150. The Story of Sañjīva [Sañjīva-Jātaka]

When the Buddha was in Jetavanārāma, the king Ajātasattu was friendly with Devadatta. Even though unrighteous and sinful, Ajātasattu was pleased with him. He built for Devadatta a temple in Gayāsīsa, which he gave to him. And he assisted him by giving him all the necessary perquisites. In the meantime, following Devadatta’s words, he sent the elephant NāÀāgiri to kill the Buddha and he sent bowmen to shoot at the Buddha. Many bad things such as these were done by him. After that, his father who was a very righteous king and who was one who had attained the stream entrance state of mind [sotāpanna], was killed by him through the persuasion of Devadatta.

Later, he heard that Devadatta had died and had gone to hell sinking down through the earth. On hearing this, he became afraid for his life believing that if anything happened to Devadatta, no doubt it would happen to him, too. He was very much afraid day and night. He spent the daytime in the routine activities of his daily life. But at night, when he went to bed, he dreamed that he was falling through the earth that had opened up and was shooting forth the fires of hell. From this, he became even more afraid as if he were a chicken that had its neck twisted and had been thrown into the hot sun to die. In this way, he suffered day and night despite his royal luxuries.

He had a keen interest in questioning the Buddha about the dream he was having, but he was reluctant to express that interest to Jīvaka. One day he saw the moonlight bright as if it were daylight, and he said to his minister Jīvaka, “The moonlight is so clear that one can see the distance of forty- five arrow shots as if it were daytime. It is not good to waste our time by staying here. This night is pleasant, calm, attractive, and beautiful. Let us go to a good ascetic, to someone like that, to listen to the Dhamma. I have now such an intention. Do you know to whom we can go?” The other ministers who heard him started to mention the names of the various religious masters to whom they each paid obeisance. Most of them were NigaÏæha-s. One minister said, “There is the ascetic PūraÏa Kassapa. He is a Buddha. Let us go to see him.” Another minister said, “It would be good to go to the Buddha Makkhali Gosāla.” Another minister said, “Instead of going to him, let us go to the Buddha Ajita Keśakambala.” Then some other minister wanted to go to the Buddha Kakudha Kaccāyana. After, another said, “I think it would be good to go to the Buddha Sañjaya Belaææhiputta.” The sixth one said, “I suggest that more than any other Buddha, NigaÏæha Nāthaputta is the best one to whom to go.”

In this way, all the ministers said what they thought, mentioning various NigaÏæha-s, all of who were like children [with regard to spiritual advancement]. The king did not listen to them seriously, thinking, “No doubt Jīvaka will respond  to  my  question.”   But  Jīvaka  was  silent.

Understanding his silence, the king addressed Jīvaka. He asked, “Jīvaka, these people are all praising their own Buddha-s whom each of them follows. Why do you not say something? Do you have no such a Buddha?”

Jīvaka heard this and got up from his seat. He paid respect toward the direction in which the Buddha was, and he recited the nine-fold virtuousness of the Buddha. He said, “Such a virtuous, omnipresent one is now living in my mango park followed by 1,800 monks. Therefore, I suggest that it would be good for your lordship to go there.”

On listening to him, the king said, “It is wonderful. Let us go there.” And he made arrangements to go there by elephants together with his retinue. He went to the Buddha in royal magnificence. He approached the Buddha’s residence and dismounted his elephant. He then came to the followers of the Buddha who were wearing neat and clean clothes, who had tranquil faculties, who all were seated still with arms and feet close to their bodies, and of whom not even one sneezed or coughed. He was very pleased by seeing this. First he paid his respects to the monks, and then to the Buddha. He sat down and said, “Sir, I would like to ask a question.” “Well, your lordship, ask your question.” Then the king said, “Venerable sir, what is the result that one can gain by being a monk?” The Buddha said the discourse called the Sāmaññaphala Sutta divided into two sections [bhāÏavāra-s] and into 500 points to be explained [grantha-s].²³

After this preaching, Ajātasattu knelt down in the presence of the Buddha to pay his respect and said, “Revered sir, please excuse my wrong deeds that I have done out of ignorance.” Buddha accepted his apology, and the king went away.

Then the Buddha addressed the monks, saying, “Oh monks, this King Ajātasattu by being associated with a bad person both killed his father and at the same time ruined his chance for future salvation. If he did not do so, he would today be one who has entered into the stream entrance state of mind [sotāpanna].”

The next day, the monks assembled in the preaching hall were discussing how King Ajātasattu had lost his good fortune to become a Sotāpanna. The fully enlightened one entered the preaching hall then and asked the monks, “Oh monks, what were you discussing before I came here?” The monks mentioned the previous day’s incident. And the Buddha said, “Oh monks, not only in this life but even in the past, Ajātasattu by associating with evil ones created for himself misfortune.” The monks invited the Buddha to disclose the past story.

“At one time, when King Brahmadatta was ruling in Benares, the Enlightenment Being was born in a Brahmin family in that city. When he was grown, he went to a well- known teacher who used to teach in the city and began to study under him. After studying under him, he started to teach students on his own.

“While he was teaching students like this, he had a student named Sañjīvaka. He taught him a spell that could be used to bring the dead to life. And when they gain life, they can walk—but only a short distance. He did not teach him the spell to immobilize them if they come near.

“Once, that student went with a group of other students to fetch firewood from the forest. On their way, they saw a dead tiger on the ground. Sañjīvaka said to the other students, ‘Do you want to see my power? I will bring this tiger back to life.’ The other students said, ‘How can you bring a dead being back to life? It will never happen.’ Sañjīvaka said, ‘Just look at what I do.’ And he started to recite the spell. The other students said, ‘Who knows what will happen!’ And they climbed up trees.

“While Sañjīvaka was repeating the spell, he threw some pebbles toward the dead body of the tiger. When he was throwing the pebbles, the tiger started to get up. He came forward, and jumping up on the very person who was chanting the spell, he killed him. The tiger that had been brought back to life also fell dead at that spot.

“The other students collected the firewood and returned to where they were studying. They told the teacher what had happened. On hearing the news, the teacher said to the students, “It is not good to help an evil friend. If you do so, such is the result.” And he advised them to live generous and peaceful lives. He himself lived such a life, did many meritorious deeds, and acquired much merit. At the end of his life he died, and was born in heaven.

“Sañjīvaka was King Ajātasattu at that time. The teacher of Benares was I who have become the Buddha.” In this way, the Buddha ended the story of Sañjīva.

²³ The Sāmaññaphala Sutta is to be found in the Dīghanikāya, but it is not divided there into two sections.

The moral: “Choose your friends wisely.”

150. The Story of Sañjīva [Sañjīva-Jātaka]

Link: https://hhdorjechangbuddhaiiiinfo.com/2026/01/27/150-the-story-of-sanjiva-sanjiva-jataka/

#Buddhisttalesforyoungandold #Buddhiststories #storiesforkids #moralstories #Buddha #Jatakastories #PansiyaPanasJataka #JatakaTalesofSakyamuniBuddha #JatakaTales #SakyamuniBuddha’sPast

149. The Story of One Leaf (The Story of Shining Forth) [EkapaÏÏa-Jātaka (Virocana-Jātaka)]

When the Buddha was living in the city of Vesāli, he lived in the mansion called, “The Gabled House”. At that time, the city of Vesāli was surrounded by three walls each the distance of sixteen Gāvuta-s²¹ one from the other, and each having gates and watchtowers. In addition there were 7,707 crowned kings to rule the country, with an equal number of viceroys, generals, and treasurers. Among these there was one bad prince, who was known as Wicked [Duææha]. He was aggressive, rough, and if one would speak something to him, he would use insulting words toward that one. Everyday he was like a snake that had been beaten with a stick. He was consumed with anger, and this shone forth to others. When people came to see him, they did not get a chance to speak more than two or three words. Parents, younger brothers, other relatives, and even his own children were uncomfortable in his presence. His wife and all his friends were afraid of him as if he were a snake that bit off flesh little piece by little piece, or as if they had come to a forest in which there were thieves, or as if they had seen a demon. Every time they saw him, they were in fear.

On hearing of this from someone, the Buddha went to see him and advised him: “A man who behaves fiercely like you, no doubt will be reborn in the fourfold hell and suffer from birth to birth. When people get angry, their face is unpleasant looking even though it had been beautiful like a lotus. It looks like a golden mirror covered with filth. In such anger, men hit themselves, or die by hanging themselves with a rope around the neck, or die falling down off a high precipice. By whatever way he dies, in his next birth he will be reborn in hell. After suffering a lot in hell, whenever he gets a human birth, he will suffer from the day of his birth with eye diseases, ear diseases, and so forth, endlessly. If he lives with loving kindness toward living beings, or with gentleness, compassion, and kindness, then he will not be confronted with such situations. He will be able to enjoy all kinds of happiness without such sufferings.”

From the time the prince heard this, he gave up his pride and anger. He became gentle and restrained like a cobra whose venom had been extracted, like a crab whose claw had been broken, and like a bull with cut horns. If someone hit him, or hurt him, or verbally abused him, he kept silent, not even asking whom it was who did this. If someone behind him mocked him or laughed at him, he did not even turn his head to see who it was. He behaved in this way from that point on.

One day the monks assembled in the preaching hall were talking about this. One monk said, “It is amazing that even his parents constantly advising the prince could not change him. But the Buddha tamed him with a single admonition as a mahout tames an elephant.”  Then another monk said, “It is commendable, of course, that a horse trainer breaking in his horse guides his horse from east to west, and south to north, according to his will. Just so an elephant trainer and an ox trainer. Also, in the same way, the Buddha goes to wherever there are beings, whether in the human world, heaven, or the Brahma world, and guides them aright. Who can do like that except the Buddha?” Then the Buddha entered, and said, “Oh monks, what were you talking about before I came?” The monks told him they were talking about the taming of the prince. The Buddha said, “Not only today, even in the past I tamed him with a single admonition.” And the monks invited the Buddha to disclose the hidden story.

The Buddha disclosed the story:

At one time King Brahmadatta was ruling the city of Benares. At that time the Enlightenment Being was born in a well-known Brahmin family. After his parents’ death, he renounced their wealth and went to the Himalayan Mountains to become an ascetic. After a while, he returned to Benares in search of salt and sours.²² He wandered the streets of Benares for alms.

The king saw him walking on the street and sent one of his ministers to bring him. The minister went to him and told him of the king’s invitation. The ascetic said to the minister, “Sir, I have no previous acquaintance with the king. I live in the Himalayan Mountains as an ascetic. Further, since I am an ascetic, I have no close association with him. Therefore, why should he invite me to his palace?”

Hearing this, the minister returned to the palace and said to the king, “Your lordship, he will not come!” Then the king said, “Tell him that I have no close association with any ascetic. Further, up to now, I have not seen an ascetic. Therefore, please come.” Saying so, he sent the minister for the second time.

The ascetic, on hearing this, came to the palace. The king paid him obeisance and asked, “Where do you go, and where do you live?” The ascetic said, “Your lordship, I live in the Himalayan forest. And as it is time to observe the rainy season retreat, I am searching now for a place to live.” The king, hearing him, said, “Please live in my pleasure garden.” Saying so, he gave him food to eat.

After that, the king led the ascetic to his pleasure garden. He requested the watchman to make arrangements for the ascetic to stay there, and told him to look after the ascetic very carefully. Giving the watchman this responsibility, the king returned to his palace. Since then, the king would go two or three times a day to see the ascetic.

At this time, the king had a son called Wicked [Duææha]. The young prince was very rough and arrogant, and always acted with anger as if he were a snake hit with a stick. He paid no attention to the words of his parents, his relatives, his friends, or others. The king, worried about this situation, took the prince one day to see the ascetic. He said, “Reverend sir, my son is very rough and arrogant. Kindly tame him.” Saying so, the king handed over the prince to the ascetic’s care, and he went away.

The ascetic became friendly with the prince. Holding his hand while walking in the pleasure garden, he showed him a young neem tree shoot that had only two leaves on it. He said, “Look at this neem tree shoot. Take one of its leaves and taste it.” The prince did so, and as the leaf was very bitter, he spit it out with saliva. He then uprooted the young tree with one hand, and said, “If this is bitter like this now, when it becomes a big tree no doubt it will cause unhappiness for many.”

The ascetic said, “Look at this. The neem tree was bitter so you uprooted it. In the same way, your father’s ministers think of you that you are very rough and arrogant, and that if you become the king no doubt you will do many disastrous things. Thinking so, they too will kill you. Therefore, you must decide not to be rough, arrogant, and bad to people, and must live in a righteous and gentle way.” The ascetic advised the prince to be tame in this way.

On hearing this advice, the prince started to lead a life that was not rough and arrogant. After the death of his father, the king, he passed a very righteous and peaceful life and the people of the country prospered. In the end, he passed away leading a righteous life.

“At that time, the wicked prince was the wicked prince of today. The king at that time was the Venerable Ānanda. And the ascetic was I who am today the Buddha who is supreme in the whole world.” Saying this, the Buddha ended this Jātaka story.

The moral: “Wise advice can help one change.”

²¹ 1 Gāvuta = ¼ Yojana, or a little less than 2 miles.

²² Salt and sours are not obtainable in the forest. In ancient times it was believed that these things were necessary to maintain one’s bodily health.

149. The Story of One Leaf (The Story of Shining Forth) [EkapaÏÏa-Jātaka (Virocana-Jātaka)]

Link: https://hhdorjechangbuddhaiiiinfo.com/2026/01/20/149-the-story-of-one-leaf-the-story-of-shining-forth-ekapaiia-jataka-virocana-jataka/

#Buddhisttalesforyoungandold#Buddhiststories #storiesforkids #moralstories #Buddha #Jatakastories #PansiyaPanasJataka #JatakaTalesofSakyamuniBuddha #JatakaTales #SakyamuniBuddha’sPast

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

The Buddha disclosed this Jātaka story while he was in the Jetavanārāma in Sāvatthi. While he was there in Jetavanārāma, there were 500 new monks who had just come into the order. In the middle of a certain night, in all their minds, they all had lustful thoughts. Buddha, at that same time, was examining the minds of his disciples, thinking out of compassion, “What do my disciples have on their minds?” He realized that these 500 new monks all had lustful thoughts, and he thought, “This is as if a group of enemies have entered into a Universal Monarch’s city. While I am living in my temple, these monks have developed lustful thoughts in their minds. I have to remove these lustful thoughts immediately by preaching to them.” Thinking so, he addressed the Venerable Ānanda.

Venerable Ānanda was the Buddha’s chief attendant for 25 years. Among other things, he helped the Buddha by watching over the temple during the night. He was guarding the temple, walking around carrying a lamp in his hand. On hearing the Buddha address him, he came to the Buddha and said, “Yes, sir.” Meanwhile, the Buddha was thinking, “It would be good to summon all those monks who were experiencing confusion, and it would be good to preach to them to eliminate their unwholesome thoughts. But if I preach to them, they will know that the Buddha realized that they had bad thoughts on their minds, and they will be agitated on account of that. They will not be able to listen to the Dhamma. When the mind is agitated, it cannot realize the Dhamma. My preaching will not help them realize a higher state. Therefore, I will preach to all the monks at the same time.” He then asked the Venerable Ānanda to summon all the monks.

Hearing the Buddha’s words, the Venerable Ānanda took the keys for the doors of all the chambers in the monastery, and went from door to door informing everyone of the Buddha’s request. The monks all came to the preaching hall where the Buddha was like a golden rock covered by a golden cloth, and they paid obeisance to him by kneeling down, and then sat around him.

The Buddha was shining with rays of the six colors¹⁸, which became like an aura around him equal in brightness to a thousand suns and a thousand moons. Sitting, with such an appearance, he started to preach. “Oh, monks, there are three types of thoughts that monks must not think—lustful thoughts, angry thoughts, and injurious thoughts. If you think even a little about women, it may cause you to acquire much demerit. The reason is this: If a snake bites you, the wound is very small, but the venom goes through your whole body and kills you. From a small place where lightning has struck, many trees and creepers may be caused to burn and turn into ashes.  Lustful thoughts and women are also like that. By being attached to women, the same thing may happen as what happened to a jackal who became attached to an elephant carcass that he thought could give him unlimited meat.” The monks asked about the story of the jackal. The Buddha then disclosed this story of the past:

At one time when King Brahmadatta was ruling in Benares, the Enlightenment Being was born as a jackal living in the forest.   Once, he saw the dead body of an elephant lying in the forest. He thought, “This is enough food for me to eat for my whole lifetime. I would not have to go anywhere else in search of food. Thinking so, he approached the elephant carcass and took a bite of the trunk. It felt as if he were biting a plough handle. Then he bit the tusk. It felt as if it were the hard core of hard wood. Then he bit the stomach. It felt as if it were bamboo matting. Then he bit the anus. It felt like an oil cake. Then he was satisfied, thinking that he had finally found soft meat. He then ate his way into the belly and decided he could live there as if in a den with plenty of meat to eat and blood to drink. When he got sleepy, he would place his head on the lungs as if two pillows and he would lie on the liver as if it were a soft mattress. While he was living like this, he thought, “Why should I ever leave this place?” He decided to live inside the elephant carcass permanently, and he spent days on end in it. After such a situation went on for days on end, there came a severe drought. The elephant’s skin dried and shrunk. The whole carcass of the elephant also dried up and shrunk. The meat became very tough and there was no longer any blood. Inside, the hollow in which he was living became dark as if it were the dark space between worlds.

The jackal became afraid, and started to think about a way to get out. He could not find an exit, and so he ran to and fro, and jumped up and down, until he became exhausted. In the meantime, there was a rainfall. The elephant carcass became wet and absorbed water, and light came through the hole through which he had originally entered like a star. The jackal backed up as far as the head of the elephant and darted toward the hole with all his strength as fast as he could. When he jumped like that, all the fur from his body stuck inside the hole in the elephant and his body became smooth like the skin of a Palmyra palm. Seeing his body like this, be became fearful and thought, “Due to my strong craving, I have become like this. I will never again be greedy or eat meat from an elephant carcass.”

Saying this, the Buddha preached the four noble truths.

He finalized this story, emphasizing them.

After the disclosure of this Jātaka story, the 500 monks, ending their old defilements, became Arahant-s. Other monks attained to the mental status of those who have entered the stream entrance state of mind [sotāpanna-s], of those who have attained the once-returner state of mind¹⁹ [sakadāgāmin-s], and of those who have attained the non- returner state of mind²⁰ [anāgāmin-s], and this Dhamma sermon further became very helpful to many others.

The Buddha added, “I was born as the jackal at that time.”

The moral: “Uncontrolled greed leads to difficulty.”

¹⁸ The six colors are blue, yellow, red, white, amber, and all the colors mixed.

¹⁹ That is, of those who will not be reborn on earth more than once.

²⁰ That is, of those who do not return, those who are not reborn.

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

Link: https://hhdorjechangbuddhaiiiinfo.com/2026/01/13/148-the-story-of-a-jackal-sigala-jataka/

#Buddhisttalesforyoungandold #Buddhiststories #storiesforkids #moralstories #Buddha #Jatakastories #PansiyaPanasJataka #JatakaTalesofSakyamuniBuddha #JatakaTales #SakyamuniBuddha’sPast

147. The Story of Safflower [Puppharatta-Jātaka]

At one time the Buddha was living in Jetavanārāma in Sāvatthi. He disclosed this Jātaka story on seeing a monk disturbed by infatuation with his former wife. The Buddha asked him, “Why, monk, have you become so disturbed with infatuation?” He said, “Your lordship, my former wife is very clever in cooking the daintiest foods, and in other womanly household arts.” The Buddha said, “Oh monk, because of her you were impaled in the past, and suffered rebirth in hell.” On hearing these words, the other monks requested the Buddha to disclose the story of the past.

This is how the Buddha stated the story:

At one time, King Brahmadatta was ruling the kingdom of Benares. At this time, the Enlightenment Being was born as an aerial deity. Once, when people were celebrating the summer Kattikā festival, a certain poor man in the city had only one cloth to wear for both him and his wife for the festival. Just before the festival, he tore the cloth into two pieces, washed and dried them, and folded them over and over a hundred times until they were small. On the first festival day, he took them out, unfolded them, and gave one of the pieces of cloth to his wife to wear. She said, “I would like to have a cloth to wear that is colored with safflower.

While wearing such a safflower colored cloth, I want to go into the street with you and kiss you.” The husband said, “What are you saying? I am a poor man. I do not have safflower colored cloth. Here is the white cloth that I kept clean after washing it. Wear this cloth as your skirt, and let us go and play in the street.” Then his wife said, “No. I do not want to go and play without wearing a safflower colored cloth. If you want to play in the street with a woman wearing a white cloth, then take your cloth to another woman, and play with her.”

On hearing this, he pleaded with her again and again. His wife said, “If a man has a will, what can he not do. Why cannot you go to the king’s flower garden and bring some flowers from his garden?” The husband said, “Oh, what are you saying? I not only cannot bring flowers from the king’s garden. I cannot even see it.” The wife said, “Why cannot you steal some flowers during the night?” Then, on account of his wife’s pleading, the husband could not say “no” to her. Finally, he agreed to go and steal the flowers. He went out from the city to the king’s flower garden, and jumped up on the fence surrounding it. The security guards heard the noise from this, and went to where he was. They seized the husband, handcuffed him, and the next morning they took him to the king. The king sentenced him to death saying, “Why do you show him to me? Take him, go to the execution ground, and impale him.” The guards took him to the execution ground while the execution drums were being beaten, and impaled him alive on a stake. He suffered the pains of the impaling, and while he was still living, crows came and pecked out his eyes.  Even though the pain was very severe, he could not stop thinking about his wife. He thought, “All my good wife wanted to do was to go to the festival and enjoy herself while wearing a safflower colored cloth.” While he was thinking such thoughts, he died and was reborn in the hell where there is burning fire.

The husband and wife at that time are today this monk and his former wife. The aerial deity who saw this happen as it was is today the Buddha who preaches to you now.

The moral: “Unending craving causes much suffering.”

147. The Story of Safflower [Puppharatta-Jātaka]

#Buddhisttalesforyoungandold #Buddhiststories #storiesforkids #moralstories #Buddha #Jatakastories #PansiyaPanasJataka #JatakaTalesofSakyamuniBuddha #JatakaTales #SakyamuniBuddha’sPast

Link: https://hhdorjechangbuddhaiiiinfo.com/2026/01/06/147-the-story-of-safflower-puppharatta-jataka/

146. The Story of a Crow [Kāka-Jātaka]

At one time Buddha was living in the Jeta Grove monastery. There was a group of aged gentlemen landowners, and jointly they did meritorious deeds. One day, they got together and while they were chatting, they thought that as they were in old age, it would be good to become ascetics, and by doing so they would be able to obtain Arahant-ship [sainthood]. They approached the Buddha and said, “Venerable sir, kindly ordain us. If you can do so, it would be a great thing for us.” Buddha agreed to their request, and they were ordained.

After their ordination, they made little huts for themselves beside Jetavanārāma. And as they had been ordained in old age, they could not study anything. Even by practicing meditation in accord with the Buddha’s guidance, they failed to achieve any results.¹⁷ When they went on alms rounds, they usually went to their own former family members’ homes.  They would take what they obtained to the home of the former wife of the chief monk of the group and eat it there, obtaining from her special sauces cooked by her for their food. In the course of time, this chief monk of the group’s wife fell into sickness and died. On hearing this news those old monks, lamenting that the old woman who was skilled in cooking had now passed away, started to cry together.

While they were crying together, other monks heard their cries and came to see what the trouble was. They asked the old monks why they were crying. The old monks said, “We cry because our benefactress who was clever in cooking sauces for us has died. It is because of this that we cry.” After hearing this, the monks who came in the evening to the preaching hall were talking about this when the Buddha entered. Buddha asked, “Monks, what were you talking about before my coming?” The monks mentioned the news about the passing away of the wife of the chief monk of the group of old monks, and how the old monks were crying.

Then the Buddha said, “Oh monks, this old chief monk and the group of old monks cry not only in this life. They did so even in the past when the old chief monk’s wife died, and they were trying to bail out the water from the ocean and they failed to do it. At that time, because of the help of a good advisor they did not die on account of their futile exertions.” The monks requested the Buddha to disclose the past story.

The Buddha said:

At one time, King Brahmadatta was ruling in Benares. At that time, the Enlightenment Being was born as a divine being of the ocean.

Once, some people got together and made offerings to deities and Nāga-s who lived in the ocean with rice, meat, and alcoholic beverages in accord with vows they had made. They placed all these food items on the sand of the beach. When they left, a certain crow and his hen, wandering on the sand, saw these food items there and ate and drank as much as they could. They became intoxicated thereby from both the alcoholic beverages and the rich food. Because they were intoxicated, they decided, using poor judgment, to take a bath in the ocean. While they were bathing in the ocean, a big wave came. It swept the hen-crow out to sea, and a big fish came and swallowed her. On seeing this, the male crow thought that a wave had swallowed his hen. He cried with sorrow.

When they heard his cries, other crows came around and they asked, “Why are you crying?” He told them, “Your friend, the hen-crow who was my wife, was taken by the ocean.” The other crows also became very upset. They said, “We have such a large number of crows here. Why should we not just bail the water out of the ocean?”

They then all got together and started to bail out the water of the ocean with their beaks. In this way, they tried for a long time to empty the ocean until they became tired. They then stopped to rest on the sand of the beach, with their beaks being sore from the salty water, their throats being dry, their cheeks being irritated, and their eyes being red from having gotten salt water in them. Very tired from their task, they began to cry, “We have lost our beautiful hen-crow who had a beautiful beak like a parrot, a beautiful color like a peacock, and a sweet voice like a cuckoo. Our beautiful hen- crow was stolen by the thief-like ocean.” Saying so, they cried in one voice.

The Enlightenment Being, who had been born as a divine being of the ocean, on hearing the noise of the crows, assumed a dreadful disguise as a bird of prey. Coming there, he made them go away. In this way, he stopped them from being sad any longer.

The Buddha said:

The hen-crow at that time was the dainty woman who today cooked sauces for the old monks. The male crow was the chief monk of the group of old monks. The other crows were the group of old monks. And the divine being of the ocean of whom they were made to be afraid, thereby causing them to fly away, was I who am today the Buddha.

Thus he finished the story.

The moral: “Grieving for the lost is vain.” Also,

“Think before acting out of grief.”

¹⁷ When a person gets old, his mind is not as sharp as when he was young, his memory does not work as well, and he cannot concentrate the same as a young person. Because of this, it is difficult for him to study or meditate. Ideally, a person should be ordained when he is young.

146. The Story of a Crow [Kāka-Jātaka]

Link: https://hhdorjechangbuddhaiiiinfo.com/2025/11/13/146-the-story-of-a-crow-kaka-jataka/

#Buddhisttalesforyoungandold #Buddhiststories #storiesforkids #moralstories #Buddha #Jatakastories #PansiyaPanasJataka #JatakaTalesofSakyamuniBuddha #JatakaTales #SakyamuniBuddha’sPast

145. The Story of Rādha [Rādha-Jātaka]

At one time when Buddha was living in the Jeta grove, one monk who was infatuated with his former wife after his ordination was ready to disrobe. Buddha heard this. The reason for disclosing the following Jātaka story comes in the Indriya-Jātaka [No. 423] further on.

[At one time, a householder when he was advanced in years wanted to give up his lay life and be ordained. When he was ordained, he felt that it was difficult to lead a life without a woman as in monkhood. According to his foolish thought of becoming a layman again, the chief ascetic said, “If you disrobe, you will have to suffer a lot. …” Finally, the monk who wanted to disrobe realized, as his teacher had explained, “If I go and live a lay life again, I will have to kill animals for meat. Then I will be reborn in hell and I will have to suffer. In my lay life, my present physical strength will not last forever. I will suffer when I am physically weak.” Thinking such thoughts, he gave up his thought to be a layman and he began to meditate as before. He knelt down, begging pardon in the presence of his teacher, and he started to meditate. … Finally, he meditated and learned to control his lust, he gained mental absorption, and he was reborn in the Brahma world.]

To the monk who had become infatuated with his former wife and was trying to disrobe, the Buddha said, “Not only in this life are you trying to do this, but such was so also in a former life. Even in the past, you could not control your unwholesome lust. Therefore it is not surprising that you have such urges.” Saying so, the other monks requested the Buddha to disclose the past story, and Buddha related this story:

At one time, a king called Brahmadatta was ruling in Benares. At that time, the Enlightenment Being was born as a parrot.

A Brahmin captured the Enlightenment Being, who was a parrot, and his younger brother also. He brought them to his home. The Enlightenment Being was named Poææhapāda, and his brother was named Rādha. He brought both up as his own children.

Once, the Brahmin wanted to leave his home on business. He summoned his two parrot children and said to them, “If your Brahmin mother does something wrong when I am gone, you must admonish her not to do so. If you do not think you can stop her misconduct, say nothing.” Saying so, he left.

From that time, there were limitless people coming in and going out of the house. On seeing this, the Enlightenment Being’s brother said to the Enlightenment Being, “When the Brahmin left, he asked us to admonish his wife if there was any wrongdoing. Shall I admonish her?” The Enlightenment Being parrot said, “My brother, you are not yet matured. You say this because you do not understand, and have no experience with women. During the ten hours of the morning, the number of men who come here are not countable. In the ten hours of the afternoon, it is also difficult to say the number of those people who come. Therefore, in such a situation, what advice can we give?” He asked his younger brother, therefore, not to speak. After a few days, the Brahmin returned.

When the Brahmin returned, he asked the Enlightenment Being, “How was my wife’s behavior?” The Enlightenment Being said, “There was a myriad of bad behavior. She behaved in this way because she does not love you. Therefore, it is not good to keep her in your home.” He further said, “From this point on, it is not good for myself and my brother to stay here.” And he thought that he should leave. He summoned his younger brother, went to the Brahmin, knelt down in homage, and begged pardon for his faults. They then returned to the forest.

The Buddha finalized this story, saying, “The Brahmin woman at that time was the former wife of the monk today. The Brahmin was this monk. The parrot Rādha, the younger brother, was the Venerable Ānanda. And the parrot Poææhapāda was I who am today the Buddha.”

The moral: “Misplaced lust will not bring you to the correct path.”

145. The Story of Rādha [Rādha-Jātaka]

Link: https://hhdorjechangbuddhaiiiinfo.com/2025/11/13/145-the-story-of-radha-radha-jataka/

#Buddhisttalesforyoungandold #Buddhiststories #storiesforkids #moralstories #Buddha #Jatakastories #PansiyaPanasJataka #JatakaTalesofSakyamuniBuddha #JatakaTales #SakyamuniBuddha’sPast

140. The Story of One Who Had Lost in Two Ways [Ubhatobhaææha-Jātaka]

The enlightened one told this story while he was at Jetavanārāma monastery on a certain occasion when he was assisting his own relatives. Its present story appears in the Bhaddasāla-Jātaka in the tenth book [No. 465].

[While Buddha was living in Jetavanārāma, King Kosala wanted to give alms to the monks. But on that day there was not even a single monk in the monastery. The king thought, “I always give alms. But the monks do not have full confidence in me because I am not a relative of the Buddha. If I became a relative, the monks will be more confident in and friendly to me.” Therefore, he sent a message to the Sākya king requesting him to give a Sākya virgin princess as his queen. So the Sākya king, who was afraid of the king of Kosala because he was mighty and powerful, thought, “It is good to give a girl to him. But we ought not give him a real Sākya girl. We will give him a half Sākya girl.” Thinking so, he gave him the princess Vāsabhakhattiyā, who was the daughter of the Sākya Mahānāma by a slave girl. After she had given birth to a son for him, named Vi¯ū¯abha, King Kosala eventually came to understand what had happened. At that time, he cut off Vāsabhakhattiyā’s and Vi¯ū¯abha’s royal allowances, and treated them as he would slaves.

Buddha interceded, and convinced him to reinstate Vāsabhakhattiyā and Vi¯ū¯abha to their noble status.

Eventually Vi¯ū¯abha, after he had become king of Kosala, as he harbored resentment toward the Sākyas for their insult to his father, attacked the Sākyas at Kapilavatthu. On the way, three times, Buddha met him and persuaded him not to attack. On the fourth time, the Buddha understood that because of the Sākyas’ previous Kamma, he could not prevent the attack. At that time, Vi¯ū¯abha destroyed all the Sākya families.

This news spread even among the monks. They were discussing this news one day in the Dhamma Hall, saying that the Buddha had not been able to prevent the killing of the Sākyas because of their Kamma, even though he had tried to intercede three times. Three times, however, the Buddha turned back Vi¯ū¯abha. Fully three times the Buddha tried to save his relatives from danger. Buddha is a helpful friend to his kin.]

Buddha entered and asked, “Oh monks, what were you talking about before I entered?” They said, “Bhante, we were talking about the helpfulness of yourself to your relatives, and the destruction of your relatives.” Then the Buddha said, “Monks, not only this time, but even in my previous lives I have been helpful to my relatives, protecting them from danger.” The monks said, “Please, bhante, tell us the past story, as we understand the present.” The enlightened one said:

At one time, King Brahmadatta was ruling in Benares. On a certain occasion, his Brahmin advisor was wandering in the street.  At that time, there were two crows seated on an archway.   One crow said to the other, “I would like to make droppings on this Brahmin.”  The other crow said, “This Brahmin is a very powerful person. By doing so, you will make him angry.  And then he will be angry with us. If he gets angry, there is no doubt that he can kill us all. Therefore, do not do it.”   The first crow said, “Right now I cannot stop from putting a dropping on him. Therefore, I will do it.  Whatever may happen, so be it.” The second crow said, “Do whatever you like.  The results will come upon you. I am not responsible.” Saying this, he went away. When the Brahmin came to the archway, the crow put droppings on him. The Brahmin, seeing this, got very angry and kept this in his mind.

At that time, a certain slave woman placed a little bit of paddy grain on the ground in the sunshine. A shaggy goat came there and started to eat the grain. The woman, carrying a club, hit him and chased him away. Several times, the goat came back. Each time, she hit him and chased him away. The last time, the old woman thought, “If this goat comes again to eat my grain, I may lose my profits.” So, taking a wooden branding iron in her hand and lying in hiding in a nearby spot, when the goat came again, she hit him on his matted hair which caught fire.

The burning goat, thinking of putting out the fire, ran to the king’s elephant stables where he saw a pile of hay. He rolled in the hay in order to try to put out the fire. Then the hay started to burn. And the whole elephant stable caught fire and began to burn. The elephants that were tethered there also got burnt and wounded. The king’s elephant physicians said that it would be difficult to treat the burnt and wounded elephants. The king summoned his Brahmin advisor, and asked him how to best treat the elephants.

Hearing this, the Brahmin advisor said, “Your lordship, if you can get some crow fat, then I know how to treat them.” The king, hearing these words, ordered his subjects to kill crows. In accord with this order, all citizens who lived in the city started to kill thousands of crows and made a pile of crow carcasses.

At this time, the Enlightenment Being was a king of a large group of 84,000 crows that lived near a certain cemetery. This king of crows heard the news. He thought, “It is my responsibility to save the lives of my relatives. No one else can do it.” So he, thinking of his fulfillment of the ten-fold perfections and the spreading of his loving kindness upon all living beings, said to his subjects, “I have heard that our relatives are being killed by the king. I am going to protect my relatives. Everyone will have to come with me. If this determination of mine to save their lives is in accord with truth [sacca], no harm will come to anyone.” With such a determination, he quickly went to the king’s palace. Through an open window he entered the king’s palace and perched atop the king’s throne.

Then one of the king’s security men saw the crow and came near to seize him. At this point, the crow said to the king, “Your lordship, is it good to do something just on the basis of a man’s word without looking into the truth of it? It is a very bad thing to kill all crows. It is not good for a king to act from anger. A king must examine things before he does them.” Hearing these words pleased the king. He entertained the Enlightenment Being by applying to his feathers medicinal oil prepared with hundreds of medicines, which made the Enlightenment Being very strong, and by feeding the Enlightenment Being food prepared for himself. The king laid out for the Enlightenment Being a golden cloth on which to sit, and asked him, “Why is it that crows have no fat? [I have had thousands of crows killed, and yet have obtained no crow fat.]”

The Enlightenment Being started to talk, his voice resonating through the whole palace building. “Your lordship, when a crow sees a human being, even a little child, he is afraid of him and flies away since he is always threatened by humans. Because of this, there is no fat in the body of a crow since he is living with fear, be it in the present, the past, or the future. Your Brahmin advisor wanted to destroy the entire community of crows as he was angry with us.” And he explained the story to the king. The king became very sad, and was pacified toward all crows. The king was very pleased with the Enlightenment Being, and said, “I would like to offer you my kingdom as a gift. Please accept it.” The Enlightenment Being said, “Your lordship, what is the advantage to me in having a kingdom? Be kind enough just to let my relatives live freely in your kingdom.”

The king, who was pleased with the words of the crow, gave freedom in his kingdom to all living beings. He especially advised his subjects not to kill any crows. And further, every day he laid out for the crows six bushels of variously delicately flavored cooked rice. In this way, the king did very many meritorious deeds. He eventually died according to the results of his previous deeds.

“The king of Benares at that time was the Venerable Ānanda. And I who am now the Buddha was the king of crows.” Saying so, the Buddha disclosed the Jātaka story of crows.

The moral: “Anger and vengeance cause fear and unhappiness. Loving kindness and compassion bring fearlessness and peace.”

140. The Story of One Who Had Lost in Two Ways [Ubhatobhaææha-Jātaka]

Link: https://hhdorjechangbuddhaiiiinfo.com/2025/11/13/140-the-story-of-one-who-had-lost-in-two-ways-ubhatobhaaeaeha-jataka/

#Buddhisttalesforyoungandold #Buddhiststories #storiesforkids #moralstories #Buddha #Jatakastories #PansiyaPanasJataka #JatakaTalesofSakyamuniBuddha #JatakaTales #SakyamuniBuddha’sPast

139. The Story of One Who Had Lost in Two Ways [Ubhatobhaææha-Jātaka]

At one time the fully enlightened one was living in the Bamboo Grove. The monks who had assembled in the preaching hall in the evening at one point brought up a discussion about Devadatta. As he was not fulfilling the duties of a monk expounded by the Buddha, he was not truly a monk. He was wandering here and there in the guise of a monk. Also he was not a layman, and he had lost all the gainfulness of a layman. Therefore, he was like firewood that had been burned from both ends and had been smeared with bodily impurities in the middle. He had lost out from both sides, no longer gaining the achievements of a monk nor the perquisites of a member of a royal household.

At this time, the Buddha entered the preaching hall and asked, “Oh monks, what were you discussing before I came?” The monks told the Buddha about their discussion. The Buddha said, “Oh monks, not only today, but even in the past the Venerable Devadatta had lost in two ways.” The monks requested the Buddha to disclose the story.

“At one time, King Brahmadatta was ruling the city of Benares. At that time, the Enlightenment Being was born as a tree sprite in a forest near a pond by a remote village.

“A certain fisherman came with his son to fish in the village pond. He put his line and hook in the water in an area where there were many fish. The hook went down and got caught on a root. The fisherman tried his best to pull it out, but could not. He thought, ‘No doubt, the bait has been swallowed by a big fish.’ He spoke to his son to send a message to his wife to quarrel with the neighbors. Afterward, he tried to pull up the fishing hook. He then thought, ‘If I try more, I will break the line.’ He took off his clothes and placed them on the bank of the pond. With the intention of catching the fish, he jumped into the water. In the water there were some thistle-like roots that pricked out his eyes, and he became blind. And a robber who was passing by stole his clothes that were on the bank of the pond.

“On hearing her son’s words, the mother thought of a way of making a quarrel with the neighbors. She devised a stratagem. She put a palm leaf plug in the pierced hole of one of her ears, applied char from a pot to one of her eyes, and held in her arm a little puppy as if it were a child, pretending that she was mad. The village women said, ‘You have gone mad.’ She said, ‘Not me. You have gone mad.’ In this way, she created a quarrel. This quarrel was reported to the village headman. He, on listening to them, blamed her. He fined her, and had her beaten.

“The fisherman came out from the water and searched for his clothes, covering his bleeding eyes with his hand. But he could not find them.

“The Enlightenment Being, who was a tree sprite, was nearby.  He said on seeing this, ‘Hey, foolish fisherman!

Being a foolish man and jumping into shallow water, you wounded your eyes. And you lost your clothes that had been placed on the bank. Your wife, who was at home, was beaten and lost wealth in a fine. Because of your foolishness, you lost out in two ways.’ Saying so, the tree sprite disappeared.

“The fisherman who lost his eyes at that time was Devadatta. And the tree sprite was I who am the Buddha.” Saying so, the Buddha disclosed the story of one who had lost in two ways.

The moral: “A greedy person gains nothing.”

139. The Story of One Who Had Lost in Two Ways [Ubhatobhaææha-Jātaka]

Link: https://hhdorjechangbuddhaiiiinfo.com/2025/11/12/139-the-story-of-one-who-had-lost-in-two-ways-ubhatobhaaeaeha-jataka/

#Buddhisttalesforyoungandold #Buddhiststories #storiesforkids #moralstories #Buddha #Jatakastories #PansiyaPanasJataka #JatakaTalesofSakyamuniBuddha #JatakaTales #SakyamuniBuddha’sPas