he swallowed them. The dry goat’s dung that was about a measure’s worth went into his stomach. The king thought, “He may not be able to digest this dry goat’s dung.” He said, “Hurry up and go home, and bring some leaves of a PiyanÄgu tree with you. Grind them and crush them, drink the juice from that, and vomit. And then be in good health.”

The Brahmin kept his mouth shut from that point on.

The king gave presents to the crippled man, thinking, “This man has given me comfort to my ears by making the Brahmin silent.” He gave him four villages in each of the four directions, which produced 100,000 gold coins per year.

Then the Enlightenment Being came to the king and said, “Your lordship, education must be obtained by wise people in the world. Even the crippled man, having learned to sling stones and being skilled in this art has gotten such an immense wealth. Therefore, your lordship, look at this crippled man using dry goat’s dung who has gotten so much wealth. The advantage of education is endless.” He emphasized again and again the value of learning.

Lord Buddha, the master, disclosed this Dhamma sermon and ended this story of the Sālittaka-Jātaka [this Story of the Slinging Stone].

“The cripple at that time was this monk who killed the swan. The king was the venerable Ānanda. The wise minister was the fully enlightened one who am I, the teacher of the three worlds.”

The moral: “Whatever you learn brings you wealth and happiness.”

107. The Story of the Slinging Stone

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106. The Story of Infatuation with an Unmarried Girl of Marriageable age

While the compassionate Buddha was living in Jetavana monastery, he disclosed this story regarding a monk who was infatuated with an unmarried girl of marriageable age. The incident will come in detail in the Jataka story of Culla-Ndrada-Kassapa in the thirteenth book [No. 477].

[There was a girl who thought, “Nobody has asked for me. Therefore it would be good to persuade a monk suitable to me. Then I can ask him to disrobe and be with him. Thinking so, she selected a young monk who was not strongly devoted to monkhood. One day while her mother was preparing food for alms, she saw such an attractive young monk and invited him to her house for alms. There she offered him food. She said to the monk, “Sir, from now on do not go elsewhere for alms. Please come here every day.” Since then, he started to go there and he became more familiar with her.

One day her mother said, “There is no one to inherit my wealth at home as I have no son or nephew.” On hearing these words, his mind was changed. Her mother said, “Now is the time that you can persuade this monk.” And she did it by showing him her feminine wiles. She persuaded him, and he determined to disrobe. He slept with her lust, not with her body. After, though, he went to his teacher and disclosed the situation of his mind and informed his master that he had disrobed. Then the teacher took him to the Buddha. The Buddha told him that he was not only infatuated in this life, but also in a past life.]

The Buddha summoned the monk and asked whether it was true that he had become infatuated with a woman. He said, “Yes, sir.” Then the Buddha asked, “Bhikkhu, with what type of a woman have you become infatuated?” He responded, “Your lordship, I have become infatuated with a woman who has never associated with a man, and who has spent her entire young life alone. Such a person is the one who has attracted my mind.”

Then the Buddha said, “Bhikkhu, this woman will bring harm to you. Not only in this life, even in a previous life you have violated your celibate life and wandered trembling on account of her. Because of association with wise people, you again came to happiness.” And the Buddha disclosed the story of his past:

Long ago in the past when a king called Brahmadatta ruled in Benares, there was a recluse who was the Bodhisatta who lived in the forest with his son. Once the recluse went out to collect fruit, and he then returned in the evening and saw that his son had done no chores at home. He asked his son, “My son, since we came to this forest you always brought firewood and drinking water and you always made a fire. But today you have done nothing. Why are you so upset?” Then the son said, “My dear father, after you left the hermitage there came a woman who captured my mind. She wants me to go with her, but I did not go thinking that I had to get permission from you first. I made her wait for me on the way. Please give me permission to go now.”

On hearing these words the Enlightenment Being thought, “Now it is not easy to stop him.” He said, “If so, you can go, son. But whenever this woman bothers you, saying all the time that she would like you to bring her meat, fish, sesame oil, salt, and rice, remind yourself of my meritorious qualities and come back and live here with me.” Then the son left for the city with her.

After coming to the city, the woman showed the young man her lures. Whenever she needed something like meat or fish, she would persuade him to bring them. He could not refuse her. When she did like this, the son thought, “This woman bothers me requesting this and that, thinking I am a servant.” And he became depressed, left her and went back to his father’s hermitage.

He paid respect to his father and said, “My honorable father, I lived with you content. I was so infatuated by a woman, I let her lead me away. There, at her home, she bothered me requesting this and that all the time. She used me as if a bucket that would take water from a well, as if a cup that takes water from a jug. This woman was a trickster, deceiving me with sweet words and lustful promises, and by these means fooling me as a young lad to do all her bidding.” He detailed all her bad qualities to his father.

Then the Enlightenment Being comforted him and said, “Okay, my son. Come back and stay here. And from now on, think of her with loving kindness and be compassionate toward her.” Saying so, he taught him the four sublime states of mind on which to meditate.

The ascetic son developed his mind though that meditation and gained the five knowledges and eightfold concentrations, and lived with his father. In due course of time, he was born in the Brahma realm with his father.

Buddha, the master, disclosed this Dhamma sermon covering the four noble truths, which are the noble truth of unhappiness, the noble truth of the cause for unhappiness, absence of the cause of unhappiness, and the path leading to the attainment of enlightenment. In this way, he finalized the story of this Udancani, this bucket that would take water from a well. At the end of the preaching, the upset monk attained the stream entrance state of mind. He became a Sotapanna.

At that time, the unmarried girl of marriageable age was the same as today. The ascetic son was the monk who became upset. The ascetic was the Buddha of the present.

The moral: “Beauty is skin deep.”

106. The Story of Infatuation with an Unmarried Girl of Marriageable age

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105. The Story of Weak Timber

At one time, the fully enlightened one who was the teacher to the whole three worlds with an immense courage was living in Jetavana monastery. He delivered this story about a monk who was very much afraid of death.

A certain young householder who lived in Sāvatthi once listened to the sermon of the Buddha and became very afraid of death. Everywhere he went night and day, whenever he heard a bad noise or the sounds of birds and bees, he fled away while crying loudly with the fear of death, never having reflected on death. If he had reflected on death, he would not have been afraid of death. As he had not practiced mindfulness on death, he was afraid of death. His nature of fearing death spread even among the other monks.

Then the monks, assembled in the hall of the turning of the wheel, brought up a discussion about that monk’s fearfulness of death. Buddha, the master, after coming to the preaching hall said, “Oh, monks. What were you talking about before I came to this place?” The monks told him about what they were talking. Then the Lord summoned the fearful monk and asked him, “Oh, Bhikkhu. Is it true that you have become afraid of death?” And the monk answered, “Yes, sir.” And the Buddha said:

Oh, monks. Do not look down on this Bhikkhu because he has been afraid of death even before this life.

Long ago in the past, a king called Brahmadatta was ruling in Benares. At that time, the Enlightenment Being who had finished completing his perfections was born in the Himalayan forest as a tree deity. The king of Benares at that time, wanting to train his royal elephant in war, gave the elephant to elephant trainers. The elephant could not bear the pain of the training. Breaking the rope that was tying him, he ran to the Himalayan forest. People chased after him. They could not catch him, and returned with empty hands.

Since then, the elephant became one who feared death. Even when hearing the sound of the wind blowing, he would become afraid and would run fast while trembling, shaking his trunk. He felt that his four legs were tightened with ropes and that he was being pricked with an elephant goad. Such was the fear he suffered. He used to wander while trembling without having any physical or mental enjoyments.

The tree deities sitting on branches saw him, and one of them said, “Branches of trees that are weak can be blown down easily by the east and west winds. In this forest, such weak branches are everywhere. If you are afraid of those branches falling down from the wind, it is not good. Eat grass, and drink water, and live happily in this forest.”

And when this tree deity addressed him like this, the elephant became brave from that point on.

The master, the fully enlightened one, disclosed this sermon on the law. He preached the four noble truths and spoke this Jātaka story of weak timber. At the end of the sermon, the monk who was afraid of death attained the stream entrance state of mind. He became a Sotāpanna. This monk at that former time was the elephant. And the tree deity was the Buddha who has attained full enlightenment today.

The moral: “Fear is mere hallucination.”

105. The Story of Weak Timber

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104 The Story of Mittavindaka [One Who Enjoys His Friends]

At one time, the fully enlightened one who is always turning his mind to altruism was in Jetavana monastery. This story was delivered about a certain monk who was disobedient.

The present story is similar to the Mittavindaka-Jātaka that was previously spoken [No. 82; and see Nos. 41, 369, and 439]. This Jātaka story was in the time of the Buddha Kassapa. At that time one who was burning in hell and wearing an iron wheel put on his chest as an instrument of torture asked the Enlightenment Being, “Sir. What sort of an unwholesome deed was done by me to suffer like this?” Then the Enlightenment Being explained to him:

You did the following type of unwholesome deed. At one time you saw four divine damsels who were a grouping of temporary hungry ghosts [vemānika-petī-s]. Unsatisfied you thought, “Is this enough for happiness or not?” You wondered in such a fashion. You then wondered further, and looked until you saw another eight divine damsels. Without being satisfied by them even, you looked further and saw another twelve divine damsels. And even having seen such a number, you were not satisfied and looked until you saw another sixteen. You were not satisfied even then, and looked further until you saw another thirty-two. And even then you were not satisfied, and being very greedy and dissatisfied you looked even further and then came upon this iron wheel. In this way, without being satisfied with your own luck you kept expecting more and more. Now you have fallen into the trap of an iron wheel. You became enslaved to your cravings, and because of that you are now suffering the torture of the iron wheel cutting your head and giving you terrible pain.

So saying, the Enlightenment Being explained Mittavindaka’s pain due to his former deeds. The Enlightenment Being then went back to his own divine world, and the suffering Mittavindaka had to experience pain in hell for a long time until his previous deeds’ power had ended.

Buddha, the master, disclosing this particular story, explained the tale of Mittavindaka. “Mittavindaka was the disobedient monk of today at that time. The Enlightenment Being, who was born as a god at that time, is today myself.”

The moral: “Be satisfied even with small achievements. It is not good to be too greedy.” Also, “Be a gourmet, not a gourmand.”

104 The Story of Mittavindaka [One Who Enjoys His Friends]

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103. The Story of Hostile Action

At one time, the teacher of the three worlds who became the top jewel of the crown of the Sākya clan uttered this story about the millionaire, Anāthapiϯika:

The millionaire Anāthapiϯika once went to his village where people cultivate for him. On his way back he decided not to stop on the road, having a doubt as to whether there would be robbers on the way, and instead went directly to Sāvatthi. He hurried to Sāvatthi and the next day went to the Buddha and mentioned about his decision to come directly back without stopping.

The omnipresent one said, “Oh, millionaire. Even in the past wise people, seeing robbers on the way, without delaying came directly to the place where they intended to go. “In an ancient time when King Brahmadatta was ruling in Benares, our Enlightenment Being who fulfilled perfections was born in a certain village as a millionaire’s son. He was invited by the villagers to stay and take lunch with them, and was delayed because they talked and chatted until evening. When he was returning, he saw some robbers on his way. Seeing them, he hurried on without stopping in the middle of his trip.

He ate his dinner at home with the most sumptuous food, lay on his bed and enjoyed himself, saying: “‘What a joy I have achieved. One must come to realize that it is not good to live with a hostile-minded person, wherever he may be, even for a day. If a person lives with such a one even a day, he’ll come to live with confusion and unhappiness.’ “Thus the Enlightenment Being enjoying his wisdom performed many meritorious deeds such as the practice of generosity.”

Buddha, the master, completed this preaching and ended the story of hostile action. In those days, the millionaire of Benares was the Buddha.

The moral: “If you expect danger, it is best to avoid it.”

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102 The Story of the Greengrocer [PaÏÏika-Jātaka]

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