Jatakamala Book

Jatakamala: Discourse on the
Previous lives of the Buddha

Author: Cakka-Kwan
Acknowledgement
This work contains three volumes of Jataka stories, volume I (1-120), volume II (121-263) and
volume III (264-395). The purpose of this work is to offer the English version of Jataka with
simple English vocabulary, and also all the brutal details in the stories are given up to build up
the picture of Jataka with the compassion and love of the Bodhisattvas’ life under the practice
of enlightenment. Hence, some stories, in this work, might change their contents, but the moral
meanings of them are still preserved well. Also, this work comprises 395 stories and this is not
the full discourse of Jataka tales. The rest of Jataka tales will be added later, after we come to
work with them.
We spent almost six months in the leisure time working on this, and as we are not the natives
of English language, so in some parts, there is not avoid of the grammatical mistakes and the
not appreciate use of words. Hope that we will get the feedback for the development of this
work, please send your comments and suggestions to us, via email address:
lovingkindness@hotmail.com.
With sincere thanks to all the readers of this work, fulfilling with compassion, calmness and
wisdom.
Sincerely
Cakka-Kwan
Chiang Mai
6th February 2022
Contents
Chapter I: Volume I: Story 1-120……………………………………………………….1
Chapter II: Volume II, Story 121-263…………………………………………………255
Chapter III: Volume III, Story 264-395……………………………………………….543

Chapter One
Jataka Volume I: Story 1-120
Jataka 1: Story of Apannaka
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the story was based on the refuge of 500 close
friends of Anathapindika to the Buddha, his teachings and the Sangha.
One day, Anathapindika took 500 of his close friends who were the believers of other schools
of belief. After the first visit, due to the great teaching and elegant voice of the Buddha, these
500 businessmen decided to take refuge in the Buddha, Dharmas of the Buddha and the Sangha.
However, when the Buddha went to another province to teach dharmas for seven months, these
500 businessmen were convinced by their former masters, and they decided to return to their
former beliefs.
When the Buddh returned Jetavana, Anathapindika again took them to meet the Buddha, and
the Buddha talked about the virtue of Buddha, Dharmas and Sangha to them. And Buddha said
to them:” Dear great men! If on this earth, there are the ways which can assist people to get
rid of desire, anger and ignorance, these are the contemplation on the purification of Buddha
and Sangha, and the contemplation on the true Dharmas. “
The Buddha stopped for a while and continued:” Dear great men! In the past, those who
refused into the wrong dharmas and wrong masters, they were killed and disturbed by the non-
humans in the deserts or in the deep forest, and also, they had no way to reside in the peace
and calmness. Those who take refuge into the Buddha, Sangha and the true Dharmas are often
residing in the peace, health and calmness.”
At that time, Anathapindika stood up, sitting on his knees, saying to the Buddha:” Dear great
master. I realized that those who have believed in the wrong teachings, wrong masters often
encounter dangers and difficulties. We have been in the extreme ignorance to recognize the
truth, so please kindly assist us to comprehend the virtue of Buddha, Dharmas and Sangha.``
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The Buddha looked at Anathapindika and 500 businessmen, and compassionately said:” Dear
great men! With the purpose to get rid of the Samsara, I have cultivated ten paramitas for
countless reincarnations. Be careful to listen to my true Dharmas, as you are throwing the
bones of the lions into the golden hub.”
Then the Buddha told the story:
In times gone by, when king Varanasia was ruling the town of Varanasi, Bodhisattva was born
in a business family, and when he grew up, he became a skillful businessman. Hence, he soon
became the leader of a business association in the town. He often went around to do businesses
and he often carried 500 vehicles of products to sell around the nation.
One day, when he was about to take his delegation to another town for selling products, he
heard that another business delegation also was about to leave on the same path. To worry,
with 1000 vehicles to go on the same path, it was difficult to find waters, foods and grasses for
the horses and cows, so he sent the message to the young businessman who was the leader of
the other business delegation for the negotiation on which business delegation would go first.
At the time of negotiation, the young businessman thought:” If my delegation goes first, we
shall have purified water from the ponds, curry leaves and other vegetables to cook, and grass
for the horses and cows. So, it is better to go first.”
Bodhisattva thought in a contrary way:” If my delegation goes after him, the path will be level.
At the places without water, they shall dig the wells for water, so my people won’t have to do
so. Not only that, my people will have the new-born leaves of curry and new-born vegetables
to cook. My horses and cows also tend to have new-born grasses to eat.”
Then, the delegation of the young businessman left first. At that time, there were five kinds of
deserts, deserts of robbers, desert of wild animals, desert without water, desert with Yakshas
and desert without food. The young businessman decided to get through the deserts which were
the places of the Yakshas. So, he called people to prepare lots of water, food and then got to
the deserts.
Seeing this delegation, the Yakshas planned to eat them by deceiving them to throw all their
waters. Without water, they gradually died, and they could eat them easily. Then, a group of
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12 Yakshas used their powers to appear in the shapes of humans, sitting on the horses-carrying
vehicles. And they tried to make the wheels of the vehicle embraced with wet mud. They put
lots of lotus flowers on their vehicle, while they pretended to enjoy eating the body of the lotus.
Then, they tried to get close to the delegation of the young businessman.
When they got close to the business delegation, they stopped their vehicle to greet the
delegation. The young businessman also stopped their vehicles to greet the Yakshas. Seeing
the wheels of the vehicle of the Yakshas were embraced with wet mud, the young businessman
thought that there would be a place which had a pond of water and lotus flower. To evaluate
his thought, he asked the Yakshas:” Hey friends! I saw your vehicle might just cross a wet
region as the wheels embraced with mud and you all are eating the lotus bodies.”
A Yaksha said:” Yes. Don’t worry! In front of you, there is a large area which has lots of lotus
ponds. We just crossed that region. So, you don’t have to carry the water as it makes your
vehicle move slowly. If I were you, would I throw away all the water?”
The young businessman was ignorant, so he believed in the advice of the Yakshas. He ordered
all his members to throw away the water to make their vehicles move quicker. Then the
Yakshas returned to their place. The delegation continued to move forward, but they did not
see any lotus ponds. At that time, they were regretful and they already threw their water away.
They continued to move forward until the late afternoon, and they stopped to take a rest. Feeling
thirsty, they could not move, but lay down on the sands to sleep. At night times, the Yakshas
came to eat all of them and their animals as well.
One and half month later, Bodhisattva began to lead his delegation to leave Varanasi for
business. They also got through the desert that the young businessman had got through. When
they were about to enter the desert, the Bodhisattva told them:” Please save the water. Without
my permission, nobody can even drink water. Also, please don’t touch anything in the desert,
even the leaves as they may have poisons.”
Seeing them, the Yakshas also appeared in the way that they deceived the delegation of the
young businessman. However, with great wisdom, the Bodhisattva looked at them carefully,
and he knew that they were not humans. However, to save his life as well as his people's lives,
he pretended that he did not know about everything. When the Yakshas advised them to throw
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away water, the Bodhisattva said:” We are businessmen, and we are careful about everything.
Without seeing the water, we cannot throw away the source of our lives.”
The Yakshas could not convince the delegation of the Bodhisattva to throw away the water, so
they were angry to leave. At that time, some businessmen asked the Bodhisattva:” Why don’t
we throw away the water and shall take water in the forest in front of us, as these people just
crossed that forest area.”
The bodhisattva said:” Have you ever heard of the ponds of lotus in this desert? Do you know
why this desert was named the desert without water?”
The Bodhisattva stopped for a while and continued to tell his people:” Those are no humans
but the Yakshas. They deceive us to throw away the water, and without water, we shall be
exhausted. Finally, they will eat us. Be careful with the water.”
Then the delegation of the Bodhisattva continued to move forward until they saw the vehicles
of the young businessman. At that time, the Bodhisattva continued to let his people move
forward until it got dark. They settled for dinner. The Bodhisattva divided some groups of
people preparing the cooking, while some strong people with the sharp swords in hands,
monitoring around. After the dinner, they divided people to monitor during the night time. With
this way, Bodhisattva was successful in leading his delegation to cross the deserts of Yakshas
safely. Finally, they sold the products and got lots of money.
After telling the story, the Buddha said to Anathapindika and his friends:” The true dharmas
assist people to live happily in this life and ascend to heaven in the next life. But these are not
the ultimate goal, but the ultimate goal is to assist beings to achieve enlightenment.”
Then the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths to the businessmen, and during the talk of
the Buddha, 500 businessmen obtained the first entering stream level. Finally, the Buddha
identified that the young businessman was Devadatta, while the wise businessman was him.
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Jataka 2: Story of Vannupatha
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and this story was related to a young monk who lost his
determination in Dharma practice.
This young monk was born in a Bramin family, and he was faithful in the teachings of the
Buddha. Hence, he entered Jetavana to ordain as a novice, and stayed as a novice for 5 years
until he was ordained as a monk. After his monk ordination, he received a meditation method
from the Buddha, and in the rainy retreat, he went to a rural village to make a cottage for the
practice. However, although he was diligent, he could not succeed in the practice. Hence, after
the rainy retreat, he decided to disrobe.
When the monk was brought to meet the Buddha, the Buddha, in his circumstance, said that:”
In the past, due to your diligence, 500 people were saved from the danger in a desert. So, why
do you lose your diligence in this life?”
In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was born in
a business family, and when he grew up, he became the leader of the business association in
the town. He often took a delegation of 500 vehicles to cross the desert to sell products in the
other nations. The desert which his delegation often crossed was extremely hot in the day time,
but cold in the night time, and this desert was 60 miles large. So, those who desired to cross
this desert, often prepared foods and waters to cross in the night time. In the daytime, they often
circled their vehicles and made a giant cover to cover all the vehicles and people. In the
daytime, they preferred to stay under the coverage.
One time, the delegation of the Bodhisattva decided to cross the desert to sell products to other
nations. During the night times, they moved their vehicles forwards, and in the day times, they
stopped to take a rest. Then, when they crossed 50 miles, the leader of the delegation decided
to throw all the water to make the vehicles lighter. But, in the daytime, when they were asleep,
the horses and the cows moved their vehicles back. But, the drivers did not notice, so they just
sat on the vehicles to move toward. At that time, the leader of the delegation was asleep, so he
did not notice this strange event. In the late night, he woke up, and seeing the stars, he forced
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the delegation to return as they were going in the wrong direction. At that time. All the people
were scared as they had already returned in the middle of the desert, and they did not have any
water. When all the people were worrying, the Bodhisattva went around to monitor all the
stones in the region, and finally, he found a stone, which might have water under it. So, the
Bodhisattva returned to talk to his servant:” Dear my great servant! The life of 500 men, now,
depends on your diligence, please get to the other stone, and dig the stone up. There may be
water under that stone.”
The servant diligently took a giant hammer, walking toward the stone, and while others were
crying and worrying, he was diligent to dig the stone up. When the stone was dug out, the water
sparked up in the sky. All the men were extremely pleasant as they were saved. They used
water to cook, to drink and to even take showers. And then, in the late afternoon, they began
their journey to cross the desert. Finally, they were out of the desert to sell their products in the
wealthy town and got a lot of money to return to Varanasi.
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths, and during the talk of the
Buddha, this young monk obtained first entering stream level. Finally, the Buddha identified
that the servant of the business leader was the young monk who lost determination in practice,
while the businessmen were the monks of the Buddha. The business leader was him.
Jataka 3: Story Serivanija
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the story was based on the event in the life of a
monk who lost his determination in the dharma-practice.
When this monk was brought to meet the Buddha, the Buddha compassionately advised him:''
You should be diligent to carry out the practice, as giving up your diligence in practice, you
will soon regret. It is similar to the sorrowfulness of the businessman, namely Seriva, when he
lost the golden bowl with the value of 100 thousand golden coins.”
In times gone by, Bodhisattva was born in the nation of Seri, and he was named Serivan. When
he grew up, he became the businessman who sold the soiled-making bowls, glasses, vessels
and cups to people around the nation. One day, he and one of his close friends, who was also a
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businessman of the bowls, glasses, cups and vessels. They crossed the river of Talavaha to get
to the town of Andhapura to sell their products. At the town of Andhapura, they walked in two
distinct directions to sell their products. When the friend of Serivan went around to sell his
products, he occasionally crossed the house of a millionaire who lost all the fortune by the
accident. Luckily, the daughter and the mother of the millionaire escaped from the incident.
After the incident, they were extremely poor, and their house had nothing but an old bowl
which the millionaire used to use to eat when he was alive.
When the friend of Serivan got to the house of the millionaire house, the daughter of the
millionaire used the bowl of her father's to exchange some products. The friend of Serivan held
the bowl, and he recognized the bowl was made of real gold. However, at that time, his desire
arose, so he planned to steal the bowl without giving anything to the daughter of the millionaire.
As planned, he threw the bowl on the ground:” This bowl is worth nothing.”
Then the friend of Serivan thought that in the late afternoon, he would return to take the bowl
easily as the daughter of the millionaire would not take the bowl after hearing the bowl was
valuable for nothing. When the friend of Serivan just left, somehow, Serivan arrived at the
house of the millionaire, and again the daughter of the millionaire gave the bowl to Serivan and
asked for some exchanged products. Serivan monitored the bowl carefully, and said to the girl:”
This bowl is made of gold, and it has a value of 10000 golden coins. I have no valuable products
to exchange this bowl for.”
The daughter of the millionaire said:” You are honest, and different from the seller who just
arrived here. Hence, just give anything that you can give us, and take this golden bowl.”
Serivan gave the girl 800 golden coins and all his products which were worth 500 golden coins
to the girl, and then he took his measurement and 8 golden coins to return the river. Then, he
gave the boat sailor a golden coin to have the boat-sailor send him to the other bank of the river.
When Serivan just arrived at the river bank, the friend of Serivan returned to the house of the
millionaire, and asked for the golden bowl. The daughter of the millionaire said:” a seller got
here and we gave the bowl to him. Btw, he gave us 1000 golden coins for the golden bowl
which you said was invaluable.”
Friend of Serivan regretted his action, and his desire arose strongly:” He shouted loudly. I lost
10 000 golden coins. Serivan is a stealer.”
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Then the friend of Serivan was crazy about the loss of the golden bowl, so he took off his upper
clothes to throw on the ground. He threw all his products on the ground and ran rapidly to the
river shore. Seeing Serivan was on the boat which just departed from the shore, he tried to call
the boat-sailor to give him a ride to cross the river. However, Serivan did not let the boat-sailor
return:” Please keep going forward as I have urgent work.”
Seeing Serivan gradually going far away, the greedy businessman was extremely distressed
due to his attachment to the golden bowl, so his heart became very hot. And, he got heart-attack
and soon died.
Buddha, the monk who lost determination in practice achieved Arhathood. Finally, the Buddha
identified that the greedy businessman was Devadatta, while the honest businessman was him.
Jataka 4: Story of Cullakasetthi
The Buddha told this story at Mango-Grove of Javika, and the story was based on the
enlightenment of venerable Cullapanthaka.
At the Buddha's time, the daughter of a millionaire, who was faithful to the teachings of the
Buddha, fell in love with one of her servants. As her lover was from the Cundala class, they
decided to leave her house to be able to live together in a hostel. Soon, the daughter of the
millionaire got pregnant, and she talked to her husband to return to her house:” My honey! I
am getting to give birth to a baby, but the living conditions here are terrible. Hence, it is better
to return to my parents' house to get support.”
The husband agreed but he hesitated to return as he was from the lowest class in the society,
and the parents of his wife would not forgive his fault for attracting their daughter. Time
gradually floated, and the wife could not wait for her husband, so he decided to return to her
house herself when her husband got out for work. She just asked the neighbors to inform her
husband that she would return to her house.
When the husband arrived at the hostel after work, he did not see his wife, so he rushed to find
his house. He tried to run in the night time, and finally, he caught up with his wife. However,
it was too late for them to get to the house of his wife, as his wife already gave birth to a son
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on the road. Finally, they decided to return to their hostel, and named the new-born son as
Mahapanthaka, meaning the child of the street.
Soon later, his wife again got pregnant, and this time, the wife also gave birth to another son
on the way they were getting to her family. As this child also was born on the street, he was
named as Cullapanthaka. Unlike Mahapanthaka, a clever child, Cullapanthaka was a dull child.
After a few years, as having two sons, the salary from the work of the husband could not bear
for the paying at the hostel, so they, at the end, had to return to her house to get support.
As a faithful practice of the Buddha, her parents forgave their faults, but they did not allow
them to live in their house. The millionaire gave his daughter and the husband of his daughter
a big amount of money, and expelled them away, but kept their children to take care of them.
Time flies, Mahapanathaka and Cullapanthaka had lived together with their grandparents for
more than ten years. During this time, they were brought to meet the Buddha and to listen to
the Dharma of the Buddha. When Mahapanthaka turned 20 years old, he asked his grandparents
to be a monk of the Buddha:” Dear grands! I wish to ordain as a monk for the ascetic life in
the Sangha of the Buddha, so please let me carry out this dream.``
The grands of Mahapanthaka:” Dear my beloved nephew! To be honest! It is a great honor to

us.”
Then Mahapanthaka was brought to meet the Buddha, and the ordination ceremony for
Mahapanthaka to be a monk was soon organized. After the ordination, Mahapanthaka received
the practicing objects from the Buddha, and with hard practice, he, soon, obtained Arhathood.
After residing in the peaceful and calm state of the enlightenment, Mahapanthaka thought of
his brother, so he paid a visit to his grandparents to ask for his brother Cullapanthaka to ordain
as monk. He asked his grands:” Dear grands! Please let Cullapanthaka to be a monk, as it is
the best way for him to develop and reside in the peace and calmness.``
His parents:” It is great venerable! It is our pleasure.”
Then Mahapanthaka took his brother to Jetavana, and the Buddha, himself, made the ordination
ceremony for Cullapanthaka. After the ordination, Cullapanthaka spent four months learning a
verse, but he could not remember the verse properly. One day, Mahapanthaka paid a visit to
his brother, and said to his brother:” Dear brother! You are not capable of staying in this
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Sangha, as you cannot even memorize a verse. Hence, please return to live as a layman. Our
grandparents are getting weak, so you will be helpful to them.”
Hearing the utterance from Mahapanthaka, Cullapnathaka was extremely sad, but he did not
want to disrobe as he already loved the monk life. A few days later, a millionaire, namely
Jivaka, paid a visit to Jetavana, and asked Mahapanthaka:” Dear venerable. How many monks
are living in this temple? Could you send them to my garden for the offerings together with the
great master, the Buddha?”
Mahapanthaka slowly said:” There are 500 monks, but I will send 499 monks to your garden,
together with the Buddha, as the venerable Cullapanthaka is not capable of this offering.”
Cullapanthaka, at that time, stood in the back of the cottage of his brother, so went to a corner
of Jetavana to cry and decided to disrobe. At that time, the Buddha, with supreme power, knew
the issue of Cullapanathaka. So, the Buddha walked to Cullapanthaka and asked him:” My
beloved student! You look nervous and sorrowful. What have happened to you?”
Cullapanthaka honestly replied:” Dear great master! Venerable Mahapanthaka said that I am
not capable to live in this monk life, so I am sad that I am about to disrobe.``
The Buddha looked at Cullapanthaka with compassion:” Be calm my student! Follow me, and
don’t need to disrobe at all.``
So, the Buddha took Cullapanthaka to stay in front of his room, and then the Buddha gave
Cullapanthaka a tiny piece of white cloth and asked him to contemplate on the piece of cloth.
Cullapanthaka spent the whole night looking at the piece of white cloth, but there was nothing
changed from his mind. In the morning, when the Buddha left together with almost all the
monks to get to the mango-grove of Jivaka for the offering, Cullapanthaka contemplated on
the tiny piece of white cloth.
When the sunlight shone on the tiny piece of white cloth, Cullapanthaka saw the dirt grasped
on the tiny piece of white cloth, so he realized that everything is impermanent. And he realized
that desire, hatred and ignorance are similar to the dirt which covered the pure mind, which
would be similar to the tiny piece of white cloth. At that moment, he obtained Arhathood, and
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achieved all kinds of supreme power. In the happiness of enlightenment, he still stayed
contemplated in the enlightened state.
When Jivaka offered food and drinks to the Buddha and the monks, the Buddha did not eat but
asked Jivaka:” Are you sure that all the monks already gathered here for the offering?”
Jivaka then sent a servant to Jetavana to monitor, at the time the servant of Jivaka arrived at
Jetavana, Cullapanthaka manifested into a thousand monks which assembled him. These
monks were doing daily activites at the temple. The servant of Jivaka was surprised to return
quickly to inform the Buddha and Jivaka:” Dear master! I saw a thousand of monks who look
similar to each other at the temple.``
The Buddha slowly said to him:” Get there again and say that the master invites Cullapanthaka
for the lunch meal.”
The servant of Jivaka rushed to arrive at Jetavana, and when he asked for Cullapanthaka, all
the monks together said to him:” I am Cullapanthaka.”
The servant had no way, but returned to the mango-grove to tell the Buddha, and then the
Buddha said to him:” Get there again, and notice who gave the answer first is Cullapanthaka.
Invite him to meet me.``
The servant this time was able to get the venerable Cullapanthaka to meet the Buddha. After
eating meal, Buddha said to Jivaka:” Today, Cullapanthaka will give the dharma talk as the
return for our offering.``
Then Cullapanthaka, with the wisdom of an arhat, spoke all the major pillars of the true
dharmas to the people who gathered at Mango-grove. After this event, the next day, the monks
gathered to discuss the issue of venerable Cullapanthka, and when the Buddha knew the figure
of the talk of monks, the Buddha said that:” Dear beloved students! In this life, Cullapanthaka
was from my assistance to obtain parenthood, but in the past, due to me help, he achieved great
fortune.”
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In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, Bodhisattva was born as a son
of a business family, and when he grew up, he was excellent in doing business. Besides, he
was excellent in prediction of the future events. One day, when he was serving for the king on
the street of the town, he saw a mouse which died and lay on the road. He guessed that:” A
great man will arrive at this corner of the road to pick this mouse up.”
A bagger sat in the corner when the Bodhisattva predicted this event, so he tried to pick up the
mouse to sell to a rich man who fed lots of cats. With only one coin from selling the mouse, he
bought some sugar and oranges, and then he made the orange juice to offer to the passengers
who crossed the road from the forest to the town. Some gave him some flowers as they returned
to him. With the flowers, the bagger made the garland of flowers to sell to the people in the
town, and he continued to buy sugar and orange to make juice to give to the farmers to get the
flowers to sell in the town. With this way, he gradually earned 8 coins.
One day, he paid a visit to the garden of the palace, and heard the garden-taker was annoyed
by the falling woods. The bagger was happy to say to the garden-taker:” Dear sir. I will collect
these falling woods, but they should belong to me.”
The garden-taker agreed and the bagger gave the children playing nearby orange juice but asked
them to help him to collect the falling woods into a tiny pile. After the children had already put
the falling woods into a pile, a cereal-maker of the palace bought the pile of woods with the
return of 16 coins. In Total, the bagger had in his hands 24 coins, and he bought some bowls
and a basket to make the orange juice to give 500 farmers who often cut the grasses near the
palace of the king. The farmers just wondered about the generosity of the bagger, so they asked
him:” Dear man. You are kind to us, but you did not ask us to do anything for you. We feel
terrible about this, so please let us know what we should do for you.”
The bagger said to them:” Please keep your promise. I will tell you soon.”
Then the bagger tried to make friends with a businessman, and from the information of this
businessman, some businessmen often took their horses to sell to the palace. The bagger was
happy about this news, so he talked to the farmers to help him to cut the grasses to sell the
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horses-selling businessmen. Also, the bagger said to the farmers:” Dear farmers. Please don’t
sell your grasses to the horses-selling businessmen until I sell out of these grasses.”
The farmers agreed and then the horses-selling businessmen could not buy the grasses for their
horses, so they gave the bagger 1000 coins for his grasses. A few days later, from the
information of the businessman, the bagger also knew that the next day, a business ship would
arrive in the town, so he hired some people and some carts to prepare for his plan. Then, he got
to the harbor, and he gave the manager a big amount of money to buy all the products on the
ship first. Then, he made a tent near the harbor to stay in.
Hearing the arrival of the ship, 100 businessmen arrived at the harbor to buy the products on
the ship, but the manager of the harbor informed them that they could not until the bagger buy
the products. The sellers on the ship and the buyers could not do the business, so they paid a
visit to the bagger to negotiate to sell and buy the products. Then, 100 businessmen, each, gave
the bagger 200 coins. In Total, the bagger got 200 coins within four months from the time he
picked the mouse up.
Then, he paid a visit to the house of the Bodhisattva and offered 100 coins to Bodhisattva. After
hearing the excellent story of the bagger, the Bodhisattva recognized the bagger was an
excellent businessman, so he gave his daughter to get married with the bagger. After the
Bodhisattva passed away, the bagger continued to expand the business works of the
Bodhisattva based on his great wisdom.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the beggar was Cullapanthaka, while the rich
businessman was him.
Jataka 5: Story of Tandunali

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and this story was related to venerable Laludayi.
When venerable Laludayi stayed at Jetavana, whenever he got the unwanted foods from the
distributed foods-monk, he all made noise in the room:” Why have I never been the distributor
of foods to monks? Others know, I also know, to be honest.”
One day, he was given as the distributor of foods to the monks, and he was dull in doing the
work. Hence, some monks could not receive the food, and they had to spend lots of time waiting
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for food. Then, the monks lost their calmness, and the living room became very noisy. When
the Buddha walked through the living room, the Buddha wondered of the loud noise, so the
Buddha asked a monk to comprehend the issue.
After knowing the trouble which was from venerable Laludayi, the Buddha, compassionately
said that:” It is not in the present time, but also in the past time, he has generated trouble for
others.”
In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, the bodhisattva was a person
who worked in the palace of the king, and he took responsibility to measure and pay the money
for all the bills of the palace. As he was honest, the king did not like him as the king thought:”
This guy is too honest, and soon, my fortune will disappear by him. It is better to change the
other person to do this job.”
When the king was contemplating on this issue, the king looked at his yard, and he saw a
farmer, who looked greedy and ignorant. The king let a soldier to call him and asked him to
work alternatively for the Bodhisattva. This man often tried to pay the money less than the
value of things that people sold to the palace. The king knew about his issue, but the king was
pleasant about his work.
One day, a businessman from the North took 500 strong horses to sell in the palace of the king.
As this businessman thought there was no trouble to sell to the king, so he did not bargain for
the price. After he gave all the horses to the horses-taker of the palace, he was told that 500
horses were valuable for one basket of rice. He was frustrated to pay a visit to the Bodhisattva
to ask for the reason.
The Bodhisattva told him to give the man who measured the values of his horses some money,
and asked him to measure the values of the basket of rice in front of the king and officials. The
businessman followed the instruction of the Bodhisattva, and then the next day, they went to
the main shrine of the palace to meet the king. The businessman complained to the king:” This
man told me that my horses are just the value of a basket of rice, but I wonder how much is the
value of this basket of rice?”
The king then asked his price measurement man:” Dear my great servant! To be in a hurry to
tell this businessman how much is the value of a basket of rice?”
The measurement man said:” It values the whole town of Varanasi.”
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At that time, an official mocked the king:” We heard that the nation is countless, but now we
know that our nation just values a basket of rice. It is the most terrible measurement that I have
been hearing.``
The Bodhisattva also tried to mock the king:

How is the value of a basket of rice?
500 strong horses of the businessman
Also is equal to the town of Varanasi
Hance, 500 horses can buy this town of Varanasi
The king was ashamed, so he fired the man to return this job to Bodhisattva. The bodhisattva
continued to work with honesty to bring benefits to the palace and the sellers.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the greedy measurement man was Laludayi,
while the honest measurement man was him.
Jataka 6: Story of Devadhamma

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the story was related to a young monk who was
greedy.
This monk was a businessman and already got married with a beautiful woman. After his wife
passed away, he was sorrowful to be ordained as a monk in the Sangha of the Buddha.
However, after the ordination, he still enjoyed his richness. He often returned to his house to
enjoy the luxurious foods, and he used to wear many layers of clothes.
One day, he went to the river to take a bath, and then he put his clothes on the sands to dry the
clothes. At that time, some traveling monks saw a bundle of clothes. They asked him:” Dear
venerable! We just wonder whether these expensive clothes belong to you?”
This monk was arrogant to reply:” Yes. I spend lots of money to buy them.”
The traveling monks said:” The Buddha just allowed you to have a set of three pieces of clothes,
but you have more than that. We have to take you to meet the Buddha.”
Then they took the greedy monk to meet the Buddha, and told the Buddha his issue. At that
time, the greedy monk was angry about taking off all his clothes to throw away, but kept only
the underwear cloth. The Buddha, in this circumstance, compassionately said that:” In the past,
you were a Yaksha who tried to build up self-respect, but now you are trying to demolish your
self-respect. Be calm and be diligent to get rid of your desire.”
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In times gone by, when king Varanasi was ruling Varanasi, Bodhisattva was born as the son of
the queen and the king, and he was named Mahimsra. Few years later, the queen continued to
give birth to a second son, named Candakumara. When these princes were still in their
childhoods, the queen got serious sickness and died. Soon, the king gave one of his maidens to
be the queen of the nation, and this queen gave birth to a son, namely Suriya.
The new queen always insisted the king give the powerful throne to Sunriya, when Sunriya
would become an adult, but the king always denied her suggestion. The king said:” It is not a
right decision, as Sunriya has two older brothers and these two princes are wise and skillful.”
The new queen was not satisfied with the decision of the king, so she planned to kill Mahimsara
and Candakumara. By some way, the king knew of this issue, but the king could not punish the
new queen. There was no way, the king called Mahimsara and Candakumara to advise them:”
Dear my beloved sons! My love to all of you is great as you can know, but your step-mother is
not. I worry that you all will be in danger by her, so please get out of this palace and return
when I die. Take good care my sons!”
When Mahimsara and Candakumara were about to leave the palace, Sunriya, from the soldier,
knew of the issue, so he decided to follow two of his brothers. They went to the Himalayas and
lived in a hand-made cottage near the forest. One day, they had a stroll in the forest, and they
stopped by to take a rest. At that time, Mahimsara asked Sunriya to get to the lotus pond nearby
to take water for him.
This lotus pond was monitored by a Yaksha, and the king Vessavanna allowed it to catch and
eat those who entered the lotus pond, if they would not be able to know the true dharmas. Then,
when Sunriya entered the lotus pond to take water, the Yaksha appeared and asked Sunriya:”
Do you know what is the true Dharma?”
Sunriya said:” No. I know only the sun and the moon.”
The Yaksha caught Sunriya and put into prison. Waiting for a long time, Mahimsara continued
to ask Candakumara to get to the lotus pond to see what would happen to Sunriya. When
Candakumara entered the lotus, the Yaksha also appeared and asked him about the true
Dharma. He could not give the right answer, so the Yaksha caught him to put together with
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Sunriya. Waited for long but did not see any brother back, Mahimsara walked to the lotus pond
to oversee what happened. He carefully looked at the lotus pond and knew that his brothers
were caught by a Yaksha. So, he did not enter the lotus pond but stood far away from the lotus
pond. The Yaksha immediately appeared as a farmer, saying to Mahimsara:” Dear young man!
The water in the pond is purified and cold. Take a rest. Enter the pond to enjoy the water. After
drinking water, you even can enjoy the flowers.``
Mahimsara knew the man would be a Yaksha, so he asked directly:” Hey. Did you know two
young men just arrived at this pond? Did you catch them?”
The Yaksha at that time appeared in his ugly form, saying:” Yeah. They are about to be my
meal.”
Mahimsara asked:” Why did you catch them?”
The Yaksha smiled:'' The king Vessavanna allowed me to catch and eat all beings who entered
my lotus pond after years of serving him. But, those who can give me the true Dharmas, I will
release them.”
Mahimsara said to the Yaksha:” If you want to listen to my true dharmas, please assist me to
take shower first. I cannot give dharma with this dirty body.”
Then the Yaksha helped Mahimsara to take shower, and put a clean piece of red cloth on the
ground as the place for Mahimsara to give dharma. Mahimsara sat on the red piece of cloth,
calmly said:”
Being ashamed and scared of the evil acts

Cultivating the good deeds
Associating with virtuous men
These are the true dharmas for you
The Yaksha was pleased to hear this true dharma, so it said to the Mahimsara:” You already
gave me the dharma, so I will return only one of your brothers. Please select who?”
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Mahimsara said:” The youngest one.”
The Yaksha smiled:” You know the Dharma but cannot follow the Dharma. You selected your
brother based on your emotion.”
Mahimsara said:” No. I used my true dharma to select this brother. Due to Sunriya, my step-
mother wanted to kill us, so we entered this forest to live. Also, as he did not want to break our
brother-ship, he followed us to live in this forest. If you eat him, I cannot give an appreciative
answer to my father and others.”
The Yaksha agreed to the idea of Mahimsara, so it released both Sunriya and Candakumara.
Then Mahimsara advised the Yaksha to give up eating humans as well as other beings and
resided in the true dharmas. Yaksha followed the advice of Mahimsara and became the
protector of Mahimsara during the time he stayed in the forest. One day, seeing the stars in the
sky, Mahimsara knew that his father had already passed away, so he took his brothers to return
the nation. The period of his rule was the most virtuous cultivation of people as he applied
royal dharmas to rule the nation.
Buddha, the greedy monk obtained first entering stream level. Finally, the Buddha identified
that the Yaksha was the greedy monk, while Sunriya was Ananda. Candakumara was Sariputta,
whereas Mahimsara was him.
Jataka 7: Story of Katthahari
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and this story was related to one of wife of king Kosala,
the queen Vasabhakhattiya.
After marrying the beautiful woman, namely Vasabhakhattiya, the king gave her the throne of
the queen of the nation. Not long after this event, the queen gave birth to a prince. At first, the
king loved this prince very much. Time flies, he discovered that Vasabhakhattiya had a mother
from a Candala class, so the king Kosala deposed the power as the queen of Vasabhakhattiya
and did not let her get out of the palace.
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When the Buddha knew this issue, the Buddha paid a visit to the palace of king Kosala and
asked to meet Vasabhakhattiya.. The king Kosala honestly told the Buddha the unpleasant story
related to the queen Vasabhakhattiya.
The Buddha asked the king:” Who is the father of Vasabhakhattiya.?”
King Kosala:” The king Mahanama.”
The Buddha continued to question the king:” Who is her husband?”
King Kosala was ashamed:” Me. King of Kosala.”
The Buddha calmly said:” She is from the royal family and your wife, so there is no way to
suspend his son to be the coming king of this nation. Be careful to think about this issue. In the
past, a king loved a daughter of a farmer, and still gave their son on the throne of the power of
the nation.``
In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta, who was ruling Varanasi, had a picnic in a rural
area of the town of Varanasi. The king was wondering about the fruits in the forest, so he
traveled alone to find food. At the forest, he met a beautiful girl who was the daughter of a
farmer who lived in a village nearby. To fall in love with the girl quickly, the king lived in the
village for a short time, and the beautiful girl got pregnant.
Then the king had to leave the village for his busy work at the town of Varanasi. Before leaving,
the king gave his wife a golden ring, saying:” If you give birth to a daughter, please sell this
ring to get money to take good care of it. However, if you give birth to a son, please urgently
take it to meet me in the palace.”
The pregnant woman soon gave birth to a son after the king left. However, she was reluctant
to get to the town of Varanasi. So, her son grew up slowly in the rural area. When her son
turned ten, one day, he fought with other boys, and they shouted toward him:” We were beaten
by a guy who did not have a father.”
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Her son returned and asked him:” Who is my father?”
The beautiful woman knew that it would be the suitable time to get to the town of Varanasi, so
she said to her son:” Your father is the present king of Varanasi, and we will get to Varanasi to
meet him tomorrow.”
The next day, she hired a horse carrying vehicle to get to the town of Varanasi, and finally,
they arrived at the palace of the king of Varanasi safely. At the main shrine of the palace, she
pointed at Bodhisattva, saying to the king:” This boy is your son. Dear majesty”
The king was ashamed to admit his son, so he said to them:” I cannot just believe what you
said.”
The beautiful woman took out a golden ring, saying to the king:” Do you remember this ring?
You gave it to me and asked me to take your son and this ring to meet you. Now, you refused.”
The king calmly said:” I have never possessed this ring, though.”
The beautiful woman, in extreme anger, took Bodhisattva and walked to a high chair, saying
to the king:'' I will throw him down, if he is your son, he will be safe. Otherwise, he will die.``
The king was worried for the safety of his son, but it was too late to suspend the beautiful
woman to throw the Bodhisattva down from the high position. All people were scared that they
closed their eyes for a while and when they opened their eyes, they saw the Bodhisattva sat in
the thin air in the lotus posture, saying to the king a verse:
Dear majesty, the father of all citizens

I am your son, honestly
Why you have fed other children
But, not your own son. Dear majesty
The king said:” Yes. I admit you are my son. Please land me down.”
Then the king ran toward to hold his son, and took him to sit together with him on the powerful
throne. Then the ceremony was organized to give the beautiful woman on the throne of the
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queen and the Bodhisattva on the throne of the vice-king. After the assistance of the king,
Bodhisattva became the new king of Varanasi, and was named Katthahari. He ruled the nation
with royal dharmas.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the new king of Varanasi, Katthahari was
him.
Jataka 8: Story of Gamani

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and this story was related to a monk who lost his
determination in the dharma practice.
This monk was brought to meet the Buddha, and the Buddha, in his circumstance, said:” Dear
my beloved student! There are no fruits and benefits which shall be blossomed to the lazy men
in my dharma. So, if you want to achieve first entering stream level or even Arhat fruit, you
have to practice hard. In the past, you were diligent to follow the wise and right teachings of
the wise man, so you were given the throne of power, even though you were the youngest
among 100 princesses. So, please wake your diligence up.”

In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta, the king had 100 princesses , and the king gave each
prince a master who assisted each prince to develop their knowledge and skills. At that time,
the youngest prince, namely Gamani, was instructed by a moral, wise and skillful master. Time
flies, and when each prince completed their study, they had the right to select a town in the
nation and became the owner of that town. Then, almost all of the princesses got their towns,
but not the youngest prince.
One time, when the youngest prince, Gamani, just completed his study, he asked his wise
master:” Dear great master! What will I do when the majesty asks me to select a town to rule
that town?”
The wise master said:” Please refuse and require us to stay in the palace to take care of the
king.”
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The prince Gamani followed the instruction of his master, so when his father king asked him
to select a town to rule there, the prince Gamani refused and required the king to allow him to
stay in the place to assist the king. Time flies, the prince Gamani continued to ask his master:”
Dear great master! What will I do to promote my future?”
The wise master said:” Now you can ask the king for a private house in this town.”
The prince then paid a visit to the king and asked for a house to make as the residence place,
and the king gave him a territory which had houses and a large garden. Then the prince
continued to consult with his master:” Dear great master. I don’t know what I should do then?”
The wise master said to the prince Gamani:” Dear my beloved student. Now, please do giving
and offering to others as there is no way which overpasses the cultivation of offerings and
giving. Please give and offer everyone, the poor, the rich, homeless, and home people. Some
people think that the rich people don’t need to receive the offerings. It is wrong at all. Please
give them what they need, such as advice or motivation stimulants. Try to help all people in
need.”
The prince Gamani followed the advice from his master. So, he tried to do offerings to almost
all people in the town. He gave the foods, drinks and essential stuff to the poors, but assisted
the rich ones, the officials of the palace with advice and help when they were in urgent need.
He even shared his offerings to all foreign delegations when they arrived at Varanasi. So,
gradually, he built up solid love of people to him based on his virtuous works to them.
Time flies, the prince Gamani kept doing this offering and helping until his father king passed
away. When the king was about to die, some major officials of the nation met the king and
asked:” Dear majesty! If you may die, who among 100 princesses will be the next king?”
The king said calmly:” I cannot select one among them as they all have the qualifications to be
the new king of this nation. So, after I die, you select the prince, who has the love of the most
people and even love from all of you, to be the new king of the nation.”
Then, a short time later, the king passed away, all the princesses returned to the town of
Varanasi for the funeral ceremony of their father king, and the most important thing was that
they waited for the decision from the officials on who among them would be the new king of
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the nation. Then, after seven days, the funeral of the king was ended, all the officials gathered
together and they all voted for the youngest prince to be the new king of the nation as the prince
Gamani was the prince who had got the greatest love from people and officials.
Then, when the officials informed the princesses of their decision, all the brothers of the prince
Gamani returned their locations, and the prince Gamani resided in the most exciting and
pleasant of his life. At that moment, he remembered his great master with all the virtuous
aspects, so he spoke the verse:
Don’t be greedy to take the power

Being patient and generous to others
With these virtuous cultivations
I was given on the powerful seat of the nation
Then the new king ruled the nation with all the royal dharmas. During his rule, all people in
his nation were likely to cultivate virtue.
Buddha, the monk who lost determination in practice, obtained arhathood. Finally, the Buddha
identified that the prince Gamani was the monk who lost his diligence in practice, while the
wise master of the prince Gamani was him.
Jataka 9: Story of Makhadeve

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the story was related to the ordination of the Buddha
for the enlightenment and benefits of others.
One day, the monks gathered at the Dharma-hall to discuss the great mind of the Buddha when
he left the luxurious life for the ascetic life for the enlightenment and the benefits of others. At
the time the Buddha entered the Dharma-hall, and knowing the figure of the discussion of
monks, the Buddha said that:” It is not in the present time, but also in the past, I also left for
the ascetic life and the benefits of others.”
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In times gone by, in the nation of Vidaha, the king Makhadeva had ruled the nation for 84 000
years, and one day, he told his barber man:” When you see my hair turn into white, please
kindly let me know.”
One day, the barber-man saw a white hair on the head of the king, so he informed the king:”
Dear majesty. I already saw a white hair on your head.”
The king said to the barber:” Please take it off and give it to me.”
Then the barber-man took the white hair off the head of the king and gave it to him. The king
Makhadeva looked at the white hair, and he thought that death was about to come to him any
time. Hence, he decided to leave the powerful seat to be an ascetic monk. So, he gave his
barber-man a village from which his barber-man could gain 100 thousand coins each year.
Then, he called his prince and said to him:” Dear son. My life is turning into the last
progression. I have enjoyed all the happiness and pleasure of family life, so now I want to leave
this luxurious life for the ascetic life for dharma practice as I want to prepare the virtue for the
life in heaven after death. I will stay in the mango garden to practice the dharmas, and today
I shall leave for my dream. Now, you have to take good care of this nation, and try to rule the
nation with true dharmas.”
At that time, the officials of the place arrived after they heard their king would leave for ascetic
life, and they asked the king:” Dear majesty! Did you get annoyed by our works, so you are
about to leave this palace for ascetic life?”
The king compassionately looked at the officials and said:
My hairs turning white quickly

The death is waiting for me
It is time for my dharma practice
To prepare for the next life
Then the king left the palace and stayed at the mango garden to practice the dharma for 84 000
years, and when he passed away, he was born in the Brahma realm.
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After telling the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths to the monks, and under the
utterances of the Buddha, a number of monks obtained first entering stream level, one-returning
level, none-returning level and Arhathood. Finally, the Buddha identified that the barber-man
was Ananda and the prince was Rahula, while the king Makhadeva was him.
Jataka 10: Story of Sukhavihari
The Buddha told this story at the mango garden of Anupiya, and the story was related to
venerable Bhaddiya Sukhavihàri. Venerable Bhaddiya was one of 6 royal members who left
the luxurious lives for the monk lives. After the ordination, Venerable Bhaddiya Sukhavihàri
practiced hard and he obtained arhathood quickly.
After residing in the peace and calmness of arhathood, venerable Bhaddiya Sukhavihàri
compared to his previous life as a king, and he remembered that when he was the king, although
he had the protection carefully from the soldiers, he was still worried for his safety. However,
after achieving adulthood, he was peaceful and calm. So, in high motivation, he spoke out
loudly:'' Miracle! I am staying in the ultimate happiness.”
This utterance was told to the Buddha by some monks, and the Buddha calmly said:” It is not
in the present time, but also in the past, Bhaddiya Sukhavihàri was able to stay in peace and
calmness.”
In times gone by, when the king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was born
in a Brahmin family in the North, and when he grew up, he became a rich businessman.
However, realizing the danger of the desire to all the objects of life, he decided to leave his
family to become an ascetic monk. Then, Bodhisattva went to the Himalayas to live as the
ascetic monk, and with diligence, he obtained all the fruits of meditation. Then, he gradually
taught dharmas to others, and the people who came to study with him often reached 500 people.
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In one rainy season, the Bodhisattva took his students to the town to get alms, and they settled
at the garden of the king. The king and officials were glad to serve food and drinks to them
daily, and the king often paid visits to listen to the dharmas from the Bodhisattva. After the
rainy season, the Bodhisattva wanted to take his students back to the Himalayas for practice,
so he said to the king:” Dear majesty! It is time for us to leave. We are grateful for your
support.”
The king insisted the Bodhisattva stay:” Dear great master! I have learned too much from you,
so please stay here for a while. Just let your students return first.”
Then the Bodhisattva ordered the oldest student to lead all the monks back to the Himalayas.
The oldest student of the Bodhisattva was a king before he entered the Himalayas, so he
enjoyed all the pleasure of family life, and recognized that the family life was not his interest.
Time flies, and the oldest student wanted to see the Bodhisattva, so he alone got to the palace
to visit Bodhisattva. After paying respect to Bodhisattva, and after having lunch, the oldest
student lay down on a board to take a nap. At that time, the king paid a visit to the Bodhisattva,
and seeing the king, the oldest student of the Bodhisattva, still lay down on the wooden board,
saying:” Miracle! I am extremely happy.”
The king was angry and complained to the Bodhisattva:” Dear master. This monk ate too much
and now he enjoyed the comfortable state of his stomach.”
The Bodhisattva said:” No. You might confuse his idea. He was the king before he was ordained
as an ascetic monk. The meditation practice has assisted him to stay calm and peaceful. So, he
is in the extreme happiness of the dharma practice.”
The Bodhisattva spoke the verse:
Those who don’t need the protection

As well don’t have to protect others
They are extremely residing in the happiness
Without worry of anything
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The king was pleased to listen to the story of the oldest student of the Bodhisattva, so he paid
respect to the Bodhisattva and the student of the Bodhisattva before returning to his place. The
oldest student also paid respect to the Bodhisattva, and then returned to the Himalayas.
After telling the story, the oldest student of the great master was Bhaddiya Sukhavihàri, while
the great master was him.
Jataka 11: Story of Lakhana

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the story was related to Devadatta.
Devadatta suggested to the Buddha about five rules for the monks, but the Buddha refused his
suggestion. To be frustrated, he left the Sangha of the Buddha, and took 500 new-ordained
monks to Gayasisa to live. And, he tried to apply the addition of five rules which he suggested
to the Buddha to his monks-community.
Few years later, the Buddha recognized that it was the time to assist those monks who followed
Devadatta to succeed in spiritual practice. So, the Buddha sent the venerable Sariputta together
with some elderly monks to encourage the monks living together with Devadatta to return
Jetavana. When venerable Sariputta and some elderly monks arrived at the Gayasisa, Devadatta
talked to them for a while, and then Devadatta let them talk with his students. Hence, with the
miracle talks of venerable Sariputta, 500 monks obtained the first entering stream level, and
they followed venerable Sariputta to return Jetavana. When they arrived at Jetavana, they paid
respect to the Buddha and spoke highly of the venerable Sariputta:” Dear great master!
Venerable Sariputta was great to be followed by a large number of monks to return Jetavana.”
The Buddha smiled and said:” In the past, with well-cultivation of virtue, Devadattta also was
followed by a big number of people.”
In times gone by, when Magadha was ruled by a virtuous king, the Bodhisattva was born as a
deer in a forest of the nation, and soon the Bodhisattva became the king of the herd of 1000
deer. During the ruling, the Bodhisattva had two children, one was named Lakhana and the
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other was named Kala. When these two deer turned adulthood, the Bodhisattva divided the
herd of deer into two groups and let two of his children to be the king of each group.
In one ripe season of rice, the rice was yellowed and smelled, so the farmers were afraid that
the wild animals would come to eat the rice. Therefore, they put some traps around their rice-
fields in order to prevent wild animals from entering their farms. Some of the deer got killed
by the villagers after getting into the traps. So, Bodhisattva called two of his children to advise:”
Dear sons! This time is the ripening of the rice, so the villagers put lots of traps to avoid the
wild animals from eating their rice. Please take your deer to the deep forest to save their lives.
After the villagers harvest their farms, you can take them to return here.”
Kala followed Bodhisattva's advice, but he was not clever enough. Hence, he took his deer to
cross the village in the daytime, and the villagers killed a big number of deer for food. When
Kala arrived at the deep forest, the number of his deer was few as they all were killed by the
villagers.
Lakhana was wise, so he tried to take his deer to travel in the early morning when the villagers
were still sleeping. When the villagers got to the farms to work, they tried to hide themselves
in the luxuriant trees, and they continued their journey in the evening. With this clever way,
Lakhana and his deer were safe to arrive at the deep forest.
After the villagers harvested their rice, Kala and Lakhana took their deer to return to their
hometown, and with the wise way, Lakhana protected his deer to return safely. Contrary, Kala
with the dull way, made a number of deer killed and injured by the villagers. The Bodhisattva,
after knowing the story journeys of two of his children, he said:
The well-cultivated with wisdom and virtue

Receiving the appreciate rewards
Similar to Lakhana, together with crowd of people
Retuning the hometown
Then the Bodhisattva tried to teach the deer to cultivate wisdom and virtue until he passed
away.
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After telling the story, the Buddha identified that Kala was Devadatta and Lakhana was
Sariputta, while the king of deer was him.
Jataka 12: Story of Nigrodhamiga
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and this story was based on the life of the mother of
venerable Cumarakassapa.
Mother of Venerable Cumarakassapa was an only daughter of a millionaire in Savatthi, and

when she was around ten- or eleven-year-old, he realized the impermanence of life, and resided
in the dharma-practice life. She asked her parents to live ascetic life, but her parents denied as
she was the only child in the family. Then she followed her parents’ idea to get married.
After getting married with a moral man, she was a faithful wife, but she did not attach to the
family happiness as others. On one occasion, there was a big festival, and most people tried to
swear on their beautiful clothes, garlands of flowers and fragrance to enjoy the festival, but she
did not swear on everything. When her husband was surprised to ask her the reason, she said:”
Dear husband! This body is extremely dirty, so why do we have to make it beautiful outside?
This body was not born from heaven, not from the Brahmin realm, not from gold or silver, not
from lotus flowers. This body was born from the love of my parents, and it is not purified, but
impermanent. Time flies, this body will be ruined and ceased, and finally, it makes the ground
dirty after ruin, and is the home for insects to eat. However, those who attach to their bodies,
tend to live in suffering when their bodies get sick, get old or even cease. Those who attach to
the bodies tend to cry when their relatives might die. So, there are a thousand reasons to not
enjoy this body at all.”
Her husband was extremely surprised, so her husband asked her:” Dear honey! If you already
recognize these phenomena, why don’t you live an ordinary life?”
After the festival, she was agreed by her husband to leave the family for the ordination life.
However, she did not know that she already got pregnant during this time. After showing the
purpose of ordination, she was instructed to ordain in a Bhikkhuni temple under the consolation
of Devadatta. After a few months, her stomach became bigger, and some Bikkhuni took her to
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meet Devadatta as they doubted that she had committed the rule. Devadatta immediately
expelled her from the Sangha. However, she insisted some monks take her to meet the Buddha
before letting her to disrobe.
With supreme power, the Buddha knew that she had not committed the Sangha rule, but the
Buddha wanted to invite the king Pesanadi, Anathapindika and some renowned figures to join
the investigation, together with the Bhikhu and Bhikkhuni association. When all groups of
people gathered, the Buddha asked the venerable Upali to begin his investigation. Venerable
Upali asked Vissaka to invite some doctors to detect whether the pregnancy was before or after
the ordination.
After detecting properly, the venerable Upali said:” Dear master and all. This Bikkhuni was
purified, as she got this pregnancy before she was ordained.”
Then, she was allowed to continue her practice in the Sangha as a Bikkhuni. Soon, she gave
birth to a son, but as a Bikkhuni, she couldn't take good care of the child, so the king Kosala
took her son to take good care as a prince at his palace, and her son was named Kassapa. When
Kassapa turned 7, he asked the king to ordain as a novice in the Sangha of the Buddha, and
when he turned 20, he became the monk. With hard practice, venerable Kassapa soon obtained
Arhathood, and he became the most excellent in teaching dharma in the Sangha of the Buddha.
One day, the monks gathered at the Dharma-hall, talking about this issue:” Dear great brothers!
In the past, due to ignorance, Devadatta expelled and claimed the mother of the venerable
Kasspa committed the rule. Due to the wisdom of the Buddha, she was proved to not commit
the rule and safely gave birth to the venerable Kassapa.”
When the Buddha knew the figure of the talk of monks, the Buddha said that:” It is not in the
present time, but also in the past, I paid great assistance to them when they encountered
difficulties.”
In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was ruling in Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was born as
a golden deer in the forest. The golden deer had silver horns and bright jewels hoofs, and with
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its specialty, it was named Nigrodla. With his strong health, Nigrodla soon became the king of
500 deer in the region. Nigrodla often led his deer to associate with another herd of deer which
was ruled by another golden deer, namely Sakka.
At that time, the king enjoyed eating the meat of deer, so he ordered the soldiers to hunt the
deer daily. Sometimes, the king himself also got to hunt. The hunting activities had suspended
the farming works of the farmers in the region, so they decided to make fences around a region
of the forest. After this work, they chased all the deer to live in this region only. Then, they
informed the king about their work. The king was pleased to get to this region of forest to
observe. Seeing two golden deer, the king said to his soldiers:” Excepting for these two golden
deer, you can kill all other deer for me.”
Then every day, the hunters went to this region of the forest to shoot the deer, and the deer
were scared to run around, and thus, many deer were injured to die and were killed daily. One
day, the Nigrodla said to Sakka:” Dear friend! As the deer often ran around, many of them
were killed and injured. So, we have to avoid this by letting each of us step out for the hunters
to shoot voluntarily to avoid harm to others.”
Sakka agreed, and they had a meeting to decide the times and days for each deer to step out for
their death. One day, a female deer, which was pregnant and belonged to the herd of Sakka,
was scared of death as that day was her turn to step out for the hunters to shoot. She went to
meet Sakka to insist but Sakka denied:” I cannot give you the privilege as each of us has many
reasons to insist for.”
This female deer went to Nigrodla to ask for help, and Nigrodla said to her:” Don’t worry! Be
safe. I will give other to alternate you.``
When the pregnant deer went away, Nigrodla stepped out for the hunters to kill him, but the
hunters could not shoot him as the king did not allow them to kill two golden deer. They had
no way to solve the issue but informed the king. The king learned everything about the story
of the deer, so he rapidly paid a visit to the forest to observe what was going on. The king
looked at the golden deer, and he realized that he was not compassionate to all the animals. He
said to the golden deer:'' I guess you are the king of all the deer, so why do you have to decide
to die today?”
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The golden deer said to the king:” A female deer asked me to help her to avoid death, so I
cannot let other deer to alternate her, but only me. So, let's kill each other today.”
The king said:” Great. I will release you and that female deer out of this forest.”
The golden deer said:” How about all the other deer?”
The king calmly said:” Okay. I will stop killing all the deer from this time.``
The golden deer continued to say to the king:” Shall you cultivate compassion for all the
animals, fishes and birds in your nation?”
The king was compassionate to say:” I promise that I will protect all the animals, fishes and
birds in this nation.”
Then the Nigrodla continued to stay in the forest with the king for a few days to give the true
dharma to the king:'' Dear majesty! Please rule the nation with royal dharmas, with compassion
as these will assist your citizens to cultivate the virtues and all of you can reborn in the heaven
or Brahma realm after you die.``
Then Nigrodla together with Sakka took their deer to leave that forest to live near the river and
the villages of the people. Soon, the female deer which asked Nigrodla for help gave birth to a
son, and they decided to follow the herd of deer of Nigrodla.
As the king informed the nations to ban people from harming animals, fishes and birds, when
the deer entered the farms to eat rice, the farmers could beat them. They complained to each
other. When Nigrodla knew this issue, he told all the deer to stop eating rice from the farmers,
and the animals and the farmers lived happily together.
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths to the monks, and finally he
identified that the female deer and his son were the mother of Kassapa and Kassapa, while the
king of deer, Nogrodla was him.
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Jataka 13: Story Kandina
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and this story was based on the attraction of the former
wife of a young monk.
When this young monk wanted to disrobe to return his family life, he was brought to meet the
Buddha, and Buddha, on his circumstance, said:” You have stayed in the true dharma which
can assist you to get rid of the sufferings forever, so you have to try to keep your determination
going. Due to this woman, you were in danger of death, so why don’t you be diligent to get rid
of her?”
In times gone by, in the nation of Magaddha, the deer often went to eat rice from the farmers,
so the farmers often put some traps to suspend them from entering to eat ripened rice. Hence,
the herd of deer often went to the deep forest to live during the ripened season of rice.
One day, the herd of the forest deer on their way to get to the deep forest, they crossed a village,
and they met a female home-feeding deer. Among the deer in the forest herd, there was a male
deer which suddenly fell in love with a home-feeding deer. Hence, this forest deer decides to
leave his herd to follow the home-feeding deer. The female deer was honest enough to say to
the forest deer:” Hey guy! Don’t follow me as the village is a dangerous place for the forest
animals. You will be in danger if you get to the village.”
The forest deer loved this female deer, so it ignored this advice from the home-feeding deer.
When these deer entered the village, some villagers saw a forest deer, so they planned the trap
to catch the forest deer. They hid themselves behind the luxuriant trees, and waited for these
two deer to cross their hiding place. When two deer walked close to the villagers, the home-
feeding smelt the people, so it tried to walk behind the forest deer. The forest deer, then was
caught by the villagers. The home-feeding deer, at that time, ran rapidly toward her trap.
The deity of a giant tree saw this story, then he said to other deities:” This silly forest deer died
not due to parents, but by desire. The desire makes all beings into the dangers, and when we
recognize it is late to change. “
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Then the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths to the monks, and during the talk of the
Buddha, the young monk who was attached to his former wife obtained first entering stream
level. Finally, the Buddha identified that the forest silly deer was the young monk who was
attached to his former wife and the home-feeding deer was his former wife. The deity of the
giant tree was him, the Buddha in the Bodhisattva way of practice.
Jataka 14: Story of Vatamiga

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the story was based on an event in the life of
venerable Cullapindapatika Tissa.
When the Buddha stayed at Bamboo-Grove, Cullapindapatika Tissa, the son of a millionaire,
often paid visits to the Buddha together with his parents, and one day, he was greedy in the
ascetic life. Hence, he asked his parents to be a monk in the Sangha of the Buddha. At first, his
parents denied, but later on they agreed after Tissa skipped eating for seven days.
After the ordination as monk, Tissa followed the Buddha to get to Jetavana, and he practiced
hard all the ascetic principles of the monks. He did not enter the lay Buddhist houses for
offerings but just received the offerings on the road. Time flies, he extremely resided in the
true dharmas of the Buddha.
On one festival, his mother took the stuff which he often tried on in the festivals to look and
she cried. At that time, a beautiful girl crossed her house, and this beautiful girl asked her:”
What happened to you, dear great woman?”
Mother of Tissa sadly replied:” My only son left us to follow the master Gotama. It is terrible
thing.”
The beautiful girl said to the mother of Tissa:” If I can bring your son back, Will you give me
to be the owner of this house?”
The mother of Tissa agreed and she gave the beautiful girl a big amount of money and some
servants. They went to the path that Tissa often crossed for alms. Then they rent a giant house
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to stay. Daily, the beautiful girl brought delicious foods to offer Tissa on the road. Then, they
invited Tissa to her house. Finally, she pretended to get sick and invited Tissa to pay a visit to
her room. Then, Tissa was attached to her beauty and left the Sangha.
The issue related to Tissa was rapidly spread around Jetavana, and the monks gathered to talk
about this issue at the Dharma-hall. When the Buddha entered the Dharma-hall and knowing
the issue of the talk of monks, the Buddha said that:” It is not in the present time, but also in
the past, he was attached to desire so he was attracted to this woman.”
In times gone by, when the king was ruling Varanasi, there was a garden -taker who was named
Sanyana. One day, there was a deer which ran into the garden of the king, and Sanjana saw it
but did not drive it away. Then, from that day, the deer often entered the garden of the king to
eat grasses. One day, the king paid a visit to the garden and the king saw the deer which was
nice. Hence, he asked Sanjana:” Could you please catch that deer for me?”
Sanjana said to the king :” There is nothing difficult. Please give me some honey and I will
catch the deer easily.”
Then Sanjana used the honey to put on the leaves of flowers and trees that the deer often ate.
Soon, the deer was attached to the taste of the honey so that the deer could not eat other kind
of leaves or grasses. Then Sanjana did not put the honey on the leaves in the garden but put the
honey on the leaves that he held. As the deer was attached too much to the honey, so the deer
did not run away but came to eat grass in the hands of Sanjana. Few days later, Sanjana out the
leaves with honey along the path leading to the palace of the king. And, the deer was attached
to get to the palace of the king.
The king, on the high floor, every day, watched the activities of Sanjana and the deer. The king
said to the officials:” This forest deer had never walked close to the humans, but due to the
attachment to the honey, it went to the palace. The desire is dangerous to us. Be careful of your
desires.”
Then the king ordered Sanjana to release the deer into the deep forest.
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After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the beautiful woman was Sanjana and the
deer was Cullapindapatika Tissa, while the king of Varanasi was him.
Jataka 15: Story Kharadiya

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and this story was linked to a headstrong monk who
did not follow the instruction of the Buddha.
After many times, the Buddha said to him:” Due to your headstrong behavior, you did not
follow the advice from the wise men, and you were in danger. So, you have to try hard to get
rid of your headstrong attitude.”
as a deer, and with wisdom and health, the Bodhisattva gradually became the leader of the herd
of deer in a large region. The Bodhisattva had a sister deer which lived with her herd in another
region. One day, his sister took a young deer to give him and said:” Please be well-educated
your nephew to be a wise and good deer.”
Bodhisattva said to the nephew:” Come to my corner in the morning after breakfast and in the
afternoon after lunch.”
The nephew just agreed but had never followed the instruction of the Bodhisattva. Seven days
passed but the nephew of the Bodhisattva did not meet the Bodhisattva. Not only that, the
nephew of the Bodhisattva traveled around without the instruction of others, and then it was
stuck into the trap of the hunters. At that time, the sister of the Bodhisattva complained:” Why
didn't you teach him the basic knowledge on survival of the deer.?
Bodhisattva said:” Your son is a headstrong boy, and he did not follow my instruction at all.”
Then the Bodhisattva continued:
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The deer with 8 hoofs
With horns of tree branch shapes
Learning seven methods of the deer
To survive in the dangers
But he did not want to learn
To be in the danger by his dull
Then the hunters caught the nephew of the Bodhisattva to bring back home.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the headstrong deer was the headstrong monk,
while the king of the herd of deer was him.
Jataka 16: Story of Tipallatthamiga

The Buddha told this story at Bardabika in Kosambi, and the story was based on the diligence
of venerable Rahula in learning disciplines.
One time, the Buddha stayed at Aggalava temple in Alavi, and at first, there were lots of people
gathered to listen to the Dharma-talks of the Buddha, including lay Buddhists, Bhikkhunis and
monks. So, the Buddha often talked about Dharmas in the daytime. However, a short time later,
Bikkhunis stopped getting to the temple to listen to the Dharmas from the Buddha. Hence, the
dharmas-talks are often organized in the night times. After listening to the Dharmas, lay
Budhdists and monks lay down on the ground of the Dharma-hall to sleep. Some monks
showed their bad sleeping behaviors to lay Buddhists. Therefore, some monks told the Buddha
about this issue. From this issue, the Buddha suspended monks to sleep together with the people
who have not been ordained as monks.
When Buddha moved to Kosambi, Rahula also followed the Buddha to move to Kosambi.
Before the Buddha generated the ban on avoiding the not ordained people to sleep together
with monks, the monks at Kosambi often invited venerable Rahula to their cottages. However,
when the Buddha suspended the monks to sleep with non-ordained people, nobody allowed
Rahula to sleep in their cottages, including Venerable Sariputta and Moggallanad. Then Rahula
went to the toilet of the Buddha to sleep. Rahula did not complain or felt sorrowful at all.
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In the early morning, the Buddha got to the toilet, and saw Rahula was lying down on the floor
of the toilet. The Buddha then said to the monks:'' From today, monks can live together with
the non-ordained people for a maximum of two days, and during this time, manage the place
for them to avoid the cases similar to Rahula yesterday.”
Knowing the attitude of Rahula, the monks gathered at the Dharma-hall, speaking highly of
him:” Rahula was diligent to keep the rules of the Buddha, so he, although had to sleep in the
toilet, did not require any monk to give a privilege to him.”
When the Buddha entered the Dharma-hall, and comprehended the issue of the talk of the
monks, the Buddha said that:” It is not in the present time but also in the past, he was diligent
to keep the precepts.”
In times gone by, when a king of Maggadha was ruling Savatthi, the Bodhisattva was a golden
deer which was the leader of the herd of deer living in the region. The bodhisattva had a sister
deer and a nephew, and they lived with other deer in the other region. One day, his sister took
his nephew to give him and said:” Dear brother! Please receive your nephew as your student,
and teach him well with the skills of the wild deer.”
Then the sister of the Bodhisattva and her son joined the herd of the Bodhisattva. To follow
the instruction of Bodhisattva, the baby deer was diligent to arrive at all the lessons times of
the Bodhisattva, and soon it learned sufficiently all the wisdom of the deer. One day, on the
way to find for the living, the young deer was stuck in a saw-tooth-trap. The other deer ran
rapidly back to tell the Bodhisattva and the mom of the young deer:” Dear majesty and madam!
The young deer, your student, got stuck in the saw-tooth trap of the hunters.”
The sister of the Bodhisattva worried to ask Bodhisattva:” Dear brother. Did you teach him
all the cleverness and wisdom of the deer, and have you taught him how to escape from a
sawtooth- trap?”
Bodhisattva calmly said:” Don’t worry. Your son is well-trained with all of the cleverness of
the deer. He will be able to escape from the trap to return here safely.”
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At the dangerous moment, the young deer lay down on the ground with its head putting down
to a green tussock. Also, it tried to bend its stomach toward to make it similar to that it was
about to be ruined. It also tried to open its eyes as it had already died for a long time. When the
hunter walked close to it, it tried to stop breathing in and out. So, the hunter thought that it was
dead, so the hunter was careless to take off the trap from the deer and put the deer on the
ground, trying to find woods to grill the deer. At that time, the young deer stood up, running
quickly into the deep forest.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the young deer was Rahula, while the king of
the herd of deer was him.
Jataka 17: Story of Maluta

The Buddha told this story as a Jetavana, and this story was related to the arguments between
two venerable monks who lived in a forest. On the same question of:” when will it be coldest?”
One said that when the moon would be dark, while the other replied that when the moon would
be bright.
They did not agree to the answer from each other, so they got to Jetavana to ask the Buddha,
and the Buddha, on their circumstance, said that:” In the past, I gave the answer to all of you,
but as the reincarnation, you did not remember.”
In times gone by, at the hill of a mountain of the Himalayas, a lion and a tiger made friends
with each other. They lived in harmony with each other, but one day, they argued to each other
about whether the moon was dark or bright, it would be cold. They did not agree to other idea,
so they all went to meet an ascetic monk who lived in a cottage near to their cave. The ascetic
monk spoke the verse to answer the lion and the tiger:
Whether dark or bright, the moon

It not cold, if there is not winds
Having strong wind to blow up
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It will be cold time
With this way, the ascetic monk solved the arguments between the lion and the tiger.
Buddha, two venerable monks obtained first entering stream level. Finally, the Buddha
identified that the tiger and the lion were two venerable monks, while the ascetic monk was
him.
Jataka 18: Story of Matakabhatta

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and this was related to the ritual of giving food to the
dead. At that time, people often killed animals and birds to make ritual ceremonies for their
dead relatives, and one day, some monks asked the Buddha:” Dear master. Are there benefits
from the ritual ceremony of people to their dead relatives?”
The Buddha said:” These rituals are brutal, as killing is not helpful to everyone. In the past,
the wise and moral master sat in the thin air to advise people to give up these brutal rituals,
but Time flies, and they regained this evil tendency.”
In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, there was a celebrant master
who was excellent in Vedas and rituals. One day, he wanted to kill a goat to make the offering
ritual to the deities. So, he asked his students to take the goat to the river to take shower, and
then they gave the goat to eat the rice before killing the goat. The goat, somehow, remembered
his previous lives, so it laughed loudly for a while as it was about to release from the animal
shape. Then, it cried loudly as it knew that the celebrant would be reborn in its situation for
this killing.
The students of the celebrant saw this strange sight from the goat, so they took it to meet the
celebrant. The celebrant was the goat:” Can you explain the reason that you laughed and cried?
Are you crazy for fear of death?”
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The goat said to the celebrant:” I laughed as I know today, I will be free from this shape of the
goat. I have been reborn as the goat for 500 rebirths for killing animals for rituals when I was
a celebrant. I cried as you will be similar to me after this life for the killing rituals.”
The celebrant was scared, so he released the goat, and then the goat ran to a tussock of grass
under a giant cliff to eat. When the goat was eating the grass, a thunder hit the cliff and a piece
of stone fell down to kill the goat. At that time, the deity of a giant tree appeared to teach the
celebrant and his students: “Killing will lead to the killing.”
Then the deity spoke the verse:
Beings who know the sufferings

All from the harm actions to others
They shall stop harming and killing
As killing will reward the sufferings
Due to the talk of the deity, the celebrant and his students gave up killing and tried to keep five
precepts properly. At that time, this teaching was transferred from people to people, and most
of the people stopped harming and killing.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the deity of the giant tree was him.
Jataka 19 Story of Àyàcitabhatta

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and this story was related to the killing rituals of people
for their luck. At that time, the businessmen often promised to the deities that if their businesses
would be successful, they would kill animals for the rituals. Then, when they were successful
in selling their products and returned, they killed lots of animals for the rituals for luck.
Some monks wondered about the benefits of these rituals, so they asked the Buddha:” Dear
master. Are there benefits from those rituals?”
The Buddha said that:” There are no benefits at all as killing is brutal and brings bad returns.”
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In time gone by, at the nation of Kasi, a millionaire promised to the deity of a giant tree that he
would make the ritual to offer the foods to the deity if he could be successful in the business.
Then, he departed his house for the business, and the business was successful. When he
returned, he killed lots of animals to do the rituals to the deity. At that time, the deity appeared,
sitting on a branch of the tree, saying that:
If want to bring happiness in the future

Be careful to cultivate the moral in the present
Killing is not the virtuous act
Shall bring the bad effects as the returns
Praying for luck by killing is ignorant

As the wise men will never do this brutal act
Cultivating the loving-kindness to all beings
Is the right cultivation for the happiness and luck
Hearing the advice from the deity, the millionaire tried to skip killing, and he also advised
others to stop killing. Gradually, this cultivation spread around and a big number of people had
practiced this virtue.
After telling this story, the Buddha identified that the deity of the tree was him.
Jataka 20: Story of Nlakapana

The Buddha told this story at the lake Nalakapàna, in the forest of Ketaka, when he was on the
way leading to Kosala. Some monks, at that time, got to the lake to take showers, and after
taking showers, they asked some novices to take the vegetables in the lake to make the needles
to sew their clothes, but the vegetables were hollow. They were curious about vegetables, so
they asked the Buddha:” Dear master! Why are these vegetables hollow?”
The Buddha said that:” Due to my vow in the past, these cotton-grasses turned hollow.”
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In times gone by, in a deep forest which was near to Kosala, there was a lake which was clean
and full of lotus flowers. However, there was a Yaksha who lived in the lake, and this Yaksha
tended to kill and eat all birds, animals and humans if they entered the lake to drink water. At
that time, Bodhisattva was born as the king of 80 thousand monkeys in the region. The
Bodhisattva often told his monkeys:” Dear my beloved citizens! In this forest, the flowers and
the waters are dangerous, so please ask me before you eat or drink.”
One day, the Bodhisattva took his monkeys to the other region to find food, and the monkeys
got to the lake of Nalakapàna, and waited for the Bodhisattva. When the Bodhisattva arrived,
the monkeys said to the Bodhisattva:” Dear majesty! Can we drink the water from this lake?”
The Bodhisattva walked around, and saw the footsteps which walked down, but now walked
up. Hence, the Bodhisattva said:” There is a Yaksha in this lake. So, you are right to not enter
the lake.”
At that time, the Yaksha appeared and said to the monkeys:” You are crowded, but none of you
dare to enter the lake to drink water.”
The Bodhisattva asked:” Did you eat all the beings who entered this lake?”
The Yaksha said:” Yeah. I have eaten all the animals, birds and even humans when they entered
the lake. “
The Bodhisattva said:” We will drink the water but you cannot eat us.”
Then the Bodhisattva took the cotton grass to make the straws to drink water from the lake but
did not enter the lake. At that time, the cotton grass was not hollow, but due to the vow of the
Bodhisattva, the cotton grass became hollow. Then, the Bodhisattva and the monkeys sat
around the lake, each of the monkeys had a cotton straw to drink water from. Seeing the
monkeys drinking water by the straws, the Yaksha could not eat them. Therefore, the Yaksha
returned to its house under the lake.
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After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the Yaksha was Devadatta. Eighty thousands
of monkeys were the monks of the Buddha, while the king of the monkeys was him.
Jataka 21: Story of Kurunga

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and this story background was related to the
assassination of Devadatta to the Buddha.
To kill the Buddha Devadatta pushed the tremendous cliff from the high position to kill the
Buddha, but he failed to do that. Later on, he made the aggressive elephant, namely Danapalaka
to kill the Buddha, but with great compassion, the aggressive elephant was tamed by the
Buddha.
One day, the monks gathered at the Dharma-hall, talking about this issue:” Dear great brothers!
Devadatta tried to assassinate our great master many times, but he failed to harm our great
master.”
When the Buddha entered the Dharma-hall, and comprehending the figure of the discussion of
monks, the Buddha said compassionately that:” It is not in the present time, but also in the past,
Devadatta tried to assassinate me, but he could not harm me.”
In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was born as a
mountainous deer, and similar to other deer, he often came to eat the fruits of the Sepanni tree
which was nearby his place.
One day, a hunter entered this region, and seeing the mountainous deer often came to the
Sepanni tree to eat, the hunter dug some deep holes near the root of the Sepanni tree, and he
carefully covered the holes with leaves and grasses. Some of the deer, as a habit, walked to the
Sepanni tree to eat the fruits, and they fell down to the trap of the hunter. The hunter caught
them and sold them to the market.
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One day, the Bodhisattva walked close to the Sepanni tree in order to eat the fruits of the tree.
The Bodhisattva rapidly recognized the traps of the hunter, when they saw the leaves and the
grass put around the root of the Sepanni tree. The Bodhisattva, then, decided to return. At that
time, the hunter was on the top of the Sepanni tree, and he tried to throw the fruits down at the
root of the tree, and also threw the fruits close to the standing place of the Bodhisattva to attack
the Bodhisattva to come. The Bodhisattva thought:'' The fruits of the Sepannia tree cannot fall
down to this far distance. It is likely that the hunters are staying on the top of the tree, waiting
for me.``
Then he said loudly:” Hey Sepanni tree! Before your fruits fell down at the root, but now your
fruits fell down in far distance. Hence, I will give up coming here to eat your fruits.”
Then the Bodhisattva moved slowly away from the tree. At that time, the hunter, sitting on the
top of the tree, threw the sharp stick toward the deer, but luckily to the deer, the stick did not
hit its body. Then the hunter was angry and shouted loudly:” Go away! Today you are able to
escape from my hands.”
The Bodhisattva kept moving, while shouting loudly toward:” I can escape from your attack,
but you shall not be able to escape from the punishments in the hells. Be careful of your acts.”
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the hunter was Devadatta, while the
mountainous deer was him.
Jataka 22: Story of Kukkura

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and this story's background was the assistance of the
Buddha to the queen of king Kosala, Vasabha.
With faithfulness to the Buddha, the king Kosala wanted to build up a close relationship with
the people of Sakya tribe, so the king asked to get married with a girl of Sakya tribe. At that
time, the territory of Sakya tribe was under the control of king Kosala, so they, although they
did not prefer, gave Vasabha, the daughter of Sakya tribe leader, Mahanama, to get married
with king Kosala.
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After the marriage, Vasabha, soon, gave birth to a son for the king Kosala, and the king Kosala
extremely loved them. One day, the king Kosala discovered that his queen was given birth by
a woman from Candala class, so the king Kosala dismissed the title and the glory of Vasabha
and her son, and was not concerned about them anymore.
The Buddha, on one occasion, when he met the king, advised the king:” Although Vasabha
was born from a Candala woman, she is the daughter of the Sakya king, and her son was the
son of the king of Kosala. Hence, they are high class people, not from the low class. In the past,
the wise men just considered the blood of the fathers to identify the background of the people.”
Then the king Kosala changed his attitude toward Vasabha and her son after the advice of the
Buddha. This event was rapidly spread around, and one day, the monks gathered to discuss this
event. When the Buddha comprehended the figure of the talk of monks, the Buddha said that:”
It is not in the present time, but also in the past, I was a great assistance to my relatives.”
In times gone by, when the king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was born
as a jackal, and soon, with wisdom and health, he became the king of all the jackals in the
region. He often settled his place at the cemetery of the town.
At that time, the king loved his luxurious vehicles, and one of these vehicles the king made
special leather chairs to sit on. The king often sat on these vehicles for picnic trips outside of
the palace. One day, the drivers forgot to take off these special chairs from the vehicles, and in
the night time, some dogs jumped on these vehicles to sleep. Smelling the meat from the chair,
the dogs ate the leather chairs. Then, the drivers informed the king of the incident. The king
got angry at the dogs, so he ordered soldiers to kill all the dogs in the town.
Some dogs had no place to reside, so they joined the herd of jackals at the cemetery of the
town. Bodhisattva saw many home-feeding dogs join his herd, he wondered to ask:” Dear
people! What has happened to all of you? Why did you join us living in the wild?”
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The home-feeding dogs slowly told the Bodhisattva the cause of their troubles, and the
Bodhisattva pacified the dogs:” Don’t worry! I will talk with the king to assist the dogs to get
rid of the fear.”
Then the Bodhisattva paid a visit to the palace of the king Varanasi, and then the Bodhisattva
ran to lay under the chair of the king. Some soldiers tried to drive the wild jackal away, but the
Bodhisattva did not move even though the soldiers used the sharp stick to threaten the
Bodhisattva. The king saw this strange thing, so called the soldiers to stop. And, the
Bodhisattva moved out of the chair, paying respect to the king and said to the king:” Dear
majesty! Why did you order the people to kill all the dogs in the town?”
The king said:” Some of the dogs demolished my beloved chairs.”
The Bodhisattva asked the king:” Do you know exactly which dogs ate your beloved chairs.?”
The king thought for a while and said:” To be honest! I don’t know, so I put my anger on all
the dogs in the town.”
The Bodhisattva continued to ask:” So, you kill all the dogs, or still forgive some dogs.”
The king said confidently:” Of course! I order people to release all the noble dogs in my
palace.”
The Bodhisattva, at this time, told the king that:'' You are carrying four distinct ideas into your
judgment, unfair, not reasonable, anger and fear. Firstly, due to the anger, you ordered the
people to kill other dogs which had no faults, and this is the unreasonable thing. Also, you
ordered people to forgive the noble dogs in your place, but kill all the other dogs. So, this is an
unfair judgment. It is not reasonable for a great king to give unfair and not reasonable
judgment to all the dogs.”
The king asked the Bodhisattva:” So, do you know which dogs ate my leather chairs?”
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The Bodhisattva said:” Sure! Your noble dogs are the criminals, not other dogs. If you let
people prepare milks, Babha grass and bring your noble dogs here, I will show you how to
discover their faults quickly in a second.”
Then the king ordered the soldiers to prepare milks, grasses of Babha and brought the noble
dogs in front of the Bodhisattva. Then, the Bodhisattva asked the king to crush all the grasses
of Babha to mix with the milk and give these dogs drink. The soldiers, based on the instruction
of Bodhisattva, mixed the crushed Babha grass with milks and gave the dogs to drink. After a
few minutes after drinking the mixed Babha grass-milk, the dogs of the king vomited out the
leathers.
Seeing this miracle thing, the king ordered the people to cancel his order of killing all the dogs,
and then the king gave special foods and a parasol to the Bodhisattva. The Bodhisattva refused
to receive these things, but only gave the king some true dharmas advice, and then the
Bodhisattva returned to the cemetery.
To base on the advice of the Bodhisattva, the king put a ban on killing animals, birds and fishes
in the whole nation, and the king also tried to practice keeping five precepts.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the king was Ananda, whereas the king of
jackal was him.
Jataka 23: Story of Bhojaniya

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the background of the story was related to a monk,
who lost his determination in practice.
When this monk was brought to meet the Buddha, the Buddha compassionately pacified him:”
Dear my beloved student! Be diligent on this true dharma as it enables you to get rid of
sufferings forever. In the past, the wise men, although encountered extreme difficulty, were
still diligent to keep their goals.”
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as a Sindh horse in the palace of the king. The Bodhisattva was fed by the three-years stored
red rice, and the foods were put on a golden trough for the Bodhisattva to eat. The trap of the
Bodhisattva was made of four special kinds of woods, and the trap was covered by the red
curtain. Not only that, the trap was often attached with garlands of precious flowers, and there
was always a burning oil lamp.
At that time, seven kings of the neighboring nations gathered together and they led their armies
to attack Varanasi. At that time, in the army of the king Varanasi, there was a general who had
excellent skills and super power of health. He, himself alone, could defeat thousands of
soldiers. The king Varanasi asked him:” Dear my great servant! Can you defeat seven kings
alone?”
The general calmly said:” Dear majesty! If I have a good horse, I can defeat them easily. Please
give me an excellent horse.”
The king said to the general:” Please enter the traps of horses to find the suitable horse for
you.”
The general entered the traps of the horses and picked up the Bodhisattva, and then he swore
on the armor for the Bodhisattva, and sat on the back of the Bodhisattva. With his excellent
skills and power, and the strong health and skills of Bodhisattva. Soon, the general defeated 6
kings and six armies. And, when he was about to defeat the last king and the last army, the
Bodhisattva got injured, then the excellent general left the Bodhisattva for the other horse.
At that time, the Bodhisattva said:” If the general uses the other horse, he cannot defeat the
last king and shall be killed by this king. Only me, no other horse can assist him to defeat the
last king.”
Then the Bodhisattva said to the general:” Dear great man! If you select the other horse, you
will not be able to defeat the last king, as he is the most powerful king with his great army.
Please help me stand up and tighten the armor to my body again, I will help you to defeat him
easily.”
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The general thought of the suggestion of the Bodhisattva, and he returned to assist the
Bodhisattva to stand up. He tried to tighten the injury of the Bodhisattva and put on the
Bodhisattva with the amour again. Then, they ran toward the last king and his powerful army.
With the powerful skills and powers of both the general and the horse, they defeated the last
king easily.
Then the general caught seven kings and brought them to throw in front of the king Varanasi.
The king was about to kill seven kings, but the Bodhisattva interrupted the king:” Dear majesty!
Please release all these kings, before forcing them to promise to not attack Varanasi again. We
cannot generate peace with brutal acts. Also, please give a great profit to this excellent general
with his great work.”
After giving the last advice to the king, the Bodhisattva fell down and passed away. He already
used his last health and power to bring peace to the people of Varanasi. The king made a special
ceremony to the Bodhisattva, and he spent the rest of his life cultivating the virtue, as well as
encouraging people to cultivate good deeds.
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths and the monk who lost the
determination in practice obtained Arhathood. Finally, the Buddha identified that the king of
Varanasi was Ananda and the general of the king was Sariputta, while the excellent horse was
him.
Jataka 24: Story of Ajana

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and this story's background was related to a monk who
was lost of his motivation in the dharma-practice.
When the monk was brought to meet the Buddha, the Buddha pacified him:'' Dear my beloved
student! Be diligent, as diligence is the major element for every success. In the past, the wise
men, even got injuries, were still diligent to keep their works succeeding.``
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Sindh horse, and the Bodhisattva had a powerful force compared to other horses.
One day, seven kings cooperated together to attack the nation of Varanasi, and the king did not
want to have lots of people dead, so he asked a general, who had special power and health, and
who could defeat 10000 soldiers alone, to fight against seven kings and their armies. The
general got to the horse's horse trap of the king, and selected the Bodhisattva to assist him to
fight against seven kings and their great soldiers.
With the excellent skills and powers of the horse and the general, they soon defeated six kings
and their armies. At that time, the horse was almost exhausted, so it fell down on the ground.
The general was worried about finding the other horse, but he could not find the suitable horse
to assist him. Sadly, the general returned to see the Bodhisattva. At that time, the Bodhisattva
said to the general:
Assisting me to stand up
With my skills and power
Can assist you to win the last king
No other horse shall do this work
The general helped the Bodhisattva to stand up, and he gave the water and food to the
Bodhisattva. Then he tightened the amour gain on the body of the Bodhisattva and they ran
toward the last king and his great army. Soon, they defeated the last king and his great army.
Then the general and the Bodhisattva returned with seven kings caught into the traps. The
Bodhisattva advised the king to cultivate compassion to release these kings. Also, the
Bodhisattva advised the king to cultivate loving-kindness to all people around. After giving the
last advice to the king, the Bodhisattva passed away, and the funeral for the Bodhisattva was
organized with respect and honor as the funeral of a hero.
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths, and under this talk of the
Buddha, the loss-motivated monk obtained Arhathood. Finally, the Buddha identified that the
king of Varanasi was Ananda, while the horse was him.
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Jataka 25: Story of Tittha
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the background of this story was related to a student
of venerable Sariputta.
A young man, who was born from a gold making family, ordained as a monk under the
instruction of venerable Sariputta. After the ordination, Venerable Sariputta taught him to focus
on the contemplation of impurification of the body, and after four months, this student could
not develop his contemplation at all. Hence, venerable Sariputta took him to meet the Buddha.
To get the issue from venerable Sariputta related to his student, the Buddha said to venerable
Sariputta:” Great! Let him to stay at Jetavana with me, I will assist him to enhance his practice.”
Then the next day, the Buddha took this young monk together to the town to get alms and he
got the special foods from the sponsors of the Buddha. Then, in the afternoon, Buddha took
him to walk around Jetavana, and asked him to sit in front of the lotus pond to contemplate on
the lotus flowers. During the time sitting in front of the lotus pond, the Buddha used his power
to make the flowers fading, and falling down.
Seeing the impermanence of the lotus flowers, the young monks comprehended the
impermanence of all phenomena. He thought:” Everything is impermanent, just similar to the
lotus flowers. The beautiful flowers are fading and falling down. Just hour before, some lotus
flowers were still beautiful, but now, they are fading and falling. This body is similar to be
impermanent. Soon, I will get old, and die. All phenomena have to experience this
progression.”
From the moment of the contemplation, the young monk suddenly obtained Arhathood, he got
rid of all the attachment to the senses and desire. Hence, he spoke the verse to illustrate his
enlightenment:
Those who realizing the ultimate truth
All the negative thoughts are demolished
Lasting time to born into the Samsara
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Carrying all the precepts sufficiently and automatically
Six organs of the body are purified
From the stain of desire, hatred and ignorance
Similar to the moon out of the thick cloud
All the ignorance which has led me to the Samsara
All are demolished from these moments
Lightening with the light of ultimate wisdom
As the sun shining toward all being and things
This enlightenment was approved by the Buddha, and monks, one day, gathered at the Dharma-
hall, talking about this issue:” Dear great brothers! Venerable Sariputta could not assist his
student to succeed in the practice. But, the great master, with great method, was able to assist
the student of Sariputta to obtain Arhathood.”
When the Buddha entered the Dhama-hall, and knowing the figure of the talk of monks, the
Buddha calmly said that:” Dear beloved student. It is not that with the ultimate wisdom of
enlightened one, I could comprehend the suitable method for that monk, but also in the past, I
understood his tendency to assist him to develop well.”
In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was born as
the consultant of the king, for both the mundane and holy works. At that time, the king had a
noble horse, which was given luxurious foods and drinks, and was taken showers with scented
water. One day, the horses-taker took this noble horse to eat out, and in the afternoon, the horse-
taker took the noble horse to take shower at the river. At the river shore where the noble was
about to enter to take shower, there was a mundane horse which just completed enjoyed the
water. Hence, the noble horse did not want to enter the river to take shower.
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The horse-taker told the king about this issue, and the king worried that the horse would get
some kind of sickness. Hence, the king asked the Bodhisattva:” Dear great master! Do you
know the reason which make my horse suspend to enter the river to take a bath?”
The Bodhisattva said to the king:” Dear master! I will have a look and detect and I will let you
know soon.”
Then the Bodhisattva walked to the horses’ trap to monitor the body of the noble horse, and he
realized that the horse was extremely healthy. Therefore, the Bodhisattva asked the horses-
taker:” Are there other horses entered to take showers at the location of river that you took this
horse to take a bath?”
The horses-taker thought for a while and said that:” Dear master! Yes, there was one mundane
horse which completed its shower when we just arrived at the river bank.”
The Bodhisattva knew that the noble horse was arrogant, so it did not want to take shower in
the regional river that the mundane horses already took a bath. Hence, the Bodhisattva talked
to the horses-taker:” From now on, please take this noble horse to take shower in other region
of the river.”
The horses-taker, in the morning, took this noble horse to other region of the river to take
shower for the horse, and this horse enjoyed playing with the water. The king was pleasant to
the wisdom of the Bodhisattva, so the king gave the Bodhisattva lots of benefits.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the noble horse was the student of venerable
Sariputta, while the wise consultant was him.
Jataka 26: Story of Mahilamuka

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the story was about the right livelihood of monks.
After Devadatta left the Buddha to establish his own Sangha, he was supported by the king
Ajantasattu, and the king ordered his servants to prepare special foods and drinks for Devadatta
and his students daily. So, the students of Devadatta often stayed at the temple but they did not
get out for alms.
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One day, one young monk who lived at Jetavana, on the way doing his work, met a student of
Devadatta, and the student of Devadatta advised this monk to get to Gayasasi to enjoy the
luxurious foods, so, this monk often paid visit to Gayasisa to enjoy the luxurious foods from
the offerings of king Ajantasattu.
Time flies, some elderly monks discovered this wrong livelihood of this monk, so they brought
him to meet the Buddha for the judgment. The Buddha, after comprehending the issue of the
monk, said compassionately:'' As a monk, you have to flourish yourself by the giving of others,
not waiting to enjoy luxurious foods. Moreover, as a monk, you have to consider the foods
which assist you to stay healthy for practice only. However, to satisfy the desire of the tongue,
you often go to Gayasisa to enjoy the luxurious foods. Be aware and stay mindful of the right
livelihood of monks. Don’t just follow others’ idea as you did in the past.``
In times gone by, when king Brahamadatta was ruling Varanasi, Bodhisattva was one of the
officials of the king. The Bodhisattva worked as the consultant of the king for almost all the
essential things as well as mundane things.
At that time, the king had a noble elephant, which was named Mahilamuka. This elephant was
taught to behave kindly and compassionately to others. So, it had never harmed anyone after it
learned some bad strategies from the thieves. One day, a group of thieves got to the palace to
steal the property of the king, but they could not move the stealing things out of the palace
easily. Hence, they gathered at the elephant’s trap, sitting near to the noble elephant of the king
and planned the way to carry out their dream. One said:” We have to dig a path under the
ground, from this elephant's trap to the shore of the river nearby the place. So, during this time,
if anyone gets close to this region, just kill them to keep the plan. “
The noble elephant heard the evil strategy of the thieves and it thought that the trainer wanted
it to do so. Hence, the next morning, when one of the elephant-takers brought grass to the
elephant, the elephant used the trunk to hold him and killed him. When other elephant-takers
came to see the trouble, the noble elephant tried to attack them. They were scared to tell the
king the trouble of the elephant:” Dear majesty! Your noble elephant got crazy. It attacks all
people who get close to it.”
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The king then quickly asked the Bodhisattva to detect the issue of the elephant. The Bodhisattva
got to the elephants’ trap, walking around the elephant to observe the health condition of the
elephant. Seeing the elephant was healthy, the Bodhisattva thought that the elephant might
learn this evil act from the talk of others. So, the Bodhisattva called some Brahmins and monks
who were moral to sit near to the elephant, talking about the virtuous things. They often
emphasized some praises:” Don’t harm others. Be virtuous and friendly to others.”
After a few days, the elephant behaved nicely and friendly as it learned from the talks of moral
men. So, I thought:” I have to try to be as moral as what these men said.”
Then, a few days later, the king asked the Bodhisattva:” What made the elephant become evil?
And How did you make it behave morally again?”
The Bodhisattva said:
Hearing the evil things from the evil men

Noble elephants learning to behave evilly
Listening to the moral men, with virtuous story
Elephant learning to behave morally
The king was pleased with the knowledge of the Bodhisattva, so the king gave him lots of
benefits.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the elephant, Mahilamuka, was the young
monk who enjoyed the food at the temple of Devadatta, while the wise consultant was him.
Jataka 27: Story of Abhinha

The Buddha told this at Jetavana, and the story's background was related to the friendship of a
monk and a lay Buddhist.
At the Buddha's time, there were two men who were extremely close to each other. They often
called each other for almost all activities. One day, one of them was ordained as the monk in
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the Sangha of the Buddha, but their friendship was still close to each other. The monk often
went to his friend's house for alms and the lay man always prepared food to give to his friend.
Then, they often ate together before getting to Jetavana for talks of dharmas.
Their friendship was well-recognized by the monks of Jetavana, and one day, the monks
discussed their friendship at the Dhamma-hall. When the Buddha entered the Dharma-hall and
knowing the issue of the talk of monks, the Buddha told the monks:” Dear beloved students!
Don’t be surprised by their friendship. In the past, they had built up great friendships with each
other.”
In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, Bodhisattva worked as an
official of the king. With great wisdom, the king often consulted the Bodhisattva for all the
things, both mundane and holy things.
At the palace of the king, there was a noble elephant which was fed with special red rice. The
elephant often could not eat out all the rice, so there was a wandering dog which often came to
eat the leftovers from the elephant. Day by day, the friendship between the elephant and the
wandering dog was close, and they could not live happily if they could not meet each other.
One day, the wandering dog was caught by a villager who lived near to the elephants ‘trap of
the palace, and it could not get to see the elephant. Not seeing the dog for a few days, the
elephant was sorrowful to skip eating, drinking and taking showers. After a few days, it became
weak and ill. The elephants-takers had no way to solve its trouble, so they informed the king
about its trouble.
The king ordered the Bodhisattva to investigate the trouble happening to the noble elephant.
Bodhisattva first monitored the condition of the elephant, and after he was sure that the health
of the elephant was fine, he asked the elephants-takers:” Do you know whether this elephant
often played with other animals?”
One elephant-taker said:” I often saw a wandering dog playing with the elephant, but recently,
the dog did not come here.”
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The Bodhisattva comprehended all the issues related to the elephant, so he got to the palace to
tell the king that the elephant was sick as it missed its friend, the wandering dog. So, he told
the king to inform the town that whoever caught the wandering dog which lived near to the
elephants-trap of the palace had to release it, otherwise, they would be punished heavily after
being investigated.
To comprehend the information from the king, the villager who caught the wandering dog,
immediately released the dog, and the dog rapidly ran to the place, getting to the elephant-trap
to see its friend. The elephant, saw the dog, automatically, got rid of boredom. Hence, it enjoyed
its life again.
The king was pleased with the skills and knowledge of the Bodhisattva, so the king placed him
in a higher position and gave him lots of benefits.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified the elephant and the dog as the monk and the lay
man respectively, while the wise official of the king was him.
Jataka 28: Story of Nandivisala

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and this story's background was related to the
establishment of the rules for the living harmony of monks in the Sangha.
At that time, a group of six monks who were arrogant about their knowledge often insulted
others whenever they had arguments with others. When other monks complained about these
monks to the Buddha, the Buddha looked at them and compassionately said:” Dear my beloved
students! The evil words are harmful as it can generate hatred to people and animals. In the
past, some animals tried to make the people who often used evil words pay 1000 golden coins.”
In times gone by, at Gandhara nation, the king of this nation also was ruling Takkasila, the
Bodhisattva was born as a cow which was named Nandivisala, and he was taken good care as
the son of the family. With special foods of red rice, the Bodhisattva grew up quickly, and the
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Bodhisattva had a special health of carrying heavy stuff. One day, the Bodhisattva thought
that:” This Brahmin had considered me as his son, so I have to do something to return his care
to me. Around the nation, I am the strongest cow, so I have to use this special power to help
this Brahmin.”
The Bodhisattva said to the Brahmin:” Dear dad! Please get to the house of the millionaire
nearby and tell him that I can pull 100 vehicles together at the same time. Also, bet with him
1000 golden coins, and you will be able to win.”
The Brahmin was surprised as a cow which could speak the human language, so he got to the
house of the nearest millionaire and told him about the supper health of the Bodhisattva:” Dear
sir! Around this nation. My cow is the strongest cow as it can pull 100 heavy vehicles at the
same time.``
The millionaire laughed loudly as he was extremely funny to hear the strange story from the
Brahmin. After trying to convince the millionaire to bet 1000 golden coins, the Brahmin was
happy to return as told Bodhisattva his bet. The next morning, the Brahmin took Bodhisattva
to the house of the millionaire to pull 100 vehicles. The millionaires worried that the
Bodhisattva could pull 100 vehicles, so he ordered people to put lots of stone into 100 vehicles.
The Brahmin tightened the Bodhisattva together with 100 vehicles and sat on the back of the
Bodhisattva. He used a stick to hit on the body of the Bodhisattva, saying: “The Brat! Come
on.”
The Bodhisattva was unpleasant to the utterance of the Brahmin, so the Bodhisattva did not
pull the vehicles. Consequently, the Brahmin lost to the bet and gave the millionaire 100 golden
coins. The Brahmin took the Bodhisattva return, and lay down on the bed with sorrowfulness.
At that time, Bodhisattva walked close to his room, saying loudly:” Dear dad! Don’t be
sorrowful. As you called me ‘’ the Brat’, so I did not pull the vehicles. Not that I could not pull
the vehicles. Tomorrow, get to the millionaire house to bet him for 2000 golden coins. To
remember that you cannot call me a ‘’brat”.”
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The Brahmin got to the millionaire house and convinced the millionaire to bet 2000 golden
coins. The millionaire looked at the Brahmin and smiled:” If you want to give money to me to
use, I cannot refuse to take it.”
Then the millionaire also put lots of sand and stones on 100 vehicles, and he sat on the high
floor to wait for the money from the Brahmin. The Brahmin tightened the Bodhisattva to the
vehicles, and sat on the back of the Bodhisattva. This time, he was gentle and said :” Come on!
My dear son!:
Bodhisattva was pleased, so he used all the strong power to pull the vehicles. All observers
were nervous to wait for the miracle from the Bodhisattva, and finally, the vehicles moved
slowly toward. After some minutes, 100 vehicles moved forward hundreds of meters. So, the
millionaire had to give 2000 golden coins to the Brahmin. Also, the observers loved the
Bodhisattva, so they threw the money into 100 vehicles, and the Brahmin collected all these
money and became rich.
After telling the story, the Buddha spoke the verse:
Only saying good words

Avoiding evil words, hatred utterances
With harmony and good speeches
Getting rid of all the burdens
Having more luck, chance, and success
Then the Buddha identified that the Brahmin was Ananda, while the cow, Nandivisala was him
Jataka 29: Story of Kanha

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the background of this story was related to the
supreme power that the Buddha manifested to people, and resided 3 months on the 33rd heaven
to teach Abhidamma to the gods and goddesses. After residing three months of rainy retreat in
heaven, the Buddha walked down to the human realm and appeared at the main gate of
Sankassa.
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After this event, the monks often gathered to discuss the supreme power of the Buddha. They
often said to each other:” Dear great brothers! On this earth. Nobody can surpass the great
master with his power and his wisdom. In front of the master! All the masters of other lineages
could not show their powers.”
One day, when the monks talked about these traits of the Buddha at the Dharma-hall, the
Buddha, after knowing of the figure of the talk of monks, calmly said to monks:” Dear beloved
students! Not only in the present time, but also in the past, when I was born in the animal realm,
my power was surpassed by others.”
calf in a rich family. However, an elderly woman negotiated to exchange the Bodhisattva for
the amount of money that she worked for the rich man. The elderly woman considered
Bodhisattva as her son as she did not have children. She gave the Bodhisattva the red-rice-
porridge instead of the grasses. Time flies, Bodhisattva grew up and became a giant cow, with
black hairs and strong horns. The Bodhisattva was friendly to all the children in the village, so
all the children often held the tail, the horns, and the legs of the Bodhisattva to play.
One day, seeing the elderly woman had to work hard for others to get money to feed him, the
Bodhisattva thought:” I have to find a way to earn money to return my mom to take good care
of me.”
One day, the Bodhisattva, together with a crowd of other cows in the villages, went to the river
to drink water after eating grasses at the edge of the village. At that time, a business delegation
was crossing the river, and the businessmen tried to force their cows to pull 500 vehicles to
cross the river in a region where the water was not too deep. However, the cows could not pull
the vehicles to cross the river. At that time, the businessmen were worried about their products
getting stuck when the water of the river would rise.
Seeing their trouble, the Bodhisattva talked to some businessmen:” I can assist all of you to
pull the vehicles to cross the river, but you have to give me some money.”
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Some businessmen were surprised by the speaking human cow, so they did not agree but
tightened the Bodhisattva to their vehicles. The Bodhisattva did not move at all. At that time,
the leader of the delegation arrived, and looking at the Bodhisattva for a while, he said to the
Bodhisattva:” Don’t worry! We will pay you the money that you deserve. One vehicle which is
successful in crossing the river will be paid 2 coins.”
The Bodhisattva agreed and they constantly tightened their vehicles to the neck of the
Bodhisattva. Quickly, the Bodhisattva pulled all 500 vehicles across the river. Then, the leader
of the business delegation put 500 coins into a bag and hung it on the neck of the Bodhisattva.
At that time, the Bodhisattva knew that the leader did not pay enough money, so he stood in
front of their vehicles. The businessmen tried to force the Bodhisattva away, but they could
not.
The leader of the business delegation took off his vehicle, took out another bag of 500 coins,
hanging on the neck of the Bodhisattva, saying:” Okay! Let us go. This is the rest of the
payment.”
The Bodhisattva, then, ran rapidly toward his home, and then the Bodhisattva showed the
elderly woman the money that he earned for her. The elderly did not want to use the money as
she worried that the Bodhisattva would steal from others. After asking the children about the
origin of the money, and after the children told the elderly about the work of the Bodhisattva,
the elderly accepted to use the money.
To summarize the story, Buddha spoke the verse:
In the tough region of the river

Needing strong force and power
Only the black cow, with its power
Pulling the vehicles cross the river successfully
Then the Buddha identified that the elderly woman was Uppalavanna, while the black cow was
him.
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Jataka 30: Story of Munika
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and this story's background was related to the
attachment of a young monk to a girl.
When the young monk was brought to meet the Buddha, the Buddha encouraged the young
monk:” Be diligent to get rid of your attachment, as desire is dangerous to us. In the past, due
to this woman, you were killed to make food for her wedding, so you have to try to get rid of
her.”
cow, which was named Mahalohita. He had a brother cow, which was named Cullalohita.
When they grew up, they had to work hard for their owners, a rich man in a rural village.
The rich man had a daughter, and his daughter was engaged with a young man, so they bought
a baby pig to feed it for the wedding. The baby pig was named Munika, and the baby pig was
put into a luxurious trap, and was given red-rice porridge to eat. The pig had nothing to do, but
traveled around when it felt bored. One day, the brother of the Bodhisattva, Cullalohita
complained:” The life is unfair. We have to work hard but eat only grass. Moreover, we stay in
this terrible trap. Look at the pig, Munika! I had red-rice porridge to eat daily, and did not
have to work at all.”
Bodhisattva said to his brother: “Do you know that Munika is about to be killed for the wedding
of the daughter of our owners?” Munika is feeding for the party. We are lucky as we are feeding
for work not for food.”
Then, a short time later after the conversation of two cows, the pig Munika was killed to make
food for the wedding of the daughter of the rich man. At that time, Cullalohita said to the
Bodhisattva:” Although the food of Munita is 100 times that of the straws, I enjoy these straws
more than those foods.”
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After telling the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths, and the monk who was
attached to a girl obtained the first entering stream level. Finally, the Buddha identified that the
pig, Munika, was the young monk and the daughter of the rich man was the girl that he loved.
Cullalohita was Ananda, while Mahalohita was him.
Jataka 31: Story of Kulavaka

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and this story's background was related to a monk who
drank water without filtering the water.
At the Buddha's time, there were two young monks who lived at Jetavana, and then, one day,
they traveled to a rural area for a short time. They had only one water-filtering device, so they
often shared the filtering water with each other. On the way back to Jetavana, they argued with
each other, and one young monk did not filter the water but drank the direct water he took from
the river or the wells.
When they arrived at Jetavana, they all got to the room of the Buddha to pay respect to the
Buddha. To base their story, the Buddha recognized that one of them did not filter the water
before drinking, so the Buddha was compassionate to tell them:” We have to cultivate loving-
kindness to all the beings, and compassion and loving-kindness are essential in my dharma. Do
you know that without filtering the water, you are likely to drink from the beings which lived
in the water. In the past, the wise kings, due to their compassion to the birds, gave up the dream
of getting power.”

In times gone by, when Savatthi was also under the rule of a king of Maggadha, the Bodhisattva
was born in a royal family at Malaca, and he was named Maghamanava. Soon, Bodhisattva got
married with a virtuous girl when he grew up, and they had a son and a daughter after a few
years of marriage. The family of the Bodhisattva was a virtuous family as the Bodhisattva,
himself, and his family member all pay respects to five precepts of not killing, not drinking,
not telling lie, not stealing and not committing sexual misconduct.
In the village of Malacca, there were about 30 families and most of the villagers had wrong
livelihoods. They often enjoyed drinking, killing, stealing, and telling lies. The Bodhisattva
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firstly often gave the benefits to them, and then under the attraction of benefits, he assisted
them to get rid of wrong livelihood.
The village leader lost his profit, after all the villagers were engaged with moral cultivation, so
he planned to make all the villagers return to their immoral behaviors, so the village leader got
to the palace of the king to slander:” Dear majesty! A big number in my villager are enjoyed
stealing, so please help us to get rid of this crime.``
The king ordered a group of soldiers together with the village leader of Malacca to get to the
village and caught all the men in the village. When they were escorted to the palace, without
investigation, the king ordered the soldiers use a giant elephant to kill these villagers, including
Bodhisattva. The soldiers pushed all the villagers to lie down on the ground, and then they
pulled a giant elephant to walk on the villagers.
At that time, all the villagers were threatened, so some of them cried and others shouted loudly.
The Bodhisattva calmly said to them:” Please raise up your compassion to the king, to the
soldiers and to the elephant. We have kept the five precepts, and this virtue can assist us to get
rid of the trouble.”
All the villagers began keeping silent and they contemplated compassion for the king, the
soldiers and the elephant. Due to their compassion, the elephant did not want to step on them,
but the elephant stopped behind them. The soldiers were frustrated, so they took the other
aggressive elephant, but this aggressive elephant also did not step up to the villagers. Some
soldiers, at that time, told the king:” Dear majesty! They seemingly are reading some mantras
to protect themselves.”
The king, then, walked close to them, asking the villagers:” Which kind of mantras are you
reading? Do you believe that with all the evil things you all have done, the mantras still can
protect you?”
The Bodhisattva, at that moment, calmly told the king:” Dear majesty! Do you want to listen
to my mantra?”
The king said:” Great. Tell me, please!”
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Th Bodhisattva slowly said that:” Not killing, not stealing, not telling lie, not drinking and not
having sexual misconduct. These are our mantras. Not only that, we are eager to do charity
work and have engaged with cultivation of compassion. These are our strongest mantras. If you
want to kill us, please destroy these virtuous things.``
The king was aware of his fault after hearing the utterance from the Bodhisattva, so the king
dismissed the position of the village leader and gave all the villagers the right to rule their
village without taxes. The villagers then continued to cultivate morality and compassion. One
day, they preferred to make a holy town to offer the enlightened ones, but they did not allow
women to join the work.
One of wives of the Bodhisattva, namely True-Dharma, also wanted to join the work of making
the tower, so she went to a wood carpenter to order him to make the top of the tower after
knowing that the top of tower was not completed. When the tower was about to finish, the men
of the village went around to find valuable woods to make the top of the tower, but they could
not find the valuable woods. Finally, they saw the top of the tower at the house of the wood
carpenter which True-dharma ordered him to do. All the men wanted to buy the top of the
tower, but true-dharma did not sell but wanted to offer to get merit for her. The men had no
way, so they agreed.
The other wives of the Bodhisattva, namely Nanda (Joy) and Cittalatavana ( right thought) also
were engaged with the merits of making a garden and a beautiful pond. When all the works
completed, the Bodhisattva praised up the virtue of 7 moral precepts by a verse:
Taking good care of parents

Paying respects to the older brother
Saying elegant and true words
Giving up the slandered words
Demolishing the attachment to property
Controlling the anger
Then, after passing away, the Bodhisattva and all the villagers who engaged with the cultivation
of the tower all were reborn as Gods and goddesses on the 33rd heaven. Bodhisattva had the
greatest virtue, so he became the leader of the gods and goddesses born there, who was named
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Sakka. At that time, the Asura gods also lived on the 33rd heaven together, so the Sakka, one
day, let the Asura to drink wines, and after that expelled them out of the 33rd heaven.
The Asura were angry after they were expelled, so the Asuras climbed up on the Meru mount
to get to the 33rd heaven. The Sakka heard that the Asuras were coming, so he sat on the vehicle
driven by the god Matali to fight against the Asuras. However, the Sakka was defeated by the
Asuras, so he sat in the Vejeyanta vehicle to run away. When he was flying through the
southern sea, he heard the loud noise of the birds coming from far distance. Sakka asked his
driver, Matali:'' Which sound is that?”
The god Matali rapidly replied:” The sounds of the vultures, they worried that they would be
killed when this vehicle crossed their place, so they shouted loudly. “
To hear the reason, the Sakka rose up his compassion, so he asked Matali to stop getting
forward, but returned to his palace. The god, Matali drove the vehicle back to the 33rd realm by
the path where Sakka was defeated by the Asuras. Seeing Sakka returning, Asuras thought the
Sakka had support from other powers, so they worried about getting rid of the top of the Meru
mount to return to their palace.
When Sakka returned to the town of gods and goddesses, due to the compassion of him to the
vultures, from the ground of heaven, the palace of Vejeyanta quickly grew out, and it became
the palace of the Sakka. This palace was 500 miles high and 500 miles large. Then, the Sakka
ordered the Naga, Garuda, Kumdhnada, and four kings of the heaven of Catumahajata to
protect the 33rd heaven.
After arrangement of the protection of the 33rd heaven, the god was calmly ruled the 33rd
heaven, and the by the virtue of offering the top of the tower, the garden and the pond for the
tower, True-dharma, Nanda and Cittalatavana were born as beautiful and virtuous goddesses.
They were still the wives of the Sakka. With the power, the Sakka, then, knew that True-
Dharma, Nanda and Cittalatavana all were born in the heaven of the 33rd, but not the last wife.
So, Sakka used his power to contemplate on the rebirth of his last wife. Knowing that she was
born as a crane, the Sakka, with the supreme power, manifested in the crane realm to advise
the crane which was his wife in the previous life to keep precepts to be able to be reborn on the
33rd heaven.
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By the virtue of keeping precepts, she was reborn as the daughter of a ceramics-maker, and
during her lifespan as the daughter of the ceramics-maker, she still kept five precepts
sufficiently. Due to the virtue of keeping precepts, she was reborn as the daughter of the Asura
king, with the extra-beauty. At that time, she wanted to get married to a god that she loved.
Knowing the thought of the daughter of the king of Asuras, Sakka manifested as handsome
Asura to get to see the daughter of the king of Asuras. At first glance, the daughter of the king
of Asuras fell in love with the Sakka. Then, they got married and after the marriage, the Sakka
took her to his 33rd realm to live.
After telling the story, the Buddha complained to the monk who drank water without filtering
the water:” In the past, due to compassion, the Sakka accepted to be defeated to return his
vehicle to avoid harming the vulture birds, so you have to try hard to do so.”
Finally, the Buddha identified that the god, Matali was Ananda, while the Sakka was him.
Jataka 32: Story of Nacca

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the background of this story was related to a monk
who possessed more than two sets of clothes.
This monk was a rich man, and after his wife passed away, he was sorrowful to be ordained as
a monk in the Sangha of the Buddha. As an attachment to the family tendency, he enjoyed a
luxurious life, so he often returned to his house to enjoy food and bought lots of sets of clothes
to wear. One day, when he dried his clothes at the shore of a river, he discovered that possessed
more than two sets of clothes. Hence, some elderly monks took him to meet the Buddha.
When the Buddha asked him:'' Dear my beloved student! Did you possess more than two sets
of clothes?”
He got angry, and took off all his clothes, but not his underwear. Then, he left the Sangha to be
a lay man again. His attitude spread rapidly around Jetavana, and the monks, one day, discussed
his attitude at the Dharma-hall. When the Buddha entered the Dharma-hall, and knowing the
figure of the talk of monks, the Buddha said that:” It is not in the present time, but also in the
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past, he was not ashamed and scared of the evil and wrong acts. Due to this attitude, in the
past, he even left his faithful wife.”
Long ago, when the animals, birds and sea creatures did not have classes and rulers. One day,
the animals gathered to give the lion as their king, and the sea creatures gave the fish of Ananda
to be their king. The birds also gathered at Himalayas to select a goose, namely Suvanna as
their king. The king Suvanna of the birds had a beautiful daughter and when she was in
adulthood, she asked her father to give her the right to select the suitable husband for herself.
The king Suvanna, then, gathered all the birds to the mountains of Himalayas for his daughter
to have a look. The daughter of the Suvanna walked slowly among the crowd of the birds to
see all the male birds. Seeing the beauty of a peacock, the daughter of the king Suvanna said
to her father and all other birds:” I want this gentle guy, with colorful feathers, to be my
husband. Please give me this honor. Dear my father, the majesty of the birds.”
All the eyes of the birds, gathered at the mountain of Himalayas, looked toward the peacock
and at that moment, the peacock was arrogant to say loudly:” Nobody but the princess knows
my power and capability. I will bring happiness to her.”
Then the peacock stepped among the birds to dance strongly, and in arrogance, the peacock
forgot to dance gently. He danced crazily to show out all of his underwear organs. After
dancing, the peacock walked around to greet the birds as he was the star of all the birds. Seeing
the peacock was too arrogant and it also was not scared and shy to its fault. The king Suvanna
of the birds got frustrated with the peacock, so he said to his daughter:” Dear my beloved
daughter! I am too sorry, but I cannot give you the chance to get married with this peacock as
he is not scared and shy of his fault at all. I will give you to get married with one of the geese.
“
Then the king Suvanna spoke the verse:
Your voice is gentle and elegant

Your shape looks beautiful
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The neck is nice with colorful
Similar to the colorful pearl
The tail is wonderful when it spread out
However, having shameless attitude
Not deserving my son-in-law at all
The peacock was too shy to fly up, heading toward its nest. Then the marriage of the daughter
of king Suvanna and a wise and moral goose was organized soon after the gathering.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the peacock was the monk who possessed
lots of stuff, whereas the king of birds was him.
Jataka 33: Story of Sammodamàna

The Buddha told this story at Kaplikavastu, and the background of this story was related to the
arguments of Sakya and Koliya tribe about the source of water for the farming. After argued
each other, they held the weapons and were ready to fight against each other.
At that moment, the Buddha was crossing this region, and to be compassionate to solve their
issue, the Buddha advised them:” Dear the kings! Don’t fight and argue due to a small issue.
You all still can share the water to two tribes to use. It is not compassionate if one side has
water but other tribe is suffered due to the lack of water. To live in harmony, nobody can
destroy all of you, even you are small tribes. In the past, the wild animals which lived in
harmony could defeat the enemy easily, but they lost when they argued each other.”
In times gone by, when king Brahamadatat was ruling Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was born as
quail, and soon the Bodhisattva became the king of thousands of quails in the forest of the
nation. There was a couple of hunters who often got to the region of the flock of quails of
Bodhisattva to throw the nets to catch the quails for the living.
After a time, the number of the quails decreased rapidly, and the Bodhisattva told his quails:
There are hunters using nets to catch us. A big number of quails have been caught. So, from
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now on, when the hunters throw the nets on your heads, all together use your forces to move
the nets to the thorn bushes. By this way, you can escape from the hunters.”
To follow the instruction of the Bodhisattva, the quails often moved the nets toward the thorn
bushes, and by this way, they were easily to escape from the nets of the hunters. After few
days, the wife of the hunter worried:” If the quails continued to live in harmony to each other,
we have to move to other region for a living.”
The hunter calmly said:” Don’t worry. To base on my experience, these birds cannot live in
harmony for long. They soon argued and we can catch them easily.”
As the hunter predicted, a short time later, the quails often argued each other, and even fought
each other. Seeing the danger, the Bodhisattva thought:” They don’t follow my instruction, so
the quails tend to encounter danger by the hunters. It is better to move to live in another
region.”
Then the Bodhisattva advised its quails to move to another place to live. A big number of the
quails followed the Bodhisattva, but a vast number of the quails were headstrong to deny the
suggestion of the Bodhisattva. The remained quails were argued to each other, even when they
got stuck into the nets of the hunters. Therefore, they all caught by the hunters easily.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the king of the quails was him.
Jataka 34: Story of Maccha

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the background of this story was related to a young
monk who was attached wife after ordination.
When the young monk was brought to meet the Buddha, in this circumstance, the Buddha
compassionately told the monk:” You have to try hard to get rid of your attachment to her, as
it is the cause of rebirth. In the past, due to the attachment to her, you were in danger. However,
finally, you were lucky to have me save your life.”
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In times gone by, when king Brahamadatta was ruling Varanasi, the Bodhisattva worked as the
celebrant of the king.
One day, at the river bank which was close to the palace of the king, there were some fishermen
fishing. They threw their nets down to the river and waited for the fishes to come in the net. At
that time, there were two giant fishes traveling through this river bank, a female and a male
fish. The female was elegant, so the male fish was attached to the beauty of the female fish.
The female fish swam quicker than the male one, as the male fish tried to follow the female
fish. When they arrived at the nets of the fishermen, the female knew that the nets were
dangerous, so she tried to avoid the nets skillfully. The male fish, due to the attachment, was
not able to recognize the danger from the nets, so he swam into a net of the fishermen.
The fishermen took the male fish out of the river and threw it into a vessel with water on the
shore. At that moment, the male fish was still attached to the female fish, so he worried that:”
I don’t suffer because I am about to die. I am not suffering because I am about to be killed,
penetrated and grilled on the red charcoal, but I am suffering because I cannot continue to meet
her. Moreover, I worry that she would be sad as she thought I am with the other female fish.”
At that time, the celebrant of the king and some of his servants arrived at the river to take a
bath, and the celebrant could understand the animals and fishes’ language. Hearing the cry of
the fish, he thought:” This fish will be reborn in hell with this terrible mood, so I have to assist
it.”
Then the celebrant talked to the fishermen:” Dear guys. Could you please sell me some fish for
cooking my dinner?”
A fisherman replied rapidly while he pointed into the basket of the fishes:” Dear sir! You don’t
need to buy. Just take whatever you want. We are pleased to offer you these fish.”
The celebrant walked close to the vessel, and said to the fishermen:” I need nothing but only
this giant fish.”
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A fisherman replied rapidly:” Yes Sir! Take it as you want.”
The celebrant took the giant fish out and walked far from the fishermen. At a suitable place, he
told the giant fish:” You are lucky to meet me today, but try to get rid of your sexual desire.”
Then the celebrant released the fish into the river. The fish, then, happily jumped out of the
river to greet the celebrant. Then, it tried to move quickly forward to find his wife.
Buddha, the young monk obtained first entering stream level. Finally, the Buddha identified
that the couple of fish were the young monk and his former wife, while the celebrant was him.
Jataka 35: Story of Vattaka

The Buddha told this story when he was traveling to the nation of Magadha. The background
of the story was related to the forest-fire at the forest the Buddha and the monks settled in. The
fire was great and it tended to burn out the forest rapidly.
Some monks were afraid of the fire, so they intended to use the other fire to fight against this
horrible fire force. Then they collected the wood and put it into a giant pile. When they were
about to burn on the fire, some elderly monks arrived at their place, and suspended them to
stop their silly work. Some elderly monks said:” Don’t worry! The virtue of the master is great,
and this fire could not come close to him. We just stay close to the master; we will be saved.”
Then the monks gathered close to the Buddha to save their lives. In the late evening, the fire
spread to their place, but the strong fire was distinguished automatically when it was about to
reach the Buddha and the monks. At that time, some monks praised the power of the Buddha.
Venerable Ananda, rapidly prepared the seat for the Buddha, and after sitting down, the Buddha
calmly said:” It is not in the present time, but also in the past, due to the power of the truth and
the honesty, the fire could not harm everything around me. In this region, in the time of the
human lifespan, the fire will not be able to burn everything around here.”
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In times gone by, in a forest of Maggadha, the Bodhisattva was born as a quail. For months
from the time of getting out of the egg, this quail could not move or fly. So, the parents of the
quail have to take good care of him.
One day, some hunters carelessly put their cooking fire spread around, and soon, the fire
became tremendous, and it could not be distinguished. All the birds and animals tried to run
and fly away to escape from the fire. The parents of the Bodhisattva also left for their safety.
So, the baby quail, alone, stayed in the forest and waited for the fire to come to burn. At that
moment, with the merit cultivated in the past, the quail thought that:” In the past, the
enlightened ones had cultivated loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity, so they
could obtain enlightened state without suffering. Their virtues are great, so I have to save
myself by contemplating on the virtue of the enlightened ones.”
Then the quail spoke the verse:
On this world, the virtue of keeping precepts is greatest

The town of truth, purification and compassion
Residing in the cultivation of precepts
Arising my honesty, as the practice
Contemplating on the virtue of all the Buddhas

Residing into the virtues of the Buddhas
My thoughts and my words are purified
Staying with the honesty
Then the quail continued to speak the verse:
Having wings but not able to fly

Having legs but not able to walk
Parents left for their safety
Fire, please, stop moving forward
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When the quail completed its contemplation, the fire was about to approach its place. Suddenly,
the fire was distinguished when it was about 30 meters to reach the tree which had the nest of
the quail on.
After telling the story, the Buddha said:” When I was a baby quail in the Bodhisattva way of
practice, my honesty could distinguish the fire.”
Then the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths, and various monks obtained first entering
stream level, one-returning level, none-returning level and Arhathood. Finally, the Buddha
identified that the baby quail was him.
Jataka 36: Story of Sakuna

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and this story's background was related to a young
monk who suffered when his cottage caught fire in a rainy retreat.
At the Buddha's time, there was a young man who loved the dharma practice of the Buddha,
so he entered Jetavana to ordain as monk. After getting a method for practice, he went to a rural
area in Kosala to practice in a rainy season, when he arrived, the villagers assisted him to make
a cottage. Just at the beginning of the rainy season, he was careless to make the fire catch fire
to the cottage, so he had to stay under a big tree for the whole rainy season. With the hard-
condition, he could not develop on his practice.
So, when he returned Jetavana to tell the Buddha his issue, the Buddha gave him some precious
advice:” In the past, even, the animals also moved to a suitable place for their safety. So, why
didn't you know about this?”
bird which lived with a crowded flock of birds at a giant tree in the forest. The giant tree was
branched and its branches reached far around. There were lots of dry leaves at the ground
around the root of the tree for years. One day, some branches of the tree often abraded each
other, and some powders from the abrading fell down on the body of the tree. The Bodhisattva
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observed this issue and he knew that when branches of the tree would abrade, the fire would
appear and would burn all the dry leaves at the root.
Hence, the Bodhisattva said to other birds:” Hey brothers and friends! To base on my
observation, this tree will be burned by the fire generated from rubbing of the branches. Hence,
it is better to leave here for another safe place.”
Most of the birds living on this tree listened to the advice of the Bodhisattva, so they followed
the Bodhisattva to fly to another safe place to live. However, a small number of birds did not
follow the instruction of the Bodhisattva, so they remained at the tree. One day, in the night
time, the fire generated from rubbing off the branches of the tree, caught a tremendous number
of the dry leaves at the root. Then, the tree burned out rapidly. As the fire reached in the night
time, so all the birds living on the tree did not see the way to escape. They all were burned in
the fire.
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths, and the young monk
obtained first entering stream level. Finally, the Buddha identified that the wise bird was him
and all the birds which listened to the wise bird were the monks of the Buddha.
Jataka 37: Story of Tittira
The Buddha told this story at Savatthi, and the story background was related to the issue related
to Venerable Sariputta.
When the millionaire, Anathapindika, completed building the temple for the Buddha and
Sangha at Savatthi, the Buddha, after time of living in Vesali, moved to the temple built by
Anathpindika in Savatthi. Knowing the Buddha arrived at Savatthi, the monks lived nearby,
and paid a visit to the Buddha. Some monks arrived at the temple and they settled their lives in
all the prepared rooms. Then, when the venerable Sariputta arrived, he had no room to stay.
Finally, he decided to sit under a big tree nearby for the whole night.
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In the morning, the Buddha walked close to the tree, and when the Buddha saw Venerable
Sariputta, the Buddha asked him:” My beloved student! Why did you sit here in the early
morning?”
Venerable Sariputta told the Buddha his issue, and the Buddha, then, called venerable Ananda
to gather all the monks for the teaching. When the monks gathered, the Buddha asked :” How
do you think who should be paying respect in our community”
A monk said:” To base on the background, if monks have Kshatriya or Brahmin background,
they should have great respect compared to others.”
One monk calmly said:” To base on their enlightenment, such as the first entering stream level,
one-returning-level, none-returning level or Arhathood.”
One wisely said:” To base on their Jhana levels, such as the first meditation level, second, third
or fourth level of meditation.”
The Buddha refused these answers:” Dear my beloved students! In our community, the
background of family, the levels of Jhana, the achievement of minds levels are not the
measurements for respect, but it should be based on the age in the Sangha. The elderly monks
should be respected by the younger ones.”
The Buddha stopped for a while and continued to say:” Dear my beloved students! In the past,
the animals were in messy conditions, as they did not respect each other. After time, they
realized that they had to respect the ones which had the oldest age among their community. It
is not possible that the monks in my community do have this respectful quality.”
In times gone by, at the mountainside of the Himalayas, there was a giant Catappa tree, and
there were an elephant, a monkey and a peasant bird living around this catappa tree. They did
not respect each other, but later on, they tried to find the oldest among them to give as the
brother. They decided that which among them saw the Catappa first, would be the oldest
brother.
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The elephant calmly said:” Long time ago, when I crossed this region, this tree touched my
stomach.”
The monkey rapidly said:” When I first saw this catappa tree, I just sat on the ground but still
could eat the leaves on the top of the tree.”
The pheasant said pleasantly:'' Dear all! I should be the oldest one among you, as after eating
the catappa fruits, I picked up one seed of the catappa and threw it here. From the seed, I
threw, this Catappa threw up and became a giant tree.``
Then the elephant and the monkey gave the pheasant bird as their oldest brother, and they
listened to the true-dharma from the pheasant. They were diligently cultivating virtue and
keeping precepts.
After telling the story, the Buddha said that:”
Who oldest in the ages

Excellence in the true-dharmas
Being praised up by others
Being reborn in the heaven coming life
Then the Buddha identified that the elephant was Moggallana and the monkey was Sariputta,
while the wise pheasant was him.
Jataka 38: Story of Baka

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the background of the story was related to the
monks who were excellent in sewing, but preferred to cheat others to exchange the new clothes
from old sewed clothes.
These two monks did not stay together, but stayed in different places. One lived in Jetavana
and one lived in a rural village which quietly was far from Jetavana. These two monks often
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collected the old pieces of clothes that people threw away, and they sewed these collected
pieces together to make a completed piece of robe for monks. After they completed their works,
they dyed the robes into the powder of yellow color, and ironed the robes with the shells. Then,
they took to show others their making robes, and when other monks wanted to have a piece of
robe, they had to use the new pieces of clothes for the exchange.
Their attitudes gradually spread around and the monks living at Jetavana, one day, gathered at
the Dharma-hall, talking about this issue. When they were talking, the Buddha entered the
Dharma-hall and comprehended the figure of the talk of monks, the Buddha said that:” It is not
in the present time, but also in the past, these two monks were likely to cheat others.”
In times gone by, in a deep forest, the Bodhisattva was born as a deity of a giant tree which
grew up near to a big pond of the forest. The pond was normally full of water, and there were
lots of fish living in the pond.
In one summer, there was no rain for several months, and the pond water decreased rapidly to
show out the crowd of the fishes which were in the danger of lacking water. At that time, there
was a stork that arrived on the top of the giant tree, and seeing the crowd of the fishes, the stork
tried to find a way to trick the fishes to eat them. Then the stork flew down to the shore of the
pond, looking constantly as the pond.
The fishes saw the stork looking constantly at the pond, they wondered to ask:” Hey sir! What
are you studying with the pond?”
The stork said to the fishes with a concerned voice:” I am worrying about the danger to all of
you as the water in this pond is decreasing quickly. I am trying to find a way to save all of
you.”
A fish asked:” Did you find a solution to help us?”
The stork stopped for a while and then said:” If you believe in me, I will pick each of you up
and put you into another pond which is full of water and food.”
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The fishes said:” Don’t cheat us. The storks are not willing to help the fishes but try to cheat
us into eating.”
The stork said:” I will pick one of you to that pond first, and if you believe me, I will carry this
plan.”
The fishes selected a strong fish to allow the stork to pick up to the other pond, and the stork
selected a giant pond with water and foods. Then the stork picked this fish up and flew back to
the decreasing-water pond. This fish spoke highly of the pond to attach all the fishes to believe
in the stork.
Then, from that day, the stork gradually began to enjoy the fishes under the pond with its clever
cheat. When the water in the pond decreased terribly that the muds were unveiled, the stork
killed and ate all the fishes in the pond with its clever cheat. Then, having nothing to eat, the
stork tried to cheat a crab:” Dear crab! I have given rides to all the fishes in this lake to another
pond full of water and food. Please let me have this honor to assist you.”
The crab thought:” This stork might have eaten all the fishes in this pond and is trying to eat
me. However, If I stay here, sooner or later I will also die. Better to find a way to cheat this
stork to carry me to the other pond.”
Then the crab said to the stork:” I worry that you will drop me when you are flying, so if you
allow me to hold your neck, I will follow you.”
The stork was greedy to think of the crab, so it agreed. Then the crab held the neck of the stork.
The stork did not fly to the pond as it promised but stopped on the top of a Vanara tree, trying
to eat the crab. At that time, the crab said to the stork:” Did you eat all the fish and try to eat
me?”
The stork said rapidly with pride:” Look at the root of this tree, the bones of all the fishes in
that pond were thrown here after I enjoyed their meat. Now, it is your turn to be my meal.”
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The crab at that time held close to the neck of the stork:” Hurry to drive me to the pond with
water, otherwise, your neck will be cut. I am not the ignored fish who believed in you
completely.”
The stork was scared of the threat of the crab, so it rapidly flew up carrying the crab to the pond
with water and food. Then it landed to put the crab on the shore. Before leaving the crab tried
to hold the neck of the stork close to make it injured. Then, the crab rapidly moved into the
water of the pond.
The deity of the tree saw the cheat of the crab to the stork, he spoke the verse:
The wise used scheming ways to cheat others

Soon being cheated by other scheming ones
The scheming stork cheated the fishes
Being cheated by a scheming crab
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the stork and the crab were the scheming
monk in Jetavana and the monk in the rural area respectively, while the deity of the tree was
him.
Jataka 39: Story of Nanda

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the background of this story was related to a student
of venerable Sariputta. One day, venerable Sariputta had a work in Dakkhinagiri, Maggadha,
so he took a faithful student together with him on his trip. When they just arrived Dakkhinagiri,
his student changed his attitude rapidly. His student did not follow his instruction anymore,
and sometimes, his student argued against him. After venerable Sariputta completed his work
at Dakkhinagiri, he took his student to return Jetavana, and when they arrived Jetavana, his
student changed the attitude totally.
Venerable Sariputta did not understand the issue, so he paid a visit to the Buddha, asking:”
Dear master. I have a student, and his attitude has changed rapidly based on the living places.
When he stayed here at Jetavana, he was a faithful student, but when he stayed in another
place, he was arrogant and headstrong.”
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The Buddha contemplated for a while and said to Sariputta:” Dear my beloved student! It is
not in the present time, but also in the past, he changed his attitude rapidly.”
In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was born in a
business family, and when he grew up, he was an excellent businessman, with successful
business works. He had a close friend who was older than him. His friend had a young and
beautiful wife and a son. When his friend was getting old, he was afraid that his wife would
take all the fortune to get married with another man, so he ordered a servant, namely Nanda, to
assist him to hide all his fortune in the forest. After hiding the fortune said to the Nanda:”
Please inform my son of this fortune when he grows up and after I die.”
Then, soon, the friend of the Bodhisattva passed away, and when his son turned adult, his mom
said:” We have lived in difficult financial conditions as your father hid the fortune. Only Nanda
knew the location. Now, you are an adult, please ask him the location of hiding the fortune.
Please take the fortune back and continue the business works of your father.”
Then the young man asked his servant:” Dear Nanda! Did my father show you the location that
he hid our fortune?”
Nanda said:” Dear boss! Sure. I promised to show him to you when you ask me in the adult
ages. So, tomorrow, I will take you to that place.”
The next day, Nanda took the young businessman to the forest, and standing on the place where
they dug the ground to hide the fortune, Nanda rapidly changed his attitude. He shouted toward
the young businessman:” Go away. You do not deserve to get this fortune.”
The young businessman was curious but he tried to keep calm and called Nanda to return. The
next day, they again entered the forest, and again Nanda changed his attitude when they arrived.
However, he returned to the faithful attitude when they returned home. So, the young
businessman paid a visit to the Bodhisattva to ask for the method:” Dear sir! You are a close
friend to my father, so I paid a visit here to obtain your advice on one issue. My father hid our
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fortune in the forest, and only Nanda, our servant, knew the exact location. However, whenever
we got to that place, he changed his attitude and shouted toward me. What should I do then?”
The Bodhisattva thought for a while and said: “Tomorrow, take him to the forest again. At the
place, your servant stands on to shout at you, your fortune is under that location. This servant,
due to the attachment to the fortune, did not want to show you your fortune.”
The young businessman returned and the next day, he took his servant Nanda together with the
crowd of servants, and he followed the instruction of the Bodhisattva to dig the ground where
Nanda stood to shout at him. Finally, he got back his fortune. He used the fortune to develop
his business and used the fortune to help the people in need as the Bodhisattva advised.
After telling the story, the servant, namely Nanda, was the student of venerable Sariputta, while
the wise businessman was him.
Jataka 40: Story of Khadirangara

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and this story's background was related to the offerings
of Anathapindika to the Buddha and Sangha.
After having faith in the dharmas of the Buddha, Anathapindika donated 540 millionaires to
build the temple of Jetavana for the Buddha and monks to stay. Besides, he offered daily foods
and beverages to 500 monks. Also, he often invited the Buddha and monks to his house for the
offerings. Whenever, the Buddha and elderly monks entered the house of Anathapindika, the
deity who lived on the four-floor had to get down to the ground. So, gradually, she built up
hatred for the Buddha and monks of the Buddha.
One day, knowing that Anathapindika had run out of the money as he offered the Buddha and
monks a lot, the deity in the night time appeared, standing in the thin air, telling
Anathapindika:” Dear great man. Please stop offering the Buddha and his monks, as these
actions have driven you to the poor and troubled condition. “
Anathapindika asked:” Who are you? And why did you advise me to do this ?
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The deity calmly said:” I am the deity who has lived on the fourth floor of your house. I know
that you are encountering financial trouble, so come to give you a wise method to get rid of the
trouble.”
Anathapindika calmly said:” You said terrible words to me, so please get out of my house from
now on.”
As Anathapindika already obtained the first entering stream level, so when he did not allow the
deity to stay at his house, the female deity could not continue to feel safe and comfortable to
stay as she was, so she took her children to find the other suitable places. For a few days, she
suffered as she could not find the suitable place to reside. Hence, she went to the god who took
responsibility as the protector of the Savatthi to ask for help:” Dear sir! I am a deity who lived
on the fourth floor of Anathapindika house, but as I complained about his offerings to the
Buddha, he expelled me. I have no suitable place to reside. Please help me return to his house.”
However, this god said: “ You said not to appreciate words, so I cannot help you.”
Then the deity got to the shrine of the Sakka to ask for help, and the Sakka appeared to tell
her:'' I also cannot give you a hand as you complained to the Buddha. It is not an appreciated
act. However, I shall give you a perfect plan to return to his house. Now, he is encountering
financial trouble. Before, various people borrowed money from him, but they have not returned
to him. Please use the power of deity to help Anathapindika to get back those money of 180
million Also, before he hid his money at the shore of a river, and the shore of the river was
broken to drift all the fortune to the bottom of the river, if you can assist him to return this
money, he shall have 180 million more. Also, he hid his fortune of 180 million in the forest, but
soon could not remember the exact location. If you can assist him to regain this amount of 180
million, he shall have a total of 540 million. After do this, ask him for forgiveness, and he will
forgive you.``
The deity used her power, and within a night, she completed all these tasks, and then before
the sun would rise, she appeared in the room of Anathapindika, saying:” I already assisted you
to regain 450 million, and put into your storage, please forgive me and let me to return to live
on the fourth floor.”
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Anathapindika, then, went to the storage house to have a look, and he was surprised as the
storage was full of golden coins. So, he said to the female deity:” If you say sorry to the Buddha,
you can return to live here. If you agree, I will take you to meet the master right now.”
The deity agreed and then they got to Jetavana to meet the Buddha. After paying respects to
the Buddha, Anathapindika told the Buddha the story related to the deity, and the Buddha, in
this circumstance, said that:” With evil actions, but when the fruits of the evil acts have not
ripened, nobody is scared of the evil causes. When the causes blossom with the fruits, they
worry and suffer. Cultivating good deeds, and when the good rewards have not ripened, people
often thought of no fruits. When the good fruits blossom, they are extremely happy.”
Then the Buddha praised Anathapindika for his unchangeable beliefs in the offering actions:”
Dear my beloved student! In the past, even when the Buddhas had not appeared to give the
teachings on cultivation for good deeds, and when the Rayas, the Sakka stood in the thin air,
threatening to people who tended to do offerings with fire around them, the wise men still were
diligently to carry out their offering acts.”
In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, Bodhisattva was born in a
business family, and when he grew up, he became an excellent businessman. However, he did
not attach to the property, but was diligent to do offerings. He built up 6 offering halls to assist
people in need to be able to get the donations from him. Four offering halls located at four
directions of the town, while one located at the center of the town and one was in front of his
house respectively.
One day, a Priyanka Buddha was awakened from the contemplation of several days, so he used
his power to contemplate the suitable place for getting alms. Knowing the house of the
Bodhisattva was the offering place, he tried his robe on, carrying the soil-making bowl, flying
in the thin air, heading toward the house of the Bodhisattva. Then, the PratyekaBuddha held
the bowl with all the beautiful signs of the enlightened ones, getting toward the house of the
Bodhisattva. Sitting inside the living room, Bodhisattva saw the Prayekabuddha from the far
distance, so he immediately stood up and got to the kitchen to ask the chef to make special
foods to offer the Pratyekabuddha.
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At that time, the king of gods and goddesses of the Mara Payiya realm appeared, and he tried
to suspend the Bodhisattva to offer the Pratyekabuddha. Therefore, he made a deep hole at the
center of the house of the Bodhisattva, and inside the hole, the hot charcoal and fire were
sparking loudly. The heat from this charcoal hole made all people frightened to run away. The
servant of the Bodhisattva, also could not give the food to the Prayekabuddha. At that time, the
Bodhisattva shouted loudly:” Who suspended me to offer this monk? And why?”
The king of Mara Papiya realm said:” I am the king of Mara-Papiya realm, and I don’t want
you to offer this monk as he will die if he has no food to eat today. “
The Bodhisattva still was faithful to his offering, so he took the food and walked close to the
fire reaching hole, saying toward the Prayekabuddha at the opposite side:” Dear venerable!
Even if I die, I also have to do the offerings to you today. Please agree to accept it.”
The Prayekabuddha was pleasant to the attitude of the Bodhisattva, so he nodded his head to
agree, and at that time, from the fire-reaching hole, giant lotus flower grew up and then the
Bodhisattva walked up the lotus flower to reach to the Prayekabuddha to offer foods to him.
After getting the food, the Prayekabuddha gave the talk to the Bodhisattva and people around,
and then he used his power to sit in the thin air, heading toward the Himalayas. The Bodhisattva
sat on the lotus flower to give the teaching on how to cultivate virtue and the benefits of
offerings to people around.
Then the Buddha said to Anathapindika:” Dear my beloved student! Not only you, but in the
past, the wise men also were unchangeable to their faithfulness in offerings, despite the
challenges generated by the Mara-papiya.”
Then the Buddha identified that the Prayakabuddha obtained Mahanirvana, while the wise and
virtuous businessman was him.
Jataka 41: Story of Losaka

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the story background was related to venerable
Losak, a student of venerable Sariputta.
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In the Buddha's time, he was born in a rural village, and when he was given birth, all the village
got damaged seven times, and also got punishments from the king seven times. Not only that,
all the villagers who worked as fishermen could not catch even small fishes for a long time.
So, they divided the village into two parts, and after knowing the bad curse from one part, this
part of people was continued to divide into two. Thus, by this method, the villager found out
that the family of the venerable Losala brought bad curse to the village. Hence, they expelled
his family out of the village. The father could not endure suffering from poverty, so he left his
mother and him. His mother took him to get around begging as a way of living. When he turned
seven, his mom, one time, left him, as she could not endure the terrible curse from him
anymore. He often ate the leftovers from the people on the road. One day, he met venerable
Sariputta, and venerable Sariputta accepted him as his student.
With diligence in practice, he soon obtained Arhathood. However, his bad curse still embraced
his monkhood. He often had less food to survive even when he got to the rich family for alms.
At the great offering, when sponsors were about to give food to him, they did not see the food.
Nevertheless, when they moved to the other monks, the food appeared in their eyes again.
One day, his master, venerable Sariputta, by the power of meditation, knew that he would
obtain Nirvana the next day after lunch, so before that day, at the evening time, venerable
Sariputta told all the monks who lived in the same temple to give the food to venerable Losaka
when they returned the temple. However, all the monks, when they got back, forgot to give
Venerable Losaka food. Venerable Sariputta, at that time, returned, saw his student had nothing
to eat, so he walked close to venerable Losaka, holding his bowl and said:” My beloved student!
Enjoy this food before you obtain Nirvana. Don’t be shy when I hold the bowl, as if I put it
down all the food will automatically disappear when you touch them.”
Venerable Losak looked at his master, and then he calmly took the food to enjoy. Then, he put
the bowl aside, sitting in the lotus posture to obtain Nirvana. Then the funeral for him was
organized under the presence of the Buddha, his master venerable Sariputta and all the monks
lived in Jetavana. After the funeral, some monks asked the Buddha:” Why did the venerable
Losak obtain Arhat, but he still was not able to get enough food for living?”
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The Buddha calmly said:” Everything is due to karma, and due to his terrible acts in the past
life, he encountered this trouble.”
In times gone by, in the time of Kassapa Buddha, in a rural village, there was a millionaire who
enjoyed offering the ascetic monks. Hence, this millionaire often offered a monk who lived at
the edge of the village. This monk was a well-practice of precepts well, and he was kind to
everyone.
One day, an ascetic monk who obtained arhatthood arrived at this village, and the monk at the
village was pleased to treat the Arhat monk with all his special foods and drinks. Then he also
invited the Arhat monk to stay at his cottage. One day, the millionaire paid a visit to the monk
as usual, and seeing the Arhat monk, he was faithful to offer him lots of food. Then, from that
day, the millionaire came to meet the Arhat monk daily to offer and to listen to the dharmas
from the Arhat monk.
The owner monk of the temple was jealous of the Arhat monk. Hence, he tried to suspend
others from offering his friend. With diligence, his friend obtained Arhat, and due to this karmic
cause, he was born in hell for several rebirths, and then he was able to be reborn in the human
realm but in the poor family.
In one rebirth, he was born as a son in a poor family. Before he was born, they still could earn
a living easily. However, when he was born, his parents were totally poor. So, his father left
him and his mother. His mother also left their house, taking him around begging as the way of
living. When he turned 7, his mother left him after putting him at the center of a town.
Having no place to live, he traveled around begging, and when he turned 16, a wise and
generous master accepted him to be his student, but instead of paying tuition fees, he had to
work as the servant of his family and his school. Also, the master put him the name as
Mittavindaka. After short time of learning with the master, he was headstrong to endure the
academic life, so he left the school and got a rural village to get married with an ugly girl. When
he settled his life at the village, the bad luck constantly came to the villagers. The village was
damaged by fire seven times, and also punished by the king seven times.
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After being expelled from the village, Mittavindaka led his wife to live in the forest, but soon,
his wife got sick and died. In sorrowfulness, he made a boat by the bamboo and floated on the
sea. With the virtue of keeping precepts in the Kassapa Buddha, he drifted to an island which
had a golden palace, and became the husband of four beautiful women on this island. However,
his desire was great, so after a short time of enjoying the luxurious life, he left on his boat to
float for another island, and soon, he arrived at an island, which had a crystal palace, and he
became the husband of 32 beautiful women on this island. Short time, he was greedy to find
another island to enjoy with more beautiful women, and he left the crystal palace, drifting away.
Soon, his boat arrived at an island which was the hometown of the Yakshas, and he saw a goat
which was a Yaksha but he did not know. He held the goat and intended to cook it for a meal.
The yaksha got angry, and with the power of the deity, the Yaksha kicked him back to the
mainland, at the town of Varanasi.
Seeing the goats in a trap, he thought that these goats could help him to return the golden and
crystal palace to enjoy with his wives, so he jumped into the trap to hold a goat. During that
time, the villagers often lost their goats to the robbers, so they caught him and tightened him
into a giant pillar, using robs to punish him horribly. At that time, his master with 500 students
crossed that village, and recognizing him, the master insisted the villagers release him.
The master took Mittavindaka and asked him:” Where was you gone, my student?”
Mittavindaka told his master his long story, and afterward, his master said:” As you did not
listen to the wise people who wanted you to live happily, so you suffered.”
Then the Buddha told the monks:” Due to the karmic actions. Losak could obtain arhat, but
less virtue to get enough food for keeping healthy.”
Then the Buddha identified that Mittavindaka was venerable Losaka, while the wise and
generous master was him.
Jataka 42: Story of Kopata
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The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the background of the story was related to a
greedy monk.
When elderly monks brought him to meet the Buddha for a solution, the Buddha tried to
motivate him to get rid of greed. The Buddha said:” In the past, due to your greed, you were
in danger, and your greed pulled the wise men into trouble.”
In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, Bodhisattva was born as a
pigeon. At that time, the people of Varanasi loved the birds, so they often prepared the places
for the birds to reside. At the house of a millionaire, in the kitchen, the chef put a baster with
straw as the net for the bird to stay in. The Bodhisattva, then, moved to stay in this basket.
As the Bodhisattva did not eat meat, so the tasty smell of cooking fishes and meats did not
make the Bodhisattva attached to the foods of the chef. The Bodhisattva often departed the
kitchen in the morning for living and returned in the late afternoon to sleep. Thus, in this way,
the life of the Bodhisattva was smoothly gone.
One day, a crow was attached to the cooking smell from the kitchen of the millionaire, so it
tried to make friends with the pigeon. When the pigeon flew out to live in the morning, it rapidly
flew following the pigeon and said to the pigeon:” You look beautiful. Could you please let me
be your servant?”
The pigeon agreed and then they altogether flew to a forest to find for a living and then in the
afternoon, the pigeon took the crow to the kitchen of the millionaire. The chef saw the crow,
he was kind to make the other nest for the crow to stay. For first few days, the crow was faithful
to follow the pigeon to get out for living in the morning, but later on, it wanted to carry out its
plan. Hence, one morning, the crow said to the pigeon:” I get stomach ache. So, I will stay at
home today. Please don’t disturb me.”
Then, lying in the basket, looking at the fishes on the dishes on the table in the kitchen, the
crow could not live if he could not eat the fishes. Then, when the chef just stepped out for a
while, the crow quickly flew out, landing on the table to enjoy the cooking fishes. The crow
was greedy to eat and it did not concern about the return of the chef. So, when the chef
returned and saw the crow eating his food, he got angry. To close all the windows and the
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doors, the chef easily caught the crow and punished it terribly by taking off all its feathers.
Afterward, the chef threw the crow into its nest again.
In the afternoon, the pigeon returned, and seeing the crow was bare of feathers, the pigeon
comprehend the issue. Then, the pigeon said to the crow:” I already cautioned you. Your greed
caused this trouble to you and to me as well. “
Ignoring the wise advices from the wise ones

Those who want to bring happiness to us
Receiving the bad rewards
All due to the karmic actions
Greed is harmful to us
Greed make us blind to do evil things
Un returns, we shall regain bad rewards for our acts
Then the pigeon thought the kitchen of the millionaire was no longer suitable for the birds to
stay, so quickly the pigeon departed for a new safe and suitable palace.
that the crow was the greedy monk, whereas the pigeon was him.
Jataka 43: Story Veluka

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and this story's background was related to a
headstrong monk, who did not follow the Buddha's instructions.
When this monk was brought to meet the Buddha for advice, the Buddha just calmly told him:”
It is not in the present time, but also in the past, you were a headstrong guy, and due to your
headstrong attitude, you encountered danger.”
In times gone bye, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was born
in a rich family. When he grew up, he was well-educated, but he did not attach to family life.
Therefore, he left his family to live as a forest monk in the Himalayas. With diligence, he soon
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obtained all the fruits of meditation practice, and soon became the master of 500 young monks
who lived around.
One of his students saw a baby poisonous snake, and he loved the snake. Hence, he took the
tiny snake to his cottage and put it into a hub of bamboo. He daily took good care of the snake
as his son, and he called the snake, Veluka, the snake of the bamboo. Gradually, other monks
called him as father of Veluka. Soon, this news spread to the Bodhisattva, so the Bodhisattva
called him and said:” I know that you are feeding a poisonous snake, please release it into the
forest. The snake cannot feed like human animals. You will encounter danger when it grows
up.”
This monk did not listen to the advice of the Bodhisattva, so he continued to keep Veluka, and
he thought that due to his great love for it, the snake would not beat him. One day, this monk
went to the deep forest to harvest the fruits together with other monks, and he stayed in the
deep forest for a few days. During this time, Veluka had nothing to eat. When the monk
returned and hurried to open the bamboo hub to give food to the snake, the snake was angry
enough to beat him on his hand. Due to the poison of the snake, this monk soon died. The
death of this monk was informed to the Bodhisattva and other monks, and they gathered to
do the funeral for the monk. When the fire just was burned out the pile which had the dead
body of the monk, the Bodhisattva sat down and said the verse:
Due to the ignorant

Not listening to the wise advice
Gaining the troubles, even death
As this monk, father of Veluka
Then the Bodhisattva advised all his students to cultivate loving-kindness, compassion, joy
and equanimity. They all practiced hard and reborn in the willing realms after passing away.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the father of Veluka was the headstrong monk
of the Buddha, while the master of the monks in the Himalayas was him.
Jataka 44: Story of Makasa
The Buddha told this story at a rural village which was located on the path between Jetavana
and Maggadha.
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On one occasion, when the Buddha was getting to Maggadha from Jetavana, the Buddha and
monks stopped by at a rural village. When the Buddha arrived, the village leader and his
assistants made a tent at the edge of the village for the Buddha and monks to stay for the
offerings. When the Buddha just sat down, he saw a number of people, who were injured,
coming back to the village. The Buddha wondered to ask the village-leader:” Why did some
villagers get injured terribly?”
The village- leader said:” Dear master. They are ignorant, so they aim to kill all the mosquitoes
in the forest so that the mosquitoes will not attack them whenever they get to cut the trees or
collect the fruits. I guess they used arrows and bonds to kill the mosquitoes, and then
carelessly they made each other injured.”
The Buddha calmly said to the village-leader and monks:” They are not the only people who
wanted to kill the mosquitoes, but then harmed each other. However, in the past, some
ignorant people also did the same.”
business family, and soon, he became an excellent businessman when he grew up. He often
bought various kinds of products in the town and then sold the products to the other town for
earning the profits.
One day, they got to the house of a wood carpenter to order him to make some products for
him. At that time, the wood-carpenter was intensively concentrating on carving a wood, so he
did not disturb the carpenter, but silently sat down and waited for the carpenter. The carpenter
had a bald head, so the mosquitoes often parked on his head to enjoy his blood. For a while,
after the Bodhisattva sat down to wait, a giant mosquito parked on the head of the carpenter
and started drinking his blood. The carpenter was annoyed, but he could not put down his
tools to drive away the mosquito, so he asked his son, who was assisting him to do something:”
Dear son! Could you please assist me to drive away the mosquito parking on my head?”
The son of the carpenter rapidly replied:” Don’t worry dad. I am killing it for you.”
Then the son of the carpenter took a stick and hit on the head of the carpenter. The carpenter
got seriously injured, and then he fell down on the ground. The Bodhisattva saw all the events,
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so he thought:” The wise enemies are still not the dangers to us as they may fear the
punishments from the king or the karma. The ignorant ones are the most brutal as they are
not able to comprehend what is wrong or right?”
Then the Bodhisattva spoke the verse:
Avoiding to associate with the ignorant ones

As they may harm us due to their ignorance
Similar to the son of the carpenter
Aiming to assist his father, but made his father injury
Then the Bodhisattva stood up and got to another carpenter to order the products.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the wise businessman was him.
Jataka 45: Story of Rohini
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the background of this story was related to a
female servant of Anathapindika, namely Rohini.
One day, on one occasion, Rohini was allowed to return to visit her parents. Her mother was
pleased to get to the kitchen to crush the rice to make some cakes. During that time, the
mother of Rohini was crushing the rice with a pestle. Some flies often disturbed her, so she
asked Rohini to give a hand to drive away the flies. Rohini used another pestle to beat on the
flies and carelessly, Rohini made her mother injured terribly. The mother of Rohini got a
serious injury, so she, soon, died after the effort for healing from the doctors. Then this news
was informed to Anathapindika. Anathapindika assisted in making the funeral for the mother
of Rohini, and then he got to Jetavana and told the Buddha this issue of Rohini.
The Buddha, in this circumstance, calmly said that:” It is not in the present, but also in the
past, she made her relatives get injured when she assisted them to drive away the flies.”
millionaire family, and when he grew up, he inherited all the business works of his father after
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his father passed away. He had an ignorant female servant, and during a festival, he allowed
her to return to visit her parents.
When she just arrived at her house, her mother was crushing the rice to generate the powder
to make cakes. At that time, smelling the powder, the flies came to fly around the mother of
this female servant. Therefore, her mother asked her:” Could you assist me to drive away the
flies, as they have made me annoyed?”
The female servant of the Bodhisattva was ignorant, so she held a pestle to hit the flies, and
carelessly, she bit on the back of her mother and made her mother get serious injury. Her
mother then died after time of healing with the injury. This news rapidly spread to the
Bodhisattva, and he spoke the verse to illustrate his thought:
Being enemies with the wise ones

Are safe as they are scared of the laws and the karmas
Associating with the ignorant one is more harmful
As they may harm us terribly with their ignorance
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the female servant and her mother were
Rohini and her mother respectively, while the wise millionaire was him.
Jataka 46: Story of Àràmadùsaka
The Buddha told this story at a rural village in Kosala, when he was on the way to cross around
spreading his teachings to others. At the rural village, the richest farmer of the village was
faithful to the teachings of the Buddha, he went to the place of the Buddha and the monks to
pay respect and invited the Buddha and monks to stay in his garden for the offerings.
When the Buddha and monks got to his garden, the farmer ordered one of his servants to take
the monks to have a look around the garden, while he was preparing the meals for the Buddha
and monks. The monks enjoyed looking around the garden which had lots of trees with fruits.
However, when they got to the middle of the garden, they noticed a vast region of the garden
which had no trees, so they asked the guide:” Why is this region empty of the trees?”
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The guide said:” Dear venerable monks! This region was full of evergreen trees, but all the
trees were taken off by a son of a garden taker, as the child wanted to measure the roots to
water the trees.”
The monks told this story to the Buddha when they returned, and in this circumstance, the
Buddha said that:” It is not in the present time, but also in the past, that guy was likely to
demolish all the trees he took care of in this silly way.”
In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, there were lots of monkeys
which were allowed to live in the garden of the king. There was a man who worked as the
garden-taker of the palace. One day, during the national festival, the garden-taker wanted to
join the festival, so he met the king of all the monkeys to ask for help:” Hey the monkey! You
and your monkey have benefited from this garden. Now, it is time for you to return. Please take
care of this garden during the time I participate in the festival.”
Then the garden-taker tried on colorful clothes, garlands of flowers and fragrance and left the
garden to join the national festival. When the garden-taker just left, the king of monkeys asked
his monkeys to take care of the garden. Some monkeys tried to cut the trees, while some
monkeys watered the trees. Seeing the monkeys watered the trees, their king called all of them
and said: “The water is limited, so we have to take off the trees to measure their roots before
giving the suitable water to them.”
To follow the instruction of the king, the monkeys tried to take the trees off and then water on
their roots. Soon, a vast area of the garden was demolished by the monkeys. At that time, a
businessman got to the garden, and seeing the crazy acts of the monkeys, he said:” Stop doing
the crazy acts. You are demolishing the garden.”
A monkey calmly said:” Don't be arrogant. Your wisdom has not overpassed our king. He
ordered us to do so. Without measurement of the roots of the trees, how could we know how
much water a tree needs?”
The businessman spoke the verse to illustrate his thought:
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The wise and moral avoid harms to others
Bringing the peace and happiness to others
The ignorant ones, though tried to help
Bringing only troubles and dangers
Then the businessman left the garden as he could not bear to see the monkeys destroy the
beautiful garden.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the king of the monkey was the son of the
garden-taker who demolished a region of the garden, while the wise businessman was him.
Jataka 47: Story of Varuni

servant of a friend of Anathapindika.
One of Anathapindika was a seller of wines. He made various kinds of special wines and stored
them for a few years, and then when the wines were ready, he sold them at an expensive price.
However, as his wines were special, most of the noble families loved to buy wines from him.
He always stayed at his store to sell the wines. However, on one occasion, he was out for
business, and ordered a servant to sell the wines for the customers. A customer required some
salt when he drank wine, so this servant thought that the wine was not salty enough for the
customer. Hence, this servant put some salt into the wine before selling it to the customers. All
the customers were frustrated with the tastes of the wines, so they rapidly left the store.
When the owner arrived, he was surprised to see no customers at his store, as his store had been
crowded all the time. He asked his servant:” Why is the store empty of customers?”
The servant calmly said:” Dear boss! A customer required some salt, so I thought our wines
were not salty enough, so I put the salts into our wines before selling them to the customers.
However, the customers all left after trying the wines.”
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The owner of the wine store was angry:” Due to your ignorance, you demolished my special
wines.”
This issue was rapidly spread to Anathapindika, and Anathpindika told the Buddha when he
paid a visit to the Buddha. The Buddha, in this circumstance, said:” It is not in the present time,
but also in the past, he was likely to demolish the tastes of the special wines.``
Then the Buddha told a story:
In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, Bodhisattva was an excellent
businessman in the town and he had a close friend who was the owner of a wine-store. The
business of this wine-businessman was successful as he had special skills in making tasty
wines. Due to the special tastes of wines, his store was often full of customers. One day, he
went to the public bathroom to take a shower, and he ordered one of his servants, namely
Kondanna, to take care of the store.
When the businessman just left, this servant tried to taste some kinds of wines, and he realized
that the wines were not salty enough, so he put lots of salt into the wines before selling the
wines to customers. Soon, all the customers returned the wines and left the store as they could
not drink these salty wines. When the wines-selling businessman returned, he was frustrated to
fire this servant, and then paid a visit to the Bodhisattva. The Bodhisattva spoke the verse to
illustrate his idea:
Wise man shall avoid doing harms

Trying to bring peace and success to others
Ignorant ones often make harms with their ignorance
Similar to Kondanna, putting salts into wines
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the servant, Kondanna, was the servant who
demolished wines of the friend of Anathapindika, while the wise businessman was him.
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Jataka 48: Story of Vedaddha
The Buddha told this story as a Jetavana, and the background of this story was related to a
headstrong monk who was not faithful to the disciplines of the Sangha.
When this monk was brought to meet the Buddha, the Buddha calmly said:” Due to your
headstrong attitude, in the past, you did not listen to the wise men, so you were in danger and
died. But your attitude also puts 1000 people in danger.”
In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was ruling, in a rural village, there was a man who
was named Vedaddha, and who had a powerful mantra. It was believed that this mantra could
make rain of jewels when it is read in the time of some planets in a line. At that time, the
Bodhisattva followed Vedaddha to study skills.
One day, Vedaddha took Bodhisattva to have a business in a region, namely Ceti, and when
they were on the way to get to the Ceti region, they were arrested by the robbers which lived
in a forest on the path they crossed. These robbers were known as the messenger-robbers, as
they caught people to require their relatives to give them the money. Their targets were often a
group of two or more than two people, as they wanted to keep some people as the hostage and
send one back to prepare money to redeem the arrested ones.
After arresting the Bodhisattva and Vedaddha, the robbers detected who was the most
important among the two, and after knowing the role of Vedaddha, the robbers released the
Bodhisattva to prepare the money for the redeeming. Before the Bodhisattva left, he advised
his master:” Dear master! Please stay calm and don’t worry as the robbers would not kill you
as they wait for the money from me. Also, today, in the night time, some planets are in line, so
please don’t use the mantra to recall the jewels as it is dangerous to you and all the robbers.”
Then the Bodhisattva left to return to his village to prepare the money to redeem his master. At
that time, the robbers cooked for dinner and they did not give food and water to Vedaddha.
Vedaddha suffered to lie on the ground. At that time, the moon was full and Vedaddha knew
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that it was the best time to use his mantra to make the rain of jewels. He thought:” I will make
the rain of the jewels and let these robbers release me.”
Then he encouraged the robbers:” You arrested me here just for money. Why don’t you release
me and I will make rain with jewels for all of you to enjoy luxurious lives forever.”
The robber looked at the confident face of Vedaddha, they took off the strings used to tighten
the hands and legs of Vedaddha. Then they assisted Vedaddha to take shower with perfume.
Then they let him stay alone to do the ritual. After a while, in the sky, the jewels fell down in
the rain. All the robbers tried to pack the jewels and ran away from the forest. They also took
Vedaddha following them as they desired him to make the rain of jewels again for them.
When they got to the other forest, they were arrested by another group of robbers. This group
of robbers had a total of 500 robbers, and these robbers were brutal killers. They often killed
the people to rob their properties. These robbers detected that the messenger-robbers had lots
of jewels, so they asked:” Where did you steal these jewels?”
A messenger-robber said:” If you want to have jewels, please release us and keep only this
Brahmin as he can make the rain of jewels.”
The brutal robbers were brutal enough to kill all the messenger-robbers and they forced
Vedaddaha to make rain of jewels for them. However, Vedaddha denied:” Hey guys! Don’t be
crazy. I have to wait for years to be able to make the rain of jewels. If you want me to make
the rain of jewels for you, it is fine. However, wait for a few years.”
The brutal robbers were angry, so the leader of these brutal robbers used his sword to kill
Vedaddha. Then they tried to divide the jewels. During the time of dividing the jewels, they
argued and killed each other. Finally, two skillful robbers who cooperated with each other were
the winners of the fight, and they agreed to share the jewels into two parts. They tried to move
the heavy jewels to a forest which was near to a village, and dug the ground to hide the jewels
under the ground. One robber tried to protect all the jewels, while one went to the village to
find food. At that time, due to the desire, the robber who was protecting the jewels thought:”
Why do I have to share these jewels with others? When he returns here, I will kill him and take
all these jewels.”
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The robber who went to the village to find food also thought similarly:” If the jewels are divided
into two parts, I just can possess little jewels. If I kill my friend, I can take all the jewels.”
Then the robber who got the rice from the village bought some poison and mixed it with the
rice in order to kill his friend. When he just got to the forest, putting the rice down, the robber
who was protecting the jewels killed him with his sharp sword. Then, to feel hungry, this robber
took the rice to eat, and soon he died due to the poison.
At that time, Bodhisattva took the money to the forest to redeem his master, but he did not see
his master and the robbers. Hence, he went around the forest to find his master. Not far from
the residing place of the robbers, he saw the dead bodies of his master and the messenger-
robbers, so he thought:” My master used the mantra to make the rain of jewels and was killed.
Not only that, he made others rise up their desire and they all died.”
Then the Bodhisattva used the woods to burn the body of his master, and then he went around
to observe and count the dead bodies. Then, he traced to the location where two robbers hid
the jewels. Seeing one was dead by the poison of the food, and one was killed by the sword,
the Bodhisattva was compassionate to say:” My master, due to his benefits, used the mantra to
make the rain of jewels and generated the brutal death for these people. “
Then he spoke the verse:
With ignorant methods

Wishing to gain good but reward bad
Similar to the Brahmin, Vedaddha
Die together with one thousand robbers
Then the Bodhisattva shouted loudly in the forest:” Those who try to bring benefits to
themselves by ignorant ways, tend to gain only bad effects. These bad effects not only harm
them but also others.”
The voice of the Bodhisattva made all the deities in the forest have to reply to his utterance:”
Dear Brahmin! You are right.”
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Then the Bodhisattva took the jewels to the rural village to assist the villagers to have a better
life. He also used the jewels to make offerings to others.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the Brahmin Vedaddha was this headstrong
monk, while the wise student was him.
Jataka 49: Story of Nakkata
engagement of a couple.
At that time, there was a man who lived in a rural area asked to get married with a girl who
lived in the town of Savatthi. After the engagement, they selected a day for the wedding of the
young couple. Before the day of the wedding, the family of the man came to consult with a
Brahmin:” Dear sir. Is tomorrow good for the wedding?”
The Brahmin got angry as they did not ask him to select a suitable day but asked for good or
bad, so the Brahmin said:” Tomorrow is the bad day.”
Then, the family of the man postponed going to the town of Savatthi to make the wedding for
the young couple. As the family of the girl also prepared for the wedding, they could not cancel.
Therefore, in the afternoon, they hurried to select another young man to get married with their
daughter. The next day, the family of the man got to Savatthi for the wedding, but they knew
that the girl already got married with another man, so they were frustrated to return.
This issue rapidly spread around and the monks of the Buddha, one day, discussed this issue at
the Dharma-hall, and when the Buddha knew the figure of the talk of monks, the Buddha calmly
said that:” It is not in the present time, but also in the past, this Brahmin demolished the good
event of that family.”
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In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, there was a family in the town
of Varanasi already making the engagement for their son to get married with the girl of a family
that lived in a rural region far from the town. The day of the wedding was already approved by
two families, and they just waited for the wedding. In the morning, before the family in
Varanasi got to the rural region for the wedding, they consulted with a Brahmin nearby their
house:” Is it good to make the wedding today?”
The Brahmin thought:” They did not ask me for the suitable day, but already decided and came
to consult for good or bad. I will give them a lesson.”
Then the Brahmin calmly said:” Yesterday, I looked at the stars, and I realized that today is
not good for the wedding, but tomorrow.”
The family of the man, hence, stopped going to the rural region for the prepared wedding. At
the rural area, the family of the girl waited until the afternoon, and then they selected hurriedly
as a young man to be the groom for the wedding. The next day, the family of the man prepared
the stuff to get to the rural area for the wedding. When they arrived:” They said as yesterday
was not a good day, so we waited for today to get here for the wedding.”
The family of the girl said:” It is too late as we gave our daughter to get married with another
man yesterday.”
The family of the man were frustrated to hear that news, and they had no way but returned with
their carried stuff. At that time, a wise businessman from the town heard their story, saying:''
Due to the ignorance of the stars, some people lost their luck and happiness.”
And he spoke the verse:

Waiting for the good stars
Ignorant ones demolished their luck
Good deeds shine the luck
Not due to eh shining of the stars
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After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the Brahmin and the family in Varanasi were
the Brahmin and the family in the rural area respectively, whereas the wise businessman was
him.
Jataka 50: Story of Dummedha

accumulation of acts which are likely to bring benefits for the society for generations.
The Buddha told the story:
In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, Bodhisattva was born as the
son of the queen and the king, and he was named Brahmadatta. During his childhood, he was
well-educated in Takkasila. After being excellent in skills and knowledge on Vedas, he
returned to work as the vice-king of the nation.
At that time, people of the town often killed animals for the ritual ceremonies to pray for getting
luck from the deities. Bodhisattva viewed this habitual tendency of people as brutal, so he
thought:” After my father dies and I am on the throne of the nation, I will try to assist people
to get rid of this brutal habitual act.”
To carry out the plan, he often paid a visit to a giant tree where people often gathered to kill
animals to give the deity of the tree. The Bodhisattva did not kill animals for the prayers, but
he gave the tree some garlands of flowers. He often selected the time that most people gathered
to the tree, and he also arrived at the tree for prayers. Soon, his father king died and he was
given the throne of power of the nation. After a few days of the ruling, he vowed to use ten
royal dharmas to rule the nation, and he was determined to keep five precepts strictly. Time
flies by, he realized it was a suitable time for carrying out his plan, so he called all the officials
to gather. At the meeting, he said:” Do you all know that before I often got to the giant tree of
the town for prayers? Do you want to know what I prayed for?”
An official quickly said to the king:” Dear majesty. Please kindly share your interest with us.”
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The king then said:” I often got to the tree to pray to the deity to quickly be the king of this
nation, and I also promised to the deity that I will kill all the people of the nation, who could
not keep five precepts and who could not follow ten of my virtuous dharmas, to offer the deity
of the tree. So, please inform the people throughout the nation to be cautious of their actions.”
The king stopped to look at the nervous faces of the officials and then continued to say:” From
today, each day, I will kill 1000 people who are likely to commit five precepts. So, please send
the soldiers around to detect the people who commit five precepts.”
Killing, each day, 1000 ignorant ones,

Those committing five brutal acts
Being killed to make the offerings to the deity
With my promise to the deity of the tree
Then the king sent all the officials and soldiers to get around to inform the people around. In
fear of the punishment from the king, soon, all the citizens of the nation were morally behaved.
During his rule, the nation was peaceful as there were no crimes and no killings.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the officials and the soldiers of the place were
the monks of the Buddha, while the king was him.
Jataka 51: Story of Mahàsìlavà

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the background of the story was related to a young
monk who lost his determination in the practice.
When this monk was brought to meet the Buddha, the Buddha tried to encourage him to recall
his diligence in the practice, so the Buddha said:” Why did you give up your determination and
motivation easily. In the past, The wise men, even if they lost their nation, were still diligent
until they regained control of the nation.”
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son of the king and the queen, and he was named as Silava, or the child of morality. During his
childhood, he was educated with skills and knowledge by the famous masters. Upon his
graduation, he assisted his father king before he was given the throne of power, and to carry
out his plan, he changed his name to Maha-silava, the great morality man. He built up six
offering halls around the nation to do charity to the poors daily.
Then the king ruled the nation with royal dharmas and he was diligent to keep five precepts,
and diligent to cultivate loving-kindness, compassion and patience. During this rule, the nation
was peaceful without crimes and fights. One day, one of his officials was exposed to have
sexual misconduct with one of the maidens in the palace, so the king fired him from the job
and also expelled him out of the town.
To prevent revenge, this official arrived at the nation of Kasi to work in the palace of the king.
After a few days of work, the official said to the king of Kasi:” The king of Varanasi was not
a skillful king, so you can occupy Varanasi with only one group of skillful soldiers.”
The king said:” Are you the spy of Varanasi? Do you plan to force me to get stuck into your
trap?”
The evil official said:” No. If you don’t believe me. You can send the soldiers to detect.”
The king of Kasi, then sent some soldiers to demolish the houses of the people of Varanasi in
the neighboring area. The soldiers of the king of Varanasi caught these soldiers and escorted
them to meet the king of Varanasi. The king of Varanasi did not punish them but gave them
money and advised them with moral words, and then the king of Varanasi released these
soldiers. These soldiers then returned to inform the king of Kasi about the attitude of the king
of Varanasi. The king of Kasi thought:” The king of Varanasi is likely to try to rule the nation
with morality, so he will not be taking the soldiers to fight against my army. I will occupy
Varanasi, but should detect more times.”
Then the king of Kasi sent the other group of soldiers to get to the neighboring area to demolish
the houses of people of Varanasi again. The king of Varanasi was still using compassion to
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behave with these soldiers. After having certain evidence, the king of Kasi took his skillful
army to the neighboring area to enter and occupy Varanasi.
When the king and the army of Kasi just arrived at the neighboring area, officials of Varanasi
wanted to take the army to fight against the force of the Kasi. However, the king of Varanasi
seriously said:” Don’t worry. If he wants this nation, I will give him. However, I refuse all the
defense with violence to harm people. So, if you all still consider me as the king, please follow
this instruction.”
Then, without encountering the defense, the king of Kasi easily took the control of the Varanasi
rapidly, and the first thing the king carried out was to order the soldiers to tightened the king
and all the officials of Varanasi with solid strings, and then ordered the soldiers to dig the holes
in the cemetery to bury the king and the officials under the ground but not their heads. Then
the king of Kasi enjoyed life with his new territory and new maidens. On the first night of being
buried at the cemetery, the officials were threatened, so the king advised them to contemplate
compassion. Then a herd of jackals came close to them, and the king and the officials tried to
shout loudly to drive them away. Then the king and the officials tried to shake their bodies
around to escape from the ground.
When they just escaped from the ground, there appeared two Yakshas which argued on how to
divide a dead body, so they decided to ask the king of Varanasi to help them to divide the dead
body, as they all heard about the equality perspectives of the king. The king of Varanasi said:”
Now we are dirty and hungry, so please assist us to take shower and eat something, I will help
you to divide the dead body.”
The Yakshas used their power to make a bathroom for the king and officials to take a bath, and
then used power to get some food for them to eat. After taking shower and eating, the king of
Varanasi said:” Please enter the palace to take the sword of the king of Kasi for me.”
With the power, in a moment, the Yakshas entered the palace to take the sword of the king of
Kasi to give to the king of Varanasi. Then, the king of Varanasi took the sword to cut the dead
body into two equal parts for the Yakshas. The Yakshas enjoyed the dead body, and then asked
the king:” What should we do for you?”
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The king of Varanasi said:” Nothing but please send us to the palace.”
Then the Yakshas sent the king and officials to the palace. The king of Varanasi then went to
the room of the king of Kasi. With the sword in hands, the king of Varanasi wanted to kill the
king Kasi, but then he threw the sword down. At that time, the king Kasi was curious to ask:”
How did you escape from the ground and got here?”
The king of Varanasi then told the king of Kasi everything. At that moment, the king of Kasi
was enlightened about the morality of the king of Varanasi. So, he said:” Even the Yakshas,
kind of brutal beings, also paid respect to you, so it was my fault to occupy the nation which
was ruled by a virtuous king. From now on, please regain the control of this nation.”
Then, the next day, the king of Kasi punished the evil official of Varanasi who advised him to
occupy Varanasi and then he took his army to return Kasi. Then the king of Varanasi gathered
the officials and said:” The virtue of compassion is great, so please stop doubting it. Without
compassion, the fighting would happen and during the fighting, millions of people might die.”
Then the king spoke the verse to illustrate his idea:
Wise men keep passion with the compassion

Even in the trouble and difficulties
The fruits for the diligence would be great
As it would benefits many people
Then the king of Varanasi continued to rule the nation with morality until he died.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the evil official was Devadatta, while the
officials and the king of the Varanasi were the elderly monks of the Buddha and was him
respectively.
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Jataka 52: Story Cula-Janaka
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the background of the story was related to a monk
who lost his determination in the dharma-practice.
When the monk was brought to meet the Buddha, the Buddha motivated him to keep his
practice going:” Dear my beloved student. In the past, the wise men did not give up their
determination until they obtained their plan. So, you have to try hard to keep up your
determination in the practice.”
In times gone by, when king Mahajanaka was ruling Mitthila, the king had two princes, namely
Aritthajanaka & Polajanaka. Aritthajanaka was the oldest brother, while Polajanaka was the
younger one. They all were well-educated and had a close brother-ship to each other. Upon
their graduations with great masters, they assisted his father king to rule the nation well. After
the king Mahajanaka died, his oldest prince, Aritthajanaka , was given the throne of power of
the nation, and Aritthajanaka appointed his brother to be the vice-king of the nation.
One day, some officials, due to jealousy, slandered with the new king that Polajanaka planned
to control the power and prepared to be the new king. So, the king sentenced his brother,
Polajanaka into jail, and ordered soldiers to tighten his brother with solid strings. During the
time Polajanaka was in jail, he raised the anger to his brother, the king of the nation. Therefore,
he tried to cheat the soldiers to escape from the jail. And, he tried to recruit the strong men to
be his servants, and soon his servants were crowded. He also tried to train his servants with
skills in fighting, so most of his soldiers were skillful in fighting. One day, to realize his force
was strong enough, he sent a fighting letter to his brother, the king of Mitthila to prepare for a
fight.
The new king of Mitthila did not want to fight with his brother until death, and he would prefer
to select death. Therefore, before he left the palace, he told his queen to take care of his coming
child with all the methods. Then, he took his soldiers to fight with his brother force. Soon, the
news about his death was informed to his queen, and also the army of his brother was taking
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control of the nation. To worry about the pregnancy, the queen got out of the palace and tried
to escape from the palace. However, she was not able to move too far with the pregnancy. At
that time, the Sakka contemplated to know that the child in her stomach was a rebirth of a great
man, so the Sakka used his power to make a vehicle to rescue the queen, taking her to a safe
place.
Soon, the queen gave birth to a son, and she named the son with the name of Mahajanaka.
Mahajanaka was a faithful son, as he often assisted his mother to do the house works. Also, he
took good care of his mother, when his mother got sick. His life was smoothly floating in a
rural village until he was curious to ask his mother about his father:” Dear mom! All my friends
have fathers, but why don't I have a father?”
His mother told him about his background and about the death of his father. After knowing the
background, Mahajanaka wanted to regain the power of the nation, so when he turned 16, he
tried to study hard all the skills and Vedas. Upon graduation, he asked his mom to allow him
to join the business ship to earn money to carry out his dream of regaining the power of the
nation.
One occasion, when he was on the business ship, this ship was cracked by a cliff, so the heavy
ship slowly sank down. At that time, almost all people on the ship were worried, but
Mahajanaka had nothing to worry as he was almost a dead person if he could not carry out his
dream. So, when the ship was totally sunk under the sea, Mahajanaka tried to swim to the
mainland, but he could not. At that dangerous moment, a deity of the sea appeared and said to
him:” Hey guy. This sea is large, and human forces cannot swim to return to the mainland.”
Mahajanaka calmly said:” I have to try with all my determination. The success will not come
to the lazy or less-motivated ones.”
At the large and endless sea

Trying to swim to the mainland
Although with little hope
I don’t give up my determination
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To be persuaded by the strong determination of Mahajanaka, the deity said to him:” Okay. Due
to your determination, I will assist you one time as the reward for the diligent effort. Where do
you want to get to?”
Mahajanaka calmly said: I want to get to the town of Mitthila, at the palace of my father.”
With the power of a deity, in a moment, Mahajanaka was transformed to Mitthila rapidly, and
the deity of the sea returned to her palace. At that time, the king Polajanaka already died due
to a serious sickness, and he had no prince but a princess, namely Silavi. Silavi was a moral
girl and she was kind to everyone. After his father died, his father said to all the officials to
give the husband of Silavi to be the new king.
After the funeral of the king, some officials tried to arrange the appointments of their princess
with some excellent men, but the princess was not satisfied with those men. The first man had
a date with the princess, Silavi was a general. However, this general was ignored, so he was
dismissed by the princess quickly. Then, a number of other men also were dismissed by the
princess, as the princess was not satisfied with their attitude. Then, all the officials decided to
give the princess to marry the man who could use the heaviest bound of the nation. However,
for months, nobody could use that bound. Then, they decided to give the princess to get married
with the man who could find 16 storages of jewels around the nation. Similar to the first
challenge, they could not find the man who could discover 16 storages of jewels.
Then the celebrant of the palace said to the officials:” I will prepare the vehicle and which man
can sit on the vehicle should be the new ruler of this nation.”
Then, they prepared the luxurious vehicle and this vehicle was carried by four strong horses,
but without a driver. They released the horses, and the horses carried the vehicle to run around
the town of Mitthila. Most of the men hoped that the vehicle would stop by their houses, so
they could get married with the princess and would be the new king of the nation. Nevertheless,
the vehicle did not stop until all the horses ran into a garden in a rural area, where Mahajanaka
was staying. The celebrant looked at Mahajanaka, and he thought:” I have to challenge myself
to check whether this man is suitable to be the new king of the nation.”
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Then the celebrant ordered the soldiers to create loud noise of the drums and trumpets and he
tried to observe the responsibility of Mahajanaka. Gearing the loud noise, Mahajanaka woke
up to look at it, but he did not show his frustration with the noise. Seeing this attitude of
Mahajanaka, the celebrant was pleased and then he walked close to Mahajanaka to say:” Dear
sir! Could you please be the new king of this nation as this vehicle already selected you as the
owner?”
Mahajanaka agreed and then he was taken to the palace. The wedding of him and the princess
Silavi was organized quickly, and after the wedding, he was given the throne of power of the
nation. After being the king, he remembered his determination on the sea, so he spoke the verse:
Being diligent in all the situation

Wise men never give up the determination
Overcoming all the difficulties
From the sea, I got to the mainland
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the king Mahajanaka was him.
Jataka 53: Story of Punnapati
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the background of this story was related to
Anathapindika.
One day, one group of men did not have money to enjoy the luxurious life, so they planned to
use the wine mixed with narcotic drugs to rob the property from the rich men. A number of
rich men were robbed by these men, with their cheat. One day, seeing Anathapindika crossing
their place, they invited Anathapindika to drink the special wine. Anathapindika looked at
them, and he rapidly recognized that these men did not drink the wines but only invited others.
With the clever thought, he knew that these men tried to attract rich people to drink the wine
mixed with narcotic drugs to rob their money. So, he said to them:'' Please stop robbing the
money from others by this cheat. Why did you drink this special wine, but invited others.? Did
you put something into the wine?”
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These men feared that Anathapindika already discovered their cheating, so they ran away, and
had never got to that region again. After this event, Anathapindika paid a visit to the Buddha
and told the Budddha this event. The Buddha, in this circumstance, said that: “Not only in the
present, but also in the past, the useless men often used this cheat to rob money from others for
their joyfulness.”
business family, and when he grew up, he became an excellent businessman, with a valuable
fortune. At that time, in his district, there was a group of men who did not enjoy working, so
they often cheated people to drink the wines mixed with narcotic drugs to rob the money.
One day, seeing the Bodhisattva, these men took a special bottle of wine to invite the
Bodhisattva to drink. Bodhisattva was surprised, as it was a strange thing for him that a strange
guy tried to invite him to drink a special kind of wine. So, he looked at them properly. With a
glance, he discovered that these men planned to rob him with the wines mixed with narcotic
drugs. To reveal their cheating to people to assist them to avoid the robbery of these men, the
Bodhisattva said to them:” It is not appropriate that you all don’t drink but invite me to drink.
So, please drink first, and I will drink later. “
These guys tried to say something to avoid drinking the wine, so Bodhisattva continued to say
loudly:” If you all don’t dare to drink this wine, the wine should be a problem. Did you put
poison or narcotic drug into the wine and invite people to drink? After that you try to rob their
property? If you cannot give me the suitable answer, I will take all of you to meet the king.”
The evil men were scared to meet the king, so they all ran away and had never returned to that
region again.
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Jataka 54: Story of Phala
The Buddha told this story at a garden of a landlord near Jetavana, and the background of the
story was related to a young man who was skillful about the fruits.
On one occasion, a landlord invited the Buddha and monks to get to his garden for the offerings,
and as some monks arrived earlier than the offering time, the landlord ordered a young servant
to take the monks to walk around for the observation. During the stroll around the garden, the
young servant showed the monks that he was skillful about the fruits as he could comprehend
the status of the fruits from far distance. He knew the fruits were ripened or not from a distance.
After the stroll, some monks told the Buddha the skills of the servant, and the Buddha, in this
circumstance, said that: `Ìt is not only this guy, but in the past, the wise men also could
comprehend the status of the fruits from far distance.”
business family, and he was trained with business skills from childhood, so in the ages of
adulthood, he was an excellent businessman. Soon, he was appointed to be the leader of the
business association of the town. In the role of the leader, he often took a delegation of 500
vehicles to travel around for the business.
One day, they got to a forest, and the Bodhisattva talked to all the members: “In this forest,
there are lots of poisonous fruits, so you have to ask me before eating. Be careful.”
When the delegation just got out of the deep forest and arrived at the edge of a village, they
saw a giant Kimphala tree. This tree was almost similar to the mango tree and the fruits were
full on the branches. Some members of the delegation thought it was the mango, so they took
them and got serious symptoms. Some rapidly took Kimphala fruits to ask the Bodhisattva, and
the Bodhisattva quickly recognized the Kimphala tree would be a poisonous tree, so he
cautioned all the members:'' This tree is a poisonous tree, so please take all the people who
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have eaten this fruit to me. I have to try to heal the poison out of their bodies, otherwise, they
will die soon.”
Then the Bodhisattva took four kinds of honeys mixed with some special herds to make the
medicine to heal the poison of the Kimphala fruit. After drinking this medicine, all the members
who ate the Kimphala tree vomited all the things they had eaten out. Then they took a rest, and
then recovered quickly. At that moment, some villagers tried to come to take the property as
they thought the businessmen would die as they ate the Kimphala fruits. Seeing all the members
of the delegation were safe, a villager asked:'' I wondered why did not any of you eat the
Kimphala fruit? Most of the people who got here all died due to the attachment to the Kimphala
fruits, but not any of you. Miracle!”
A businessman calmly said:” Our leader is wise enough to know this fruit is poisonous, so he
helped us to avoid death.”
A villager asked Bodhisattva:” Why did you know that this fruit is poisonous?”
The Bodhisattva said slowly and confidently:” It is not difficult at all, as this tree is not too
high to harvest and it is close to the village, but it is full of fruits. So, I guessed it was
poisonous.”
Then the Bodhisattva advised the villagers to cut down the tree to avoid others to die due to
the poison of the fruits.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the delegation members were the monks who
lived at Jetavana, while the wise leader was him.
Jataka 55: Story of Pãncàyudha
who lost his determination in the dharma-practice.
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When the monk was brought to meet the Buddha, the Buddha motivated him:” Be diligent to
keep your goal. In the past, the wise man kept their goal until he was given the throne of power
of the nation.”
In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, Bodhisattva was born as the
son of the queen and the king. During his birth, 800 Brahmins were invited for the offerings
and some Brahmin, after looking close to the Bodhisattva, said that:” This child will be the king
of the whole India when it grows up. This child also will be skillful in most of the usage of the
weapons.”
The king was pleased at the utterance of the Brahmins, so the king named his son as
Pãncayudhakumara meaning the skillful man of all kinds of weapons. The Bodhisattva was
well-taken care of, and when he turned 16, the king called him and said:” Please take 1000
golden coins and get to Takkasila to study skills and knowledge with great masters there. Please
don’t return if you are not excellent in skills and knowledge.”
Bodhisattva took the bag of money and the next day, he rode horse to get to Takkasila. Soon,
he got excellent skills in five kinds of weapons and then he paid respect to the masters before
returning to Varanasi. On the way, to save time, he decided to cross the forest in which a
Yaksha lived. When the Bodhisattva just got to the forest, a giant Yaksha appeared and tried
to catch him to eat. The young prince stepped aside to escape and used the weapons to attack
the Yaksha. Nevertheless, all the weapons were useless as all the weapons were suckled to the
body of the Yaksha. Then the young prince jumped toward to kick and punch the Yaksha.
Soon, his hands and legs were sucked to the body of the Yaksha, but the young prince was still
not scared.
The Yaksha was wondering, so it asked:” Hey guy. Why don't you fear me?”
The young prince rapidly said:” In my stomach, there is a kind of metal, so if you eat me both
of us will die together, so I don’t fear being eaten by you.”
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The Yaksha was scared of death, so it was better to release the young prince. So, the Yaksha
said:” Okay. Fine. I will endure the hunger rather than eat you now. Go away, guy.”
The young prince did not go away, but remained to talk the dharma to the Yaksha:” I know
that you want me to go away immediately, but before I leave, I would prefer to advise you to
stop killing as killing will lead you to sufferings and troubles forever. Please keep five precepts
and be the protector of the forest. If you do so, the villagers will soon offer the food to you.”
The Yaksha agreed to follow the instruction of the young prince, so it vowed to keep five
precepts and be the guards of the people when they get to the forest. Soon, the villagers, in
return, often made the ritual offerings to it. In terms of the young prince, he returned to
Varanasi, and worked as vice-king for a few years. After his father died, he was given the
throne of power, and he applied the royal dharma to rule the nation. Soon, his virtue was spread
around the whole India.
Buddha, the monk who lost his determination in practice obtained Arhathood. Finally, the
Buddha identified that the Yaksha was Angulimàla, whereas the wise prince was him.
Jataka 56: Story of Kancanakkhandha
monk who was scared of all the rules of monks.
A young man who was faithful to the teachings of the Buddha, so he left his family to ordain
as a monk in the Sangha of the Buddha, after the ordination, two venerable monks, Sariputta
and Moggallana taught him all the rules of an ordained monk, and this monk was scared that
he could not keep well these rules. Therefore, he was two elderly monks to disrobe to the family
man. Then these two elderly monks took him to meet the Buddha for help.
The Buddha calmly said to him:” Okay. I understand your trouble, so from now on, you don’t
have to keep all the rules of an ordained monk, but just contemplate on three rules. First is
trying to keep your actions morally, while the second rule is to keep your utterance elegantly
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and virtuously. Finally, to keep your thoughts to be morally and virtuously. Try to keep these
rules first and if you still cannot keep these rules, just disrobe as you plan.”
This young monk returned to practice these rules, and soon, he got developed with these rules-
practice. With diligence, he finally obtained Arhathood. This event was spread around
Jetavana, and the monks, one day, talked about this issue at the Dharma-hall, and the Buddha,
after comprehending the figure of the talk of monks, said:” Keeping precepts are similar to
digging the gold. Those who cannot move away a giant block of gold, just divide the block of
gold into smaller segments and it is easier to move.”
In times gone by, when the king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, Bodhisattva was born in a
farm family, and when he grew up, he became a diligent farmer. Besides working on his farm,
he also moonlighted as a plowman to earn more for a living. One day, when he ploughed a
farm land which was the land of a millionaire who died for several years. When he was
plowing, he discovered a giant block of gold which was the fortune of the dead millionaire.
Bodhisattva continued his plow activity, and when it was dark, he tried to divide the block of
gold into several small segments and easily move them to his house. Then, he sold the gold and
divided the money obtained from selling gold into four portions. One portion was saved for
emergencies, while one was for his living, and he used the remaining two portions for business
and to donate to the people in need. Thus, by this way, the Bodhisattva lived happily and
comfortably for the rest of his life.
After telling the story the Buddha spoke the verse:
Those with pleased and kind mind

Tend to have kind words and generous acts
Thus, their lives are smoothly floating
With happiness, peace and calmness
With this cultivation of virtue
Afterward, they obtain enlightenment
Then the Buddha identified that the farmer was him.
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Jataka 57: Story of Vanarinda
The Buddha told this story at Bambbo-Grove, and the background of the story was related to
When the monks gathered to talk about the plans of Devadatta to kill the Buddha at the Dharma-
hall, and when the Buddha knew this figure of the talk of monks, the Buddha calmly said:” It
is not in the present time, but also in the past, he tried to kill me but afterward, he could not
harm me at all.”
as monkey which lived on a giant tree at the shore of a river, and near the bank of the river,
there was a small island in which there were lots of kinds of trees which were blossomed with
fruits all the seasons. So, the monkey often jumped from his tree to the island to eat fruits and
then in the afternoon, it jumped on the branches of the trees to return the tree at the bank of the
river. The monkey had lived comfortably every day.
At the river near to the island, there were a couple of crocodiles, and the female crocodile
desired to eat the monkey, so she planned with her husband:” I want to eat that monkey as that
monkey was fat. So, this afternoon, you have to get to the shore of the island where the monkey
often arrived to jump on the branches of the trees to return to its place. You have to pretend to
be a giant stone, and when the monkey steps on you, kill him and take it to me.”
Then the male crocodile followed the instructions of its wife. It moved to the island and tried
to disguise itself as a giant stone to deceive the monkey. When the monkey returned to the
shore of the island, the monkey saw there was a new stone, so the monkey walked around to
detect the new stone. However, he could not discover everything as the crocodile was
extremely like the stone. But, to be careful, the monkey tried to shout loudly:” Hey stone. Are
you fine?”
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The new stone was still silent, but to be more careful, the monkey tried to shout the second
time. Nothing happened. So, he continued to shout:” Hey stone. What happened to you? You
often replied to my calls, but today you are silent.”
The crocodile thought:” The stone often replied to this monkey, so I have to try to give him the
answer, otherwise, he will not arrive here.”
The crocodile then said:” Hey monkey. Why do you call me?”
The monkey:” Who are you? Why do you lie there?”
The crocodile calmly said:” I don’t want to hide my desire anymore, as you have no way to
escape from me. If you cannot get here to jump on the tree to return to the river, you will die
soon as you have no water to drink. I am waiting to eat you and especially your heart.”
The monkey wisely said to the crocodile:” Don't worry. I will offer myself to satisfy your
hunger. Please open your mouth and I will jump into your mouth.”
The crocodile opened its mouth, and when it opened its mouth, it could not see everything. To
wait for that moment, the monkey jumped on the body of the crocodile and then grasped a
branch of the tree to return to the bank of the river. The crocodile, at that time, said to the
monkey:” Great. You have four potentials, so it is suitable for you to defeat all the enemies.”
Then the crocodile spoke the verse:

Those cultivating with four potentials
Honesty and having plans
Determination and fearlessness
Are able to win all the enemies
You have these four potentials
Deserve to escape from me
Then the crocodile returned to its place and had never returned to the island again.
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After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the crocodile was Devadatta, whereas the
monkey was him.
Jataka 58: Tayodhammà

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana and the background of this story was related to the
discussion of the monks about the assassination of Devadatta to the Buddha.
In times gone by, at that time the monkeys lived with a big crowd at the mountain of Himalayas.
There was a greedy monkey who was the king of all the monkeys in the region. This monkey
king had hundreds of wives and was too scared of other male monkeys which could gain the
throne of power, so this monkey king always tried to neuter all of his male sons. One time, a
female monkey got pregnant with the monkey king, and to worry its son would be neutered,
this mother monkey left the herd of the monkey to live in another region.
Soon, the female monkey gave birth to a son, and soon this male monkey became a strong and
robust monkey. One day, this monkey asked his mom:” Dear mom. Now I am an adult and I
would prefer to know my background. Where is my dad?”
The monkey mom slowly said:” At a hill of Himalayas Mountain, there is the place of the
crowds’ herd of monkeys, and your father was the king of those monkeys. But I cannot let you
meet your father, as he tends to kill you or neuter you as he fears that other male monkeys will
obtain his power.”
The young monkey thought for a while and said:” Don’t worry mom. I already have a plan to
solve this problem. So, tomorrow, please take me to meet my father.”
Then the monkey mom took her son to the hill of Himalayas Mountain to meet their king.
When the king saw the young monkey, he wanted to kill the young monkey, so he shouted
loudly: “My son! I did not see you as your mom left us when she got pregnant. Therefore, come
here and let me hold you for a while.”
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Then the king of monkeys tried to kill his son with a strong hold, but the young monkey was
too robust to protect himself from the attack of its king. Then, the king of monkeys thought:”
My health, now, is weak and this monkey shall kill me to be the leader of this herd. I have to
deceive him into the pond of Yaksha to make the Yaksha to kill it.”
Then the king of monkeys said to his son:” Dear son. I am already old and weak. I would like
to give the power of the throne of the king to you soon, so not far from here, there is a lotus
pond. Please get there to get three kinds of green lotus flowers and 5 kinds of white lotus
flowers. If you can take those flowers back, you will be given the throne of the king of this
herd.”
The young monkey was young to hear the promise of its father, so it quickly got to the lotus
pond of the Yaksha. At the pond, the young monkey walked around to detect the pond, and it
discovered that there were lots of steps of animals and humans walking down to the pond, but
there were no steps walking up the shore. Based on this evidence, the young monkey knew that
this pond belonged to a Yaksha., so the young monkey thought:” My father wanted to utilize
this Yaksha to kill me, but I will not let him be satisfied with his evil plan. I will jump from
shore to shore to take the flower, without stepping into the water.”
Then the young monkey used his power to jump from shore to shore to take the lotus flowers,
and finally, he already got a pile of lotus flowers. Before the young monkey left, the Yaksha
appeared and praised the monkey:” On this world, those who can possess three potentials, will
be able to defeat all kinds of enemies. You deserve this victory.”
Then the Yaksha spoke the verse:
Those cultivating with three potentials

Flexible methods and fearlessness
Wise in the attitude and behaving
Similar to you, young monkey
The winner of all the fights
Then the Yaksha told the monkey:” Please go first and I will take new lotus flowers following
you.”
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Seeing the young monkey returned together with the Yaksha, the king of monkey was worried
its son would kill him, so it decided to give the young monkey on the throne of the power and
it left the herd to live in another place.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the king of monkeys was Devadatta, while
the young monkey was him.
Jataka 59: Story of Bherivàda
monk who was headstrong to follow the instructions of the elderly monks.
When he was brought to meet the Buddha, the Buddha said to him:” In the past, due to your
headstrong attitude, you put not only you but others in trouble. So, please change your
attitude.”
In times gone by, when the king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was a
musical player of the drums. The Bodhisattva had a son, and with the hard training of the
Bodhisattva, his son was also excellent in playing drums. Bodhisattva and his son often got
around the nation to play drums for people for the living. One day, they got a region outside of
the capital for their work, and with excellent skills of drums-play, they were donated lots of
monkey from the listeners.
On the way back to Varanasi, they had to cross a forest in which there were lots of groups of
robbers, so the Bodhisattva tried to play the drums as the sounds of a general taking his soldiers
to demonstrate. Hearing the sounds of the drums of Bodhisattva, all the robbers ran away as
they were scared of the generals of the king. When they got to the middle of the forest, the
Bodhisattva gave the drums to his son to take a rest. Before taking a rest, he said:'' Please play
drums with the sounds of the generals moving their soldiers, otherwise, the robbers will come
to rob us.”
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Then the Bodhisattva laid down the vehicle to sleep. During the time Bodhisattva got sleep, his
son was bored, so he played the drums with funny sounds. The robbers were curious, and then
they got to observe. After seeing only two men on the vehicle, they rapidly caught Bodhisattva
and his son, and then they robbed all the money and the vehicles and released Bodhisattva and
his son in the deep forest.
Then the Bodhisattva said to his son:” The wise men should know how to behave with flexible,
wise and careful methods in all the situations, so they can avoid all the troubles. On the other
hand, the ignorant ones try to behave based on their desire, so they often get into trouble. Due
to your playing the drums, we lost all our stuff.”
After telling this story, the Buddha identified that the son of the drum-player was this young
headstrong monk, while the wise drum-player was him.
Jataka 60: Story of Sankhadhamma
headstrong monk. When the monk was brought to meet the Buddha, the Buddha, in his
circumstance, said:” In the past, due to your headstrong attitude, the wise men lost all their
property to the robbers.”
In times gone by, when the king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, the Bodhisatta was a person
who was excellent in playing trumpet. Bodhisattva had a son, who was also well-cultivated in
playing trumpet. So, Bodhisattva and his son often got around the nation to play trumpet on the
road and on the invitations for the living. One day, they got to a town which was far from
Varanasi to play during a local festival, and with excellent skills in playing trumpets, they were
offered lots of money.
One the way returning to Varanasi, they had to cross a forest, in which the robbers often stayed
in for their robbery plans. When they arrived at this forest, the Bodhisattva played the trumpet
with the sound of a general moving his soldiers. To hear this sound, the robbers were scared to
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hide themselves in their bases only. When they had almost left the forest, the Bodhisattva gave
his son the trumpet and required him to continue to play with the sound of the general moving
the army. His son agreed, but when Bodhisattva just got to sleep, his son played the trumpet
with a funny sound. Hearing the funny sound, the robbers quickly knew that they were not the
army of the general, so the robbers quickly arrived at their vehicle, robbing all the money and
the vehicles.
Bodhisattva and his son were thrown down in the deep forest. At that time, the Bodhisattva
said to his son:” The wise men can avoid trouble from careful thought and attitude, but on the
contrary, the ignorant ones often get troubles due to their careless attitudes.”
Then he spoke he verse:
Without skills in behaving

Ignorant ones shall obtain troubles and dangers
Playing the drums can get money
Playing the drums also generate the trouble
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the son of the trumpet-player was the
headstrong monk, whereas the trumpet-player was him.
Jataka 61: Story of Asàtamanta
monk who lost his determination in the practice after seeing a beautiful girl on the way getting
alms in Savatthi.
When this monk was brought to meet the Buddha, the Buddha tried to convince him to keep
his determination in the dharma practice up. Hence, the Buddha said: “Meeting the true
dharmas for the practice is hard, so you have to try hard to succeed in this practice. The wise
men, in the past, although did not meet the Buddha, also were able to accommodate their
attitude with self-regulation.”
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In times gone by, when king Sivi was ruling the nation of Sivi, Bodhisattva was born as the
son of the king and the queen, and was named Culla-Sivi. On the same day of the birth of the
Bodhisattva, a son of an official was born and was given the name of Ahipàraka. These two
children often played with each other during their childhood, and they continued to be
classmates during the learning duration in Takkasila. Upon their graduation, Sivi was given the
throne of the power of the nation, while Ahiparaka was appointed as the vice-king of the nation.
At that time, a rich family of the nation had an extremely beautiful girl, and at the age of 16,
this girl, namely Ummadanti, was attractive to almost all the men, in all ages, who looked at
her for a while. One day, her father got to the palace to inform the king about her beauty and
asked the king:” My daughter is the most beautiful in India, so I would like her to be your wife.
Please accept my goodness.”
The king ordered a group of Brahmins who were excellent in predictions of the destiny of
people, to her house to detect whether she was a faithful woman or not. When the delegation
of the Brahmins arrived at her house, she walked down from the high floor to meet them in
luxurious clothes. All the Brahmins were crazy about her beauty, so they became
uncontrollable in their behaviors. Some talked about some crazy things, while others danced
as hippies.
Seeing the Brahmins were crazy, Ummadanti ordered her servants to throw these men out of
the house. To be ashamed and angry about the acts of Ummadanti to them, the Brahmins
returned and told the king with untrue things about Ummadanti:” Dear majesty! That girl with
a normal beauty and especially she is a magic girl. So, please stop thinking of her.”
The king believed the untrue utterance of the Brahmins, so he did not call Ummadanti to the
palace, but got married with another beautiful girl. At that time, Ummadanti got angry with the
king, and she asked her father to give her to get married with vice-king Ahiparaka. Their
marriage was soon organized and Ahiparaka loved her too much and often kept her close to
him.
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It was believed that in a previous life, Ummadanti was born in a poor family, so she always
tried on the old clothes. To carry out the dream of having new and luxurious cloth, in the
teenager ages, she tried to work as a servant for a rich family to earn money to buy a new piece
of cloth. After few months of hard work, the rich family gave here a new piece of cloth, and
she took the new piece of cloth to the river to take a shower before trying it on. At that time, a
PrekaBuddha and his student got close to the river where she was taking shower. The student
of the Prekabbuddha was stolen the cloth, so he used the leaves to cover his body. The poor
girl, at that time, thought:” I have to offer half of this cloth to that monk as he is ashamed to
walk on the road with that leaves-making cloth.”
So, the poor girl cut the new piece of the cloth into two parts, and gave the student of the
PrekaBuddha one part. The student of the Prekabuddha then tried the new cloth on, and he
appeared elegantly with the new piece of robe. At that time, the poor girl said:” I should also
give him the rest of the cloth, as he deserves to get it more than me.”
Then the poor girl gave the rest of the cloth to the student of the Prekabuddha. And vowed:” I
wish this virtue can assist me to be the most beautiful girl where I am born.”
With this virtue of offering, she was born in heaven for several rebirths before being born with
the name of Ummadanti. With the vow in the past, she was the most beautiful in the nation
where she was born.
In the national festival of the nation, the husband of Ummadanti took her to travel around the
town and then he said to her:” Now I have work from a far location, so please stay at home.
Today, the king will demonstrate around the town. If you get out to meet the king, the king will
be attracted to your beauty so that he could be confused.”
Ummadanti was pleased to hear that the king would be walking through her house, so she tried
on with luxurious clothes, waiting for the king. In the late afternoon, the king began his travel
around the town, and soon, he got in front of the house of his vice-king, at that time Ummadanti
got out to stand at the pavement of the road to gain the notice of the king. The king then saw
Ummadanti, and like other men, the king lost control of his mind. So, he asked Ummadanti:
The beautiful girl from noble family
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Being married or still single life
Please give me the answer
Have you engaged with a man?
At that time, the driver of the king, namely Suman, told the king:” Dear majesty. She already
got married and she was the wife of your friend, Ahiparaka, the general of our nation.”
The king was sorrowful to ask Suman to return the vehicle:” Now, I have no motivation to
continue this trip. Please take me to the palace. Ahiparaka deserves to enjoy this festival and
deserves to be the ruler of the nation.”
Then the king got to his room and contemplated the beauty of Ummadanti. The king called her
name all the time, with a crazy and unmindful mind. For several days, the king could not hold
the meetings with the officials. Some officials met Ahiparaka and told him:” Our majesty,
during the festival, saw your wife and he was in the uncontrol of his desire. He missed your
wife all the time. “
Ahiparaka then returned to ask his wife:” Why did you move out to let the king see you during
the festival?”
Ummadanti calmly said:” At that time, the service told me that a ugly man with a big stomach
was in the vehicle of the king to travel around the town, so I was curious to get out to see that
fat man only. I did not see the king at all.”
Ahiparaka thought that :” Now only me can assist the king to get rid of his sickness, otherwise,
I had to give my wife to him. However, it is not good for me as well as for the king, if people
know that the king tried to rob the wife of his vice-king. Hence, I had to try the other way.”
Then he called a servant and gave him lots of money, saying:” In the forest, there is a hollow
and giant tree. Tomorrow, in the early morning, get there and hide yourself in the tree. I will
take some servants to pray to the deity there. At that time, please speak this letter loudly.”
Then the servant and Ahiparaka did as they planned. When Ahiparaka asked the deity for the
solution, his servant calmly said:” Hey Ahiparaka. Your king did not get sick but he is in love
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with your wife. You have to give your wife to him, otherwise, he will die soon. Remember to
give your wife to him”
Then Ahiparaka got to the palace together with his servants who heard the utterance from the
tree, and they tried to tell the story to the officials of the king. Then, Ahiparaka tried to pay a
visit to the king and let some officials tell the king the utterance that they heard from the deity
of the tree. After that Ahiparaka talked to the king:” If you love her, I can give her to you,
please take good care of your health.``
The king was ashamed, and he thought:” Even the deity of the tree also knew my ugly thought,
I have to try to get rid of this evil desire.”
Then the king stood up and said:”
Not cultivating virtue but the evil thought

Wanting to have wife of others
It is not the attitude of wise king
Giving Ummadanti to me as you plan
You shall suffer without her
Ahiparaka said:
Majesty and me know this negotiation

Having no else know of this
Ummadanti will give you to enjoy
Then, return to me later if you want
The king said to Ahiparaka:
Wise men know that evil acts cannot hide

Being hidden from mundane ones
Not being hidden from the gods and deities
I cannot do it as it is evil act
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All men are drunken due to her beauty
It is your kind to give her to me
Taking the wife of a good friend, good servant
It is not the way of me, a wise king
Then the king tried to get rid of the desire for the beauty of Ummadanti.
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths, and during this talk, the
monk who lost his determination in the practice obtained first entering stream level. Finally,
the Buddha identified that Ahiparaka and Ummadanti were Sariputta and Uppalavannà
respectively, while the king Sivi was him.
Jataka 62: Story of Andabhuta
who as attached to the beauty of a girl on the way getting alms in the town of Savatthi.
When the monk was brought to meet the Buddha, the Buddha said to him:” In the past, the wise
men also monitored the women for all the time, from the childhood to the adulthood, the women
still found the way to enjoy with other men.”
the son of the king and the queen, and in the 16, he was well-educated with skills and
knowledge, so after being given on the throne of power of the nation, he tried to used the royal
dharmas to rule the nation. In the leisure time, the king often played chess wit his celebrant,
and as he comprehended the nature of the women, the king often said the verse before throwing
the dice into the bowl:
The things and phenomena are in their natural setting
Rivers have to run into the winding paths
All trees and herds are grown up from seeds
In the suitable conditions
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Similarly, the women on this earth
Enjoying their misconducted acts if possible
Due to the truth of the verse, the king always won whenever he played with his celebrant. One
day, the celebrant thought:” I have to feed a girl and make the verse of the king get wrong. So,
I will win the king with the fortune.”
Then the celebrant used his prediction power to guess the gender of a child in the stomach of a
poor women. After giving a big amount of money to the poor lady, the celebrant contracted to
her to get the baby when the daughter got one year old. Soon, the poor lady gave birth to a
daughter, and after her daughter got one year old. The celebrant took her to his house, and took
good care of her. Also, all the maidens could meet his girl but no any man, excepting for the
celebrant. Also, the celebrant tried to teach her all the virtuous lessons, so she behaved morally
all the time.
Time flies, this girl turned to be an adult with beautiful shape, but she did not love any one
excepting the celebrant. So, she became the youngest wife of the celebrant. To know it was the
best time to win the king, the celebrant again got to the palace to play with the king, and when
the king read his verse before throwing dice into the bowl, the celebrant said loudly:” However,
my youngest wife was excepted from this case.”
Due to the truth from the verse of the celebrant, the king lost and the celebrant won. The king
was curious and he thought:” I have to destroy the virtue of his wife. Then the king secretly
ordered the servants to detect the residing place of the youngest wife of the celebrant, and the
king found a scheming but handsome man to attract the daughter of the celebrant. The scheming
man asked for the big amount of money, and the king gave him that much of money. The
scheming man bought the house which was near to the house of the celebrant, and he tried to
sell the perfumes and flowers.
As the youngest wife of the celebrant loved perfumes and flowers, so her maiden often bought
perfumes and flowers to her. After the store of the scheming man was opened, the maiden often
bought perfumes and flowers from his store. One day, the scheming pretended that he was the
son of the maiden after investigated and comprehended the background of the maiden clearly
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with the support of the king. He said to the maiden:” Dear madam. Do you recognize me? I
was your son who lost 20 years ago. It is hard to find you here.”
And the scheming man tried to show lots of the fake evidence to the maiden to pursued her to
believe him. After getting the belief of the maiden, he pretended to ask:” Where are you staying
now, mom?”
The maiden told him:” Now I am the servant of the youngest wife of the celebrant of the king.
She was moral and kind to me.”
After few days, the scheming man pretended to lie down on the bed and skipped eating. When
the maiden of the celebrant came and asked him, he said:” I cannot tell you as you cannot assist
me at all.”
The maiden insisted:” My son. When you were young, I could not feed and take good care of
you. Now, I will do everything for you.”
The scheming man then said:” I love the youngest wife of the celebrant after hearing her
morality. I want to have her as my lover, if not, I will die soon.”
The maiden then said:” I can help you to carry out this dream.”
Then the maiden brought lots of perfumes and flowers to give the youngest wife of the celebrant
every day, and she often said to her:” We don’t need to pay money for those as my son love to
give you these.”
For nearly one month, then the maiden stopped giving flowers and perfume to the youngest
wife of the celebrant, and the youngest wife asked her:” Why recently your son did not give us
the flowers and the perfume?”
To wait for this chance, the maiden sat on her knees and cried:” Dear madam. To sorry to say
this. My son already falls in love with you, and he recently got serious sickness as missing you.
He just wants to see you one time, please let him to see you before he die.”
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The youngest wife of the celebrant said:” Okay. Tomorrow, I will assist you to take him here.”
Then the scheming mas was brought to meet the youngest wife of the celebrant, and with
scheming way, soon, he could have sex with her easily. They fell in love with each other, and
even she could kill her husband if the scheming man asked her to do. She said:” Please stayed
here, I will do everything to assist us to live together, even kill my husband.”
The scheming man said:” I just want to beat on his head. Can you help me to do so?”
The youngest wife of the celebrant promised and she hid her lover into the clothes-shelf. When
the celebrant got to visit her, she tried to ask him:” Could you dance for me to see as I have
never to watched your dances?”
The celebrant loved her, so he danced crazily to entertain his wife. After that his wife continued
to ask:” Could I beat on your head as nobody can beat on the head of the celebrant of the king?”
The celebrant said:” Of course, you are my beloved wife.”
Then the youngest wife of the celebrant gave her lover, the scheming man stepped out to beat
on the head of the celebrant. And then, he continued to hide into the cloth-shelf. When the
celebrant got away, the two enjoyed sex together, and they seemed that could not be separated
from each other.
The next day, the king invited the celebrant to play dice and when the king read his
phenomenon verse, the celebrant also said that his youngest wife was excepted as he did not
know his youngest wife already committed sexual misconduct with other man. The celebrant
lost all the times, then the king said to him:” Why your youngest wife is excepted? Do you know
that she kept a man in her room and they enjoyed sex daily? Also, do you know that yesterday,
her lover bit you on your head, not her?”
The celebrant was ashamed, so he returned to ask her youngest wife. However, she was refused
the accusation of the celebrant. To make the celebrant believed her utterance, she sweared that
if her words were not true, she would be burn by the fire. The celebrant also tried to detect her
words, so he ordered the servants to make giant pile of fire and asked her to jump into the fire.
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As plan, when she was about to jump to the fire, her lover, the scheming man appeared to hold
her away and complained the celebrant for the brutal idea.
The celebrant said:” Don’t worry. If my wife did not touch the hand of any man, she will not be
harm by the fire.”
At that time his youngest wife said: “But, I just touched the hand of this man, so I cannot jump
into this fire.”
At that time, the celebrant knew the cheat of his youngest wife and the scheming man, but he
did not punish them. He just expelled his wife out of his house. From that time, his wife had to
endure the poor life with the scheming man. Soon, the scheming man left her after long time
of living together.
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about four Noble Truths and during the talk of the
Buddha, the monk who lost his determination obtained first entering stream level. Finally, the
Buddha identified that the wise king was him.
Jataka 63: Story of Takka

who was attached to the beauty of a girl when he got to the town of Savatthi to get alms.
When he was brought to meet the Buddha for advice, the Buddha motivated him:” Desire is
the cause for the rebirth into the Samsara, so you have to be diligent to get rid of sexual desire.
Desire is countless to be satisfied, and due to the desire, men and women easily change their
partners.”
family in a rural area, and when he turned adulthood, he left the family life for the ascetic
practice of a forest monk. He made a cottage at the bank of the Ganges River, at the region
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which was close to the forest. With diligence, he soon obtained fruits of meditation and
wisdom.
At that time, the daughter of the storage-house-taker of the king was beautiful, but she was not
a faithful girl. She enjoyed life with luxurious stuff and clothes. One day, she got to the forest
together with her servants, and when they were enjoying playing in the Ganges River, there
was a large amount of water from the highlander region floating strongly toward the down
region. So, this girl was drifting down. After several hours of searching, the servants could not
find their boss, so they returned to tell the palace- storage-taker that his daughter was dead due
to the flood.
At night time, the daughter of palace-storage taker drifted to the bank of the Ganges River
which was close to the cottage of the Bodhisattva, and in the terrible condition, she tried to call
for help. At that time, the Bodhisattva was in the contemplation of meditation, so he could hear
the voice of the girl. Rapidly, he got out to rescue the girl, and burned a pile of wood for her to
warm up. Then, he cooked porridge for her to eat. Afterward, he moved out to give the cottage
for the girl to stay.
During the stay for few days, the girl, with the beauty, easily attracted the Bodhisattva to fall
in love with her, and finally, they slept together and became a couple. All the meditative fruits
cultivated at that time disappeared, and this couple took each other to a village which was close
to the neighboring area to live. Bodhisattva had no skills, so he became a fruit-seller for a
living. The income from his work was not big, so they lived in the difficult condition.
One day, the robbers who lived in a cave on the hill near the neighboring area attacked the
villagers and they took the wife of the Bodhisattva as she was too attractive to them. Then the
leader of the robbers tried to rape her, and force her to become his wife. At the base of the
robbers, the wife of the Bodhisattva gradually enjoyed life as the wife of the leader of the
robbers. She had everything that she wanted, with luxurious stuff and clothes. At that time, she
worried that the Bodhisattva would come to take her back to the difficult life as they had been.
So, she planned to kill the Bodhisattva. She wrote a letter and gave it to a robber to give to the
Bodhisattva. The content of the letter was to date the Bodhisattva at the base of the robbers to
rescue her. When Bodhisattva came, she managed him to stay in a room next to her room.
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Waiting for the leader of the robbers back, she and him enjoyed each other, and then she told
him:” What will you do when my former husband is here?”
The robber leader said calmly:” I will kill him as you have to be my wife forever.”
Then the evil woman told the robber leader that her husband was in the next room, and with
anger, the robber leader got to the next room with tools to punish the Bodhisattva terribly.
During the punishment, the Bodhisattva just said:” Ungrateful! Evil you are.”
Then the robber leader was tired, so he returned to sleep and the next morning, he continued to
punish the Bodhisattva, and the Bodhisattva did not say anything else but the same phrases as
the last day. The robber leader was curious to ask the Bodhisattva:” Why did you say these
words all the time?”
Bodhisattva told the robber leader about everything related to him and the evil woman,
including the plan to kill him. The robber leader, then, thought that:” This woman is brutal to
her husband who has loved her with all his methods, but she is trying to kill him. I cannot keep
this woman as my wife, as she is dangerous. She may fall in love with someone else and plan
to kill me soon.”
Then the robber leader expelled the evil woman out of his base, and invited the Bodhisattva to
have drinks with him for the whole night. Finally, they all left for the ascetic lives as forest
monks. With diligence, they soon obtained calmness and got rid of the desire.
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths to the monks, and during
the talk of the Buddha, the monk who lost his motivation in practice obtained first entering
stream level. Finally, the Buddha identified that the robber leader was Ananda, while the ascetic
monk was him.
Jataka 64: Duràjàna

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the background of this story was related to a lay
man's wife.
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At that time, there was a lay man who was rich and faithful to the Buddha and his teachings.
Unluckily, his wife did not believe in the teachings of the Buddha, and she tried to suspend
him from paying a visit to the Buddha. Sometimes, his wife was extremely faithful to him, but
sometimes, she was headstrong to follow his instructions.
One day, he paid a visit to the Buddha and told the Buddha about the attitude of his wife. The
Buddha, in this circumstance, said that:” The attitude and thought of women are complicated
to understand.”
In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was a renowned
master of the town. The number of young men who studied with him was around 500. Among
one of his students, there was one guy who was wise and excellent in learning, but he seldom
got to the school to meet the Bodhisattva as his wife tried to generate troubles for him all the
time. When she made mistakes, she tried to behave nicely as the tiny cats, but if she did not
generate mistakes, she behaved arrogantly. She often generated troubles and made the house
messy.
One day, this student paid a visit to the Bodhisattva, and the Bodhisattva asked him:” What has
happened to you? Why have you seldom arrived here to learn?”
The student said to the Bodhisattva:” My wife is difficult to comprehend, and she often
generates trouble in the house. Hence, I have to stay at home to solve her troubles.”
The Bodhisattva said:” The nature of women is complicated, as they tend to behave nicely when
they generate troubles, but they are arrogant when others generate mistakes. “
The attitude of the women is complicated and flexible

As the fishes in the water, floating around as they want
Similar to our thoughts as the complicated ones
Difficult to comprehend the mind is good or bad for the whole
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Then the student returned and told his wife. His wife, in this circumstance, changed her attitude.
Buddha, the young lay man obtained first entering stream level. Finally, the Buddha identified
that the couple in the story were the young lay man and his wife, while the master was him.
Jataka 65: Story of Anabhirati

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the background of this story was related to a layman
who was a student of the Buddha.
This layman had a beautiful wife, but his wife's attitude was changeable and difficult to
understand. Due to her changeable attitude, they often argued with each other. One day, due to
the argument with his wife, he could not get to Jetavana to visit the Buddha for a long time.
One day, when he paid a visit to the Buddha, the Buddha asked him:” How have you been up
to?”
The layman told the Buddha everything about his wife, and in this circumstance, the Buddha
said:” The attitude of the women is changeable, as this is their nature. In the past, wise men
already told you this issue, but due to the rebirth, you forgot.”
In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was a renowned
master in the town, and the young men who often gathered to study with him were around 500
ones. Among the students, there was a faithful guy, and he had a beautiful but changeable
attitude. Due to the changeable attitude, they often argued with each other all the time, and one
day, they had a terrible argument so that this student could not get to the school to learn with
the Bodhisattva for a long time.
After the situation of his family was fine, he got to the school and told the master the changeable
attitude of his wife. His master calmly said:” It is not the nature of women only, but the nature
of all humans. Our minds are complicated to understand.”
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Then his master spoke the verse:
Similar to the rivers and path

Never in one straight line, but are winding
Similar to the customers of ten directions
Not able to have the same desire in drinking and eating
Likewise, the nature of humans is complicated
Changeable all the time
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths and the layman obtained
first entering stream level. Finally, the Buddha identified that the couple in the story were the
layman and his wife, whereas the renowned master was him.
Jataka 66: Story of Mudulakkhana
monk who was attached to the beauty of a young girl on the way getting alms so that he lost
all the happiness in the practice of the dharma of the Buddha.
This monk was born in a rich family, and due to great faithfulness to Buddha and the teachings
of the Buddha, this monk ordained as a monk. He practiced hard all the rules of monks and the
objects of meditation given by the Buddha. One day, on the way to get alms in Savatthi, he saw
a young girl who was extremely beautiful and upon this observation, he thought of her all the
time.
When he was about to disrobe to the layman's life, elderly monks brought him to meet the
Buddha, and the Buddha calmly said to him:” It is normal for a mundane monk to be attracted
to the beauty of the women. In the past, the wise men, the Bodhisattvas, who obtained five
levels of meditation, with fruits of meditation practices, still lost all of their practice fruits after
looking at the beautiful women. The men are attracted to the beauty of women, and similarly,
the women are attracted to the handsome men. This is nature and the cause of rebirth.”
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In times gone by, when the king Brahmadatta was reining Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was born
in a rich Brahmin family, but he did not attach to the family life. Therefore, when he turned
adulthood, he left his family for the ascetic life of a monk in the forest of Himalayas. With
diligence in practice, he soon obtained all the powers and fruits of the meditation practice.
One day, he got to the town of Varanasi to get alms and stayed at the garden of the kign for
several days. One day, the king on the high floor, seeing the Bodhisattva, the king loved his
attitude and posture, so the king paid a visit to him and during the visit the king invited the
Bodhisattva to maintain his stay at the garden for his chance to learn virtuous things. The
Bodhisattva agreed and he stayed at the garden of the king for 16 years. During this time, he
often used his power to get to the palace of the king to get food and drinks for lunch.
One day, the king got to the neighboring area to solve the rebels’ attacks, so the king told his
beautiful queen to prepare the food and drink for his master, the Bodhisattva. One day, as usual,
the Bodhisattva used his power to get to the palace through the window to get food and drinks.
At that time, the queen was laying on the chair as she was tired of waiting for the Bodhisattva
for the offering. During her nap, the cloth which covered her upper part of the body fell down
to show her elegant body. The Bodhisattva saw that part of the queen, he immediately lost all
the power of meditation. He even could not be calm to receive the offerings from the queen.
At that time, the queen knew that the Bodhisattva already loved her.
Bodhisattva took the bowl of foods and drinks, but he could not fly out as he lost all the power
from the meditation practice, so he suffered from walking down the stairs and often got lost as
he had never got out the palace by using the stairs. Arriving at the cottage, he could not enjoy
the foods and drinks, but laid down on his bed to contemplate on the body of the queen. For
about two weeks, he did not get to the palace to get offerings, and the queen knew of the cause
so that she did not disturb him.
When the king returned, he quickly paid a visit to the Bodhisattva, as the child visited the
parents for love. Seeing all the stuff was messy, the king thought the Bodhisattva had already
left. So, he was sorrowful:” Why did my master not say goodbye to me before he left.”
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At that time, he heard the noise from the bedroom of his master, so he rapidly stepped to the
bedroom, and seeing Bodhisattva was suffering on the bed. The king asked:'' Did you get sick?
Why didn't you inform my queen?”
The Bodhisattva calmly said:” Yes. I got an attack in my heart. I am attached to the beauty of
your queen. I cannot live without her.”
The king said:” Okay. I will give my queen to you.”
Then the king returned to tell his queen everything, and the queen said:” Don’t worry majesty.
Just promise to give it to him and I will try the way to assist him to recover his practice.”
The king then took his queen to give the Bodhisattva. The Bodhisattva was extremely happy
to hold the queen closely, and then they asked the king to give them a house to stay in. The
king ordered soldiers to take him to a village and appointed a cottage for them. When the
Bodhisattva could not control his mind and wanted to take the queen to the cottage to enjoy
life, the queen denied:” I cannot live in the dirty condition. Please clean this house first.”
The Bodhisattva tried to find mud to decorate the cottage and had to get to the river to take
water to clean the cottage. Also, the Bodhisattva cut the bamboo to make an elegant bed as he
desired this bed for his enjoyment with the queen. Then, he held the queen to bring her to the
bed. At that moment, the queen said loudly:” Dear master. Due to the desire, you became crazy,
and you have worked as a slave to satisfy your sexual desire with me. Do you remember the
effort for you to leave your family for the practice?”
The Bodhisattva was ashamed by the complaint of the queen, so he closed his eyes to
contemplate on the meditation objects, and then he decided to return the queen to the king.
During the night time, he left the queen in the cottage, but he moved to contemplate under a
big tree. During the night time, with diligence, he recovered his power and got rid of desire.
So, he used his power to take the queen to the palace, saying to the king:” Dear majesty. Don’t
worry, your queen is still faithful to you as I have not touched her at all. Thanks for your
kindness, but I already got rid of my desire. Please receive my sincere apology, and take your
queen.”
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Then, he used his power to sit in the lotus flower in the thin air, saying to the king:” Dear
majesty. It is time for me to return to the Himalayas, as the crowded place is not suitable for
meditation practice. I was injured in my mind during the time living here. Take good care and
concentrate on the cultivation of virtues.”
Then the Bodhisattva flew in the thin air to return to the Himalayas for practice.
Buddha the young monk who was attached to the beauty of the young girl obtained Arhathood.
Finally, the Buddha identified the king and the queen were Ananda and Uppalavannà
respectively, while the ascetic monk was him.
Jataka 67: Story of Ucchanga

wisdom of a woman in rescuing their relatives from death.
At that time, in the rural area, the robbers often robbed people in the daytime. One day, they
appeared and robbed some farmers, and then they left quickly. When they just left, three men
who were chasing the thieves arrived at the farm where the robbers just robbed people. The
farmers caught them and took them to the place of the king. The king was angry, so he ordered
them to put them into the prison forever.
At that time, a middle-aged woman arrived at the palace to cry sorrowfully. When the soldiers
asked her for the reason. She said:” Please tell the king to give me something to protect myself
from the difficulties.”
A soldier got to the main shrine to inform the king:” Dear majesty. There is a woman crying
and asking for something to protect herself.”
The king said: “Give her anything that she wants to have.”
The soldier told her the order of the king, but she denied to receive everything but only her
husband. Finally, they had to take her to meet the king, and when she met the king, she asked
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the king:” I only want my husband as the husband is the essential thing to protect me. Please
release my husband.”
The king asked her:” This is my husband, and how is the relationship between you and two
other men?”
The woman slowly said: ``They are my son and my brother.”
The king said:” I have no evidence to prove that they are sinless, but due to your faithfulness
to them, I will release only one. Please carefully select one among them.”
The woman said:” So, I will select the one that I cannot have, my brother. As I cannot have
another husband and son if I get married with another man, but I cannot have another brother
as my parents passed away several years ago.”
The king Kosala was pleased, so the king released all the men, and gave them lots of valuable
stuff.
Their story spread around the town and reached Jetavana, and one day, the monks gathered at
Dharma-hall, talking about the cleverness of the woman in rescuing her relatives. When the
Buddha entered the Dharma-hall, and knowing the figure of the monks, the Buddha calmly
said that:” It is not in the present time, but also in the past, this woman saved the lives of those
three men.”
In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, there were three men plowing
a farm, and at that time, a group of villagers who were chasing the robbers got to their farm.
Seeing nobody else, except them, the villagers accused them as the robbers, so they caught
them and took them to the palace of the king.
The king did not detect properly, but believed in the utterance of villagers and put them into
the jail. Few days later, a woman cried at the gate of the palace to request the king to return
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three men to her. The king said:” Okay. If you already got here and cried, I will release one.
Please select one man among the three.”
The woman then said:” So. Please release my brother.”
The king was curious:'' Why didn't you ask to release your son and your husband? They are
not important to you?”
The woman spoke the verse to illustrate her idea:
Seeking for new husband and giving birth to son

I can do it easily after my husband and son die
However, I cannot seek for my brother
As it is impossible indeed.
The king smiled at the cleverness of the woman, so the king was pleased to release all three
men and gave them some benefits to assist them for a living.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the wise king was him, while the three men
and the woman were the three men and the woman who met the Kosala king.
Jataka 68: Story of Saketa

The Buddha told this story at Anjana forest which was near to Saketa. When the Buddha took
the monsk to arrive at the Saketa, an elderly man who was walking around, saw the Buddha,
and he rapidly ran to the Buddha, holding hands and said:” My Son. Where have you gone?
Why don’t you stay here to take care of us?”
Then he took the Buddha and monks to his house. His wife also did the same, when she saw
the Buddha. Then, they called their sons, daughters, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law and
nephews to pay respect to the Buddha, and then they introduced the Buddha to their children:”
This is your oldest brother. Please prepare food to offer him and his students.”
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Then they made big and wonderful offerings to the Buddha and monks. After the offerings, the
monks were curious to ask Ven. Ananda: “Why did these people consider Buddha as their
relative, and why did the Buddha accept them as their relatives?”
The Buddha then said:” It is suitable for them to consider I am their relative.”
Then the Buddha said that:
“In times gone by, I was born as the son of the elderly man and woman for 500 lifespans, and
then they continued to be my uncle and aunt for the other 500 lifespans. Also, after that, they
were my grandfather and grandmother for 500 life spans. Due to this connection, in this life,
when they just saw me, they considered I am their son.”
Then the Buddha spoke the verse to illustrate his idea:
When mind is attached to someone

With happiness and calmness
Even for the first sight
Believing in them without doubt
As it is the connection of relation in several lifespans
Jataka 69: Story of Visavanta

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the background of the story was related to
Venerable Sariputta.
At that time, one sponsor often offered the sweet cakes to the monks living at Jetavana, and
one day, the leftover cakes were a lot. This sponsor told the venerable Sariputta to take some
cakes for his student. Venerable Sariputta took cakes to return to his cottage to give to his
student. However, his student left to get alms in the other village. To worry that the student
would not be able to eat these cakes and they would throw the cakes in the afternoon, Venerable
Sariputaa ate these cakes. At that time, his student returned, and he said to his student:” I am
sorry that I already ate all the sweet cakes that a sponsor offered you.”
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His student was calm:” It is fine dear master, but I also love sweet cakes.”
To be ashamed of this sin, from that moment, venerable Sariputta stopped eating sweet cake,
although the sponsors tried to offer him. His event was told to the Buddha, and the Buddha, in
this circumstance, said that:” Sariputta does not take on what he already gives up. It is his habit,
not only in the present but also in the past.”
In time gone by, in a rural village, a farmer, in the time working at the farm, was attacked and
bit by a poisonous snake, and the villagers invited a doctor to come to heal the injury of the
farmer. When the doctor observed the injury, he said:” If we can catch the snake and ask it to
withdraw its poison, this man will recover quickly.”
Then the villagers tried to catch the poisoned snake and gave it to the doctor. The doctor forced
the snake:” You have to withdraw the poison which you put into this man through the attack,
otherwise you will be burned out.”
Then the doctor burned on a giant fire with a pile of wood. The snake looked at the pile of fire,
it was scared of death. However, it said to the doctor:” I have never withdrawn the poison that
I put into the victims, even though I have to die. So, I prefer to select death today.”
Then the poisonous snake moved into the pile of fire to sacrifice. At that moment, the doctor
tried to pick the snake out and said:” Okay. I am about to release you, but remember to stop
harming others from now on.”
The poisonous snake agreed and rapidly ran into the deep forest. The doctor then used some
special medicine to assist the farmer to get rid of the poison.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the poisonous snake was Sariputta, while the
doctor was him.
Jataka 70: Story of Kuddala
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venerable, namely Cittahattha Sariputta.
He was a poor man, and one day, he got a special cake from an elderly monk. So, he thought:”
To be a monk will have enough food for living, so I will ordain as a monk and enjoy the
luxurious life as a monk.”
He got to Jetavana to ask the Buddha to be monk, and the ordination for him was organized
rapidly. However, the monk's life was not what he imagined. He suffered due to the difficulty
in the monkhood, so he disrobed after one month being the monk in the Sangha of the Buddha.
The life of a layman also was not easy to him, as he had to work hard for the living, but still
did not get enough for living. Then, he returned to the monkhood for second, third, fourth, fifth,
sixth and seventh time, after several times of returns to the layman's life. In the seventh time of
ordination, he was able to memorize all the Abhidharma, and to base on the practice of the
Abhddharma, he soon obtained Arhathood.
This event was then spread around Jetavana, and some monks discussed his miracle event at
the dharma-hall, when they gathered to listen to the Dharmas-talk from the Buddha. To hear
the discussion of monks, the Buddha said calmly:” It is not the problem at all when Cittahattha
Sariputta returned the layman status and entered the monkhood seven times before obtaining
Arhathood. The wise men in the past, also spent this much times of ordination for their
enlightenment.``
a garden-taker family, and when he grew up, he also became a garden taker. He had nothing
but only a hoe, so he used the hoe to clean the farm and planted several kinds of vegetables to
sell in the market. However, he still was not able to earn a living. So, he left his family to be a
monk for the dharma practice. Before leaving, he hid his hoe in a corner of a farm, and he was
attached to the hoe so that he returned to the layman's life. Thus, he was ordained as monk and
returned to layman life for the seventh time. At the seventh time, the Bodhisattva thought:” I
have to close my eyes and throw the hoe into the river. If I cannot see the location of the hose,
I can get rid of it.”
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Hence, he did so, and he shouted loudly:” I am the winner! I am the winner”
The king and Brahmin, officials and soldiers were taking bath at the region of the river nearby
after defeating the rebels at the neighboring area. The king was curious to call the Bodhisattva
and asked:” I won against the rebels, and this is the win for the whole nation. To whom did you
win? Why are you so happy for the win?”
The Bodhisattva calmly said:” Even you can defeat thousands of the rebels, but you cannot
defeat your desire, these wins are the mundane ones. I already defeated my desire, and from
now on, desire cannot control me anymore. This is the most essential victory.”
The king heard the utterance from the Bodhisattva, he desired to ordain, so he asked the
Bodhisattva:” Now. Where do you live? I want to ordain you to be under your instruction.”
The Bodhisattva agreed and then, all officials, all the soldiers which followed the king, the
people around 12 miles square from the river decided to follow the king to ordain as monks.
At that moment, the seat of the Sakka became hot, and with his power, he knew that the
Bodhisattva needed a large place for the crowd of people to live after their ordination. Then
Sakka called the architect of the 33rd heaven, namely Vissakamma, to assist in building cottages
for them to reside. Visakamma then used his power to drive away all the wild animals and
birds, and then he made cottages which lined along a narrow path, and linked to each other.
Then he returned to the 33rd heaven.
The Bodhisattva took all the people into the Himalayas, and they decided to stop at the palce
that the Sakka prepared for them. The Bodhisattva ordained himself first and then he made the
ceremony to ordain for others. Then the Bodhisattva taught them the methods of cultivation of
loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity.
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths and a big number of monks
obtained first entering stream level, one-returning level, none-returning level and Arhathood.
Finally, the Buddha identified that the poor garden taker who finally was able to throw the hoe
away was him.
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Jataka 71: Story of Vanara
Venerable. Kutumbikaputtatissa.
Kutumbikaputtatissa and a group of his friends of 30 Brahmin, on one occasion, they got to
Jetavana to listen to the Dharma from the Buddha, and with faithfulness to the Buddha and
Dharmas, they decided to ordain as monks in the Sangha of the Buddha. After the ordination,
they spent five years learning and training with disciplines of the monks. Then, in one rainy
retreat, they asked the Buddha to give them the suitable meditation objects for the practice.
Then, they decided to get to a forest for three months of the rainy retreat.
When they got just half part of the whole length path leading to the forest selected, Ven.
Kutumbikaputtatissa thought that he could not stay in the forest for three months, and also, he
could not walk long distances for alms for living daily. Therefore, he decided to return to
Jetavana. With diligence in the practice, all friends of Ven. Tissa obtained Arhathood, and after
the rainy retreat was over, they returned to present their spiritual development to the Buddha.
At that time, Ven. Tissa was ashamed to hear that all his friends were already enlightened but
not him. Hence, in the evening, he decided to be delicate all the time for the practice. He stood
all night time, contemplating on the meditation object. In the late evening, he could not control
his mind, so he fell down and got injured.
The next day, the monks who were friends of Ven. Tissa did not return to the forest they
selected for the practice, but remained their stay at Jetavana to take care of Ven. Tisa. This
event was spread to all monks around Jetavana, and when they gathered at the Dharma-hall to
listen to the Dharma of the Buddha, they discussed this issue, and when the Buddha
comprehended his trouble, the Buddha said:” It is not in the present time, but also in the past,
due to the wrong diligence, he made others suspended their plans to take care of him.”
In times gone by, in the nation of Gandhara, and in the town of Takkasila, the Bodhisattva was
a renowned master, and the young people who got to study with him about 500 annually. The
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master and the students lived as a big family, and the students often went to the forest to collect
the dry woods for cooking. One day, they got to the forest to collect dry wood as usual, and
one student, who was lazy, got up to a giant Vanara tree of Vanara to sleep. In the afternoon,
this lazy student got up and tried to break the branches of the Vanara tree to take back. Although
he knew that the woods that he collected were not dry, he still put them into the pile of the dry
woods.
In the evening, the Bodhisattva told all of his students to get up early the next day, and prepared
foods and drinks for the journey of business. They told a female servant who worked as the
chef of the kitchen to get up early the next day to prepare food for them. The next morning, the
chef got up and prepared food and drinks, but she unluckily took all the undried woods
collected by the lazy student, so it took her lots of time to burn on the fire. So, when the sun
rose up, they were still not able to depart for the journey. At that time, the Bodhisattva came to
complain to them:” Why are all of you still here? I told you to get up early to prepare for the
journey.?”
The oldest student rapidly replied to their master:” Dear master! To be honest, we got up too
early, but due to the undried woods, the chef spent a lot of time burning on the fire, so she has
not completed her cooking for us.”
The Bodhisattva comprehended the problem, and he spoke the verse to demonstrate his idea:
Being lazy to carry out the essential tasks

Always postpone doing the needing works
Similar to the lazy one, collecting the Vanara woods
Bring trouble to not him but also others
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the lazy student was Ven. Tissa, while the
renowned master was him.
Jataka 72: Story of Sìlavanàga
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Devadatta.
One day, when the monks gathered at the Dharma-hall to listen to the Dharma, they discussed
the ungratefulness of Devadatta to the Buddha:” Dear all great brothers! Devadatta did not
respect all the good things that the Buddha gave him, but he just held the revenge when the
Buddha denied his suggestions for addition of five precepts for the Sangha.”
When the Buddha entered the Dharma-hall and knowing the figure of the monks, the Buddha
calmly said:” It is not in the present time, but also in the past, he was ungrateful even though I
assisted him with good acts.”
In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, Bodhisattva was born as an
elephant in the herd of elephants that lived in the Himalayas. The Bodhisattva had white and
silver color, so when he stood under the sunlight, he looked beautiful with the bright color.
Also, his eyes were like pearls, with four strong legs. Bodhisattva was a practitioner of ten
Paramitas. Soon, he became the king of 80 thousand elephants in the region. But, soon, he left
the herd of elephants to live alone as his elephants were not able to carry out his moral advice.
One day, there was a poor man who got lost in the forest and cried hopelessly. At that time, to
hear the cry of the poor man, the Bodhisattva knew that he was lost, so the Bodhisattva walked
close to him and asked:” Why do you cry, sir?”
The poor man replied rapidly:” I got to this forest, and was not able to recognize the directions
to get out of the forest.”
The Bodhisattva was compassionate to pacify the poor man and then the Bodhisattva took him
to his residing place. The Bodhisattva quickly got to the deep forest to take the fruits for him
to eat. Then, the Bodhisattva put him on his back and drove him out of the forest. At the edge
of a village, the Bodhisattva said:” Now you can get back to your town. Please don’t show other
humans my place.”
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The poor man traveled around and moonlighted as a bagger for a living, and when he saw a
Brahmin selling the Ivories of the elephants, he was happy to ask him:” If I can get the ivories
of the elephant. Do you want to buy the ivories from me?”
The ivory-seller said:” Sure. “
Then the poor man returned to his house to take a saw and got to the place of the Bodhisattva.
When he arrived at the Bodhisattva place, he insisted:” Dear great elephant. Please give your
ivories, as I am poor. If I have your ivory, I can sell them for survival.”
The Bodhisattva, with the vows of practice of ten Paramitas promised to the poor man to give
him his ivories. Hence, to carry out the promise, the Bodhisattva said:” My ivories are solid.
Do you have the tools to cut them down?”
The poor man said rapidly:” Don’t worry. I already prepared a saw.”
Then the Bodhisattva laid down and let the poor man cut the ivories down. When the poor man
took the ivories and was about to leave, the Bodhisattva said: “It is not that I don’t love these
ivories, so I gave you. Also, it is not that I use these ivories to exchange something from you.
But, due to the vow to obtain enlightenment, I give these ivories with the great generosity of
Paramita.”
The poor man took the ivories to sell to the ivories-sellers and he got a big amount of money.
It is the truth that the poor men are those who are not able to work for a living but enjoy drinking
and playing. The poor man was a sample of enjoyment of drinking and playing, so the money
from selling of the ivories soon ran out. Then, he got to the forest again and at that time, he
asked the Bodhisattva to let him cut the roots of the ivories. With the vow of practice of
Paramitas, the Bodhisattva laid down for the poor man to cut the roots of the ivories and said:”
Okay. Come to take the roots of the ivories as you want.”
The poor man used a knife to cut the skin around the roots of the ivories, and then he used the
saw to cut the roots of the ivories. During this time, Bodhisattva could not endure the suffering,
so he fainted. When the poor man completed cutting down the roots of the ivories, he left the
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forest with the roots of ivories on his hands. At that time, due to the brutal mind of Bodhisattva,
the ground, at his steps, was broken into two parts, swallowing him into the ground.
At that time, the deity who lived in a giant tree near the place which the poor man was
swallowed said:” The brutal man is never satisfied with his desire. Even being given the throne
of Sakka, the greedy man is not satisfied at all.”
The ungrateful ones

Utilizing the kindness of others
Even being given the earth
Never satisfied with their minds
Then, the deity used all his power to shout this verse loudly to make a region of the forest
shaking. Then, he spent the rest of his life contemplating on the practice of dharma practice.
The Bodhisattva continued his paramitas vows until he passed away.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the poor man was Devadatta, while the deity
and the elephant were Sariputta and him respectively.
Jataka 73: Story of Saccankira

The Buddha told this story at Bamboo-Grove, and the background of this story was related to
When the monks talked about this issue at the Dharma-hall, the Buddha entered and knew the
figure of the talk of the monks, the Buddha said:” It is not in the present time, but also in the
past, he tried to kill and harm me, but he could not even harm me at all.”
In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, the king had a prince who was
extremely brutal to the servants and soldiers of the palace. The king often shouted and punished
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the servants when they made mistakes. Not only that, he also tried to use evil words to complain
to others.
One day, the evil prince took some servants to get to a rural area for sightseeing, and when they
got to the rural area, near the river, it turned dark with back clouds and it was windy. At that
time, the evil prince still wanted to get to the river to swim. So, he forced the servants to take
him to enjoy swimming in the river. When they were in the river, the storm arrived to hit the
mainland. At that time, all the servants were worried for their safety, so they left the evil prince
at the river. Then they returned to the palace to inform the king the prince was swept away by
the strong flood of the storm.
The evil prince was drifting together with the strong flood of the water from the high-lander,
but luckily, he was able to grasp a wood drifting in the river. At that time, there was also a
mouse and a snake, who were the afterlives of two millionaires who hid their fortune which
each valued 3 million gold coins, also were swept out their locations and also were able to
grasp this wood. When the wood was floating down along the river, a tree which had a nest of
a parrot on, fell down to the river, but the parrot, luckily, was able to grasp this wood. Hence,
there were four beings luckily grasping on this drifting wood.
At that time, an ascetic monk was stepping for the strolls after his meditation practice, and to
hear the cry of the evil prince, the monk ran rapidly to the bank of the river, trying the way to
rescue the evil prince. Then the monk used his skills to hold the wood, and then slowly took
the wood into the shore of the river. Then, the monk burned on a pile of fire to assist the evil
prince and other animals to warm up. The monk saw the mouse and the parrot were in danger
of water, so he tried to warm up the mouse and the parrot first. Then, the monk continued to
warm up the snake. Then, the monk warmed up the foods and gave them. The evil prince was
angry due to the monk's concern for the animal, so he thought:” This guy is not concerned
about my presence here. It is terrible to me.”
The next day, the snake paid respect to the monk and said to the monk:” To return to your help,
I would prefer to give my fortune to you. So, please take me to that region and call me. I will
show you my fortune.”
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The mouse also said something similar to the monk and left. The parrot did not have fortune,
so it said to the monk:” Dear master! Actually, I don’t have fortune like the mouse and the
snake, but I can give you red rice if you need. Please step along this river, in the region in
which farmers are planting rice. Please call me and I will give you the rice you want.”
The evil prince wanted to kill the monk, but he could not. Hence, he planned to kill this monk
at the palace, so he said to the monk:” I am the prince of the nation, and when I become the
king, please come and I will give you everything that you want.”
Time flies, one day, the monk tried to test the promises of the animals and the prince, so he got
to the houses of the mouse and the snake to call them, and these two animals all appeared to
show their fortunes to the monk, but the monk did not take their fortune, saying:” I will take
in the future. Great for your promises.”
Then he got to meet the parrot, and the parrot said:” Dear master! Do you want me to take any
kind of food to you right now?”
The monk said to the parrot:” Okay. Wait. I will ask for help soon.”
Then the monk got to the town of Varanasi to get to the palace of the king, and at that time, the
evil prince became the king already. When the soldiers inform the new king about the arrival
of the monk, the king was pleased as he could carry out his plan to kill the monk, so the king
told some soldiers:” I think this monk wants to ask something from me. Please don’t let him see
me as I don’t want him to disturb me anymore. Therefore, please tighten him and take to the
intersection of the town to let people observe before giving him the penalty of death.”
When the monk was tightened in a stake at the intersection for the death, the monk spoke the
verse:
It is the truth of humans

Ungratefulness is not from all
This guy uses punishment to return my help
Being accepted for my virtue to him
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A soldier was curious:” Dear sir! What did you do for our king?”
The monk said:” I already rescued him from death from the storm, but it is my karma. I have
nothing to complain about for his return. Because I don't listen to the wise men, I encounter
this trouble.”
The people of the town were angry due to the ungratefulness of the evil king, so they gathered
at the palace to force the king to resign from the power of the king. Under the force of the
people, the evil king had no way, but left the palace to live as a normal man. Then the citizens
of the town appointed the monk on the throne of power. The monk used all the royal dharma
to rule the nation. Then he took his soldiers to take the fortune of the mouse and the snake, and
brought three animals to the palace to enjoy the luxurious life. The king ordered servants to
make the golden caves for the mouse and the snake. Also, he ordered people to make the golden
trap for the parrot. Every day, these animals were served with special foods.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the evil prince was Devadatta, while the
ascetic monk was him. The mouse, snake and the parrot were Sariputta, Moggallana and
Ananda respectively.
Jataka 74: Story of Rukkadhamma

arguments and the fights of the people of the Sakya tribes to each other.
Knowing the fights and the arguments of the Sakya people, the Buddha paid a visit to them and
said:” Dear all people of Sakya tribes. You need to live in harmony with each other, as to live
in harmony is the best solution to avoid the demolition of the enemies. In the past, when the
horrible storm hit the Himalayas, the Sala trees which were surrounded with other trees and
vines were able to stand healthy under the storm. However, the Sala trees which did not have
support from other trees were pulled down by the storm. So, if you can live in harmony, all the
difficulties can be solved smoothly.”
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In times gone by, when king Brahmahdatta was ruling Varanasi, the king Vessavana died and
the Sakka found the other god to work as the king Vessavana. A god, then, was given on the
throne the power of the seat as the king Vessavana, and he sent the messages to the deities of
all the animals, trees, mountains, rivers to inform them that they could decide the place to stay,
but not harm other beings.
At that time, the Bodhisattva was a deity of a tree, and he was about to move to another tree
with his family. He said to his friends and relatives:” Please don’t stay in the trees which live
alone in a vast region. If you are not sure, you can stay in the trees surrounding my tree.”
Then the Bodhisattva got a deep forest and selected a Sala tree which was surrounded by lots
of other trees. A big number of the deities also selected to stay in the trees around the tree of
the Bodhisattva. However, some deities did not follow the Bodhisattva as they preferred to live
in the trees in the villages for the offerings from people.
One day, a strong storm hit India, and most of the giant trees which grew up and stood lonely
were pulled down and they were taken off from the ground to show the roots on. The deities of
these trees suffered as they lost their houses, and they had to ask the king Vessavana to let them
move to another tree to live, as without asking the king Vessavana, they were not able to move
although the trees were demolished terribly.
When the storm hit India, all the Salla trees which grew up and stood in the group in the forest
were safe from the storm, so the deities of these trees paid the visit to the Bodhisattva to thank
for the wisdom of the Bodhisattva in assisting them to select the suitable tree. The Bodhisattva,
in this circumstance, said:”
Blessing to those who comprehend the phenomena

Living in the trees which are surrounded each other
Giant trees departing from others
All being taken off from the ground
Then the Bodhisattva advises all the deities to be diligent to cultivate all the virtues.
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After telling the story, the Buddha identified that deities who followed the wise deity were the
monks in the Sangha of the Buddha, while the wise deity was him.

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the background of this story was related to the event
in which the Buddha made rain to save Kosala from the severe drought.
In one year, the weather of Kosala turned terribly, and there was no rain for the whole year. At
that time, the water in almost all the lakes in Kosala were run out of water, and even the muds
of the lakes were broken and dried due to the drought. The lake of Jetavana also was in the
same condition. Not only humans suffered from the drought, but the water creatures were
extremely suffered due to the drought as they had no water to survive. With compassion to save
these beings, the Buddha, one day, thought that:'' I have to make a rain to save the people of
the nation of Kosala.”
Then, the Buddha, after having lunch, got to the lotus lake and called Ven. Ananda took the
taking-shower cloth to take a bath at the lake. At that time, Ven. Ananda said:” Dear master!
The lake has run out of water.”
The Buddha calmly said:” Just do what I said and you will see.”
Then the Buddha took the taking-shower-cloth and said:” I will take shower at this lake.”
At that time, the seat of the Sakka became pretty hot, and he used his power to contemplate the
cause to make his seat hot. Knowing the Buddha wanted to take shower at the lake, Sakka
asked the god whether to make heavy rain throughout the nation of Kosala. In just a few hours,
the lake of Jetavana was full of water, and thus, similar to the lakes around Kosala.
The next day, the monks gathered at Dharma-hall, praised the virtue of the Buddha:” Dear
brothers! With compassion to save all beings in the severe drought, the Buddha made it rain
heavily, and the beings living in Kosala are happy for this rain.”
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Then the Buddha entered the Dharma-hall, and knowing the figure of the discussion of the
monks, the Buddha said to the monks:” It is not in the present time, but also in the past time, I
made rain to save all beings suffering from the severe drought.”
In times gone by, in the nation of Kosala, there was a lake which was home of a tremendous
number of water creatures, such as fishes, turtles, crabs, shrimp and shells, and the Bodhisattva
was born as a fish lived together in the lake. One year, there was a big shortage of water due to
the terrible drought, so the lake ran out of water. The water creatures in the lake had to try to
save themselves by hiding in the wet-muds, but this act, somehow, made them become the
victims for the crows that lived in the region. They often gathered at the lake to eat fish which
were stuck in the mud.
At that time, the Bodhisattva was compassionate to the death of his friends and his relatives,
so he thought:” I have to make rain to save all the friends and relatives living in this lake.
Nobody can do it, except me.”
Then the Bodhisattva, from the mud, got to the shore of the lake, saying to the Pajjuna god:''
Dear Pajjuna. Although I was born as a fish to eat other beings for survival. However, from
the time of birth, I have never eaten any beings, but grass in this lake to survive. With this truth,
please make rain to this region to save all the water creatures in this region.``
The utterance of the Bodhisattva made the seat of the god Pajjuna become hot, so he used his
power to comprehend the cause. After knowing the issue, he respected the virtue from keeping
the precept of the Bodhisattva, so he asked the god whether to make heavy rain throughout the
region of Kosala. Few hours, all the lakes in the region were full of water, and the water
creatures were happy to escape from the dead.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the king of gods and goddesses, Pajjuna, was
Annada, while the virtuous fish was him.
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Jataka 76: Story of Asankiya
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the background of this story was related to a layman
who saved himself and others from the robbers.
This layman was a faithful student of the Buddha, and he obtained the first entering stream
level. He was a businessman, so he often followed the business delegation of the town to do
business in another region. One day, he and other businessmen settled at a forest on a long
journey back to Savatthi, after selling the products in another region. At that time, the robbers
prepared all the tools to rob the delegation, but they could not as the layman who was a student
of the Buddha, in the night time, did not sleep but spent time walking meditation until the
morning. In the morning, the robbers threw all the tools and left. The businessmen saw the
tools of the robbers, and they thanked the Bodhisattva for saving them.
Then, the layman told the Buddha this event when he got back to the town of Savatthi, and the
Buddha calmly said:” It is the fruit of the protection. When one protects others, he also protects
himself. Likewise, when he protects himself, he also can protect others.”

Brahmin family, and he was well-educated in the teenage ages. But, soon, he disliked the family
life, so he left his family to be an ascetic monk in the Himalayas Mountain. With diligence in
the practice, he soon obtained all the fruits of meditation. One day, he left the Himalayas to get
to the town of Varanasi for alms, and on the way, he joined the delegation of the businessmen
who were returning to Varanasi. At night time, they settled their stays at a forest, and there
were 500 robbers arriving at their place to wait for suitable time to rob them. However, the
robbers could not carry out their plan as Bodhisattva used all his time contemplating on walking
meditation.
When it was early morning, the robbers were angry at Bodhisattva:” Shit! Due to that monk,
we could not rob the businessmen.”
Then they threw all the tools down and left silently. The businessmen, in the morning
discovered the stones and wood sticks thrown around their place, and they comprehended that
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due to the walking meditation of the Bodhisattva, so the robbers did not rob them. Then the
businessmen asked the Bodhisattva:” Dear master. Did you see the robbers last night?”
The Bodhisattva calmly said:” Yes. I knew the robbers were around us last night.”
A businessman was curious:” So, did you not fear the robbers?”
Bodhisattva calmly said:” Why do I have to fear the robbers as I have nothing to worry about.”
In the deep forest, with crowds or alone

I am not scared of everything
As I have nothing to lose
As the cultivation of loving-kindness and compassion
Then the Bodhisattva advised the businessmen to cultivate generosity, loving-kindness and
compassion, and then they continued to get to the town of Varanasi. After getting enough salts
and oils, the Bodhisattva returned to the Himalayas to continue his practice and cultivation of
loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity. Then he ascended to the Brahma realm after
he passed away.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the businessmen were the monks who lived
in Jetavana, while the ascetic monk was him.
Jataka 77: Story of Mahàsupina

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the background of the story was related to 16
dreams of king Pasenadi in only one night.
After having 16 dreams, the king Pasenadi was worried, so in the morning, he urged all the
Brahmins and officials to gather to discuss those dreams. After the king Pasenadi told them the
details of each story, they told the king that all the dreams were the signs of bad luck, so they
suggested to the king to make the rituals with the sacrifices of the animals.
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All the Brahmins were happy with the decision of the king as they were about to gain the
benefits from the rituals. At that time, the queen Mallika did not agree to kill animals for luck,
so she advised the king to get to Jetavana to ask the Buddha.
After paying respect to the Buddha, the king Pasenadi told the Buddha:” Dear master! Recently,
in one night, I had 16 dreams, and nobody could help me to understand these dreams. Some of
my Brahmins advised me to do rituals with the sacrifices of animals. With the supper wisdom,
please let me know what I should do now?”
The Buddha calmly said:” Dear majesty! Stay calm as these dreams were not about you, but
the prediction for the future.``
Then the Buddha gradually explained the dream based on the given details from king Pasenadi.
The first dream, the king dreamed of four black cows from four directions entering the yard of
the palace, but they did not fight each other. This dream informed me that in the future,
corruption is the major issue, and the people around will not prefer to cultivate virtue. At that
time, there will be no rain, wind and thunder. Sometimes, the black clouds gather but will not
have rain, just similar to four cows gathered but not fighting.
In the second dream the king Pasenadi dreamed of the new-born bushes of trees which
blossomed fruits and flowers. On this dream, the Buddha said that in the future, the young
people will tend to have sex and give birth to their children earlier than now.
In the third dream, the king dreamed of the mother cows drinking milk from the new-born
cows. In this dream, the Buddha predicted that in the future, the old people will depend on their
children for living due to the changes of the world's tendency. In the fourth dream, the king
dreamed of the strong cows being tied to the vehicles but they had no power to push the
vehicles. They stopped to make all the other vehicles get stuck on the road. In this dream, the
Buddha said that in the future, corruption is everywhere, and the good and wise men will not
be appointed to high positions, so they could not assist the society develop. In the fifth dream,
the king dreamed of a horse which had two mouths and this horse ate everything people gave
them. In this dream, the Buddha predicted that in the future, scheming people tend to keep a
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high position in society and they prefer to bribe to get benefits for themselves. In the sixth
dream, the king dreamed of the golden bowl given to an old jackal to defecate in. In this dream,
the Buddha said that in the future, the noble family will not be able to maintain their power,
but the businessmen, who are scheming, will be the leaders of society. And to gain benefits,
the noble family have to give their daughters to get married to these businessmen.
In the seventh dream, the king dreamed of a person who was sitting on the chair to weave the
cloth, and the string on the ground was swallowed by a female dog. On this dream, the Buddha
predicted that in the future, the women will enjoy the sexual activities for foods and benefits
from men. In the eighth dream, the king dreamed of people of all the classes in society trying
to pour water they obtained into a big tall bottle which was full of water, while the bottles
around were empty. The Buddha said, in the future, the leaders of society tried to gain the
benefits from people around the nation for them to use. All the people are poor but still have to
give taxes to the leaders. In the ninth dream, the king dreamed of the pond which is full of
water and the animals try to drink water at the shore around the lake as the water is clean, but
at the center of the pond, the water is dirty. In this dream, the Buddha said that in the future,
the leaders will try to gain the benefits from the people until all the people cannot bear to live
in the city, so they move to live in the rural area.
In the tenth dream, the king dreamed of the rice in the pan having three layers, ripened, burnt
and unripe layer. In this dream, the Buddha predicted that, in the future, due to the unvirtuous
acts of people, the weather turns unpredictable. Some regions would be windy, while other
region would be rainy and dried for long time. In the eleventh dream, the king dreamed of the
people use cheeses to exchange the valuable woods of Santalum. The Buddha predicted, based
on the dream, that in the future, his dharmas will be not considered with values. Some monks
used his dharmas to earn for living. In the twelfth dream, the king dreamed of the gourd which
was hollow and was sunk under the water. The Buddha, based on the dream, said that in the
future, society is full of the scheming ones, and the scheming ideas and plans are carried out in
the solid way as the gourd in the water. In the thirteenth dream, the king dreamed of the houses
made of heavy stones were floated on the water. The Buddha, based on the dream, predicted
that in the future, the words and utterance of the wise and virtuous men will not be considered
by people.
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In the fourteenth dream, the king dreamed of a tiny frog which could defeat the giant snake and
steer the snake into pieces. The Buddha, based on this dream, said that in the future, the
scheming and the wives will take control of the wise men and the husband. In the fifteenth
dream, the king dreams of the black crow which committed all the evil things but was given
on the throne of the king by all the birds. The Buddha, in this dream, said that in the future, the
scheming people will be given the throne of power by the scheming cheat. In the sixteenth
dream, the king dream of the forest deer killed the lions and tiger. The Buddha, based on the
dream, predicted that in the future, the farmers and normal people who are innocent will stand
up to overthrow the leaders which are evil.
Then the Buddha, after explaining the meanings of the dreams to pacify the king, said that:”
These dreams are not related to your destiny, so be calm about them. In the past, the kings
encountered strange dreams and also got to ask the wise men and they got rid of boredom from
the dreams.”

Brahmin family, and when he grew up, he left his family for the practice of ascetic monk in the
Himalayas. With diligence in the practice, he soon obtained the power and fruits of the
meditation practice.
At that time, the king dreamed of somethings that made him threatened, so the king called his
Brahmins to ask for the solutions, and to base on the dreams of the king, the Brahmins tried to
make the king worry and fear bad luck would come to him. Not only that the Brahmins also
advised the king to conduct the rituals with the sacrifices of animals.
At that time, the Bodhisattva with the power, comprehended that a big number of animals
would be killed for the rituals, so to rise up the compassion, the Bodhisattva thought:” I have
to get to the palace to assist the king to change his decision to save the life of the animals.”
Then the Bodhisattva used his power to fly to the garden of the palace and sat in the lotus
posture on the big stone. At that time, the student of the celebrant who was the leader of the
rituals asked his master:” Dear master. We are devout of Vedas, but killing is prohibited in
Vedas. Nobody can live calmly and happily with killing and harming.”
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The master said:” But, the rituals will bring benefits to us.”
This student was sad, so he left his master to have a stroll around the garden, and he saw the
Bodhisattva was sitting in meditation. Seeing all the beauty of the virtuous practitioner from
the Bodhisattva, the young student came close to ask him something, and after giving the
answers to the student. The Bodhisattva said to the student:” I heard that your king is about to
kill animals for the rituals to heal the bad luck from his dreams, isn’t he? Ask him to come to
visit me if he wants to know clearly about the meaning of his dreams.”
The student of the celebrant was pleased to get to the palace to inform the king, and the king
was worried for bad luck, so he rapidly together with his officials got to the garden to see the
Bodhisattva. After the king paid respect to the Bodhisattva, the king said:” Could you predict
the meanings of all 16 of my dreams?”
Bodhisattva calmly said:” Sure. Please tell me about your dreams”
The king then told the Bodhisattva all 16 dreams which were similar to the dreams the king
Pasenadi told the Buddha, and the Bodhisattva also explained the meaning of the dreams to
him in the way the Buddha explained to the king Pasenadi. Then, the Bodhisattva advised the
king:” Don’t worry. Be calm as these dreams are not about your destiny at all. So you don’t
have to conduct brutal rituals with the killing of animals. “
The king listened to the advice from the Bodhisattva, he stopped all the rituals and ordered
servants to release all the animals to the forest. Then, he tried to apply the advice of the
Bodhisattva to rule the nation with virtuous acts.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the king was Ananda and the student of the
celebrant was Sariputta, while the wise ascetic monk was him.
Jataka 78: Story of Illìsa

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the background of this story was related to a selfish
and tight-fisted millionaire, who was named Sakkara. This millionaire was extremely tight-
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fisted so that he did not give the fine foods and drinks to his servants and his family members.
He utilized all the things until they could not be used.
One day, in the mediation, the Buddha recognized that he and his wife were able to obtain the
first entering stream level, so the Buddha planned to pay a visit to their house. On that day, the
millionaire went out for business, and when he got back to his house, he saw people selling
fried cakes and he was attached to the fried cakes as for a long time he had not eaten this kind.
He could not remember exactly how long, but due to his tight-fisted attitude, he stopped buying
the cakes to eat. He worried that when he eats, he also has to buy for his wife, his children and
thus his servants. Due to the attachment to the fried cakes, he walked around and suffered to
lie down on the bed.
The wife of the millionaire saw her husband suffering, and then she asked:” What are you
worried about?”
The millionaire slowly said:” I desire to eat the fried cake!”
His wife then said:” Okay. You are not poor. I will call a servant to make the fried cakes for
all people in this region.”
The millionaire said:” No. Why do I have to share them?”
The wife of the millionaire than said:” So, I will make the cake to share the people who are our
neighborhoods and our family member.”
The millionaire said:” No. Too many people.”
The wife of the millionaire, then, said:” Then, I will make the cakes for you, me and our
children.”
The millionaire said calmly:” Still too many people.”
The wife of the millionaire then sadly said:” Okay. I see. I will call a servant to make cakes for
you only.”
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The millionaire said to his wife:” Please. Don’t let others to know. You utilize the broken rice
and try to make the cake yourself. Please take to stove, cookers, rice powders and oil to the
seventh floor to make the cakes to avoid others to ask for them.”
At that time, the Buddha told Ven. Moggallana:” At the town, there is a millionaire, namely
Sakkhara. He and his wife are making cakes on the seventh floor. Please get there to make him
have to get here. Also take all the cakes here to offer the monks.”
Ven. Moggallana got to the house of the millionaire and stood in the thin air outside the window
of the seventh floor to ask for alms. The millionaire opened the window and said to Ven.
Moggallana:” If you can walk in the thin air, you deserve the cake.``
Ven. Moggallana then walked around in the thin air. Then the millionaire told him:” If you can
sit in the thin air and can spark the smoke out from your mouth, you deserve the cake.”
Ven. Moggallana then sat in the lotus posture in the thin air and sparked the smoke out from
his mouth. At this time, the millionaire talked to his wife:” Please make a tiny cake to give this
monk, otherwise, he will not go away.”
The wife of the millionaire took a tiny portion of rice powder to put into the oil-hot, and it
became a giant cake. The millionaire did not want to give Ven. Moggallana made this cake, so
he tried to put the smaller portion of powder into the cooker, and it still became the big cake.
After hours of trying to make a tiny cake, but could not, the millionaire decided to give
Ven.Moggallana a cake, but all the cakes now attached strongly to each other. The millionaire
and his wife tried to depart a cake from the bundle of cakes, but they could not. At that time,
the millionaire told his wife:” It is okay. Give all the cakes to the monk.”
Then Ven. Moggalana talked about the virtue of offerings to them, and at that time, the mind
of the millionaire rose up with belief, so he invited Ven. Moggallana enters his house to eat the
cakes. Ven. Moggallana denied:” I have to take this much cake to the great master and other
monks.”
The millionaire and his wife at that time wanted to visit the Buddha, and with the supreme
power, Ven. Moggallana brought them and all the cakes to Jetavana in a second. When they
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got to Jetavana, they paid respect to the Buddha and then they offered the cakes to the Buddha
and monks. The cakes in the basket seemed to automatically multiply themselves, so 500
monks, the Buddha and this couple ate until they were full but the cakes were still full of the
basket. After eating, the Buddha gave the dharmas- talk to the millionaire and his wife, and
during the talk of the Buddha, they all obtained first entering stream level.
The next day, the monks gathered at the Dharma-hall, talking about the supreme power of Ven.
Moggallana. When the Buddha knew the issue of the talk of monks, the Buddha said:” If the
monks want to convince others, they must show compassion to them. Like the actions of the
bees taking the honey from the flowers. The bees just take the honey, not harm the flowers. “
The Buddha stopped for a while and then continued:” It is not in the present time, but also in
the past time, Moggallana was able to convince these people to change their attitude.”
In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, there was a millionaire, namely
Illisa, who had 800 million of golden coins. However, he was tight-fisted in using the money
to buy things for his servants and even for himself. Due to his attitude, most of the servants left
him to find jobs in other families.
One day, he got out for business and on the way back to get back to his house, he saw a man
selling wines. He was attached to the wine as for a long time he did not have wine to drink. So,
he returned and suffered on the bed. When his wife comprehended his issue, his wife said:” I
will cook the wine for all people in this region to enjoy together with you.”
The millionaire said calmly:” Too many people. We have to save money.”
Then the wife said:” Okay. So, I will make the wine for you only.”
The millionaire was still denied:” Don’t worry. Please forget this issue.”
Then the next day, the millionaire secretly got to the wine store to buy a bottle of wine and he
got to the river bank, sitting inside a bush of trees to enjoy the wine. At the time, Illisa was
enjoying the wine at the river bank. His father, due to the virtue of offerings, was reborn as the
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Sakka. Sakka was not satisfied with his son's attitude. So, he disguised himself as Illusa and
went to the palace to meet the king. He said to the king:” I have 800 million golden coins,
please take all my fortune to benefit the people.”
The king said calmly:” It is enough as my storage room is full with jewels and money. Please
take your money to benefit the people around you.”
Then Sakka, in the shape of Illusa, got to his house, and said to the wife, the children and all
the servants of Ilissa that :” Today, I want to do charity to almost all the poor people in this
town. Please go around to inform them to get here to take the things that they need.``
Then the people of the town gathered to get the donations from the servants, wife and children
of Illisa. A poor farmer who asked to get the vehicle and two cows enjoyed driving the vehicle
around, and when he got to the river bank where Illisa was enjoying drinking, he praised the
virtue of Illisa. At that time, Illisa rapidly got out of the bush of a tree, to regain the vehicle and
the cows, but Illisa was pushed out by the farmer:” Who are you? Why do you want to take my
vehicle and cows?”
Illisa said:” I am Illisa. And I have never given the vehicle and cows to you.”
The farmer said:” Oh Dear. You are crazy. The kind Illisa is staying at his house to donate stuff
to the people in need. Don't be crazy.”
Illisa thought the king was trying to take his fortune, so he got to the palace to ask the king for
justice. The king said:” You got here and wanted to give me your fortune, but I refused. So, you
told me you would do charity to the people in need. Why do you feel regret now?”
Illisa said:” I have never got here to tell you these things.”
The king then ordered the soldiers to get to the house of Illisa to call Sakka. When Sakka got
to the palace, the king and all officials were surprised as they looked extremely the same. The
king called the wife, the children and the servants of Illisa to identify the true Illisa among two,
and they all loved Sakka. Hence, they selected Sakka. At that time, Illisa told the king:'' My
barber will know me as he knows the special sign on my head. Please call him.``
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The king called the barber of Illisa to the palace, and at that time, the Sakka also made a mole
in the head, similar to the mole of Illisa. The barber then spoke the verse to illustrate his
thought:
Similar to each other

Being crippled and stooped
Having the mole on their head
Not being comprehended, who are Illisa
At that time, Illisa suffered and was scared of losing all things, so he fainted. At that time,
Sakka manifested in his real shape, standing in the thin air, saying to Illisa:” Hey my son! I was
your father. Don’t be tight-fisted, as those are not your fortune but my fortune. I accumulated
the fortune for the charity. But you stopped the offering activities. If you don’t continue to do
the offerings, I will make all the fortune disappear as these are mine.”
Illisa worried for the fortune, so he promised Sakka. Then, Sakka talked about the virtue of
offerings to the king and all the people gathered at the palace and then he returned to his palace.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the Sakka was Moggallana and the tight-
fisted millionaire was the millionaire in the Buddha time, while the barber was him, the Buddha
in the Bodhisattva way of practice.
Jataka 79: Story of Kharasara

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the background of this story was related to an
official of king Kosala who cooperated with the robbers to steal the rice which was the tax of
the people to give the king.
At that time, one official of the king Kosala who worked as the taker of the tax of people in the
neighboring area. Due to his desire, he planned to cooperate with the robbers in the neighboring
area to steal the rice which people gave the king. He often told the robbers the place he put the
rice and then after the robbers stole the rice, they sold and shared the profit to each other. Thus,
with this way, they stole lot of rice and gained lot of benefits. However, the cheats of this
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official, one day, was discovered and the king dismissed him from his job, and appointed other
person to keep this job. Then, one day, when the king visited the Buddha, the king told the
Buddha this event. The Buddha, in this circumstance, said that:” It is not in the present time,
but also in the past, this man behaved immorally.”
In times gone by, when king Bramadatta was ruling Varanasi, Bodhisattva was a businessman,
and he often got the villages in the neighboring area to do his business. Among villages in the
neighboring area, he preferred to stay in a well-developed village, but the leader of the village
was an evil man, as he cooperated with the robbers to rob the property of the villagers.
Whenever the robbers entered the village, he and his family members all went out for business,
and when the robbers left, they returned.
The Bodhisattva was doubted about this village leader, so he ordered servants to detect him
and finally, he investigated that the village-leader cooperated with the robbers. One day, after
cooperating with the robbers, the villagers and his relatives returned and tried to make loud
noise with the trumpets and the drums to chase the robbers. On this occasion, the Bodhisattva
decided to reveal this evil plan for the village leader to the villagers to assist them to have a
peaceful life in this neighboring area. So, he said to the villagers:” This man, your village
leader, is a member of the robbers. Based on my investigation, he often shared the profits
gained from robbing your property with the robbers.”
Robbing the animals and properties

Burning the houses and raping the women
Returning with the trumpets and the drums sounds
The evil man, leader of the village
Soon, the cooperation of the village-leader with the robbers was detected by the king and he
resigned from the position. A moral man in the village was appointed to be the new leader of
the village.
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After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the village-leader was the bribing official of
king Kosala, while the wise businessman was him.
Jataka 80: Story of Bhimasena
who bragged about himself.
This monk often talked to other monks:” Nobody can surpass me for the background of my
family. Nobody can be higher than me about the ranks of my family in society. Nobody is equal
to me about the history of the existence of my family relatives. Nobody is equal to me in the
way my family members behave with the servants, as we give them all the good services during
their stay at our family. For me, as I love this ascetic life, I can endure trying on this robe and
eat the foods given by the others.”
His behavior, somehow, made the monks living in Jetavana annoyed, so one day, they gathered
to talk about his attitude at the dharma-hall, before listening to the teachings of the Buddha.
When the Buddha entered the Dharma-hall, and knowing the figure of the talk of the monks,
the Buddha calmly said:” It is not in the present time, but also in the past, he bragged to others
about everything.”
family in northern India, near to the neighboring area. When he grew up, he went to Takkasila
to study Vedas and to train with skills. Soon he was excellent in Vedas and was skillful in the
art of archery. Upon his graduation, he wanted to work for the king, but as he was short, he
tried to find a tall man to cooperate with him for the living.
At a village, he found a tall and robust man, but this man worked as a dress-maker, and he was
named Bhimasena. Bodhisattva tried to advise him:” In India, nobody could surpass my skills
of using bound and arrows, and as I am too short to work for the king. So, if you agree, we can
cooperate to earn a living. Just get to the palace of the king to apply for the archery job, and I
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will help you to do everything related to this job. We will enjoy luxurious lives with the salary
obtained from the king.”
The dress-maker agreed and they got to the palace to apply for the job. The king asked:” How
are your skills in archery? And how much money do you want to get?”
Bhimasena calmly said:” In India, nobody can surpass me in archery skills, and I want 1000
coins for each half of the month.”
The king agreed, and whenever the king had the works in need of the archery men, the
Bodhisattva all assisted Bhimasena to carry out the works. One day, in a forest, a tiger appeared
to kill the passengers to eat, and they informed the king. Hence, the king sent Bhimasena to
catch the tiger. Bhimasena and the Bodhisattva got to the forest, but the Bodhisattva did not
kill the tiger. He advised Bhimasena to gather people living around the forest, with bounds and
arrows to attack the tiger at the same time. 2000 villagers with bounds and arrows shot the
tigers from many directions, and the tiger finally died due to the arrows of the villagers. The
Bodhisattva advised Bhimasena to get to the tiger, with a string made from the bamboo, saying
to the villagers:” Who killed the tiger? The king wanted me to take the tiger back to the palace.
So, I went around to find the string to tighten the tiger. I could not find good strings, so I made
this bamboo string.”
All the villagers were scared of the punishment from the king, so they slowly returned in
silence, and afterward, Bhimasena took the tiger to the palace and he got lots of benefits from
the king. The next time, an aggressive buffalo killed many people and it was difficult to suspend
the buffalo, so the king again sent Bhimasena to kill the Buffalo. The Bodhisattva also advised
the same method as they killed the tiger, and the villagers assisted them to kill the buffalo
easily. They returned and Bhimasena got lots of benefits from the king. The king also appointed
him as the general in his army. With this high status, Bhimasena began ignoring all the advice
from the Bodhisattva. Bhimasena even mocked the Bodhisattva with evil words as the
Bodhisattva had to depend on him for a living.
One day, the king of the neighboring nation took his army to attack Varanasi, and the king
asked Bhimasena to take the soldiers to fight against the invaded army. Bhimasena sat on the
elephant, and took his bound and arrows to shoot at the invaded army, but all the arrows he
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shot fell down near to his place. He cried and even defecated on the elephant. The Bodhisattva,
at that time, advised him:” Now, you are better off getting down and returning your town, as
the king will kill you soon if he discovers that you have deceived him.”
Then, the Bodhisattva assisted Bhimasena to get down the elephant, and standing up, he used
all the skillful art of archery to shoot toward the generals of the invaded army. Several generals
got injured and the king of the invaded army was worried about withdrawing his army.
However, the Bodhisattva with shoots, was successful to suspend the withdrawal of the invaded
king, and then he caught the invaded king, after making the soldiers and generals of the invaded
king run away by his skillful shoots. He took the invade to the king of Varanasi, and the king
of Varanasi gave him the position of the great general of the army of Varanasi. His fame was
rapidly spread around India.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that Bhimasena was the bragged monk, while the
Culla-Dhanuggaha-Pandita was him.
Jataka 81: Story of Surapana

The Buddha told this story at the garden of Ghosita, near to the town of Kosambi, and the
background of this story was related to Ven. Sagata
One day, when the Buddha was walking through the village of Bhaddavatikà, the cows-takers
tried to suspend the Buddha to get forward, and they convinced the Buddha:” Dear venerable!
Please get back, as if you continue to walk forward, you will encounter a Naga, which was
cruel to kill and harm all people to get through its place. However, the Buddha ignored their
caution and continued to walk forward. When the Buddha stayed in a forest which was a little
far from Bhaddavatikà, a student of the Buddha, Ven. Sagata, got to the place of the Naga,
sitting meditation. The Naga sparked the smoke to threaten Ven. Sagata, and Ven. Sagata tried
to make the smoke to return the Naga. The Naga, then, sparked out the fire to attack Ven.
Sagata, and Ven. Sagata also made fire to attack it. Finally, the Naga had to surrender and asked
to be the student of Ven. Sagata.
The news in which Ven.Sagata, one student of the Buddha, made the evil Naga to behave
morally rapidly spread around Kosambi, and the people of Kosambi were pleased to prepare
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stuff and foods to offer the Buddha. Then, they got to the room of Ven. Sagata asked him
whether he needed something:” Dear venerable! We want to offer you something, but we
wonder what should I give you.``
Ven. Sagata kept silent, but other monks said to the people of Kosambi:” Dear all. The wines
are the most interesting to the monks as we cannot get it during the alms-round. So, if you have
planned to give something, please give him some wine.”
Then the people of Kosambi prepared wines for ven. Sagata. The next day, when the Buddha
was eating in the living room, the people of Kosambi invited Ven. Sagata to drink wine. Ven.
Sagata drank a lot, and finally, he was terrible. The Buddha then asked some laymen to take
Ven. Sagata to the temple. At the temple, laymen put him to lie down on the ground, and his
legs toward the garden, which was opposite to the position of the Buddha site. However, Ven.
Sagata, in the unmindful state, rolled his body and pointed his legs toward the Buddha. At that
time, the Buddha asked other monks: “Normally, did Sagata do this to me?”
A monk rapidly said:” Dear master. No.”
Buddha continued:” Was Sagata defeat the evil Naga?”
A monk said quickly:” Yes master”
Buddha said:” So, it is the dangers of drinking alcohol or all kinds of stimulants that make
people unaware of their actions. From now on, monks are suspended from drinking, and those
who secretly drink wines or other stimulants have to inform the Sangha for the pertinent acts.”
The issue related to the drunken condition of Ven. Sagata was spread around and the monks,
the next day, discussed this issue at the dharma-hall. The Buddha, after knowing the figure of
the talk of the monks, said:” It is not in the present time, but also in the past, these monks
enjoyed drinking, and they lost their mindfulness to make others to deride terribly.``
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Brahmin family in the North of India, in the nation of Kasi. When he turned adulthood, he
decided to leave his family, leaving parents and relatives, for the practice in the Himalayas as
an ascetic monk. With diligence in the practice, he soon obtained all the fruits of the meditation
practice. And he gradually became the master of the monks living in the region.
One day, in the rainy season, some of his students asked him to get to the town of Varanasi to
get alms, but Bodhisattva refused to go. Bodhisattva said to the oldest student:” Please take
all your brothers to get to the town of Varanasi, and stay there until the rainy season ends to
return here as the road is dangerous during the rainy season.”
Then 500 students of Bodhisattva got to the town of Varanasi and they settled at the garden of
the king. In the morning, they all divided to walk to various directions to get alms and then
returned to the garden to have meals and continued their meditation. After a few days, the king
paid a visit to them and the king was happy with their attitude. Hence, the king offered them
lots of things and daily foods. One day, there was a wine festival in the town, and the king
ordered the servants to offer the monks lots of wine. After drinking, some monks danced all
night, while some said something alone. Some argued with each other, whereas some sang the
songs as the laymen.
In the next day, when they got rid of the drunken state, they heard people say that they behaved
terribly when they got drunk. The leader monk was ashamed to say to others:” Because we stay
here without the master, so we enjoyed the drinking and got drunk to do the things that the
monks should not do. From now on, we have to be careful about what we eat and what we
drink.”
Then, they were careful to monitor and to consider clearly all the foods and drinks people
offered them. Time flies, the rainy season also ended and they hurried to return to the
Himalayas to meet their master. After paying respect, they told their master everything,
including their drunken states after drinking wine. The oldest student spoke the verse:
Drinking lots of wines

Getting drunk without mindfulness
We behaved crazily without the control
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As the monkeys playing on the trees
Their master did not complain but told them to be careful about all the foods and the drinks,
especially those that could make them unconscious. Then, they all practiced hard and they all
obtained the calmness and the fruits of meditation practice.
Jataka 82: Story of Mittavinda

monk who was headstrong to behave nicely to the regulation of the Sangha. The detailed
account of the background is in the 439, story of Maha-Mittavinda.
When this mink was brought to meet the Buddha, the Buddha, in this circumstance, said to
him:” In the past, due to your headstrong attitude, you encountered troubles, so you have to try
to change your headstrong attitude.”
In times gone by, in a rural village in which most people worked as fishermen for living, one
day, in the poorest family in the village, there was born a son, and he was named Mittavinda.
When he was born, this village was fired seven times, and got punishments by the king seven
times. Not only that, all the villagers often got nothing from their harvests of fishes in the sea.
Then, they detected and comprehended Mittavinda was the curse of the villages, so they
expelled the whole family of Mittavinda out of the village.
Parents of Mittavinda soon left him when he turned 7 as they could not endure the difficulties
anymore, so he became the bagger for the living. One renowned master of the town received
him as the student, but he had to work as the servant for the school as he did not have to pay
for the tuition fees. However, Mittavinda could not endure the difficulty in learning, so he left
the school and got married to a poor woman. His wife soon died due to the serious sickness,
and he made a bamboo board and tried to travel on the sea to find a new way of living.
With the virtue cultivated from one life in the Sakya Buddha by keeping precepts, Mittavinda
got the silver and the crystal palace and had four wives in the silver place and then 16 wives in
the crystal palace respectively. However, Mittavinda desired to have more beautiful women to
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enjoy with, so he gradually left these palaces to find the new palace. Unluckily, he got to the
cave under the deep sea, and it was hell for the evil beings to pay their karma. To be curious,
he tried to put on the hat which was made of stone, and he was attached to the hat. From that
time, he was being crushed and then survived. Thus, he had to experience the punishments
countless times. At that time, one God got to hell to do his work, and Mittavinda asked him to
rescue him. The god looked at Mittavinda and said:
Enjoyed the women in the silver and crystal palace

Enjoyed the luxurious life with everything
Due to the desire, you left those
Trying on the hat made of stone
This is due to the karma, not being able to rescue you out
Then the god left the hell and Mittavinda continued to endure the punishment in the hell.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that Mittavinda was the headstrong monk, while
the god was him.
Story 83: Story about Kalakanni

This story was told by the Buddha at Jetavana, regarding Kalakanni, a kindly friend of
Anathapindika. Kalakanni and Anathapindika were friends to each other, and they studied
together with the same teachers and same program. However, Kalakanni was not lucky, and
was in poverty. Hence, Kalakanni had to find Anathapindika to rely on Anathapindika. After
knowing the story of Kalakanni, Anathapindika tried to pacify him, and gave him to become
his manager.
During the time working and living in the house of Anathapindika, Kalakanni often heard
scornful words, such as “Stop walking. Hey, having bad luck”, “Sit down. Having bad luck”,
and “Eat. Hey, having bad luck!”
When other friends and relatives of Anathapindika paid a visit to his house, they all advised
Anathapindika: “Dear great millionnaire! Please, don’t let this unlucky guy live in your house.
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He is not equal to you in any aspect. He is poor and destitute. Why do you keep him working
for you, and why do you consider him as your friend?”
Anathapindika: “Dear all. Please don’t consider the characteristics of a person through the
name. The name is the way to identify a person. Wisdom people will not value or look down
on people through their names. Also, please, don’t be confused that lucky or luckless, a person
is not due to the meaning of his name.”
One day, Anathapindika left home for his business in a village where he was appointed as the
manager. The robbers living nearby knew that Anathapindika left home, and they planned to
rob Anathapindiaka’s house. Luckily, Kalakanni predicted that the robbers would arrive that
night, so he did not sleep to wait for the robbers. When the robbers were coming, Kalakanni
woke other staff up, and they tried to beat the drums, blowing the horns loudly.
Hearing the loud noise from Anathapindika’s house, the robbers were threatened to drive back,
and they left behind many robbery tools. In the morning the next day, workers of Anathapindika
found many robbery tools surrounding the house. They praised Kalakanni: “If there was no
manager who is intelligent like you, the millionaire might lose their property to the robbers.”
When Anathapindika returned home, he was informed what happened, and he said: “Dear all.
It was lucky that I did not listen to your suggestions to expel Kalakanni, otherwise, I would
have lost my property to the robbers yesterday. So, be remembered that the meaning of the
name is nothing, but his mind”
Anathapindika decided to pay more salary for Kalakanni, and he went to the Buddha and told
him everything.
Buddha told Anathapindika:” Hey Anathapindika. It is not only today, but in the past, a person
named Kalakanni also saved his friend's property.”

In times gone by, when King Bramadatta was ruling Varanasi, Bodhisattva was born in a
business family and he soon became an excellent businessman with a big fortune. Bodhisattva,
one day, got to the rural village to take his former friend, namely Kalakani, to work as the taker
of all the activities in his house including the oversee of the forture and money of his family.
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All his relatives and other friends came to advise him to dismiss Kalakani, as his name would
bring bad luck to him. However, the Bodhisattva denied to follow their suggestions. One day,
the Bodhisattva left his house to do the business for several days, and the robbers knew that the
Bodhisattva already left, so they planned to rob his house. That night, Kalakani, before going
to sleep, walked around to check the house, and he comprehended that the robbers were outside
and planned to rob the house.
Silently, Kalakani called some servants, and with the drums gongs, they made the loud noise
as they were crowded with thousands of people. The robbers heard the loud noise, they threw
all the tools to return to their place silently. In the next morning, Kalakani and other servants
got out to check and they saw lots of stone and sticks thrown by the robbers. From that time,
they changed their attitude toward Kalakani. When the Bodhisattva returned and
comprehended the issue, the Bodhisattva said to his relatives:” If I followed your suggestions,
I would lose all the property last night.”

Close friends are the ones that
Considering our dangers are theirs
Protecting our properties as they protect theirs
Meanings of names are valuable to build up friendship
But, the attitude toward each other
Similar to me and Kalakani
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that Kalakani was Ananda, whereas the wise
Jataka 84: Story of Atthassadvàra

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the background of this story was related to the son
of a businessman who was curious about the meaning of life when he was just seven.
One day, when the businessman played with his son, his son asked him:” Dear father! What is
the real happiness of this life?”
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The businessman could not give the answer to his son, so he decided to get his son to meet the
Buddha to get the answer from the Buddha. When the got to Jetavana, and after paying respect
to the Buddha, the businessman told the Buddha the question of his son. The Buddha, in this
circumstance, said that:” It is not in the present time, but also in the past, he also asked me this
question. I gave the proper answer to him, but due to the reincarnation, he forgot.”
business family, and when he turned adulthood, he was skillful in doing business. Therefore,
he soon possessed a big fortune. He had a son who was curious about the meanings of life. One
day, when his son turned seven, his son asked him:” What is the real happiness of this life?”
The Bodhisattva looked at his son and then replied by the verse:
Without being sick and being healthy all the time

Is the greatest happiness in human life
Keeping precepts and paying respects to the old
Learning the holy words
Behaving in the ways of the holy words
Reducing the desire to everything
These are the tools to gain real happiness
Then, his son had kept his teachings for practice until he passed away.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the child in the story was the son of the
businessman, while the wise businessman was him.
Jataka 85: Story of Kimpakka

monk who lost his determination in the dharma-practice after seeing a beautiful girl on the way
getting alms.
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This monk was born in a rich family, but he soon was faithful to the teachings of the Buddha,
so he decided to ordain as a monk in the Sangha of the Buddha. Although he tried to practice
hard, his desire for women was still strong, so one day, when he got to the town of Savatthi to
get alms, he was attached to the beauty of a girl and wanted to disrobe to return to family life.
When this monk was brought to meet the Buddha, the Buddha advised him that:'' Desire is not
totally bad, but enjoying the desire too much will be the cause of the rebirth into the hells.
Enjoying the desire is like eating the Kimpakka fruit. After eating, the internal organs all are
demolished by the poison of the Kimpakka, and the people who eat the Kimpakka will die
soon.”
In times gone by, when the king Brahmadatat was ruling Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was born
in a business family, and with the excellent skills in doing business and in traveling around, the
Bodhisattva was soon given on the throne of power as the leader of the Business association in
the town of Varanasi. He often led the delegation of 500 vehicles to travel for business.
One day, his delegation got to a forest which was new to almost all the members of the
delegation. Then, to save the life of the members, the Bodhisattva said:” To be careful to eat
the fruits and leaves in this forest, as most of them are poisonous. You have to ask me before
eating anything. In case you get in trouble due to eating something in the forest, come to see
me for assistance. Thanks.”
During the time they crossed the forest, all of his members were scared of the poison fruits, so
they did not touch anything on the way they crossed through. When they just got out of the
forest and were about to get to a village, they were tired from taking a rest at the edge of the
village. At the edge of the village, there was aKimpakka tree, which was almost similar to the
mango tree. Not only the shape of the leaves, but the shape of the fruits and the smell of the
fruit of the Kimpakka tree were almost similar to the mango tree. Some members of the
business delegation thought the Kimpakka tree was the mango tree, so some took the fruits to
eat. Just a few seconds later, they fell down on the ground and their mouths sparked the water
out.
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Some members of the delegation who did not eat the Kimpakka fruits hurried to get to meet
the Bodhisattva for help. The Bodhisattva got to the Kimpakka tree and with a glance, he knew
it was a poisonous tree, as the tree was near to the village, but was still full of the fruits. Then
the Bodhisattva tried to use some kinds of herd mixed together to assist people who got poison
to recover from the poison of the Kimpakka tree.
Not knowing the effect of the desire

Enjoying the desire all the time
Similar to eating Kimpakka fruits
Soon they will get injury and die.
Then the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths to the monks, and this young monk obtained
first entering stream level. Finally, the Buddha identified that the members of the business
delegation were the monks who lived in Jetavana, whereas the wise leader of the business
delegation was him.
Jataka 86: Story of Sìlavìmamsana

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the background of this story was related to an
official of king Kosala who put himself into trouble to check whether morality is overriding
other elements of human nature.
This official was excellent in the Vedas and preferred to keep five precepts (No killing, no
stealing, no having sexual misconduct, no drinking an no telling lie). Due to keeping these
precepts, he behaved morally to others, and the king and all people who knew him were
appropriate to his virtue. The king even gave him to the highest position among his officials.
One day, this official thought:” The king and others have paid respect to me for my virtue
cultivation. I just wonder whether they also consider my background, my knowledge, my
wisdom and so on. So, I need to detect with a test.”
Then for the constant three days, after the working hours were over, this official went to the
storage of the king to steal some golden coins, in front of the observation of a storage-taker.
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For the first and the second time, this soldier kept silent, but in the third time, he called other
soldiers to catch the official to bring him to meet the king. The king was a wise man, so he
asked the official:” I just wonder why have you entered the storage to steal some golden coins?
As you don't have less golden coins in your house?”
The official, then, calmly said to the king:” I just want to test whether morality is the only
element that makes the qualification of one man respected by others. Now, I already clearly
comprehend this issue. Even though I was born from a noble family, having high position in
the palace and having great wisdom, these are not the issues that people were concerned about
when I stole some golden coins. Only virtue is the most important element to keep us calm and
happy. Please allow me to dismiss my job and begin my spiritual practice.”
The king agreed and then this official left the palace for his dharma practice at the Sangha of
the Buddha, and with diligence, he soon obtained all the fruits of meditation and finally
achieved arhathood. His issue, then, was spread around Jetavana and the monks, one day,
gathered at the Dharma-hall, talking about him. When the Buddha got to the dharma-hall and
knowing the figure of the monks, the Buddha calmly said:” This man is not the only one who
put themselves into troubles to challenge the role of morality and then they were ordained and
achieved enlightenment.”
the celebrant of the palace, and he preferred to cultivate compassion together with the practice
of a precepts-keeper. Due to his virtue, the king loved him more than others, and often called
him to join the important event. Not only that, the king often gave him lots of benefits compared
to others.
One day, he thought:” Whether my virtue from keeping precepts, my knowledge, my wisdom
or my background are vital to assist me to have a high position in the society. I have to check
to figure out the truth.”
Then, he often got to the storage house to steal the coins for constant three days, and on the
third time, the soldier to monitor the storage house call other soldiers to take the Bodhisattva
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to meet the king for the judgment, although he did not concern about the stealing of the
Bodhisattva in the first and the second time. The king was curious to ask Bodhisattva:” Dear
my beloved master. What is wrong with you? Your salary is not that low, so why did you steal
my coins?”
The Bodhisattva said to the king:” Dear majesty! Please forgive me for this act. To be honest,
I am not the thief but I just tried to test whether others still pay respect to me without my virtue
of keeping precepts. After the test, I am sure that morality is the most important element of the
people in the society. Now, it is time for me to begin my spiritual practice, so please let me
leave the job for the ascetic life as a forest monk.”
The king insisted on the Bodhisattva, but the Bodhisattva still kept his determination.
Afterward, the king allowed him to leave the job. After paying respect to his family members
and his relatives, Bodhisattva got the forest of Himalayas for ascetic life. With diligence in the
practice, he soon obtained the fruits of calmness, compassion and wisdom. To praise the role
of the morality, one day, he spoke the verse:
Morality is the most important element

It is the highest thing in the universe
It brings happiness and peace to the world
It suspends all the fights and arguments
Then the Bodhisattva enjoyed his ascetic life until he passed away, and he was reborn in the
Brahma realm after passing away.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the celebrant was him.
Jataka 87: Story of Mangala
The Buddha told this story at Bamboo-Grove and the background of this story was related to
the Brahmin who was excellent about the prediction of the usage of all the clothes that he saw.
This Brahmin was not faithful to the teachings of the Buddha and other wise men. He believed
in the prediction of himself only.
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One day, his dresses were bitten by the mice, and this Brahmin predicted that the bad curse
would come to those who try this cloth on, and the bad curse also spread to their relatives.
Then, the Brahmin decided to throw these clothes to the cemetery, but he was worried for the
safety of his servants if he would give the clothes to them to throw as they would raise the
desire to keep these clothes. Then, he asked his son to take these clothes to throw to the
cemetery. He talked to his son:” Dear son. Tomorrow, please take these clothes to throw to the
cemetery and please don’t let anyone touch them as they will gain the bad curse.”
The Buddha, in the night time, contemplated and comprehended that the Brahmin and his son
would be able to obtain the first entering stream level, so the next day, in the early morning,
the Buddha got to the cemetery and waited for the son of the Brahmin. Soon, the son of the
Brahmin got to the cemetery with the clothes hanging on the stick. The Buddha asked him:”
Hey son! What do you do here?”
The son of the Brahmin said rapidly to the Buddha:” Dear ven. Gotama. I just got here to throw
away these clothes as they were bitten by the mice, and those who wear them will curse, not
only for them but to their relatives.”
Then the son of the Brahmin got far to the middle of the cemetery to throw the clothes. When
he just threw these clothes, the Buddha came close and picked these clothes up, saying:” These
clothes will benefit me in some ways.”
At that time, the son of the Brahmin worried for the safety of the Buddha, so he tried to convince
the Buddha to throw the clothes away:” Dear Ven. Gotama. My father said that these clothes
will bring bad luck to those who use them, as they were bitten by the mice. Please throw them
away, and if you want, I will give you a new set of clothes.”
With compassion, the son of the Brahmin hurried to return to tell his father that the Buddha
already took the clothes that they threw. The Brahmin also showed compassion to the Buddha,
so he took lots of new clothes and said to his son:” We have to get to Jetavana to give these
new clothes to Ven. Gotama, and take those clothes to throw away. If not, not only Ven. Gotama
but also all the monks living in the temple will get bad luck.”
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Then they paid a visit to Jetavana, and after paying respect to the Buddha, the Brahmin said to
the Buddha:” Dear master> Please take these new clothes, and return the clothes that my son
threw into the cemetery as they will bring bad luck to not only you but all the people living
here.”
The Buddha refused to receive his offerings and said:” Don’t worry. We are monks who only
utilize the thrown away-clothes to make our robes, and it is not suitable to worry about the
luck or bad the clothes will bring to us. Please get rid of these concepts from your head.”
In times gone by, in the nation of Maggadha, a village in the northern part of the nation, in a
Brahmin family, the Bodhisattva was born as the son of the family, and when he grew up, he
enjoyed the ascetic life rather than the family life. Hence, he left his family to live as a forest
monk in the forest near to the Himalayas. With diligence and determination in the practice, he
soon obtained the fruits of meditation.
One day, he went to the town of Magadha to get alms and during the stay at the town of
Magadha, he stayed at the garden of the king. After a few days, the king paid a visit to him and
after having a conversation with him, the king loved his attitude and wisdom. Hence, the king
tried to keep him to stay longer in the garden of the palace. The Bodhisattva agreed and in the
morning, he often got around for alms and returned to the garden to take rest. Although the
king loved to prepare foods for him, he seldom depended on the offerings of the king for the
living.
At the town of Magadha, there was a Brahmin who was excellent in predicting the bad and
luck of the owners of their clothes. One day, after comprehending a bad piece of cloth, he asked
his son to throw the bad piece of cloth into the cemetery of the town. At that time, the
Bodhisattva got through the cemetery and to see a young man throwing a new piece of cloth,
the Bodhisattva got to the cemetery to pick the cloth up and returned to the garden of the king.
The son of the Brahmin, then, worried for the safety of the Bodhisattva, so he informed his
father:'' Dear father. After I threw the bad piece of cloth, a monk who lived in the garden of the
king picked the cloth up. I worry for his safety.``
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The Brahmin took some new clothes and said to his son:” We have to get to the town of
Magadha to inform the monk to throw the bad piece of cloth as they are unlucky and will bring
bad curse to him.”
Then they paid a visit to the Bodhisattva and said:” We know that you picked the cloth my son
threw in the cemetery. That cloth will bring bad luck to you. Please throw them away and keep
these new clothes to use.”
The Bodhisattva said calmly to the Brahmin and his son:” Thanks very much for your concern.
However, we are monks, and we don’t believe in the curse of bad or the sign of luck. These are
the conceptual tendencies of those who do not comprehend deeply about the phenomena of the
universe. I know the truth of the phenomena and I can tell that no bad or good will come due
the use of this cloth.”
After hearing the talk of the Bodhisattva, the Brahmin and his son got rid of their ignorance of
the bad and luck sign. They decided to be students of the Bodhisattva. The Bodhisattva taught
them the lessons on cultivation of compassion, loving-kindness, joy and equanimity, and then
the Bodhisattva returned to the Himalayas to continue his practice of these four immeasurable
elements until he died. Then, he was reborn on the Brahma realm, the afterlife.
Those getting rid of the bad and luck sign

Of dreams and the shapes or the appearance of things
They overcome the wrong belief in the phenomena
Getting to the right wisdom and right Dharmas
Which assist them to reside in the enlightenment
Then the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths to the Brahmin and his son, and during the
talk of the Buddha, they all obtained the first entering stream level. Finally, the Buddha
identified that the Brahmin and his son in the story were the Brahmin and his son who met the
Buddha, while the wise monk was him.
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Jataka 88: Story of Sàrambha
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the background of the story was related to the use
of evil words of monks.
To know this severe issue of the monks, the Buddha advised the monks to be careful in the
words with others, and monks should use the elegant and polite words to communicate with
others. Then the Buddha said:” Due to the evil words, a cow made a man lose 1000 golden
coins. So, you have to be careful with your utterances.”
In times gone by, when king Brahmdatta was ruling Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was born as a
cow in a Brahmin family, namely Sàbrambha, and the Brahmin loved the Bodhisattva as his
son so that he gave all the special foods to the Bodhisattva. The Bodhisattva was a special cow,
his force was equal to the total force of 1000 strong cows together. So, the Bodhisattva wanted
to make money for the Brahmin, so he said to the Brahmin:” In India, I am the strongest cow
and I can push 100 vehicles together. If you want to get money, please get to the richest
Brahmin in the region and bet him for 1000 golden coins whether I will be able to push 100
vehicles tightening together. Don’t worry, I will push the vehicles for you to win the money.”
The Brahmin was pleased to get his friend, the richest Brahmin in the region, to bet 1000 golden
coins for the performance of his cow. He said:” My cow is strong as it can push 100 vehicles
together.”
His friend, the richest man in the region, smiled:” Don’t’ be crazy as no cow can do it.”
The Bramin, owner of Sàbrambha, said: “ Okay. If you want, we can bet 1000 golden coins.
Tomorrow, please prepare 100 vehicles as you want, and I will take my cow to push them.”
The next day, the Brahmin took the Bodhisattva to the yard of his friend. At that time, 100
vehicles were already prepared for Sàbrambha. All the vehicles were full of stone to avoid
Sàbrambha pushing the vehicles toward. When the Bodhisattva was about to use his power to
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push these vehicles forward, his owner hit on his body, saying:” Brat. Come on. Run and push
these vehicles as you said.”
The bodhisattva got angry due to the evil words of the Brahmin, so the Bodhisattva did not
move. Finally, his owner lost 100 golden coins. His owner took him back and laid down on the
bed to suffer. In the night time, Bodhisattva got to the window of his room, saying:” Don’t
worry. I will assist you to get 2000 golden coins. Tomorrow, please bet with your friend 2000
golden coins. Today, as you called me as the Brat, so I did not move. Please don’t use evil
words to me again.``
The owner of the Bodhisattva had no way, so he got to his friend, again, to bet for 2000 golden
coins. This time, his friends also put lots of sand and stone on 100 vehicles. The owner of the
Bodhisattva tightened him into 100 vehicles, saying with lovely words:” Come on my son.
Please help me to regain the money.``
In a second, the Bodhisattva could move these heavy vehicles to move forward easily. Then,
the owner of the Bodhisattva could win 2000 golden coins from his friend. He used the money
to buy all the special foods to the Bodhisattva.
Saying the lovely words, elegant utterance

Giving up evil and hurtful words
Lovely and elegant words bring pleasure to all
Harmful and evil words break the friendship
Even suffer others an regain the revenge
Then the Buddha identified that the owner of Sàbrambha was Ananda, whereas the cow,
namely Sàbrambha, was him.
Jataka 89: Story of Kuhaka

stealing and deceiving of a monk in the Sangha.
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In times gone by, when the king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, there was a monk who lived
in a forest near to a village. A rich man often got to the cottage of the monk for offering. One
day, a rich man in the village invited the forest monk to live in his garden to assist him to offer
foods and drinks to the monk. The rich man, then, made a certain cottage in his garden for the
monk to reside. Everyday, the rich man ordered a servant to bring the foods and drinks to the
Bodhisattva.
One day, the rich man got lots of money from a business, and he worried that the money would
be stolen or robbed. Therefore, the rich man took 500 golden coins to the cottage of the monk.
At the back of the cottage, the rich man dug a deep hole and hid his money under the ground.
The rich man also said to the monk:” Dear venerable. Please help me to monitor this much
money.”
The monk said:” Don’t worry. I will protect your money as my money.”
Few days later, the monk raised up his desire and he stole the money of the rich man to hide in
other place. Then, the monk thought:” I will use this much money to enjoy a luxurious life with
the women. It is time for me to return to the layman's life.”
The next day, the monk, during lunch time, said to the rich man:” I have been here under your
support and protection for too long, and it is not appropriate to the ascetic monks like me. So,
after lunch, I will leave for a new place. Please allow me to continue my adventure in another
location.”
The rich man agreed, although he really wanted the monk to stay together with him. After
lunch, the monk left, but when he walked for a distance, he thought:” I have to deceive the rich
man to believe in me. “
So, the monk took a straw from the cottage of a villager and put it on his head, and then he
returned to the house of his sponsor. His sponsor was surprised to ask:” Why do you return
here, venerable. Anyway, if you want to continue to live here, it is fine with me.”
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The monk was scheming to say:” No. A straw from your cottage was attached to my head, so
I returned it to you as the monk cannot steal from other even the straw.”
At that time, a friend of the sponsor of the monk was sitting in the living room and he was
curious about the motivation of the monk, as he thought:” Normally, people will not return to
give back the invaluable things. It is like that this monk already stole something valuable from
my friend. I have to assist him to regain the money.``
Then the friend of the sponsor of the monk asked:” did you give some money to this monk to
keep? Please check your money before he leaves. I doubt his attitude.”
The sponsor of the monk said:” I will check the golden coins that I hid near to his cottage. Ut,
he is a honest monk and he would not steal them.”
The sponsor of the monk hurried to get to the cottage of the monk to dig the ground to check
his money. He was surprised as all the golden coins disappeared, so the hurried to return to
inform his friend. His friend said:” The monk already stole the money. Please chase him to take
the money back. “
Then they sent the servants to chase the monk, and was able to get back the golden coins from
his bag. Then the friend of the sponsor of the monk said:” When I heard you to say honestly
about giving back the straw, I doubted you already stole something, but I could not imagine
that you stole 500 golden coins, the whole fortune of your sponsor. You are the evil monk.”
Then he continued to speak the verse:
Saying not attach to the straw

As committing the precept of stealing
However, stealing 500 golden coins
The scheming words and actions are opposite
Then the sponsor of the monk and his friend took the money to return, and released the monk
after advising him to be an honest monk. They continued to do charity to the poors and cultivate
the precepts well.
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After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the deceived monk was this scheming monk,
whereas the wise businessman was him.
Jataka 90: Story of Akatannu

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the background of this story was related to a selfish
friend of Anathapindika who lived in the rich village located near to the neighboring area.
This friend of Anathapindika often sent servants with products to the town of Savatthi to sell
and whenever they arrived, they all asked to stay in the house of Anathapindika. All the time,
Anathapindika prepared a good place for them to stay. Also, Anathpindika often ordered his
servants to help the servants of his friend to sell the products. After the business works, they
always return without giving anything in return for the help from Anathapindika.
One day, Anathapindika sent his servants and products to the neighboring area to sell, and
when the servants of Anathapindika arrived at the neighboring area, they asked the friend of
Anathapindika to assist them for their stays and their business works. However, this friend of
Anathapindika refused to help and expelled them out of his house. Afterward, the servants of
Anathapindika had to rent a giant house at the neighboring area as the base for their business
works. To be active in selling, soon they sold out all the products and returned to the town of
Savatthi. They also told Anathapidika the behavior of the millionaire who lived in the
neighboring area. However, Anathapindika was not concerned about it.
Times flew, the friend of Anathapindika again sent the servants to the town of Savatthi to sell
the products and they got to the house of Anathapindika to ask for help. At that time,
Anathpindika was out for business, and some of his servants, due to the anger from the attitude
of the friend of Anathapindika last time, planned to rob all the products of them. Then the
servants oAnathapindka arranged a house which was located near the forest to the delegation
of the men from the neighboring area. Then, in the night time, they got to the house to rob all
the products to give to the poor. The next day, the servants of friend of Anathapindika could
not find their products, so they left Savatthi to return to the neighboring area.
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Soon, this issue reached Anathapindika, and Anathapindika told this issue to the Buddha. The
Buddha, in this circumstance said that :” It is not in the present time, but also in the past, this
man was an ungrateful one.”
In times gone by, when the king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, Bodhisattva was born in a
business family and soon, he became an excellent businessman. He had a friend who lived in
the neighboring area who often sent the servants and products to the town of Varanasi to sell.
When they got to the town of Varanasi, the Bodhisattva all prepared the free-paying place for
them and arranged people to help them in selling products. However, in the returns, his friend
did not assist his servants when they sent his servants and products to the neighboring area.
Nevertheless, he did not take this issue in his mind, but his servants.
Hence, one time, the friend of the Bodhisattva again sent the servants and products to sell in
Varanasi, and they again asked the Bodhisattva to help them with a free-paying place and with
the guide to sell the products sufficiently. When the servants of friends of the Bodhisattva
arrived, the servants of the Bodhisattva did not let the Bodhisattva to know the issue, but
secretly they planned to rob all the products after arranging them to live in an isolated house
near to the forest.
When this issue reached to the Bodhisattva, the Bodhisattva spoke the verse to illustrate his
idea:
Those who receive the help from others

Not returning in the suitable situation
Tending to meet the troubles in the future
As having no help from others anymore
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the millionaire who lived in the neihbouring
area was the friend of Anathapindika, while the wise and kind businessman who lived in the
town of Varanasi was him.
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Jataka 91: Story of Litta
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the background of the story was related to the usage
of the offerings from the sponsor.
At that time, the monks often used the offerings in a careless way, and one day, to comprehend
the issue, the Buddha advised the monks:” Dear all my beloved students! Using the things that
others offered are similar to the poison of the snake. If we are not careful to think about the
usage of the offerings, you tend to be in danger of the careless usage. It is similar to the act of
an ignorant man, who was likely to swallow the dice without thinking about the condition of
the dice.”
rich family, and when the Bodhisattva grew up, he decided to be a dice-player. In the region of
the Buddha, there was also another man who worked as a dice-player for a living. This man
was a scheming one, so whenever he lost in the battle with others, he tended to put the dice
into his mouth to swallow. However, if he won others, he continued to play without doing
anything.
This man also often got to play with the Bodhisattva, and he often lost. Whenever he lost, he
often swallowed the dice. So, the Bodhisattva could not get the money from him. One day, the
Bodhisattva used the poison to make the poison infiltrate into the dice. Then, he also prepared
the medicine to heal with the poison of the dice. Then, he used this poisonous dice to play with
the scheming man. When the scheming man lost, he also grasped the dice to put into his mouth.
At that time, the Bodhisattva waited for him to swallow the dice, and he said:” This dice is a
poisonous dice, you will get injury soon.``
The he spoke the verse:
Poison is attached to the dice

This poison is the extreme poisonous one
Swallowing the dice, you will be suffered
The stomach is burning as the fire
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All the bone will be suffered with pains
When the Bodhisattva just spoke out these words, the scheming man fell down to the ground.
At that moment, Bodhisattva used the medicine that he made to heal the poison for the
scheming man. Then when the scheming man vomited the dice with the poison, the Bodhisattva
gave the special kind of honey to him to eat and drink. After a while, he totally recovered his
health.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the wise and kind player of dice was him.
Jataka 92: Story of Mahàsàra

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the background of this story was related to Ven.
Ananda in his teaching activities to the queen and the maidens of the king Kosala.
At that time, the queen and the maidens of the king Kosala were faithful to the teachings of the
Buddha, so they asked the king Kosala:” Dear majesty. It is the great chance to mee the great
master. Ven. Gotama. We want to listen to his teachings on how to carry out the cultivation of
merits for the peace and calmness. However, it is not easy to us to get to Jetavana to listen to
the dharma of the Buddha all the time. Please get to Jetavana and ask Ven. Gotama for a monk
who often get here to give the talks to us.”
The king Kosala agreed and one day, he got to a park and on the way he found the place for
the stroll to relax after stressing work. At that time, the park-taker informed the king that:” Ven.
Gotama is here, giving talks to others.”
The king Kosala was pleased to get to the location in which the Buddha was giving dharma-
talk to people. At that time, the king saw a man from the low social class, who was named
Chattapani, and who obtained the first entering stream level. Chattapani concentrated on
listening to the teachings of the Buddha, but the king did not like him. He thought:” This guy
is from a lower class background, but he is listening to the dharma from the great master.
Hence, he is not the bad guy at all.”
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Then the king sat silently to listen to the talk of the Buddha. After the talk was over, the Buddha
spoke highly about Chattapani to the king Kosala, as the Buddha knew his discrimination of
the king Kosala to Chattapani. The king then changed the attitude toward Chattapani, as he
thought:” This guy was praised by the master, so his attitude should be great.”
Then the king asked Chattapani:” As you are a great lay student of the Buddha, it is likely that
you are suitable to teach the Dharma to my women.”
Chattapani denied:” Dear majesty. I am not suitable to carry this work at all. You have to invite
a monk for the suitability.”
The king, then, asked the Buddha to solve this issue, and the Buddha appointed Ven. Ananda
to get to the palace to give the dharmas to the women of the king Kosala. Under the instructions
of Ven. Ananda, all the women of the king were happy as they gradually developed their
goodness, so Ven. Ananda also was pleased to get to the palace to give the dharmas to the
women of the Buddha.
One day, the king lost a valuable pearl and he called the soldiers to detect all the maidens to
find the pearly, so all the women of the king were in a worried mood. When ven. Ananda
arrived, they did not show their happiness as they used to. Ven. Ananda then asked them to
comprehend the issue. And then Ven. Ananda got to say to the king:” Please stop this
investigation as you have made people doubt each other. Also you have made people worry for
their safety. Please ask all the people, including your women, from the next day, to take a fist
of rice to put here in this living room. If they steal the pearl, they will put the pearl into the fist
of rice and put it here. If the first day, they will not put the pearl in, they tend to put the pearl
in, the following days. So, be relaxed.”
By this way, the next day, the person who stole the pearl of the king Kosala put the pearl into
the fist of rice and put them into the instructive place. In the later afternoon, the soldiers
checked the rolls of rice, and they found the pearl of the king. All the maidens were relaxed
from the pressure, so they spoke highly of the wisdom of Ven. Ananda. This event also soon
spread to Jetavana, and one day, the monks gathered at the Dharma-hall, talking about this
method of Ven. Ananda assisted the king Kosala to regain the pearl. When the Buddha entered
the Dharma-hall and when he knew the figure of the talk of monks, he said:” Ananda is not the
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only one who used the calm but effective method to find something lost. The wise men in the
past also utilized this method to find the valuable things that they lost.``

In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was born in an
official family, and when he got adulthood, he was well-cultivated. Therefore, he was excellent
in various skills, so soon the king gave him the highest position in the palace after serving time.
At that time, the king had thousands of wives and the king loved to get them out for a picnic in
his leisure time. One day, when the king and thousands of his wives were playing near the
biggest lake of the palace, the king suddenly wanted to enjoy swimming in the water. Hence,
the king took off all his jewels and put them into a box together with the valuable stuff of his
wives.
When the king was enjoyed the water, his wives walked around to enjoy the beautiful scenery,
so nobody took good care of the box of the king. A monkey which lived in the tree near to the
lake got to the pile of stuff of the wives of king to find food. After eating some fruits, the
monkey opened the box of jewels and took away the most valuable necklace of the queen. Then
this monkey hid the necklace in a hole in the tree and sat near to protect the necklace.
At that time, a maiden returned and saw the necklace of the queen. She shouted loudly:” A man
came to steal the necklace of the queen.”
The soldiers then run around with loud shouts to find the robber. Near the lake of the palace,
there was a farm and a farmer was working his daily farm work. To hear the loud shouts of the
soldiers, this farmer ran away. Hence, he became the target for chasing the soldiers, and soon
he was caught by the soldiers. The king asked the farmer:” Why did you steal the necklace of
the queen? And where did you hide it?”
The farmer, at that time, thought that” They don’t believe my true words, so I will tell the king
that I already gave the necklace to his celebrant.”
Then the king called his consultant with anger to ask the celebrant:” Dear great servant. I have
treated you with the most gifted benefits, so why did you tell this guy to steal the necklace of
the queen?” The celebrant was scared of the punishment, so he said to the king that he gave the
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necklace to the musical player. Being worried, the musical player told the king that he gave to
a prostitute in the town. When the prostitute was called to the palace, it turned dark, so the king
stopped the investigation.
This news was reached to the Bodhisattva soon, and in the evening, and the Bodhisattva
thought:” It was impossible for the farmer to steal the necklace and give it to others. They all
talked around to seek help only. I have to get to the palace to ask the king to carry out the
investigation, otherwise, a big number of people will be engaged in this issue.”
Then the Bodhisattva paid a visit to the king in the evening and asked the king to give him the
duty to detect this issue. The Bodhisattva then got to the lake where the queen lost her necklace
and he rapidly comprehended the stealer, after seeing lots of monkeys. He thought: These
monkeys surely are the stealers, but the most important thing is to find the necklace of the
queen.”
Then the bodhisattva ordered the soldiers to make lots of fake necklaces totally different from
the necklace of the queen, and he ordered the soldiers to put into the necks of almost all the
money in the region. Then, he asked the soldiers to observe the monkey which wore the
different style of the necklace and took it. After a few days, the monkey who stole the necklace
of the queen saw most of the monkeys wore the necklace on the neck, so it also took the
necklace and wore it on his neck. When I got to the lake to enjoy it, the soldiers caught it and
took the necklace of the queen back.
Then the Bodhisattva took a monkey and the necklace to meet the king and said:” Dear majesty!
This monkey was the criminal of the robbery, please release all other people who are accused
of the robbery.”
The king was pleased to hear the Bodhisattva to inform all the process of investigation to him,
and the king was extremely pleased to speak the verse:
In the battles, need the soldiers and hero

Getting troubles, need the calmness
Playing needs close friends to enjoy together
Getting troubles, need wise men to give advice
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The king gave the Bodhisattva lots of benefits, and often called the Bodhisattva to teach him
with virtuous lessons.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the king was Ananda, while the wise official
of the king was him.
Jataka 93: Story of Vissàsabhojana

teachings of the Buddha on usage and the offerings from relatives.
A big number of monks, after the ordination, often got back to their homes for the offerings
from their relatives and they used the offerings things offered by their relatives in profuse ways.
This issue was reached to the Buddha, and one day, the Buddha called all the monks to gather
and said:” It is not appreciated to the monks to use the offerings, even get from relatives in
wasteful ways. The abuse of the offerings in wasteful ways will lead you all to the realm of
Yaksha and the hungry ghost realm. Using the offerings from the relatives in wasteful ways is
similar to the usage of the poison mixed with the honey.”
In time gone by, when the king Brahmadattwa was ruling Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was born
in a rich family and when he grew up, he was rich with the fortune inherited from his parents.
The Bodhisattva had a large farm and he had a servant who took good care of his cows. This
cows-taker also took the milk from the female cows to make the butters and the Bodhisattva
also sold the butter to other regions as his business. One day, a lion from the forest often got
close to the farm of the Bodhisattva to drink water and most of the cows were threatened by
the lion. Hence, the milk from the female cows reduced rapidly. When the Bodhisattva knew
the issue, the Bodhisattva asked his cows-taker:'' Does the lion often play with other animals?”
The cows-taker:” Yes Sir. The lion often plays with a forest deer.”
The Bodhisattva, with deep contemplation, said:” Okay. Let's kill the lion with poison,
although it is an evil act. However, all the cows will die because of the fear of the lion if the
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lion still gets close to them. Please take the deer, the friend of the lion, and put the poison on
the hairs of the deer. After a few days, release the deer to the forest. The lion will play and
licked on the body of the deer. Soon the poison will absorb to the lion and it will die.``
The cows-taker of the Bodhisattva followed the instructions of the Bodhisattva and soon the
lion died due to the poison. The Bodhisattva called the cows-taker to make the funeral for the
lion and bury it in a clean region. The Bodhisattva then said:
Attaching to others will be the weakness

Even relatives or not relatives
Being abused by enemies
Died, similar to the deer and lion
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the rich man was him.
Jataka 94: Story of Lomahamsa

The Buddha told this story at Pàtikàràma and the background of this story was related to the
criticism of Kalakanjaka to the teachings of the Buddha.
During the time the Buddha stayed at the temple of Patikarama, a Asura deity, namely
Kalakanjaka, who was the afterlife of a monk who practiced the ascetic teaching of Kora.
Kalakanjaka often said that:” The teaching of Gotama is not able to lead people to
enlightenment and the end of suffering in the circle of rebirth.”
When Ven Sariputta heard the criticism of the Asura deity, Sariputta told the Buddha, and the
Buddha, in this circumstance, said that:” Sariputta! Kalakanjaka, due to the wrong practice and
wrong belief, reborn into the Asura realm, the realm of the angry deities. He criticized that my
dharma is not able to assist practitioners to the end of suffering is wrong, as I had been in the
ascetic practices for countless rebirths until I enlightened this true dharmas. In the ascetic
practiced lives, I all became the most faithful and devout practitioners.”
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In times gone by, the Bodhisattva was an ascetic monk who practiced wrong dharma. In this
life, the Bodhisattva enjoyed the ascetic life of attaching to nothing, even the clothes. He often
lived in the luxuriant bushes of trees in the night and the day times as well. Also, he often got
the leaves and the roots of the trees to maintain his health for the ascetic practice.
In the winter, when the snows fell, Bodhisattva also stayed barely without clothes to keep
warm, and not only that he was often exposed to the snows during the full-moon days. So,
during the winter, the Bodhisattva suffered all the day and night time by the cold weather. In
the summer, the Bodhisattva had to endure with the sufferings caused by the hot of the weather.
In the day time, he exposed to the sunlight without the clothes to protect his body, and in the
night time, he exposed to the cold and windy condition of the Himalayas Mountain. He often
spoke the verse:
Suffered all the time

Due to the cold and hot
Enduring these sufferings to control the desire
I am seeking enlightenment!
Thus, by the ascetic methods, Bodhisattva suffered in all the moments of his life. When his
lifespan was about to end, all the signs of being reborn into the hells appeared to his mind, so
at that time, he vowed to end all the ascetic methods as well as the wrong thought. Hence, he
was reborn into heaven. And this was the start of his right view and right thought about the
enlightenment.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the ascetic monk was him.
Jataka 95: Story of Mahàsudassana

The Buddha told this story at the forest of Kusinàra, when he was about to obtain Maha-
Nirvana. And the background of this story was related to the insisted words of Ven. Ananda
advised the Buddha to change the destination of the Maha-nirvana. At that time, Ven. Ananda
talked to the Buddha:” Dear master! Please don’t get Mahanirvana at this forest, near to the
small and rural village, without many followers and the students. Please get to the crowded
town to obtain Maha-Nirvana.”
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The Buddha looked at Ven. Ananda said:” Ananda. Don’t look down on this village. In the
past, when I was the Cakkavatti king, I ruled the whole of the earth with the virtue of was the
greatest city of the earth. “
In times gone by, when Bodhisattva was born as the Cakkavatti king, who ruled all four
continents, the king had a beautiful and faithful queen, namely Subhaddà. After ruling the
nation with virtue, the Cakkavatti king, one day, knew that he was about to die, and he informed
all his relatives. Then the king , from his palace, walked to the forest which was made of seven
jewels and at two Sala trees, on his stone bed, he laid down and prepared to die. At that time,
his queen Subhdadda got close to him and cried sorrowfully. Not long after that, 84 000
thousand of wives of the king Cakkavatti also arrived, and they all cried sadly as they knew
that day, their great king, their great husband, and great protector would die.
The king Cakkavatti, sat up and told them:” Don’t be sad and sorrowful as it is the nature of
the universe. There is nothing that will survive forever. Everything is impermanent, and this is
the truth. Please stay focused on this truth. “
The king summarized his last teaching into a verse:
All the phenomena are impermanent

As their nature, the truth of the universe
The phenomena born and cease in their ways
Comprehend this truth will get rid of boredom
Then the king Cakkavatti laid down and silently passed away. In a moment, due to his virtue,
he was reborn in the 33 heaven.
rd
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the queen Subhaddà was the mother of
Rahula, while the king Cakkavatti was him. All 84000 maidens of the king were the monks of
the Buddha respectively.
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Jataka 96: Story of Telapatta
The Buddha told this story at the town of Desaka in the nation of Sumedha,, and the background
of this story was related to the teachings of the Buddha about mindfulness.
The Buddha, in the late afternoon, gathered all the monks and said:” Dear my beloved students.
If there is a beautiful girl who is singing and dancing for thousands of people, and most of the
men love the girl as she is extremely beautiful. At that time, there is a man who is threatened
by his enemy with a sharp sword, and the man is forced to carry a bowl of oil. If the oil is
sparked out, even with only one drop, the man will be killed. In this situation, do you think that
the man is still enjoying the beauty of the beautiful girl?”
All the monks together said:” Dear master. It is impossible for him to focus on the beauty of
the girl, as he is threatened by death.”
Then the Buddha calmly said:” To be mindful in the practice is similar to the contemplation of
this man who is holding the bowl of oil. You have to be concentrated on the objects of your
practice, without other thought, and the door of success will knock your minds.”
In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was the
youngest prince of 100 princes of the king. Bodhisattva was a virtuous, determined and wise
man, so he knew that it was impossible for him to be the king of Varanasi. Therefore, he
planned to prepare for his future by consulting with the PrekaBuddhas who often went to the
palace to receive the offerings from his father.
To carry out the plan, when the PratyekaBuddhas got to the palace, he often served them as a
servant. For a time, he felt it was a suitable time to ask for help, so one day, when the
Prekabuddhas had just completed their meals, the Bodhisattva sat on his knees, asking:” Dear
all great masters! Please let me know about my future, where should I go to prepare for my
future prospect?”
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A PrekaBuddha calmly said to him:” Okay. You have served us for too long, so I would like to
reveal that you will not be able to be the king of this nation, but you can be the king of the
nation of Takkasila, which is about 2000 miles from here. If you can get there within 7 days
from now, you will be given the throne of the power of the nation. But, be careful on the way
getting there, as you are going to get through the forest in which the Yakshas live, and they use
all their methods to attract people to attach to them to eat them. The only way to get rid of their
attraction is to control your mind from all the attachments.”
The Bodhisattva offered the PratyekaBuddhas with lots of stuff for the instruction, and then he
informed his parents and his brothers for his dangerous journey. The next morning, he took the
strongest horses and vehicles to depart for Takkasila. At the time he was about to leave, five
strong men who were his excellent servants asked him to let them join the journey. Although
the Bodhisattva cautioned them that the journey was dangerous, they still insisted on joining
the journey. So, they all took the strongest horses of the palace to follow the Bodhisattva. To
save time, they even ate and drank on the horses, and they divided each other to sleep and to
drive the vehicles. Soon, they got to the forest in which the Yakshas lived. Seeing the delegation
of the Bodhisattva, the Yakshas used their powers to make a village and they manifested
themselves as the beautiful women. The delegation of the Bodhisattva got through the village,
and the Bodhisattva tried to convince his people to control the mind from the beauty of the
Yakshas. However, one man of his delegation could not bear his mind, so he became the food
of the Yakshas.
After eating the first man, the Yakshas got to the location forehead of the path of the
Bodhisattva and they appeared as the beautiful women who were excellent in playing music,
and another servant of the Bodhisattva was attached to the elegant music to leave the
delegation. Soon, he was killed by the Yakshas. Then, the Yakshas got a forehead to attract
other servants of the Bodhisattva with the fragrances, tasty foods and the comfortable and
luxurious place. Three other servants were, then, attracted and killed by the Yakshas
respectively.
So, only Bodhisattva escaped from the Yakshas. At that time, all the Yakshas left to return to
their place, but the leader of the Yaksha did not, as she was determined to kill the Bodhisattva
to eat. She manifested as a beautiful woman who was pregnant, and followed the Bodhisattva.
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She introduced herself as the wife of the Bodhisattva whenever she saw the people:” Dear sirs
and madams. This guy is my husband and he tries to get rid of me when I am pregnant.”
All the people often complained about the Bodhisattva, and some men even followed the
Yaksha as she is beautiful. However, the Bodhisattva still kept his determination and well-
mindfulness. He just kept silent and continued his journey. Finally, he got to the town of
Takkasila, and he got to the main temple of the town to pray. At that time, the Yaksha could
not enter the temple, so it stood outside to wait for the Bodhisattva. At that time, the king of
the Takkasila got through the temple, and to see the Yaksha, the king could not bear his desire.
He ordered a soldier to ask the Yaksha to be his wife. The soldier got close to the Yaksha and
asked:” Dear beautiful madam. Our king wants to give you a favor being his wife to enjoy the
luxurious life forever. Do you agree?”
The Yaksha just wanted to eat the Bodhisattva, so it said:” I already have a husband, and my
husband is praying in the temple.”
The soldier, then, got into the temple to ask the Bodhisattva:” Dear sir. Is that girl your wife?”
The Bodhisattva said:” No. She is a Yaksha, and she already ate my servants.``
The soldier returned to inform the king with the utterance of the Bodhisattva, and the king was
happy:” If she is not his wife, please take her to the palace, as all the people and things in the
town all belong to my control.”
Then the soldiers took the Yaksha to the palace and prepared a special room for the Yaksha.
After the Yaksha took a bath, she enjoyed the luxurious foods. And, in the night time, after
enjoying the sexual activity with the king, the Yaksha asked:” Could you please give me to be
the king of this nation?”
The king said:” It is impossible for a woman to be the king of this nation. Please inquire about
other things.”
The Yaksha, then, asked:” So could you please give me the power to control all the people
living in this palace?”
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The king wanted to satisfy the Yaksha, so he agreed. His agreement brought the brutal deaths
to all the people of the palace, as in the mid-night, the Yaksha returned to all her relatives to
get to the palace to eat all the people of the palace. The next day, some officials got to the
palace to work, but the gates of the palace were still closed, so they asked some people to
demolish the gates to enter. When they opened the gates, they saw the strategic spectacle, with
the blood and white bones around. All the people and animals of the palace were killed brutally
by the Yakshas. At that time, the soldier who met the Bodhisattva said to the officials:” Dear
sirs! A young man who is staying in the temple at the center already cautioned us about the
danger of the Yaksha, but our king, due to the desire, attached to its beauty to generate the
brutal deaths to all the people of the palace. The officials, then, said to the soldier:” Please
take us to meet that young man, as the man who could control his mind from the beauty of
women deserves to be the king of this nation.”
Then they prepared the luxurious vehicle, with the flowers and fragrances to pay a visit to the
Bodhisattva. When they met the Bodhisattva, an official asked:” Dear sir! Do you want to be
the king of this nation as you have all the qualification of a great king?”
The Bodhisattva agreed and he got on the luxurious vehicle and got to the palace. The ceremony
to give him the throne of power was organized soon. The Bodhisattva, then, ruled the nation
with ten royal dharmas until he passed away.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the new king of Takkasila was him, while all
his servants were the monks in the Sangha of the Buddha.
Jataka 97: Story of Nàmasiddhi

who was ignorant to believe the meanings of the names on the people's destiny.
In the Sangha of the Buddha, there was a young monk, namely Papaka, meaning evil man. This
monk was not satisfied when people called him by this name, so he paid a visit to his master
and asked for a new name. His master wanted to assist him to get rid of the ignorance, and his
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master said:” Dear my beloved student! Just keep your name as the name is not the destiny as
you thought.”
This issue was spread around Jetavana rapidly and the monks gathered to discuss this issue at
the dharma-hall, before listening to the teachings of the Buddha. The Buddha, after
comprehending the figure of the talk of monks, said:” It is not in the present time, but also in
the past, he was ignorant to build up wrong beliefs about destiny and the name.”
In times gone by, when the king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was a
famous master in the town of Takkasila, so there were hundreds of men who studied with him.
Among his students, there was a young man, who was named Papaka, meaning evil man. This
student was not satisfied when people called him by this name, so one day, he asked his master
to change a new name to him:” Dear master. This name is cruel to me, so could you please
give me another name?”
Bodhisattva looked at his student for a while and then said:” Okay. Now, I have no meaningful
name for you, so please get around to find a suitable and enjoyable name for you.”
Papaka, then, went around to find the lucky name for him. One day, he saw the relatives of a
man crying for his death, so he asked them:” What is the name of this man?”
One of his relatives said:” Jivaka.”
Papaka, then, said:” Papaka means to live longlife, but he died when he was young. So, this
name does not carry luck at all.”
Then he left the funeral to continue his journey and soon he got to a village. At the village, he
sat in front of the pavement of a rich house to take a rest, and he met a girl who was sorrowful.
He asked her:” Dear friend. Why do you look sorrowful and what is your name?”
The young girl slowly said:” My name is Dhanapalai, meaning the rich man. However, I am
poor, so I worry for my future.”
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Papaka, then, continued and when he got out of the village, he met a man, who was named
Pahthaka, meaning the guide for the paths, but this man was getting lost. He had to ask Papaka
for directions to get to his desired place. After meeting this man, Papaka was pleased with his
name, as he changed his attitude toward the meanings of the names and the destinies of the
people. So he thought:” The destiny of the people and the meanings of the names are not
correlated at all. I should return to my school.”
Then he returned and told his experience during the journey to his master. His master, the
Bodhisattva, then spoke the verse:
Meanings of names are not significant to the destinies

Named Long-life but died at the young age
Named Richness, but really poor
Named Guide for the path, but got lost
Papaka, then accepted his name
Getting out of the ignorance
Then the Buddha identified that the student Papaka was the monk, namely Papaka, while the
great master was him. And, the students of the master were the monks of the Buddha.
Jataka 98: Story of Kùtavànija

friendship of two businessmen.
At the town of Savatthi, there were two young businessmen who were close to each other. One
businessman was scheming, while the other was too honest. And the honest one was a devout
student of the Buddha.
One day, they got to the other region of the neighboring area to do the business, and after selling
the products and got money, they bought lots of products from the neighboring area to sell in
the town of Savatthi. When they were about to get back to the town of the Savatthi, the honest
businessman required his friend to divide the products. The scheming businessman did not
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want to share the products, so he planned to kill his friend to get all the products. He thought:”
After a long journey, this guy must be extremely hungry, so invite him to eat to the death of
difficult digestion.”
Then the scheming businessman invited his friend to get to the selling meals-store to eat, and
he tried to force his friend to eat too much. The honest businessman tried to eat little and
continued to demand to divide to share the products. Afterward, they shared products and the
honest businessman hurried to get back to his house. The next day, he paid a visit to the Buddha
and told the Buddha about the plan to kill his friend. The Buddha, in this circumstance, said:”
It is not in the present time, but also in the past, he was scheming and planned to kill others to
regain all the property of them.”
in a business family, and was named Pandita, meaning the great wisdom. When he grew up, he
made friends with a man, and they went together to do the business. They often bought the
products at the town of Varanasi, and then they sold the products to other towns. Then, on the
way to the town of Varanasi, they bought the local products of the regions they got to sell the
products, and got the local products to sell at the town of Varanasi for earning profits.
One day, on the way back, they bought lots of expensive products, and when Pandita wanted
to share the products, his friend wanted to take two parts and gave him only one part.
Bodhisattva did not agree, and then his scheming friend told him:” Okay. We will get to a giant
tree and ask for justice from the deity.”
The Bodhisattva agreed and then the scheming businessman asked one of his servants to go
forehead to hide inside the giant tree that they were going to get to. He also required his servant
to say what he instructed him to do. Then, Bodhisattva and his scheming friend got to the giant
tree, and the scheming asked the deity:” How should we divide the products, dear wise and
justified deity?”
The servant of the scheming businessman rapidly said:” To be easy! Divide the products into
three parts. Pandita gets one part, while Maha-pandita gets two parts.”
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Bodhisattva knew that the servant of his scheming friend tried to deceive him, so he took the
dried straw to put around the tree and fired the pile of the straw. At that time, the servant of the
scheming businessman could not bear the heat of the fire, so he ran out the tree. Then, the plan
of the scheming friend was discovered, so he had to share half of the products to the
Bodhisattva. Bodhisattva, then, decided to stop doing business together with his scheming
friend for safety.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the scheming businessman was the scheming
businessman who deceived his student, while the honest businessman was him.
Jataka 99: Story of Parosahassa

skillfulness of Ven. Sariputta in giving the proper explanations to the teachings of the Buddha
to others.
When the monks gathered at the dharma-hall to praise the skills of Ven. Sariputta, the Buddha
entered the Dharma-hall, and to know the figure of the talk of monks, the Buddha said that:” It
is not in the present time, but also in the past, Sariputta was skillful to give the proper
explanations on my brief teachings to others.”
In times gone by, when king Brhmadatta was reigning Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was born in
a Brahmin family and whe he turned 16, he got to Takkasila to study skills and Vedas. Upon
his graduation, he decided to leave the family life for ascetic practice as the forest monk. To
carry out his plan, he said goodbyes to his relatives and parents, and then he got to the mountain
of the Himalayas for ascetic practice. With diligence in the practice, the Bodhisattva, soon
obtained all the fruits of mediation, with calmness, loving-kindness, compassion, joy and
equanimity. Soon, the people who became his students were hundred ones, but the oldest
student was the most skillful in giving his explanations to other students.
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One day, he called all his students to gather and then he said:” If you have a question, please
ask as I am about to die today.”
A student asked the Bodhisattva:” What is your achievement with that much time in the
practice?”
The Bodhisattva just said:” Nothing. “
Then he died. At that time, the oldest student was not together with the crowd, so all the
students who gathered with the Bodhisattva did not understand his utterance. They waited for
the oldest brother. And then, when the oldest student returned, and after knowing the last words
of his master, he slowly said to others:” Our master all obtained the formless level of
meditation, so he will be reborn in the Brahma realm.”
Other students did not believe in the explanation of the oldest student, so they argued with each
other during the funeral of the Bodhisattva. At that time, the Bodhisattva, from the Brahma
realm, used his power to appear in the fire burning his dead body, saying:” You all should
believe the explanation of your oldest brother, as his explanation is correct to my intention.”
One thousand people

Gathering to cry for me
Not satisfied my mind as only one
Comprehending deeply my utterances
Then the Bodhisattva advised his students to keep up the practice of compassion, loving-
kindness, joy and equanimity. Then he returned to his Brahma realm.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the master of the crowds was him ,whereas
the oldest student was Sariputta.
Jataka 100: Story of Asàtarùpa
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The Buddha told this story at the forest of Kundadhàno near to the town of Kundiya, and the
background of the story was related to the daughter of king Koliva, Suppavasa.
At the time, Suppavasa could not get pregnant after a long time of marriage. So she prayed to
the blessings of the Buddha and monks. Then finally, Suppavasa got pregnant, but it was not
the normal pregnancy as her pregnancy was about seven years. Not only that, during the time
of giving birth to the son, it took her seven suffering days. During the sufferings of giving birth,
Suppavasa was still faithful to the Buddha, his teachings and the virtues of monks, so he asked
her husband to get to Jetavana to ask for the blessing from the Buddha.
Her husband quickly got to Jetavana, and told the Buddha her suffering condition and asked
the Buddha for a prayer to her. After the prayer of the Buddha, Suppavsa gave birth to a son,
and she named her son as Saliva. To cultivate the virtue of her son, Suppavasa asked her
husband to ask the Buddha and 500 monks to get to their house for offerings for seven days.
At that time, Ven. Moggallan already arranged 7 days offerings from a sponsor to the Buddha
and monks. However, due to the faithfulness of Suppavsa, the Buddha decided to give priority
to the Suppavasa. Then the Buddha and the monks went to the house of Suppavasa for the
offerings for seven days. On the last day, Suppvsa brought her son to meet the Buddha and the
monks.
When Ven Sariputta saw him, Ven. Sariutta asked him:” How do you feel about Saliva?”
Saliva slowly said:” It is okay now, but I suffered to stay in the stomach for seven years.”
All the mundane people gathered at the offerings ceremony were surprised as Saliva could
reply to Ven Sariputta after just seven days of birth. Saliva then became a novice in the Sangha
of the Buddha, when he got seven. With diligence, he soon obtained all the Arhathood.
The monks, one day, gathered at the dharma-hall, talking about the events related to the birth
of Ven. Saliva and the sufferings of her mother. When the Buddha entered the Dharma-hall,
and when the Buddha comprehended the figure of the talk of monks, the Buddha calmly
said:”Even Saliva had cultivated great virtue in the past. His sufferings and the sufferings of
his mothers all are due to the Karmic actions in the past lives.”
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In times gone by, when the king Brahmadatta was reining Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was born
as the son of the king and the queen. When he turned 16, he went to the town of Takkasila to
study skills and Vedas. Upon graduation, he returned to work as the vice-king of his nation.
Soon, after his father died, he became the new king of Varanasi. The Bodhisattva got married
with a beautiful girl and then they soon had a wise son.
His life was smoothly floating until the attack of king Kosala to the town of Varanasi. At that
time, the king Kosala desired to occupy the town of Varanasi to take the queen of the king
Varanasi as the queen was beautiful. When the army of the king Kosala entered the town of
Varanasi, the king of Varanasi suspended his army to fight to avoid the deaths. So, he was
killed after the king Kosala and his army occupied the town of Varanasi. Finally, the king
Kosala was satisfied with his desire to force the queen of king Varanasi to be his queen.
During the attack of king Kosala, the son of the Bodhisattva ran out of the town and gathered
the people for the rebel. After a few years, his force was strong, so he took his force to attack
the town of Varanasi. He sent the message to the king Kosala to give back the town of Varanasi.
However, the king Kosala denied the requirement of the son of the Bodhisattva. Then, the son
of the Bodhisattva was about to take his army to attack Varanasi. At that time, his mother sent
a message to him to advise:” You don’t need to fight against it as it caused the deaths of
thousands of people. Just prohibit the travel in and out from the town, for just a few days, the
people of the town will overthrow the king Kosala due to their hunger.”
The son of the Bodhisattva then managed his soldiers to suspend all the vehicles to move in
and out from the town of Varanasi. After seven days, the people were suffering due to hunger,
so they caught the king Kosala to give the son of the Bodhisattva. The son of the Bodhisattva,
then, was given on the throne of the power of the nation, and tried to rule the nation with virtue
as his father was.
After telling the story the Buddha explained that due to the actions of suspending people to get
in and out, many people suffered due to hunger, so Saliva had to suffer in the stomach of his
mother for seven days. Her mother, due to the instruction to her son, suffered due to the
pregnancy for seven years. Saliva obtained Arhathood, as he was faithful to the Buddha
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Padumuttara in the past life. Finally, the Buddha identified that the king of Varanasi was him,
and the son of the king was Saliva. The queen of the king Varanasi was Suppavsa respectively.
Jataka 101: Story of Parosata

skillfulness of Ven. Sariputta in giving the proper explanations to the teachings of the Buddha
to others.
When the monks gathered at the dharma-hall to praise the skills of Ven. Sariputta, the Buddha
entered the Dharma-hall, and to know the figure of the talk of monks, the Buddha said that:” It
is not in the present time, but also in the past, Sariputta was skillful to give the proper
explanations on my brief teachings to others.”
In times gone by, when king Brhmadatta was reigning Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was born in
a Brahmin family and when he reached the age of teenager, he got to Takkasila to study skills
and Vedas. Upon his graduation, he decided to leave the family life for ascetic practice as the
forest monk. To carry out his plan, he said goodbyes to his relatives and parents, and then he
got to the mountain of the Himalayas for ascetic practice. With diligence in the practice, the
Bodhisattva, soon obtained all the fruits of mediation, with calmness, loving-kindness,
compassion, joy and equanimity. Soon, the people who became his students were over one
thousand, but the most excellent one was the oldest student as he could understand the brief
teachings from him. Also, his oldest student could explain the brief teachings into proper
explanations.
One day, the Bodhisattva knew that the time for him to take the next life was about to come,
so he called all his students to gather, and when most of the students gathered, he said to the
crowd of students:” Emptiness. I have cultivated nothing.``
Then the Bodhisattva passed away. All the students could not comprehend the last teaching of
their master, so they argued during the funeral. When the dead body of the Bodhisattva was
put on the giant pile of dry woods for burning, the oldest student returned from the journey to
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the town for alms. After hearing the last teaching of his master from the telling of other brother
monks, he said that:” Our master just wanted to imply that he is reborn into the Brahma realm,
the formless beings.”
Despite the explanation of the Bodhisattva oldest student, the crowd of his students were still
argued during the funeral, so the Bodhisattva, from the Brahma realm, returned in the shape of
the light, saying to them:” Please be humble to receive the explanation from your brother, as
his explanation is right.”
Then the Bodhisattva soke the verse:
The crowds of men residing in the deep forest

Spending years for the meditation but obtaining nothing
Not able to compare to those who reside only one day
With proper comprehension of the true dharma
Then the Bodhisattva gave some advice on the cultivation of loving-kindness, compassion, joy
and equanimity to his students and returned to the Brahma realm.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the wise master of thousand monks lived in
the Himalayas was him.
Jataka 102: Story of Pannika

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the background of the story related to a vegetable-
seller and his daughter.
At the town of Savatthi, there was a man who earned a living by buying various kinds of
vegetables from the farmers and then he sold them at the market to earn the profit to feed his
family. This man had a faithful daughter who was extremely beautiful and humble. When his
daughter turned 18, lots of men got to ask for the marriage with his daughter. However, he all
denied as he wanted to give his daughter to get married with a rich man.
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To carry out his plan, he tried to challenge the virtue of his daughter. One day, he took his
daughter to the forest to collect woods, and at the quite and empty forest, he was pretended to
rape her. At that moment, his daughter cried and said:” It is not suitable for this act. It is not
virtuous. Dear father.``
The vegetable- seller said to his daughter that:” I just want to challenge your virtue before
giving you to get married with a man from the noble family. From the test, I am confident as a
man from a noble family for you as the husband.”
Then the vegetable-seller found noble-man to marry with his daughter. After the marriage, she
lived a happy life, and one day, the event related to the challenge of the vegetable-seller to his
daughter was spread around, and the monks of the Buddha also enjoyed to discuss at the
dharma-hall, one day when they gathered to listen to the teachings of the Buddha. When the
Buddha entered the Dharma-hall, and when the Buddha comprehended the figure of the
discussion of monks, the Buddha said that:” It is not in the present time, but also in the past,
he used this way to challenge his daughter before allowing her to get married.”
In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was a deity
who lived in a giant tree which grew up in the forest at the rural area. In the village, there was
a man who sold the fruits as a way of earning a living. He often got to the farms to buy fruits
and then sold them at the market. He had a beautiful, faithful and humble daughter, and his
daughter had become the dream of thousands of men in the region.
One day, he thought it was the right time to select a noble man to get married to his daughter.
But, to ensure that his daughter would not be returned due to the virtue, he planned to test his
daughter. One day, he took his daughter to the forest, and at the forest, he pretended to rape
her. At that time, his daughter cried and said:
The protector of my life

Have endured and worried for my happiness
Not want to commit the unvirtuous act
It is my great father
At the empty forest, without people
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However, the gods and the deities all know
I have no way to escape
So, I will sacrifice for the faithfulness
The fruits-seller, then, said to his daughter:” Dear daughter! I just wanted to challenge your
virtue and your faithfulness before giving you to get married with a noble man. I am pleased
with your attitude and your virtue.”
Then he took his daughter back to give her to get married with a noble man, and her daughter
was a faithful wife to keep her family wealthy and prospective.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the fruits-seller and his daughter were the
vegetable- seller and his daughter respectively, while the deity of the giant tree who observed
the study was him.
Jataka 103: Story of Veri

clever responsibility of Anathapindika.
One day, Anathapindka got to the village which was in the position of the village-leader. After
completed the works at the village, he got to the vehicle to return his house. When his vehicle
just got out of the village, he saw a crowd of people who gathered at the road-side and they
were intending to do something. As a wise man, Anathpindika rapidly knew that those men
were robbers, and they might plan to rob him. So, he said to the driver to drive without stopping
to return the town of Savatthi. When he and his servants got back to Savatthi safely, he paid a
visit to the Buddha and told the Buddha this event.
The Buddha, in this circumstance, said that:” The wise men, in the past, were similar to you in
the sensitive ability to predict and avoid the danger.”
In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was a rich man,
who was excellent in doing business. He also often donated his money to people in the rural
area. Due to his virtue, people often invited him for the ceremony in their villages. One day, he
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got a village in the rural area to join a ceremony, and when the ceremony was ended, he got
back. When his vehicle just got out of the village, he saw a group of men standing at the
roadside, looking at him with curiosity. With the clever skills in doing business, he guessed
they were the robbers and might plan to rob him. Hence, he told his driver to run the vehicle
without stop for the safety. Finally, they got to the town of Varanasi safely.
After taking shower with warm water, he enjoyed the luxurious food and drink, and the he
spoke the verse to praise of his wisdom:
At the dangerous places, with enemies

Wise men never stay for any reasons
Even stop by, one night or two nights
As residing with the enemies may generate dangers
Then the Bodhisattva tried to assist people as much as he could until he passed away.

headstrong monk who did not behave well with the regulation of the Sangha.
When he was brought to meet the Buddha, the Buddha advised him:” My beloved student!
Please try to behave well and change your headstrong attitude. Due to your headstrong
attitude, you encountered sufferings in the past life.”
In times gone by, there was a child who was born in a fishermen village, and when he was just
born, his family encountered terrible trouble and hunger. Not only that, his village was fired
for seven times and was punished by the king also for seven times. Also, the life of the people
in the village also was difficult as they could not catch any fish for living. Due to the difficult
condition, his father left his mother and him, and his mother took him to moonlight as a bagger
for living. When he turned seven, his mother also left him, and he was lucky to get the support
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from a virtuous and renowned master of the town of Varanasi. The master allowed him to study
with him without paying, but he had to work as a servant of the school.
After a few months, Mittavinda could not endure the learning regulation, so he left and got
married with an ugly woman in a rural village. Soon, due to his bad curse, his wife died due to
the serious sickness, and he made a bamboo board to travel on the sea to find for luck. While
floating on the sea, he first got to a golden palace to become the husband of 8 beautiful women.
Not satisfied, he left and got to the silver and crystal palace. At these places, he became the
husband of 16 and 32 beautiful women. However, he was not satisfied with his luck, and left
these places for other luck. However, his merit was over and he got to the hell under the sea.
After wearing the stone hat, he became a prisoner in hell and was crushed to death and then
revived countless times.
One day, a god paid a visit to hell for work, and Mittavinda, utilized this opportunity to ask for
the reason for his suffering. The god used his power to contemplate on the karma of Mittavinda
and then said: “ Due to your desire, you used all the merit cultivated in the past lives, and you
have only bad karmic seeds. You have to endure this suffering for countless lifespans with all
the cruel things you had generated to others in the past lives.”
Then the god left the hell to return to the 33rd heaven, and Mittavinda continued to be punished
in the hell.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that Mittavinda was the headstrong monk, while
the god entered the hell for work was him.
Jataka 105: Story of Dubbalakattha

who was extremely scared of death.
This man was born in a rich family in the town of Savatthi, and due to his fear of death, he was
ordained as a monk in the Sangha of the Buddha. However, after the ordination, he was still
scared of death. When he heard the sound of winds, of falling leaves, of broken things and even
the voices of people, he was threatened.
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When the Buddha knew the issue of this monk, he taught about the contemplation on death to
all the monks. The Buddha said:” Please contemplate that everything is impermanent and all
the phenomena are impermanent. Nobody can live forever.”
Then the Buddha advised the monks:” Don’t discriminate against this monk, as this feeling has
been his attitude for several lifespans.”
deity of a giant tree in the forest of Himalayas.
At that time, the king had an elephant which was scared of death, so it often ran around when
it heard the loud noise. The elephant-trainers, one day, tightened the elephant into a giant stake
to train it to be calm. However, the elephant, in extreme worry, broke all the tightened strings
and ran into the forest of Himalayas. The elephant-trainers could not take it back, so they left
it to live in the forest of Himalayas.
In the forest of Himalayas, the elephant was scared of death all the time. As the forest was
windy, the elephant heard the sounds of the trees-branches-rub all the time, and it was scared
to hide into the luxuriant bushes of trees. The deity of the giant tree was compassionate to the
elephant, so he appeared and said to the elephant:
The winds are blowing around

Making the branches rubbing together
Making the loud noise as you heard
If you worry, you will die soon
Due to the advice of the deity, the elephant got rid of the worry of death, and it gradually stayed
calm all the time.
Buddha, the monk who was scared of death, obtained first entering stream level. Finally, the
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Buddha identified that the scared elephant was the monk who was scared of death, while the
deity was him.
Jataka 106: Story of Udancani

monk who was attracted to the beauty of a girl so that he lost his determination in the dharma-
practice.
When the monk was brought to seek the assistance from the Buddha, the Buddha motivated
him:” Due to this woman, in the past, you encountered trouble and danger, so you have to try
to get rid of her.”
In times gone by, when king Brahamdatat was ruling Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was born in a
business family, and when he reached adulthood, he got married with a beautiful and moral
girl. Their lives were smooth and happy until his wife got a serious kind of sickness, and no
healing method to save her from the dangers of the sickness. Then, she died after years of
enduring the sickness.
After the death of his wife, Bodhisattva donated all the fortune to the people in need and his
relatives, and then he took his son, namely Cullapatasa, to the forest for ascetic life. The life in
the forest was smooth and calm, as the Bodhisattva still could find food easily by exchanging
the woods collected to the villagers, and his son grew up quickly.
One time, when his son got to the forest to collect fruits, he met a beautiful girl, and these
children fell in love with each other quickly. After several dates, the girl wanted to take the son
of the Bodhisattva to the village for the family life. One day, the son of Bodhisatta talked to
him:” Dear father. I have been in love with a girl in the village, and today, I will leave here to
build up a happy life with her. Please take good care of yourself.``
The Bodhisattva said:” Okay. My son! Enjoy your life, and when you get troubles. My cottage
welcomes you all the time.”
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The son of the Bodhisattva, then, got to the house of the girl to whom he loved to live. As he
did not have a fortune, the family of the girl considered him as the servant of the family. They
often required him to do all the work in the house. Also, at first, the girl loved him too much,but
as Time flies by, the girl also forced him to work hard to earn a living. One day, in his leisure
time, he thought of life with his father. So he spoke the verse:
The happiness in the life

Disappeared due to this woman
Being the servant to serve her all the time
The family life is the life with sufferings
After a few years, the son of the Bodhisattva escaped from the family life and returned the
monk life with his father. The Bodhisattva encouraged his son to cultivate four immeasurable
elements, loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity. They all were reborn into the
Brahma realm when they died.
Buddha, the monks achieved first entering stream level. Finally, the Buddha identified that the
young man Cullapatasa was the monk who was attached to the beauty of a girl, while the wise
ascetic monk was him.
Jataka 107: Story of Sàlittaka

killing act of a young monk to the geese flying in the sky. This monk, one day, got to the river
of Aciravati to take a bath with other monks, and when he saw two geese flying in the sky, he
picked up the stone at the river shore to throw toward the geese. Consequently, these geese fell
down to die.
Then, he was brought to meet the Buddha for a solution, when the Buddha knew his sin, the
Buddha advised all the monks to cultivate compassion to all kinds of beings. Then, the Buddha
said: “In the past, this man was also skillful about throwing things toward the targets.”
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In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, there was a talkative man who
worked as the celebrant of the king. Whenever he spoke out, nobody could suspend his talk
until he was tired. The king and other officials were annoyed by his attitude, but the king could
not dismiss him, due to his personal attitude, and as he was excellent in his skills. The king had
tried to find the methods to assist his celebrant to stop this annoyed behavior, but he failed to
do so.
One day, the king got to the garden of the palace together with his wise official for a stroll.
When they were about to arrive at a crowd of children, all the children who were gathered to
play ran away, but left an old man. This man was a legs-handicap man, so he could not move
quickly. Seeing the king, he just tried to pay respect in the most honorable way that he could.
The king was curious about the reason that the children gathered to play with this handicap
man, so the king looked around to see what they played. The king, then, saw a giant tree where
all the leaves were shot to break by stone, so the king asked the handicap man:” Please let me
know whether you shot those leaves?”
The handicap man replied, worried and nervous:” Dear majesty! Yes. I did.”
The wise official of the king then said to the king:” We can utilize this man to assist the
celebrant to get rid of his talkative attitude.?”
The king then asked:” How could we use this man for that purpose?”
The wise official then said to the handicap man:” we have an official who is too talkative and
we would like you to shoot the dry-goats-shits to his mouth whenever he talks from far distance,
and to keep him away from knowing this secret. We will prepare a bamboo hub of dry-goats-
shits for you.”
Then, the king ordered some soldiers to arrange for the handicap man a place to reside at the
palace. The next day, when the celebrant of the king got to the palace to work, the king managed
the handicap man with a hub of goats-shits hiding behind the curtain in the living room of the
palace, and then the king called the celebrant and some officials to get to the living room to
work. When the celebrant opened his mouth to talk, the handicap man used his skills to shoot
the goats-shits into his mouth, and as he enjoyed talking, he swallowed all the goats-shits. After
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the handicap shot all the goats-shits in the bamboo hub to the mouth of the celebrant, the king
called the celebrant and said:” You already swallowed a bamboo hub of dry goat-shits, and the
shit will make you difficult. Now, hurry to return and try to drink the condensed lemon water
as much as you can.”
The celebrant also felt that his stomach got trouble, so he hurried to return and drank the lemon
water to heal with the goats- shits. After that, the celebrant tried to keep silent as much as he
could. Then, the king gave great benefits to the handicap man, with the profits from the taxes
of four villages. The handicap man, then, enjoyed a luxurious life with the profits from the
taxes of people of four villages.
After telling the story the Buddha identified that the handicap man was the monk who killed
two geese, while the wise official was him.
Jataka 108: Story of Bahiya

The Buddha told this story at the Gabled Chamber at the Great Grove near Vaseli, and the
background of the story was related to the leader of the Licchavi tribe. When the Buddha and
monks came to this region, the Licchavi people were pleased to invite the Buddha and monks
for the offerings at their town. During the offering ceremony, the monks noticed that the wife
of the leader of the Licchavi tribe was too fat and not beautiful.
When the monks got back to the temple, and when they gathered at the dharma-hall to listen to
the teachings of the Buddha, the monks discussed the wife of the leader of the Licchva:” Dear
brothers. The king of Licchavi was handsome, virtuous and wise, but his wife was too fat and
is a frump, with terrible way of dressing.``
When the Buddha knew the figure of the talk of monks, the Buddha said that:” It is not in the
present time, but also in the past, he was like to get married to the fat woman.”
In times gone by, when king Brahmadata was ruling Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was the official
of the king. In the summer season, when the Bodhisattva and the king were standing on the
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high floor to cool off, they saw a fat woman who was on the way to travel across the palace.
At that time, she could not bear to pee, so she got to a luxuriant bush near to pee, during that
time, she carefully used her cloth to cover her body. And, then, the fat woman rapidly stood up
and continued her journey. The king saw her attitude, and he thought:” This woman was careful
to cover her body to get to pee, although she did not see anyone around. She is a virtuous one.
If I give her the throne of the queen, my children will embrace this virtue too.”
Then the king ordered the soldiers to detect the background of the fat woman, and after
knowing that the fat woman was still single, the king called her to the palace and gave her to
the throne of power of the queen. Soon, this fat woman gave birth to a son, and this prince was
wise and moral to be the future king of the nation.
One day, the Bodhisattva said to the king:” Dear majesty. To be careful of our actions is the
vital element of success. Similar to the queen, when got to pee but was careful to cover the
body. Due to this carefulness, she was given the throne of the queen.”

Learn the virtuous things as you can
Be careful to carry out your actions
Similar to a fat girl, careful to cover the body
Gaining luck to be the queen of the nation
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the king and the queen in the story were the
king and the queen of the Licchavi tribe, whereas the wise official was him.
Jataka 109: Story of Kundakapùva

offering of a poor man to the Buddha.
At that time, the people of Savathti often organized the annual offerings with the stuff and
money gathered from people living in one region or people living on one path. At one path of
the town of Savatthi, there was a poor man, and this man was not able to carry out any offering
even he really wanted. One day, people living in his region gathered the stuff and money to
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make offerings to the Buddha and the monks. This poor man, then, tried to collect all his red
rice, and crushed the rice into the powder. Then he made the cakes and grilled the cakes in the
hot charcoal. When the cakes were just ripe with an attractive smell, the poor man brought
them to offer the Buddha and the monk. On that day, the Buddha refused to receive the food
from anyone but his cakes.
This event was spread around, and the king Kosala and the rich sponsors got to ask the poor
man to give them the virtue of the offerings, and in return, they gave him lots of money. The
poor man was ignorant to make the right decision, so he ran to meet the Buddha to ask for the
right decision. Based on his question, the Buddha advised him that:'' You still can get the money
that they are willing to give you, but pray to the virtue of the offerings to all beings.”
The poor man followed the instruction of the Buddha, and then he became rich with the
donation money from the king Kosala and the rich sponsors of the Sangha. His story was spread
around, and the monks, the next day, discussed his story at the dharma-hall, when they got to
listen to the teachings of the Buddha. When the Buddha comprehended the figure of the talk of
monks, the Buddha said that : “ It is not in the present time, but also in the past, I received his
offerings and due to the virtue of offering, he became the storage-taker of the king.”
the deity of a palmcrist tree in a forest near to a village. At this village, people did not believe
any regions but the deities of the trees, so they often organized offerings to the deities of the
trees. On one occasion, when the villagers prepared luxurious foods and special drinks to give
to the deities of trees, a poor man also tried to make grilled cakes with red rice to offer the deity
of the giant palmcrist tree. When he took the cakes to the palm-crist tree, he thought that:'' The
deity will not eat these cakes that I am about to give him as the deities often enjoy luxurious
foods. It is better to take them back.``
Then the poor villager slowly walked back together with his cakes. At that time, the deity of
the palmcrist tree said to him:” Dear great man. Your offering is great as those are all of your
fortune. Please give me.”
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I receive all the things people offer
Even the offerings are good or bad,
The red cakes made of red rice are great one
Give it to me as your plan
Then the poor villager returned to offer the deity of the palmcrist tree with his red cakes. After
eating, the deity asked him:” What is your wish for this offering?”
The poor man:” I am too poor, so I hope this virtue can assist me to change my destiny.”
The deity said:” Around this palmcrist tree, there are lots of jewels, so now get to the palace
and inform the king to take these jewels to the palace. In return, the king will give you to work
as the storage-taker.``
The poor man followed the instruction of the deity and finally, he became the storage-taker of
the palace.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the poor villager was the poor man who
offered the red cakes to him, and the deity of the palmcrist tree was him.
Jataka 110: Story of Ummagga-jātaka

omniscient wisdom of the Buddha.
When the monks gathered at the dharma-hall, talking about the great virtue and great wisdom
of the Buddha, the Buddhe entered the dharma-hall, and knowing the figure of the talk of
monks, the Buddha said that:” It is not in the present time, but also in the past, when my
knowledge was not mature fully, I already cultivated the omniscient wisdom which could
benefits other beings during my Bodhisattva ways of practice.”
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In times gone by, when king Vedeha was ruling Mithila, the king had four great officials,
namely Senaka, Pukkusa, Kàvinda và Devinda. They are the most wise men in the nation. The
king paid great respect to them. One day, the king had a strange dream. In the dream of the
king, four fires at four corners of the palace are sparking around to shine all things around, but
the tiny fire at the center of the palace which was the miracle one. In a moment, from tiny fire,
it became a giant fire and reached the realm of 33rd. This fire was the light for all humans and
heaven beings.
When the king got up, he told this dream to four of his great officials, and based on the detail
of the dream of the king, Senaka said to the king:” This is a lucky dream. In the future, a great
man will appear and his wisdom will surpass the four of us. Not only that, he not only benefits
the humans but the beings of other realms.”
Soon after the conversation of the king and four officials, at one rich family in the East of
Mithila, there was a couple who had not had children. The husband was named Sirivaddhaka,
while the wife was named Sumanàdevi. They all are virtuous people, so, one day, they prayed
for a son. At that time, the Bodhisattva, from the 33rd heaven, descended to the stomach of the
wife. When the Bodhisattva was in the pregnancy, the Sakka descended and put into his hand
a branch of a miracle herd which could heal all kinds of sickness.
Soon, Sumanàdevi gave birth to a son, and when he was born, his mother was happy, calm and
healthy without pain. His mother was curious about the branch of the herd in his hand. At that
time, he said to his mother:” It is a miracle medicine which can heal all kinds of sickness. Just
use this herd to hit on the sick people, they will recover.
When he was one month old, his father named him Mahosadha, meaning the miracle medicine.
When Bodhisattva was seven, he had already exposed his great health and wisdom to others.
His wisdom was spread to the palace, and four great officials predicted he was the great man
in the dream of the king, so they asked the king to take him to the palace for education.
When the Bodhisattva turned adult, he helped the king to completed lots of difficult tasks, so
the king gave him to the be the general of the army. At this time, the jealousy from the four
great officials to him began, and they made some trouble to him. One day, Senaka met
Bodhisattva and asked:” Dear great man. I would like to know your perspective about the life,
so could you please tell me something?”
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The Bodhisattva said:” Residing in the true dharmas and cultivating good deeds.”
Senaka continued to ask:” And then?”
The Bodhisattva said:” Keep your desire and vows secret from others until they become true.”
Senaka was pleased and he planned to slander the king to expel the Bodhisattva from the palace.
So he immediately got to the main shrine to mee the king, and after paying respect, he told the
king:” Your great servant. Great wisdom is a liar, and he is planning to overtake the power
from you”
The king said:” I don’t believe you. Also, please don’t say everything badly about him if you
have no certain evidence.”
Senaka calmly said:” If you ask him about the personal plans, he will not tell you or others, as
he wants to make it realistic.”
One day, the king gathered five great officials together and asked them:
Five greatest men gathering here
Listening to my careful question
To whom, should I reveal my personal plans
Although good or bad?
Senaka said:
The majesty is the greatest in this earth

Five of us listening and sharing your burdens
Please tell us when you have any ideas
As we want to share together with you all
Pukkasa then said:”

Despite the age of young or old
With the elements of virtue
For those people, the secreted ones
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Should tell, although good or bad
The wise man, Kavinda said:
When the sons follow all the instructions of the king

With honesty and great wisdom
To these sons should reveal them the secret things
Although good or bad
The wise man, Devinda said:

Dear the majesty of the nation
If the mother is great with virtue and love
The children should tell the secret to their mothers
Although good or bad the secret things are
The Bodhisattva, Mahosadha, said:

With all the personal plans
Should not tell anyone, despite of the relationship
After the plans are completed
If others want, we can tell them the plans
At that time, the king was not pleased to look at Senaka, and Senaka also looked at the king
with secret things in their eyes. The Bodhisattva recognized the issue, so he immediately asked
the king to leave. During the night time, the Bodhisattva thought that: These four officials often
sat on the water pile at the garden to discuss something before leaving, so tomorrow, I will hide
under the water pile to listen to their plan.
The next day, the king called four great officials to meet him and he agreed to the plan of
Senaka to kill the Bodhisattva. Then, these four men got to the water pile for gossip before
leaving. Pukkasa asked the other:” Yesterday, you told the king that you can reveal the secret
things to others, so is it fine if we share with each other our beliefs?”
Senaka then said:'' Not long ago, I attracted a rich woman who was the owner of a flower store
in the town. One day, I invited her out for s stroll and I raped and killed her. Afterward, I stole
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all her fortune and put it on my high floor. I told one of my friends, and he still kept silent. So,
I told that we can tell the secreted thing to close friend.``
Pukkasa said:'' I have an injury at my thought and my injury has been revealed to only my
brother. Whenever I got to the palace, the king often asked me to put his head on my thoughts
as he used to as a child. If he knows that my thought Is having a terrible injury and he often
puts his head to the injury, he will kill me.”
Kivinda said:” In the dark time after the full moon days, I often get crazy to shout with the dog
barking sound. My son knows this issue, so he often closes the doors and orders the servants
to make loud noise to cover my secret things.”
Devinda said:” I was a storage-taker of the king, and I stole a wishing pearl of the king to give
to my mother. Whenever I get out for work, my mother returns the pearl to me. So, I am also
lucky with my work.”
Then, when four officials left, the Bodhisattva got out of the water pile and returned his house
to have dinner. Then he ordered the servants who took care of the gates:” If the servants from
the palace get here, please wake me up to receive the messages.”
That night, the king thought:” The great master began to work for me when he was seven, and
he had not generated any mistakes. Due to the hatred, I told the servant to kill him tomorrow.
I am not a good man.”
At that time, the queen Udumbari got to the room of the king, and the king told the queen about
the death of the Bodhisattva tomorrow. The queen tried to pacify the king and when the king
got sleep, the queen wrote a letter and asked a maiden to hurry to send to the Bodhisattva. After
reading the message from the queen, the Bodhisattva knew the plan of the king and four
officials, so the next morning, he did not get to the palace.
Then, in the early afternoon, with the great escort of the army, he got to the palace. At that
time, the king, the queen and four officials were on the high floors to observe the Bodhisattva.
The Bodhisattva got down from the vehicle, and then paid respect to the king. The king
thought:” If he still pays respect to me, he is not my enemy.”
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Then, the king invited Bodhisattva to the palace, and the king asked:” Why did you leave too
early yesterday?”
Bodhisattva said:” As you planned with these four officials to kill me, so I had to leave to avoid
death.”
The king heard this utterance from the Bodhisattva, the king knew that the queen already
revealed the secret plan to the Bodhisattva, so the king glanced at the queen with anger. At that
time, the Bodhisattva said to the king:” Dear majesty. Please don’t get angry with the queen as
I can know the past, present and future things of others. I even knew the secreted things of
these officials.``
Then the king told the king in detail the secret things of four officials and the king was angry
to put them into the prison. Then the Bodhisattva continued to advise the king to keep the secret
for himself:” Dear majesty. The secrets should not be told to women, the desired ones, the
sensitive, the ignorant, the talkative and the jealousy.”
Then the king gave the Bodhisattva the highest position of the palace, and the Bodhisattva,
with his great wisdom continued to work for Mithila until he passed away.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the wise official, namely Mahosadha, was
him.
Jataka 111: Story of Gadrabha-Panha

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the background of the story was related to the praise
of monks about the omniscient wisdom of the Buddha. When the Buddha heard the praise of
the monks for his wisdom, the Buddha said that:” It is not in the present time, but also in the
past, when my knowledge is not mature, I obtained the omniscient wisdom which could benefit
others.”
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This story was part of the story mentioned in the Jataka 110, about the omniscient wisdom of
the great official, Mahosadha of the king Mitthila, and this story was about the stage when the
Bodhisattva did not enter the palace to work for the king.
One day, the king Mitthila loved the wisdom and the cleverness of the Bodhisattva, so he often
mentioned his name in front of the four other officials. One day, the king asked Senaka:” Where
is my great pandit, Mahosadha?”
But, Senaka told the king:” His wisdom and knowledge are mundane, and there is nothing
special about him.”
The king thought:” Senaka is trying to convince me to neglect the great pandit, so I have to get
to the village myself to meet the great Pandit.”
Then the king together with soldiers planned to get to the village to bring the Bodhisattva to
the palace, but on the way to the village, the horse of the king got stuck into a hole on the road.
Then, the king had to return to the palace. At that time, Senaka arrived at the palace and told
the king:'' Please wait for time, if he is a true pandit, I will get to the village to take him here
for you.``
Time flies. A year later, the king continued to ask Senaka:” Where is my great pandit?”
Senaka said to the king:” If you want to meet him, send a messenger to his house and say that
the majesty wanted to pay a visit to you and on the way he got injured, so the majesty returned.
Now, please introduce a great man and a strong horse to the king. If he is wise, he will
understand what we mean, otherwise, just forget him.”
The king quickly sent the soldier to inform the Bodhisattva of the plan, and the Bodhisattva
knew that the king wanted to meet him and his father. Then the Bodhisattva met his father and
told him to prepare the delegation of 1000 businessmen to get to the palace to meet the king,
and he would be entered the palace after his father.
The father of the Bodhisattva brought a valuable box which was made of valuable woods and
1000 businessmen to enter the palace of the king. After paying respect and giving the king the
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gift, the king invited him to sit down in the prepared seat. Then the king asked:” Where is your
son, the great pandit?”
The father of the Bodhisattva said:” He is going to arrive here, dear majesty.”
At that time, the Bodhisattva together with 1000 children got to the palace on the vehicles
decorated with beautiful flowers. The people gathered on two sides of the road to observe the
Bodhisattva, and they praised the Bodhisattva:” That boy is the son of the millionaire,
Sirivaddhaka, and he was born with a branch of medicine. Also, he is wise to give proper
answers to all the questions the people challenge him.”
On the day, the Bodhisattva asked a servant to buy a donkey and tried to tighten the mouth of
the donkey before putting the donkey into the giant bed and carrying it to the palace. When the
Bodhisattva got to the main shrine of the palace, he paid respect to the king and then he looked
as his father as planned. Understanding the plan of the Bodhisattva, his father stood up to give
the chair he was sitting on to the Bodhisattva. At that time, the Bodhisattva sat on the chair of
his father, all the officials were happy as they thought the Bodhisattva was not a faithful son.
Also, the king was sad for the action of the Bodhisattva. The king said to the Bodhisattva:''
Dear my servant, the great pandit. It is not suitable to sit on the chair which is for your father.``
The Bodhisattva said:” Is the father always being better than the son?”
The king said:” Yes. The father is always greater than the son.”
Then the Bodhisattva called his servant to bring the donkey into the main shrine, and asked the
king:” Dear majesty. How much do you think about this monkey?”
The king quickly said:” If the donkey could work, it would be worth 8 coins.”
The Bodhisattva said:” If this donkey and a female Sindh horse live together and give birth to
a horse. How much is the value of that horse?”
The king, then, said:” It should be of countless value.”
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Then the Bodhisattva said to the king:” So, in this case, the value of the son should be greater
than the father.”
Then the Bodhisattva said to the king:” You wrote in the message to give you a wise man to
work in the palace. And now, if you value my father, he will work for you. However, if you
value my wisdom, I will work for you.”
At that time, the king and all the officials were pleased to the wisdom of the Bodhisattva. The
king then called the father of the Bodhisattva get close and pour the fragrant water to his hands,
saing:” Dear my great man. I will give the control of the northern town to you. All the people
in the eastern town are your citizens. Please let your son to stay here to work for me. From now
on, he will be my son. Do you agree?”
The father of the Bodhisatta was not pleased with the requirement of the king, so he said:” My
son is still too young, so he cannot live far from parents. Please wait for him to be an adult. At
that time, I will take him to the palace to work for you.”
The king still insisted:” Come on. I want to give him the greatest education and the luxurious
life. Please forget him. From now on, he is my son.”
Then Bodhisattva became the son of the king, and he tried to help the king to solve all the
difficult issues of the nations.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the wise man, namely Mahosadha, was him.
Jataka 111: Story of Gadrabha-Panha

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the background of the story was related to the praise
of monks about the omniscient wisdom of the Buddha. When the Buddha heard the praise of
the monks for his wisdom, the Buddha said that:” It is not in the present time, but also in the
past, when my knowledge is not mature, I obtained the omniscient wisdom which could benefit
others.”
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This story was part of the story mentioned in the Jataka 110, about the omniscient wisdom of
the great official, Mahosadha of the king Mitthila, and this story was about the stage when the
Bodhisattva did not enter the palace to work for the king.
One day, the king Mitthila loved the wisdom and the cleverness of the Bodhisattva, so he often
mentioned his name in front of the four other officials. One day, the king asked Senaka:” Where
is my great pandit, Mahosadha?”
But, Senaka told the king:” His wisdom and knowledge are mundane, and there is nothing
special about him.”
The king thought:” Senaka is trying to convince me to neglect the great pandit, so I have to get
to the village myself to meet the great Pandit.”
Then the king together with soldiers planned to get to the village to bring the Bodhisattva to
the palace, but on the way to the village, the horse of the king got stuck into a hole on the road.
Then, the king had to return to the palace. At that time, Senaka arrived at the palace and told
the king:'' Please wait for time, if he is a true pandit, I will get to the village to take him here
for you.``
Time flies. A year later, the king continued to ask Senaka:” Where is my great pandit?”
Senaka said to the king:” If you want to meet him, send a messenger to his house and say that
the majesty wanted to pay a visit to you and on the way he got injured, so the majesty returned.
Now, please introduce a great man and a strong horse to the king. If he is wise, he will
understand what we mean, otherwise, just forget him.”
The king quickly sent the soldier to inform the Bodhisattva of the plan, and the Bodhisattva
knew that the king wanted to meet him and his father. Then the Bodhisattva met his father and
told him to prepare the delegation of 1000 businessmen to get to the palace to meet the king,
and he would be entered the palace after his father.
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The father of the Bodhisattva brought a valuable box which was made of valuable woods and
1000 businessmen to enter the palace of the king. After paying respect and giving the king the
gift, the king invited him to sit down in the prepared seat. Then the king asked:” Where is your
son, the great pandit?”
The father of the Bodhisattva said:” He is going to arrive here, dear majesty.”
At that time, the Bodhisattva together with 1000 children got to the palace on the vehicles
decorated with beautiful flowers. The people gathered on two sides of the road to observe the
Bodhisattva, and they praised the Bodhisattva:” That boy is the son of the millionaire,
Sirivaddhaka, and he was born with a branch of medicine. Also, he is wise to give proper
answers to all the questions the people challenge him.”
On the day, the Bodhisattva asked a servant to buy a donkey and tried to tighten the mouth of
the donkey before putting the donkey into the giant bed and carrying it to the palace. When the
Bodhisattva got to the main shrine of the palace, he paid respect to the king and then he looked
as his father as planned. Understanding the plan of the Bodhisattva, his father stood up to give
the chair he was sitting on to the Bodhisattva. At that time, the Bodhisattva sat on the chair of
his father, all the officials were happy as they thought the Bodhisattva was not a faithful son.
Also, the king was sad for the action of the Bodhisattva. The king said to the Bodhisattva:''
Dear my servant, the great pandit. It is not suitable to sit on the chair which is for your father.``
The Bodhisattva said:” Is the father always being better than the son?”
The king said:” Yes. The father is always greater than the son.”
Then the Bodhisattva called his servant to bring the donkey into the main shrine, and asked the
king:” Dear majesty. How much do you think about this monkey?”
The king quickly said:” If the donkey could work, it would be worth 8 coins.”
The Bodhisattva said:” If this donkey and a female Sindh horse live together and give birth to
a horse. How much is the value of that horse?”
The king, then, said:” It should be of countless value.”
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Then the Bodhisattva said to the king:” So, in this case, the value of the son should be greater
than the father.”
Then the Bodhisattva said to the king:” You wrote in the message to give you a wise man to
work in the palace. And now, if you value my father, he will work for you. However, if you
value my wisdom, I will work for you.”
At that time, the king and all the officials were pleased with the wisdom of the Bodhisattva.
The king then called the father of the Bodhisattva to get close and pour the fragrant water to
his hands, saing:” Dear my great man. I will give control of the northern town to you. All the
people in the eastern town are your citizens. Please let your son to stay here to work for me.
From now on, he will be my son. Do you agree?”
The father of the Bodhisatta was not pleased with the requirement of the king, so he said:” My
son is still too young, so he cannot live far from parents. Please wait for him to be an adult. At
that time, I will take him to the palace to work for you.”
The king still insisted:” Come on. I want to give him the greatest education and the luxurious
life. Please forget him. From now on, he is my son.”
Then Bodhisattva became the son of the king, and he tried to help the king to solve all the
difficult issues of the nations.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the wise man, namely Mahosadha, was him.
Jataka 112: Story of Amaràdevi-Panha

This story was part of the series of stories about the pandit, Mahosadha. This story was related
to the wife of the Bodhisattva, namely Amara. The details of the story is told in Jataka 546.
One day, the king and the queen Udumbari already selected a faithful girl from a farm family
to be his wife. However, the Bodhisattva decided to challenge her virtue before marriage with
her. So, he disguised as a dresses-making man, and got to the house of the Amara house, the
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girl that the king and the queen Udumbari selected for him. Seeing that the family was poor,
he asked her mother:” I am a dress-maker, and if you don’t feel annoyed, I can help to prepare
all the clothes of your family members.?”
The mother of Amara said shyly:” But ,we have no money to give you.”
The Bodhisattva said:” It is okay. I will help you for free.”
Then, with special skills, in the morning, the Bodhisattva already prepared all the clothes of
the Amara family, and the Bodhisattva asked the mother of Amara to introduce others to give
the clothes to him to prepare. After a few days, the Bodhisattva completed preparing the clothes
for the villagers living in the region and he got 1000 coins from them. He gave all the money
to the parents of Amara and was required to be able to stay for a few days, proposing to observe
the faithfulness of Amara.
The next day, the Bodhisattva bought lots of rice and gave it to Amara, saying:” Could you
assist in making the cakes, ripened rice and porridge for us to eat.?”
Amara tried to cook with her skills, and the rice, cakes and porridge all had special taste and
smells. But, the challenge Amara, the Bodhisatta said:” The rice is not tasty. Don't you know
how to make rice?”
Amara was not angry, but said to the Bodhisattva:” If the rice is not tasty, then please try cakes
and porridge.”
The Bodhisattva all pretended that he was not satisfied with the cooking of Amara and left.
The day after, when Amara was taking bath at the river, the Bodhisattva ordered some male
servants to attract and play with Amara at the river, but Amara all refused to enjoy playing with
them. Then, the Bodhisattva ordered the servants to catch Amara to his place and was pretended
to rape her. At that time, Amara smiled and cried. The Bodhisattva asked: “ Why do you cry
and smile at the same time?”
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Amara said:” I smile as I am pleased for you for good deeds cultivated in the past, so you are
rich. However, I cry as you are doing bad luck for your destiny, and I cry for myself for being
broken by virtue by your bad act.”
The Bodhisattva then ordered the servants to return Amara to the river. The next day, he left
the house of Amara to the palace and told the king and the queen Udumbari about the
faithfulness and the virtue of Amara. The king ordered servants to use luxurious vehicles to
take Amara to the palace to get married with the Bodhisattva. After the marriage, Amara was
wise to assist the Bodhisattva with various tasks.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the Mahosadha was him, while Amara was
the mother of Rahula.
Jataka 113: Story of Sighala

The Buddha told this story at Bambbo-Grove, and the background of this story was related to
the lies of Devadatta to the Buddha and the Sangha.
After departing from the Sangha of the Buddha, Devadatta often took 500 monks to Gayãsĩsa,
and they tried to convince people to believe their slanders about the Buddha. They said that the
Buddha did not follow the rules strictly, and his Sangha would be the only one which practiced
the Sila and dharmas well.
When the monks informed the Buddha about this issue, the Buddha said that:” It is not in the
present time, but also in the past, he was likely to slander others for his benefits.”
In times gone by, when king Bramadatta was ruling Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was born as a
deity which lived in a giant tree in a cemetery. At that time, in one occasion of the year, the
people of the town often made the offering rituals to the Yakshas and deities and they often put
the offering foods at the intersections and the corners of the roads. One day, during this
occasion, the people put the foods everywhere to give the Yakshas and the deities.
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Wanting to eat these foods, a jackal, following the gully, from the cemetery to the town, to get
to the town to eat the foods. After enjoying the food and the drinks, the jackal got a bush to
sleep and as it slept the whole night, when it woke up, it was morning. The jackal could not get
out of the town, as people and other dogs would kill it. So, it ran to a bush of trees near a pond
to hide itself carefully.
At that time, a man got to the pond to wash his hands and his face. The jackal thought:” Humans
are greedy, so I will deceive this man to bring me to the cemetery.”
Then the jackal said to the man in a human voice:” Dear Brahmin. Could you please help me,
and I will give you 200 golden coins?”
The man looked around, but he did not see anybody. At that time, the jackal got out of the bush
and said:” I am talking to you. If you take me out of the town, getting to the cemetery, I will
show you the place where I hid 200 golden coins.”
The man was greedy for the money, so he agreed. The man used his clothes to cover the jackal
and took the jackal out of the town, getting to the cemetery. At that cemetery, the jackal told
the man to put his cloth on the ground and told him to dig the soil around a tree to find the
golden coins. During the time, the man was digging the ground, the jackal defecated on the
cloth, and ran to the forest. The man was tired after digging the ground, and he stopped to look
at his clothes. He was sad to be deceived by the jackal, so he left the cemetery.
The deity of the giant tree said to the man:
Believing the promise of the jackal

You are greedy to cover your wisdom
200 golden coins are not received
But, the defecation of the jackal
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the jackal was Devadatta, while the deity was
him.
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Jataka 114: Story of Mitacinti
laziness of two old monks who lived outside Jetavana.
These two old monks lived in a forest during the rainy retreat, and after the rainy retreat, they
planned to return to Jetavana to visit the Buddha. They prepared the foods and drinks for the
journey, but afterward, they could not depart for the journey for personal reasons. They
postponed the visit to Jetavana for three months, and finally, they got back to Jetavana to visit
the Buddha. After paying their respects to the Buddha, the Buddha asked them the reason for
being late to return. They honestly told the Buddha their reason, and the Buddha said that:” It
is not in the present time, but also in the past, these two monks were attached to their location
so that it was difficult to them to leave.``
In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, there were three fishes which
lived in the region of the Varanasi River. The region where they lived was located in the forest,
so they did not know the danger of the human world. One day, they got to the corner of the
river located at the center of the town. After staying for a few days, a wise fish among those
said:” It is dangerous to us to stay here for long, so we have to return immediately.”
However, two other fishes were attached to the scenery of the river region at the center of the
town, so after three months, they still were not able to return to their location. One day, on the
way to find a place to live, two fishes which were attached to the scenery of the town, were
stuck into the net of the fishermen. At that time, the wise fish thought:” I have to save my
friends.``
So, the wise fish tried to use its mouth to hold and push the net down and then it rapidly swam
down to the bottom of the river. At that time, the fishermen thought that the fishes had already
escaped from the net, so they released the string of the net and pushed the net on. At that time,
two fishes quickly swam out of the net. Then, they quickly swam back to their location in the
forest.
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After telling the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths, and two old monks obtained
first entering stream level. Finally, the Buddha identified that the two fishes which were
attached to the scenery of the town of Varanasi were two old monks, while the wise fish was
him.
Jataka 115: Story of Anusàsika

Bikkhuni.
This Bikkhuni lived in a region that had no other monks or nuns, so she got lots of stuff and
things from the people of this region. One day, to worry that other monks or nuns would get to
her region to get alms, so she went to meet other monks and nuns to tell lie that:” There is an
aggressive elephant which tend to attack the monks and nuns who get to the region to get alms.”
To worry about the attack of the aggressive elephant, all the monks and nuns did get to this
region to get alms. So, for a long time, this Bikkhuni enjoyed the offerings of the people of this
region. However, one day, on the way to get alms, she was attacked by an aggressive goat and
got injured in her legs. Nobody took care of her, so the villagers brought her to the region of
the Bhikkhunis for care. Some nuns were curious to ask her:” Why did you still get there for
alms after cautioning others to avoid that region?”
Her secret soon was spread around and the monks who lived in Jetavana, one day, discussed
this issue at the dharma-hall, and after the Buddha comprehended this issue, the Buddha said
that:” It is not tin the present time, but also in the past, she was likely to advice others to avoid
doing something but she often committed to do those.”
as a bird living near to the palace of the king. With the special potential, the Bodhisattva, soon,
became the king of all the birds that lived in the region. The flock of birds often got around to
find food and they gathered to live in the garden in the town. Among the birds of the
Bodhisattva, there was a greedy bird which often flew to the farms in which there were lots of
seeds to eat. To worry, other birds would get to this region to eat the seeds, so this bird often
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cautioned all the other birds to get to her region to get food. She said:” In that region, the
vehicles are pushed by the cows and horses, so, if we are not careful, we will get injured by the
vehicles.”
So, she enjoyed the abundant foods for a long time. However, one day, when she was enjoying
eating seeds of rice, she was not careful to avoid a vehicle pushed by the horses. Consequently,
she injured her legs and could not fly back to the net. In the afternoon, the king of birds did not
see her, so he ordered other birds to get there to investigate. When they got to the farms which
she often got to find food, they saw she was injured, so they tried to assist her to move to a safe
bush and returned to inform their king about the injury of the greedy bird. The king of birds,
after knowing her issue, said:” She cautioned others to get to that location to find food, but she
often got there to find food.”
Those advise others from the greed

But keep chasing the desire
Consequently, getting injury seriously
Waiting in the bush to wait for death
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the greedy bird was the greedy nun, while the
king of birds was him.
Jataka 116: Story of Dubbaca

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the background of the story was related to a monk
who was headstrong to follow the regulation of the Sangha.
When he was brought to the Buddha for assistance, the Buddha said to this monk:” Dear my
beloved student. Due to your headstrong attitude, in the past, you did not listen to the wise men,
so you got serious.”
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in an acrobatic dance family, and when the Bodhisattva grew up, he was an excellent acrobatic
dancer, after following a great master in acrobatic skills. Bodhisattva surpassed the skills of his
master. He could dance on five sharp stakes, while his master just could dance on four sharp
stakes. For a living, they often traveled around to perform to entertain people.
One day, the master of the Bodhisattva in high motivation decided to dance on five sharp stakes.
Bodhisattva worried for the safety of his master, so he advised:” Master. You have never
danced on five sharp stakes, so this performance is dangerous to you.”
The master of the Bodhisattva did not listen to the advice of him, so he conducted the
performance on five sharp stakes. Consequently, he was careless enough to fall down from the
stakes and get injured. Seeing the master got injury, the Bodhisattva spoke the verse:
Not listening to my advice

Doing the things which is overcontrolled
You ignored my careful advice
Arrogant to do what you have never done
As the consequence, you got injury
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the master who got injured was this
headstrong monk, while the wise and careful student was him.

Kokalika.
The Buddha said to the monk:” It is not in the present time, but also in the past, he was greedy
and got injured.”
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in a town in the east-western area of India. When he grew up, he went to Takkasila to study the
Vedas and skills. After graduation, he decided to leave the family for the ascetic life in the
forest. With diligence, he soon obtained all the fruits of the meditation practice, and became
the master of 500 monks in the region.
Among his students, there was a talkative monk, who often talked without thinking of the
thoughts of others. One day, he went to the cottage of a monk who was suffering due to the
yellow-fever for a visit. When he got to the cottage of his friend, the monk who got yellow-
fever was trying to chop wood with an ax. The talkative monk then stood by, showing his friend
to chop in various ways. To annoyed by the talkative utterance, the monk who got yellow-fever
used the ax in hands to attack the talkative monk and consequently, he got injury in the
legs.This news was informed to the Bodhisattva and the Bodhisattva tried to heal the injury of
the talkative monk.
Near the cottage of the Bodhisattva, there was a partridge bird which often parked on a termite
nest, singing loudly in the afternoon. One day, the hunters crossed this region and to hear the
singing of the partridge bird, they shot it. The Bodhisattva knew about the death of the partridge
bird, he spoke the verse:
Saying too much is not good

Talkative monk got injury
The partridge was shot to death
Wise ones only say in the appreciate time
Then the Bodhisattva advised his students to cultivate four immeasurable elements, and they
were reborn into the Brahma realm after they passed away.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the monk who was attacked by the yellow-
fever monk was Kokalika, while the master of the 500 monks was him. And, 500 monks were
the students of the Buddha.

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the background of this story was related to the son
of the millionaire, Uttara.
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At the town of Savatthi, there was a millionaire, namely Uttara, who was a generous man. He
had a son who was virtuous and kind to others. His son also was handsome, similar to the
beings of the Brahma realm.
When his son grew up, he did not attach to the women but only charity works. Some of his
close friends, during a Kattika festival, arranged for a beautiful girl to enjoy the festival with
him. After finding them, they found a daughter of a maiden family, and this girl was extremely
beautiful. After talking with the parents of the girl, they took her on a date with the son of
Uttara.
Despite the beauty of the girl, the son of the millionaire Uttara was still not attached to her. The
beautiful girl tried to show her beautiful teeth and smile, but the son of Uttara was still not
attractive to her. After a while, he gave some money to her and she left. On the way back, a
rich man loved her beauty, so he invited her to date him. So, he stayed with this rich man for
seven days.
During this time, her parents were worried for her safety, so they got to the house of Uttara to
ask for her, and they took the son of Uttara to the palace of the king as he was accused for the
loss of their daughter. The king, then, decided to give the penalty of death to the son of Uttara,
and in the dangerous moment, he thought that:” The family life is linked to dangers, so if I can
escape from this death, I will ordain as monk in the Sangha of Gotama for enlightenment. ”
The punishment for the son of Uttara was spread around the town, and the beautiful daughter
rapidly went to the palace to explain their loss, as she did not want to see the son of Uttara
being dead. Then, the son of Uttara left his family to be a monk in the Sangha of the Buddha,
and with diligence in the practice, he soon obtained the Arhathood. One day, the monks
gathered at Dharma-hall, talking about his journey to escape from death and to obtain
Arhathood. When the Buddha entered the Dharma-hall and when the Buddha comprehended
the figure of the talk of monks, the Buddha said:” In the past, the wise men, in the dangerous
moments, also thought of the right methods which could lead them to freedom.”
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quail which lived in the farms near to a village. At that time, villagers often put the traps around
the farms to catch the quails. And, he fed the quail with food and when the quails became fat,
he sold the quails in the markets. One day, the Bodhisattva was caught and was fed together
with other quails. Bodhisattva noticed that all the fat quails were taken away, so he planned to
skip eating. Due to the diet, the Bodhisattva became weak and thin, so the villagers released
him. The Bodhisattva rapidly flew back after being released.
When he returned to the farms, other quails wondered:” How could you escape from the
hunter?”
The Bodhisattva said:” I did not eat and drink, and due to this, I became weak to be released as
they need the fat quails to sell to the markets.”
Contemplation on the phenomena

Figuring out the method to escape from danger
With the results of contemplation
I escaped from danger and death
Then the Buddha identified that the wise quail was him.
Jataka 119: Story of Akàlaràvi

who did not follow the regulation of the Sangha, but acted in his own way. So, he often stayed
up or woke up late to make loud noises at night times.
Other monks were annoyed and disturbed by him, and one day, they could not bear their minds
to tell the Buddha this issue. When he was brought to meet the Buddha for help, the Buddha
said to the monk:” It is not in the present time, but also in the past, he was arrogant to do what
he wanted. Consequently, he was injured to death.”
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In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was born to a
Brahmin in northern India. When he grew up, he went to Takkasila to study, and with excellent
skills and knowledge obtained from the study, upon graduation, he became a renowned master,
with the annual number of students learning reached to over 500. At the school of the
Bodhisattva, to know the time to get up to study, they fed some roosters and then got up when
the roosters began to crow. Then, all the roosters got old and died, and they tried to feed the
other rooster to wake them up in the morning.
One day, a student of the Bodhisattva picked up a rooster which lived in the forest to feed as
this rooster was robust. However, this rooster doesn't crow in the early morning only, but it
crew whenever it had preferred. Sometimes, it crew at midnight, but sometimes in the early
morning. When this rooster crew at the midnight, the students also got up as they thought it
was approaching morning. Long time, they were exhausted due to these unscheduled routines.
One student was angry to the rooster and in the extreme anger, he got to the trap of the chickens
to kill this rooster by his hands.
Then, they told the Bodhisattva about their trouble generated from the rooster, and the death of
the rooster. The Bodhisattva spoke the verse to illustrate his idea:
No parents to educate well

The suitable time to crow
The rooster crew whenever it wanted
It led to its trouble to death
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the rooster which crew in wrong time was
this monk, while the renowned master was him. The students of the renowned master were
students of the Buddha.
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Jataka 200: Story of Bandhanamokkha
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the background of this story was related to Cinca
who followed the instruction of the monks of another lineage to slander the Buddha to make
her pregnant.
In this circumstance, the Buddha told the monks:” It is not in the present time, but also in the
past time, she was likely to slander me with unreal things.”
In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was the son
of the celebrant of the king, and thus, after his father passed away, he continued to work for
the king as the celebrant for the rituals and festivals.
The king had a beautiful queen, so, one day, due to the attachment to the beauty of the queen,
the king said to his queen:” I will give you a wish, so whatever you wish, I will make it real.”
The queen looked at the king:” I have no desire, but the majesty just loves only me.”
As the king had a total of 16 thousand maidens, he denied this wish. Nevertheless, with
perseverance in insisting and the beauty, the queen made the king have to carry out her wish.
So, the king just associated with the queen and neglected all other maidens.
One day, there were rebels who attacked the people of the neighboring area, and the king
wanted to take the army to defeat the rebels. Thus, the king said to the queen:” I have to get the
army to the neighboring area to wipe out the rebels, and the battle is not the suitable place for
women, although I want to take you there. Please take good care of yourself.”
The queen said to the king:” I know. So, please send the messengers to inform me of your
situation on the way to the battle and back from the battle, as I hope to know your news
constantly.”
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Then the king departed the town with his great force, and he sent the solders to inform his
queen his situation whenever he stopped for rest, and when the queen was greed to the sexual
act, so she could not bear her mind to attract the news-sender to enjoy the love with her. Thus,
on the way getting to the battle, the king sent totally 32 solders to inform his situation to his
queen, and these 32 solders were attractive by the queen to have sex with her. On the way back,
the king also sent totally 32 soldiers to inform his situation to his beloved queen, and the queen
also convinced them to have sex with her.
When the king was about to arrive at the palace, the king sent a servant to inform the
Bodhisattva to decorate the palace and to prepare the ceremony to celebrate the victory of the
king to the rebels. During the time the Bodhisattva worked in the palace, the queen often
crossed through his working place, and to desire the handsomeness of the Bodhisattva, the
queen called him and said:” Dear my beloved servant. Please enjoy the sexual desire with me.”
The Bodhisattva denied, saying:” Dear madam. It is not suitable to do it with you as I really
respect the majesty.”
The queen smiled and said:” 64 soldiers who came here to inform me of the situations of your
majesty already enjoyed this favor with me, although they also respect the majesty. It is not a
connection between respect and doing this favor with each other.”
The bodhisattva said:” They are ignorant to do this, but I know what is wrong and what is
right. I cannot do it with you.``
The queen then said to the Bodhisattva:” If you leave this room without my satisfaction, you
will be killed soon.”
Despite the threat of the queen, the Bodhisattva left the room of the queen and prepared to
welcome the king. The queen was angry at the Bodhisattva, so she tried to injure herself and
tear off her clothes. Then she laid down on the bed to pretend to be raped by someone. When
the king arrived at the palace, he rapidly got to the room of the queen and to see his beloved
queen in the messy condition, he asked:” What happened to you, my beloved honey?”
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The queen said to the king with the scary voice:” During the time you were not here, the
celebrant got to the palace to work and he tried to rape me. And, he punished me terribly. I
don’t want to continue to live with this insult. “
The king was extremely angry, so he got out of the room of the queen and called the soldiers:”
Get to the house of the celebrant and take him to the center of the town to kill him quickly.”
A group of soldiers quickly got to the house of the Bodhisattva, and tightened him tightly as a
dangerous criminal, and escorted him to the center of the town. At that time, the Bodhisattva
knew that the queen slandered him to the king to kill him, so he planned to escape from death.
He said to the soldiers:” Please take me to the king first. You all know, I am the celebrant of
the king, and I hide a big fortune from the festivals and ceremonies. I would like to show the
king the location where I hid this fortune before my death.”
When the king said to the Bodhisattva, the king said:” I have given you the special treat as I
gave your father as I thought you are moral, just similar to your father. However, you raped
the queen. So, why do you come here?”.
The Bodhisattva said to the king:” I was born in a celebrant family, and I have cultivated to
keep strictly five precepts. I have not even killed an insect. I have never taken the property of
others. I have never looked at the wives of others with desire. I have never told lies for my
benefits. I did not rape the queen, but the queen used her power to force me to enjoy her desire,
but I denied. Before me, 64 news senders who informed your situations to the queen already
had sex with her. “
The king was angry to call 64 soldiers who moonlighted as the news-senders to the queen, and
with the punishments, they had to agree that they had sex with the queen. Then, in extreme
anger, the king said:” Okay. So, kill all these men for me, and the queen as well.”
The Bodhisattva rapidly suspended the king:” Dear majesty. They were forced to do it. They
had no way to escape from the queen. Also, sexual desire is the nature of human. The queen
could not bear her desire to do so. As you are at the battle, she needs someone to satisfy her.
“
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Then the king was calm enough to expel the king out of the place, but managed a well-
conditioned place for her to stay. The king also forgave to the soldiers who enjoyed the sex
with his queen, but moved them to work in the neighboring area.
On the judgment of the king, the Bodhisattva spoke the verse:
The ignorant and greedy utterances

Just want to harm others
The utterances of the virtuous and wise men
Releasing the trouble and dangers to others.
Then the bodhisattva asked the king to allow him to leave the job for the ascetic life in the
forest. After getting the approval of the king, Bodhisattva went to a forest to live as an ascetic
monk, and with diligence in the practice, he soon obtained the fruits of meditation.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the queen was Cinca, while the wise celebrant
was him.
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Chiang Mai
Completed on 21 November 2021
Chapter Two
Jatakamala Volume II: Story 121-263
Story 83: Story about Kalakanni (Having Bad Luck)
Anathapindika. Kalakanni and Anathapindika were friends to each other, and they studied
together with the same teachers and same program. However, Kalakanni was not lucky, and
was in poverty. Hence, Kalakanni had to find Anathapindika to rely on Anathapindika. After
knowing the story of Kalakanni, Anathapindika tried to pacify him, and gave him to become
his manager.
During the time working and living in the house of Anathapindika, Kalakanni often heard
scornful words, such as “Stop walking. Hey, having bad luck”, “Sit down. Having bad luck”,
and “Eat. Hey, having bad luck!”
When other friends and relatives of Anathapindika paid a visit to his house, they all advised
Anathapindika: “Dear great millionnaire! Please, don’t let this unlucky guy live in your house.
He is not equal to you in any aspect. He is poor and destitute. Why do you keep him working
for you, and why do you consider him as your friend?”
Anathapindika: “Dear all. Please don’t consider the characteristics of a person through the
name. The name is the way to identify a person. Wisdom people will not value or look down on
people through their names. Also, please, don’t be confused that lucky or luckless, a person is
not due to the meaning of his name.”
One day, Anathapindika left home for his business in a village where he was appointed as the
manager. The robbers living nearby knew that Anathapindika left home, and they planned to
rob Anathapindiaka’s house. Luckily, Kalakanni predicted that the robbers would arrive that
night, so he did not sleep to wait for the robbers. When the robbers were coming, Kalakanni
woke other staff up, and they tried to beat the drums, blowing the horns loudly.
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Hearing the loud noise from Anathapindika’s house, the robbers were threatened to drive back,
and they left behind many robbery tools. In the morning the next day, workers of Anathapindika
found many robbery tools surrounding the house. They praised Kalakanni: “If there was no
manager who is intelligent like you, the millionaire might lose their property to the robbers.”
When Anathapindika returned home, he was informed what happened, and he said: “Dear all.
It was lucky that I did not listen to your suggestions to expel Kalakanni, otherwise, I would
have lost my property to the robbers yesterday. So, be remembered that the meaning of the
name is nothing, but his mind”
Anathapindika decided to pay more salary for Kalakanni, and he went to the Buddha and told
him everything.
Buddha told Anathapindika:” Hey Anathapindika. It is not only today, but in the past, a person
named Kalakanni also saved his friend's property.”
“The story was about the time King Bramadatta was the king of Varanasi. At that time, a person
named Kalakanni also saved the property of his friend, a millionaire. In that period, Kalakanni
was Ananda, and the millionaire was me.”
Story 121: Story of Kasunali or the story of Kusa Grass
Anathapindika. Other friends and relatives of Anathapindika all tried to advise him to make
friends with that guy.
They advised him: “This guy is unworthy of being your friend for races, family background,
inherited family fame and property.”
Anathapindika: “A good friendship is not due to anything among those.”
Anathapindika ignored all the suggestions and claims of others on Kalakanni, and he invited
Kalakanni to be the manager for his family. Kalakanni helped to rescue Anathapindika’s
property from the robbers as mentioned in the story No 83 (Story about Kalakanni).
The story of Kalakanni and Anathapindika, afterward, passed on to the Buddha, and the Buddha
said: “Hey! Anathapindika! A real friendship is not able to compare by any normal aspect, but
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by the willingness and kindness to protect each other. A real friend is over any kind of property
that you possess, as a real friend is willing to solve all problems that you have encountered.
Today, due to your real friend, Kalakanni, you could save your property.”
Buddha continued: “On this occasion, I am going to tell you all a story about the real friendship
of the deity of Kusa grass and a tree deity.”
“Once upon a time, when the king Bramadhatta governed the county of Varanasi, I was born
as a deity of Kusa grass in the garden of the palace of the king. Not far from my place, there is
a wishing tree which is planted near to the stone-chair that the king often gets to sit there. There
is a deity living in that wishing tree, and this deity was the afterlife of a great king in the past.
I and that deity were close friends to each other.
One day, one of the major pillars which held up for the stand of the palace was ruined, and the
king gathered all the carpenters working in the palace to find a big, solid tree to replace that
ruined pillar.
The carpenters walked toward ten directions to find the suitable tree, and they returned to
inform the king that: “Dear Sir! We already had a look around your garden, and we found out
that the wishing tree is available for use on this purpose.”
The King:” Take it easy! Let's cut it and alternate the ruined pillar. I will order people to plant
the new one.”
Carpenters brought the offerings to the wishing tree, and announced to the deities living in the
tree that they will cut the tree down tomorrow. The female deity, living in the wishing, at that
night, worried for her and her children would have no place to reside. The female deity carried
a child on the back, crying, and it made other deities living around get to pacify her. The deity
of Kusa grass confidently said:” Don’t worry. I will try to save this tree for you.”
The day after that, when the carpenters backed to cut the tree, the deity of Kusa grass
manifested as a gecko, attracting the attention of the carpenters. Then, the gecko moved to the
root of the wishing tree, entering a hole from the root, and appeared from a hole from the body
of the tree. Kusa deity made carpenters think that the wishing tree was hollow.
A carpenter:” Oh, it seems that this wishing tree is hollow, and it does not have a solid core.
So, better. We should find the other one.”
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After the carpenters left, all the deities living around gathered to congratulate the deity of the
wishing tree, and on that occasion, the deity of the wishing tree expressed her opinion to others
and to idolized Kusa deity: “Dear all friends. We were born in good places and have more
powers than the deity of Kusa grass. However, we are not as smart as the deity of Kusa grass,
as he could calmly save my house. Therefore, we have to respect all friends who are the same,
higher or lower than us in powers, position or other aspects of life, as a real friend can assist
us to get rid of difficulties when we encounter.”
The deity of the wishing tree continued to sing a verse:
A real friend is overcome all the things
Such as the races, powers and positions
Close friends tend to stay together with us in the difficulties
Similar to the deity of Kusa saved my house
Therefore, no discrimination for a real friend
As their contribution for us is the most important
The deity of the wishing tree and deity of Kusa lived long, and when their lives were exhausted,
they were reborn based on their karma.
After telling the story, Buddha recognized that the deity of the wishing tree was Ananda, and
the deity of Kusa grass was me.
Story 122: The Story of The Fools (Previous life of Dummedha)
The Buddha told this story at Bamboo-Grove and the background of the story was related to
the assassination of Devadatta to the Buddha.
In the main-Dharma Hall, monks gathered and talked about the bad actions of Devadatta: “Dear
friends! When Devadatta looked at the Buddha, who has the beautiful face as the beauty of the
full moon on the sky, who has 32 perfection signs and possesses 80 distinctive beauties, who
has the distinctive halo which sparks out continuously in harmony and compassion, he,
Devadatta, was not able to control his jealousy and could not calm his mind when heard the
utter of others praising the perfection of Buddha on wisdom, concentration and disciplinary
acts.”
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Then the Buddha arrived at the Dharma-Hall, and he asked the monks: “Monks! What are you
talking about?”
A monk revealed to the Buddha what they talked about, and, then, after knowing the issue of
the monks’ utter, Buddha said:” Not only in this life, but also in the past life, Devadatta already
showed his jealousy to me.”
And the, Buddha told a story:
Once upon a time, when the king Magadha was ruling the county of Rājagaha, there was born
a white elephant, with all perfect and distinctive signs of beauty. And, king Magadha was
appointed it to be the national king of the elephant in the county.
One day, during the national festival, all the corners of the county were decorated elegantly
and beautifully as the heaven. King Magadha was sitting on the while-elephant, marching
around the county. Wherever the king went through, people stood crowded on both sides of the
road, watching the elegance of the king and the white-elephant.
Many people were surprised by the beauty of the white-elephant that the king rode:” Its traits
are delightful and charming, and graceful were its moves. Such elephants should belong to the
universal king. “
All the praises of people’ utterance to the white elephant extremely made king Magadha raise
up his jealousy, and not being calm, king Magadha thought: “Today I will pull this elephant
down a deep side of the mountain to end its life.”
King Magadha called the elephant-trainer and asked: “Is this elephant well-trained?”
The trainer: “Yes. It was well-cultivated. Sir”
King: “I thought it was not well-training. Was it?”
The trainer: “No. I would say that it already was well-educated”
King: “If it was well-trained, could it climb up Mount Vepulla?”
The trainer: “Sure. It could.”
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After taking off from the elephant, the king Magadha asked the trainer to ride the elephant to
climb up the mount Vepulla, and then king Magadha and his officials also climbed up to the
mount Vepulla. Seeing the white-elephant was on the edge of the mount, the king said to the
trainer:” Let it stand on three legs only.”
The trainer showed the signal by hands, making the elephant stand by only three legs, but the
king was unsatisfied. He continuously requested: “Let it stand on two front legs only.”
The elephant successfully stood on two front legs easily. The king said to the trainer:” Well.
Well. Okay. Now. Let it stand on two back-legs only”
The elephant, right after that, stood up calmly with only two back-legs. The king succeeded:
“Okay. Well done! Now let it stand on only one leg. Could it?”
The elephant was well performed, standing on the edge with only one leg. But the king did not
stop his desire to kill the elephant, so he requested:” Great. Great! Now. Let it stay in the air
with no legs supporting”
The trainer, at that time, realized the bad intention of the king, so he bent forward the head of
the elephant, whispering to the ear of the elephant:” Hey Friend. This bad king wants to kill
you by making you fall down from this mount, so if you have power, please take me, heading
to Benares. This king does not deserve to be your owner anymore.”
The elephant, at that time, used its distinctive power to stay in the thin air, and the trainer
happily said to the king Magadha: “Dear King. This elephant has distinctive traits and powers,
and it should not belong to a foolish king, such as you. It should belong to the great king, with
the full cultivation of merit. If a foolish person possessed this elephant, he would destroy its
distinctive characteristics.” And the trainer continued to sing the verse:
If the pools have powers and frames
They generate dangers for themselves
Not only that
Causing danger to others
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Then the trainer said to the king:” Okay. It should end here. Goodbye Sir. “Right after that, the
elephant, having the trainer on its back, flew to Benares. When the elephant arrived at the
palace of the king of Benares, it kept in the thin air, in front of the main hall of the palace.
People of Benares were extremely excited, and they talked to each other: “The valuable
elephant flew here, and was waiting for our king.” And some immediately informed the king
about this extraordinary event. King of Benares went out of the palace, heading toward the
elephant and the trainer and said:” If you all came here for the benefits of this country, then
please land off.”
The elephant landed off and the trainer took off the elephant, paying respect to the king of
Benares. King of Benares: “Where are you from?
Trainer:” We are from Rājagaha.”. And the trainer explained everything to the king of Benares.
King of Benares: “Your comings are a lucky sign for our country.”
Then, king Benares ordered people to redecorate the city, and made a ceremony to assign the
white elephant to be the national king elephant of Benares. Not only that, the king, later on,
divided the country into three parts. Two parts were under ruling of the elephant-trainer and
the elephant itself, whereas the king of Benares only ruled the rest one. However, his power
and territory were growing rapidly after the arrival of the elephant, and he soon became the
Emperor of India. For the rest of his life, he stayed focused on cultivating merit by doing
charitable and good works, until passing away.
After telling the story, Buddha recognized that in that period, the king of Magadha was
Devadatta, and the king of Benares was Sariputa. The elephant-trainer was Ananda, and the
white elephant was me.
Story 123: Story of Nangalisa (The Handle of the Plow)
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, regarding a monk, Laludayi . Ven. Laludayi was
extremely ignorant that he did not know how to behave rightly in community. For instance, on
the occasions that need to say wishing words, he spoke out unlucky words, or seeing the
funerals, he spoke out lucky and wishing words.
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One day, at the Dharma-hall, monks gathered and talked about their annoyance about the case
of venerable Laludayi : “ Dear Venerables. Bikkhu Laludayi really does not learn to behave
well in the community.”
Then, the Buddha arrived at the Dharma-hall, and he asked:” What are you talking about
monks?”
A monk explained their concern to the Buddha, and Buddha calmly said: “Monks. It is not in
the present time, but in the past life, he was that ignorant.” And the Buddha told a story:
When the king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, the Buddha was born in a Brahmin family,
and was well-cultivated at Takkasila. After graduation, he gradually became a famous master
around Varanasi, and was the teacher of 500 men of the city.
Among 500 young students, there was a young man who was extremely foolish, and thus, he
could not develop any of the skills that were taught. That young man was appointed to take
care of the Master, and he diligently worked as a hard-working slave.
One day, after the evening meal, the Master went back to his room to take a rest, and the foolish
man helped to massage his back, hands and legs for a while. Before the foolish student left, the
Master asked him to prop the feed of the bed up. The foolish student found only some tools to
prop the feet of the bed up on one side only, and for the other side, he used his left to prop up
the bed, keeping for the whole night.
In the morning, the Master woke up. He really appreciated the willingness of the foolish student
in serving him, so he intentionally trained him to be an intelligent one. The Master thought of
a variety of ways to help his student to get rid of the stagnation of foolishness, and he thought:
“Okay. I will take it to the forest to take wood and when he comes back, I will ask him what he
has done? And how are the woods? From contemplation to finding the answers for the
questions, he will gradually become smarter.”
Then, the Master talked with the foolish student:” Dear son. From now on, every day, you
should go to the forest to take woods and leaves, and during the way, to and back, whatever
you see, you eat and drink, you should memorize and tell me when you're back.”
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And then, the foolish student went to the forest to take woods together with other Brahmin
men, and he saw a snake. When he backed out, he immediately met his Master, and told the
Master that he saw the snake on the way out of the woods.
The Master asked him: “How is the snake?”
The foolish student replied rapidly: “Dear Sir. It looks like a handle of the plow.”
The Master praised him: “You are right Son. The snake is somewhat similar to the handle of
the plow.” And the Master thought that to base on his answer today, it is feasible to train him
to be intelligent.
On another occasion, the foolish student saw an elephant on the way getting woods, and when
he backed, he told the Master. The Master asked him: “Well Son. How is the elephant? Could
you describe it to me?”
The foolish student answered rapidly:” Dear Sir. It looks like a handle of the plow.”
The Master contemplated for a while: “His answer somewhat is appreciated as the trunk and
the tusks of the elephant all are similar to the handle of the plow. This student is still able to
be cultivated to be intelligent.”
The other day, on the way to the woods, the foolish student was given sugarcane, and when he
returned, he quickly met the Master to talk about the event. As usual, the Master asked him:”
It is great, my son. How is the sugarcane? Could you tell me about it?
The foolish student: “It looks like a handle of the plow Sir”
The Master, again, contemplated for a while:” his answer is partially acceptable, so he still can
be better.”
One day after learning, all learners were offered curds and milks, and the foolish student met
the Master to inform him that he ate curds and drank milk today. The Master again asked him;”
It should be delicious, my son. What do they look like? Could you tell me about them?”
The foolish student: “It looks like the handle of the plow Sir.”
The Master, again, contemplated for a while: “He described a snake as similar to the handle of
a plow, or the elephant and the sugarcane as similar to the handle of the plow, all are acceptable.
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However, it is not acceptable to describe the curds and milk as similar to the handle of the
plow. So, this person is not able to be trained to be more intelligent.”
And then he song the serve:
The extreme fools are difficult to change
They could not comprehend the curds and milk
Even could not comprehend the handle
So, they considered the curds and milk are similar to handle of the plow
After telling the story, Buddha recognized that in that period, the foolish student was Laludayi,
and the Master was me.
Story 124: The Story about Mango Fruit (Story of Amba)
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, surrounding a good Brahmin who was responsible well
for his duties. It was about the son of a businessman living at Shravasti, who paid great faith in
the truths, and who was ordained as a monk. During the monkhood, he took good care of his
Master, his teachers and kept the kitchen, dharma-hall and other places. Generally, he
performed well for not only major tasks but also 80 minor tasks. People living around were so
attracted to his performance and attitude that they often offered 500 portions of meals to the
monks living there.
One day, the monks living in the temple gathered at the Dharma-hall, talking about his virtues:”
Dear all friends! Because that monk always performed his duties well, he has brought the
benefits to us.”
Buddha, then, entered the Dharma-hall, and after knowing the story of the young monk,
Buddha said: “It is not today, but in the past life, he also brought benefits to 500 ascetic monks
by his diligence.”
And Buddha told a story:
Once upon a time, when the king Bradmadatta was ruling Varanasi, there was born a young
man, from a Brahmin family. He was faithfully in the monk-life, so he left home and became
an ascetic monk, living together with other 500 monks at the foot of the Everest Mountain.
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One day, there was a serious drought in the area surrounding Everest Mountain. There was
limited water coming out from the mountain, and there were no rains. Not only humans but all
kinds of animals were in danger and suffering from the shortage of water. One of the monks
living there, seeing the sufferings of animals that he could not bear his mind, cut down a big
tree and carved it as a trough. After that, he collected water and poured it into the trough for
animals to drink.
The animals gathered to drink water day by day, and the monk had to pour water into the trough
all the time to avoid running out of water. So, he did not have time to enter the forest to collect
fruit for a living. The animals worried that the monk would get exhausted by having nothing to
eat, so they talked to each other: “Dear friends! Because the monk has to collect water for us,
he may lack food to keep healthy. So, from now on, whichever comes here to drink water
should bring some fruits for this monk.”
And, then, from that day, the animals brought a lot of fruits to the monk, and 500 monks were
full of fruits to eat every day. The monk, afterward, said to others:” By the compassion and
diligence, we can bring benefits to others”
Be diligent, my brothers!
Wisdom men never give up intention
As the consequence of diligence
Fruits are abundant
After telling the story, Buddha recognized that the monk who offered water to the animals was
the diligent monk, and the master of 500 monks was the Buddha.
Story 125: The Slave Katahaka
Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a booster monk.
Once upon a time, when the Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, there was a millionaire who was
born into a Brahmin family. One day, his wife gave birth to a son, and interestingly, a
handmaiden working at his house, on that day, also gave birth to a son. These two children
grew up together, and play together. When the son of the millionaire was learning writing, the
son of the handmaiden also was given a chance to study together. Time flies, the son of the
handmaiden grew up quickly, and he was named as Katahaka.
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Katahaka was appointed to work as the monitor of the storage house, but he was not happy
about it:” They can’t keep me working as the care-taker of the storage house forever, as it is
dangerous. If I make mistake, they will beat me, tight me, carve on my body and even give me
foods which for slaves. At the same time, there is another millionaire who is a friend of this
millionaire. So, I will get there and pretend to be the son of this millionaire to ask for marriage
with the daughter of that millionaire. Then, my life will be different.”
Then he took a paper and wrote:” I sent my son, namely Katahaka, to you. It will be a great
happiness if we can build up the connection to each other, with the marriage of your daughter
and my son. After the marriage, let him stay there, and when I have free time, I will pay a visit
to you.” After that he put a seal of the millionaire to the letter and brought it to the house of the
millionaire living near the border
The millionaire living near the border asked him: “Hey son. Who are you? And why did you
come here?”
Replied Katahaka: “I am from Varanasi”
“What could I do for you?” Continuously asked the millionaire
Katahak gave the letter to the millionaire and said: “Dear Sir, please read this letter and you
will understand why I am here.”
The millionaire living near the border after reading the letter was happy to organize the
wedding for Katahaka and her daughter. After the marriage, Katahaka was paying full respect,
but he was really arrogant: “What the porridge! What did they cook?” or they often complained
to the weaver:” With the nature of bordering people, they really don’t know how to make
clothes.”
For a long time, having not met with Katahaka, the millionaire living in Varanasi asked people
to seek him:” Hey Servants! Go around and find Katahaka for me.”
A servant went to the border area and saw Katahak, but he did not let Katahaka recognize him
to detect what Katahka did there. After knowing the truth, the servant returned to Varanasi and
told what he knew to the millionaire living in Varanasi.
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The millionaire living in Varanasi was angry:” He behaved wrongly. I will get there to take
him back.”
After asking the king to leave Varanasi, the millionaire was heading for the house of his
millionaire friend living near the border. The news about the up-coming of the millionaire was
spread quickly to people living in the border area, and Katahaka was worried about that. But
he was scheming enough to plan to escape from this trouble:” I will go to pick up my boss and
in front of people, I will say that only ignorant people that do not know how to take care of
their parents. The wisdom should take good care of the boss as a slave.”
Then he asked his father-in-law: “Dear father! I hear that my father is coming, so I would like
to go and pick him up.”
The millionaire living near the border: “Good! Very Good! Son!”
Katahalka brought a number of gifts and took some servants to pick up the millionaire. When
he met the millionaire, he offered all the gifts to the millionaire. The millionaire also behaved
friendly to him. The next morning, when the millionaire was having defecation, Kathaka took
water and paper together to serve the millionaire. After that he sat on knees insisting to the
millionaire:'' Dear Sir. I can offer you as much as you want, but please, don’t take off my
current happiness and status.``
Replied calmly:” Don’t worry. There are no risks for you from me.”
The millionaire finally arrived at the house of his friend, and after hearing that his friend already
made weddings for his daughter and Katahaka, he was extremely angry that he could not look
at Kathaka anymore.
After a few days, he called the wife of Kathahaka to help him to take off the lice on his head.
During that time, he asked her:” How do you feel about your husband? Did he behave well to
you?”
The wife of Katahaka:” He is good but often decries foods that others made.”
The millionaire said to her:” Don’t worry. I will teach you a verse that can help you to calm
him down whenever he decries the food. But you have to try to memorize the verse.”
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The millionaire stayed a few days more and he decided to return to Varanasi. Katahaka took
various gifts to offer him and was on the way with the millionaire for a distance. When
Katahaka hacked, he thought that everything was fine, so he was more arrogant. One day, his
wife gave him some kinds of food, and as a habit, he immediately decried the food.
Remembered what the millionaire already talked; his wife cites the verse:
Complain too much
When arrived to strange place
That person shall back here
Destroyed everything
So Katahaka
Shall eat this food!
After hearing the verse, Katahaka was threatened that the millionaire would tell everything to
his wife, so, from that on, he never complained about food or anything else.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized the talkable monk was Katahaka, and the
millionaire living in Varanasi was me.
Story 126: Story about the Traits of Swords (Story of

Asilakkhana)
Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a Brahmin man who was the expert in knowing the
characteristics of swords at the palace of the king in Kosala. This sword-expert was so excellent
that he only smelled the swords that he could describe in detail the shape and characteristics of
the swords. Furthermore, this sword-expert had a habit to praise the swords of those who often
supported him, and often denounced the swords of those who did not support him.
One day, an alchemist made a good sword, and he intended to give it to the king. So, he put the
sword into a leather-case, and before putting the sword into a leather-case, he put some pepper
powder on the sword. When the king received the sword, he called the sword-expert to predict
the destiny of the sword. The sword-expert took the sword off the leather-case, starting
smelling the sword. Suddenly, he sneezed because of the pepper powder, and, carelessly he
made the sword cut his nose.
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The news about the accident of the sword-expert was spread around quickly, and the monks at
Jetavana also were talking about it when they gathered at the Dharma-hall. When they were
talking about the sword-expert, the Buddha entered and asked:” Hey Monks! What are you
talking about? “
After knowing the story, the Buddha said:” It is not in the present time, but also in the past, he
got this accident.”
Once upon a time, when the king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, there was an excellent
sword-expert from a Brahmin family. One day, due to carelessness, he let the sword cut his
nose down. The king was compassionate and let the surgeons make an artificial one for him.
The king did not have a son, but a daughter and a nephew. His daughter and nephew grew up
together, and thus the king worried that they would fall in love with each other. Hence, the king
assembled all of his officials and said:” I plan to assign my nephew as the successor of the
country. After I give my daughter marriage to someone else, I will make a ceremony to give
him on the throne.”
The king continued:” My nephew was similar to my son, so I will give my daughter to get
married with the other king. Due to this, my descendants will be the leaders of two nations.”
After the meeting with the officials, the king separated his daughter and his nephew, and let
them live in two places that were far from each other. However, at the age of sixteen, his
nephew fell in love with his daughter, and he planned to demolish the plan of the king. He
found a female-wizard and gave her 1000 gold coins:” I want you to help me to do a thing. Can
you?”
The Wizard:” What should I do for you Sir?”
The nephew of the king:” I want to take the princess out of the palace. Could you help me to
fulfill my ambition?”
The Wizard:” Yes Sir. I will meet the king and say that the princess is followed by some
specters, and I will request the king to take the princess to the cemetery where I am going to
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prepare a bed, putting a dead body under the bed, and the princess will be on the bed. I will tell
the king that I will use 108 kinds of perfume to get the spirits out of the princess.”
The Wizard continued:” Before we drive the princess to the cemetery, you should arrive in
advance, and pretend to be the dead body. When the princess arrives, I will let her lie down on
the bed, at that time, but you should put some pepper powder into your nose at that time to
make sneezes. After you sneeze, all of us will leave, and you can take the prince home.”
As planned, when the wizard let the princess lie down on the bed, the nephew of the king
immediately sneezed. The wizard shouted loudly and ran away, so were others. The nephew of
the king, after that, took the princess back home. The wizard returned to the palace and told the
king what happened at the cemetery. The king was clever and he knew it was his nephew's
plan:” It is impossible to separate them now.”
The king of Varanasi, afterward, accepted the love of his daughter and let them got married.
Not long after that the king assigned his nephew to be the king of the nation and his daughter
became the queen of the nation.
One day, during the official meeting of the news king and the officials, the artificial nose of
the sword-expert was falling off, and the sword-expert was shameful. The news king pacified
him:” Don’t be a shameful man! Sneezes are harmful to someone but benefit others. You
sneezed and got into an accident, and I sneezed to get the princess.” And the news king sang a
verse:
The same things
For someone is good
For other is bad
Neither is good
Not bad for all
The news king after that ruled the kingdom with morality.
After telling the story, Buddha recognized the sword-expert was the present sword-expert and
the nephew of the king Varanasi was him.
Story 127: Story about the Slave Kalanduka
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Buddha told this story at Jetavana, on the occasion in which a booster monk made others
annoyed.
Once upon a time, when the Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, there was a millionaire who was
born into a Brahmin family. One day, his wife gave birth to a son, and interestingly, a
handmaiden working at his house, on that day, also gave birth to a son. When the son of the
millionaire was learning writing, the son of the handmaiden also was given a chance to study
together. Time flies, the son of the handmaiden grew up quickly, he was named Kalanduka.
Kalanduka was not satisfied to work as a slave, but he wanted to be the boss. Therefore, he
planned to change his destiny. Then he took a paper and wrote:” I sent my son, namely
Kalanduka, to you. It will be a great happiness if you can give your daughter to get married
with him. After the marriage, let him stay there, and when I have free time, I will pay a visit to
you.” After completing writing the letter, Kalanduka carefully put a seal of the millionaire on
the letter.
Then, the next day, Kalanduka went to the bordering area with the other millionaire who was
a friend of his boss.
The millionaire living near the border asked him: “Hey son! Who are you? And why did you
come here?”
Replied Kalnduka: “I am from Varanasi”
“What could I do for you?” Continuously asked the millionaire
Katlanduka respectfully gave the letter that he wrote to the millionaire and said: “Dear Sir,
please read this letter and you will
understand why I am here.”
Not long after that, an extraordinary wedding was organized for the marriage of Kalanduka and
the daughter of the millionaire lived near the bordering area. After the wedding, Kalanduka
was paid with all respects from others, so he gradually became arrogant.
A few months later, the boss of Kalanduka in Varanasi worried for Kalanduka, so he ordered
people to go around to find him, but got no news from him. Finally, he let his parrot to find
Kalanduka.
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One day, Lakanduka took his wife and other servants to swim at a river nearby their house, and
they brought a number of garlands, fragrances, medical massage and varied kinds of food
together. After sailing on the boat with his wife, Kalanduka drank a glass of special milk which
was arranged by the rich people to avoid the flu when they have to play with water for a long
time. After drinking a sip of milk, Kalanduka felt annoyed, and he took a sip of water to clean
up his mouth from the milk. Arrogantly, he intentionally spouted the water in his mouth on the
head of his wife. At that time, the parrot of the millionaire lived in Varanasi was perched on a
branch of a tree nearby, seeing the arrogant action of Kalanduka, the parrot said: “Hey,
Kalanduka! Please remember your race and your status. Don’t spout dirty water on the head of
your wife, a person was born from a high race family, with full faith and social status.” After
that the parrot sang the verse:
Your status, your race
Even is a bird living in the forest
I know the truth
I can tell people and then they will catch you
Hey Kalanduka!
Calm down your arrogance and drink the milk
Kalanduka recognized the parrot of the millionaire, and worried the parrot would reveal his
secret, Kalanduka said to the parrot:” Hey Parrot. Come here. Where is the boss?”
The parrot thought:” this is not my business. If I get there, he may kill me.” So, the parrot flied
back to Varanasi and told the millionaire lived in Varanasi everything about Kalanduka. The
millionaire was really angry, and he let people capture Kalanduka back Varansi. Kalanduka,
after that, had to serve as a slave for the rest of his life.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized the booster monk was Kalanduka, and the
millionaire who lived in Varanasi was him.
Story 128: Story about the Cat (Story about Bilara)
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, on the occasion in which other monks complained about
a deceiving monk, who often deceived others.
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After knowing the nature of the complaint, the Buddha said:” It is not today but in the past life,
he also behaved like today.” And the Buddha told a story:
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, there was born a mouse which
was quite clever, tall and big. The mouse looked like a pig indeed; thus, it was the leader of a
few hundreds of mice living in the forest. Not far from the forest where the herd of mice lived,
there was a jackal. The jackal planned to catch some mice to eat:” I have to deceive these mice
to catch them”.
Then the jackal got to a place which was not too far from the cave which was the house of the
mice, standing on only one leg, heading toward the sun, opening the mouth, breathing in and
breathing out.
Seeing the jackal in that posture for a long time, the leader-mouse thought the jackal was a
morality-practitioner, so it came close to the jackal and asked:” Dear Sir. What is your name?”
Replied calmly the Jackal:” Dharmika (True Dharma)”
Continued asked the leader-mouse:” Why do you have to stand by using only one leg?”
Replied the Jackal smartly:” If I stand by using four legs, the earth cannot stand to carry me.”
“Why do you have to open your mouth?” Asked the leader-mouse
“I eat nothing but the winds.” Deceivably the Jackal
“Why do you have to head toward the sun?” Continuously asking the leader-mouse
“I pay respect to the sun.” Replied the Jackal
The leader-mouse thought:” It really is a morally-practitioner”. From that day, every day, the
leader mouse took his mice to pay respect to the jackal in the morning and evening. After
paying respect to the jackal, the leader-mouse led the mice back home, but he did not know
that the jackal often caught the last one to eat. After eating a mouse, the jackal quickly cleaned
his mouth and continued to stand in the practical posture.
Day after day, the number of mice decreased so quickly that it made the mice worried. They
tried to figure out the reason, but it was impossible to find out any reason, so they told the
leader-mouse about the loss of a tremendous number of mice. The leader-mouse, after knowing
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the loss of a varied number of mice, thought the jackal was the one that often captured the mice.
So, in the next morning, after paying respect to the jackal, the leader-mouse led the other mice
back first, and it stayed at the end. Suddenly, the jackal jumped toward the leader-mouse and
tried to grab the leader -mouse to eat, but luckily, with the high attention, the leader-mouse
easily stepped aside to escape from the jackal.
The leader-mouse said calmly to the jackal:” Hey Jackal! Your actions are not of the dharma-
practitioner. By harming and eating others, you are not the real dharma-practitioner.” And,
then, it sang the verse:
Whoever say about true Dharma
But secretly do evil things
Trying to deceive others
Are the scheming acts of the cats!
The leader-mouse, after that, jumped toward the jackal and bit the jackal’s throat to kill the
jackal’ life. From that on, the mice lived fearlessly in the forest,
After telling the story, Buddha recognized the jackal was the deceiving monk, and the leader-
mouse was him.
Story 129: Story about the Fire-Practitioner (Aggika)
The Buddha told this story at Jetanava, on an occasion in which a monk who always deceived
others, and his behavior was informed to the Buddha.
After knowing, the Buddha told the story:
Once upon a time, when the king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, there was a leader-mouse
who lived in the forest with his mice.
One day, the forest caught fire and a jackal was getting stuck in the fire. It had no way to escape
from the fire, so it tried to put its head into a big tree to protect its face. Consequently, the fur
in the whole body was burned out, except for a pot of fur on its head.
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One day, when it was drinking water from a small pond on a cliff, it saw its leftover fur on its
head, thinking about using this as an advantage for its living. So, it decided to get close to the
cave which was the house of the mice, standing on it by using only one leg. Its posture caught
the attention of the leader-mouse, so the leader-mouse came close to the jackal and asked:”
Dear Sir. What is your name?”
“My name is Bharahvaja, the fire-practitioner.” The Jackal shamelessly answered
Asked continually the leader-mouse: “Why do you come here?”
“I want to protect all of you” Replied calmly the Scheming jackal
“How do you do it?” Surprised the leader-mouse
“I know how to count. So, I will count the number of your mice, when you go out and back
home.” Quickly answered the jackal
“So do it please.” Happily, the leader-mouse
From the next day, every day, in the morning and the evening, when the mice went out to live
and came back home, the jackal pretended to count from one to the other, and the jackal caught
the last one to eat.
Day after day, the number of the mice decreased rapidly, and I could not find the answer. The
mice told the leader mouse about the trouble. The leader-mouse immediately thought of the
jackal as the main cause for the disappearance of a tremendous number of mice, so the leader-
mouse decided to stay at the end of the mice the next morning. As a habit, after counting to the
last one, the jackal jumped toward the leader-mouse to grab it to eat, but with the wariness, the
leader-mouse smoothly stepped aside and escaped from the grab of the jackal.
The leader-mouse looked toward the jackal and said:” The fur leftover on your head was not
from your true practice, but from your evil desire.” And it sang the verse:
The left-over fur on the head
Not made by the virtue of practice
But the evil of desire
Please stop counting
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The deceiver as fire-practitioner
After telling the story, Buddha recognized the jackal was the deceiving monk, and the leader-
mouse was him.
Story 130: Story about the Female Brahmin, Namely Kosiya
The Buddha told this story, on the occasion a wife of a Brahmin often behaved immorally in
the night times, but pretended to get sick in the day time. The Brahmin did not know that his
wife was deceiving him, so he asked:” Dear honey! What happened to you?”
“I have a stroke but don’t worry please.” Calmly answered the wife
More concerned with the sickness of the wife, Brahmin:” What do you want to eat?”
Quickly answered the wife:” I would like to eat fat food, cakes, porridge and oily food.”
The Brahmin cooked everything that his wife wanted, and took good care of her as a slave. But
his wife still pretended to get sick, and whenever the Brahmin was at home, she also tried
getting serious sickness. However, whenever they Brahmin left home, she enjoyed doing sex
with other men.
One day, the Brahmin thought:” the sickness of my wife is not going to end. So, let's pay a visit
to the Buddha and ask him for virtue.” And, the Brahmin bought some garlands and fragrances,
and went to Jetavana to offer the Buddha. After offering the Buddha and paying respect to the
Buddha, the Brahmin sat down in a corner.
The Buddha asked him: “Where did you go man? I did not see you for a long time”
Respectfully replied to the Buddha:'' Dear Sir. My wife, recently often get sick, so I have to
take good care of her that I could not manage time to pay a visit to you.``
The Buddha knew the bad action of his wife, so the Buddha said to the Brahmin:” Hey
Brahmin! Because of ignorance, you could not remember what the wise masters taught you in
the past lives. You have to know a kind of medicine which can heal your wife.”
And the Buddha told a story:
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Once upon a time, when the king Brahmadatta was the ruler of Varanasi, there was a young
man who was born in a Brahmin family. The young man was well-cultured at Takkasila, so
soon after the graduation, he became the most famous Master in Varanasi. The children of royal
families and Brahmin families around Varanasi mostly came to learn with him.
Among a tremendous number of students, he had an excellent student who learned three books
of vedas and 18 kinds of skills with him. And this student, soon, became one of richest men in
Varanasi. Unluckily, the wife of this student was not good, as she often did sexual actions with
other men. Due to having sex with other men at night, she had to sleep all the day time. But
she pretended to get sick, and this student had to take good care of her. This student often paid
a visit to the Master two times a day, but since his wife got sick, he did not pay any visit to the
Master.
One day, this student tried to manage time, buying some garlands and fragrances, to pay a visit
to his Master. After offering the garlands and fragrances to the Master, he explained the reason
that he could not visit him daily as usual. The Master knew the wife of his student was sexual
misconduct, so he said to the student:” Hey my son! From now on, stop providing her with
healthy and delicious foods. Instead, take five kinds of fruit and mix them together with the
dung of a cow. After holding a rattan rob and giving that mixing food to her, you should say
“this kind of food is suitable for your sickness. Stand up to do your work or eat this kind of
food as it is the pay for your actions' '. If she still does not stand up, use the rattan rob to beat
her lightly. Then, she will recover.``
The student thanked the Master and when he returned home, he did exactly what the Master
said to him. When he gave the fruit mixed with cow-dung to his wife, his wife refused to eat
and asked:” Who told you to do this kind of food?”
Quickly answered the husband:” My Master. Dear honey”
The wife still refused to eat the food, and then the husband used the rattan rob to beat her lightly
and said: “Whether to eat this kind of food or you have to do work which is the charge for what
you enjoy here.”
And the husband sang the verse:
Eat this food
Or do what as your duties
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Cannot deny both this food or your duties
Dear Kosiya!
The wife, after hearing the verse, knew that the Master of her husband already knew everything,
so she stood up to do her duties as usual.
The Brahmin went back home and told his wife the story that the Buddha told him. The wife
of the Brahmin was worried that the Buddha already knew of her sexual misconduct, so she
stopped having immoral actions.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the husband and the wife were the Brahmin
and his current wife, and the master was him.
Story 131: The Story of Ungrateful Person (Story of

Asampadana)
The Buddha told this story at Bamboo-grove, on the occasion in which some monks gathered
at the Dharma-hall to talk about the ungratefulness of Devadatta:” Dear Venerable! Devadatta
is the kind of person that is not grateful to others; especially, he does not know how to pay the
thanks to the cultivation of the Buddha to him.”
Suddenly, the Buddha entered the Dharma-hall and the Buddha asked:” Dear all venerable!
What are you talking about?”
After hearing the explanation from a monk, Buddha said to the monks:” Students! You should
know that not only this present life, but in the past life, he possessed this habit.”
Once upon a time, when the king Magadha was reigning the Rajagaha, there was a millionaire
who had a fortune of 800 million, and who was named Sankha. In Benares, there was another
millionaire, namely Pilliya, who also was rich with the fortune valued of 800 million. These
two millionaires were best friends with each other.
One day, unfortunately, Pilliya was having difficulties and all his fortune, including property,
money, lands were lost. At that time, Pilliya thought of his friend Sankha, the millionaire who
lived in Rajagaha, so he took his wife and his children to leave Benares, heading for Rajagaha.
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When the millionaire, Sankha, heard Pilliya was heading toward his house, he immediately
went out to pick up his friend, Pilliya. After a few days, Sankha asked Pilliya:” Why did you
come here? Can you let me know?”
Shamefully Pilliya said slowly:” I was getting in serious trouble, and I lost all. Please help me.”
“Do not worry my friend! Stay calm. I will help you for sure.”
Sankha immediately opened his storage house, and took 400 million to give Pilliya. Not only
that, he also separated all other properties into two parts, including lands and animals. Sankha
kept one part for himself, and another part, he offered Pilliya. Therefore, Pilliya could return
Benares to live luxuriously again.
Not long after that, Sankha got into serious trouble, and he lost all his fortune and property.
Quickly Sankha thought of Pilliya, as he already offered him half of his fortune. Sankha did
not take his wife to Pilliya’s house, but let his wife stay at a motel. Alone, he walked toward
the Pilliya’house.
Hearing Sankha arrived at his house, Pilliya was happy to welcome Sankha, but after knowing
that Sankha lost everything, Pilliya rapidly changed his emotion and attitude toward Sankha:”
Dear friend! Here, I have nothing for you, so please take some rice and go to another place to
cook.” After that Pilliya ordered a servant to give Sankha a bowl of rice which was mixed with
husk.
Sankha thought that:” this guy has received my help with 400 million and a huge amount of
property. But, right now, he aims to give me only a bowl of rice. Should I get it?” But quickly
Sankha thought differently:” I should receive the rice to maintain the friendship. If I am
ignorant, I shall destroy our friendship. So, let it be to receive the rice.”
Sankha took the rice and gloomily returned to the motel. Seeing Sankha back, his wife
immediately asked:” What did he promise to help us?”
“Nothing but a bowl of rice” Sankha slowly replied his wife
His wife cried loudly:” Why did you receive a bowl of rice? Whether it is equal to 400 million
that you gave him?
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Sankha pacified his wife:” Dear honey! Please calm down. I want to maintain my friendship
with him so that I can receive the rice.” And Sankha sang the verse:
Whoever are
Even have nothing
For ignorant, friendship goes to end
Receiving the bowl of rice
Wishing to maintain the friendship
As I wish our friendship
Maintain forever!
After hearing the verse, Sankha’s wife still cried loudly. At that time a servant that Sankha
gave to Pilliya was going through the motel. Recognizing the voices of old bosses, he
immediately entered the motel to find Sankha and his wife. Seeing Sankha and his wife, the
servant paid respect and asked:” Dear sir! What happened to our family?”
After knowing everything, the servant took Sankha and his wife to his house. He prepared
water with flowers for them to take a bath, and then he cooked for them. And, then, he told
other servants who were given to Pilliya to pay a visit to Sankha and his wife.
A few days later, this servant took all the servants who were given to Pilliya by Sankha to the
palace of the king, and in front of the palace, they drummed loudly to attract the attention of
the king. The king heard the loud noise so he called all the servants into the palace to know the
reason that they made loud noise in front of the palace.
The servant told the king the sad story of their boss, Sakha and Pilliya. The king, then, invited
Sakha and his wife to the palace and asked:” Is it true that you gave your friend Pilliya 400
million?”
Sankha confidently:” Yes Sir. It is true. When Pilliya came to my house to ask for help, I not
only gave him 400 million but also varied property.”
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Then, the king called Pilliya to come to the palace and asked Pilliya:” Is it true that Sankha gva
you 400 million and varied property when you asked him for help?”
Piliya was hesitant for a while and shamefully replied:” It is true Sir.”
The king was angry, so he continuously asked:” Why didn't you help him when you came
asking for help?” And “Did you ask the servant to put husk into the bowl of rice that you gave
Sankha?”
Pilliya just kept silently
The king, after that, asked officials how to deal with the issue between Sankha and Pilliya. All
the officials finally agreed that the king would take all property of Pilliya to give Sankha.
However, at that time, Sankha requested that he would receive what he gave Pilliya, and did
not want to take anything belonging to Pilliya.
After receiving back money and property, Sankha took all the servants back to Rajagaha, and
they lived morally all the rest of their lives.
After telling the story, Buddha recognized that Pilliya was Devadatta, and Sakha was him.
Story 132: Story of Pancagaru
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the attraction of Mara’s daughters to him, when
he was deeply contemplating under an almond tree of a goatherd. One time, the Buddha spoke
the verse to express his determination in getting rid from the attraction of Mara’ daughters:
With lights shining out, they arrived
Desire, dissatisfaction and greed
The Master blew them away from ten directions
Similarly, the petals of flowers
Being the winds blew away
After the Buddha spoke the verse, the next day, monks gathered at the Dharma-hall, talking
about the enlightenment of the Buddha:” Dear friends! The daughters of Mara manifested in
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thousands of shapes came to attract the Master when he was contemplating, but he did not open
his eyes to see them. It is a great power of contemplation.”
Then the Buddha entered the Dharma-hall, and Buddha asked the monks: “What are you talking
about, monks?”
After knowing what the monks discussed, Buddha calmly said:” It is a difficult thing to stop
looking at the beautiful and attractive forms of Mara’s daughters as at that time I totally cut
down the three poisonous seeds, desire, hatred and ignorance. “
And on this occasion, Buddha told a story:
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta reigned Varanasi, there was the young prince, who
was the youngest one among 100 sons of king Brahmadatta. And everything was quite similar
to the story 96 (Story of Telapatta). After the empowerment ceremony, people living in
Takkasila decorated the city as the city of gods, and the palace of the new king as the palace of
the king of gods. When the king entered the city, he was sitting on the throne which was made
of seven kinds of treasures, and on his head, there was a beautiful parasol. The people took
him, following the main lobby which led to the palace. He looked super beautiful and powerful
like the Sakka, king of Gods.
When he sat on the throne of king in the palace, all the officials, Brahmins, royal families and
millionaires, in formal suits, stood solemnly in two lines, paying respects to the new king. After
that, sixteen thousand young female girls, who looked like the citizens of heaven, performed
various kinds of musical instruments and danced various kinds of the show. All the luxurious
things of heaven were presented and performed to him. The new king, seeing the fantastic
performances in front of his eyes, he was really appreciated the advice from the
Paccekabuddha:” On the way getting here, if I was attractive to the illusory beauty of bodies,
sounds and foods from the Yaksha, I would not be able to enjoy this wonderful performance
and could not be able to live in this luxurious palace.” Then the new king spoke the verse:
Follow the good instructions
Be diligent, unchangeable
Keep up the way
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Without of the fear
With well-controlled mind
Free from the attachment from Yakshas’ attraction
Then I am safe and have no fear!
Then the new king ruled Takkasila with morality, until he passed away!
After telling the story, Buddha recognized that the new king of Takkasila was him.
Story 133: The Story of Ghatasana
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a monk who did not know how to behave well
when the cottage which he made for meditation was set on fire. At the beginning of a rainy
retreat, this monk received a meditation method from the Buddha, and then he went to a place,
which was far from the big city, and just near to a small village. He made a small cottage from
the leaves in the forest as the place for living and practicing meditation during the rainy retreat.
However, it was unlucky that his cottage was fired on one day, when he was on the way getting
alms in the morning. Then, he called his supporters to make a new one. His supporters came to
observe his place, and they promised to return soon to make a new one for him. However, three
months passed quickly, and they had not returned to help him.
Due to having no suitable place for residing during the rainy retreat, the monk was not
successful in the contemplation on the meditation method that the Buddha gave him. After the
rainy retreat time, he returned to Jetavana, and told everything that happened to him during the
retreat.
Buddha said to him:'' Monk. The animals and insects know the suitable places to live for a long
time, and they move when they see that those places are no longer safe and suitable. Why didn't
you do that?”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, there was a bird, which
possessed elegant and super-beautiful fur. Due to its extra-beautiful traits, it was assigned as
the king of the bird in the forest, and it lived with its servants on the biggest tree in the forest.
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The tree had luxuriant leaves, and some of its branches grew across a pond. Some birds
defecated into the pond.
In the pond, there was a snake, namely Canada living there. The snake was angry when the
birds defecated into the pond to make it polluted:” These birds have made the water of this
pond polluted, so I have to make fire, sparking from the water to the tree to threaten them,
driving them away.” With uncontrolled hatred, the snake waited until night time, when all the
birds were sleeping, and it spoiled the water. Then, it made the smokes and fire, sparking from
the water to the tree that the birds lived in.
The king of the birds saw the smoke and fire coming to the tree from the water, it immediately
awakened all the birds:” Dear friend! Water is normally used to burn off the fire, but now, the
fire was from the water. So, we cannot continue to live here. It is time to move to other places.”
And the king of birds sang the verse:
At the peaceful place
A snake raised from the pond
Then from the water of the pond
The fire sparking to this tree
The tree, no more suitable to live
Please fly to the suitable places
It is dangerous to continue to stay here!
Then the king of the birds led most of the birds to find another suitable place to live. Some
birds did not follow the advice of their king, so, soon after that, they were fired by the snake.
At the end of the story, the Buddha talked about four Noble truths, and many monks achieved
enlightenment. Then the Buddha recognized that the king of birds was him, and the birds which
followed the bird-king were all the monks who were ordained as Bikkhus with the Buddha.
Story 134: Story of Thanasodhana
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, on the occasion in which Sariputta, at the main gate of
Sankassa, explained in detail a brief teaching of the Buddha.
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Buddha told the story:
Once upon a time, when the king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, there was a famous master
who had thousands of people gathered to study his meditation methods. When he was going to
pass away, he only said to all students:” Neither not having formation nor not of no-having
formation.”
Most of the students could not understand the last teaching of their master, so the big brother
monk helped to explain this teaching in detail. However, most of the monks did not believe in
the explanation of the big brother monk, so the master from the Abhassara realm returned, and
manifested as a shape staying in the thin air, reading the verse:
Whoever still depend on the formation
Still have to born into three lower realms
Those who do not depend on formation
Still have to born into three lower realms
Escaping from these two poles
Achieving peaceful meditation
Without polluted minds
After that the master returned to the Brahma realm. From that on, all monks believed in the
explanation of their big brother monk.
After telling the story, Buddha recognized that the big brother monk was Sariputta, and the
master was him.
Story 135: Story of Cadabha
Buddha told this story at Jetavana, after the Venerable Sariputta explained in detail a brief
teaching of him at the main gate of Sankassa.
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, there was a famous master
who knew that he was going to pass away. He gathered all his students and said briefly:”
moonlight and sunlight” And the master passed away after his last teaching.
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The big brother monk assisted to explain this brief teaching to other monks. However, they
mostly did not believe in the explanation of the big brother monk. So, the master from the
Abhassara appeared in the thin air, and spoke the verse:
Sunlight & moonlight
Whoever with wisdom
Practice this kind of meditation
Will be born in the Abhassara realm
After speaking the verse, the master disappeared in the thin air, returning to the abhassara
realm.
After telling the story, Buddha recognized that the big brother monk was Sariputta, and the
master was him.
Story 136: Story of Suvannahamsa
Buddha told this story at Jetavana, surrounding the desire of the Bikkhuni, Thullananda. One
day, a lay male wanted to offer the garlic to the Bikkhunis, so he talked to the farmer to give
each Bikhuni some branches of garlic. From that day, whenever Bikkhunis needed garlic, they
went to this farmer’ house or his farm to get garlic.
One day, in a national festival, he sold out the garlic that he harvested, so when the Bikkhuni,
Thallunanda and other bhikkhunis arrived to ask for garlic, he told them to get to his farm to
take garlic. However, when Bikkhuni, Dullananda and other bhikkhunis saw the attractive
garlic field, they could not control their desire that they took too much garlic. The farmer, in
the next day, wen to the farm, was really angry due to the over-taking garlics of Bikkhunis:
“Why did the Bikkhunis take too much garlics. Couldn’t they control their desire?”
Bikkhunis were affected by the complaint of the farmer, so they told Bikkhus living nearby
about the issue. Later on, the Bikkhus told the Buddha this complaint. Buddha criticized
Bikkhuni, Dullananda and said:” A person who has great desire, behaves unfriendly to others,
even his parents. He cannot make others increase their faith in him, and cannot maintain the
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benefits they have created. Contrary, a person who can control his desire make others believe
in him and can generate more benefits from what have created.``
And Buddha continued:'' Monks! It is not in the present time, but also in the past Thullnanda
already had this greed.``
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was the king of Varanasi, there was a
Brahmin who had three daughters, namely Nanda. When he passed away, his wife and his
daughters had to leave the house to live in another house and had to work for them.
The Brahmin was born as a wandering goose, with golden feathers. When the golden goose
grew up, it was proud of its supper-beauty, so it contemplated:” Where was I from?”. After
deep contemplation, it remembered its past life:'' my wife and my daughters in the past life
were living sufferlessly. So, I shall give them some of my golden feathers so that they shall
have a comfortable life.``
The golden goose flew to the place that his wife and daughters, in the past life, lived there. The
goose parked on the crossbeam of the house, looking down to his daughters.
A daughter asked:” Who are you? Why do you come here?”.
The goose answered calmly:” I am your father. I passed away, and now is this golden goose.
From now on, you don’t have to work hard, as I am going to give my golden feathers to each
of you. You can sell them and live luxuriously.” And the goose let them take off some feathers
and flew back his net. However, sometimes, the goose arrived at the house of past-life-his wife
and daughters to give them some feathers.
One day, his past-life wife discussed with her daughters:” The mind of the animals is
changeable. We could not believe in that goose as it may change its mind in the future. So, why
don’t we take off all of his feathers, and save for the necessary?”
Her daughters all denied joining the plan:” It is harmful to our father, so it is not a good plan.
We won’t join this plan.”
Despite the discouragement from the daughters, the brahmin wife still conducted her evil plan.
Waiting for the goose to arrive as usual, she used two hands to grab the goose, and after that,
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she took all the goose off. Unluckily, as the goose was unwilling to give the golden feathers,
all the golden feathers turned white after the wife took them off from the goose. The wife was
angry and frustrated, she threw the goose into a basket. The goose, after that grew his feathers
out quickly, but the feathers were no longer the golden feathers. The goose, after having its
feathers grew up completely, flew back the mountain, and never returned to the house of his
past-life wife and daughters.
After telling the story, Buddha said:” Thullananda was not too greedy in this life, but already
in the past life. Due to too greedy, she lost opportunity to have gold from the goose. And in
this life, due to her greed, not only her but also all Bikkhus lost opportunity to receive the
garlics from the farmer. Therefore, we have to control our desire to maintain the long benefits”
Then the Buddha spoke the verse:
Be satisfied. Not too greedy!
As greed is evil act
Due to grab the golden goose
Chances of having gold disappeared!
And the Buddha prohibited all Bikkhunis continue to eat garlic. At the end, Buddha recognized
that Thullananda was the wife of the Brahmin, and three daughters were three of her sisters.
The goose was the past life of the Buddha.
Story 137: The Story of Babhu
Buddha told this story at Jetavana, on the occasion the other told him an event in the life of
Kanamatta, the mother of Kana. Kanamatta had already obtained the first stage of the practice
to obtain Arahat, which was called Sotapanna (Entering streamer). As Kanamatta gave her
daughter, Kana, to get married with a man in the nearby village, whenever she had busy work,
she all called her daughter to come for help.
One day, she called Kana to come to help with her busy work for a few days, and as Kana
stayed too long in the mother house, her husband sent a servant to call her back. When Kana
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was going back, Kanamatta told her:” You already stayed here for a long time, so you should
take some gifts back home. We have to make some cakes and you shall take them back home.”
Kana and her mother immediately began to use wheat flour to make cakes. When Kana and
her mother had completely made the first batch of cake, a monk arrived. Kanamatta offered
him a full bowl of cake. This monk left, but he told other monks about the offering. The second
monk quickly arrived at the Kanamatta house, and Kanamatta also offered him a full bowl of
cake. As the cake was out, Kana and her mother continued to make a new batch of cakes. Then,
the third monk arrived when the new batch of cakes was ready, so Kanamatta immediately
offered them to the monk. Then, Kana and her mother continuously made a new batch of cake.
When the new batch of cake was ready, the fourth monk arrived, and he also got the full
offering of cake. And, afterward, Kana and her mother continue to make new cakes to let her
bring home.
During the time Kana and her mother were making cakes to offer the monks, her husband
already sent several messengers to Kanamatta house, insisting her back home, otherwise, he
would get the other woman as his wife. When Kana was going back home, she heard that her
husband had already taken another woman home as new wife, so she cried.
The Buddha heard of her sad story, so in the next morning, the Buddha paid a visit to Kanamatta
and pacified Kana. After that, the Buddha returned to Jetavana.
The story about four monks receiving cakes from Kana and her mother that made her husband
to divorce her were discussed between the monks gathered at the Dharma-hall the next day.
And the Buddha entered the Dharma-Hall:” What are you talking about monks?”
A monk told the Buddha what they were concerned about and the Buddha said:” It is not only
in the present time, but also in the past life, they have already disturbed Kanamatta.
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, there was a stone-carver
learning in the young ages, and when he grew up as an adult, his skills were excellent.
In the Kasi country, there was a millionaire and his wife lived in a small village. The wife, after
passed away, was born as a mouse carrying the gold coin in her storage room. Later on, her
husband also passed away. The village became solitary, but the mouse still lived there.
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One day, the young carver came near to the solitary village to take stones for carving. The
mouse saw the young carver, and thought of using the gold coin to live luxuriously. Hence, it
carried a gold coin toward the young carver, and tried to capture the attention from the young
carver. Seeing the mouse carrying a gold coin, the young carver asked:” Hey friend. What is
the reason for your arrival here with this gold coin?”
The mouse slightly replied:” Dear boss. It is a great deal if I give you the gold coin and you
buy meat for me.”
The carver agreed, and he took half of the gold coin to buy meat to give to the mouse. The
mouse brought the meat back to its cave, and enjoyed the meat. And from that day, every day,
the mouse gave the carver a gold coin in exchange for delicious meat. One day, unluckily, the
mouse was captured by a cat, and while the cat was going to eat the mouse, it negotiated to
share meat to the cat daily: “Hey friend. If you release me. You shall have meat to eat daily.”
The cat released the mouse, and from that time, the mouse had to share half of its meat to the
cat. Then, the other unlucky day, the cat was caught by the other cat, and the similar negotiation
was approved. The mouse had to share its meat in three parts daily. And then, the mouse was
caught by the third and the fourth cat, and after the negotiations, the mouse had to share its
meat into five parts daily. As it did not have enough food to keep healthy, it became thinner.
The carver noticed and asked:” Hey Friend. What happened to you recently?”
The mouse told the carver about the threat from the cats, and the carver pacified the mouse:”
Don’t worry friend! I will help you.”
Then the carver made a cave with the hardest crystal, and let the mouse stay in. When the first
cat came to ask for meat, the mouse said:” Hey evil cat. Why do I have to share meat with you?
Go away.” The cat was extremely angry. It jumped toward the mouse, aiming to grab the mouse
to eat, but it hit the crystal wall, getting injured. So, it drove away. It was similar to the second,
third and fourth cat. From that on, the mouse gave the carver three gold coins, and gradually,
it gave all its fortune to the carver.
After telling the story, Buddha spoke the verse:
From the firs cat
Then the second, third and fourth appeared
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All the cats injured and drove away
As they hit the crystal wall
Then the Buddha recognized that four cats were four Bikkhus that received offerings from
Kanamatta, and the mouse was Kanamatta. The carver was him.
Story 138: The Story of Godha
Buddha told this story at Jetevana, on the occasion in which a monk often deceived others
that made others annoyed.
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, there was a gecko living in a
small hill in a forest which was close to the place of an ascetic monk who obtained five extra-
wisdoms. The hill where the gecko lived is located near to the walking meditation path of the
monk. The gecko often went to the cottage of this ascetic monk to listen to the Dharma, and
paid respect to the monk as well.
One day, this ascetic monk left the forest, and the other monk came to live in the cottage of this
ascetic monk. The gecko still kept its habit to come to the cottage to listen to Dharma and to
pay respect to the monk.
In the summer, a storm hit the forest that made the termites that lived under the ground have to
crawl up, and many geckos appeared to eat the termites. The villagers caught some geckos to
make the porridge and offered the new monk. Just putting a few spoons of porridge into the
mouth, the monk was extremely attracted by the taste of the porridge:” What kind of porridge
is it?”
A villager told him: “it is the porridge that we cooked together with gecko meat.”
The monk, at that time, could not control his mind, so he thought:” There is a big gecko which
often comes to pay respect to me. So, I shall catch it and cook.” And then in the next day, the
monk prepared the cookers, stove and ingredients for cooking the gecko. He put them beside
the cottage and calmly sat to wait for the gecko.
When the gecko was coming close to the monk, it saw the face of the monk was different from
other days. The monk was putting too much attention on it, and his eyes were full of desire.
Then, standing under the flow of the wind, the gecko smelt the meat of the gecko from the
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monk, so it quickly realized the ambition of the monk:” This monk was offered gecko meat
yesterday, and by the attachment to the taste, he planned to catch me to cook.” So, the gecko
immediately moved to the other place rapidly.
The monk, seeing the gecko turning and moving to another direction, knew that the gecko
already comprehended his desire, but he still was greedy to catch the gecko. He stood up
immediately, to grab the cooking spoon and threw it toward the gecko. However, the spoon
just hit the tail of the gecko.
After entering from a hole in a small hill, the gecko came out from the other hole and said to
the monk:” Hey the braided hair! I thought you were a real practitioner, so I came to pay respect
to you. But, now, you showed that you are a deceiver. You would not be a monk!”
Then the gecko spoke the verse:
With ignorance, people are
Not helpful with braided hairs as monk
Full attachments in the mind
Deceiving as a calm mind!
Then the gecko re-entered the hole of the hill, and the monk right after that left the forest to
move to the other place.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the deceived monk was the immoral monk,
while the ascetic monk was Sariputta. The gecko was him.
Story 140: Story of Kala
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a famous master which is detailed in the Jataka
465, story of Bhadassala.
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, there was a crow living near
the palace of the king, and who was the king of 80 000 crows. One day, the consultant priest
of the palace was on the way back to the palace after taking a bath from a river outside the
palace. The king of crow and his friend are parking on the wall near the main gate entering the
palace. The crow said to the king crow:” I will defecate on the head of this man.”
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The king of crow denied the ambition of his friend:” Don’t do it Please! This man has power
and position. Don’t play with those who have power and high position. If he gets angry, he
may try to kill all the crows.”
Despite the advice from the friend, the greedy crow still aimed to carry out his plan. It flew to
the main gate, when the consultant priest was crossing the gate, it defecated on his head. The
consultant priest was extremely angry at the crows.
Not long after that, there was a female servant appointed to keep the newly harvested rice from
the animals. When the female servant was sleeping, a goat came to eat the rice. The girl tried
to dry the goat several times; however, the goat still came again and again. So, the girl used a
rob to beat slightly on the goat to drive it away. Unluckily, when the girl beat the goat, its furs
caught fire, and the goat ran into the house which kept the hay to burn off the fire on its back,
but the fire spread to the hay. After that the fire spread to the elephant barn of the palace to
make all the elephants injured.
All the veterinarians tried hard but could not heal well for all the elephants. The king asked the
consultant priest whether he knew how to heal the elephants’ injuries. The consultant priest, at
that time, told the king:” Dear Sir. We need to get the fat of crows to heal the elephants’
injuries.”
From that day, the crows in the nation were chased and killed to make fat to heal the elephants’
injuries.
The anxious fear was spread over the crows, and they informed the king who lived in a
cemetery with 80000 other crows. The king of crow, after hearing the issue, he recited ten
paramitas, focusing on the compassion paramita. After that it flew to the palace, entering the
room of the king, hiding itself beside the chair of the king. At that time, a servant wanted to
catch the crow, but the king prohibited him.
Then the king of crow flew out of the chair and said to the king:” Dear sir. You should be aware
of what you have done, otherwise, your actions would be harmful to others. For example, the
crows do not have fat. So, please do not follow the wrong advice from the consultant priest, as
he is doing his revenge to us.”
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The king ordered the servant to give the king of crow a golden chair for it to stand on, and
asked servants to give the meat to the king of crow. After that, the king asked the crow:``You
said that the crows do not have fat. What is the reason for this?”
The king of crow spoke the verse:
Often be threatened, our minds
Due to hatred of others
So not fats, we have
All kinds of crows
And then the king of crow continued to talk to the king:” Dear King. So please be aware of
your actions, as it may be harmful to others. Please, do not let any kind of beings be threatened.”
After telling the story, Buddha recognized that the king Brahmadatta was Ananda, and the king
of crow was him.
Story 141: Story of the Perfidious monk (Story of Godha)
Buddha told this story at Bamboo-Grove, about a monk who was perfidious.
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, there was a gecko, which lived
in a cave near to a river, and was the leader of hundreds of followers. This gecko-leader had a
son, which often played close with a salamander.
One day, the gecko-leader called his son and explained:” Hey son! You are making friends
with those who do not deserve our position. Salamanders are kind of vile, deceived and greedy.
If you still keep friendship with it, we shall get into trouble soon.”
Despite the serious advice from the father, the son of the gecko-leader still kept close with the
salamander. The gecko-leader continuously advised his son, but he realized that his advice had
not affected his son. So, he tried to find a way to heal the trouble in case it would happen:”
Soon or later, the threat and danger shall happen to our family due to this salamander. So, I
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have to plan to escape the danger if it is happening.” And, then, the gecko-leader told his
followers to dig a minor path, which used to escape from the cave when dangers would arrive.
Time flies, the son of the gecko-leader grew up quickly, and it became bigger than the
salamander many times. However, it still kept the habit, holding the salamander to kiss it. One
day, after the son of the gecko-leader held and kissed the salamander, the salamander felt
annoyed as the son of the gecko-leader was too heavy:” If he continues to hold and kiss me like
this, I may die soon. So, I have to find a way to make the hunters kill him and his family.”
Soon the summer came in that region, and one day, a storm hit the region, and many termites
were out of their nests. The geckos came out to eat the termites. On that occasion, a gecko-
hunter took some tools and dogs, walking to find the geckos. The salamander saw the hunter,
and was extremely happy:” Today, my ambition shall be fulfilled.” So, it came close to the
gecko:” Dear Sir! What are you looking for in this forest?”
The hunter was extremely surprised but quickly replied the salamander:” To catch the geckos”
The salamander intensely satisfied:” I know a cave in which hundreds of geckos live. I will
take you there.”
The hunter took straw to put in front of the cave of the gecko-family, and he managed the dogs
surrounding the cave to avoid the escape of any gecko. Then, he burned the straw. The smoke
came into the cave, and made the geckos run out of the cave. At that time, the hunter used the
basket to grab and catch all the geckos running out. Some geckos escaped from him, but soon
they were bitten by the dogs.
The fear was spread around the gecko family, and the gecko-leader led the rest of the geckos
to escape through the minor path that he already arranged. On the way, escaping from the
hunter, the gecko-leader knew that the trouble that his family was encountering was caused by
the salamander, so he talked to others:” We should not build a network with the evils as we
shall be destroyed or killed sooner or later.” And he spoke the verse:
Don’t be friend or communicated with evils

As we tend to live insufferably
As making friend with a salamander
Most of the geckos encountered danger!
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After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the salamander was Devadatta, and the son
of the gecko leader was the perfidious monk. The gecko-leader was him.
Story 142: Story of Sigala
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, on the occasion monks gathered at the Dharma-hall to
talk about the event in which Devadatta planned to kill the Buddha. After knowing the content’s
talk of the monks’ talk, Buddha said:” It is not in the present time, but also in the past life, he
did it.”
And Buddha started telling the story:
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning in Varanasi, there was a jackal who
was the king of all the jackals in the region. The jackal king lived at a cemetery with hundreds
of other jackals. One day, there was a festival organized at Savathi. On this occasion, people
took their wines and meats and gathered on the street to celebrate the festival. At midnight, a
man ran out of meat but still had wine left, so he asked others to exchange his wines and meat.
However, nobody had meat left or nobody wanted to exchange their meat for his wine. So, he
was greedy:” When I am here, there is no way of having no meat. I will kill some of the jackals
living in the cemetery nearby for meat.”
So he took an animal trap, and followed the drain gutter of the city to the cemetery. At the
cemetery, he prepared the trap for the jackals and then lay down near to the trap. At that time,
the king of jackals and other jackals came near the man. With a special nose, the jackal king
could recognise that the man was still alive, so it desired to unscroll the plan of the man. The
jackal king came close to the trap, grabbing the trap with strong teeth and pushing the trap. The
man saw the trap was being pushed by the jackal, so he tried to use hands to hold up the trap.
At that time, the jackal king said to the man:” Hey guy. If you were dead, then you would not
be able to hold the trap. So, please stop cheating. “
And the jackal king spoke the verse:
It is hard to comprehend
Pretending a dead body, the man
As I push the trap
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Trying to hold it up, you do
Revealed that your cheat
As I know you are deceiving
The man was angry, and he stood up, throwing a rob toward the jackal king. However, the
jackal king successfully stepped aside to escape from the attack. The man spoke angrily:” Go
away! You only escape from me this time”
The jackal king said calmly to the man:” I escaped from you but you are not going to escape
from the hells.”And the jackal king led other jackals out of the cemetery. The man continued
to wait for other jackals, but there were no jackals walking around him. Finally, the man left
the cemetery and returned to the city.
After telling the story, Buddha recognised that the man was Devadatta, and the jackal king was
him.
Story 143: Story of Vairocana
Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the event when Devadatta was the master at Gayasisa.
When the mind was polluted, Devadatta was attached with desire. Planning to have more fame
, Devadatta asked the Buddha to add more five precepts to the Sangha rules, but Buddha denied
him as Buddha thought that five precepts that Devadatta suggested are not appreciated to add
as the compulsory to the Sangha.
Devadatta was disappointed, so he led 500 hundred monks to leave the Sangha. Devadatta and
500 monks lived separately to the Sangha of the Buddha.
One day, realizing that it was the right time to call 500 monks back, Buddha sent Sariputta and
Mogallana went to the temple of Devadatta and 500 monks. When Sariputta and Mogallana
arrived, Devadatta was extremely happy, and he spoke to them the whole evening, and
afterward he pretended the way the Buddha often behaved, saying to Sariputta and Mogallana:”
Dear Venerable! All monks are very conscious and not sleepy, so please speak to them.” And
then Devadatta went to take a rest as the Buddha often did.
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After Devadatta went away, Venerable Sariputta and Mogallana used their wisdoms and
talented communive skills to awaken the knowledge and wisdom of 500 monks. Before the sun
arose, they led them back to Jetavana.
In the early morning, Kokalika went to the room of Devadatta and complained:’ Hey
Venerable! Do you know that Sariputta and Mogallana already led all the monks back to
Jetavana? What are you doing here?”
Then Kokalika took off the rob of Devadatta and kicked him in the chest with his heel.
Devadatta was injured, with the blood coming out of his mouth.
When Sariputta and 500 monks returned to Jetavana, Buddha asked Sariputta: “ What had
happened when you arrived, and when you left?
Sariputta told everything to the Buddha, and the Buddha said that:” it is not today, but in the
past, he encountered troubles after trying to pretend my actions.”
Buddha told a story:
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, there was a lion living in a
cave, namely Cancana, located in Himalaya. One day, the lion roared loudly, and ran quickly
to the plain and killed a mountainous buffalo to eat. After eating the buffalo, the lion went to
a pond which contained the super-purified water, to drink water, and then the lion went back
to its cave.
One day, when the lion was standing at the foot of the mountain, a jackal was falling down
from a mountainside close to the lion after being threatened when it saw the lion. The lion was
surprised:” Hey the jackal. What do you want?”
Scheming, the jackal replied: “ Dear Sir. I want to be your servant.”
The lion was extremely happy:'' Haha. Great. Follow me, and I will give you fresh meat after I
eat something.``
And then the lion led the jackal back to live together in the golden cave, and from that day, the
jackal ate the leftover from whatever lion ate. Soon after that, as having enough food, the jackal
became fatter and bigger.
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One day, when the jackal was lying in front of the golden cave, the lion was excited to say to
the jackal:” Hey Jackal. Go around and see. What you want to eat just tell me.”
The jackal stepped toward the plain, it saw a young elephant which was in its adulthood, so the
jackal returned and told the lion. Immediately, the lion jumped down to the plain to catch the
elephant to eat, and the jackal enjoyed the leftovers from the lion meal. Day after day, whatever
the jackal wanted to eat, the lion was all satisfied with it.
However, one day, the jackal thought that it looked tall like the lion, so it could do whatever
the lion had done. Hence, it entered the golden cave and said to the lion:” Dear Sir. From now
on, I want to do whatever you have done. So, I sleep inside this cave and whatever you want
to eat just tell me, I will immediately catch them for you.”
The lion calmly replied to the jackal:” Calm down jackal. You are a jackal and you cannot
behave well as a lion.”However, the jackal still insisted on the lion, so the lion agreed to the
jackal. The lion moved out of the golden cave, and let the jackal sleep in its place. In the early
morning next day, the lion strolled around the plain near to the Himalaya, and the lion backed
to the golden cave, telling the jackal that it desired to eat the elephant which was in its adulthood
and was wandering in the plain.
The jackal roared loudly three times, and it ran quickly toward the plain. Seeing the elephant,
the jackal jumped toward and bit on the neck of the elephant. The elephant used its trunk to
push the jackal out of its neck and kicked the jackal at its stomach. The jackal got serious
injuries, and it passed away after that. The lion was standing on a mountainside nearby, seeing
everything happened, it sadly spoke the verse:
Trying to be the lion
The Jackal was killed
By the strong elephant
So, be yourself, in your ways!
After telling the story, Buddha recognised that the jackal was Devadatta, and the lion was him.
Story 144: Story of Nanguttha
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Buddha told this story at Jetavana, on an occasion in which some monks asked the Buddha
about the ascetic practice of monks of other lineages who lived around Jetavana. Some of them
just squatted all the time, but others preferred to sleep on the rough stuff. A group of them also
paid respect to the fire for getting enlightenment.
Buddha, after being asked about the benefits from these ways of practice, answered that:”
These ways of practice are not the right ways to obtain enlightenment. In the past, some wise
men entered the forest to pay homage to fire in order to enlighten. However, soon after that
they realized that their practices were wrong, so they stopped those wrong ways. With right
contemplations, they soon achieved the levels of meditation and were born in the realm of
Brahma.
Then Buddha told a story:
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, there was born a child in a
Brahmin family in North Varanasi. When the child was just born, his parents burned a fire, and
had kept the fire until he reached 16 years old. On the birthday of sixteen, his parents said
intimately to him:” We have kept this fire for 16 years, and if you desire to obtain the Brahma
realm, then take this fire to the forest to practice. However, if you plan to be reborn in the
human realm, please diligently study three books of Vedas.”
The son replied:” So, I will get to the forest with this fire as it is my ambition in this life.”
Then the son brought the fire in a protected condition, entering a forest to be an ascetic monk.
At the forest, he built up a cottage, and days and nights, he paid respects and homage to the
fire. One day, he was offered a cow by a villager living nearby, and he planned to kill the cow
to do ritual to the deity of fire. However, as he did not have salt, he planned to get to the village
to get some salt.
Before leaving to get salts in the village, he tied the cow into a pillar. Unluckily, when he just
left, some hunters went through his cottage. Seeing nobody but the cow, the hunters killed the
cow and used the fire to grill the cow’s meat. They ate all parts of the cow but the tail, and after
that they left.
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When the monk returned to his cottage, he saw only the tail of the cow left, so he contemplated
that:” This fire deity, even, could not protect his possession, so won’t it be able to protect me.
It is likely that I will get nothing if I continue to protect this fire.”
The monk lost his greed to respect and protect the fire, so he threw the tail of the cow into fire,
saying: “Dear deity of fire, if you cannot protect your fire, you are not going to protect me well.
Hence, please eat this tail instead of the cow.”
And he spoke the verse:
The fire of birthday
Useless deity
Offer you, the cow tail only
Is full of my respect
All the good meat
Are not available any more
Please receive this tail
Then the monk used water to burn off the fire. After that he left to seek the right methods of
practice. Soon after that he obtained the levels of meditation and was reborn on the realm of
Brahma.
After telling the story, Buddha recognized that the monk was him.
Story 145: Story of Radha
Buddha told this story at Jetavana, surrounding the attachment of a monk to his wife which is
detailed in the story 423 (Story of Indriya). The Buddha called the monk and taught him that:
“It is impossible to monitor a woman. Although you arrange to monitor that woman well, you
also cannot keep her beside you. In the past, you already suffered to guard this woman, so why
do you have to do it again.”
And the Buddha told the story:
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, there were two parrots, which
were two brothers, and which were fed by a rich Brahmin at Kasi. The biggest brother was
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named Rothada, while the younger one was named Radha. The wife of this Brahmin enjoyed
having sexual misconduct whenever the Brahmin left home for a few days.
One day, when the Brahmin was going to leave home for a few days, he asked two parrots to
monitor his wife:” Dear two sons. Please help me to monitor my wife, your mother. When she
shall do something immoral, please try to suspend her”
The Rothada replied wisely to the Brahmin:” Don’t worry father. We tend to do it, but we will
keep silent if we cannot.”
After the Brahmin left, his wife immediately invited other men to come to satisfy her sexual
desire. Seeing all that happened, Radha could not bear it, and expressed her thoughts to
Rothada:” As our father asked that whenever our mother had immoral acts, we should suspend
her acts. Now she is doing bad, so we should suspend her from doing it.”
Rothada calmly replied:” Brother. Although the men always take their wives on their back,
they also cannot monitor the desire of the women. So, let it be!”
Then Rothada spoke the verse:
Radha, you don’t know
Men as much as many came at night times
This woman was full attachment
So, she could not keep the wife duty
Then Rothada suspended its brother to say anything to the wife of the Brahmin. When the
Brahmin backed off, Rothada told him anything, and finally, Rothada talked to the Brahmin
sadly:” I already did something that I should not do with the mother, so I cannot continue to
live here.” Then Rothada led his brother to the forest to live in.
After telling this story, Buddha talked about four noble truths, and the monk who was too much
attached to his wife obtained the First Entering Stream level. And then, the Buddha recognized
that Radha was Ananda, and Rothada was him.
Story 146: Story of Kaka
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Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the habitual actions of old monks that make others
complain to the Buddha.
Old monks were rich men living in Jetavana and they were friends to each other. They were
greedy to cultivate good deeds when they were laymen. After they heard the Buddha talk about
the benefits of the monk life, they decided to give their fortunes to their sons, daughters and
wives, and then they were ordained as monks.
Because they were ordained when they were old, they neither learned the Dharma and Sila well
nor behaved well as monks. They stayed together at one place in Jetavana, and they did not go
to get alms as others but went to their families for food.
One of wives of the monks was the main supporter for all the old monks living in Jetavana, so
all old monks often gathered at her house for eating. One day, this supporter was getting serious
sickness and passed away. Hearing this news, all the old monks gathered to cry for her.
Some young monks came to ask them after hearing their gloomy cries:” Why are you all crying
dismally?”
An old monk sadly replied:” A wife of our friend, the great supporter of us, just passed away.”
These young monks went to the Dharma-hall to talk to the Venerable monks about this issue.
When they were talking about this, The Buddha entered the Dharma-Hal, asking them:” What
has been bothering all of you?”
A venerable monk told the issue to the old monks, and then the Buddha said:” It is not in the
present time, but in the past life, they also cried like this when a crow died.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, there was a sea god who lived
in the sea near to Varanasi.
At that time, there were two crows, living in the forest nearby, who were a couple of each other,
and flew to the seashore to enjoy the water and to search for a living. After people paid respect
to the deity of the snake, two crows came to enjoy the food and they also drank the wine.
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After eating and drinking, two crows stepped close to the water sea, and unluckily, a tall and
strong wave came over and the wave pulled the female crow away from the seashore. Right
after that a big fish appeared to sip the female crow into its hungry stomach.
The male crow cried loudly, which made other crows notice, and they flew to the male crow to
comprehend what happened to him: “Hey friend. Why do you cry sadly?”
Gloomily replied to the male crow:” My wife has been pulled to the deep sea already.”
All the crows suddenly cried loudly together, and then they decided to bail all the water from
the sea to find the female crow. They used their mouths to sip sea water and then flew to the
shore to put water out one the shore. They continuously flew in and out until they were all
exhausted and lying on the shore tiredly:” Dear friends. We cannot bail the water in this sea
out by our efforts.”
Then a crow spoke the verse:
Our necks are completely tired
Our mouths are sore
Trying to bail the water in the sea
But no changes in the sea
And the husband of the female crow continued:” What beautiful she is. What an attractive
voice. Why did the sea pull her away to the deep sea?”
At that time, hearing they were in nonsense, the sea god appeared in terrible shape to drive
them away.
After telling the story, Buddha recognized that the wife of an old monk passed away was the
female crow, and the old monk who had passed away was the husband of the crow. The sea
god was him.
Story 147: Story of Puppharata
Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a monk who was still attached too much to his wife.
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A monk, after being ordained, still remembered his wife all the time, so his issue was told to
the Buddha, and the Buddha asked him:” Is it true that you still are too much attached to others?
Who is that?”
The monk was proud to reply:” My wife. She is beautiful as the moon, and it made me
remember her all the time.
Buddha said to that young monk:” Come on Monk. That woman is harmful to you, and because
of her, you already were killed by a sharp stake. Afterward, you are reborn in hell. So, should
not continue to be too much attached to her”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, there was a forerunner who
lived in the cloud over Varanasi. When the Kattika festival in Varanasi took place during the
full moon week of October, the city was decorated beautifully as heaven. People all went out
to play in their most modern and beautiful clothes. However, there was a poor man, who had
nothing but an extremely old shirt to wear all the time. His wife, during the festival, dreamed
that:” Dear husband. I want to have a shirt with red color made from the Kasumbha tree,
shaking your hands while walking around to play in this festival.”
The husband replied sadly:” We have no money to buy silk made from the Kasumbha tree.
Please wear this clean piece of cloth and enjoy the festival.”
The wife went mad:” There is no cloth made from Kasumbha tree, so there is no festival. You
shall get married with another woman to play at the festival with.”
The husband calmly:” What should we do to have a cloth made from Kasumbha?”
The wife replied confidently:” Dear husband. Whatever people desire. They all can have them.
Is it true that there are a lot of Kasumbha clothes in the palace of the king?”
The husband replied fearfully: “Dear honey. The palace is like the pond which belongs to the
Yaksha. There are too many soldiers there. Don’t be too greedy. Just satisfied with what we
have.”
The wife insisted:” At night time, nobody can stop others to get to the place that they like. So,
please try one time.”
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The husband pacified the wife:” Okay. I will try one time.”
When the darkness just arrived, the husband went to the place, trying to get to the storage house
of the palace. Then, he tried to cut the barrier of the storage house for entering to take the
Kasumbha clothes. The soldiers heard the noises from the storage house, so they raided the
storage house from many directions. Finally, they caught the husband and tied him into a pillar.
The early morning the next day, the soldiers took the husband to meet the king, and the king
was extremely willing to let soldiers kill the husband with sharp stakes. The soldiers put the
husband into a criminal trap, and took him to parade around the city. Afterward, they gave him
some sharp stakes. When the husband was going to die, he spoke the verse:
Suffered not by the sharp stakes
But from the worrying for my wife
For not being play together with her
Give her to wear Kasumbha clothes
Shaking hands playing the festival!
After that the husband was reborn in hell with the suffering mind.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the poor couples were the monk and his
wife, and the forerunner was him.
Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the sufficient method to heal with suffering
There were five hundred millionaires living in Savathi, and they were close to each other. After
hearing the teachings from the Buddha, they decided to ordain as monks and lived in the temple
that Anathapindika offered Sangha.
Although living at the temple, they suffered as they remembered the attached things that they
often did as laymen. One night, in meditation, Buddha knew that the new old monks all suffered
as they could not know how to stay in the right practice. So, the Buddha decided to give them
a Dharma talk, helping them to stay peacefully
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Then the Buddha went out of the room and called for Ananda:” Ananda, immediately go and
call all the monks gathered at the Dharma-hall.”
After monks gathered at the Dharma-hall, Buddha started speaking:” Hey Monks. Be aware of
all the segments of your thoughts. Don’t run after three kinds of suffering thoughts, desire
thoughts, angry thoughts and seeking thoughts. Please, don’t think that these thoughts are
harmless. They are poisonous. When these thoughts arise, recognize them with awareness, and
let them out immediately. The wise men never let these kinds of thoughts arise in their minds,
so whenever these thoughts arise, they recognize and drive them away immediately.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, there was jackal lived near to
the bank of a river. One day, an old elephant went to the river to drink water and it died there.
The jackal, on the way getting food, saw the elephant’ body, so it was super-happy:” I have a
storage of food for a month.”
The jackal came over the elephant, and tried to bite the trunk of the elephant to eat, but the
trunk was hard as the handle of the plough. The jackal continued to bite the other parts of the
elephant, but all were super-hard, and the jackal could not eat anything. Finally, the jackal bit
the anus of the elephant. It was soft, and the jackal enjoyed eating it. After that the jackal tried
to enter the body of the elephant to eat the kidneys, heart, lungs and so on. Whenever the jackal
was thirsty, it drank the blood of the elephant. So, the jackal decided to stay inside the body of
the elephant.
A few weeks later, the winds carrying salts and supper-sunlight made the skin of the elephant
become extremely hard. After a few weeks, the jackal wanted to get out, but at that time, the
jackal could not as the skin of the elephant was too hard for it to escape.
Luckily, a few days later, a heavy rain fell down in that region, and the skin of the elephant
gradually softened. The skin dilated, and the light came in from the anus of the elephant that
made the jackal extremely happy. It used all its power hitting the anus of the elephant to escape
from the body of the elephant.
Then with threatened mind, it made the verse:
I will never do it again
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Stay in the body of the elephant
Whenever seeing the elephant’ body
Really scary, I am
And the jackal ran away rapidly!
After telling the story, Buddha recognized that:” Hey monks, please don’t let your attached
thoughts arise. Be aware of them.” Then, the Buddha talked about four noble truths. During
this talk of the Buddha, 500 old monks achieved Arhathood. Many other monks became
Entering Streamers.
Then Buddha recognized that the jackal was him.
Story 149: Story of Ekapanna
The Buddha told this story at a house in Licchavi, which was near to Vasali, about the wicked
prince of Licchavi.
At that time, Vesali was covered by three layers of walls, and each layer of wall was about one
third of a mile to each other. There were 7707 tribes, and thus there were 7707 kings, with 7707
national systems and the banks.
Among the princes of those kings, there was one prince who was called the wicked prince,
because he tended to use all the cruel punishments for those who made him angry. One day,
his parents took him to meet the Buddha:” Dear Master. Our son was easy to get angry with,
and he tends to be cruel when he gets angry. Please say something to him.”
Buddha slowly and calmly talked to the wicked prince:” As a human, we should not be angry
easily and be cruel to others. When you are angry, you behave badly to all people, including
your parents, brothers and sisters, your mates and friends. The angry person who likes a snake
always tries to attack others, or likes the Yaksha desires to kill others. Angry people are ugly,
although they wear beautiful clothes. So, you have to try to calm your mind and live peacefully
with others.”
Returning from the visit to the Buddha, the wicked prince became friendly and compassionate
to others. He gave up the angry mind, and stopped punishing others.
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The rapid change of the wicked prince soon became the breaking news, and it spread to the
monks living in Jetavana. They gathered in the Dharma-hall, talking about the effectiveness of
Buddha’s teaching to the wicked prince:” Venerables! Wicked prince was extremely angry and
cruel to most others, and nobody had been successful to advise him to change but only the
Buddha. The Buddha is the greatest master we have ever seen.”
Then the Buddha entered the Buddha-hall. Knowing what the monks talked about, the Buddha
said that:” It is not only in this life but also in the past life, he changed to be better after only
one time teaching from me.”
Once upon a time, when the king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, there was a young man
who was born in a Brahmin family located at the North of Varanasi. When he was sixteen, he
was well-cultivated at Takkasila. Soon after that, he was excellent in three books of Vedas and
18 kinds of skills. After learning, he returned to take good care of his parents. After his parents
passed away, he was ordained to be a monk, and soon after that he achieved enlightenment.
One day, he needed some salt, so he left the mountain to get to Varanasi and stayed one night
in the park of the palace of the king. The early morning the next day, he wore the robe made
of phloem of the ascetic monk, and walked around the town to get alms. When he walked
through the main gate of the palace, the king, who was from a window, saw the monk. The
king immediately thought highly of the monk:” This monk looks extremely peaceful, with the
tranquility of five organs, mind and even each of his steps. If peace existed, it would be
presented to this monk.” After that the king said to an official to invite the monk to pay a visit
to the palace.
The official went out of the palace to meet the monk, saying politely:” Dear venerable. My
king wants you to pay a visit to the palace.”
The monk calmly denied:” The palace is not my place; my place is Himalaya.”
The official went back to the palace to tell the king the refusal of the monk, but the king was
greedy to meet the monk, so the king insisted to the official:” Now, the palace does not have a
consultant priest, so please invite the monk to stay here.”
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The official, again, met the monk and asked for his visit to the palace. This time, the monk
agreed and paid a visit to the palace. When the monk entered the palace, the king paid homage
to the monk, and invited the monk to sit on his golden chair, with the covering of the golden
parasol. After that the king offered the monk with delicious and luxurious foods.
The king asked the monk:” Where are you from?”
The monk calmly:” I live in the Himalayas.”
The king continued:” Where are you going to do and to go?”
The monk:” I am looking for a place for a rainy retreat.”
The king was happy:” So, please stay at our park. It is comfortable for you.”
The king let people make a cottage for the monk, and the king visited the monks three times a
day.
The king had a son who was easy to get angry with and likely to punish others in extreme cruel
ways. So, the king planned:” I believe nobody on this earth can help my son to change to be
better except for this great monk. So, I should take my son to visit him one time.” So, the king
took the prince to pay a visit to the monk. At the cottage of the monk, the king said slightly to
the monk:” Dear master, my son is too cruel to others. Please help me to change his attitude.”
After that the king left and let the prince stay with the monk. The monk took the prince to have
a stroll around the park. When they arrived at a small Nimba tree, the monk asked the prince
to take a leaf and eat it. The prince took off a leaf of Nimba and put it in his mouth. However,
he immediately vomited it out as it was too bitter.
The monk said to the prince;” This kind of tree is bitter, and when it grows up, it becomes the
poison to kill people.”
After hearing from the monk, the prince took the Nimba tree off and crumpled it.
The monk asked the prince:” Why did you do that?”
The prince quickly answered:” This tree is not good for humans, so we don’t need to keep it.”
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The monk at that time calmly said:” It is my prince. As this Nimba tree is harmful to humans,
it is not essential to keep it. Likewise, your behaviors right now are harmful like the trait of this
Nimba tree. Therefore, others thought that you did not deserve to inherit to rule this nation as
you are too cruel to others. Hence, it will be better if you can stop behaving badly to others,
instead behaving in friendly and compassionate ways.”
When the prince returned to the palace, he immediately changed his attitude, and behaved
friendly and compassionate to others. After his father passed away, he ruled the nation with
virtue.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the cruel son of king Brahmadatta was the
wicked prince, and his father was Ananda. The ascetic monk was him.
Story 150: Story of Sanjiva
Buddha told this story at Bamboo-Grove, and the story surrounded the king Ajatasatthu.
When Devadatta left the Sangha of the Buddha, he advised the king Ajatasatthu to follow him.
King Ajatasatthu killed his father, king Bimbasala who obtained the Entering Stream level, so
king Ajatasatthu, himself, cut down his cause for achieving this practicing level in the nearest
time.
When king Devadatta was swallowed by the earth, king Ajasatatthu worried:” I also shall be
swallowed by the earth like him.” From that time, king Ajatsatathu always worried that he
could not sleep, eat and drink well. He wandered around, with a threatened mind, like the
elephants are punished with sharp stakes. In the thought, Ajasatatthu always saw the earth was
going to crack and swallow him down into the fire hell, so he worried all the time.
The king Ajasatatthu wanted to pay a visit to the Buddha to show the Buddha his penitent
actions and mind, but he could not reach the Buddha place. Therefore, in the Katika festival,
Savathi was decorated as the heaven, and the king Ajasatatthu was on the golden chair on an
elephant, parading around the city. When the king was on the elephant, the king saw Jivaka, an
official of the city, so he planned to take Jivika to meet the Buddha:” I will ask the officials to
pay a visit to the monk or Brahmin that shall make us stay peacefully and happily. It is likely
that Jivika shall introduce the Buddha, so I will take him and other officials to visit the
Buddha.”
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So, after parading around the city, king Ajasatatthu asked officials:” Dear officials! Today is
the precious day to pay a visit to a monk or a Brahmin who shall help us to stay peacefully and
happily in this life.”
The officials introduced Purana Kassapa, Makkali Gosala, Ajita Kesakambasala, Kakkudha
Kaccayana Saniaja Belatthiputa, Nigantha Nataputta, but nobody introduced the Buddha. The
king still kept silent, looking toward Jivaka to wait for him, and Jivika turned toward the
direction that the Buddha was in, saying:'' Dear my Majesty. The Arahat. The fully enlightened
one is staying in my mango-grove, together with 135 monks. So, the Buddha is the only one
that we shall visit right now.``
The king Ajasatathu was extremely happy when he heard Jivika’s utterance, so he urged
Jivika:” Let the elephants into the vehicles, and we will ride to the Buddha’ s place.”
When they arrived at the Mango-grove, king Ajasatathu and officials took off the elephants,
and walked slightly toward the Buddha. Seeing the Buddha and 1350 monks sitting in peaceful
condition, the king Ajasatathu felt extremely happy and peaceful. The king paid respect to the
Buddha and the Sangha, and sat down at a corner with all his humility. Then the king asked the
Buddha about the fruit of the monkhood. The Buddha, on that occasion, taught about the
precious fruit of the monkhood. After the Dharma talk of the Buddha, king Ajasatatthu asked
the Buddha to forgive for his crimes and cruel actions. Then, the king, again, paid respect to
the Buddha and Sangha before leaving.
After the king left, Buddha said that:” the king cut his virtue down so that he could not enter
the first Entering Stream level, which he probably could during the lesson that I just gave him.”
The next morning, monks gathered at the Dharma-hall to talk about the cause that prevented
the king Ajasatatthu from obtaining the Entering Stream level:” Dear venerable! Because the
king Ajasatatthu followed Devadatta to do evil things, he could not enter the Entering Stream
level after listening to the talk of the Buddha.”
The Buddha, then, entered the Dharma-hall, hearing the monks talking about the king
Ajasatatthu, Buddha said that:” It is not in this present time, but also in the past life, he followed
evil people and cut down his virtue.”
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Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, there was a young man who
was born in a rich Brahmin family. When he was sixteen, he was well-cultivated at Takkasila,
and soon after that he became a famous Master, with hundreds of students.
Among his students, there was a clever young man who was named Sanjiva. The Master taught
Sanjiva a mantra which could make the dead bodies to be alive again. Sanjiva was diligent to
practice, so he was excellent in this skill. Sanjiva often played closely with some friends that
were too arrogant. So, Sanjiva gradually became arrogant too.
One day, Sanjiva and two other students went to the forest to get the woods. One the way back,
they saw a skeleton of a tiger. Sanjiva told his friends:” I will make this tiger revised.”
Two friends: “Really? Can you do that?” Then they climbed up to a tall tree
Sanjiva began to read the mantra and used a piece of the brick to hit the skeleton of the tiger.
The tiger was revised immediately and it rapidly grabbed Sanjiva and killed Sanjiva with a bite
in the neck. After that the tiger was returned as a skeleton.
Two students were threatened by the death of Sanjiva, so they quickly backed to tell the Master.
The Master said:” Because of having an evil mind, and was playing with the evil, so he got that
consequence.”
And the Master spoke the verse:
Whoever build relationship with evil men
Or playing closely with evil men
They shall be in trouble
Like Sanjiva was encountered!
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that Sajiva was Ajasatatthu, and the Master in
the story was him
Story 151: Story of Rajovada
Buddha told this story at Jetavana, after the Buddha gave a Dharma-talk to the king
Kosala, the detail is told in the story 512 (Story of Tesakuna).
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One day, after being the judge of a complicated court, the king Kosala directly got to
Jetavana to meet the Buddha. The king Kosala paid respect to the Buddha, and sat
down in a corner. Buddha asked the king Kosala:” Why were you from Majesty?”
King Kosala answered calmly:” I was from the court, judging a complicated case for
several days. When the work at the court just completed, I rushed to come here. “
The Buddha talked to king Kosala:” You are cultivating good deeds when you give an
equal and fair judge in the court. It is the way which leads to heaven. It is a great
chance for building up virtue when you can have both being a good judge and being
able to listen to my talks. In the past, the kings listened to the wise men to be good
judges, and they left the evil paths to do good to be reborn in heaven.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, there was born a
prince, who was the son of the queen and the king. When the prince reached his 16,
he was sent to Takkasila to study. Soon after that, he was skillful in all that he studied.
After the king passed away, the prince was given on the throne as the new king. The
new king tried to rule the country with fair political laws, so all the officials and the
judges also had to work hard to give equal and fair results for the cases in the courts.
When all the political cases were handled with justice, and the country was ruled with
justice. All the lawsuits in the palace soon were out. All the officials who worked in the
courts waited for the new cases but day after day, no news cases, so they left the
courts. The courts became empty, without people.
The new king saw there were no new political cases for the judges in the courts to
work on, so he thought that he was doing right, with his fair and justice laws. However,
he still tried to get around to hear from people on whether there was something that
needed to innovate. He first asked the people living in the palace, but all people said
that the ruling ways of the king were fair and good. But the king did not satisfy the
replies from people in the palace as he thought that people living in the palace did not
give their real thoughts as they were scared of him. Hence, he went to the regions
around the palace to ask people, but he received similar replies from people.
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One day, he gave all the work of the nation to all the officials, and pretended as a
businessman, with only one driver. He went to the bordering areas to ask people about
the ruling way of the king, but the replies all were similar to what he had heard from
the people in the city of Varanasi.
When the new king of Varanasi was on the way back to his palace, his vehicle
encountered the vehicle of king Mallika of Kosala, who was also on the way asking
people around to innovate his national laws. Two vehicles encountered each other on
a super narrow path, so there was only one pass through.
The driver of Varanasi asked:” Please. Step aside. The king of Varanasi is sitting on
this vehicle. “
The other side also requested:” The king Mallika of Kosala is on this vehicle. Please
step aside.”
Then two drivers compared the several factors of two kings to decide who would step
aside. The age, power, fortune, the size of the nation, the beauty of the city were
compared but they soon realized that two kings were equal in these things. Then they
decided to compare the moral behaviors of two kings.
The driver of Kosala spoke the verse:
King Mallika of Kosala
Use violence to heal violence
Use morality to heal morality
Use good to return good
Use evil to pay back evil
It is the behavior of my Majesty
King of Kosala
The driver of Varanasi was surprised:” Are those the traits of the moral behavior of
your Majesty?”
The driver of the Kosala king replied confidently:” Yeah. They are. How about the
behavior of your Majesty?”
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The driver of Varanasi king calmly spoke:
My Majesty, king of Varanasi
Use calm to heal angry
Use good to return evil
Use giving to heal with attachment
Use the truth to heal with deceiving
Are the characteristics of my Majesty
King of Varanasi
Please step aside!
The king of Kosala and his driver immediately got off of the vehicle, and led the horses
and vehicle stepped aside the path. After that two-king talked to each other, and after
that they left to return back to their palaces. Returning to the palaces, two kings ruled
the nations with morality.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the driver of king Kosala was
Mogallana, and the Kosala king was Ananda. The driver of king Varanasi was
Suriputta, and the king was him.
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a barber who was extremely faithful to
the Dharmas of the Buddha. This barber worked in the palace, and he often cut and
designed hairs for the king, the queen, the princes and the princesses of Licchavi.
One day, he took his son to work together in the palace, and unluckily, after seeing
the beauty of a princess of Licchavi, he fell in love with her so that on the way home,
he asked his father:” I desire to get married with that princess, otherwise, I will die.”
The father pacified his son in suitable words:” We belong to the lowest caste in this
society, so it is impossible to have the princess, a person in the royal family, to be your
wife. I shall ask a woman who is in the same cart to be your wife.”
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But he denied the advice of his father to lie down on the bed all the time. Then, all his
relatives, such mother, aunt, brothers, sisters, came to advise him to change his mind,
but their advice was ineffective to him. So, time flies, the son of the barber was in
serious sickness, and he passed away.
After making a funeral for the son, the barber bought flowers, scented perfumes and
fragrances to offer the Buddha. When he arrived in front of the Buddha, he offered the
flowers, perfumes and fragrances to the Buddha, and then he paid respect to Buddha
and all monks. Afterward, he sat down in a corner. The Buddha asked him:” Where
did you do my student? I have not seen you for a long time, I did not meet you.”
The barber told the Buddha everything that had happened in that recent time to his
son, and kept silent.
Buddha, after that, said:” It is not today, but in the past life he loved the wrong person,
and suffered.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, there was a lion
family living in the Himalaya Mountain. This lion family had 7 sons and one daughter.
They all lived in the golden cave on the mountainside of Himalaya. Not far from the
golden cave, there was a crystal cave, and a jackal lived in this cave.
Time flies, the parents of lions soon passed away, and seven male lions often let their
sister stay at home, and they often brought food back for their sister. One day, when
seven male lions had just left, the jackal came to the golden cave to attract the female
lion. Standing in front of the golden cave, it said honestly:'' Dear honey. You belong to
a kind of four legged animal, so do I. I really love you too much, so please get married
to me. We shall live happily forever.``
The female lion, after hearing the words of the jackal, thought:” The jackal is from the
lowest race, and I belong to the royal one. It already consulted me, so should I commit
suicide. However, if I commit suicide now, it is not suitable. So, I will wait for my
brothers back and tell them everything before committing suicide. “
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The jackal did not hear any reply from the female lion, so it felt extremely sad. Finally,
it returned to its cave and lay down sadly.
After killing a cow, the first lion backed its cave and gave the food to its sister:” Hey
sister. Please try it.”
The sister lion:” I am not going to eat anything. I am going to die.”
The lion:” A jackal came here during the time you left here. So, I really want to commit
suicide.”
The lion was extremely angry:” Where is the jackal? I will give it a lesson.”
The sister lion:” It is in the sky, on the edge of the silver mountain.”
The lion jumped to the crystal cave with the feed when it grabbed other animals for
living. It hit the wall and fell down to the mountainside.
The second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth lion were in similar conditions, when they tried
to kill the jackal. When the last male lion backed, its sister also told him the same thing
as she told the other brothers. However, this youngest lion was clever:” The jackal is
impossible to live in the sky. It may live in a crystal cave,”
So, the youngest lion jumped down to the mountainside near to the crystal cave,
seeing six of its brothers were dead, it roared loudly. The roaring sound of the lion was
amplified in the crystal cave, and the jackal was threatened when it heard the roar of
the lion so that the jackal died inside the crystal cave.
After that the youngest lion buried its brothers, and went back to the golden cave to
pacify its sister.
The Buddha, after that spoke the verse:
One the mountainside of Himalia
Roared a young lion
Made the soils were shaken
The jackal in the crystal cave
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Threatened of the lion roar
Its heart was broken and passed away!
Right after speaking the verse, the Buddha talked about four noble truths. During the
talk, many laymen achieved the Entering Stream level. And, then, the Buddha
recognized that the jackal was the son of the barber, and six brother lions were six
venerable monks. The sister lion was the princess of Licchavi, and the youngest lion
was him.
Story 153: Story of Sukara
The Buddha told this Jetavana, surrounding the arrogance of an old monk. One day,
after the evening Dhama-talk, Buddha stood on the stairs in front of his room as usual
for monks to pay respect to him before he entered his room for taking rest. Seeing the
Buddha, Venerable Sariputta paid homage to the Buddha, and then he returned to his
room. Not long after that Venerable Moggallana led monks to arrive at the room to
invite him to get to the Dharma-hall for the Dharma-discussion.
Whatever Venerable Mogallana asked, Ven Sariputta all answered clearly, completely
and sufficiently. Among monks listening to the discussion of Ven Sariputta and
Mogallana, there was an old monk who was quietly arrogant. He thought:” If I ask a
question which makes Ven. Sariputta cannot give the answer properly and sufficiently,
so all will think highly of me as the wise monk.” Then he stood up and asked:” Dear
Venerable. Please let us know if the truth is reductive or inductive, refused or accepted,
good or bad?”
Venerable Sariputta looked at the old monk for a while:” This monk is full of ignorance
and arrogance, so he cannot understand what I shall tell him. It is better to keep silent.”
Then, Ven Sariputta stood up and left the Dharma-hall for his room.
After Sariputta left, the other monks asked the old monk to explain in detail what he
just asked Venerable Sariputta, but the old monk was ignorant, as he knew nothing
for what he asked. Therefore, he ran away, and carelessly, he fell down to a public
toilet. When other monks saw him in the dirty condition, they left him and went back to
Jetavana. When they came back, they made a loud noise that made the Buddha
awake:” Monks. What are you doing at this time?”
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They told the Buddha what happened and the Buddha, after knowing everything, said
that:” It is not only today, but in the past, this old monk was arrogant. Consequently,
he also fell into a toilet, making the body dirty.”
Once upon a time, when king Bramadatta was reigning Varanasi, there was a lion
which lived in a cave on Himalaya. And, not far from the cave of the lion, there was a
pond, where a boar lived nearby. Not far from the pond, there was an ascetic monk
who lived in a plain cottage.
One day, the lion went down the Himalaya and, at the shore of the pond, killed a water
buffalo for lunch, and after lunch, it slowly moved out of the pond. When it was moving
out of the pond, it saw a fat and tall boar, so the lion decided to prevent it from meeting
the boar as the lion desired to save the boar for eating the other day.
The boar was extremely arrogant when the lion tried to avoid it, so it arrogantly told
the lion:
Hey friend. You are four legs
So, as I am
Please stop running away
Dear lion!
The lion still calmly answered:” Hey boar. I don’t want to have a fight with you right
now, so, please wait here for the fighting between us seven days later.”
The boar returned to the forest and told his relatives about the plan to fight with the
lion. All his relatives and his friends were scared of the lion, so they advised the boar
to find a way to escape.
The boar, after hearing the explanation from his relatives, was extremely afraid:” What
should I do now, dear all?”
A friend of his suggested wisely: “You should immediately get to the toilet of the ascetic
monk who lived nearby, and try to roll over the excrement of the monk over your body
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for seven day. On the seventh day, take a bath with the water from the fog, and try to
come before the lion, standing on the flow of the wind. So, when the lion arrives,
smelling the dirty excrement from your body, it will let you live.”
The boar did what his friend suggested, and in the early of the seventh day, it arrived
at the pond earlier than the lion, standing in front of the flow of the wind. When the lion
arrived, it knew that the boar was rolled in the excrement, so it scornfully said to the
boar:” Your wile is extremely wise, as you tried to roll in the excrement. If not, you
would have been my lunch as I cannot bite you with my mouth and my claws. So, I'll
let you live.”
Then the lion spoke the verse:
The furs and the skin are dirty
The boar, you are stinky
If you still desire to fight with me
You are the winner already
Then the lion went back to the pond to find the other animal for its lunch. The boar
backed into the forest and arrogantly told its friend that it had already bit the lion. Its
relatives were extremely worried so they soon left the forest for other places to live in.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the boar was the old monk, and the
lion was him.
Story 154: Story of Uraga
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, surrounding the arguments between two
martial officials of king Kosala. These two martial officials had arguments whenever
they met each other or whenever they had to work in the same duties. Their story was
spread around, and Buddha also knew their problem.
One day, in the morning, Buddha held the bowl and walked toward the house of one
of two martial officials. Seeing Buddha was standing outside, the martial official quickly
ran out to take the bowl for the Buddha, and then invited the Buddha to visit his house
for an offering. After getting offerings from the official, Buddha talked about benefits of
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cultivation of loving-kindness and four noble truths to him. After the talk of the Buddha,
the official obtained the Entering Stream level quickly. Buddha then left his house but
asked him to take his bowl for him. Then the Buddha walked toward the house of the
other martial official, accompanying him, the martial official that obtained the Entering
Stream level.
The other martial official saw the Buddha was in front of his house, so he also ran out
to welcome the Buddha. He also helped to hold the bowl for the Buddha, and invited
Buddha to sit in the most clean and tidy seat. After his offerings, Buddha also talked
about the benefits of practicing loving-kindness and four noble truths to him. After the
utterance of the Buddha, this martial official also achieved the Entering Stream level.
Right after that, two martial officials were sorry to each other in front of the Buddha.
After lunch, the Buddha left back to Jetavana, and two officials bought flowers, scented
perfumes and fragrances accompanied the Buddha to get to Jetavana.
This event in which Buddha assisted two martial officials to change their attitudes to
each other was discussed among monks in the Dharma-hall in the afternoon:” Two
martial officials of Kosala hated each other for a long time, and nobody could change
their attitude to each other but the Buddha. Only in the morning, the Buddha helped
them to be friendly to each other.”
When the Buddha entered the Dharma-hall, comprehending the discussion of monks
gathered there, Buddha said that:” It is not only in the present time but also in the past
life, they changed their impolite attitude to each other after my talk.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, on one festival,
people, deities, deities of snakes and deities of birds also gathered to enjoy the festival.
At one place, while a deity of snake enjoyed the festival, it put a hand on the shoulder
of a deity of the bird. When the deity of the bird turned his head to see who was valiant
to put the hand on his shoulder, it recognized the one standing close to it was a snake.
The deity of the snake was extremely threatened as it was rapidly standing close to a
deity of the bird. So, it flew out of the city and got to a pond to hide under the pond.
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The deity of the bird also flew quickly following the deity of the snake, deciding to catch
the snake for lunch.
At the pond, the snake saw an ascetic monk who was going to take a bath under the
pond, so it decided to ask the monk to save its life. So, it immediately manifested as a
pearl in the clothes that the monk put on the shore. When the deity of the bird got to
the pond, seeing the snake in the shape of a pearl in the clothes of the monk, it said
to the monk:” Dear master. Please take the clothes up. There is a snake which I desire
to eat inside the clothes. “
And the bird continued to express its compassion:
Hiding in the clothes of an ascetic monk
The king of the snake
Desiring to free it from the shape of the pearl
As respectful to the Brahmin practice
As I am too hungry, I will eat it.
The ascetic monk, from the pond, praised the bird:
Hopefully, long life you are
Having the support of Brahman
Having food of gods constantly
All needs are fulfilled
As paying respect to the Brahmin practice
Although I was too hungry but not eat the snake.
Then the monk took off the pond, wearing the clothes, and two both, the snake and
the bird to his cottage. Then, the monk talked about the benefits of loving-kindness to
both. From that time, the deity snake and deity bird all live in harmony with each other.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the snake and the bird were two
martial officials and the monk was him.
Story 155: Story of Gagga
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The Buddha told this story at Rajakaramado garden which was built up by the king
Pasedani, and which was near to Jetavana.
One day, when the Buddha was teaching at Rajakaramado, he sneezed three times.
All the students, at that time, sounded loudly:” Long life master. Long life, the blessed
one. “
The Buddha then asked the monks:” Monks. When a person sneezes and I say that
long life, does it affect the life of that person or not?”
Monks together answered loundly:” Dear master. No, it does not affect the life of that
person.”
The Buddha calmly:” Monks. So, if a person sneezes, please don’t say long life to
him.”
From that time, whoever said long life to the monks when they sneezed, they all kept
silent. One time, some lay men said long life to monks when they sneezed, and the
monks still kept silent. Lay men were angry to complain: “ It is impolite to keep silent
when others wish you to live longer.”
The monks were upset and they told the Buddha what they encountered, so the
Buddha allowed the monks to reply to the laymen when they wished them to live
longer: “ So, from now on, you all can reply politely to layment whenever they wish you
to live longer.”
The monks continuously asked the Buddha about the history of the people's custom
of wishing long lives to others.
Buddha then told a story:
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, there was a young
man, who was born in a Brhamin family at Kasi. As the father of the young man was
a business, when the young man turned into sixteen, his father took him to accompany
him on business, giving him a wonderful pearl. When they arrived at Varanasi, after
the dinner, they could not find the empty room for taking a rest. So, the father asked
the waiter:” If there is no available room, where to stay for those who arrive late?”
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The waiter calmly answered:” There is one deserted house which is not too far from
here, and they often stay there. But , be careful as there is a deity living in that house.
If you don't care about the deity, get there to take a rest.``
The son of the businessman confidently said to his father:” Let us get there to take a
rest. Don;t need to worry about the Yaksha, as I will make it to sit on knees to pay
respect to you.”
The son insisted the father come to the deserted house, and arriving at the house, the
father immediately lay down on the bed, while the son helped to massage the father.
At that time, a Yaksha, which already served 12 years under the king Vesavanna,
appeared. This Yaksha was allowed to eat those who sneezed but would not say “long
live”. From the main pillar of the house, the Yaksha thought:'' I will make these two
people sneeze, and if they don’t say long life, I will eat them. “
By its power, it made a wind to blow up the dusts on the bed, and the businessman
immediately sneezed after breathing the dusts in. At that time, none of them said they
would live long, so the Yaksha, from the ceiling of the house, moved down the pillar
to eat them. When the Yaksha was moving down, the son of the businessman saw it,
and the immediately spoke the verse:
Wish you live 100 years
And a addition of 20 years
Hope the Yaksha does not eat my, father
Long Live father!
The Yaksha thought:” He already said long live, so I cannot eat the son but the father
only.”
The Yaksha, then, moved rapidly toward the businessman. Seeing the Yaksha moving
toward hi, the father wisely knew that he would reply his son to avoid the Yaksha to
catch and eat him:
Wish you also live 100 years
With addition of 20 years
The Yaksha may eat poison
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But long live my son!
The Yaksha, after hearing the reply verse from the father, quickly moved back, as it
could not eat both of them for they already said long live. When the Yaksha was
moving away, the son asked the Yaksha:'' Dear Yaksha. Why do you eat all the people
who stay in this house?”
The Yaksha proundly:” I had served the King Vessavana for 12 years, and I can eat
all people, except those who say Long Live.”
The son compassionately:”Because you cultivated bad deeds, you were born as a
Yaksha. If you continue to kill people, you will turn from this terrible to other unwanted
conditions. So, please stop harming others.”
Then the son of the businessmen explained the sufferings in the hells to the Yaksha.
The Yaksha, after that, decided to be the servant of the son of the businessman. The
early morning next day, people came to the house to see whether the businessman
and his son were still alive. When they saw the Yaksha, they comprehend that the
Yaksha was taming them, so they reported to the king:” Dear my Majesty. There is a
young man who already tamed the evil Yaksha in the deserted house.”
The king called the businessman and his son to the palace, and appointed the son as
the general for the military. The king also listened to the advice of the son of the
businessman to cultivate good deeds.
After telling the story, Buddha recognised that the king was Ananda, and the
businessman was Mahakassapa. The son of the businessman was him.
Story 156: Story of Alinacitta
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, which related to the practice of a monk that lost his
determination in his practice. The detail of this monk is indicated in the Jataka 462 (Jataka of
Samvara).
When other monks complained about his case to the Buddha, the Buddha compassionately
asked him:” My son. Is it true that you lost your patience in monkhood?”
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The monk:” Dear master. I am really losing my patience in monkhood practice.”
The Buddha looked at the monk for a while and calmly encouraged him:” My son. In the past,
with patience, you could possess the city which was about 12 miles from Varanasi, and you
could compassionately give the city to another man. So, why do you lose your patience in this
life?”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, there was a small village
which was not far from Varanasi, and which was the town of 500 excellent wood carpenters.
These carpenters often sailed the boats along the river to get to the forest, and they cut down
the tree, carve the trees to make the frame of the houses as people ordered them to make. After
making the frame at the forest, they took off all the woods and carried them to Varanasi to
make houses for people there.
One day, when they were working in the forest, an elephant walked through a small path near
their workplace, and unluckily, the elephant stepped on a woodchip of an acacia tree. Thus, its
leg was injured and tumid. The elephant suffered too much, and it was free from suffering when
it heard the voices of the carpenters nearby:” It is lucky for me, so I will ask the carpenters to
help me to heal this injury.”
The elephant walked by three legs toward the carpenters, and then it lay down in suffering and
crying. The carpenters saw the elephant suffering, so they came over curiously to observe what
happened to the elephant. Then, they helped the elephant to take off the woodchip, the leg of
the elephant, and, not only that they used their medicines to put on the injury of the elephant
and took care of the elephant until its injury was totally recovered.
After recovery, the elephant made friends with the carpenters, and the elephant assisted the
carpenters with hard work, such as moving the woods to put on the boats or moving the cutting
tree to the suitable places for carving. The elephant was happy and patient to do these works
as the way to return what carpenters helped it. Every day, five hundred carpenters all gave food
to the elephant, so the elephant had 500 portions of food daily.
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Time flies by, the elephant was getting old, and it thought:” Now. I am old, so I am not healthy
enough to help the carpenters. It is best to introduce my son to work for them.”
Choosing a suitable time, the elephant took his son to introduce to the carpenters:” He is son.
From now on, he will replace me to work for you all.”
Then the elephant turned to his son, saying with compassion:” Dear son. They already saved
my life, so it is your duty, continuing help them with heavy work.” Then the old elephant went
to the forest rapidly, leaving his son there.
The young elephant, from that time, began to do hard work for carpenters, and in leisure time,
it went to the river to play with the children of the carpenters. At that time, for horses, cows
and elephants, they were tamed, not having urination and defecation into the water of any river.
One day, unluckily, a dried defecation of the young elephant fell down to the river, and the
defecation drifted to the city of Varanasi, getting stuck at the root of a tree near to the palace
of the king. When the elephant caretakers of the king led 500 elephants to the river to take a
bath, all the elephants suddenly ran back to the shore. Elephant-caretakers knew that the water
of the river might pollute, so they tried to oversee part of the river which surrounded the palace.
Finally, they found the defecation of the young elephant, so they told the king.
The early morning the next day, the king ordered people to sail the boats along the river to find
out the reason that 500 elephants of the palace were threatened. When the delegate of the king
saw the carpenters working nearby the shore, they berthed their boats at the shore. The
carpenters, curiously, gathered at the shore to welcome the king, when they heard the loud
noise of drum sounds of the king delegate from far distance. A carpenter welcomed the king:”
Dear Majesty. It is our honor to have your arrival to our workplace. What can we do for you
now?
The king looked around, and he saw the young elephant. He was attracted by the beauty of the
young elephant: “I got here to take this elephant to the palace. Is it fine for all of you?”
The carpenters: “Yes my Majesty. It is our honor and pleasure to serve you. Please take this
elephant to your palace.”
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However, the elephant was reluctant to follow the king, so the king asked the elephant:” What
should I do to have you follow me back to the palace Dear elephant?”
The elephant confidently answered: “Please give money to these carpenters as they all fed me
for a long time”
The king asked his servant to take 5000 gold coins and give them to the carpenters. However,
the elephant still did not want to follow the king, so the king curiously asked it:” So now. What
happened dear my friend?”
The elephant looked around the children of carpenters with compassion:” Please give clothes
and more money for the wives and children of these carpenters.”
The king ordered his servants to give clothes and more gold coins to the carpenters, and then
he returned to the palace. At the palace, he, soon, made a ceremony to give the elephant on the
throne of all elephants in the nation. Also, the king shared his nation with the elephant, and
with the help of the elephant, his territory gradually became larger and his nation became richer.
Time flies, the king passed away when the queen was getting pregnant. At that time, the servant
of the king worried that the elephant would die following the king, so they were reluctant to
announce the death of the king to the elephant. Soon after the death of the king of Varanasi,
the king of Kosala intended to occupy Varanasi, so the king of Kosala led his army to attack
the city of Varanasi. At that dangerous moment, an official of Varanasi said to the king of
Kosala:” Dear Sir. Our queen is getting pregnant, and shall give birth to a prince within seven
days. If not, we will open the door to welcome you. So, please wait for seven days.”
The king of Kosala agreed to wait as he would lose nothing but would gain Varanasi if the
queen of Varanasi would not give birth within seven days. On the seventh day, the queen gave
birth to a prince who was predicted as the loving-kindness prince of the nation. Right after the
birth of the prince, officials told the queen that no one could suspend the attack of king Kosala,
unless having the help of the king of elephants.
The queen took the newborn prince, following the officials to get to the palace of the king of
elephants. Putting the newborn prince in front of the elephant, the queen calmly and slowly
said to the elephant:” Dear Sir. Your friend, our great king, has already passed away, and we
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did not announce it to you as we worried that you would die following him. Now the king of
Kosala is attacking our nation with strong and powerful force. Nobody can suspend his spread
now, unless having your help. Therefore, please help us to support the independence of the
nation, otherwise, you shall kill the son of your friend.”
The elephant cried loudly after hearing the death of his friend, but, in a moment, it stayed calm
again, putting the newborn prince on its back, saying to the queen:” Don’t worry. I will help
this prince to keep the nation.”
Right after that, people wore the armor for the elephant, and opened the door of the city. The
elephant used his great power to threaten all the soldiers of the king of Kosala, and caught the
king of Kosala sitting on his knees in front of the newborn prince. Some soldiers wanted to kill
the king of Kosala, but the elephant quickly stopped them:” Please, stop killing and release
him.”
When the newborn prince turned seven years old, he was given the throne of the king of
Varanasi. With the help of the elephant, his nation was the most powerful throughout India.
With loving-kindness
Making all people to follow
Enable to catch king of Kosala
Who is fulfilled with great desire!
Make all people stay peaceful
Similar, Hey my son! The bhikkhu!
Be patient to cultivate good actions
Reducing the desire
Staying safe and happy forever
Escaping from all negative segments of mind!
Right after speaking the verse, the Buddha talked about four noble truths, and the monk who
lost his patience in practice obtained Arhat Hood after the talk of the Buddha.
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Finally, the Buddha recognized that the young elephant was the monk who lost his patience in
practice, and its father was Sariputta. The queen and the king of Varanasi were the queen Maya
and king Sudhodana. The newborn prince was him.
Story 157: Story of Guna
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the receiving of 1000 sets of clothes
from Venerable Ananada.
It was on an occasion in which Venerable Ananda spoke Dharma in the palace of king
Kosala. At that time, a person offered the king 1000 sets of clothes which valued 1000
gold coins for each set. The king kept for himself 500 sets of clothes, and he gave the
queen and his maidens five hundred sets of clothes. However, the queen and the
maidens of king Kosala in the afternoon, took all 500 sets of clothes to offer Venerable
Ananda. So, the next morning, the queen and other maidens still wore old clothes to
have breakfast with the king. The king was surprised, as his queen and maidens often
wore new clothes whenever they had, so the king asked his queen and maidens:” Why
don’t you wear the clothes that I gave you yesterday?”
The queen and maidens all calmly replied:” We all offered those clothes to Ven.
Ananda yesterday.”
The king surprisedly asked:” Did Ven, Ananda receive all of your offering?”
A maiden replied quickly:” Yes. He received all 500 sets of clothes that we offered.”
King rapidly said: “ The Master just allows monks to keep a set of clothes, so Ven.
Ananda may think of doing business with those sets of clothes.”
The king was extremely angry so that after the breakfast he immediately rushed to get
to Jetavana to meet Ven. Ananda. When the king met Ven. Ananda, he still paid
respect to Ven. Ananda before sitting in a seat and asked:” Were my queen and other
maidens came here to listen to your Dharma yesterday?”
Ven. Ananda quickly replied to the king:” Yes my Majesty. They came here and
listened to what would be suitable to listen to.”
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The king rapidly asked:” So did they offer 500 sets of clothes to you and you received
all of them?”
Ven. Ananda replied calmly:” Yes Sir. They offered me 500 sets of clothes and I
received all.”
King showed his anger to Ven. Ananda:” Sorry to say this, but the Master just allows
monks to keep a set of clothes. So, you are doing wrong with the master teaching?”
Ven. Ananada understood the mind of the king, so he slowly answered:'' Yes Sir. The
master just allowed us to keep a set of clothes, but the Master didn’t put a ban on how
many sets of clothes we can receive. Hence, with 500 sets of clothes, I shall give to
whom that their clothes have been old.``
King still wondered:” When the monks received the new clothes from you. What should
they do with the old ones?”
Ven. Ananada rapidly answered:” They can utilize them as the bed sheets.”
King continued to ask:” How about their old bed sheets?”
Ven.Ananda still calmly:” They can utilize their old bed-sheets to use as the carpets.”
King still tried to comprehend more:” How about their old carpets Dear Venerable?”
Ven. Ananda still answers with patience:” They can use their old carpets as the foot
towels dear Majesty.”
The king still has to ask more questions:” How about their old foot towels?”
Ven. Ananda still gave the answer to the king calmly:” They can cut them into varied
pieces and mix with soil to make the walls for their cottage. We don’t throw away
everything that we have offered us.“
The king was extremely satisfied with the answers of Ven. Ananda, so he offered Ven.
Ananada 500 sets of clothes that he kept for himself. After the king Kosala left, Ven.
Ananada gave 500 sets of clothes to 500 monks whose clothes were too old, and he
gave 500 sets of clothes to a young monk who often took good care of him. The young
monk, later on, shares all 500 sets of clothes to other monks. These monks were
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surprised by the action of Ven. Ananda, so they came to the Buddha and asked:” Dear
Master. Does a person who already obtained the Entering Stream level give something
to people based on their emotion?
The Buddha calmly answered them:” A person who already obtained the Entering
Stream level never gives something to others due to his emotion.”
A monk curiously asked the Buddha:” So why? Our teacher Ven. Ananada gave 500
sets of clothes to a young monk, and this young monk shared those clothes with us?”
Buddha compassionately smiled:'' Ven. Ananda is not the kind of person who gives
something to others based on their emotion. That young monk already has taken good
care of his teacher, and with his contribution, he deserved to receive those 500 sets
of clothes. Ven. Ananda gave 500 sets of clothes as the way to return what the young
monk contributed to him. The wise men in the past also did the same.``
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, there was a lion
that lived in a cave on the mountainside of Himalaya, and there was a pond which was
nearby the cave that the lion lived in. The lion often catches the animals that come to
drink water in the pond for its lunches.
One day, when the lion jumped to catch a deer which was drinking water at the pond,
the lion got stuck in the thick mud of the pond, and it could not move for seven days.
On the seventh day, a jackal came to the pond to drink water. Seeing the lion, the
jackal tended to run away. However, the lion called the jackal for helping him to escape
from the mud:'' Dear Jackal. Don’t be feared. I have been stuck here for seven days,
without eating and drinking anything. So, please save me from this mud.``
The jackal wanted to help the lion but it worried for its safety:`Ìs it safe for me after
saving you from the mud?”
The lion promised determinedly:” Don’t worry. I will not eat you but help you with
various benefits afterward. Please try the best way to save me from this mud.``
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The jackal tried to dig the muds around the legs of the lions, and then it used its head
to pull the body of the lion toward. At the same time, the lion used all his power to jump
out of the mud. Finally, the lion was saved from the mud, and immediately the lion ran
into the water to take a bath. Right after that the lion killed a buffalo for lunch, after
eating, the lion used its claws to cut a piece of meat to give the jackal:'' Dear friend. It
is for you.``
The jackal ate half of the piece of meat, and kept helf. It made the lion curious:” Why
didn’t you eat all the meat Jackal?”
The jackal calmly: “ I have a wife, and I need to support her. So, it is for her.”
The lion, later on, took the couple of jackals to live in a cave which was near to its
cave, and everyday the lion and the jackal together went out for a living. The female
jackal and the female lion stayed at the caves.
Time flies, the jackal family and lion family all had two children. The young jackals and
the young lions still played together as best friends. However, one day, the wife of the
lion was jealous :” Why did my husband want to keep the couple of jackals to stay here
for a long time? Does he fall in love with the wife of the jackal?I have to find the way
to chase them away.``
The next day, after the lion and the male jackal left for a living, the wife of the lion
asked the wife of the jackal:” Why do you have to stay here together with us? Why
don’t you move to live in other places?”
The wife of the jackal was threatened, so it told the jackal to move to another place to
live. The jackal, in the next morning, said to the lion:'' Dear sir. We have lived together
with you all for so long. Whoever lives together for so long will lose their respect for
each other so that your wife asked my wife to move to another place. It is good time
to say goodbye to you.``
The lion, after hearing the utterance from the jackal, turned to its wife:” Dear honor.
Do you know the reason that last time, I went out for a living for seven days?”
Its wife curiously replied:” My husband. I really don't know what happened to you. Can
you tell me about it?”
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Then the lion told his wife about the accident of getting stuck in the mud for seven
days, and the jack was its benefactor. And it spoke the verse:
Although they are lower than us
The friendship is vital
As having this jackal
My life was saved from the mud!
To comprehend the issue between its husband and the couple of jackals, the wife of
the lion changed its attitude toward the jackal family. From that time, they lived in
harmony together for seven generations.
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about four noble truths to the monks. There
were many monks obtained the Entering Stream level, one-returner, non-returner level
and Arhat. Finally, the Buddha recognised that the jackal was Ananda, and the lion
was him.
Story 158: Story of Suhanu
The Budha told this story at Jetavana, about two monks behaving cruelly. One lived in
Jetavana, while other lived outside of Jetavana. One day, the cruel monk, lived outside
Jetavana, came to the temple for a important work. On that occasion, the young novices were
happy to see two cruel monks to argue each other, so they planned to take the cruel monk who
lived outside Jetavana to the room of the cruel monk lived in for taking a rest.
However, everything was not as they desired, as two cruel monks were pleasant to see each
other so they even massaged each other. The next morning, when monks gathered at the
Dharma-hall, they talked about this miracle event between two cruel monks:” Dear venerables.
It is super curious that these two monks often behave ugly to others but behave nicely to each
other.``
When the Buddha entered the Dharma-hall and comprehended the discussion of monks,
Buddha said :” It is not only in the present time but also in the past time, they behaved badly
to others but were nicely associated with each other.”
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Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, there was an official who
often served close to the king. The king had a cruel horse which was too aggressive, and which
was named Mahasona. One day, there were businessmen who often sold the horse to the king
of Varanasi, bringing 500 strong and elegant horses to sell to the king. The king knew that his
close official often paid with high price without asking for discount, so the king called the other
official to do the negotiation with the businessmen:” My servant. Please release Mahasona
among the horse to make 500 horses of the businessmen get injuries. After that try to ask for
discount from the businessmen.”
The official did everything as the king suggested to him, and this made all the businessmen
feel uncomfortable. They came to met the official that close to the king and told him everything.
The official that was close to the king asked them:” Do you have an aggressive like Mahasona?
If you do have, please take it together for the next time.”
A Businessman confidently answered:” We do have one. It is named Suhanu. It is super

aggressive. “
The next time, when the businessmen brought the horses to sell to the king of Varanasi, the
king again ordered people to release his horse Mahasona to run around the horses of
businessmen. Seeing the horse entering, the businessmen immediately released their aggressive
horse, Suhanu. When Sona and Suhanu met each other, they immediately stopped in a corner
and sipped the bodies of each other with love. The king wondered:'' Why do these two
aggressive horses behave cruelly to other horses but they behave nicely to each other?”
The official who often worked close to the king calmly answered:” It is the characteristics of
animals. They tend to love those that have similar characteristics with them. Then the official
spoke the verse:
Animals love their similar traits
Sona and Suhanu are similar
Both aggressive and cruel
They are in harmony to each other
So evil and evil are partners to each other
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Then the official advised the king : “ Dear Majesty. We should not be too greedy to gain more
benefit for us. “ Then the official gave the suitable money to the businessmen. The businessmen
were pleased to receive the suitable money that deserved the value of their horses.
After telling the story, Buddha recognised that two aggressive horses were two cruel monks.
The king was Ananda, and the wise official was him.
Jataka 159: Story of Mora
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a young monk who lost his diligence in practice.
When some monks complained to the Buddha, Buddha asked him:” Dear venerable! Is it true
that you have already lost your diligence?”
Shyly answered the young monk: “Dear Master. It is true. I am losing my diligence in practice.”
The Buddha was further concerned about him: “What is the reason for that?”
The young monk hesitantly replied to the Buddha:” Dear master. Due to my attachment to a
beautiful girl.”
The Buddha: “It is not surprising that the beauty of women is highly attracted to those people
like you. The wise people, in the past, although they had practiced for 700 years without
committing any discipline, were still attacked by the beauty and the voice of the women. The
men who obtained the highest glory in society could be demolished their glories easily by the
women. It is easy for a person who still has full attachment like you to overcome the beauty of
women.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, there was a peacock which
was born from a golden egg, with the color of Karnikara flower. The peacock grew up quickly,
and it became the most beautiful peacock, with elegant feathers, with colorful wings. In the
morning, when the peacock flew for a living, after it flew over three mountains, the peacock
often took off on the mount of Dandaka to take a rest. It waited until the sun arise to read a
verse to pay respect to the sun before flying around to find food:
Arising. Come on the sun
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The only king, with the greatest eye
With brightest of light with yellow
Lightening all the earth and the sky
And paying respect to you
The lightening of the earth
Please protect me all day long!
Then the peacock continued to speak the second serve to pay respect to all the enlightened
ones:
All greatest ones, all blessing ones!
With full wisdom of all phenomena
I pay respect to all of you
Please protect me all day long
Heading toward enlightened ones
Heading toward liberated ones
Then the peacock flew for earning food, and in the afternoon, the peacock also stood on the
edge of the highest mount, praying to the sun and enlightened ones:
Coming down the sun
The only king, with the greatest eye
With brightest of light with yellow
Lightening all the earth and the sky
And paying respect to you
The lightening of the earth
Please protect me all night long!
Praying to the enlightened ones:
All greatest ones, all blessing ones!
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With full wisdom of all phenomena
I pay respect to all of you
Please protect me all night long
Heading toward enlightened ones
Heading toward liberated ones
After praying, the peacock went to sleep. Day after day, the peacock kept this practice for every
day.
One day, a hunter, who went to the Himalaya to hunt animals, seeing the beauty of the peacock,
was attracted by the beauty of the peacock, so he talked with his son, planning to catch the
peacock.
Not long after that, the queen, who was named Khema, dreamed of a yellow peacock which
could speak the dharma to her, so awakening, she insisted the king seek the yellow peacock for
her. The king then asked the officials to find the yellow peacock, and the officials asked the
Brahmins for help. The Brahmins recommended the king to ask the hunters across the nation
about the yellow peacock. Then the king gathered the hunters to obtain the information of the
yellow peacock:” I just wonder whether one of you knows something about the yellow
peacock.”
The son of the hunter who saw the yellow peacock rapidly replied:” We have ever seen the
yellow peacock living on Mount Dandaka.”
The king:” So, please don’t kill that peacock, but catch it for me.”
The hunters went to Himalaya to catch the peacock, carrying with them some traps. However,
the traps were not able to catch the peacock. Time flies, seven years passed, day after day, the
hunters still waited for the peacock getting into the traps, but even though the peacock stepped
over the traps, those traps did not shut off to hold the peacock up. Then the hunters passed
away, and so did the queen. The king of Varanasi was extremely angry, so he planned to force
people to kill the peacock. The king ordered people to make a gold leaf, and wrote on the leaf
the message:” There is a yellow peacock on the mount of Dandaka. It is lucky for those who
can eat the peacock as they will maintain their longevity forever. “Then the king ordered people
to put the leaf into a golden box.
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Not long after doing this task, the king also passed away. The new king, after ruling the nation
for a few years, saw the golden box, and the new king was attracted to the message written on
the gold leaf. The new king called people to get to the Himalaya to catch the peacock. However,
the hunters still were not able to catch the peacock. Time flies, the new king also passed away.
Gradually, six kings were on the throne of Varanasi, and they all wanted to catch the peacock.
Unluckily, they also passed away without being able to eat the yellow peacock.
The seventh king was on the throne of Varanasi, and he also wanted to eat the yellow peacock.
The king called a hunter to get to the Himalaya to catch the yellow peacock. This hunter was
clever. When he got to Dandaka, after preparing the traps, waiting for the yellow peacock to
enter. Seeing the peacock was safe after stepping into the traps, the hunter knew that the
peacock might have virtue to protect it, so the hunter went back to the town, buying a beautiful
female peacock, training the female peacock to sing and dance. After that, the hunter brought
the female peacock to the Dandaka mount. The hunter put the female peacock into the trap,
waiting for the yellow peacock to come. When the yellow peacock heard the voice and saw the
beauty of the female peacock that the hunter brought to the mountain, it could not maintain the
power of the virtue that it had practiced for hundreds of years. It came over the female peacock,
and was rapidly trapped.
The hunter took the yellow peacock to the palace to give to the king. At the palace, the peacock
asked the king:” Dear Sir. Why did you order people to catch me?”
The king calmly said:” I heard that eating you will be able to live forever. So, that is the reason
that I called the hunter to catch you.”
The peacock worried:” So, I shall be killed soon, shall I not be me?”
The king shyly replied:” As you have special feathers of yellow, it is lucky to those who can
eat you as they shall live forever.”
The yellow peacock sadly answered:” There is a reason for me to have these yellow feathers.
A long time ago, I was the universal king who ruled all this world. During the ruling time, I
kept five precepts. After passing away, I was born in the thirty-third realm of heaven. After
passing away from heaven, due to a bad deed, I was born in the shape of a peacock, and due to
good virtue cultivated from keeping five precepts, I have this beautiful feather.”
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The king wondered:``You told me that you were the universal king of this world, and due to
the virtue of keeping five precepts, you have these yellow feathers. But can you give me any
evidence on this?”
The yellow peacock confidently replied to the king:” When I was the universal king, I often sat
in a vehicle made of silver and gold moving around. My vehicle is still in the ground, under
the bottom of the lake in your garden.``
The king ordered people to dig the bottom of the lake to find the vehicle, and finally, they found
the vehicle as the yellow peacock described. Then the yellow peacock said to the king:” There
is only Nibbana, permanent or existing forever. All other phenomena are changing and
demolished by impermanence. All other things are ruined by time.” Then the yellow peacock
talked about the benefits of keeping five precepts to the king. The king was extremely happy
that wanted to offer the nation to the yellow peacock, but the yellow peacock denied this idea
of the king. The yellow peacock flew on the thin air, heading toward Dandaka.
After telling this story, Buddha talked about four noble truths. At the end of the talk, the young
monk who lost his diligence in practice completely achieved Arhathood. Then, Buddha
recognized that the seven king was Ananda, and the yellow peacock was him.
Jataka 160: Story of Vinilaka
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the accident of Devadatta when he tried to follow
the actions of the Buddha. It was the time when Venerable Mongallana and Suriputta went to
Gayasisa to talk Dharma to 500 young monks who followed Devadatta to leave Bamboo-
Grove. When Mongallana and Sariputta arrived at Gayasisa, Devadatta talked happily with
them, and then, Devadatta followed the Buddha action, leaving to take a rest and giving the
monks to Sariputta and Mongallana to talk with them. After two Sariputta and Mongallana led
500 left Gayasisa, Devadatta was kicked to the chest by the founder of Gayasisa.
When Sariputta and Mongallana backed to Jetavana, Buddha asked them:” When you arrived
and left, what had Devadatta done?”
Venerable Sariputta slowly replied:” Devadatta tried to follow Master’s actions and he got in
trouble.”
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The Buddha said calmly:” It is not in the present time but also in the past, Devadatta tried to
follow my actions and got in trouble.”
Once upon a time, when king Videha was ruling Mithila, there was born a prince who was the
son of the queen and the king. The prince grew up quickly, and when he was sixteen, he went
to Takkasala to study. When he completed his study not long, his father died, so he was give
non the throne as the new king of Mithila.
In the nation, there was born a duck which was the son of the king of duck and a female crow,
and it was named Vimilaka. Vimilaka neither assembled his father nor looked like his mother,
but its feathers were dark-green. Although Vimilaka looked different from his father, his father
often paid a visit to him.
The king of ducks also had two other sons, who looked beautiful like their father. Seeing their
father often flying out of the mountain, one day, they asked their father:” Dear father. We
noticed that you often fly out of the mountain for the plain, so what do you do there?”
The father duck:” You have a younger brother who is the son of me and a crow, so I often get
to Mithila to visit him.”
A son asked the father duck:” Where do they live, father?”
The father duck slowly:” They lived in the nation of Mithila and living on the branch of a palm
tree, and this palm tree is named Tala and is not far from the palace of king Videha.”
A son duck quickly asked their father:'' Dear father. Entering the land of humans is dangerous,
so please stop lying there. Please let us get there and bring him to this mountain.``
The father duck agreed and two son ducks quickly flew toward Mithila, the palace of king
Videha. It was difficult for them to reach the palm tree on which their brother Vimilaka lived.
After a brief greeting to each other, they used their mouths to keep a small stick of wood, and
let their brother Vimilaka sit on the stick of wood. On the way flying through the palace of king
Videha, seeing the king was on the vehicle which was hauled by four strong horses, Vimilaka
thought:'' I and king Videha are quite similar. The king is sitting on the vehicle hauling with
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four horses, and I am sitting on this stick carrying by two ducks, so it was so excited to make
a verse:
Like the king Videha
Is on the vehicle hauling by strong horses
Running through the town of Mithila
Likewise, Vimilaka
Carrying by two ducks
Flying on the vast air of the sky
Two ducks which were carrying Vimilaka were disappointed about the thought of Vimilaka,
so they intended to throw Vimilaka down, but they thought of their father, so they calmed their
minds down and continued to fly back to the mountain. When they backed the mountain, the
two ducks told their father about the utterance of Vimilaka. The father was upset and angry:''
Dear Vimilaka. Do you think that you are more important than your brothers? Why did you
consider you are the king and your brothers are similar to horses carrying vehicles for you? So
this place is not suitable for you to live in. Please back to live with your mother.``
The father duck also spoke the verse:
Vimilaka! My son
Living here is not suitable to you
Deserving to live at the gate of the market
Where your mother waiting you
Quickly back there my son!
And the father duck asked two sons to carry Vimilaka back to Mithila.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognised that Vimilaka was Devadatta, and two other sons
of the king duck were Mongallana and Sariputta. The king of duck was Ananda, and the king
Videha was him.
Jataka 161: Story of Indasamanagotta
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The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a willful monk. The story of this willful monk is
detailed in the Jataka 427. When Buddha knew his problem, Buddha said to him: “In the past,
due to your willful characteristics, you did not listen to the wise masters, and consequently you
were killed by an aggressive elephant.”
Then Buddha told the story:
Once upon a time, when king Bramadatta was reigning Varanasi, there was born a man in a
Brahmin family. When this man reached adulthood, he left his family, being an ascetic monk,
and went to live in Himalaya. Soon after that, he became the master of hundreds of monks
living around the Himalaya. Among monks living around the Himalaya, there was a monk,
namely Indasamanagotta, and he was too tenacious that he did not listen to the right and suitable
ideas of others. One day, the Master called him over and asked: “My Son! Is it true that you
are feeding an elephant?”
Indasamanagotta quickly replied:” Yes Master. I am feeding an infant elephant, as its mother
has already passed away.”
The Master:” You should not continue to feed it as the elephant tends to kill those who feed it
when it grows up.”
Indasamanagotta rapidly answered: “I know but I cannot survive without this elephant.”
The Master again warned Indasamanagotta:” If you don’t listen to me, you shall see the
unwanted consequence soon.”
The elephant was well fed, so it grew up quickly. After a few years, the elephant became a tall,
strong and fat elephant. One day, as a daily routine, all monks went to the forest to collect the
fruits for living, and the elephant was appointed to stay home to monitor the property of monks.
However, due to the effect of southerly monsoon, the elephant changed its characteristics,
being aggressive and cruel. So, it planned to kill its owner for freedom:” I shall demolish the
cottage, break the bed, the chair into two, kill this ascetic monk before leaving for other places.”
And then, the elephant hid itself beside the bush of trees, and waited for Indasamanagotta.
As usual, Indasamanagotta backed with a lot of fruits, for him and for the elephant.
Indasamanagotta, took a sum of fruits for the elephant as usual; however, when
Indasamanagotta just came over, the elephant ran rapidly toward Indasamanagotta, using its
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trunk to lift Indasamanagotta up before throwing him away to kill Indasamanagotta. After that,
the elephant ran quickly to the forest.
When the other monks returned, seeing the terrible death of Indasamanagotta, they immediately
informed the master of Indasamanagotta to the Master. The Master said to them: “Don’t make
friends with the evil or cruel ones.” And then, the Master spoke the verse:
Not making friends with evil ones
Not communicating with the cruel ones
Wise people, comprehend clearly
Tendency of the evil, cruel ones
As soon or later
The evil, cruel ones shall do their evil acts to us
Similar to the elephant and Indasamanagotta
Classify friends among people
Who are wise, friendly and compassionate!
As they are reliable to associate with
Living together with these people
We always get flourishment for goodness and happiness!
Master advised all the monks to live as the verse he spoke, and he made the funeral for
Indasamanagotta. Afterward, the Master focused on practicing four elements of immeasurable
for the rest of his life until passing away.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the Indasamanagotta was this willful monk,
and the Master was him.
Jataka 162: Story of Santhava
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the respect of the fire. The background of this
story is quite similar to the Jataka 144. Students of the Buddha saw monks of other sects,
practicing in an ascetic way, so they asked the Buddha:” Dear Master! We saw that the braided-
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haired monks have practiced in a suffered way of the ascetic. Are there any benefits from those
ways of practice?”
The Buddha calmly: “There is no benefit from those ignorant ways. In the past, the wise people
also practiced in those ways, but soon, they recognized there were no benefits from those
practices. Finally, some worshipers of fire even used water and branches of tree to burn off the
fire, and left to seek the right ways of practice.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, there was born a boy in a
Brahmin family. When the boy turned into sixteen, he was given the fire that his parents had
kept from his birthday:” If you want to be reborn in the realm of Brahman, then take this fire
to the forest and pay homage to it daily. However, if you want to have a normal life, please
learn three books of Vedas.”
The young man decided to leave home for being a monk to worship fire:” The normal life is
not suitable to me, so I shall go to the forest to worship the fire to be able to be reborn into the
Brahman realm.”
Then the young man left his family, entering a forest, making a cottage to stay for the worship
of the fire. Time flies, and the young man had been an ascetic monk for a few years. He paid
homage and worship to the fire daily. One day, from the morning alms-collection, he got some
butter and milk soup from people, so he planned to offer these things to the deity of fire. When
he returned to his cottage, he put the butter and poured the soup into the fire. Unluckily, the
fire caught the butter, so the fire emitted tremendously. Consequently, the fire spread to the
walls and the ceiling of the cottage, and the cottage was totally destroyed. The monk ran out of
the cottage, when the fire just spread to the ceiling, so he was safe. However, he was extremely
upset:” I should not communicate with evil. The cottage that I had to spend time and energy
on was burned out totally.”
The most harmful thing
Associating with the evil and cruel ones
Flourishing with butter and milk-soup
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The fire burned out the cottage
Which I spent time and energy making!
Then the ascetic monk used water and branches of trees to burn off the fire. After that he left
to head to the other forest near to Himalaya. At one place, when he stopped to take a rest, he
saw a deer using his tongue to sip the faces of a tiger, a leopard and a lion. He realized that
they really had a good friendship. So, he spoke the verse:
The most blessing thing
Playing with good and friendly ones
Like the deer and the tiger, leopard and lion
Then the young monk went deep into the forest for a true practice of the monkhood, and he
reborn into the Brahman realm after passing away,
After telling the story, Buddha recognized that the ascetic monk was him.
Jataka 163: Story of Susima
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, on the arbitrary giving of alms to monks. It was known
that at Savathi, people sometimes offered alms to Buddha and his students, but sometimes they
gave alms to monks of other sects. Sometimes, a group of people gathered offerings together
to give alms to monks, but sometimes, people in a region or in the whole town gathered together
to make the offerings to monks. One time, people in the town gathered their stuff together to
offer to the monks. However, there were arguments between them, as they separated into two
groups with distinct offering intentions. One group wanted to offer their stuff to the Buddha
and his students, but the other group desired to give alms to the monks of the other sects. As
people gathered wanted to offer alms and offerings to Buddha and his students rather than the
monks of other sects, they finally decided to invite the Buddha and his students to the central
of their town, and they offered foods and the other stuffs to Buddha and the monks for seven
days. After the offering, the Buddha gave the Dharma talk to people, and then the Buddha led
the monks back to Jetavana.
In the afternoon, after backing Jetavana, the monks gathered at Dharma-hall to talk about the
arguments of two groups of people and the great offerings to the Buddha:” Dear Venerable. It
was great that due to the great virtue of the Buddha, most people wanted to give alms to the
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Buddha and us instead of giving alms to monks of other sects. The believers of other sects
could not suspend the offerings to the Buddha and us”
When Buddha entered the Dharma-hall, knowing the issue the monks discussed about, the
Buddha said:” It is not in the present time, but also in the past, believers of other sects tried to
suspend the offering to me. However, afterward, all people still desired to give their offerings
to me.”
Once upon a time, when king Susima was reigning Varanasi, there was born a boy who was
the son of one of the priests of the palace. When he just turned sixteen, his father passed away.
When his father was alive, he often took duty for the ceremony of the elephant festival, so all
the offerings on the elephants after the ceremony all belonged to his father. His father could
earn about 10 million gold coins after each elephant ceremony.
Therefore, after his father just died, the other priests came to ask the king to give them the
opportunity to be the celebrant of the elephant ceremony:” Dear Majesty. The elephant festival
is coming, and the son of the former celebrant of the elephant festival is still young. His son
even has not studied three books of Vedas, and his son also does not know everything about
the elephant. Hence, please let us be the celebrants of the elephant festival.”
King Susima agreed with their suggestion, and they were extremely happy:” We shall gain a
lot of money from being the celebrants of the elephant festival.”
Time flies, when four days left from the elephant festival, the mother received this news from
the servant of the king, so she cried loudly:” Seven generations of our family have been the
celebrant of the elephant festival, but this job is out of us now. We are losing benefits for
living.”
The son worried about asking his mother:” Dear mother. What is the reason that you are crying
sadly?”
The mother explained the reason to the son, but he confidently said to his mother: “Don’t worry
mum. I shall be the celebrant of the elephant festival.”
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The mother was surprised:” But you have not studied three books of Vedas and the knowledge
about elephants as well.”
The son asked his mum without worry:” Dear mum. How many days left for the festival?”
The mother rapidly answered:” Only four days”
The son continued to ask his mum:” Dear mum. Where do they live all the masters that know
clearly three books of Vedas and the knowledge of elephants”
The mum replied to her son without hope:” They all lived in Takkasila of Gandhara. It cost
2000 miles from here to Takkasila.”
The son confidently replied to his mum:” Don’t worry mum. I can get there within one day,
and shall learn three books of Vedas and knowledge of elephants within one night. After that I
shall immediately come back here, and be able to be the celebrant of the elephant festival in
time.”
Then he prepared his stuff and left for Takkasila. Within one day, he had already arrived at
Takkasila, and went to meet the most famous master at Takkasila for learning. After paying
respect to the Master, the master asked him:” Where were you from, son?”
The young man:” Dear Master. I am from Varanasi”
The Master:” What is your purpose for reaching here?”
The young man:” Dear Master. I want to study three books of Vadas and knowledge of
elephants.”
The master pacified him:” Great. I shall teach you everything.”
The young man rapidly explained his desire to the Master and put 1000 thousands of gold coins
on the table of the Master:” Dear master. I spent only one day getting here, so it is suitable for
me to study everything only at night.”
After getting acceptance from the Master, the young man used water to wash the legs of the
Master, then he started to learn Vedas and knowledge of elephants with the master. Within one
night, he already remembered everything. So in the early morning, he asked the master:” Dear
master, is there something left on these?”
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The master rapidly replied;” Dear Son. There is nothing left. You already learned all from me.”
Then when the sun just rose up from the East, the young man hurriedly paid respect to the
Master, and within one day, he arrived at his house. On the day of the elephant festival, 100
elephants were wearing luxurious jewels and clothes for the festival. While the other priests
were extremely happy as they thought that they would obtain a lot of jewels and money from
the offerings of people to the elephants, the young man was in an elegant suit, coming in front
of the king and asked :” Dear Majesty. Is it true that you already ended the job as the celebrant
of the elephant festival of our family for seven generations, and you gave this job to another
priest?”
Then the young man spoke the verse:
100 hundreds of black elephants
With white tusks
Wearing golden net on the body
All offering to you, my Majesty
Do you remember
The contributions of my ancestors!
The king spoke the other verse:
100 hundred black elephants
Wearing with golden net on the body
With beautiful, brightest tusks
I shall give you all1
I remember clear
Contributions of your ancestors!
The young man slowly asked the king:” Dear Majesty. If you remember the contribution of my
ancestor, why do you give our job to the other priests?”
The king replied quickly:” I heard that you have never learned three books of Vedas and have
never got the knowledge of elephants. So, it is better to pass this job to others.”
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The young man confidently replied to the king:” Dear majesty. If there is any Brahmin who
can recite one of three books of Vedas and the book of elephants, please let them stand up. I
believe in this country, only I have properly learned three books of Vedas and the book of
elephants to organize the elephant festival.”
The young man asked many times, but there was not any Brahmin who could clearly remember
three Vedas and books of elephants. So, finally, the young regained the job as the celebrant of
the elephant festival to his family, and organized the elephant festival successfully. Afterward,
he took back home a lot of jewels and money from offerings of people to the elephants.
After telling this story, the Buddha talked about four noble truths. During the talk of the
Buddha, a number of monks obtained entering stream level, one-returning level, non-returning
level and Arhethood. Then the Buddha recognized that the parents of the young man were
Mahamaya and Suddhodana. The Master taught the young man was Sariputta, and the young
man was him.
Jataka 164: Story of Gijiha
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, surrounding a filial monk who took good care
of his mother, and this full account on this monk is detailed in the Jataka 532 (Jataka
of Sama). As Buddha did not allow monks to support lay people, so when his story
was spread to the Buddha, Buddha called him and asked:” My Son. Is it true that you
are supporting a lay woman?”
The monk, a little bit shyly:” Dear Master. It is true. “
Buddha compassionately:” What is the relation between you and that person?”
The young monk slowly:” Dear Master. She is my mom!”
Buddha compassionately pacified the young monk:'' Good job! Good job my son. Don’t
be guilty! The wise men, in the past, also supported the people that were not their
relatives for cultivating good deeds. It is great action, in this case, as you are
supporting your mother.``
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Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, there was born an
eagle which lived on the mount Gijihakuta with its parents. The eagle took good care
of its parents daily.
One day, a storm hit the region of Gijihakuta, with heavy rain, and the eagles living on
the mount of Gijihakuta could not endure this terrible weather. Therefore, they left
Gijihakuta for heading to Varanasi. Upon their arrival at Varanasi, they were shaky
heavily on the wall near the main gate of the city as they were too cold. In the morning
of the day that the eagles arrived at Varanasi, there was a millionaire getting to the
river nearby for taking a bath. Seeing the eagles were getting cold, he ordered his
servants to attract the eagles to a safe place, and ordered his servants to get to the
cows-slaughterhouse to get discarded cows’ meat for the eagle to eat.
After a few days under the great support of the millionaire, the eagles recovered their
health rapidly, and they flew back to mount Gijihakuta. At the mount Gijiha, they
gathered for a special meeting on how to pay back what the millionaire in Varanasi
helped them:” We were saved by the millionaire lived in Varanasi, so from now on,
whoever that see the jewels or gold coins have to pick them up and throw into the
garden of the millionnaires.``
From that meeting, the eagles often pick up the valuable clothes and jewels of other
people, and then they throw them into the garden of the millionaire that helped them.
The millionaire did not use any of the things that the eagles wanted to give him, but he
ordered people to save them in a specific place.
The eagles, gradually, could not find the valuable things on the roads or forests, so
they turned to steal clothes and jewels from people to offer the millionaires who saved
them. Their actions annoyed people that they informed the king, so the king ordered
the soldiers to catch the eagles.
One day, the eagle which supported his parents on the mount of Gijihakuta was
caught, and it was carried to the palace of the king. On that day, the millionaire also
came to the palace to meet the king. The king asked the eagle:'' Hey eagle. Why have
you stolen the property of people in this town? What is the purpose for that?”
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The eagle replied without fear:”Dear Sir. We stole those things to offer to the millionaire
who saved our lives.”
The king curiously put the other question toward the eagle:”The eagles can see the
dead bodies from a distance of 100 miles, so why don't you see the traps which are
not that long?”
Then the king spoke the verse:
Able to see the death bodies
From far distance of 100 miles
Why don’t you see the traps
Dear Eagle!
The eagle confidently replied the king:
When you are in danger
The life is threatened every time
Mind is not as conscious as normal
Getting into the traps is normal
Then the king turned to the millionaire and asked him for the truth:” Is it true that the
eagles threw all the things that they have stolen into your garden? Dear servant?”
The millionaire calmly:” Dear Majesty. It is true. They have done so.``
The king curiously:” Where are those things?”
The millionaire replied calmly:” Dear sir. I have stored them into a safe place, and shall
return them to their owners soon. However, can you give me a flavor, releasing this
eagle?”
The king agreed with the requirement of the millionaire to release the eagle, and the
millionaire ordered his servant to give back the things that eagles offered him to
peeple.
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about four noble truths, and the filial monk
achieved the Entering Stream level at the end of this talk. Finally, the Buddha
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recognised that the king was Annada, and the millionaire was Sariputta. The filial eagle
was him.
Jataka 165: Story of Nakula
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, on the relationship between two martial
officials of Varanasi. These two officials often argued with each other whenever they
met, and nobody could help them to get rid of their unfriending of each other. Finally,
the Buddha assisted them to change their unfriendly views to each other after teaching
them the benefits of practicing loving-kindness. From that day, they became close
friends with each other. The detail surrounding these two martial officials is told in
Jataka 154 ( Story of Uraga).
Buddha said to the monked gathered at the Dharma-hall:” It is not in the present, but
also in the past, I helped them to be good friends to each other.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, there was born a
young man who was the son of a Brhmin family living in a small village of Kasi. The
young man grew up rapidly, and he went to Takkasila to study when he turned sixteen.
After completing the study, the young man left his family to be an ascetic monk, and
lived in a forest near Himalaya. For long after the ordaining time, he obtained some
levels of meditation practice and was well-cultivated with loving-kindness.
Not far from the cottage of the young monk, there was a mouse living in a termite nest,
and there was a snake living in a hole of a tree which was not far from the termite nest
of the mouse. This mouse often caught the small snakes to eat, and this snake often
caught the mice for survival. Therefore, they are often scared of each other for their
safety.
Seeing the worries of the snake and the mouse as they always feared of the attack
from the other side, the monk advised them to live in harmony with each other, and
taught them the benefits of practicing loving-kindness.
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However, the mouse was still worried about the attack from the snake, so it always
monitored the snake so that it went to sleep after the snake went out for a living. The
monk knew the threat of the mouse, so he advised:
Hey the animal
Birth from the fetus
Already made friend with animal
Birth from the egg
Shall not worry any more
About the attack of your friend!
The mouse slowly and fearly replied to the monk:” Dear Master. It is not a careless act
if we always are careful of our enemy.”
The monk compassionately pacified the mouse:'' You should not worry any more as I
already advised the snake to stop attacking you. From now on, you can sleep well
without worry.`Àfter advising the mouse, the monk spent the rest of his time cultivating
loving-kindness until he passed away.
When the story ended, the Buddha recognised that the mouse and the snake were
two martial officials, and the monk was him.
Jataka 166: Story of Upasalha
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the discrimination of a Brahmin in selecting the
places for burry him after he passed away. This Brahmin lived near Jetavana, but he did not
have good views toward Buddha and the monks. He often talked with his son:” Dear Son. After
I pass away. Please don’t burn my body in the cemetery of the lower race people, but shall burn
my body in the palace that is totally pured.”
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The son worried that he may not find a suitable place:'' Dear Daddy! I really don’t know where
it is totally pure as you requested, so it is a good choice if you can take me to the place that you
like to burn your body after you pass away.”
The Brahmin, then, took his son to Gijihakuta, claiming on the top of the mount. At the top of
the mountain Gijihakuta, the Brhmin said to his son determinedly:” Dear son. I see this place
is totally pure, and it shall be the place that you burn my body after I pass away.”
On that day, the Buddha, from the power of meditation, knew that the Brahmin and his son
were able to obtain Entering Stream level, so the Buddha took his bowl, walking toward the
only path for getting on and down the mount Gijihakuta, waiting for them.
On the way down from the Mount, the Brahmin and his son saw the Buddha was sitting at the
roadside, so they paid respect to the Buddha. The Buddha calmly asked them:” Hey Brahmins.
What are you doing here? And where are you going to go?”
The son of the Brahmin told the Buddha the reason that they got to mount Gijihakuta, and the
Buddha said that:” It is not in the present time, but also in the past, your dad also required to
select this place to bury him after passing away.”
And then upon the requirement of the son, the Buddha told the story:
Once upon a time, there was a rich Brahmin who lived at Savathi, and he was called
Upasalhaka. The Brahmin, Upasalhaka, was getting older and he required his son to find a
totally pure place to burn his body after he would die. The son requested Upasalhaka to take
him to find the place that his father really liked for his intention. So, they went around, and
finally got to the top of Mount Gijiha, and Upasalhaka decided to be burned at the top of Mount
Gijiha. On the way down from the top of the Gijiha mount, they went through the cottage of
an ascetic monk, who was born in Maggadha and well-cultivated at Takkasila before ordaining
as an ascetic monk lived in Himalaya. This ascetic monk, for convenience in getting food,
moved from Himalaya to live on the mountainside of the mount Gijiha.
When the Brahmin Upasahalka and his son met the ascetic monk, they also revealed their plan
to burn the body of Upasalhaka at the top of the mount Gijiha as it was totally pure. The ascetic
monk asked them to take him on the top to see the place that they already selected.
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Seeing the place that they pointed as the pure place the ascetic monk said calmly:” Dear friends.
This place is not a totally pure place. In the past, your father was burned here, and he had been
burned here 1000 times. There is no total purity on this earth, and there is no place that is
without burning or burying the dead bodies in the past. “ Then the ascetic monk spoke the
verse:
At this mount of Gijiha
1000 people, namely Upasalhaka
Being burned here in different times
There is no places on this earth
Without the burning or burying of dead bodies
Only places that cultivate and practice of true Dharma
Of loving-kindness and true wisdom
Those places are the residue of enlightened ones
And death cannot enter!
Then the ascetic monk talked about the practice and benefits of practicing, compassion, loving-
kindness, empathetic joy and equanimity to them.
After telling the story, the Buddha taught about Four Noble truths to the Brahmin and his son,
and they all obtained Entering Stream level at the end of the talk. Finally, the Buddha
recognised that the ascetic monk was him, and Upasalhaka and his son were the Brahmin and
his son who met the Buddha.
Jataka 167: Story of Samiddhi
The Buddha told this story at Savathi, surrounding a monk who was named Samiddhi.
Samiddhi was a hard practitioner. One night, he did not sleep but practiced well until
the morning. In the morning, he took a bath, then held the clothes under the sunlight
to dry them. The body of Samidhhi, at that time, looked like a beautiful golden statue.
Being attracted by Samidhhi, a deity lived nearby tried to ensnare him:” Dear monk.
You are so young, and your life-span is still too long. Why don’t you enjoy life as a
layman before reordaining as a monk again in the old ages of your life?”
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The monk, Samidhhi, talked calmly to the deity:” I don’t really know when I shall die. I
have no power to know about this. Hence, I have to utilize my time to practice well in
order to free myself from the suffering of rebirth.”
The deity could not ensnared Samiddhi, so she disappeared into thin air. Samidhi,
after that, went to the Buddha and told the Buddha about the temptation of the deity
to him. Buddha looked at him, smiling compassionately:'' Monk! It is not in the present
time, but also, in the past, the deities also often tried to ensnare the monks.``
young man in a Brhmin family. When he turned adulthood, he went to study skills and
knowledge at Takkasila. After graduation, he decided to leave home and became an
ascetic monk who lived on the mountainside of Himalaya.
One night, after the whole night of practice, in the morning, the young monk took a
bath, and stood under the sunlight to dry up his clothes. At that time, a deity was
attractive by his handsome, so she ensnared the monk:
Monk who live sufferedly by givings of others
It it not the joyful life
Why don’t you enjoy the life of laymen
And then returning the ascetic life
You are so young
Don’t waste your time
The ascetic monk spoke the verse to reply the deity:
The death comes at any times
My death is when, I don’t know
Spending time practicing hard
Getting rid of sufferings of rebirth
It is not a waste of time!
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The deity, after hearing the verse, disappeared into thin air.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognised that the deity in the story was the deity
that enhanced the Samiddhi, and the ascetic monk was him.
Jataka 168: Story of Sakunagghi
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the skills in training the birds of Venerable
Sakunovada.
One day, the Buddha called all the monks living in Jetavana to gather, teaching that:” Dear
monks. Whenever you go out for alms, please remember to walk in the regions that are familiar
to you.``
The Buddha paused for a while, and continued:”In the past, the birds and insects which left
their regions and tried to find food in the regions that belonged to others, encountered dangers.
Luckily, due to wisdom and skills, they escaped from their enemies easily.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, there was born a quail, which
lived and sought food on the farm fields of the farmers. One day, the quail left its familiar farm
fields for seeking food in the far regions that are near to the forest. Seeing the quail, an eagle
rapidly flew down and caught the quail by its strong claws, and then the eagle flew back to its
nest. The quail tried to find a way to escape from the eagle, so it pretended to cry loudly:”
Unlucky for me! Unlucky for me! I went to a region belonging to others to find food, so I was
caught easily. If I was in my familiar place, the place that my ancestor had lived, this eagle
could not catch me, and could not even fight against me.”
The eagle was surprised:” Hey small quail. Where is your familiar place ? Where is the place
that your ancestor had lived?”
The quail happily replied:” My familiar place is the farm fields where there are mounds of soil
that my farmers.”
The eagle loosened its holding force to release the quail:” Go the small quail. Even getting
there, you shall not be able to escape from me.”
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The eagle was extremely angry, it flew down rapidly, trying to catch the quail again. However,
the quail stepped behind the mounds of soil to escape from the attack of the eagle quickly, as
the quail was familiar with this way of living. The eagle hit into a mound of soil, getting injured.
So, it flew up and disappointedly went back to its nest.
Then the Buddha talked to all the monks:” Dear monks. When the birds get to the regions that
they are not familiar with, they may catch them easily, but if they live and find food in their
familiar places, they may defeat their enemies easily. Likewise, monks! If you get to the regions
that do not belong to you, you may be defeated by Mara. Where is the region that is not familiar
to you? It is the attachment from the eyes, ear, nose, tongue, and mind. These are not regions
for you, the monks.``
Then the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths, and many monks obtained Entering stream
level, one-returning level, non-returning level and Arhathood. Finally, the Buddha recognised
that the eagle was Devadatta, and the quail was him.
Jataka 169: Story of Araka
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the cultivation of loving-kindness.
One day, Buddha taught the monks:” Hey Monks. If loving-kindness is cultivated, practiced,
enriched, making-solid, being the foundation, accumulated, being the blessing to reside in, then
the practitioners shall gain ten great benefits. What are ten benefits?
Firstly, no pressure, no nightmare in sleeping. Secondly, Awakening in a good mood.3. Having

love from others. 4. Having support from non-humans. 5. Often supported and protected by
gods. 6. No harm from poison. 7. No harming from swords or similar things. 8. The mind is
concentrated. 9. The face looks bright. 10. Being aware at the time of passing away. 11. Reborn
in the Brhaman realm if still unable to obtain Arhat.”
The Buddha paused for a while, then continued to teach:” As monks, you have to use loving-
kindness to behave with all kinds of being, even no requirement from others. Hence, as monks,
you don’t need to wait for requirements or suggestions from others to use loving-kindness to
behave with others, but you should do it as a way of living. Likewise, compassion, empathic
joy and equanimity also should be practiced in this way. If you can do so, you shall be reborn
into the Brahmin realm, even if you have not achieved Entering Stream level. The wise men,
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in the past, were able to be born and live in the Brahmin realm for seven circles of beginning
and easing of this universe.”
Once upon a time, there was a young man who was born in a Brahmin family. When he reached
adulthood, he left his family to be an ascetic monk and lived in a plain forest near to Himalaya.
He spent time cultivating four immeasurables, loving-kindness, compassion, empathic joy and
equanimity, and was successful in these practices. Not long after that, he became the Master of
hundreds of monks living in the region, and his students often prefered him as Araka.
He often talked about four immeasurables to his students:”As monks, you have to diligently
cultivate four immeasurables, loving-kindness, compassion, empathic joy and equanimity, as
these articulations can assist you all reborn into the Brahmin realm.”
Who cultivate loving-kindness
Behave with loving-kindness to all beings
In ten directions, in every realm
Use loving-kindness to behave with all
With unlimited of loving-kindness
It is great practice for monks!
The Master lived with loving-kindness for the rest of his life, and was reborn and lived in the
Brahma realm for seven circles of beginning and easing of this universe.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognised that the monks of Araka were students of the
Buddha, and Araka was him.
Jataka 171: Story of Kalyana-Dharma
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the mother-in-law of a millionaire who lived in
Savatthi. This mother-in-law of the millionaire was hard of hearing, so she often confused the
utterances from others. One day, when the millionaire was paying a visit to Jetavana to offer
flowers, fragrances and perfumes to the Buddha, his mother-in-law visited his house. During
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lunch time, his mother-in-law had nothing to talk about, so she asked her daughter about her
life:” Dear daughter! How do you feel about your husband?”
Her daughter calmly and slowly replied:” Why did you ask this question? I would tell you that
my husband is fantastic and moral-behaved. He, even, behaves better than some ordaining
monks.”
Her mother, as being hard of hearing, could not catch up all the words from her utterance, but
she only recognized the phrase “ordaining monks.”. Hence, she shouted loudly:” Oh Dear. My
wonderful son-in-law is already ordained as a monk?”
Some servants of the millionaire who were sitting in the corner for lunch heard that utterance
from the mother-in-law of the millionaire, all surprised and shouted loudly:” Oh Goodness. My
boss already went to Jetavana to be ordained as a monk!”
At that time, some people sitting, selling and buying things on the roadside in front of the house
of the millionaire, heard the utterance of the servants’ millionaire. They started to gossip about
it, and not long after that the news about the ordination of the millionaire was spread around
the town rapidly.
In the afternoon, after listening to the Dharma-talk from the Buddha, the millionaire left
Jetavana to return to his house. When he was about to reach his house, he met one of some of
his servants who were on their way to do business, and they asked him:” Dear my boss. We
heard that you are already ordained as a monk. Didn’t you? Your wife and all other servants
are crying at home after hearing this news.”
The millionaire at that time thought that:” It is a good idea. Living as a monk is also my wish,
so I should take this news as an advantage.” Then he turned back to Jetavana, and paid a visit
to the Buddha again. The Buddha compassionately asked him:” My Son! I saw you already
after this afternoon's talk was over. So, what is the reason for you to come back here again?”
The millionaire talked to the Buddha that he would utilize the rumor of his ordination to leave
family to be a monk, and in that afternoon, the millionaire officially became the ordaining
student of the Buddha. Not long after the day of ordination, he obtained Arhathood due to a
limitless determination in practice.
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After his achievement of Arhathood, the monks gathered at the Dharma-hall to talk about his
surprising events:” Dear Venerable! The millionaire who often came here to listen to the talks
from Buddha ordained as he did not want the good rumor about him to disappear, and with
limitless determination, he obtained Arhathood quickly.”
When the Buddha entered the Dharma-hall, and knew the concern of the monks, Buddha said:”
The wise men, in the past, also utilized the good rumor to ordain the monks.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, there was born a young man
in a rich Brahmin family. When he grew up, his father passed away, and he inherited all the
fortune of his father and the job of his father in the palace. One day, when he was in the palace
working for the king, his mother-in-law paid a visit to his house, and as being hard of hearing,
during the conversation with her daughter during the lunch time, she was confused that her
son-in-law was already ordained as monk:” My goodness! My son-in-law already ordained as
a monk.``
Her utterance was spread to their family servants and soon after that passed to the people living
in the region, so when seeing him back from the palace, one of his neighbors was surprised:”
Dear friend! We heard that you are already ordained as a monk, so your wife and your servants
are crying loudly for this news.”
The young millionaire was extremely surprised about this rumor, but he wanted to utilize this
good rumor for being a monk as being a monk had been his desire. Immediately, he went back
to the palace to ask permission from the king. The king wondered:” Dear servant! Why do you
back down so quickly? What can I do for you?”
The young millionaire: “Dear Majesty. I have not been a monk, but people rumored that I was
ordained. I desire to utilize this news to satisfy my wish, being a monk. Please let me leave my
job to become a monk.”
Dear Majesty, the boss!
Being gossip with good rumor
The wise should utilize the news
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Being gossip being a monk
I desire to fulfill this rumor
Being a monk
Leave all the attachment of laymen!
The king agreed with the strong determination of the young millionaire, and soon after that,
the young millionaire went to Himalaya to live as an ascetic monk. Quickly, he obtained levels
of meditation practice, and was reborn in the Brahma realm after passing away.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the king in the story was Ananda, and the
young millionaire was him.
Jataka 172: Story of Daddara
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, related to the events surrounding the monk, namely
Kokalika. At Monalika, all young monks were talented and diligent, so they could remember
thousands of books properly. Among monks living at Monalika, there was a young monk,
namely Kokalika, who was quite ignored in learning and memorizing, so he could not
remember even two sentences of a book. However, Kokalika was not shy but he often went to
the group of monks and arrogantly said:” As nobody invites me to talk, so I keep silent,
otherwise, I shall talk perfectly about these things.”
One day, after Kokalika was arrogant to talk highly of himself, the monks of a discussion group
invited Kokalika for a talk: “Dear Venerable Kokaliaka. Could you please say something to
the monks today?”
Too arrogant and ignorant, Kokaliaka agreed:” Yes Sir. It is my honor.”
Time flies, the sunset was approaching, and the monks invited Kokaliaka to the board for the
talk. Wearing the inner cloth of mixed yellow and green, and the outer cloth of white color,
Kokalika stepped toward the board to pay respect to the elderly monks, and then he sat on the
chair which was decorated elegantly under a colorful parasol. Holding a fan palm which was
made of peanut leaf, Kokaliaka intended to read a verse. However, at that time, the swears of
Kokalika came out constantly, as he was threatened for remembering nothing. After reading
the first sentence of the verse, Kokalika could not remember the second sentence, so Kokalika
shyly took off the board, rapidly running back to his room.
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One day, at the Dharma-hall, monks gathered and talked about the inane knowledge of
Kokalika:” Dear all venerables. If Kokalika was silent, nobody could measure his inane
knowledge. But recently, he showed us his inane knowledge. “
When Buddha entered the Dharma-hall and knew the issue of the talk of monks, Buddha said;”
It is not in the present time, but in the past, he also wanted to show up his inane knowledge by
boosting his ego.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, there was a family of lions
that lived in a golden cave of Daddara on the mountainside of Himalaya. Not far from the cave
of the lion family, there was a cave which was the house of the jackal family.
One day, when it rained heavily for a long time, all the animals could not get out for activities.
Feeling bored, the lion father roared loudly to play with its children. Not only that, the lion
father also taught his children how to roar impressively. Hearing the roars of the lions, a jackal
also tried to roar loudly.
The lion's father stopped roaring after hearing the roar of the jackal, and it advised its children
to do so. A son of the lion asked his father:”
Which kind of animal roared loudly!
Made us, the lions have to keep silent
Why don’t we roar back
To play with them!
The lion father explained to its children:
It was the jackal
Roared following us
It was from lowest race of birth
Not in the same race with us
Should not roar back to play with it!
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After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the jackal was Kokalika, and the lion's son
was Rahula. The lion's father was him.
Jataka 173: Story of Makkata
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a wily monk. Full account of this monk is detailed
in the Jataka 487 (Story of Uddala). When the behavior of this wily monk was informed to the
Buddha, the Buddha said that:” It is not in the present time, but also in the past life, this monk
was cheated to take fire when he was a monkey.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, there was born a boy from
a Brahmin family at Kasi village. When the boy turned sixteen, he went to Takkasila to study.
Upon his graduation, he got married to a beautiful girl. They had a son after years of marriage,
but unlucky, his wife passed away when their son was a few years old.
After the funeral of the wife, he was upset that he led his son to Himalaya for being monks:”
Life is short, so it is time for me to be a monk for cultivation of the spirit.” After the welfare
with friends and relatives, the young Brahmin took his son to Himalaya, and at Himalaya, they
harvested fruits and collected some roots of some kinds of trees for a living.
One day, it turned cold, and the young Brahmin burned a big fire with wood, putting a board
of wood on the fire but kept the board in safe distance from the fire. The Brahmin and his son
lay down on the board to sleep as a way to keep warm.
From a tree that was not far from their cottage, there was a monkey which was extremely cold,
and the monkey desired to get into the house of the Brahmin to keep warm. However, the
monkey threatened the Brahmin and his son to chase it away, so it planned:” If I come to their
house right now, they may chase me away. But if I pretend to be an ascetic monk, and ask them
to live there one night, they shall agree with me.”
Then the monkey ran to the cottage of a monk who passed away a long time ago. It wore the
robe made by the barks, and it held a stick, walking toward the cottage of the young Brahmin
and his son. The son of the young Brahmin, seeing the monkey in the robe of the monk, thought
it was an old monk, so he talked to his father:
There is one man suffered outside
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Standing under the palm tree
Let me call him to come
To warm up with the fire
The Brahmin was surprised when he heard the suggestion of the son as he knew that all monks
would know how to keep them warm:
It is not a monk, my dear son!

The monkey, wearing the bark robe only
It is not good idea to call it up
As it may make this cottage messy
Then the Brahmin talks to the monkey:” Please leave the monkey. I know you are not an ascetic
monk.” The monkey, after hearing the utterance of the young Brahmin, took off the robe and
ran away. The young Brahmin and his son spent the rest of their lives practicing four
immeasurable, which are compassion, loving-kindness, empathic joy and equanimity.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the monkey was a wily monk. The young
Brahmin was him, and the son of the Brahmin was Rahula.
Jataka 174: Story of Dubhidamakkata
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about Devadatta’s cheating characteristics. It was one
day in which monks gathered at the Dharma-hall, talking about the betrayal of Devadatta to his
friends. Then Buddha entered the Dharma-hall, knowing the figure of the discussion of monks,
Buddha said that:” It is not in the present time, but also, in the past, he did it.``
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, there was born a boy in a
Brahmin family in a small village, namely Kasi. When the boy grew up, he got married, and
had a happy family.
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At that time, on the main road of Kasi, there was a well located on the roadside, and passengers
often used a long rope to hold with a bucket to drag water up to pour into a trough for animals
to drink. Near to the well, there was a region that the monkeys lived in.
On one occasion, the water in the trough already ran out but nobody crossed through this well,
so the animals did not have water to drink for a few days. Among the thirsty animals, there was
a monkey which was extremely thirsty, so it suffered too much. Luckily, at that time, the young
Brahmin went through the well. Feeling thirsty, the young Brahmin dragged water from the
well to drink, and he was compassionate to drag water to pour into the trough for animals to
drink. The monkey, seeing the water was filled in the trough, immediately ran to the trough to
drink full of the stomach.
At that time, the young Brahmin was happy because of his kind work, so he lay down on the
roadside to watch the monkey drinking water. The monkey, after satisfying its thirsty, turned
to the young Brahmin to threaten him. The young Brahmin was angry:” Oh Dear. Hey Monkey.
I dragged water from the well for you to drink, so you would be grateful to me. But, right now,
you tried to threaten me. It is harmful to help those with evil minds.” Then he spoke the verse:
Dragging water from the well
Giving to you, the monkey
Help you to get rid of suffering
For long time, having no water
In return, trying to threaten me
It is good idea to stop
Helping those with evil minds!
The monkey replied rapidly:” I am not only threaten to you, but gonna defecated on your
head.”Then it spoke the verse:
Whoever ever seen us
Monkey, having morality
Defecating on your head
As the grace to you as we often do!
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The young Brahmin immediately stood up and rushed to get away. However, the monkey
quickly jumped up a tree, climbing from branch to branch. Finally, it defecated on the head of
the young Brahmin and ran away. The young Brahmin had to take a bath before going home.
After telling the story, Buddha recognised that the monkey was Devadatta, and the young
Brahmin was him.
Jataka 175: Story of Adicupatthana
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a fraudulent monk.
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, there was born a boy who
was well-cultivated at Takkasila when he grew up. After completion of his study at Takkasila,
he left his family for a monk life on the mountainside of Himalaya. With highly-motivated
diligence, he soon obtained meditation fruition, and became the Master of hundreds of monks
who also lived around the Himalaya. He lived on the mountainside for a long time, but
gradually, he became weaker. Therefore, he moved down to live in a forest edge which was
near to a small village for easiness in getting salts and foods, and following him, other monks
also moved to live nearby his cottage.
One day, in the morning, when the monks all left for getting alms in the morning, there was a
monkey appeared, and the the monkey made their cottages extremely messy, destroying all the
keeping water-bottle and taking off the water pines from the mountain. So, when the monks
backed out, they were disappointed and decided to leave the village to return to Himalaya:” It
is the ripening of flowers and fruits on Himalaya, so we should go back to Himalaya.” Hence,
they informed the villagers that they were going back to Himalaya.
A villager, on behalf of others, desired to offer some stuff to the monks, before they left:” Dear
venerables! We intend to offer you all some stuff before you leave here, so we shall bring the
stuff to your places tomorrow morning.”
The next day morning, when villagers were about to arrive to the cottages of monks for offering
before they left, the monkey which made the cottages of the monks messy tried to attract the
villagers to give food to it:” I have to pretend to be a practitioner, so the villagers shall give me
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some foods.” Then, from a branch of the big tree near to the cottages of the monks, the monkey
stood up on only one leg, heading toward the sun as it is paying respect to the sun.
A villager who saw the monkey in the special posture, talked to others:” I heard that those
animals which lived near to the monks gradually also became practitioners, so we should give
some food to this practicing monkey.” And he spoke the verse:
Hearing that all kinds of being
Be able to practice the Dharma
As this monkey on the tree
Standing on one leg
Paying respect to the sun!
The Master of monks, from his cottage, heard the villagers spoke highly of the monkey, he
spoke loudly to warn the villagers:
Having no ideas about its nature
Have been cheated by the monkey
Destroying all the keeping-water-containers
Making the stuff in the cottages messy!
The villagers heard the caution from the Master, they threatened to drive the monkey away,
and they entered the cottages of the monks to offer stuff. After receiving the offerings from
villagers, the monks all returned to Himalaya. At the Himalaya, they practiced without laziness,
and soon achieved the fruits of meditation practices.
After telling the story, the Buddha said that the monkey was this fraudulent monk, and the
student monks of the Master were monks living at Jetavana. The Master was him.
Jataka 176: Story of Kalaya-Mutthi
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the king Kosala. One day in the rainy season,
there was an attack on the nation of Kosala from the bordering area. The soldiers who were
deployed there could not suspend the spread of the invaders, so king Kosala intended to lead
the army to fight with the invaders. On the way that the king of Kosala led his soldiers to the
bordering area, they crossed the road that led to Jetavana, so the king Kosala thought of asking
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the Buddha for help:” Moving the soldiers to the bordering area during this time is terrible and
difficult as the roads are slippery and as the roads are flooded. I am near to the Buddha, so it is
better to pay a visit to the Buddha. When Buddha asks, I shall reply to lead soldiers to the
bordering area for depense. If there are difficulties, the Buddha shall warn me, otherwise, it is
fine to lead the soldiers to the border right now.”
Then, king Kosala paid a visit to the Buddha. After paying the respects to the Buddha, the king
sat down to prepare and kept silent. The Buddha asked him:” Why did you arrive here too
early, Majesty?”
The king Kosala rapidly answered:'' I am on the way leading my soldiers to the bordering area
to defend. After this visit, I will immediately get ready for my journey.``
The Buddha compassionately:” In the past, the kings who listened to the wise masters did not
move the army during the unsuitable time.”
worked as the consultant of the king. The official gave ideas to the king for almost all important
things that happened to the nation. One day, there was a rebellion in the bordering area, and
the border guards could stop the rebellion. Hence, they wrote a letter to ask for help from the
king. The king Brahmadatta quickly moved the soldiers from the palace to solve the issue in
the border area. When they left the capital for a few days, they stopped at the forest for a rest
and for the soldiers to cook for living. When the soldiers were just finished cooking the red
beans for the king, a monkey from a high branch of a tall tree ran down rapidly, taking a hold
of red beans.
The monkey was sitting on the top of a tree, starting to eat the red beans that it stole from the
soldiers. While it was eating, it dropped a red bean seed down, and immediately as the habit, it
threw away all the red beans that it was holding to climb down to seek for the dropping seed.
The monkey got the dropping seek, but when it backed to the top of the tree, it was upset as
having no more red beans to eat. The king saw the action of the monkey, and he wondered to
ask the official:” How do you feel about the action of the monkey?”
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The official calmly and slowly said to the king:”The ignorant ones are often careless of the
major benefits to gain the minor ones.” Then he spoke the verse:
Dear Majesty, my great boss
The ignorant monkey without wisdom
Throwing away all the beans
Seeking for only the dropping one
And he spoke the second verse:
We, humans, are similar
Due to the greed, we lost our calm and wisdom
Dear my Majesty, my boss
Losing major benefits for getting minor ones
Similar to the monkey seeking for the dropping one!
The king Brahmadatta, after hearing the utterance of his official, immediately ordered soldiers
to back the capital. At that time, all the rebelled ones who attacked the bordering area, also ran
out of the area as they feared the king would take the soldiers to attack them.
King Kosala, after hearing the story, stood up to pay great respect to the Buddha, and then he
took the soldiers back to the capital. At that time, the invaders also stopped attacking the
bordering area after hearing the king was on the way to fight against them.
After telling the story, Buddha recognised that the official of king Brahmadatta was him, and
the king Brahmadatta was Ananda.
Jataka 177: Story of Tinduka
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the ultimate power of wisdom paramita. The
background of the story is detailed in Jataka 528 ( Story of Mahabodhi) and Jataka 538 ( Story
of Ummagga).
Buddha said to the monks: “ It is not in the present time, but also, in the past, I already obtained
the wisdom paramita.”
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Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, there was a monkey which
was the leader of 80 thousand monkeys that lived around the Himalaya. There was a small
village near to the region that the monkeys lived, but the village was sometimes without people
to live in. In the village, there was aTinduka tree, which often blossomed with sweet fruits and
which had luxuriant branches and leaves. When the village was empty of people, the monkeys
often came over to eat the fruits of the Tinduka.
In one fruit-blossomed season, the monkeys came to the village to harvest the Tinduka fruit.
However, there were villagers living there, so they returned to inform their king:'' Dear
Majesty. There are lots of people living in the village, so we could not enter to get the Tinduka
fruit.``
The king of monkeys:” If there are people living there, please stop going there to get fruit, as
humans are dangerous.”
A monkey insisted:” Dear Majesty. Please let us enter the village to get the Tinduka fruit during
the night times as at that time, people shall be sleepy.”
The king of monkeys agreed to enter the village at night time, so in the afternoon, all the
monkeys got down Himalaya and waited behind a big cliff. When villagers were about to sleep,
they ran toward the Tinduka trees to get the fruit. Unlucky, there was a villager going out of
his house at that time, and seeing the monkeys were collecting the fruits, he silently went
around to inform other villagers to prepare the method to catch all the monkeys. Villagers got
up and rounded up the monkeys, holding them with archries, sticks and robes. The monkeys
were extremely threatened by the humans, so they turned to their king to ask for solution:
Holding the archers and quivers
Having sharp swords and knives
Rounding up us from ten directions
What shall we do to get rid of them?
Their king calmly spoke the verse:
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Don’t worry too much
Humans are busy with works
They shall separate soon
Enjoy the Tinduka fruit!
After pacifying the monkeys, the king of monkeys gathered all the monkeys to find the best
solution. When they were counting their number of monkeys, one monkey noticed that they
lacked Senaka, the nephew of their king, so they immediately informed their king:” Dear
Majesty. Senaka did not come with us.”
A light of hope was burned in the mind of the king of monkeys:” If Senaka is not here, he shall
be our savior.”
Senaka was sleeping when all other monkeys got down from entering the village, so Senaka
was free from the rounding up of the villagers. In the midnight, Senaka did not see any monkey
back home, so it stepped forward the footprint of the monkeys to find them. When he arrived
at the village, seeing the monkeys were rounded by villagers, Senaka went to the house of a
villager. It took a fire torch to fire at the cottage. Seeing the cottage was on fire, the villagers
left the monkeys and ran toward the fire cottage to rescue the people and to turn off the fire.
Before leaving, each monkey took some Tinduka fruit to bring back to the Himalaya.
After telling the story, Buddha recognised that Senaka was Mahanama, and 80 thousand
monkeys were students of the Buddha. The king of monkeys was him.
Jataka 178: Story of Kacchapa
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, surrounding a person who was rescued from cholera.
One time, the cholera came to some families in Savatthi, and in a family, the parents talked to
their only son:” Dear son! The cholera is spread around this town, so you have to escape from
this town from breaking a hole in the back wall. After the cholera is over, please come back
here and dig out the proof of this house. We hid all of our fortune here, so it is available for
you to rebuild the future. “
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The son followed the advice of his parents, so he broke the back wall to run away. Time flies,
he returned to his house, and used the money that his parents hid under the proof house to build
up his career. After that he got married and had some children. One day, he brought cheese,
oil, clothes and warm coats to Jetavana to offer the Buddha and monks living there. After
paying respect to the Buddha, he sat in the seat prepared for him. Buddha looked at him, and
concerned :'' My student. We heard that your family was spread by cholera, so why could you
escape from the cholera?”
The son told the Buddha about his running away, when the cholera just spread to his region, so
he escaped from the cholera. The Buddha said to him compassionately:” In the past, many
people were attached to their fortunes and houses that could not leave them, so they were dead
when the dangers arrived. While there were others who were not attached to their houses and
fortunes, enabled to escape from the dangers.``
ceramic making family, and when the boy grew up, he became a potter to support his wife and
his children.
The young potter often went to the biggest lake near to the biggest river of Varanasi to get clay
for making the ceramics. When it was heavily rainy, the lake and the river were connected to
each other by water. The fishes and turtles living in the lake could predict the weather well for
several years. So, in one rainy season, most of the fishes and turtles moved to the river as they
knew that the coming year would be droughted. However, there was a turtle which got stuck
in the severe drought of the coming year, as it was attached to the lake. The turtle tried to hide
itself in the wet clay, and when the young potter used the hoe to dig out the clay, he carelessly
dug on the back of the turtle. The turtle who suffered shouted loudly:” As I attacked this place,
so I have to encounter extinction.
The turtle tried to speak the verse:
At this lake, I was born
I have lived in the mud and clay of this lake
The enlightened ones!
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Please listen to my voice
Wherever we live, forest or the town
Is safe and peaceful
For the wise, is their hometown
Wherever that is safe for life
Move to live there
Instead of living in the familiar
But full of dangers!
After speaking the verse, the turtle passed away, the young potter took the turtle to the village
and said to the villagers:”Look at this turtle! When all the fishes and other turtles moved to the
big river for survival, it still tried to stay at this lake. And, consequently, it encountered a severe
drought. Not only that, it hid in the clay, and it was injured by my hoe and passed away before
speaking the vital verse. So, please don’t be attached to the form, the voice, the taste, the smell
and the emotional touching. Please, leave all the attachment to the desire, forms and formless
things. “
The teaching of the young potter was spread around India for 700 years, and his teaching had
benefited many people.
The Buddha talked about Four Noble truths when the story was over, and the young son
achieved the first Entering Stream Level. Then, the Buddha recognised that the turtle was
Ananda, and the young potter was him.
Jataka 179: Story of Satadhamma
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about 21 kinds of jobs that monks should not do. The
background of the story was from the wrong livelihoods of monks, who worked as doctors,
posters, communicative senders, news providers and exchanged-foods. These kinds of job are
detailed in the Jataka 237 ( Story of Saketa).
When the Buddha knew their wrong livelihoods, the Buddha said to the monks:” Today, there
are lots of monks who have wrong livelihoods which do not lead them to the enlightenment,
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but alternately lead them to the rebirth in three lower realms. So, with the compassion, I shall
warm them.``
Then the Buddha called for the summit of monks for a talk:” Dear monks. You should not do
21 kinds of jobs for a living. Getting foods for survival by doing these jobs is similar to
receiving the poisons, the high temperature-red steel, and the foods obtained from doing these
jobs have been rejected by all the enlightened ones. In my Sangha, the foods obtained from
oding these jobs are similar to foods for the lowest cart.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasis, there was a young Brahmin,
namely Satadhamma. One day, he left his house for a business journey. However, he did not
take any kinds of food together. On the way, he met the other young man, who belonged to the
lowest cart of society. The young man in the lowest cart brought together many kinds of
delicious foods. They met each other in the early morning, when the sun had not risen.
They walked together until the sun rose up, and they sat down to take a rest. At that time, the
young man who belonged to the lowest cart, opened boxes of food to eat. Looking at
Satadhamma who had no food, the young man in the lowest cart shared his food into two parts
and gave Satadhamma one part. However, Satadhamma rejected the offering from the young
man of the lowest cart.
After breakfast, they continued their journey, and they walked constantly until sunset. They
stopped at a river, and both jumped to the river to take a bath. After taking shower, the young
man belonged to the lowest cart, opened the rest of the foods to eat, and this time, he did not
invite Satadhamma for eating together. Satadhamma was extremely hungry, so he hoped that
the young man belonging to the lowest cart would invite him, but the young man belonging to
the lowest cart did not invite him for eating. Due to the extreme hunger, Satadhamma suddenly
grasped the food that the young man belonging to the lowest cart was eating. Satadhamma
threw away part of the food that the young man belonging to the lowest cart had bitten, and
Satadhamma ate the rest of the food.
However, after satisfying the hungry, Satadhamma felt guilty of his action, as he ate the leftover
food of the man from the lowest cart of society, so he tried to vomit all the just eating food out.
He, constantly cried loudly:'' by uncontrolled mind, I insulted my family who belonged to the
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royal family, eating the leftover from a man of lowest cart.I already made a wrong livelihood
today”Then, Satadhamma went to the deep forest, and passed way after days of feeling upset.
After telling the story, Buddha said to the monks:” like Satadhamma who ate the leftover of
the man from lowest car and could not feel comfortable and peaceful, the monks who do these
kinds of job for living should not be comfortable and peaceful for obtaining foods from doing
these job.”
Afterward, the Buddha talked about Four Noble truths, and many monks obtained Entering
level, one-returning level, non-returning level and Arhat. Finally, the Buddha recognised that
the young man belonged to the lowest cart.
Jataka 180: Story of Duddada
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the offerings of people to Buddha and Sangha.
At Savatthi, there were two young Brahmins, who were the sons of the richest men in Savatthi.
They often called for the donations of people around, then they organized 7 day offerings to
invite Buddha and all monks living in Jetavana to come for their offerings. From the first to the
sixth day, they offered the Buddha and monks with delicious and well-cooked foods and
beverages, and then on the seventh day, they offered the Buddha and monks all the stuff that
they gathered from the donation of people.
On the seventh day, they invited the oldest man to express their ideas before offering all the
stuff to the Buddha and monks. The oldest man paid respect to the Buddha and monks, and
then he sat down and talked to Buddha and monks:” Dear Master and venerables! We have
tried our best, but the offering is still limited. However, we wish that this offering ceremony
shall bring virtue to all people who joined this ceremony.”
The Buddha said to him and all the people gathered:” Dear all! It is the great cultivation of
virtue that you organized this offering and invited me and all the monks to receive the offerings.
The wise men, in the past, also organized the great offerings to the great monks with careful
utterance while offering.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, there was a boy born in a
Brahmin family in Kasi, and when he turned sixteen years old, he went to Takkasila to study
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skills and knowledge. After graduation, he left his family to be an ascetic monk, and not long
after the hard practice, he became the master of hundreds of monks. They all lived in the forest
nearby Himalaya. One day, they all lacked salt and vinegar, so he led his students down to the
town of Varanasi to get salts and vinegar. At Varanasi, they slept in the park of the king, and
in the early morning the next day, they went to a village which near to the main gate of Varanasi
to get alms, and from the second day, villagers gathered together and donated their money and
stuff for making the offering ceremony to the monks. At the end of the offering ceremony, they
gave the oldest man to talk to the monks and asked for virtue and benefits.
The master of the monks calmly replied to them:”Whenever you make offerings with happy
and pleasant minds, your offerings all gain big results.”
Offerings what is difficult to offer
Cultivating the virtue that normal people cannot do
The evil cannot follow
The actions of moral ones
Hence, moral and evil are seperated
The evil shall reborn in three lower realms
The moral ones shall be reborn in three higher realms!
After the offerings, the monks continued to live in the park of the king for the rainy retreat of
three months, and when the rainy time was over, they returned to Himalaya to continue their
hard practice.
When the story was over, the Buddha recognised that the master of the monk was him, and all
the monks were monks living in Jetavana.
Jataka 181: Story of Asadisa
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the great beneficiary of being a monk.
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On one occasion, Buddha talked to the monks gathered at the Dharma-hall:'' Monks! It is not
in the present time, but in the past, I left my powerful throne to be a monk for fulfilling the
enlightenment.``
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, there were born two princes,
who were the children of the king and the queen. The older prince was named Asadia, and the
younger prince was named Brahmadatta. When they turned 16, they went to Takkasila to study
Vedas and skills with the most popular master in Takkasila. In archery, Asadisa was the most
excellent, and nobody could surpass him. When they completed their studies, they returned to
Varanasi. Not long after that, their father king passed away, and testament of their father king,
Asadisa would be the new king and Brahmadatta would become the assistant of the king.
However, Asadisa did not attach to the power, so he gave his brother the throne of power.
However, although Asadisa did not want power and the throne, he lived luxuriously, and his
ways of living made others jealous so that they informed king Brahmadatta that Asadisa wanted
to be the king of the nation. Being blind by ignorance, king Brahmadatta ordered people to
catch his brother, Asadisa. So, Asadisa left Varanasi to live in another nation.
In front of the palace of the king of the other nation, Asadisa asked soldiers to inform the king:”
I am the most excellent in archery, and I want to work for your Majesty, with payment of 100
thousands gold coins per year. “
The soldiers informed the king of the nation that Asadisa fled to, and the king called Asadisa
to enter the main shrine of the palace to see whether Asadisa would be able to work for him.
Seeing the extraordinary traits of Asadisa, the king immediately agreed with the requirement
of Asadisa. From that time, Asadisa became the archer of the king, but he was jealous of the
other archers as his salary was many times over theirs.
One day, the king paid a visit to the garden of the palace, and he sat down under a mango tree.
Seeing the mango fruit from far away, on the top of the mango tree:” It is hard to order people
to climb up the tree to get the ripened mangoes on the top of this tree, so it is better to call for
the archers to shoot them down.”
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When the archers of the place had already gathered, the king asked them curiously:” Could you
use the arrows to shoot those mango fruits down for me?”
The archers all said to the king:” this is not a difficult task for us, but the new archer has
received more than us. Please call him for doing this task.”
The king called Asadisa and wondered to ask:” Dear my beloved archer. It is time for you to
show your skills. Could you please shoot those mango fruits down for me?
Asadisa calmly replied:” Dear Majesty! If I stand from a suitable place, I can do it easily.?
The king wondered:” Where is the suitable place that you can stand to shoot the mango fruit
down?”
Asadisa rapidly:” It is the place that you are sitting?”
The king ordered people to move the chair to another place to make the place empty for Asadisa
to stand. Asadisa asked the king to give him a cloth cottage to change clothes as the suits that
he was wearing were not suitable for practical performance. The clothing cottage was quickly
arranged for Asadisa to change his clothes. From the clothing cottage, Asadisa appeared
extraordinary, with golden armor and a big bow made of goat horns. Asadisa confidently asked
the king :” Dear Majesty! Do you want me to shoot the mango fruit by shooting up or shooting
down?”
The king curiously asked:” You are making me silly. I have never seen archers who can shoot
anything by shooting them down. Hence, it is wonderful if you can perform for us now?”
Asadisa shot the first arrow in the sky, and quickly shot the second one with stronger force.
When the first arrow just passed the heaven realm of Chaturmahārājikā, the second arrow
reached its tail, so the first arrow turned its direction down. When the first arrow was flying
down, it generated a loud sound, like the sound of thunder, yet all of the people standing there
were afraid of the arrow. So, Asadisa pacified them:” Don’t worry. The arrow will never make
anybody here injured.``
The first arrow finally backed to shoot the mango fruit down, and Asadisa quickly stepped
forward to take both the mango fruit and the arrow in his hands. The watchers all shouted
loudly:'' Fantastic! We have never seen any wonderful performance like your
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performance.?”All watchers , right after that, gathered money together, and gave Asadisa 1
million of golden coins, and the king also gave him various valuable things. Asadisa lived
happily and comfortably in the fleeing nation.
Not long after that, seven nations together attacked Varanasi, and the king Brahmadatta was
threatened by the army force of seven nations, so he asked his servant:” Where is my brother,
Asadisa? If he is here, our enemies have to withdraw their arms.”
A servant rapidly replied:” We heard that your brother is working as an archer for the king of
a nation which is not far from our nation.”
King Brahmadatta rapidly urged:” Please get there immediately and on my behalf, say sorry to
my brother, and invite him back to save the nation.”
When Asadisa backed Varanasi, he first pacified his brother, and he ordered people to carve
the messenger of the arrow “ I am Asadisa, and I already backed. With only one shot of an
arrow, I can kill all of you. Hence, if you want to save your live, immediately withdraw the
arms.” Then Asadisa shot the arrow to the table of seven kings who were having lunch together.
Seven kings quickly took their armies back.
After they withdrew their armies, Asadisa just looked at his brother for the last time, and he
left the palace to be an ascetic monk. With hard practice, Asadisa obtained fruition of
meditation levels quickly.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognised that Brahmadatta was Ananda, and Asadisa was
him.
Jataka 182: Story of Sangamavacara
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the events in which Venerable Nanda left the
palace to be an ascetic monk.
When Buddha backed Kapila for the first time, the prince Nanda helped to hold the bowl of the
Buddha. When Nanda was getting out of the palace, holding the bowl of the Buddha, his new
wife was standing on the second floor and shouted toward him:” Dear Husband! I hope that
you can return early.”
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On the way, Nanda just hoped that the Buddha would take his bowl soon. However, Buddha
did not take his bowl until he arrived at Jetavana. And, at Jetavana, Buddha asked Nanda:”
Dear my brother. Do you want to be a monk in my Shanga?” Nanda immediately replied:” Yes
master.” From that time, Nanda officially became a monk. However, he always missed his new
marriage wife
The Buddha knew his suffering, so he came over to the room of Nanda and asked:” Have you
ever been to the Himalaya? My brother?”
Nanda:” Dear Master. I have never.”
Buddha continued:” Have you ever been to the palace of the heaven of the 33rd realm?”
Nanda curiously rapidly replied:” I have never had any concept about it? As I have no power
to travel to that place.”
Buddha:'' I will help you to get to these places with my power.” Then the Buddha used his
power to take Nanda together to get to the top of Himalaya. On the way, they saw a female
monkey which was killed by fire in a forest. The Buddha asked Nanda to remember this female
monkey. Then the Buddha took Nanda to the 33rd realm. King of the thirty third realm, Sakka,
paid respect to the Buddha and ordered one million of his maidens to dance to offer the Buddha.
While they were watching the performance, Buddha asked Nanda:” How do you feel about
these heaven maidens? What if we compared them with your new married wife?”
Nanda was attacked by the extreme beauty of the heaven maidens, so he rapidly:” Cannot
compare dear master. But if we try, my wife is like the female monkey in the forest in
comparison with these maidens of king Sakka. “
Nanda paused a second and then he asked shily: “How can I have them all dear master?”
Buddha looked at Nanda compassionately:” If you can practice the monk-livelihood, you shall
be the owner of these maidens.”
Nanda immediately agreed with the Buddha, and then they returned to Jetavana. When they
just backed, Nanda immediately ran to his room and diligently practiced the monk-livelihood,
without any second of laziness.
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Buddha, then, called Sariputta:'' Sariputta! Do you know that my brother Nanda wants to be
the owner of one million of heaven maidens, so he has practiced so hard.”Right after that, this
news was spread to almost all monks living in Jetavana. One day, Sariputta came to the room
of venerable Nanda and asked:'' Is it true that you have practiced hard in order to be the owner
of one million beautiful maidens of king Sakka?”
Sariputta stopped for a while, then continued:”If you do so, your practice is like working for a
salary. It shall lead to suffering.”
Not only Sariputta, but 80 other elderly monks also came to advise Nanda in the same way.
Their advice made Nanda feel guilty, so he stopped his attachment to the maidens of king
Sakka. He returned to the real practice and real livelihood of monks, and soon after that Nanda
obtained Arhatthood.
Right after that, Nanda went to meet the Buddha:” Dear master. It is not important any more
for you to keep the promise to help me to be the owner of heaven maidens.”
Buddha compassionately:” Don’t worry Nanda. When you obtained Arhathood, my promise is
over”
The next morning, monks gathered at the Dharma-hall, talking about the special events related
to Nanda:'' Venerable Nanda who was full of attachment to women, but with the advice of 80
elderly venerables, he felt guilty and turned to the right view. Finally, he obtained Arhathood.”
When the Buddha entered the Dharma-hall, knowing the discussion of monks, Buddha said:”
It is not in the present time, but in the past, he also changed his mind after listening to such
advice from others.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, there was born a boy in an
elephant-training family. When the boy grew up, he articulated all the knowledge and skills in
training elephants, and he served for a nation which was the enemy of Varanasi. The young
elephant-trainer was given the elephant of the king for training.
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One day, the king of this nation led an army to attack Varanasi, and the young elephant-trainers
were together with the strong army of the king. The enemy king of Varanasi sent a message to
the king of Varanasi:” Surrender and give the nation or fight?”
The king of Brahmadatta and all officials wanted to fight instead of surrender, so the enemy
king of Varanasi wore the golden armor on, riding on the strong elephant to attack the main
gate of Varanasi. On the higher side of the wall, the soldiers of Varanasi threw big rocks and
wood down to the elephant, so the elephant was threatened to go back. At that time the young-
elephant-trainer came close to the elephant and said: “ My son! You are the hero who is familiar
with fighting, so if you ran away, it would be terribly embarrassing.”
Hearing the encouragement from the trainer, the elephant regained his confidence. The
elephant stepped back and used his trunk to take the pillar off, and it hit the main gate of the
town of Varanasi. With a strong attack of the elephant, Varanasi soon after that was totally in
the control of the enemy king of Varanasi.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognised that the elephant was Nanda, and the trainer was
him. The enemy king of Varanasi was Ananda.
Jataka 183: Story of Valodakka
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about 500 people who survived by eating the
leftovers from others. There was one occasion, 500 richest men, who lived near
Jetavana, and who left all busy work for their wives and children to live together and
to practice Dharma together. One day, from a talk of the Buddha, most of them
obtained Entering Stream level, One-returning level and non-returning level.
Whenever there were offering ceremonies for Buddha and monks, these lay men were
invited to join the festival. Often, they all brought together a servant who kept and took
care of the properties for them. These servants often ate the leftovers from their
bosses. One day, on an occasion in which people offered the Buddha and monks,
these 500 men arrived with their servants. While these lays were silently listening to
the teachings of the Buddha, their servants got to the river nearby to play and shout
loudly.
Their noises made the Buddha wonder, so the Buddha asked Ananda:” Who are
making those noises?”
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Ananda stepped out to see and returned to inform the Buddha:” Dear master. These
noises are from the playing of servants of these lay men. While their bosses were
here, they have free time, so enjoying with each other on the shore of a river nearby.``
The Buddha calmly said:” It is not only in the present time, the people who survive by
eating leftovers of others are likely to make loud noises, while their bosses are likely
to keep silent and calm, but in the past, they did the same.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, there was a Brahmin who was
the consultant of the king for almost all issues, important and not important.
One day, the bordering area was attacked by invaders, so the king took 500 Sindh horses and
four kinds of armies to calm the bordering area. When the king backed down, he ordered
servants to let the Sindh horses drink special water and food. After eating and drinking, the
Sindh horses kept silent and went sleepy.
There were lots of leftovers from the foods and drinking water of the Sindh horses, so the king
requested servants to repurify them to take water for the donkeys to drink. After drinking this
water, the donkeys got drunk, so they ran around the yard and shouted loudly. The king opened
the window and asked the consultant:” How do you feel about these donkeys? They just drank
the water made from the leftovers of special water which was for the Sindh horse, but they
were happy, while the Sindh horses all kept silent.``
The consultant spoke the verse to answer the king:
Those who have inferior quality

Although eating leftovers from others
Are satisfied and happy
Those with noble-minded quality
Enable to keep their minds calm
Although they are given to drink
Superior class of expensive wines!
Then the king let servants drive the donkeys into the stable. The king spent the rest of his life
ruling the nation with the right livelihood.
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After telling the story, the Buddha recognised that 500 Sindh horses were 500 lay men sitting
here, and 500 donkeys were their servants. The king was Ananda, and the wise consultant was
him.
Jataka 184: Story of Giridanta
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about one monk who associated with evil men. The
background of this story is detailed in the Jataka 26 ( Story of Mahilamukha).
The Buddha, related to this monk, said to the other monks:” My students! It is not in the present
time, but also in the past, this person is also associated with evil men.”
Once upon a time, when king Sama was ruling Varanasi, there was born a boy who was the
child of an official of the king. When the boy grew up, he became the major consultant of the
king, about the major or minor things across the nation.
In the palace, there was a valuable horse, namely Pandava, and this horse was given to a horse-
trainer who was crippled. When this trainer took the rope to take Pandava, he walked with
limping steps, and the horse, Pandava, tried to follow the action of the trainer. Gradually, the
horse, Pandava, was not able to walk as normal horses, but it walked with limping steps.
Seeing the valuable horse, Pandava, walking with limping steps, the king called all
veterinarians of the town to come to diagnose the sickness of Pandava. However, they could
not find out the reason for the sickness. The king called his consultant to ask the reason. The
young consultant looked at Pandava, and said to the king:
The valuable Pandava
Belonging to the king Sama
Giving up his superior traits
To follow the limping steps of Giridanta
Its cripped trainer!
The king curiously asked :” So, what should we do to make it recover its superior nature?”
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The consultant calmly replied to the king:” We have to change the trainer for Pandava. Please,
select a trainer who has not crippled injuries. Gradually, Pandava will recover.”
The king followed the instruction of his consultant, and not long, Pandava totally recovered its
superior traits. The king valued the knowledge of the consultant, so he gave the consultant lots
of benefits.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognised that the trainer, Giridanta was Devadatta, and
the horse, Pandava, was the monk who associated with the evil men. The king was Ananda,
and the consultant was him.
Jataka 185: Story of Anadhirati
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about one young Brahmin. This Brahmin was excellent
in three books of Vedas, and he had been a well-teaching master of other Brahmin and
Kshatriya children until he got married. After his marriage, he totally focused on enhancing the
number of servants, clothes, jewels, lands, animals and his beautiful wife that he could not
remember the Vedas properly. One day, he brought flowers and fragrances to Jetavana to offer
to the Buddha. After offering and paying respect to the Buddha, the Brahmin sat down on the
seat for him and kept silent.
The Buddha looked at him and asked:” Brahmin! You were the teacher of Vedas, so can you
properly remember all of the things written in the books?”
The young Brahmin shamely replied to the Buddha:” Dear master. To be honest, I was excellent
in books of Vedas. However, after getting married, I cannot remember them properly.”
Then the Buddha talked to him:” It is not only in the present time, but also in the past that you
could remember holy books properly before your mind was attached with desire. After
fulfilling attachment, you no longer can remember holy teaching properly.”
rich Brahmin family. When the boy turned 16, he went to Takkasila to study skills and
knowledge of holy books. Soon after his graduation, he became a famous master, teaching for
Bramin and Kshatriya children of the nation.
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Among his students, there was a young man, who could remember properly and sufficiently
all the words of the holy books that he taught to him. This young man, after graduation, got
married and was so busy with doing business that he could not properly remember holy
teachings.
One day, the master of this young man paid a visit to his family, and they talked about many
things. Finally, the master asked him:” Dear son! Do you still remember all the holy words that
I taught you?”
The student slowly replied :” Dea master! I cannot remember the holy words properly after I
got married.”
The master compassionately looked at the face of his student who was full of desire:” When
our minds are polluted by desire, we tend to forget all the holy words, even if we have studied
hard.”
Then the master spoke the verse:
Similar to polluted water with mud

Without fish, scallops and mussels in
Likewise, the mind is polluted
Unaware of benefits for us and others
When water is purified, without mud

Fish, scallops and mussels enable to live in
Those with aware and purified minds
Enable to benefits themselves and others
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble truths, and the young Brahmin
obtained the first Entering Stream level. Then the Buddha recognised that this young student
in the story was the young Brahmin, and the master was him.
Jataka 186: Story of Dadhivahana
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a monk who associated with evil people.
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The Buddha said:'' Monks. Association with evil ones is harmful to us. Why do I have to be
concerned about the harm and danger of association and making friends with cruel ones? As in
the past, mango blossomed the fruits which were sweet and delicious as the food of gods.
However, when it associated with a Nimba tree, it turned to blossom the fruits with bitter
taste.``
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta, in Kasi, there was a Brahmin family in which four
children all left the family to live as ascetic monks when they grew up. They made plain
cottages made of forest leaves in the Himalaya mountain.
Time flies, the oldest brother passed away, and he reborned as the king of gods and goddesses,
Sakka. After 7 days, Sakka was able to remember his previous life in which he cultivated merit
to be able to be reborn as the king Sakka, so he appeared to be a visitor to communicate with
his brothers who still lived and practiced in Himalaya. One day, Sakka paid a visit to the oldest
monk in Himalaya. In the form of a visitor, he paid respect to the monk, and then he sat down
in the seat that was prepared for visitors. He calmly looked at the monk and asked:” Dear
venerable! Can I do any flavor for you?”
The monk thought for a while and said:” I need fire everyday. That is all.”
Then Sakka gave this monk a hammer and a knife. The monk took on the hammer and the knife
and worried:” They are useless for me as nobody will help me to take wood and fire.”
Sakka rapidly replied:” Don’t worry! Don’t worry! Whenever you need fire and woods just
hold these tools and say I need fire. These tools shall automatically take wood over and make
fire for you.”
Then Sakka went to visit the other brother monk. Sakka also asked the monk:” Dear Venerable!
What do you want me to do for you?”
The monk thought for a while and said:” My cottage is near to the path in which the elephants
often go through. I want to drive them away.”
Sakka gave this monk a drum and said:'' This drum has two sides. If you beat on this side, your
enemy will run away, whereas if you beat on this side, your enemies will become your
servants.”
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Then Sakka walked toward the cottage of the youngest monk:” Dear venerable! What should I
do for you?”
This younges monk thought for a while and said:” I need nothing but milk.”
Sakka gave this monk a container of milk and said:” When you turn this milk-container up-
side-down for a long time, it can make a river of milk.”
After helping his former brother monks, Sakka returned to his realm, and the three monks
started to live happily with the tools that Sakka gave them.
Not long after these monks received the super powerful tools from Sakka, there was a lazy
man, who was expelled from home, and had to live as a servant on a boat for a living. One day,
the boat was sunk, but the lazy man was lucky to survive, holding a piece of wood floating to
the shore of an island. At the island, awakening, the lazy man saw a pig flew over the forest
and landed off at a big tree to sleep. The lazy man waited for the pig to get to sleep and he came
over to steal the pearl which gave super power to the pig.
The lazy man flew up to the sky, and when he was traveling, he saw the monks living on the
Himalayas. Hence, he took off to visit them. However, after seeing the superpower of the tools
that three monks were using, the lazy man was scheming to steal those tools, and right after
that he went to Varanasi to defeat the king with the support of the super tools of the monks.
When the lazy man was given the throne of power, people caught a special mango from a river
to offer him, and as the mango taste was super special, the new king ordered people to get the
seed to plant it. The seed grew up gradually and after three years, it began to blossom. The new
king also offered the mango fruits to the kings of neighboring nations. However, as he did not
want others to have this special mango tree, he ordered his servants to demolish the embryos
of the seeds of mango fruit before giving it to other kings.
One king of a neighboring nation, after several times planting the mango seeds but failed to
have mango trees, was angry and asked his garden-taker :” Dear servant. You are excellent
about planting. I just wonder, can you destroy the special taste of the mango tree of the king of
Varanasi?”
The garden-taker:” Sure. It is easy for me. I can do it for sure.”
This king gave 100 golden coins to the garden-taker and asked him to get to Varanasi to work
in the palace and find a way to destroy the special taste of the mango tree of the king of
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Varanasi. The garden-taker arrived at the palace of Varanasi and asked to work in the garden.
With special skills in planting, this garden-taker was accepted to work in the palace easily.
With his special skills, he tried to make all the trees and flowers in the garden of the king green
and colorful with flowers and fruits, so the former garden-taker of Varanasi was fired. From
the time having full control of the garden, this garden-taker planted lots of Nimba trees around
the mango tree of the king, and not long after that, the roots of the Nimba made the soils
polluted. Consequently, the mango gradually changed its nature, from sweet to bitter. When
the plan was successful, the garden-taker ran away immediately.
Mango season came, and the king was happy to taste the special mango. However, the king
was surprised after eating the first mango fruit as it was terribly bitter. So, he quickly called
the consultant of the palace to ask:” What has happened to my special mango? Why does it
taste bitter?”
The consultant got to the garden to have a look, and then went back to the palace to inform the
king:” Dear Majesty! There are lots of Nimba trees planted around this mango tree, and the
mango tree has been affected by the bitter nature of the Nimba trees.”
Then the consultant advised the king to cut down all the Nimba trees around the mango tree,
flourishing the mango tree with milk and fragrant water. Not long after that, the mango tree
continued to blossom fruit with special taste.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognised that the wise consultant was him.
Jataka 187: Story of Catumatta
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about one elderly monk. It was one day while two most
venerable monks, Sariputta and Moggallana, were sitting together to talk about Dharma, then
a elderly monk walked through their sitting place. The delderly monk took a seat to participate
with them. The edderly monk was arrogant:'' Dear two venerables. We shall discuss about these
topics, and if you cannot answer, I will help you.``
Two venerable monks did not say anything but calmly left. The young monks who sat nearby
to listen to the discussion of two venerable monks were upset to leave, and they went to meet
the Buddha to express their discomforts.
The Buddha, after knowing the issue, slowly said:” It is not in the present, but, in the past,
Sariputta and Mogallana were also uninterested in that elderly monk.”
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Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, there was a deity of a big
tree in a forest of the nation. As the tree was lush and greenery, there were two geese which
often parked on the tree for taking a rest before backing to Cittakuta mountain whenever they
flew to Varanasi for a living. Gradually, the deity of the tree and two geese became close friends
to each other, and they often talked about the holy words and practices to each other.
One day, when two geese and the deity of the tree were talking about holy words, a jackal
appeared, heading toward two geese, saying:
Staying on the high branch of tree

Singing to each others
Getting down here to sing
For the king of animals to listen to!
To hear the utterance of the jackal, two geese were disappointed, so they immediately flew
back to their nest on the mountain of Cittakuta. The deity of the tree, then, spoke a verse to
reply to the jackal:
Beauty comes together beauty

Heaven comes together the heaven
Without these superior traits
Why staying here to roar loudly
Please come back home, jackal!
After telling the story, the Buddha recognised that two geese were two venerable monks,
Sariputta and Mogallana, whereas the jackal was this elderly monk, and the deity of the tree
was him.
Jataka 188: Story of Sihakotukka
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the ignorant monk, Kolalika. The background of
the story is detailed in Jataka 172 ( Story of Kokalika). After Kokalika sat on the chair of the
lecturer, but was not able to remember the second sentence of a holy verse, Kokalika was upset
to go back to his room.
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His issue was quickly comprehended by the Buddha, and the Buddha said:” It is not in the
present time, but, in the past,Kokalika showed his incompetent traits to the public when he tried
to raise up his ego.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, there was a lion which lived
on the Mount Himalaya. One time, due to uncontrol of desire, the lion had sexual conduct with
a female jackal, and the consequence was the rebirth of a son which assembled its father, but
its roar was extremely like its mother, a jackal.
One day, during the rainy season, the lions gathered together to play and roar. All the lions
enjoyed roaring loudly and enjoyed listening to the roars of others. However, when the lion
which was the son of the lion and the jackal tried to roar, it made all the lions silent as its roar
was like the jackal. A brother of this lion curiously asked their father:”
The shape and the claws

All are the nature of the lion
Nevertheless, its roar is totally different from us
Its roar is the sound of the jackal!
The lion's father calmly said:” Dear son. Your brother’s mother is a jackal, so it likes us for its
shape but has the voice and the roar of the jackal.”
And the lion's father turned to the son which had the roar of a jackal:” Dear son. From now on,
please stop roaring, as your roar reveals that you have the blood of a jackal.”
After telling the story, the Buddha recognised that the lion which was born by a jackal was
Kokalika, and the lion son which was totally similar to lion ws Rahula. The lion's father was
him.
Jataka 189: Story of Cihacamma
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the ignorant of Kokalika when he tried to show
his incompetent ability to others.
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farm family. When the boy grew up, he became an excellent farmer. One time, there was a
businessman who often carried his stuff by a donkey. When he arrived at the suitable place for
selling, he took the feather of the lion and put on the donkey. Then he released the donkey to
eat rice and wheat from the farms. Because the donkey looked like a lion, the farmers often
threatened and they ran away.
The businessman also did the same when he and his donkey arrived at the village of the young
excellent farmer. A farmer saw the donkey eating the wheat, but he thought it was a lion. Hence,
he ran back to the village to call people to help to drive the lion away. Villagers came over the
lion. However, they were threatened as they thought the donkey was a real lion. The villagers
just stood in the far distance, making noise with their sticks and long knives to drive the lion
away.
To hear the loud noise from the villagers, the donkey was extremely feared, so it shouted
loudly. The young excellent farmer, heard the roar of the donkey, said to the others:
This roar sound is not of the lion or tiger

But from a normal animal
Wearing the feather of the lion only
It is a horse or donkey!
Then the villagers made the donkey injured and took away the feather of the lion. When the
businessman got to his donkey, seeing the donkey was injured by villagers. He spoke the verse:
Long time often eat rice and wheat

Without worry as having the shape of a lion
By its roar, it revealed its nature
Got injured by the villagers
After telling the story, the Buddha recognised that the donkey was Koklika, and the young
excellent farmer was him.
Jataka 190: Story Silanisamsa
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a layman who had strong belief in the Buddha.
One day, a young man wanted to cross the Aciravati river to get to Jetavana to listen to the
teachings of the Buddha. However, there were not any boats available as all the boat-sailors
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arrived at Jetavana to listen to the Dharma , so the young man constantly thought of the Buddha
and stepped over the water. It was a miracle that his steps did not sink into the deep water, but
it was similar to walking on the ground.
When the young man arrived at the other bank of the river, he immediately got to Jetavana.
After paying respect to the Buddha, the young man sat down in the seat for laymen and kept
silent. The Buddha looked at him with compassion:” My student! Was it hard for you to get
here?”
The young man was happy:” Dear master. No. No. Actually, no. I thought of the master who
is full of loving-kindness, so I could walk on the surface of water like I walked on the ground.”
The Buddha said to him:” It is not only you getting benefits from remembering the virtue of
the Buddha, but, in the past, people who got into accidents on the sea were rescued by thinking
of the virtue of the Buddhas.”
Once upon a time, during the time of Kassapa Buddha, there was a young Buddhist who
obtained the first Entering Stream level, and who traveled on the sea together with a rich barber.
Their ship was on the way traveling on the sea for one week, and then the ship was wrecked
and sunk. Luckily, they were able to hold a wood-board which gradually drifted to an empty
island. At the empty island, the barber tried to catch fish and birds for a living. However, the
young Buddhist did not care about eating. He thought:” In this empty island, there is nobody
who can rescue me except for the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. So it is better to pray for the
Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.”
The young Buddhist constantly thought of the virtue of the Buddha. While the young Buddhist
was contemplating the virtue of the Buddha, a miracle snake which already had super-power,
appeared as a ship, with the perfect sails. And the god of the sea appeared as the ship-captain.
The ship-captain anchored the ship and stepped on the island:” My ship is getting to India, so
who wants to get back to India?”
The young Buddhist was extremely happy:” We do. We want to follow you back to India.”
The ship-captain rapidly said:” You are okay, but not for that man as he does not have enough
virtue to get on this ship.”
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The young Buddhist looked at the barber and quickly replied to the captain:” I would like to
give all the virtue that I have cultivated to this man, so he can get on the ship.”
The captain looked at the young Buddhist and then the barber, saying calmly:” It’s okay. I will
let two of you get on the ship.”
The ship quickly arrived at Varanasi, and with the power, the god of the sea made the houses
of the young Buddhist and the barber became luxurious and elegant, with enough valuable
things. Then the god of the sea said to them:”We should communicate and associate with the
virtuous men as they shall bring benefit to us.” Then the god of sea spoke the verse to praise
the virtue of the young Buddhist:
With power of belief, morality and giving
The snake appeared as the ship

Carrying the virtuous men
Should communicate and associate with the wise
Should make friends with the virtuous ones
As they tend to bring benefits to us
Similar to the barber who was rescued by the young virtuous man!
Then the god of sea and the king of snakes flew on the sky to go back to the sea.
At the end of the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble truths, and the young man obtained
the first Entering Stream level. Finally, the Buddha recognised that the young Buddhist
obtained Arhat in that life. The king of snakes was Sariputta, and the god of sea was him.
Jataka 191: Story of Ruhaka
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a monk who was still attached to the beauty of
his wife.
When the Buddha comprehended his issue, the Buddha said to him:” In the past, this woman
was harmful to you. She insulted you in front of the king and other officials, and you expelled
her from home.”
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Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, there was born a boy who was
the son of the queen and the king. When he grew up, he was given the throne as the king of
Varanasi. The king had a celebrant named Ruhaka. Ruhaka also was excellent in doing
ceremonies but quite ignorant about the other things.
One day, the king gave Ruhaka a beautiful horse and a set of decorative things for this horse.
From that day, Ruhaka often rode this horse to get to the palace and back home. When Ruhaka
rode this horse getting to the palace or back home, people who stepped aside the roads often
praised the horse. One day, when Ruhaka came back home, he told his wife that his horse was
beautiful, so most people like to look at it.
His wife was evil-minded, so she talked to her husband:” Do you know that your horse has
been wearing beautiful jewels for the horse, so it is attractive to people. Therefore, if you want
to have people to speak highly about you, you have to wear those jewels of the horse.”
The next morning, Ruhaka followed the scheming advice of his wife, so people looked at him
derisively: “ You look elegant, master!”
When the celebrant got to the palace, the king was extremely not satisfied, so the king
commented:” Are you crazy? Those are for the horses only, not for humans.”
At that time, the celebrant was ashamed, so he thought that:” She already made me lost all
praise in front of the public, so she should be expelled from the house.”
Seeing the husband returned with a red face, the wife of the celebrant, from the back door, went
to the palace of the king to reside for 5 days. When the king knew about her issue, the king
summited both of them and said:
Bowstring even though was cutting into parts
Still be able to connect each other
Please make peace with your wife
Don’t let the hatred controlled your mind
The Celebrant slowly answered the king:
The new tring is still better
Compared to the prepared one
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It is comfortable to find the new wife
Who is full of moral and virtuousness!
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble truths, and the monk who was still
attached to his wife obtained the first Entering Stream level. Finally, the Buddha recognised
that the wife of the celebrant was the former wife of the young monk who was too attached to
his wife, and the celebrant was that young monk. The wise king of Varanasi was him.
Jataka 193: Story of Culapaduma
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a monk who lost his determination in Dharma
practice. The background of the story is detailed in Jataka 527.
When the Buddha knew his issue, the Buddha asked:” Dear son! Is it true that you are already
lost in Dharma practice?”
The monk shyly answered the Buddha:” Dear master. I saw a beautiful girl, and I have been so
attached to her beauty that I am losing my determination in Dharma practice.”
The Buddha looked at the monk and calmly said:” All the women are ungrateful. In the past,
the ignorant men who had done many dangerous things and had given various precious gifts to
the women, but they still were not able to hold the hearts of their women.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, there was born a prince who
was the son of the king and the queen, and who was named Paduma. After the prince Paduma,
the queen also gave birth to six other boys. They all grew up in the palace and still lived in the
palace after their marriages.
One day, the king was standing on the highest floor of the palace, and seeing his children with
many of the servants together, the king worried that their children would make a coup. Hence,
the king called all seven princes to say:” Dear sons! You all grew up. You all should get to
other places rather than this town for a living to build up the experience for better ruling in the
future. Please go and stay at your favorite places until I pass away.”
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The next morning, they prepared food and water, and left the palace together in a big carriage
which was pushed by four strong horses. They moved to an empty place which was near to a
forest, and soon after that they ran out of food and water. So, they killed the horses for food.
Finally, they intended to kill the wife of the prince Paduma for food.
However, the prince Paduma gave the rest of the food that he saved to them, and in the middle
of the mid-night, he took his wife to escape.
While they were running to escape, the wife was thirty and they could find water to drink, so
the prince Paduma used the knife to cut on his leg. The blood was coming out quickly and he
called his wife:” Dear honey! It is hard to find water here in the deep forest, so please drink my
blood to help you to get rid of thirty. “ After drinking the blood from the prince, Paduma, his
wife was totally recovered from tiredness. They continued to run to a bank of a river, and then
they decided to stop to make a cottage to live in. At the bank of the river, it was easy to find
food and water to drink, and their lives were floating smoothly.
One day, from the way of food, the prince saved a man who had legs hindicapped due to the
punishment of the king. Prince Paduma put the hindicapped man to stay on his bed and take
good care of him daily. When the wife of prince Paduma first saw this handicapped man, she
spat on the face of the hindicapped and went away. However, day after day, when they lived
together, the wife of the prince Paduma often had sexual misconduct with the handicapped
man, and due to strong attachment to the hindicapped man, the wife of the prince Paduma
decided to kill the prince Paduma to be able to live forever with the hindicapped man.
One day, as planned, she talked to Prince Paduma:” Dear husband. I already promised to the
god of the highest mountain in this forest that I would do a ceremony to offer him if we could
be safe. So, it is time for me to fulfill my promise. Could you please come over with me to the
top of the highest mountain tomorrow?”
The prince Paduma:” Dear honey. For sure.”
The next morning, they took flowers, fruits and fragrance to the top of the highest mountain
nearby. When they got to the top, the wife of the prince pretended to put flowers, fruits and
fragrances out to worship the god. However, when the prince Paduma was standing to look at
the vast gulf of the mountain, his wife, from the back, pushed him down to the gulf, shouting
loudly:'' I could see the back of my enemy.”
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Luckily, the prince Paduma dropped on a luxuriant branch of tree which was not far from the
top of the gulf. However, the prince Paduma was not able to climb up, so he just stayed on the
branch of the tree, eating the fruit of the tree for living. A few days later, a big iguana came
over and asked:” Hey man. Why do you stay here?”
The prince Paduma told everything to it, and the iguana helped the prince Paduma to escape
from the deep gulf. After escaping from the gulf, the prince went to a small village nearby to
live, and Time flies, when he heard that his father king passed away, he immediately went back
to Varanasi to be on the throne of power. Right after having the power of the king, Paduma
applied ten royal dharmas into the ruling of the nation. He also built up six big halls which
were the places for rich people to gather to give their donations to the people in need. The new
king, himself, donated about 16000 coins to the poor.
About his wife, after pushing the prince Paduma down to the deep gulf, she carried the
hindicapped man around to ask for a living, and they had lived as the beggers for years before
hearing the great offerings of the new king. Seeing the great love of her to the hindicapped
husband, people strongly advised her to get to Varanasi to recieve help from the new king. As
she did not know her former husband was the new king, she joined with some villagers to enter
Varanasi.
When they arrived at Varanasi, the new king was on the elephant to back the palace from his
daily offerings to people. From a far distance, the new king was able to recognise his evil wife
who was carrying the hindicapped husband, so he took off the elephant to ask:” Who are they?
They look terrible and lamentable.``
A villager replied quickly:” Dear Majesty. They are the beggars who come from other regions.
She is a faithful wife who has taken good care of her hindicapped wife. Her husband is her
cousin. As he was injured, she assisted to live as wife with him”
The new king came over to his former wife:” Is it true that your current husband was given to
you by your relatives?
His former wife could not recognise him, so she answered quickly without shyness:” Yes
Majesty.”
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The new king, at that time, said:” You are lying as if you are the daughter of a king, and your
former husband was the prince of Varanasi who became the current king of Varanasi. “
The king stopped for a while to calm his anger and said to all:” Dear my people and my
officials. This was my former wife. When me and six of my brothers lived in a place that was
without food, they intended to kill her for food. So, I took her to run away, and protected her
with all of my effort. However, after I saved this man from the Ganges river, they were attached
to each other, and they pushed me down to the gulf of the highest mountain.”
Then in extreme anger, the new king ordered people to give death to his former wife and the
hindicapped man. However, in a short time after that, he changed his mind, and called soldiers
to release them but expelled them from Varanasi forever.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognised that the former wife of prince Paduma was Cinca,
and the hindicapped man was Devadatta. Six brothers of the prince Paduma were six venerable
monks of the Buddha, and the prince Paduma was him.
Jataka 194: Story Manicora
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the event in which Devadatta desired to kill the
Buddha.
On the occasion in which monks gathered at the Dharma-hall to talk about this event, the
Buddha said to the monks :” It is not in the present time, but also in the past, he also had failed
to kill me.”
rich family in the town. When the boy turned to adulthood, he got married with a Brahmin
woman. His wife was beautiful like a goddess, and his wife was named Sujata. Sujata was
totally faithful to her husband, and always completed all the duties of the wife to the husband.
Hence, the couple lived in harmony to each other
One day, Sujata insisted her husband pay a visit to her parents, so they prepared food, water
and gifts for heading to visit Sujata's parents. Sujata was sitting in the back of the vehicle
looking at their properties, and her husband was driving the horses. When their vehicle just
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crossed Varanasi, the king of Varanasi was on an elephant, parading around the town. Seeing
the beauty of Sujata, the king of Varanasi could not control his sexutal attachment, so the king
ordered servants to ask whether Sujata was single.
The servant replied :” Dear Majesty. She is Sujata, and she already got married. Her husband
is driving the horse, heading toward the house of Sujata’s parents.”
The king of Varanasi could not calm his desire toward Sujata, so he thought:” I have to kill the
husband and take Sujata to be one of my maidens.”
So the king of Varanasi called a servant and gave him a pearl taken from his crown:” Take this
pearl and put it into the cart of that couple.”
After the servant successfully put the pearl into the cart of Sujata and her husband, the king
shouted loudly:'' I have lost a valuable pearl from my crown. So, close all the doors and have
to catch up to the thief. “
The soldiers who were monitoring the gates immediately closed all the gates, and some soldiers
followed the instruction of the king to stop the cart of Sujata for detection. When they detected
the cart, the soldier who put the pearl into their cart, quickly found the pearl:” The pearl that
the king lost is here. This man is the thief.``
Then they took the husband’s Sujata to the king. The king did not even look at him, ordering:”
Give him the death for stealing my pearl.” When the soldiers took Sujata’s husband in front of
the gate to kill him, Sujata ran following and crying:” Probably. There is no god in this world
who could suspend this cruel action from the men who want to kill the moral ones.”
Then she prayed:
No any gods in this world appear
Probably all are absent and busy
Nobody dare protect the moral ones
From the cruel ones who want to do everything
As they want to do.
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Because she is a moral and faithful wife, her praying made the chair of the Sakka hotter, so the
Sakka used his power to see what happened:”King Varanasi is cultivating bad deeds, killing
the moral one. So, I have to interfere in this action.”
When the soldiers were about to use the sharp sword to kill Sujata’s husband, Sakka used his
power to alternate Sujata’s husband with a wood. Then Sakka appeared, used his power to give
Sujata’s husband, wearing the clothes of the king, sitting on the elephant. Everyone was
surprised:” This is a new king who was given the throne by Sakk. It is great honor to us.``
Then from the thin air, Sakka said:” This is the new king of Varanasi, and this new king is
about to rule the country with ten royal dharmas. When the king rules the country with wrong
dharmas, then it shall be rainy at the wrong time, and not only that three troubles shall appear
to the nation, famine, disease and war. “
Then Sakka returned to his realm, and the new king ruled the country with ten royal dharmas.
After passing away, he reborned on the heaven.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognised that the cruel king was Devadatta, and the Sakka
was Anurudha. Sujata was the mother of Rahula, and the king who was given the throne by
Sakka was him.
Jataka 195: Story of Pabbatupathara

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the trouble of king Kosala after knowing that his
major official and a maiden had sexual misconduct to each other. King Kosala really felt
uncomfortable in solving this issue, so the king came to seek the advice from the Buddha:”
Dear master. What should I do with them?”
The Buddha looked at the king, compassionately:” Is that official contributing benefits to you
and the nation? And do you still love that woman?”
The king contemplated for a while and replied:” Yes Master. The official is greatly contributing
to me and the nation, and I still love that maiden.”
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The Buddha then said to the king Kosala:” If the servants are greatly helpful to you and you
still love that woman, you cannot harm them. The kings, in the past, listened to the advice of
wise men, so they forgave the mistakes of others.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, he was born as a son of an
official of the king. When he grew up, he soon became the major consultant of the king for
almost everything in the palace and the nation.
The palace was peaceful. However, one day, the sexual misconduct between a maiden of the
king and an official were unrolled in the public. The king thought: “ The official is grateful to
the nation, and I still loved the maiden, so I cannot punish them. I need to get consultation from
the consultant before giving the decision on punishment of them.”
When the consultant was in the hall of the palace, the king asked him:
On the beautiful mountain

Having a lake with purified water
Having protection from a lion
One day, having a jackal to drink the water!
The consultant rapidly comprehended:” It should be the sexual misconduct between an official
and a maiden of the king. So, I have to give effective advice for not harming anybody.” Then
he spoke the verse:
All the animals

Drinking water from the big and long river
River is still river, although animals trying to drink
Having values, so should be calm and forgiven.
The king, then, followed the instruction of the consultant to forgive the official and the maiden.
However, I threatened them not to do the wrong thing again.
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After hearing the story from the Buddha, the king Kosala forgave his official and his maiden.
Then the Buddha recognised that the king in the story was Ananda, and the wise consultant
was him.
Jataka 196: Story of Valahassa
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a monk who lost his determination in practice.
When the Buddha comprehended his story, the Buddha asked him:” Is it true that you have lost
your determination in practice?”
The Buddha compassionately asked:” What is the reason for?
The monk said shyly:” I have been attracted by the beauty of a woman, and have not been able
to return to the practice.”
The Buddha compassionately:” Monks! The women, with beautiful shape, elegant voice, and
smoothing touch, are successful in attracting the men. However, after their success, they try to
demolish the virtue and property of the men by evil actions. So, the women are similar to the
Yakshas.”
The Buddha kept silent for a while, then continued to say:” In the past, the yakshas often
appeared in the beautiful shape to attract the businessmen. They made the businessmen have
to do everything that they wanted. Then, seeing the new businessmen arrived, they killed and
ate the old ones cruelly.``
Once upon a time, the island of Sihanka, namely Tambapanni, was the hometown of yakshas.
The Yakshas often appeared beautifully to attract those men who were unlucky to walk on the
island. To make the businessmen feel normal, they often used their power to make a town in
which the women, the men, the animals were playing and doing activities.
Then they came over to the businessmen and invited the men to eat and drink the special foods
and waters. When the men were attached to their beautiful shape and voices, they requested
the men to come to their town to be their husbands, and thus, they would kill the old husbands
if they could find the new husbands.
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One day, a ship carrying 500 men was wrecked, and 500 men were lucky to drift to the island
of Tambapanni safely. The Yakshas immediately came over to them, and with their beautiful
shape, nice voices and tasty foods and beverages, they easily attracted these 500 men to agree
to be their husbands.
As usual, they tied the old husbands and put them into the jail for eating gradually, and the
captain of the ship became the husband of the queen of Yaksha. In the night time, after having
sexual act with the captain, she went to the jail to eat the men there, and when she came back,
her body was too cold. With wisdom, the captain comprehended that she was a Yaksha, so in
the next morning, when he gathered all his people:” Last night, I discovered that we are on an
island of Yakshas, and all of the women here are Yakshas. They tend to kill us, when they find
new businessmen. So, it is better to escape from this island today.”
Right after convincing others, the captain ran away from the town of the Yakshas, and 250
other businessmen followed him to run away from the danger. However, there were 250
businessmen and sailors who refused to follow them, as they were too attached to the beauties
of their Yakshas wives.
When the captain and 250 businessmen were finding the way to get out from the island of
Tambapanni, they met a horse, which had super power, and which often flew to the island to
eat the rice around the lakes of the island. Seeing people, the horse, with compassion, often
spoke out in human voice:” Who wants to go back to their hometown?”
The escaping businessmen were extremely happy, so they insisted on the horse:” Dear sir. We
really want to go back to our hometown. Please, help us to get rid of this island.”
The horse agreed, and some sat on its back, while others held its tail, its legs and even held
each other. With super power, the horse, in a short time, carried the captain and 250
businessmen back to their hometown quickly. Then, it returned to its home. About 250
businessmen who decided to stay with the Yakshas were killed after the Yakshas found new
husbands.
After telling the story, the Buddha said:'' Like the captain and 250 businessmen who followed
the white horse and finally escaped from the danger. Those who follow the teaching of the
Buddha, gradually born into three superior destinations, the heavens, Brahma realm and even
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obtaining Nirvana. Those who do not follow the advice from the Buddha are likely reborned
in the three lowest realms and are suffered in the hells.``
Who listen to the Buddha teachings
Always stay safe and happy
Like those businessmen were rescued by the white horse
Brought them back to their hometown!
Then the Buddha talked about Four Noble truths. The monk who lost their determination in
practice of Dharma and many of other monks obtained the First Entering Stream level, one-
returning level, non-returning level and Arhat. Finally, the Buddha recognised that 250
businessmen who followed the white horse were the monks living at Jetavana, and the white
horse was him.
Jataka 197: Story of Mitamita
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a monk who stole the things of his master before
asking for permission to use them.
A young monk used a piece of cloth of his master to make a wallet to contain the shoes. When
his master knew, his master was extremely angry:'' Why did you use that piece of cloth? And
did you ask me to use it?”
The young monk shyly:” Dear master. I believed that I used this cloth then would ask you later.
You shall not get angry.”
The master of the monk hit the young monk and said:” There is nothing trusted between you
and me.”
The issue between the young monk and his master was spread around Jetavana quickly, and it
was discussed in the Dharma hall the next morning. When the Buddha entered the Dharma-
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hall and comprehended the issue, the Buddha said:” It is not in the present time, but in the past,
he also lost his trust in the others who lived together with him.”
Brahmin family in Kasi. When the boy grew up, he left his family for the ascetic monkhood in
Himalaya. With diligence in practice, he soon obtained the meditating fruits, and became the
master of hundreds of monks who lived around.
Among students of him, there was a young monk who did not listen to his advice well. One
day, he paid a visit to the cottage of this student, and seeing the student was feeding a elephant,
he advised the student to release this elephant immediately, as this elephant would be dangerous
when it would be an adult elephant. Nevertheless, this monk did not listen to his advice, and
when the elephant grew up, the elephant killed this monk.
After making the funeral for this monk, some students informed this sad news to their master.
The master sadly spoke the verse:
When look at it, it does not smile
It does not enjoy meeting people
Does not even look at us
Try to do annoying actions
With all those actions
The wise men know clearly
Would not keep it as a friend!
Then the master of monks spent the rest of his life to practice four immeasurables, and reborned
on the Brahma realm after passing away. Finally, the Buddha recognised that the monk who
fed the elephant was the young monk, and the elephant was his master. The master of monks
was him, and the student monks were monks in Jetavana.
Jataka 198: Story of Radha
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Buddha told this story at Jetavana, surrounding a monk who lost his determination in Dharma
practice after seeing a beautiful woman.
The Buddha, after comprehending his issue, called him over and compassionately asked:” Dear
son. Is it true that you have lost your determination in the practice of Dharma.?”
The monk slowly and shyly replied to the Buddha:” Dear master. I was attached by the beauty
of a woman that could not continue to focus on my practice.``
The Buddha calmly talked to him and others: “It is impossible to monitor a woman. Although
you are able to have them, you are not able to keep them aside for long.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, there were two parrots, which
were two brothers, and which were fed by a rich Brahmin at Kasi. The biggest brother was
named Rothada, while the younger one was named Radha. The wife of this Brahmin enjoyed
having sexual misconduct whenever the Brahmin left home for a few days.
One day, when the Brahmin was going to leave home for a few days, he asked two parrots to
monitor his wife:” Dear two sons. Please help me to monitor my wife, your mother. When she
shall do something immoral, please try to suspend her”
The Rothada replied wisely to the Brahmin:” Don’t worry father. We tend to do it, but we will
keep silent if we cannot.”
After the Brahmin left, his wife immediately invited other men to come to satisfy her sexual
desire. Seeing all that happened, Radha could not bear it, and expressed her thoughts to
Rothada:” As our father asked that whenever our mother had immoral acts, we should suspend
her acts. Now she is doing bad, so we should suspend her from doing it.”
Rothada calmly replied:” Brother. Although the men always take their wives on their back,
they also cannot monitor the desire of the women. So, let it be!”
Then Rothada spoke the verse:
Radha, you don’t know
Men as much as many came at night times
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This woman was full attachment
So, she could not keep the wife duty
Then Rothada suspended its brother to say anything to the wife of the Brahmin. When the
Brahmin backed off, Rothada told him anything, and finally, Rothada talked to the Brahmin
sadly:” I already did something that I should not do with the mother, so I cannot continue to
live here.” Then Rothada led his brother to the forest to live in.
After telling this story, Buddha talked about four noble truths, and the monk who was too much
attached to his wife obtained the First Entering Stream level. And then, the Buddha recognized
that Radha was Ananda, and Rothada was him.
Jataka 199: Story of Gahapati
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, surrounding a young monk who lost his effort in
Dharma practice due to a woman.
At the Dharma-hall, Buddha said to this young monk and others:” Even if you have women,
you are not able to hold their heart forever, as women shall do everything to cheat their
husbands.”
rich family at Kasi. When the boy grew up, he got married to a beautiful woman. However,
unlucky to him, his wife was a erotic woman, so she often had sexual conduct with others when
he was not at home.
In the rainy season, it was raining heavily, so the villagers could not harvest their ripened rice.
Consequently, most of the villagers were in shortage of food, so they came over to the home
of the leader to borrow some food:” We all ran out of food. Please let us borrow some food and
we shall return it to you two months later.” The village-leader gave them an old cow, and they
killed the cow and shared the cow meat to each other.
One day, the young man went out for business. The village-leader who had sexual misconduct
with his wife, immediately entered his house to enjoy with his wife. However, unlucky, the
young man returned home earlier than the time that he informed his wife, so the village-leader
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and his wife were worried to find a way to escape from the issue. The erotic woman said to the
village-leader:” I will stand in the rice storage, and you just stand here. When he is about to
enter the house you just say “ return me the food”, and I shall say “ there is no rice to return.”
They did similar to what they planned, but as a wise man, the young man immediately
comprehended the issue, so he talked to the village:'' Hey village-leader. We borrowed food
from you and promised to return after two months. Now, 15 days have passed. So, it is not
suitable that you come here asking for the return of the rice but should be for having immoral
acts with my wife.”
Then the young man grasped the hairs of the village-leader to push him out of the front yard,
saying:” You are the village-leader, but you are doing wrong with the wife of others.” For the
wife, the young man was extremely angry, so he bit on his wife and threatened strongly. From
that time, the village-leader did not dare look at his wife, and his wife did not dare invite any
men to their house.
At the end of the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble truths, and the young monk
achieved the first Entering Stream level. Then the Buddha recognised that the young man who
was the husband of the erotic wife was him.
Jataka 200: Story of Sadhusila
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a Brahmin who selected the husband for his
daughters.
There was a lay student of the Buddha who lived near Jetavana. When he got older, he wanted
to give his daughters to have families, so he announced to have suitable men to come for
marriages with his daughters. After his announcement, four men came over, and they had
different traits. The old Brahmin could not decide well, so he entered the Jetavana to ask the
Buddha:” Dear master. It is hard for me to select one of them.”
The Buddha looked at him and calmly said:” In the past, you already asked this question with
wise men, but due to the reincarnation, you cannot remember.”
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Brahmin family. When the boy turned sixteen, he went to Takkasila to study skills and
knowledge. After graduation, he soon became a popular master, with thousands of students.
One day, an old Brahmin who had four daughters, and there were four men came to ask for
marriage with these daughters. A man was too strong and handsome, while a man was too old
but rich. The third man was from a rich and noble family, and the fourth man was a moral one.
The old Brahmin asked the master:
One is strong and handsome
Second is rich but old
Third one is from noble family
The fourth one is having morality
Who shall be suitable to be the husband of my daughters?
Dear master. Please help us!
The master quickly replied:” The men who are handsome, strong and rich but have no morality
are not likely good choices. I prefer men who are morality-cultivated.”
The old Brahmin listened to the instruction of the master to give his daughters to get married
to the man who was moral-cultivated.
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble truths, and the old Brahmin
obtained the first Entering Stream level. Finally, the Buddha recognised that the old Brahmin
in the story was this old Brahmin, and the master in the story was him.
Jataka 201: Story of Bandhanagara
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the prison. There were many people who were
put into prison for their cruel actions, such stealing, killing and robbery.
One day, thirty monks who lived in a rural area went to Jetavana to pay respect to the Buddha.
In the next morning, they went to get alms and on the way, they saw the prison which contained
those with cruel actions. In the afternoon, they paid respect to the Buddha and asked the
Buddha:” Dear master. Today, on the way to get alms, we saw the prison in which the criminals
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were tied with steel strings and not able to escape. We just wonder whether there is something
that fastens people stronger than the prison and the steel rob?”
The Buddha talked to the monks:” Dear sons! It is the binding of the body, and it is still not the
most terrible binding. However, the string of attachment to property, wife, children, glory and
power is more terrible and powerful than the prison and the steel strings. Nevertheless, although
difficult, those attached strings still were cut down by the wise when they decided to leave their
family to be ascetic monks to live in the Himalaya.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, there was born a man in a
poor family. When the man turned into adulthood, he got married to a beautiful girl. But, the
family life was not what he preferred in this life, so when his mother just passed away, he said
to the pregnant wife: “Dear honey! From now on, please take good care of yourself and the
coming born child. I will leave the family to be a monk.”
The wife looked at her husband, saying with a nice voice:” Dear husband. I am getting
pregnant, so please give birth to the child. At that time, you are available to leave for a
monkhood.”
When his wife just gave birth to a child, he again talked to his wife:” Dear honey. You already
gave birth to our child, so tomorrow, I will leave for a monk life.”
The wife again insisted:” Dear husband. It is not good for me to take good care of me and the
newborn child, so please wait for the child to walk.”
The young man waited until his newborn child knew how to walk properly, but he thought
that:” If I again talk to my wife about my plan, she may find the reason to hold me to stay in
the family life, so it is better to leave secretly.”
So, in the night time, he left his family, the beautiful wife and the new born child, to enter
Himalaya for a monk life. With strong determination, he soon obtained meditative fruits of
practice, and he thought:” with strong determination, I already cut down on all the
attachments.”
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The wise men already said that
Iron and wooden shackles
With all kinds of strings
Are not strongest prison
But the attachment to jewels and properties
With relatives, wife and children
Are the most solid prison
The wise comprehend these things
Smoothly tie us to sufferings
The wise men are able to cut them down
Getting rid of all kinds of attachment
Then, he spent the rest of his life practicing without laziness, and was reborn on the Brahma
realm after passing away.
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble truths, and during the talk, many
monks obtained Entering Stream level, one-returning level, non-returning level and Arhat.
Finally, the Buddha recognized that the wife of the young man was the mother of Rahula, and
the son was Rahula. The young man was him.
Jataka 202: Story of Kelisila
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the morality of Venerable Lakuntaka. Venerable
Lakuntaka was one of 80 brother monks in the Sangha of the Buddha. Ven. Lakuntaka was a
wise monk, having a nice voice, having competent eloquence and obtaining full enlightenment.
However, Ven. Lakuntaka was short and slim, so he looked similar to a child of 12 or lower
age.
One day, Ven. Lakuntaka went to Jetavana to pay respect to the Buddha, and at the same time,
there were thirty other monks who were from rural area, came to meet the Buddha. When they
arrived at the gate of the Dharma-hall, seeing Ven. Lakuntaka, they thought Ven. Lakuntaka
was a novice, so they touched his head, shook his hands, pinched his nose and ears. Then these
monks put their bowls in one side, entering the Buddha -hall to pay respect to the Buddha.
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After they asked the Buddha:” Dear master. We heard that Ven. Lakuntaka was extremely wise,
nice-voiced- spoken, and talent-eloquent, so where is him now?”
Buddha calmly looked at the monks:” My sons! Do you want to meet Ven. Lakuntaka?”
All the monks together said:” Yes master. It is our honor to meet him.”
The Buddha then slowly said:” The person who you touched his head, shook his hands and
pinched his nose and ears was Ven. Lakuntaka.”
The monks were surprised:” We heard that those who obtained Arhathood and achieved
enlightened wisdom should be great ones. So why Ven. Lakuntaka doesn't look that great?”
The Buddha said:” Because of the evil actions in the past.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, the king disliked what
looked like old and old-aging animals and people. He could not bear his mind looking at the
old-aging elephant, horse or cow, so whenever he saw those old-aging animals, he forced
servants to drive them away. When the king saw the old carts, he immediately ordered soldiers
to demolish them. When the king saw the old people, he called soldiers to force them to roll on
the roads, on the ground.
Sometimes, when the king knew which family in which there were old people, the king forced
the soldiers to take the old people in those families to the palace for entertainment. Gradually,
his servants also followed his bad attitudes, so the citizens of the hell, hungry ghost realm and
A-Tu-La realm were increased but the citizens of heaven were decreased. So, Sakka, the king
of Gods, used his power to comprehend the reason, and the bad actions of king Brahmadatta
was the major cause.
One day, in Varanasi, there was a national festival, and the king was on a strong and well-
decorated elephant, parading around the town. At that time, Sakka appeared as an old man who
wore old clothes, sitting on the old cart, carried by two old cows, and the cart carried two big
blocks of cheese. When the king saw Sakka in the form of an old man, driving the old cart,
carried by two old cows, he could not afford to calm his mind, so he called soldiers to drive
Sakka out of the town. However, the soldiers could not see Sakka, but only the king.
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Sakka made the cows and the cart flew over the head of the king, and then Sakka made the
cheese melted on the head of the king. Seeing the king was extremely threatened, Sakka
stopped his play, appearing in his own form, saying to the king:” Hey guy. Do you think that
you shall not get old? Why have you punished the old people? Due to your bad actions, people
of the nation cannot take good care of their parents, and thus, they tend to be reborn in lower
realms. If you don’t stop your play, I shall return to punish you.
After that Sakka talked about the merits and benefits of taking good care of parents and
respecting the old-aging people. Then Sakka returned to his realm. The king of Varanasi, from
that time, stopped his play with the old-aging people.
Swans, storks and peacocks
Elephants and deers
All threaten of the lion
Although their shapes are big or small
Likewise, the people who small but with wise
Better than those with big and tall shapes
But totally ignorant to everything!
And then the Buddha talked about Four Noble truths, and during the talk, many monks obtained
Entering Stream level, one-returning level, non-returning level and Arhat. Finally, the Buddha
recognized that the king of Varanasi was Ven. Lakuntaka, and the Sakka was him.
Jataka 203: Story of Kandha-Vatta
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about one monk who was bitten to death by a snake.
One day, this monk was sitting in front of the bathroom to rip the woods, and then a poisonous
snake came over to bite him on his big toe. He died after that.
His death spread to monks living in Jetavana quickly, and in the next morning, they gathered
at the Dharma-hall to talk about his death. Then the Buddha entered the Dharma-hall, and
knowing the issue of the discussion of monks, the Buddha said:” Dear monks. If that monk
cultivated the loving-kindness to the snakes, he would not be killed by the snake. In the past,
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the wise men cultivated loving-kindness to four lineages of snakes, and they escaped from
dangers from the snakes.”
Brahmin family in Kasi. When he grew up, he decided to leave his family for a monk life. With
strong determination, he rapidly obtained meditation fruitions and became the master of
hundred monks.
At that time, the monks who lived in the region between the Ganges River and the hill of
Himalaya were often bitten by poisonous snakes, and most of the monks died after being bitten
by the poisonous snakes. The monks, afterward, informed the issue to their master, and their
master said to them:” If you cultivate the loving-kindness to four kinds of snakes, so they shall
not threaten any of you. Hence, from now on, please practice loving-kindness to all kinds of
snakes.”
Then the master spoke the verse:
I cultivate my loving-kindness
To Virupakkha
To Erapatha
To Chabbyaputta
I cultivate loving-kindness
To Kanhagotama
Then the master taught the monks:” If you can cultivate loving-kindness to these four kinds of
snakes, the snakes shall stop to attack all of you.”
Then the master continued to speak the second verse:
To all kinds of beings which do not move by legs
I cultivate my loving-kindness to all of you
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To all kinds of beings which have two legs
To all kinds of beings which have four legs
I cultivate my loving-kindness to all of you.
To all kinds of beings which have more than four legs
Then the master spoke the third verse:
To all beings which do not move by legs
Please stop hurting me
To all beings which have two legs
To all beings which have four legs
To all beings which have more than four legs
Please stop hurting me.
Then the master continued:
Wishing to all beings on this universe
Having chance to cultivate good deeds
Stop cultivating bad deeds
Then the master taught the monks:” Please cultivate loving-kindness to all beings without
limitlessness.”
Then the master praised the virtue of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, and said to his monks:”
Dear sons. The virtue of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha are limitless. Please pay respect always
to these three jewels.”
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Then the master continued: “Wishing that all of us are protected by the virtues of these three
jewels, so please recall the virtue of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha all the time.”
Then the master continued to speak the verse:
Now I am protected
Dear all beings which want to harm me
Please step away from me
I pay respect to the current Buddha,
And seven Buddhas in the past
From that time, all the monks tried to cultivate their loving-kindness to all beings, and they
also cultivated their respect to Buddhas, Dharma and Sangha. The master spent the rest of his
life practicing loving-kindness, compassion, empathetic joy and equanimity, and he was reborn
in the Brahma realm after passing away.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the master was him, and the students of the
master were the monks of the Sangha.
Jataka 204: Story Viraka
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the incident of Devadatta when he tried to follow
the actions of the Buddha.
The Buddha said to Ven. Sariputta and monks gathered at Dharma-hall:” It is not only today,
but also in the past, Devadatta tried to copy my actions and got into trouble.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, there was born a crow which
lived near to a lake which was under the hill of Himalaya, and which was named Viraka.
One time, the county of Kasi was in an extreme famine where people had no food to give to
the crows or offerings to Yakshas and snakes. Almost all crows left Kasi to enter the forests
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and the mountains for a living. At that time, a couple of crows arrived at the lake in which the
crow Viraka lived. The male crow was named Savithaka.
Seeing Viraka was able to fly under the water to catch the fish, Sivathaka thought:” I shall
follow him to get enough food for a living.” So,Vivathaka came close to Viraka and asked:”
Dear sir! Could you please let me serve as the servant for you?”
Viraka agreed:” Okay. So, if you serve me, you shall get enough food for survival.”
From that day, every day, after eating enough fish, Viraka left the rest to Sivathaka to eat, and
Sivathaka , after eating enough, took the rest for his wife. Day after day, the life of the three
crows passed smoothly. However, one day, Sivathaka felt that he was offended:” Viraka is
back, and so am I. I totally assembled him, so why do I have to depend on him to survive? “
So, Sivathaka talked to Viraka:” Hey friend. From tomorrow, I will start to catch fish under the
water.”
Viraka tried to suspend the crazy idea of Sivathaka:” You are not the kind of crow which can
enter the water, so it is harmful to follow me.”
Despite the advice from Viraka, Sivathaka still tried to enter the water of the lake to catch fish,
and consequently, it was stuck into the water and passed away. In the afternoon, the husband
of Sivathaka came over the lake to ask Viraka about her husband:
Dear Sir, Viraka
Have you seen a crow?
With a nice voice
And nice neck of peacock
Is it my husband? Namely Sivathaka
Viraka looked at the wife of Sivathaka and saidly replied:
Kind of crows
Which can live on the ground and in water
Can catch fish to eat easily
Sivathaka tried to copy those crows
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Getting stuck in the seaweed
Passing away already!
The wife of Sivathaka, after hearing the verse, cried loudly and immediately went back to
Varanasi.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that Sivathaka was Devadatta, and Viraka was
him.
Jataka 205: Story of Gangeyya
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about two young monks, who did not focus on
contemplation of impermanence and impurity of phenomena, but were attached to their
handsomeness. They often talked about their handsomeness everywhere.
One day, they argued about the handsomeness of each other, and none of them agreed to lose
each other. Hence, they asked an old monk who was sitting nearby:” Dear sir! Can you give us
the idea that who among us is more handsome?”
The old monk said to them:” Dear two venerable monks! I shall be more handsome than the
two of you.”
Two young monks were extremely angry about the reply of the old monk, so they insulted the
old monk before leaving. Their issue was spread quickly among Jetavana, and the monks, who
gathered at Dharma-hall the next morning, talked about their issue:” Dear all venerable monks!
Two monks insulted an old monk after getting an unsatisfactory answer to their question.”
When the Buddha entered the Dharma-hall, knowing the issue of their talk, Buddha said that “
It is not in the present time, but also in the past, they often talked about their handsomeness.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, there was a deity living in
a tree on the shore of the Ganges River. One day, at the intersection of the Ganges River and
Yamuna River, there were two fishes that met each other. One was from the Ganges River, and
the other was from the Yamuna River. They argued about their beauty. None of them accepted
that the other was more handsome, so they asked an old turtle which was moving near to their
location.
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The old turtle calmly replied:” The fish from Ganges is beautiful, and so is the fish from
Yamuna River. However, I am the most handsome among the three.”
Then the turtle spoke the verse:
The fish from the Ganges is beautiful
So is the fish from the Yamuna River
However, this four legs animal
This turtle, with the rounded neck, is the most beautiful!
Two fishes got angry with the replies of the old turtle, so they insulted the old turtle and left.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that two fishes were two young monks, and the
old turtle was the old monk. The deity of the tree who observed this event was him.
Jataka 206: Story of Kurungamiga
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about Devadatta’s intention to kill the Buddha. When
the Buddha comprehended that Devadatta was planning to assassinate him, the Buddha said:”
Dear monks. It is not in the present time, but also, in the past, he had tried to kill me.``
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, there was born a deer which
lived in a luxuriant tree nearby a lake. On another tree which was also near the lake, there was
a nest of a woodpecker, and there was a turtle living under the lake. So, these three animals
were close friends to each other.
One day, a hunter came close to the lake, and he put a trap, waiting for theder. The deer, as
usual, went to the lake to drink water, and unlucily, it got into the trap. When the deer was
stuck into the trap, it shouted loudly for the turtle and the woodpecker to come to rescue:” Dear
friends. Please come to save me from this trap.”
The woodpecker and the turtle immediately got to the trap in which the deer was stuck in. The
woodpecker said to the turtle:” Dear turtle. Could you please try to bite the strings of the trap
off as you have sharp teeth, and I shall get to the hunter to suspend him to get here.”
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Then the turtle began to bite the leather strings and the woodpecker flew to the cottage of the
hunter and waited. When the sun was not up, the hunter went out with a knife to check the
trap; the woodpecker quickly flew over the hunter’s head to attack him. The hunter was
attacked and thought:” In the early morning, a woodpecker attacked me, it is not the lucky
symbol, so I should go back and get out from the back door. “ Then the hunter backed his
cottage again and went out the back door.
The woodpecker was clever, and it knew that the hunter would get out from the back door, so
it rapidly flew to the back door of the cottage to threaten the hunter again. The hunter, again,
thought:” It is unlucky to get out this time as the woodpecker attacked me two times, so it is
better to wait for the sun to rise up. “ Then the hunter backed his cottage and waited for the sun
to rise up.
When the sun rose up, the hunter went out, heading to the trap. The woodpecker, this time,
flew rapidly back to the lake to inform the turtle and the deer. When the hunter came close to
the trap, the leather strings of the trap were bitten off, and the deer used all its energy to escape
from the trap. The woodpecker , at that time, flew back and hid in its nest. But, the turtle was
too slow to escape, so it was put into the bag by the hunter.
Seeing the turtle was caught and put into the bag, the deer decided to go back to save the turtle.
It ran back and attracted the attention of the hunter, and it pretended that it was exhausted. The
hunter saw the deer which looked exhausted, so he put the bag which kept the turtle down and
chased the deer. The deer ran slowly to the forest, and when it got the hunter to run far away
from the bag which kept the turtle, it ran rapidly to escape from the hunter. From the circle, the
deer ran back to the lake quickly and the deer saved the turtle from the bag easily.
After saving the turtle, the deer said to the turtle and the woodpecker:'' Dear friends! The hunter
shall come back, so we cannot continue to live here. Dear woodpecker! You have to lead all of
your children to fly to the other place to live, and dear turtle! You have to quickly run to the
lake. I will run to the deep forest.``
Then they did as quickly as the plan. When the hunter backed to the lake, seeing the broken
bag, he was extremely angry to leave. After the hunter left, these three animals returned to the
lake to continue their peaceful lives. And they kept close to each other until they all passed
away.
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After telling the story, the Buddha recognised the hunter was Devadatta, and the woodpecker
was Sariputta. The turtle was Mogallana, and the deer was him.
Jataka 207: Story of Assaka
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, related to a monk who was still attached to his former
wife. When the Buddha knew his issue, he was compassionate to ask him:” Dear son. Is it true
that you are attached to your former wife?”
The monk shyly answered:” Yes master. I still have an attachment to my former wife, so my
mind is not calm enough to focus on the practice.”
The Buddha slowly said to him:” Dear son. It is not only in the present time, but also, in the
past, you were attached to this woman so that you got in trouble.”
Once upon a time, when king Assaka was reigning the town Potali, the queen, namely Ubbari,
was extremely loved by the king, as she was super lovely and beautiful. The king Assaka loved
the queen more than other maidens, so when the queen passed away, the king was extremely
shocked and suffered. The king ordered people to put the dead body of the queen into a coffin,
and used some fragrances and chemicals to preserve the dead body. The king did nothing but
stayed behind the dead body of the queen to cry, and he also ignored eating and drinking.
Seeing the king in extreme suffering, the officials all came over to pacify the king:” Dear
Majesty. Life is impermanent, so you should not suffer that much.” But they couldn't calm the
king, and the king continuously cried and suffered for seven days.
On the seventh day, a monk, who lived in Himalaya, and who obtained the fruition of
meditation practice, knew the suffering of the king, so he decided to assist the king to get rid
from the sufferings. From Himalaya, he flew over the palace and landed off to the garden of
the palace, sitting in the meditation posture. A young man went to the garden of the king, and
seeing the monk, he sat down to listen to the monk’s teachings. After discussion with the young
man, the monk asked him:” How do you feel about the king of Potali? Is he a good king? And
has he ruled the country with fair and justice?”
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The young man replied quickly:” Dear Venerable. Our king is a good king, and he has ruled
the nation with fairness and justice. However, as the queen just passed away, the king has been
in extreme sufferings. Could you please help our king to get rid of this suffering?”
The Himalaya monk calmly answered:”I don’t know you king, but if he comes here, I shall
show him where his queen is.”
The young man was happy to reply:” Could you please wait for me here? I shall take the king
here to listen to your instruction.”
Soon after that, the young man was successful in leading the king to meet the Himalayan monk,
and the king immediately asked:” Is it true that you can help me to see and know where my
beloved queen is?”
The monk looked at the king and calmly said:”Your queen, due to the attachment to her beauty,
reborn as an eating fecticated-worm in this garden.”
The king was surprised:” No. I don’t believe it.”
The monk used his power to call the worms in the cow-shit nearby:'' Two eating defecated
worms. Please come in front of the king.” When two worms in the cow-shit moved in front of
the king, the Himalayan monk pointed to one of two worms, saying:” Dear majesty! This worm
was your beautiful queen, Ubbari. Now, it is the wife of an eating defecated worm.``
The king still wondered:” I still doubt this. Could you please give me some evidence?”
The monk calmly looked at the king:” I will make it talk to you.”
Then the monk used his power to talk about one of two worms:” Hey. Ubbari. Please reply to
me.``
One of the two worms quickly answered:” Yes sir. I am Ubbari.”
The monk continued to order:” Could you please tell us about your previous life?”
One of the two worms quickly said:” Yes sir. I was the queen Ubbari, the queen of king Assaka.
I often had strolls with the king in this garden.”
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The monk continuously asked:” Hey Ubbari! Do you love the king Assaka or your current
husband?”
The worm said rapidly:” Of course my current husband. Although I was the wife of king
Assaka, in this life, I have no emotion with him, and even I can cut the neck of king Asska to
take his blood for my husband to drink.”
After the king Assaka heard the replies from the worm which was the afterlife of his queen, he
ordered people to make the ceremony for the dead body of the queen. Soon after that, he got
married to a beautiful girl and gave her the throne of queen of the nation. The king spent the
rest of his life ruling the nation in accordance with royal dharmas.
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble truths, and the monk who was
attached to his former wife obtained Entering Stream level. Finally, the Buddha recognised that
the queen Ubbari was the former wife of the young monk, and the king Assaka was the young
monk. The young man who listened to the Himalayan monk was Sariputta, and the Himalaya
monk was him.
Jataka 208: Story of Sumsumara
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the plan of Devadatta to assassinate the Buddha.
The Buddha talked to the monks at the Dharma-hall:” Dear monks! It is not in the present time,
but also, in the past life, he failed to kill me.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta wareigning Varanasi, there was a monkey which
was born and grew up in the Himalayas. When the monkey turned into adulthood, it looked
robust and energetic.
This monkey often went to the Ganges river to drink water, and a female crocodile desired to
eat the monkey's heart too much. The female crocodile talked with its husband:” Dear husband.
I really want to eat the heart of this monkey.”
The crocodile husband pacified his wife:'' Dear honey. He lives and find for living on the
ground, and we live and find for living under the water, so it is pretty hard to catch him.``
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The crocodile's wife still insisted:” If I can’t eat the heart of this monkey. I shall die soon.”
The crocodile husband rapidly pacified its wife:” Okay. Don’t worry. I will find a way to catch
the crocodile for you to eat.”
One day, seeing the monkey come to drink water, the crocodile husband tried to come close to
the monkey, saying:” Dear venerable monkey! I would suggest you to get to the other bank of
the river, as that side is full of trees with diverse and blossomed fruits.”
The monkey was curious: “ Hey crocodile. Thanks very much for your suggestion, but how
can I get to the other bank of this river as it is too wide and deep?”
The crocodile was pleasant:” Don’t worry! Don’t worry! You can stand on my back, and I will
drive you to the other bank.”
Then the monkey jumped on the

back of the crocodile, and the crocodile started to swim toward the central of
the river. Then, when the crocodile arrived at the central, it rapidly dove
down to the water. The monkey was surprised to ask:” Dear crocodile! Is it not
that you are driving me to the other bank of the river right?”
The crocodile slowly said:” Dear monkey! As my
wife wants to eat your heart, I have to cheat you to drive you here.”
The monkey rapidly said to the crocodile:” It is good that you let me know your plan, but too
sorry, we don’t often carry out our hearts together, otherwise, when we jump from tree to tree,
our hearts may be broken up.”
The crocodile rapidly asked the monkey:” So, where are your hearts my friend?”
The monkey used the index finger to show toward the fig tree:” Do you see that tree? It is the
place that we hang our hearts. Could you please drive me there? And I shall show my heart to
you.”
The crocodile rapidly drove the monkey back and got close to the fig tree. Then the monkey
jumped down from the back of the monkey, saying:” Dear crocodile! Do you think that we, the
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monkeys, put our hearts on the branches of fig trees? I cheated you to drive me back. You can
keep these fig trees as a souvenir.”
The crocodile knew that it was cheated by the monkey, so it felt like it lost thousands of coins.
With unpleasant emotion, it rapidly drove back to the river.
After telling the story, Buddha recognised that the male crocodile was Devadatta, and the
female crocodile was the girl, Cinta. The monkey was him.
Jataka 209: Story of Kakara
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the young monk who was the assistant of
venerable Sariputta. This young monk did not eat the foods which were too hot or too cold, and
he did not often get out as he worried the changes of weather might affect his body. His careful
attitude was quickly spread around Jetavana, and the monks, soon gathered at Dharma-hall,
discussed his positive attitude:” Dear Venerables. The assistant of venerable Sariputta is
excellent in taking good care of himself.”
When the Buddha knew the issue of the discussion of the monks, the Buddha said that :” It is
not in the present time, but also, in the past, this person was excellent in taking good care of
himself.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, there was a deity who lived
in a big tree in the deep forest. One day, there was a hunter who entered the forest to catch the
birds. This hunter brought a decoy bird, traps and strings which were made of hairs.
When the hunter saw an old bird, he started to release the decoy bird to attract that bird, and at
the same time, he put a number of traps and the strings around the decoy bird. Then he hid
under the luxuriant branches, waiting for the bird entering the trap. However, the old bird knew
that there were some traps nearby the decoy bird that the hunter released, so the old bird just
flew up and down to avoid getting into the strings or the traps as well. Then the old bird spoke
the verse to the hunter:
I have seen the luxuriant trees
Like A-sa-kan-na trees
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Those trees are not moving
As you are doing!
Then the old bird flew into the deep forest. The hunter was upset, and he tried to get what he
could utilize for his life in the forest. Afterward, he returned to his town.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognised that the hunter was Devadatta, and the old bird
was the young monk who was excellent in taking good care of himself. The deity of a tree was
him.
Jataka 210: Story of Kandagalaga
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, on the occasion when Devadatta tried to copy the
actions of the Buddha and consequently Devedatta got into trouble.
The Buddha talked with monks at the Dharma-hall:” It is not in the present time, but also, in
the past, he tried to copy my actions and got into trouble.”
Then the Budda told the story:
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, there was a woodpecker
which lived around the Himalaya mountain, and this woodpecker often went to a acacia forest
to find foods for survival, so it was named Khadiravaniya ( The woodpecker in the acacia
forest). Khadiravaniya had a close friend, a fruit bird which lived and found food in a forest
with lots of fruits, and this bird was named Khandagalaka.
One day, Khandagalaka paid a visit to Khadiravaniya, and Khadiravaniya took Khandagalaka
to the acacia forest, using its strong rostrum to dig into the hole of the acacia trees. Then when
the worms from the holes got out, Khadiravaniya invited Khandagalaka to eat.
Staying a few days with Khadiravaniya, Khandagalaka was invited to eat worms everyday, so,
Khandagalaka was ashamed :'' I am also a bird. So, why do I have to eat what he give me.``
So, Khandagalaka talked with Khadiravaniya:'' Tomorrow, I will find the worms myself. You
don’t have to work for me.``
Khadiravaniya rapidly suspended its friend:” Dear friend. You are not kind of a woodpecker,
so don’t try to follow me.”
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Khandagalaka did not listen to Khadiravaniya, and it flew quickly to a acacia tree, using its
rostrum to dig into a hole. Consequently, its rostrum was injured, and it fell down on the
ground. Laying on the ground, Khandagalaka asked Khadiravaniya:
Dear friend, Which tree is it?
Having oval leaves and thorns
Digging in only one time
My rostrum was heavily injured
Khadiravinaya looked at Khandagalaka and slowly said:
Dear friend! You are fruiting bird
Living from the fruits and the ruin woods
Digging into a acacia tree
Kind of trees has solid core
Made you injured heavily!
After telling the story, the Buddha recognised that Khandagalaka was Devadatta, and
Khadiravaniya was him.
Jataka 211: Story of Somadatta
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, related to the nature of venerable Laludayi, a monk who
was too cowardly so that he could not keep calm to talk in front of a group of three people or
more.
The monks gathered at the Dharma-hall, talking about the characteristics of the venerable
Laludayi. When the Buddha entered the Dharma-hall, knowing the issue of the discussion of
the monks, the Buddha then said:” It is not in the present time, but also in the past life, he was
too cowardly.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, there was a boy who was
born in a Brahmin family. When he turned sixteen, he went to Takkasila to study skills and
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knowledge. However, when he completed his studies, his family was in severe poverty. Hence,
he decided to rebuild the fortune for his family.
Then he felt his hometown to apply for a job at the palace of the king. With skills and
knowledge, he was loved by the king. One day, his father paid a visit to him and said:” Dear
son. We have two cows to serve for plowing for a living. However, unlucky, one cow of ours
was dead, so could you please ask the king to give us a cow.?”
The young Brahmin calmly said to his father:” Dear dad! I have just worked here, so it is better
that you ask for the cow from the king.”
The father said to the young Brahmin:'' I was cowardly when talking to strangers. It is challenge
to me to talk with the king.``
The young Brahmin rapidly said to his father:” Dear Dad! Don’t worry! I will teach you
carefully what you should say.”
Then the young Brahmin taught his father the verse:” Dear majesty. Having two cows to plow
as a way for living. Then one of them died already. Could you please give me one cow?”
The young Brahmin then assisted his father to speak wisely in front of the king, and the father
spent one year practicing. Finally, he was ready to meet the king. But, when he met the king,
he forgot what he had practiced:” Dear majesty. I had two cows to plow for a living, but one
of them died. Could you please take the other?”
The king listened carefully to the verse, and he smiled as he knew that the farmer was cowardly
to read the verse wrongly. But, to be joking, he asked the young Brahmin:” Dear Somadatta! It
seems that your family is enriched with lots of cows?”
The young Brahmin, Somadatta, wisely replied:” Dear majesty. If so, it is the giving from you.”
The king was totally pleased with the cleverness of the young servant, so the king gave his
father 16 strong cows and lots of jewels. Not only that, the king ordered people to use the
luxurious vehicle to drive the young Brahmin and his father back to the village. Sitting inside
the luxurious vehicle which was pulled by the white Sindh horses, the young Brahmin said to
his father:
Trying to memorise
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Concentrated without distracted mind
Spent one year long to practice
As the odorous bunch of grass
When stood in front of the king and officials
Forgetting all that I had practiced!
His father calmly replied:
Dear my son, Somadatta!
The goal was satisfied
Although my utterance was clussy
Having cows and jewels from the kings!
After telling the story, the Buddha recognised that the father of Somadatta was Luladayi, and
Somadatta was him.
Jataka 212: Story of Uchithabhata
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the attachment of a monk to his former
wife. When the Buddha knew the monk's problem, the Buddha said to the monk:” Dear
son. In the past, that woman already made you get in trouble that you even ate the
leftovers of her sweetis.”
boy in a poor family. His family was inherited in acrobatic dance, and when he grew
up, he continued to prolong this job. However, as having less income, he had to beg
for a living.
One day, from the seat on the pavement, he observed the sexual misconduct of the
wife of a rich Brahmin with a man, when the rich Brahmin got out for his business.
After having intimacy with the young lover, the wife of the rich Brhamin cooked for his
young lover a delicious meal. While her young lover was eating, she stood at the front
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door, overlooking the arrival of her husband. When her lover was eating half of the
food on the plate, her husband backed off. Hence, she told her young lover:” Oh dear.
My husband is getting here soon, so you have to hide in the storage room.``
When the rich Brahmin entered the house, his wife immediately put more rice and food
on the leftover of her lover, and invited her husband to eat. The rich Brahmin noticed
that half of the food in his plate was cold and the rest was still very hot, so he thought
:'' This meal is likely the leftover of others.” Hence, he asked his wife:
Half of food was cold
While half was hot
So dear my honey!
Why are they so different from each other?
The rich Brahmin tried to ask many times, but his wife still kept silent. The beggar saw
the rich Brahmin was too suffering, so he came over, saying with the rich Brahmin:” I
think you can find the man who stays in your storage room, and you shall comprehend
the issue.”
Then the beggar entered the storage room of the rich Brahmin, taking out the lover of
the Brahmin’s wife. Then the beggar calmly said to the young lover of Brahim's wife:”
Please stop this immoral action, as your action is harmful to the happiness of others.
Then the beggar rapidly went away. Afterward, the rich Brahmin ordered people to
punish them and forced them to stop their immoral acts.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognised that the rich Brahim was the monk who
was attached to his former wife, and the wife of the Brahmin was the former wife of
the Brahmin. The beggar was him as in Bodhisattva way.
Jataka 213: Story of Bharu
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the bribery of king Kosala. During the time the
Buddha stayed at Jetavana, king Kosala often offered foods, medicals and necessary stuff to
the Buddha and the monks of the Buddha. Monks of other lineages were worried that they
would lose their benefits, so they gathered to find the solution. Finally, they decided to build a
temple near Jetavana. Before starting their construction, they took 1000 golden coins as the
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bride for the king and said to the king:” Dear majesty! We desire to build a temple which is
next to Jetavana, so please keep silent in case the monks of Jetavana ask you to stop us.”
When they began to build their temple, they made noise loudly, so the Buddha asked the
monks:” My sons! What is the noise from?”
Ananda quickly replied to the Buddha:” Dear master!Monks of other lineages are constructing
a temple which is next to us.”
The Buddha calmly said to monks:”Monks of other lineages often make loud noises, and it will
be trouble for us and for them as well when they complete their construction. Hence, you have
to inform the king to suspend their construction.”
Some monks followed the instruction of the Buddha, so they went to the palace of the king
Kosala. However, the king refused to meet the monks of the Buddha as the king Kosala already
took bride from the monks of other lineages. When the monks backed Jetavana to inform the
Buddha, the Buddha continued to send Venerable Sariputta and Venerable Moggallana to meet
the king. Nevertheless, the king still tried to avoid meeting Venerable Sariputta and Mogallana.
When two venerable Sariputta and Mogallana backed to inform the Buddha of the refusal of
king Kosala in meeting them, the Buddha, himself, took 500 monks to the palace of king
Kosala. When the Buddha and 500 monks arrived, king Kosala immediately left the palace to
welcome the Buddha and 500 monks, holding the bowl for the Buddha and inviting the Buddha
and monks to enter the palace.
When the Buddha sat on the special seat prepared for him, king Kosala started to offer Buddha
and monks with foods, cheese and porridge. Then, the king sat down to listen to the talk from
the Buddha. The Buddha calmly said to the king:'' Dear majesty. Many kings, in the past, took
brides from others and generated the conflicts between the monks and panditas. Consequently,
they lost control of the nations.”
Once upon a time, when king Bharu was ruling the nation of Bharu, there lived a monk ,who
obtained all the Abhijanati ( wisdoms to be free from attachments) and frutions of
concentration, on Himalaya. The monk soon became the master of hundreds of other monks in
the region.
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One day, to collect the salts and other ingredients, the master took 500 other monks to the
nation of Bharu to get alms. After getting alms from people, they left the Bharu town, and not
far from the northern gate, near to a big eagle tree, they settled for 15 days. At the same time,
a group of other monks also went to Bharu to get alms, and they left the Bharu town from the
southern gate, near to a big eagle tree, where they settled for 15 days. Afterward, they left for
the Himalaya.
Next time, the group of monks who settled in front of the southern gate, again, got to the town
of Bharu to get alms, and when they left they intended to settle near to the eagle tree in front
of the southern gate. However, unlucky, the eagle tree withered, so they moved to the northern
gate to settle near to the eagle tree. Not long after that, the group of monks who settled at the
northern gate also got back to Bharu to get alms, and after they left the town, they also settled
near to the eagle tree in front of the northern gate.
Two groups of monks argued over the possession of the place and the eagle tree in front of the
northern gate of the town of Bharu. Finally, they all took each other to meet the king of Bharu
for justice. However, the king was not able to give a solution to solve the conflict between two
groups of monks as the king decided the eagle tree belonged to the group of monks who arrived
first. So, the other group, with the power of meditation, saw a valuable vehicle, so they found
it and gave it to the king as a bribe and said:” Dear majesty! Please give us become the owners
of that eagle tree.``
The king then decided the eagle tree belonged to two groups of monks. Then, the other group
of monks tried to find another valuable vehicle to offer the king, saying:” Dear majesty! Please
let us become the owners of that eagle tree.” The king, again, decided this group of monks were
the owners of that eagle tree. Afterward, two groups of monks realized that they were wrong
to try to possess the eagle tree, so they shyly returned to the Himalaya.
After the monks left, the deities throughout the nation were angry as the king made moral
people to argue with each other, so they made water come to demolish the town of Bharu.
Consequently, all the town of Bharu was completely under the deep water.
Hearing that king Bharu
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Made monks to argue each other
Obtaining danger himself and all people of the town
The wise people, without attachment
All say the truth!
Then the Buddha calmly said to the king:”Dear majesty! Due to the attachment, making two
groups of monks argue each other is an evil act.”
Then the Buddha recognised that the master who obtained Abhijanati and fruitions of mediation
was him. After the Buddha and monks left, king Kosala ordered the soldiers to suspend the
construction of the temple of monks of other lineages.
Jataka 214: Story of Punna-Nadi
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the liberated wisdom.
One day, monks gathered at the Dharma-hall, talking about the wisdom of the
Buddha:” Dear all venerable! The enlightened one has great wisdom, which
comprehends fully and sufficiently all the phenomena, all skills and knowledge.”
Then the Buddha entered the Dharma-hall, knowing the issue of the talk of monks, the
Buddha said that:” It is not only in the present time, but also, in the past, I already the
wisdom which assisted me to comprehend full skills, knowledge and phenomena.”
boy who was the son of a consulted celebrant of the king. When he turned sixteen, he
was well-cultivated at Takkasila, and upon graduation, he became the consultant for
the king after his father passed away.
After a few years, he was jealous of the other officials, so they alluded to his problems
to the king. Hence, the king expelled his family from the town Varanasi. He took his
wife and his children to live in a small town, namely Kasi.
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Time flies, and the king realized that he was wrong to punish his consultant, so he
tried to find a way to invite the consultant back to the palace. However, as having
shame and high-ego, the king thought:” If I send servants to invite the consultant back,
It is shameful to me. So it is better to write a verse and attach to the crows. When the
crows arrive at the consultant, the consultant shall read it and return, if he is really
wise. However, after reaching this message and he still could not understand my
message, it is time to find a new consultant.”
Then the king ordered people to write the verse in a piece of white cloth:
Which thing on this world is comprehended
Enable to drink water from the big and glorious river
What is covered and protected by wheats?
What makes the passenger go away?
That thing is now arrived
Please enjoy it! Brahmin!
After reading the verse on the coverage of the crow’ meat, the consultant immediately
knew that the king wanted to meet him. Hence, in the next morning, he prepared a
vehicle to take his wife and children back to the palace. The king was extremely
pleased when he saw his consultant back, so the king gave him his former position as
the consultant of the nation.
After telling the verse, the Buddha recognised that the king was Ananada, and the
consultant was him.
Jataka 215: Story of Kachpa
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the monk Kokalika, a person who was in trouble
by his utterance. The background of the story is detailed in Jataka 481 ( Story of Mahakatara).
The Buddha, on the occasion that the monks talked about the troubles of Kokalika, said to the
monks who gathered at Dharma-hall:” Dear monks. It is not in the present time, he is in trouble
because of his utterance, but in the past, he was.”
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family of an official of the king. When the boy grew up, he became the consultant of the king
for the holy and normal issues around the nation. The king was a talkative person, so the king
often talked too much so that all officials just could do nothing but listen to the king. The
consultant planned to assist the king to stop this behavior, but he had not found the chance.
Near the place of the king, there was a turtle which was near a lake, and one day, this turtle
made friends with two geese. They often gathered for eating and talking. One day, two geese
invited the turtle to visit their nest on the top of the Mount Himalaya:” Dear turtle. We are
likely to invite you to visit our nest on the top of the Mount Himalaya. Would you like to pay
a visit to us.?”
The turtle worried: “ Many thanks to all of you, but I am a turtle, an animal which lives on the
ground only. How can I fly up to visit your nest?”
Two geese pacified the turtle:” Don’t worry turtle. We will take a wood stick and you just hold
the stick by your mouth. By this way, wwe shall bring you to our nest easily. But, please don’t
talk during the journey, otherwise, you shall lose your life.”
The turtle agreed and two geese used their feet to hold two sides of a woody stick. The turtle
was in the middle of the tree, holding the stick with its mouth. When the geese were flying
through the palace of Varanasi, the children, seeing the geese carrying the turtle, shouted loudly
with surprise:” Wow. A turtle is flying in the sky, carried by two geese.” When the turtle heard
the loud utterance of the children, it could not calm its mind, so it opened up its mouth to reply
to the children. Consequently, the turtle was dropped from the sky to the yard in front of the
palace, with terrible injury.
When the turtle dropped at the yard of the palace, it made a loud noise, so the king and all
officials who were in the main shrine of the palace ran out quickly to oversee what happened.
Seeing the turtle dropped from the sky, with terrible injury, the king rapidly asked the
consultant of the palace:” Dear consultant. Can you please explain to me what has happened
here with the turtle?”
The consultant looked at the sky, seeing two geese carrying a stick, and he immediately
comprehended:” It is my opportunity to assist the king to get rid of his talkative tendency. This
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turtle might make friends with those geese, and they might invite this turtle to visit their nest.
By the desire to talk, this turtle harmed itself.”
Then the consultant said to the king:” Dear majesty. By the talkative behavior, this turtle was
dropped from the sky.” Then the consultant continued to speak the verse:
The turtle tried to speak out
Then it harmed itself
As it was holding stick
When I opened the mouth, it dropped down!
The wises are comprehended
Dear Majesty! Please talk enough
Be careful with all the utterances
Otherwise, shall encounter the dangers
As this turtle encountered!
The king wondered to ask the consultant:” Dear consultant. Did you want me to change to give
me these utterances?”
The consultant respectively said to the king:”Dear majesty. It is not about you, but all people
who are talkative tend to get in trouble sooner or later.” From that time, the king changed his
attitude, and he seldom talked too much.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognised that the turtle was Kokalika, and two geese were
Sariputta and Moggalana. The king was Ananda, and the consultant was him.
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a young monk who was thinking of his former
wife.
When the Buddha comprehends the issue, the Budha asked him:” Dear son. Is it true that you
already lost your determination in practice? Who made you lose your determination in
practice?”
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The young monk:”Dear master! It is true that my mind is attached too much to my former wife
so that I cannot focus on the practice.”
The Buddha said to the young monk:” Dear son! In the past, due to this woman, you were in
danger, and were about to be killed. However, you were lucky to be saved by the wise.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, there was a wise man who
worked as the consultant for the king.
One day, on the shore of the river which was near to the palace, there were two fishermen who
caught a big fish from the nets that they prepared for days. After taking the fish out of the net,
two fishermen put it on the hot sandy shore, and they burned on a fire to grill the fish to eat.
When the fish was about to be killed, it cried loudly:
I am not suffered by the fire
Neither suffered by the sticks
But from the worry about my wife
Who shall be suffered
As thinking I am with the other female fish to play
This attachment is burning me
Please release me!
When the fish was crying, the consultant went across the river, and hearing the suffering cry
of the fish, the consultant interfered to make two fishermen release the fish back to the river.
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble truths, and during the talk of the
Buddha, the young monk obtained the Entering Stream level. Finally, the Buddha recognised
that the female fish was the former wife of the monk, and the young monk was the stucking
fish. The consultant was him.
Jataka 217: Story of Seggu
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The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a man who sold the fruits. The background of
this story is detailed in Jataka 102. When the fruit-seller paid a visit to the Buddha, the Buddha
asked him:” My son! How have you been up to? For a long time, I did not see you.”
The fruit-seller replied quickly to the Buddha:” Dear master! It is not only in the present time,
but also, in the past, your daughter was moral and faithful, and you also challenged her before
giving her to be married to a noble man.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, there was a deity who lived
in a big tree in the forest.
At Varanasi, there was an old man who had a moral daughter, and he wanted to give her to
marry a noble man. However, before giving her to marry the noble man, he tried to challenge
her.
One day, he took his daughter in the forest for a stroll, and at the forest, he pretended as wanting
to have sex with her. His daughter was threatened to cry loudly, and he said calmly to his
daughter:
All humans are like sexual attachment
Have you ever tried to do it
Or have you still been a virgin woman
Give me the answer
Dear my daughter!
The daughter was afraid to reply to her father:” Dear father. I have no idea about sexual
attachment.” And she spoke the verse:
The one who have protected me
From suffering and dangers
Are you, my father
Now, having evil thought with me
At the deep forest without people
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So, to whom should I ask for help?
Hearing the answer from the daughter, the father told her that he just wanted to challenge her,
so he took her daughter back and gave her to marry with a moral man.
After telling the story, the Buddha taught about Four Noble truths, and the fruits-seller obtained
the Entering Stream level. Finally, the Buddha recognised that the daughter was the daughter
of the fruits-seller, and the father in the story was the fruits-seller. The deity of the tree was
him.
Jataka 218: Story of Kutavanija
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a cheated businessman. There were two
businessmen who lived in Savatthi. One was too honor and innocent, while the other was too
scheming. However, they were close friends with each other, and gathered money to do
business together. They bought products from Varanasi, with 100 vehicles, and went across the
nation to sell the products. Afterward, they decided to back Varanasi.
One the way back to Varanasi, the innocent businessman talked with the scheming friend:”
Dear friend. We are about to get to Varanasi, so it is better that we have to divide our product,
as I want to back home soon.``
However, the scheming businessman still was reluctant to divide the products and thought:”
My friend is too tired as have traveled for several days, so when he returns, he shall eat a lot of
food and be dead. So, afterward, all the products will belong to me.``
Day after day, the scheming businessman tried to postpone from dividing products. However,
the innocent businessman continuously insisted, so they finally divided their products into two
parts. After having his own products, the innocent businessman rapidly returned home, and
afterward paid a visit to the Buddha.
The Buddha looked at him and compassionately asked: “ What did you do Brahmin? Long time
no see!”
The innocent businessman told the Buddha everything related to the business trip and also the
plan of his scheming friend as well, and the Buddha talked to the innocent businessman
slowly:” It is not in the present time, but also, in the past, that man was scheming.”
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Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, there was born a boy who
was the son of an official of the king. When the boy grew up, he was well-cultured and was
given as the magistrate.
At that time, there were two businessmen who were close to each other. One lived in a small
village, while the other lived in the town. One day, after making 500 plows, the businessman
who lived in the small village sent them to his friend, the businessman who lived in the town
for selling.
The businessman who lived in the town helped his friend to sell out all 500 plows. However,
he did not give the money from selling plows to his friend, but kept it as his own. Also, he put
the defecation of the mice into the storage room where they stored 500 plows. When the
businessman who lived in the small village came to ask for money, the businessman who lived
in the town just took his friend to the storage room saying:” Your plows were eaten out by the
mice, so I have to way to give you money as I had not sold anything.”
The businessman who lived in the small village kept silent, and after lunch time, he took the
son of the businessman who lived in the town to the river to take a bath. After taking a bath, he
gave the child to the other friend, and told him to take good care of the child. Then he went
back to the house of the businessman who lived in the town. His friend did not see his son back
together with the businessman who lived in the small town, so he asked:” Dear friend. Where
is my son?”
The businessman who lived in a small village calmly replied:” Dear friend. So sorry. When I
was underwater taking a bath, an eagle came and took your son away.”
The businessman who lived in the town was extremely angry, so he said to the businessman
who lived in the small village:” Oh. Cruel. How could an eagle take a child away? Please give
my son back, otherwise, we shall meet in the court.``
The businessman who lived in a small village confidently said:” It is okay. Just do whatever
you want.”
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Then two of them went to the court for justice. When they arrived, the businessman who lived
in the town immediately told the magistrate :” Dear Sir. Please force him to give my son back,
as he is human-trafficking.``
The magistrate asked the businessman who lived in a small village:” Dear sir. Could you please
explain what happened to the child?”
The businessman who lived in a small village slowly replied:” It is true that the child was
caught by an eagle dear si!”
The magistrate rapidly denied the answer from the businessman who lived in a small village:”
How could an eagle catch a child? It is impossible”
The businessman, at that time, said to the magistrate:” Yes Sir. It is impossible to have an eagle
catch a child, but how could the mice eat 500 plows made of steel?”
The magistrate , at that time, comprehended all the issue related to two businessmen, so he
spoke the verse:
Use scheming to deal with scheming
It is reasonable way to do
If agree that the mice ate out all the plows
Why don’t agree an eagle can catch up a child
It is cheating to fight again cheating
Return back the plows, the one who lost the son
And give the son back to your friend, the one who lost plows!
Then the businessman who lived in a small village gave the son back to his friend, and his
friend gave all the money from selling the plows to him.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognised that the scheming businessman in the story was
the scheming businessman who wanted to take all the products, and the businessman who lived
in a small village was the businessman who lost plows. The magistrate was him.
Jataka 219: Story of Garahita
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The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a monk who was not able to focus on
contemplation and even lost his determination in practice.
The monks suggested he meet the Buddha, when he was in front of the Buddha, the Buddha
asked him:” Is it true that you have lost your determination in practice?”
The monk said to the Buddha:” Dear master. Yes. I am.”
I am losing my determination in practice, as my mind attaches too much on the property as

laymen.”
The Buddha looked at the monk, and said with a compassionate voice:” In the past, even
animals also tried to give up their attachment to these things. Right now, you are in this great
dharma practice, so why don’t you try hard to give them down.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, there was a monkey which
was the king of all monkeys that lived around the Mount Himalaya. One day, due to the lack
of notice, the monkey king was stuck into a trap, and it was given to the king.
At the palace, the monkey king behaved well, and his actions were well-controlled as moral
people. The monkey king could do everything that the king ordered sufficiently, and the king
was really satisfied with the monkey king. Hence, after a few years, the king released the
monkey back to nature.
When the monkey king just came back, all the monkeys in the region gathered together to hear
information related to human society from the monkey king. A monkey curiously asked their
king:” Dear majesty! Where did you live for that long time? “
The monkey king rapidly:” I was caught in the palace of Varanasi, and I lived as the slave of
the king. I often assisted the king to entertain.”
Some monkeys curiously asked:” Could you please tell us about the life of the humans? We
are extremely curious about them?”
The monkey king looked around the monkeys and said:” Don’t ask me about the humans as
their lives are things that should not be comprehended.”
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Some monkeys insisted:” Dear Sir. Could you kindly tell us just some key information about
human life.”
The monkey king calmly said:” The humans, even the lowest cart, Brhamins or noble people,
all love their properties so much that they attach to the properties too much. They are ignorant
to know that those things are impermanent, and their properties cannot last forever.”
The the monkey king spoke the verse:
The golds are mine
The Jewels are mine
They claim all the time loudly
As they are extremely ignorant
Having no knowledge about the true Dharma
In a family, there are two bosses
One is female, with long hair
And is the one to suffer others!
All the monkeys altogether shouted loudly:” Dear majesty. Enough! Don’t need to talk about
humans any more. We already heard what does not deserve to be listened to.”
So, they immediately left that palace, and from that time, the cliff where they gathered and
listened to the story about humans was comprehended as the criticized cliff.
After telling the story, the Buddha continued to talk about Four Noble truths, and the monk
who lost their determination in practice, obtained the Entering Stream level. Finally, the
Buddha recognised that the monkey king was him, and the monkeys were monks of the Sangha.
Jataka 220: Story of Dhammadhaja
The Buddha told this story at Bamboo-Grove, about the plan to kill the Buddha of Devadatta.
The Buddha said to the monks:” Dear sons! It is not in the present time, but also, in the past,
Devadatta tried to kill me, but in the end, he even could not make me fear.”
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Once upon a time when king Yasapani was ruling Varanasi, there was a marital official, named
Kalaka, and there was a consultant official, namely Dhammadhahaja. There was also a barber,
namely Chattapni, who often took good care of the hair for the king and other royal members.
The king ruled the nation with moral and fairness. However, Kalaka was too greedy, and he
often took brides from others. At the court, he often gave those who gave him brides to win,
without justice.
One day, one man who was given a failing in the court of Kalaka was on the way back home,
but seeing Dhammadhahaja was serving the king nearby, he quickly ran close to
Dhammadhahaja and asked for help. Dhammadhahaja required him to tell him everything
related to the lawsuit, and then Dhammadhahaja said confidently:” Don’t worry! Follow me .
I shall give justice to you.”
Dhammadhahaja took the man back to the court, and he was able to give the win to the man
with fairness and justice in front of crowds. The crowds, then, shouted loudly, and the noise
from the people made the king, who was in the palace, concerned:” My servants! What noise
is that?”
A servant talked with the king:'' Dear majesty. People are cheering for the justice of the
consultant Dhammadhahaja after he assisted a man to regain his fortune with fairness and
justice.”
The king then called Dhammadhahaja into the palace, and the king said to Dhamadhahaja:” I
am very pleased to hear that you were able to judge a lawsuit with fairness and justice. So,
from now on, please continue to be the major magistrate of the town.”
Dhamadhahaja denied many times, but the king still insisted him to work as a magistrate, so
Dhamadhahaja, finally, worked as the major magistrate of the town. Dhammadhahaja judged
all the lawsuits with fairness and justice, and his fame was popular around the nation. Whereas,
Kalaka was not concerned any more, and he lost benefits from having brides. Unsatisfied,
Kalaka talked to the king:'' Dear majesty! Dhammadhahaja wanted to take control of the nation.
If you don’t believe, just look at him with his followers from the court.``
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The king, at first, did not believe in the utterance of Kalaka, but, after he saw the crowds
following Dhammadhahaja, he asked Kalaka:” Kalaka! What should we do with
Dhammadhahaja?”
Kalaka rapidly:” Kill him, otherwise, you shall lose the nation.”
The king said to Kalaka:” But, Dhammadhahaja has not committed any crime. How can I give
death to a person without any crime.?”
Kalaka talked to the king:” Please require him to make a garden within one day. If he cannot
do it, it is reasonable to kill him.”
The king called Dhamadhahaja and ordered him to make a garden within one day, otherwise,
Dhamadhahaja would be given death. Dhammadhahaja knew that Kalaka tried to force the king
to kill him, but he had to agree to the king, otherwise, he could not be alive.
When he returned to his house, he lay down and thought constantly about the method to make
a garden within a day. At that time, the seat of Sakka became hot, and Sakka comprehended
the difficulty of Dhamadhahaja. Then Sakka appeared in the room of Dhamadhahaja, asking:”
Dear Sir! What are you worrying about?”
Dhamadhahaja told the king of gods, Sakka about his trouble, and Sakka promised to help him
to make a beautiful garden within a day. In the next morning, Dhammadhahaja saw the garden
was ready to show the king, so they invited the king to come to observe the garden. However,
Kalaka consulted the king to force Dhammadhahaja to make a lake with seven kinds of jewels,
a house with the tusks and a big pearl which could spark lights out. Luckily, Sakka helped
Dhammadhahaja to complete those things quickly.
Finally, Kalaka talked with the king:” Dear majesty! It is likely to have a god who has helped
Dhammadhahaja to do these things. Next, we force him to find a person who has four moral
values to keep the garden, otherwise, we give him death. God cannot even generate a person
with four moralities.”
The king called Dhamadhahaja and again challenged him with a new demand, finding a person
who had cultivated four moralities to keep the garden. Dhamadhahaja, after hearing the request
of the king, returned home to take a rest. The next morning, he thought:” Sakka has helped me
to do lots of things. However, Sakka, even, cannot make a person who has cultivated four
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moralities. So, it is better to get to the forest to end life there, rather than waiting for the king
to offer death. So, Dhammadhahaja went to the forest and sat down under a big tree to wait for
death.
At that time, Sakka appeared as a jungler, and came over Dhamadhahaja to ask:” Dear Sir. It
looks like you are a noble man, so why did you come here? And why do you sit here?”
Dhamadhahaja looked at the jungler, and he told the jungler:” the king required me to make a
person who is full of four moralities, so it is an impossible task. Sakka has helped me, but
Sakka also cannot generate a person with four moralities.”
The jungle, at that time, appeared in the form of Sakka, saying to Dhamadhahaja:” Don’t worry!
I cannot help you to make a person with four moralities, but Chattapani, the barber of the king,
is full of four moralities. Please take him to the king and then your task is complete.”
Dhamadhahaja went to the palace immediately, and seeing Chattapani was walking in the
garden, he asked Chattapani:” Dear sir. Is it true that you are full of four moralities?”
Chattapni looked at Dhammadhahaja:” Who said that to you?”
Dhammadhahaja rapidly:” Sakka told me.”
Chattapni:'' Yes Sir. I have cultivated four moralities.``
Then Dhammadhahaja took Chattapani to the king:” Dear majesty. I cannot make a person who
is full of four moralities. However, I found a person who is full of four moralities, and is
suitable to keep your garden.”
The king looked at Chattapani and wondered:” Is it true that you have cultivated four
moralities? Which kinds of moralities have you cultivated?”
Chattapani replied calmly:” Dear majesty. It is true that I have cultivated four moralities. I am
not jealous. I am not angry. I don’t drink alcohol, and I have no sexual attachment. These are
four kinds of my moralities.”
The king asked:” Why did you cultivate not to be jealous?”
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Chattapani slowly replied:” In the past, as the king, I ordered to catch the consultant celebrant,
but in return, my celebrant advised me to stay with true Dharma. Hence, from that time, I have
tried to not be jealous.”
The king continued:” Why did you decide to not drink alcohol?”
Chattapani calmly:”Dear Sir! In the past, I was so drunk that I even ate my son, so I decided to
stop drinking.”
The king was curious:” So why did you cultivate to be free from sexual attachment?”
Chattapani replied:'' I was the king Ki-ta-va-sa, and my son broke the bowl of a PrakkaBuddha
so that he was dead immediately. Due to his death, I tried to free myself from sexual
attachment.”
The king wondered:” Why did you cultivate to be free from anger?”
Chattapani slowly:'' In the past, my name was Araka, and I spent seven years practicing loving-
kindness. After that I lived in the Brahma realms for seven rebirths. Due to these reasons, I am
not angry.``
Then the king commended Chatapani and Dhammadhahaja, and then the servants and officials
took Kalaka to be expelled from the palace. Then, the king spent the rest of his life ruling the
nation with morality.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognised that Kalaka was Devadatta, and Chattapani was
Sariputta. Dhammadhahja was him.
Jataka 221: Story of Kasava
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about Devadatta.
At the Buddha's time, Venerable Sariputta lived with 500 monks at Bamboo-Grove, while
Devadatta lived with a group of monks at Gayasisa.
At that time, people of Savatthi often organized the gathering offerings. They often gathered
monkeys and things together to offer the monks. One day, a businessman from another place
came to Savatthi, and he gave a golden cloth with fragrance to the offering organization.
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The businessman said:” Please let me offer this golden cloth to the monks.”
Then, the offering ceremony was organized and all the stuff, valuable and invaluable things
were given to the monks, but there left the golden cloth of the businessman offered. Then the
leaders of the offering ceremony wanted to offer this valuable golden cloth to either Venerable
Sariputta or Devadatta:” Dear sirs and madams! We have only a golden cloth left, and should
we offer it to Venerable Sariputta or Devadatta.?”
A citizen of Savatthi suggested :” Venerable Sariputta just lives here for a few days, and he
shall leave here soon. Venerable Devadatta lives here together with us, and he has shared the
happiness and troubles with the citizens of this town. Hence, it is better to offer this valuable
cloth to Venerable Devadatta. “
Then they offered the golden cloth to Devadatta, and Devadatta often wore it on. After that
event, 30 monks from Savatthi paid a visit to the Buddha, and they told the Buddha :” Dear
master! We think that Devadatta does not deserve to wear that golden cloth, as it is for the
Arhat.”
The Buddha said to the monks:” Dear sons. It is not in the present time, but also in the past life,
Devadatta wore on the cloth that he did not deserve to.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, there was born an elephant in
Himalaya, and when this elephant grew up, it became the king of 80 other elephants which
lived near Himalaya.
At Varanasi, there was a poor man, and this poor man wanted to take the ivories from the
elephants to sell to the ivory maker. Hence, he came and asked the ivory makers:” If I have
ivories, is it possible to sell them here?”
The ivory-makers:” Yes Sir! We do buy the ivories from everyone.”
Then the poor man wore a golden cloth and a wig bun, pretending as a PreyaBuddha with
braided hair. He stood in the path that the elephants often went through, and with the prepared
weapon, he killed the last elephant when the elephants crossed over him. After killing the
elephant, he took the ivories and sold them to the ivory-makers at Varanasi. Then, when he ran
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out of money, he, again, pretended to be a PrekaBuddha to kill the elephant. After a time, the
elephant king noticed that the number of elephants was reduced rapidly, and thought:” It is
likely that the man who wore the robe as a PrekaBuddha was gradually killed by elephants. I
have to find out the truth.``
Then from the next day, the elephant king decided to walk behind all the elephants, and when
the poor man jumped over with a sharp weapon to kill it, it rapidly stepped aside to escape and
used its trunk to hold the poor man. The elephant king , at first, wanted to kill the poor man;
however, he changed his mind:” I cannot kill this man, as he is wearing the robe of an Arhat.”
So the elephant uses the human voice to ask the poor man:”Why do you wear the robe which
is the symbol of Arhat?”
Then it spoke the verse:
Whoever with full of attachment
Wearing the robe which is symbol of enlightened ones
No respect to the truth and comprehend the truth
No deserved to wear the enlightened robes!
Whoever fulfill with true wisdom of free from attachment
Reside in the disciplines
Well-controlled the mind
Comprehend the truth of phenomena
Deserved to wear the enlightened robs!
The elephant king threatened the poor man: “ Go away, and if you return with intention to kill
my elephants, you shall be killed.”
After telling this story, the Buddha recognised that the poor man who killed elephants was
Devadatta, and the elephant king was him.
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Jataka 222: Story of Culanandiya
The Buddha told this story at Bamboo-Grove, about Devadatta. One day, monks
gathered at the Dharma-hall, talking about the plans of Devadatta in harming the
Buddha:” Dear friends! Devadatta was evil and cruel. At first, he planned to use the
robber to kill the Buddha, and then, he pushed the big rock from high position down to
kill the Buddha. Finally, he made the aggressive elephant, namely Naalagiri, to kill the
Buddha. However, the Buuddha was safe from all of those plans.``
When the Buddha entered the Buddha-hall, knowing the issue of the discussion of
monks, the Buddha said to all monks there:” It is not in the present time, but also in
the past, Devadatta was evil and cruel to try to kill me.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, there were two
monkeys which lived around the mountain Himalaya. One monkey was named
Nandiya, and the younger one was named Cullanandiya. They were the leaders of
another 80 thousands monkeys, and they were good at taking good care of their blind
mother.
Nandiya and Culanandiya, on occasion, took other monkeys to the deep forest to
collect fruits and foods for a living, and they often sent fruits and foods back to their
mother. However, somehow, the monkeys did not give the fruits and foods to their
mother. Hence, when they returned, they saw that their mother was very unhealthy,
so they decided to leave the monkeys in order to take good care of their mother. Then
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they moved their mother down Himalaya, and near to the bordering area, under an
eagle tree, they made a small nest as the place for their mother to reside.
At that time, there was a Brahmin man who was born at Varanasi, but was well-
cultured at Takkasila. When he paid respect to his master to leave, his master knew
that his student was cruel, so he advised:” Dear student! Those who do cruel things
shall gain terrible troubles, so you should suspend all the cruel actions.”
The student returned to Varanasi, and he got married and had children rapidly.
However, it was difficult for him to support his family, as he had no certain job, so he
decided to go to a village which was near to the bordering area for hunting as the way
of living. Everyday, he went to the deep forest to hunt animals, and when he returned,
he sold the animals to the market to earn money to support his family.
One day, he went to the forest to hunt, but he got nothing. On the way back, he saw
the eagle tree which was decorated as the nest, so he was curious to come over to
see. Seeing the mother of Nandiya and Cullanandiya lying there, the young Brahmin
decided to kill the mom of Nandiya for food to support his children. At that time,
Nandiya and Cullanandiya were hidden nearby, and seeing the hunter was about to
kill their mom, Nandiya talked with Culanandiya:” I will alternate our mom, so please
take good care of our mom.”
Then Nandiya jumped out, appearing in front of the Brahmin hunter, saying:” Dear sir!
Please don’t kill my mom. I will take your life but please kindly let my mom live.”
The hunter agreed, but after killing Nandiya, he continuously planned to kill the mom
of the Nandiya monkey. At that time, Cullanandiya thought:'' I shall alternate my mom
to die, and my mom can live longer.” Then Cullanandiya also jumped out, saying to
the Brahmin hunter:'' Dear sir. Please let my mom alive, and kill me instead.``
The Brahmin hunter again agreed to Cullanandiya, but after killing Cullanandiya, he
cruelly killed his mom. Then he tightened three monkeys into a stick to bring back
home. When he was on the way back, the thunders were sparking down to his house
and burned out his wife and his children.
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When he got to the gate of his village, a villager informed him about the horrible deaths
of his family members. He was extremely sorrowful , and throwing away the monkeys
and hunting tools, he rapidly ran into his fire-catching house to have a look at his wife
and his children. At that time, the ground, where he was standing, was broken into
two, and the fire from the Avici hell caught and pulled him down. When he was going
to die, he remembered the last teaching of his master:
The teaching of master Pa-ra-sa-ri-ya
Don’t do the cruel things
As it will return as the rule of Karmic
Do harmful shall gain harmful
Do good deed shall obtain good deed
Similar to plant the tree, and shall gain that fruit!
When he just completed reading the verse, the ground swallowed him into the Avici
hell.
After telling this story, the Buddha recognised that the Brahmin hunter was Devadatta,
and the mother of Nandiya and Culanandiya was Mahapajapati. The master of the
Brahmin hunter was Sariputta, and the Culanandiya and Nandiya were Ananda and
him respectively.
Jataka 223: Story of Putta-Bhatta
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a millionaire who lived in Savatthi. This
millionaire often had business with the other businessman who lived in a small village. The
businessman who lived in a small village was in debt to the millionaire who lived in Savatthi.
One day, he took his wife together to ask for the return of debt from the businessman who lived
in a small village. However, they could not get anything as the businessman who lived in a
small village was extremely out of money.
They angrily returned Savatthi, and on the way back, although they were tired and hungry, they
did not stop for eating and drinking as the millionaire was too tight-fisted. Luckily, on the way
back, they met a friend, and this friend gave them a bowl of rice. The millionaire wanted to
have the bowl of rice eaten by himself only, so he forced his wife to go forward:” Dear honey!
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This region is well-known for robbery. Hence, you should go ahead, and I shall be able to
protect you from behind.”
When his wife walked forward, he began to eat the bowl of rice, and when he ate out, he showed
the empty bowl to his wife, saying:” Dear honey! They just gave me an empty bowl.” The wife
of the millionaire, although well-understanding of the costive nature of her husband, still was
too sorrowful for the actions of her husband.
When they arrived at Jetavana, to save money, they entered the temple to ask for water. When
they just entered Jetavana, they saw the Buddha was standing there. The Buddha invited them
to drink water, and then, at the Dharma-hall, they paid respect to the Buddha before sitting
down, waiting for the talk from the Buddha.
The Buddha looked at two of them, and slowly asked the wife of a millionaire:” Dear female
Brahmin! How has your husband treated you?”
The wife of the millionaire rapidly and shyly replied:” Dear master! I love him with all of my
heart, but I think he does not care about my concern and my love for him. For example, today,
on the way back, he hid a bowl of rice to eat alone.”
The Buddha said to her compassionately:” Dear female Brahmin! If the wise can wake up the
compassion and concern as you have done to your husband, he shall behave morally to you.”
official family, and when the boy grew up, he was well-cultivated before becoming the
consultant for the king. At that time, the king was scared of the coup of the prince, so he
expelled the prince out of the town and forced the prince to live in a small village, namely Kasi.
When the king passed away, the prince prepared to back Varanasi to be on the power of the
throne. One the way back, a villager gave them a bowl of rice, but the prince did not share it
with his wife, eating the rice himself alone. When the prince was given on the throne of power,
he gave his wife on the throne of the queen, and that was all his love to his queen, as from that
time, he had not concerned any more about his queen.
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One day, seeing the suffering of the queen, the consultant of the king came over to her and
asked:” Dear queen! You should give old servants something as gifts for their works for you.”
The queen looked at the consultant, sadly said:” Dear master! How can I give them something
if I even have nothing? The king had not given anything to me, and he even hid the bowl of
rice to eat alone on the way back from Kasi when a villager gave us a bowl of rice.”
The consultant compassionately said to the queen:” I will help you to gain the concern from
the king, but you should get to the main shrine to meet the king today.”
Then the consultant went to the main shrine of the palace to serve the king, and not long after
the arrival of the consultant to the main shrine, the queen also arrived. When the queen just
arrived, the consultant immediately asked:” Dear my queen! I think you should give the old
servants something to show your concern for their works to you.”
The queen replied rapidly:” How could I give them something when I have nothing? as the
king has not given anything to me.”
The consultant continued to ask:” Whether you the official queen of the nation?”
The queen sadly replied:” Being a queen, but not gaining the concern and respect of a queen,
so it is not a pleasure at all. The king has not given anything to me, and even on the way back,
the king did not share the food with me.”
The consultant looked at the king and carefully asked:” Dear majesty! All what the queen said
are true, aren’t they?”
The king shyly kept silent but he nodded his head to show that all what the queen said were
true. At that time, the consultant slowly said to the queen:” Dear queen! Although you have
been too much to the king, the king has not concerned anything to you. You should not continue
to stay here as it is an extreme suffering to you.”
The consultant silently for a while continued:” All beings should live close to those who know
to share and concern them, and should leave when others lack the love and concern to them.
The world is large, and there are lots of people who know how to share love and concern with
each other.”
The consultant spoke the verse:
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Paying respect to those who know to respect us
Sharing love and benefits to others
Who also shares love and benefits to us!
Don’t share love to those who are not sharing love to us
Having concern and love together
As the way for a harmony life together
When the birds know that
The trees have not fruited any more
They shall fly to other places for a living!
The world is large to live and survive!
After the teaching of the consultant, the king changed his attitude to his queen, and they lived
happily together for the rest of their lives.
When the story ended, the Buddha talked about Four Noble truths to the millionaire and his
wife, and during the talk of the Buddha, they obtained the Entering Stream level. Finally, the
Buddha recognized that the king and the queen in the story were the millionaire and his wife,
and the wise consultant was him.
Jataka 224: Story of Kumbhila
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the evil plan of Devadatta to the Buddha. The
background of this story is detailed in Jataka 57.
The Buddha taught the verses:
Whoever can cultivate four kinds of virtues
Dear king of all the monkeys
Acting with the truth and acting with right livelihood, right speech and right thoughts
Persistence in Dharma-practice and development of giving and forgiveness
Those people can easily pass over all the wrong views and wrong thoughts
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Whoever cannot cultivate these found kinds of virtues
Acting with truth and behaving with right livelihood, right speech and right thoughts
Persistence in practice and constantly development of giving and forgiveness
They are not able to pass over wrong views and wrong thoughts.
Jataka 225: Story of Khanti-Vannana
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the patience of king Kosala. One day, the king
Kosala discovered his major official often had sexual misconduct with a maiden in the palace.
However, as the official was greatly helpful to the nation and as the king still loved the maiden
too much, the king kept silent as a way of patience. However, one day, he could not calm his
mind, so he went to Jetavana to get consultation from the Buddha.
The Buddha just pacified the king:” In the past, the wise kings also kept patient to calm the
nation.”
worked very close to the king. One day, in his house, they discovered a male servant often had
sexual misconduct with a maiden. This official could not calm his mind, so he went to the
palace to get advice from the king:” Dear majesty. I have a male servant who has done many
things in my house, but he often had sexual misconduct with one of my maidens. What should
I do with him?”
The king spoke a verse to reply his official:
Myself is in the similar situation
My servant is standing here with me
However, the good and excellent servants are difficult to find
So, it is best to be patient and forgave!
When the official heard the verse of the king, he immediately knew that the king had already
discovered his crime, as he also often had sexual misconduct with a maiden of the king. From
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that time, he stopped having sexual misconduct with the maiden of the king and he also forgave
his servant.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the king Varanasi at that time was him.
Jataka 226: Story of Kosiya
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the moving of soldiers of king Kosala in
the rainy season.
At that time, there were attacks by insurgents at the border area, and the king Kosala
decided to move his army to suspend the rebels. However, as the path leading to the
border area was floating, the king wanted to go back, but he still wondered about his
idea. Therefore, he paid a visit to the Buddha to get advice from the Buddha.
The Buddha told a story to demonstrate his advice to the king Kosala
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, on one occasion,
the king took some officials and servants to have a picnic at the forest of the palace.
At that time, there was an owl flying to a luxuriant tree to hide itself from the attack of
the crows. Right after the owl arrived, a flock of crows arrived and waited for the owl
to come out. The owl was not patient, as it moved out from the luxuriant tree when the
sun was not set yet, so it was attacked by the crows. It fell down on the ground.
The king saw this event, and was curious to ask his consultant:” Dear master! Why did
the crows attack this owl?”
The consultant slowly replied:” Dear majesty! Whoever or whichever move out of the
residing places in not appreciated time, they shall be in danger and troubles.”
The consultant spoke a verse:
Great safety if moving in appreciate time
When moving in not appreciate time
With many people or just one person
Shall be in danger and trouble
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Similar to the owl
Was attacked by the crows
The wise know clearly the suitable time for moving
Shall be resided in great happiness!
The king Kosala, after listening to the story from the Buddha, decided to withdraw the
army back to the capital. Then the Buddha recognized that the king was Ananda, and
the wise consultant was him.
Jataka 227: Story of Guthapana
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, based on the background event of a young monk who
was aggressive to attack an aggressive layman.
At that time, at a small town which was about 1 mile away from Savatthi, there was a man who
worked dividing the food to people who had bamboo stamps. This man was too aggressive,
and he often asked receivers :” Who is eating? Who is chewing?”
Those people who could not give the answers often were insulted by him, and many people did
not come to take food as they were scared of him. One day, a young monk came to the place
which delivered bamboo stamps and asked:” Dear sir. Is it true that this place provides the
bamboo stamp, so I can take food to the nearby town?”
A man replied:” Dear sir. It is true. We do provide the bamboo stamp to people, so they can
get food in the town nearby. However, recently there was a food provider who was too
aggressive, so many people have refused to come to take food there.?”
The young monk said calmly and confidently:” Dear sirs. Please give me a bamboo stick to
receive the food there, and I will overpower that man.”
When the young monk arrived at the food storage, the aggressive man came out quickly,
asking:” Who are eating?”
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The young monk calmly said:” Please wait! After I take my breakfast and come back here to
eat, I will answer your question.”
When the young monk returned with breakfast, the man again came to ask the same question,
and the young monk remained calmly:” Please wait! After I complete my meal, clean this room
and take the lunch, I will tell you the answer.”
The young monk completed breakfast, cleaned the room, took his lunch, and gave the food to
the man to hold, saying:” Please take it and follow me! I shall tell you the answer.”
When they left the town, the young monk took the food from the man and punched on his nose,
taking bullshit nearby to put on the man’s face, saying:”From now on, if you continue to ask
any monks who arrive at the store for food, I will punch to your nose again.”
This event spread to Jetavana quickly, and monks gathered at Dharma-hall, talking about this
event. When the Buddha entered the Dharma-hall, knowing the issue of the monk's talk of
monk, Buddha said :”It is not in the present time, but also, in the past, this monk also punched
on the nose and put the dirty on the face of others.”
Once upon a time, people of Anga and Maggadha often associated with each other. One day,
people of two nations gathered at the stores at the bordering area of two nations for eating and
drinking. When they left, a dung eating bug arrived, and seeing alcohol, it flew to drink alcohol,
it flew on the bugs nearby to take a rest. When it was in the bug, a tiny bug dropped on its body,
so it shouted loudly:'' The world cannot support my body.”
At that time, an aggressive elephant came over, and smelling the bug into the alcohol, the
elephant returned. The dung saw the elephant ran away, it thought that the elephant was scared
of it, so it talked to the elephant:”
Hero fight the hero
Power against the power
Please return here the elephant
Have a flight with me
Showing to people of Anga and Maggadha
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The elephant came back to look close to the dung, and it said confidently: “ I will not fight with
you with my ivories, my trunk or my legs, but with my shit.” Then the elephant defecated on
the dung, and ran away.
After telling this story, the Buddha recognised that the dung was the aggressive man, and the
elephant was the young monk. The deity who lived in the tree nearby, seeing this story, was
him.
Jatka 228: Story of Kamanita
The Buddha told this story, about a Brahmin who was named Kamanitta. The background of
this story is detailed in the Jataka 467.
The Buddh told the story:
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta, the king had two princes. When the king passed
away, the oldest prince was given the throne of power, and the younger prince became the
assistant consultant of the king. The new king of Varanasi was attached too much to sexual
desire, property and the victories.
At that time the king of Gods, Sakka, knew that the new king of Varanasi was greedy, so Sakka
planned to assist the new king og Varanasi to change. Then the Sakka appeared as a young man
and came to meet the new king. The king asked him:” My boy. What is the reason for you to
come here to meet me?”
The young man:” Dear majesty. There are three big cities, Uttarapancala, Indapatta and
Kekaka. These cities are wealthy and peaceful. But, I can occupy these three cities with a small
number of troops. “
The king was happy:” It is great. When will we do it?”
The young man:” Tomorrow. Dear Majesty.”
The king said to the young man:” Great. So, back home and tomorrow return here.”
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The next morning, the king gathered all the officials, and had the army ready to go to ocupy
the three wealthy cities, but the king could not find the young man. Hence, the king called the
officials to find the young man. An official asked:” Dear majesty! Where is the place that the
young man stayed? Whether you gave him a stay in the palace or in a hotel ?”
The king slowly said:” No. I did not give him a place, so I have no idea about where he is now.”
The king could not find the young man to help him to occupy three cities, so he was sorrowful
and got sick. All well-known doctors in the town were invited to the palace to heal the king.
However, they all failed to heal the sickness for the king.
After four days, Sakka appeared as a wandering doctor and knocked on the door of the palace,
saying with the gate-taker:” Dear sirs! I am a doctor and I heard that the king is getting serious
sickness. Hence, I got here to help the king. “
However, the Sakka was denied by the king:” All well-known doctors in the town could not
heal my sickness, so it is likely a wandering doctor shall not be able to heal my sickness.”
Nevertheless, Sakka continuously insisted and finally the king agreed to let him diagnose him.
When Sakka entered the palace, seeing the king:” Dear majesty. Please let me know what is
the cause of your sickness?”
The king slowly and sorrowfully said:'' I cannot occupy three wealthy cities as the young man
who promised to help me went away as I did not give him a place. I think he already met the
other kings and helped the other kings to occupy those cities. Hence, I was sorrowful to get
sick.``
Sakka at that time talked to the king:” Dear majesty. Your sickness is not the kind of sickness
that can use medical tables or herbs to heal, but should use the right views to heal.”
Then the Sakka spoke a verse:
There are medicines
Healing with sickness of poisons of snake
The wise people are able to to heal
Those who get the obsession of deity and ghosts
But nobody can heal with the attachment
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Then Sakka continued to advise the king:” If you can occupy those three cities, you also cannot
stay in four palaces at the same time. Moreover, you also cannot sit on the power thrones of
four cities at the same time. You have been controlled by your great attachment. Your
attachments have led you to this sickness, and furthermore, have led you to the sixteen hells to
suffer with punishment.”
After that Sakka taught the king about true Dharmas, and then Sakka returned to his realm.
The king of Varanasi, after listening to the teachings from Sakka, automatically got rid of
illness, and he spent the rest of his life ruling the nation with royal Dharmas.
After telling this story, the Buddha recognised that the king of Varanasi in the story was the
greedy Brahmin, and the Sakka was him.
Jataka 229: Story of Palayi
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the monk of another lineage, namely Palayi.
Palayi traveled around India to discussions and arguments on the practice, and he had met
nobody who could argue against him. One day, he arrived at Savatthi, asking people: “ Dear
sirs and madams. I just wonder if there are some people here in this town who can have
discussions and arguments with me on the practice or not?”
A Savatthi citizen rapidly praised the wisdom of the Buddha:” Dear venerable. There is the
enlightened one who can defeat all the monks who came to meet him for arguments on the
practice or something else. Like all the waves reaching to the shore automatically disappeared,
all the monks who came to meet the Buddha for arguments could not reach to his heel. “
The monk Palayi wondered to ask:” Where is the Buddha now?”
A Savatthi citizen:” Dear venerable. Right now, the Buddha lives in Jetavana.”
Palayi confidently:” Okay. I will meet him and knock him down with my arguments.”
Then Palayi, together with the crowds of Savatthi citizens, arrived at Jetavana. Seeing the
external gate which was constructed under the support of the prince Jeta, Palayi was
curious:”This is the resident place of the monk Gotama.?”
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A Savatthi citizen who knew clearly about Jetavana:” No. This is the outer gate only, and the
external living rooms of the monks and the Budda are located inside.”
Palayi thought:” A monk who is supported with great offerings. Even the external gate is
luxurious, and the living rooms should be more luxurious. Gotama should be excellent in
arguments.”
Then Palayi tried to escape from the crowd, and the crowd of people were angry and shouting
loudly. Then they paid a visit to the Buddha. The Buddha looked at them compassionately:”
Why do you come here with the crowd and shout loudly outside?”
They told the Buddha everything about the monk Palayi, and the Buddha calmly said to them:”
Dear all. It is not in the present time, but also in the past, when he saw the outer gate of my
place, he was threatened to go away.``
Once upon a time, at Gandhara, Bodhisattva was the king of Takkasila, and the king
Brahmadatta was the king of Varanasi. One day, king Brahmadatta wanted to occupy
Takkasila, so he moved his great army to attack Takkasila. When they arrived near the border
area, they settled at the place which was not far from the town Takkasila.
Then the king of Varanasi ordered his soldiers:
With elephants moving forward
Like the rain from the sky
With all great horses moving
Like the garland of flowers
With vehicles moving like the waves
With the arrows shooting like the rain
With swords on the hands of each soldiers
Moving forward to attack Takkasila
Until they are defeated totally
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Likewise, the king of Varanasi shouted this verse constantly while he and his army moved
toward Takkasil. When the king and his army arrived at the main gate of Takkasila, the king
asked:” This is the palace of the king of Takkasial?”
A soldier captain rapidly replied to the king:” Dear majesty. No. This is the main gate of
Takkasila and those are the stupa of the gate only.”
The king of Varanasi was curious:” So, how is the palace of the king of Takkasila?”
The soldier captain:'' Dear majesty. The palace of king of Takkasila looked like the Vejayanta,
the palace of the king Sakka.”
The king of Varanasi said:'' I shall not be able to defeat a country with this wealth” Then the
king of Varanasi decided to withdraw his army back to Varanasi. After telling this story, the
Buddha recognised that the king of Varanasi was the monk, Palayi, and the king of Takkasila
was him.
Jataka 230: Second Story of Palayi
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the monk of another lineage, namely Palayi.
Palayi traveled around India to discussions and arguments on the practice, and he had met
nobody who could argue against him. One day, he arrived at Savatthi, asking people: “ Dear
sirs and madams. I just wonder if there are some people here in this town who can have
discussions and arguments with me on the practice or not?”
A Savatthi citizen rapidly praised the wisdom of the Buddha:” Dear venerable. There is the
enlightened one who can defeat all the monks who came to meet him for arguments on the
practice or something else. Like all the waves reaching to the shore automatically disappeared,
all the monks who came to meet the Buddha for arguments could not reach to his heel.”
Palayi together with the crowd of Savatthi citizens to arrive at Jetavana for discussion with the
Buddha, and when Palayi was about to reach to the Dharma-hall, seeing the Buddha with the
extraordinary beauties of king of gods, Palayi was threatened:” Looks peaceful, wise and
enlightened with all the signs of the Brahma realm gods. Nobody can surpass him.”
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Then Palayi hid himself in the crowd and ran away. Some people followed Palayi to
comprehend the issue, and when they returned Jetavana, they entered the Dharma-hall to tell
the Buddha everything about Palayi.
The Buddha calmly said to Savaatthi citizens and monks gathered at the Dharma-hall:” It is not
only in the present time, but also, in the past, when he saw my extraordinarily beautiful signs,
he ran away.”
Once upon a time, when Bodhisattva was the king of Takkasila, the king of Gandhara wanted
to occupy the town of Takkasila. Then the king of Grandhara moved his great army, with
elephants, horses, vehicles and energetic soldiers to the border area of Takkasila.
Sitting on the horse, gathering with a great army, the king of Grandhara was arrogant to say
that:” With this great army, great force, nobody can suspend me to occupy Takkasila.” Then
he spoke the verse:
With great army
Nobody can fight against me
Similar to the great mountain
Which cannot be blow down by winds or storms
My force is similar
No other army can surpass my army!
The king of Takkasila, heard the arrogant verse from the king Grandhara, appeared in the
public, and replied to the king of Gandhara:” Too arrogant and ignorant. I shall defeat your
army, similar to the way an elephant demolishes the reed trees forest. “
When the king of Grandhara heard the voice from inside the gate of Takkasila to threaten him,
he immediately looked up to see who was brave enough to threaten him with his great force.
Seeing the face, the whole body of the king of Takkasila with extraordinarily beautiful signs,
the king of Grandhara was extremely feared, and quickly withdrew his army back to Grandhara.
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After telling this story, the Buddha recognised that the king of Ghrandhara was Palayi, and the
king of Takkasila was him.
Jataka 231: Story of Upahana
The Buddha told this story at Bamboo-Grove, about the assassination of Devadata to the
Buddha.
When the monks gathered at the Dharma-hall, talking about the assassination of Devadatta to
the Buddha, then the Buddha entered the Dhamma-hall, and knowing the issue of the
discussion, the Buddha said to the monks:” Dear all monks. It is not in the present time, but
also in the past, Devadatta was against his master and wanted to kill his master.”
elephant-training family, and when the boy grew up, he was excellent in elephant training. His
skills in training elephants were well-known so that a young man, who was from a small village
of Kasi, came to become a student of his. During the time he was training for the young man
from Kasi, he did not hide any skills but tried to transfer all skills to his student. Time flies by,
the young man from Kasi already studied all the skills in elephant training from his master, and
he planned to get to the palace to work there. He asked his master:” Dear master. Now, I want
to get to the palace to work for the king.”
The master:” Great. Let me prepare for your work.”
Then the master in elephant-training came to meet the king:” Dear majesty. My student wants
to work for you in this palace. Is it possible for him to work here?”
The king was happy:” Great. Let him work for me, but he cannot get that much salary that you
often receive. He can only get half of your salary.”
The master of elephants returned and told his student about his salary, but the student refused
to work with that much of a salary:” Dear master. I already got all skills from you, and I can
do everything that you can do. So, if the king pay me half of your salary, I will not work for
him.”
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The master again talked to the king, and the king agreed that if the elephant training master’s
student could do all the skills as the elephants-training master, the salary of him would be
similar to his master.
The elephant-training master at that time thought:” My student is too arrogant, so should give
him a lesson.” So, in the evening, he went to the palace to pick up an elephant and trained to
do what was contrary to his constructions. Such as, when he wanted it to get forward, it stepped
back.
The next morning, the elephant-training master and his student all sat on elephants and rode to
the stadium of the palace, and there were lots of people gathered to watch the performance of
two elephant trainers. The student could do everything that his master did. But, when his master
required the elephant to do what was contrary to the instructions, the student could not do that.
Then the crowds gathered to shout at the student:” Too arrogant. How can you think that your
skills are excellent for your master.?” Then they kicked him and drove him away.
Then the elephant-training master took off the elephants and stepped in front of the king,
Saying:” Dear majesty. People study skills in order to get suitable jobs, but some people after
learning skills become arrogant. These people often bring harm to themselves. Similar to the
broken shoes bring suffering to people who wear them.”
The king nodded his head to agree and gave the elephants-training master a lot of benefits.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognised that the student was Devadatta, and the elephant-
training master was him.
Jataka 232: Story of Vinathuna
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a girl who was daughter of a millionaire in
Savatthi.
She was innocent about everything, and when she saw the servants in her house take good care
of a male cow, he was curious to ask a maiden:” Dear maiden. Why do you take good care of
this cow?”
The maiden looked at her and replied:” Dear my boss. This is the king of the cow, so we have
to take good care of it.”
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One day, standing on the high floors of her house, seeing a hunchback man was walking. She
thought:” A cow with a big huch, so it is the king of the cow. This man has a big hunch on his
back. So, he tends to be the king. I have to get married to this man, so in the future, I should be
the queen.”
Then she asked the servant to stop the hunchback man, and then she took money and jewels
and disguised to make nobody able to recognise her. Then she followed the hunchback man to
have a family life.
Her story was quickly spread around Varanasi, and the monks at Jetavana, gathered at Dharma-
hall to talk about her:” Dear venerables. Do you know that the daughter of a millionaire in
Savatthi already left her house to have family life with a hunchback man.”
When the Buddha entered the Dharma-hall, knowing the issue of the talk of monks, the Buddha
said slowly:” It is not in the present time, but also in the past, she loved the hunchback man.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was born
in a millionaire family of the town. When Bodhisattva grew up, he got married and had two
children, a son and a daughter. When his son grew up, he asked the daughter of a millionaire
friend for his son. Two families already agreed for the marriage of two children.
The daughter of the millionaire who was a friend of Bodhisattva, one day, saw the servants
take good care of a cow, she wondered to ask a maiden:” Dear maiden. Why do we have to
take good care of this cow?”
The maiden rapidly replied:” Dear my boss. This cow is the king of the cow, so we have to
take good care of it.”
The daughter of the millionaire friend of Bodhisattva was confused about this issue, so when
she saw a hunchback man, she thought :” He should be the king of humans. So she disguised
and took all jewels to follow the hunchback man.``
When Bodhisattva prepared the luxurious vehicles and crowd of servants to arrive at the house
of his millionaire friend to take his daughter-in-law, he was surprised as he heard his friend
informed that his daughter had already followed a hunchback man. So, he took his servants
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back home, and on the way back, he saw a hunchback man was curled up at the sideroad and
his daughter-in-law was sitting behind. He spoke the verse:
Dear my daughter!
As you are ignorant
So stay with a man
who was not deserved to you
His daughter-in-law rapidly replied:
Thinking he is the great one
Hence, loving to follow him
It is revealed that he is not
Curling up as the string of the harp is broken up!
The Bodhisattva knew that she was ignorant to follow the hunchback man, so he ordered
servants to assist her daughter-in-law to take shower and make-up. Then he took her back to
have a wedding with his son.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognised that the daughter of the millionaire in the story
was the girl who followed a hunchback man, and the millionaire who lived in Varanasi was
him.
Jataka 233: Story of Bikannaka
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a monk who lost their determination in the
practice. At the Dharma-hall, the Buddha asked the monk:” Is it true that you already lost your
determination in Dharma practice? What is the reason for that?”
The monk shyly replied to the Buddha:” Dear master. I cannot control my attachment, so it is
hard to me to focus on the practice.”
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The Buddha slowly and compassionately:” My son. Attachment is similar to the arrow which
is penetrating to your heart. When it is in your heart, it can kill you like a hunter can kill a
crocodile easily.”
Once upon a time, Bodhisattva was the king of Varanasi, and he ruled the nation with royal
Dharmas.
One day, the king took some officials and servants to have a stroll in the biggest lake in the
town to watch people perform singing and dancing. The fishes and the turtles in the lake also
had interests in listening to the music, so they also gathered near the performance podium to
listen to the music.
The king saw the fishes which were crowded, so the king asked the officials:” What is the
reason for the fishes to gather here?”
An official replied quickly:” Dear majesty. The fishes are following you.”
The king was pleased with the official's answer, so the king ordered servants to give food to
the fishes in the lake every day. At first, there were just some fishes gathered to eat the foods
given by the servants of the king, and then the king ordered the servants to ring the gongs
whenever they gave the foods to the fishes.
Gradually, the fishes were habitually gathering to eat when they heard the sounds of the gongs,
and a crocodile also came over to eat the fishes whenever the fishes gathered for eating. The
servants talked with the king about this issue, and the king ordered the servants to shoot the
crocodile with the arrows which had barbs.
Then, as usual, when the servants gave the food to the fishes, the crocodile also came to eat the
fish, and as waiting for it, a servant, who was sitting on a boat, shot the crocodile with the arrow
having barbs on its back. The crocodile was threatened and hurt, so it ran away quickly.
However, as the arrow had barbs, the crocodile could not take it out easily. The crocodile died
after its injury became more terrible.
All the animals in this world
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Are attached by desire
Are not able to get rid of their attachment
They shall be died
Similar to how the crocodile died!
Then the Buddha talked about Four Noble truths, and the monk who lost his determination in
practice obtained the Entering Stream level. Finally, the Buddha recognized that the king of
Varanasi was him.
Jataka 234: Story of Aistabhu
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a woman who obtained the Entering Stream level
due to the unhappy family life.
At Savatthi, there was a young woman who was given to marry to a man of a good family.
However, her husband was not concerned about her, and her husband often enjoyed other
activities. The young woman gave up all the boredom, and she often invited venerable Sariputta
and Moggallana to teach Dharma to her, and finally, she obtained the Entering Stream level.
Not only that, but she decided to leave the family life to ordain as a Bikkhuni, and she was able
to achieve the Arhat Hood.
Her story, after that, was spread around Jetavana, and the monks gathered at the Dharma-hall,
talking about her success in the Dharma-practice:” Dear venerables. The young woman who
was neglected by her husband often invited Venerable Sariputta and Moggallana to teach
Dharma to her, and finally, she left her family life to be a Bikkhuni and obtained Arhat-hood.
When the Buddha entered the Dharma-hall, knowing the issue of the talk of the monks, the
Buddha said:” It is not in the present time but also in the past life she also left her family life
to seek for enlightened wisdom.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was an
ascetic monk at Himalaya, and Bodhisattva obtained enlightened wisdom and fruitions of
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meditation practice. At that time the king of Varanasi expelled his only son out of the town as
the king worried that the prince would make a coup to take the power from him.
The prince took his wife Asitabhu to live in the forest in Himalaya. At Himalaya, they made a
cottage to reside and survive by the fruits and animals. One day, seeing the beauty of the deity
of the bird, the prince tried to follow the deity of the bird and neglected his wife.
Asitabhu was sorrowful, so she went to meet Bodhisattva to study how to meditate to get rid
of suffering. Soon after the practice, Asitabhu obtained the fruits of meditation and enlightened
wisdom, and then she returned to the cottage. At the same time, her husband was chasing the
deity of birds, and finally, he was really sorrowful as he could not follow the deity of birds.
Then he returned to the cottage to find his wife, but when he had just arrived, his wife used her
power to fly in the sky, saying to him:” Dear husband. Due to your behavior, I have already
obtained the enlightened wisdom and fruits of meditation.”
Then she spoke the verse:
Due to your neglection
I get rid of suffering and impurity
I am free from all the attachments
As the ivory is broken into two parts
It is impossible to make them into one again.
The Asitabhu flew to another place. At that time, her husband was extremely suffered, and he
spoke the verse:
Due to the greedy mind
The mind is ignorant
Losing all the virtue
Losing honey wife!
Then he continued to live in the forest until his father passed away, and he returned to Varanasi
to take on the throne of power.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the prince and his wife were the woman who
obtained Arhat-hood and her husband, and the ascetic monk was him.
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Jataka 235: Story of Vaccha-Nakka
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about Roja, a close friend of venerable Ananda and a
man of Malla tribe.
Roja , one day, sent the invitation to Venerable Ananda to pay a visit to his house, and after
asking for permission from the Buddha, venerable Ananda went to the house of Roja. During
the talk, Roja showed up his fortune and lands to venerable Ananda, saying:” Dear friend. I
have lots of properties and lands. So, I will divide these into two parts, one for you and one for
me. Please, return to the life of a lay man and enjoy life.”
Venerable Ananda explained to Roja the dangers of attachments, and then he returned to
Jetavana. When venerable Ananda arrived at Jetavana, he paid respect to the Buddha and sat
in a prepared seat. The Buddha asked him:” Ananda. Did you meet your friend Roja?”
Ananda rapidly replied to the Buddha:” Dear master. Yes. I already met Roja and he invited
me to disrobe and enjoy the family life as he is doing.”
The Buddha looked at Ananda and compassionately said:” It is not in the present time, but also
in the past life, he also invited monks to enjoy the family life.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, Bodhisattva was an ascetic
monk at Himalaya. One day, due to a lack of salts and oil, he went to Varanasi to get alms. At
Varanasi, the Bodhisattva stayed at the park of the palace.
A millionaire of the town, seeing the beautiful signs from Bodhisattva wisdoms, he invited
Bodhisattva to pay a visit to his house. He gave Bodhisattva to stay in the garden of the
millionaire, and the millionaire also took good care of Bodhisattva. Gradually, they became
close friends with each other.
One day, the millionaire thought that:” The monk's life is suffering as monks often lack
everything. So, it is better to insist my friend to leave the monk life and enjoy the family life
as I am doing.”
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Then he met his friend and said:” Dear venerable Vaccha-nakka. The monk's life is suffering
as you lack everything. The family life is happy. So, please, disrobe and I shall share half of
my fortune to you. We shall have a happy life together.”
The monk. Vacchanakka, looked at his friend and compassionately said:” Dear friend. Family
life is not a comfortable life for me as the family life is full of ignorance and untruth.”
Then Vacchanakka spoke the verse:
The family life is suffered
As we have to tell lie to others
As we have to cheat others
As we have to try to get benefits from others
As we have to punish others
All the sinks are from the family life
So, I don’t enjoy the family life
Then Vaccanakka returned to his cottage to continue his practice.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the millionaire of Varanasi was Roja, and
the ascetic monk was him.
Jataka 236: Story of Baka
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a monk who habitually cheated others.
When the Buddha knew the issue of the cheated monk, Buddha said that:” It is not in the present
time, but also in the past life, he was likely to cheat others.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was the king
of all fishes which lived in a lake in Himalaya.
There was a stork also living in the Himalaya, and this stork often found for a living in the lake.
The stork often parked on a branch of tree which grew up on the shore of the lake to wait for
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the fishes. The stork often spread its wings and when the fishes were in the target, it flew down
to grasp the fishes with its feeds rapidly.
One day, the king of fishes in the lake, went to the tree in which the stork often parked. A fish
looked at the stork and praised highly of the beauty of the fishes:
With white color of purity
The bird which is born by egg
Similar to the lotus flower
Spread its wings and contemplate
As a meditation practitioner!
The king of fishes quickly cautioned the fishes:
What the bird is doing
You may not know about
This bird which was born from egg
Waiting to catch fishes to eat
Spreading its wings to wait
Concentrating to catch us!
To hear the danger of the stork, the fishes tried to spark the water to the stork and then swam
to other places to find food.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the stork was this cheated monk, and the
king of fishes was him.
Jataka 237: Story of Saketa
The Buddha told this story at Saketa, about the reason for the raising of attachment among
people. The background of the story is detailed in Jataka 68.
One day, the Buddha and monks moved to the Anjana, near to Saketa, an old Brahmin who
was about to leave the town, saw the Buddha, and he immediately walked close to the Buddha,
saying:” Dear son! Long time no see. Where have you been?”
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Then the old Brahmin took the Buddha to his house. When the Buddha arrived at the house of
the old man, an old woman rapidly ran out and bent down to the ankle of the Buddha, crying:
“Dear my son. Where have you lived? Is it true that when we are old, we need your support?”
Then the old couple called all their children to pay respect to the Buddha, and they offered
Buddha and monks special foods and beverages. After the meal, the Buddha talked about the
benefits of old age, and they all obtained the Entering Stream level after listening to the talk of
the Buddha. Then the Buddha and the monks left their house to enter the Anjana forest.
At the forest, the monks discussed this event:” Dear venerable. The old couple even knew that
Suddhodana was the father and the queen Mahamaya was the mother of the Buddha, but they
still considered the master as their son, and it is mysterious that the Buddha accepted their
calls.”
When the Buddha entered the Dharma-hall, the monks wanted to know the cause of the
emergence of attachment:” Dear master. What is the cause of attachment?”
Then they asked by the verse:
Dear master, the enlightened one!
What is the reason?
In which some people have great attachment
With some people
But Neglected others?
The Buddha answered by the other verse:
Due to their relationship built up in the past
Sharing the benefits together in the present
So, attachment arises
Similar to lotus rise in the water!
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the couple of Brahmins were the husband
and the wife in the present time, and their son was him.
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Jataka 238: Story of Ekapada
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the son of a millionaire of Savatthi. One day, the
son of the millionaire sat on his thighs to play, and when his son looked at the door, his son
asked:” Daddy! Can you tell me the meaning of this door?”
The millionaire could not give the answer to his son, so he said:” Nobody in this world can
give the proper answer to your question, so, we shall pay a visit to the Buddha.”
So, the next day, the millionaire took his son to pay a visit to the Buddha, and after paying the
respect to the Buddha, the millionaire said to the Buddha:” Dear master! My son, when sitting
on my thighs to play, asked me about the meaning of the door, so I could not give the proper
answer to him. Could you please help me with this?”
The Buddha calmly said to the millionaire:” This child is seeking for the ideal of life. In the
past, he also sought for the ideal of life, and he asked this question to many wise men. Due to
the effect of the rebirth, he cannot remember about it.”
in a millionaire family. When Bodhisattva grew up, he got married, and when his father passed
away, he inherited the fortune of his family.
One day, when he was playing with his son, his son was sitting on his thighs, asking:” Dear
daddy! Please let me know a word, but it has various meanings. “Then his son spoke a verse to
explain:
Daddy, please tell me word
Carrying many meanings
With that word
We shall comprehend the ideal of life!
The Bodhisattva looked at his son and calmly spoke the second verse:
A word that is respectful
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A word is carrying various meanings
It is wisdom
Relating to the cultivation of virtue
Connecting to the patience
It enables you to assist friends
Enable you to get rid of the enemy!
Then, the Bodhisattva gave a proper answer to his son, and his son utilized the answer to find
out the meaning of life.
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about the Four Noble truths, and the millionaire and
his son achieved the Entering Stream level. Finally, the Buddha recognized that the son of the
millionaire in the story was the son of the millionaire in Savatthi, and the wise millionaire was
him.
Jataka 239: Story of Harita-Mata
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the king Ajantasttu.
When the king Panesadi gave his princess to get married with the king Bimbasara, the king
Pasenadi gave the town of Kasi as the gift to his princess. Then when Ajantasttu killed his
father, Bimbasara , his mother was extremely sorrowful and passed away.
The king Pasenadi wanted to take back the town Kasi, so he took his army to attack to regain
the control of Kasi. The town of Kasi, sometimes, belonged to Kosala, but sometimes it was
under the control of Magadha. When Ajantasttu defeated his uncle, he was extremely happy,
and ordered people to hang flags to celebrate his victory, but when he lost, he kept silent.
His story was quickly spread to Jetavana, and the monks gathered at Dharma-hall to talk about
the king Ajantasttu:” Dear venerables. When the king Ajantasttu won, he was extremely happy,
but when he lost, he was sorrowful.”
When the Buddha entered the Dharma-hall, and knowing the issue of the talk of the monks, the
Buddha said calmly:” It is not in the present, but also, in the past, when people win, they are
joyful, but when they lose, they are depressed.”
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Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was born as a
frog. At that time, in some regions of the river, people often put some fishing net to catch fish.
One day, a school of fishes were stuck into a net, and so was a snake. Consequently, the snake
was attacked by the fishes and got injured. The snake threatened to jump out of the net and hid
beside a shore of the river.
Not long after that, a frog jumped into the net, and the snake rapidly asked the frog:
Dear frog. Can you give justice?
When I got into the net
They attacked me terribly
Do you agree with their actions?
The frog slowly replied to the snake:” it is normal, as when they get into your place, you shall
catch them to eat. When you are in the place of the fishes, they tend to win you. We are weak
when we stay in a place that is not familiar to us.”
The frog spoke the second verse to reply the snake:
Some people often rob from others
As they are happy as having benefits
When other rob their properties
They are sorrowful!
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the snake was Ajantasttu, and the frog was
him.
Jataka 240: Story of Mahapingala
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the death of Devadatta.
After Devadatta tried to find many ways to kill the Buddha, he was swallowed by the ground
into Avici hell. The people who lived around Jetavana, due to the hatred to the evil actions of
Devadatta, were pleased when they heard that Devadatta was dead.
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The monks gathered at the Dharma-hall, saying:” Dear venerable. Due to the hatred to the cruel
actions of Devadatta to the enlightened one. the people who live around here felt pleasant when
they heard the death of Devadatta.”
Buddha said calmly:” Due to the evil actions, not only in the present time but also in the past,
when he was dead, people were also pleasant.”
Once upon a time, when king Mahapingala was ruling Varanasi, the king used unfair and unjust
rule to rule the nation. The king put high taxes on people, and not only did he prefer to use
terrible punishments to force people to follow him. At the palace, the king also behaved terribly
and cruelly to his queen, maidens, his children, officials and all the servants.
When the king Mahapingala passed away, all the people of Varanasi were extremely happy.
They celebrated the death of the king instead of feeling sorrowful. And then, the prince of the
king Mahapingala was given the throne of power. The new king tried to rule the country with
royal dharmas and virtues instead of punishment and unfairness like his father, so most of the
people were pleasant.
One day, the new king was given the throne. He saw all people were happy and pleasant but
only a soldier, who was the palace gate-taker, cried loudly. The new king was surprised, so he
came close to the solder, asking:” Dear my servant. When my father passed away, all people
are pleasant and happy. Only you cried for him. Did he give you some flavors when he was
alive?”
The soldier rapidly replied:” No. No. Dear majesty, Similar to others. I am pleased when your
father passed away. When your father was alive, whenever he got up or got down from the
higher floors, he hit my head eight times. I worry that when he gets to hell, he will knock on
the Yama deity, and hell shall send him back here.”
The new king pacified the soldier:” When we die, we shall follow the karma that we cultivate.
Hence, my father will be reborn based on his karma, and should not be able to return here.
Don’t worry my servant.”
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From that time, the soldier who monitored the gate got rid of worry, and the new king ruled the
nation with royal dharmas until he passed away.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the king Mahapingala was Devadatta, and
the prince was him.
JataKa 241: Story Sabbadattha
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about Devadatta. After getting the faith of the king
Ajantasttu, Devadatta was given great respect and benefits. However, after Devadatta forced
the elephant, namely Nalagiri to attack the Buddha, he lost all the benefits and respects that he
had.
One day, the monks gathered at the Dharma-hall, talking about this issue:” Dear venerables.
Devadatta was successful in cultivating respect and benefits, but he could not hold those things
for long.”
When the Buddha entered the Dharma-hall, knowing the issue of the talk of monks, Buddha
said:” It is not in the present time, but also in the past, he lost all benefits he had tried to
accumulate in a short time.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, The Bodhisattva was the
consultant of the king. He was excellent in vedas and 18 kinds of kills. The Bodhisattva had a
mantran which was named The Mantra for Victory of the World.
One day, the Bodhisattva was sitting on a cliff on a mountainous area to recite this mantra.
Before the Bodhisattva recited the mantra, he already looked around to ensure nobody and no
animals would hear the mantra. However, during his recitation of the mantra, a jackal, which
was living in the cave under the cliff that Bodhisattva sat on, heard and remembered all of the
mantra.
When Bodhisattva finished reciting the mantra, he left the cliff, and at that time, the jackal
walked out the cave, saying to the Bodhisattva:” Dear sir. I believe that I can remember this
mantra better than you do.”
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The Bodhisattva ordered his servants who were standing far away:” Catch this jackal. Come
on.``
The Bodhisattva and his servants tried to chase the jackal, but they were not able to catch up
with the jackal. The jackal ran into the deep forest, and it used the power of the mantra to
control all the animals which lived in the forest. Then the jackal became the king of all animals
in the forest, and it took a female jackal to be its queen.
Time flies, the jackal was not satisfied with its current status, and it desired to be the king of
Varanasi. Hence, it gathered all animals in the forest to attack Varanasi. The animals which
followed the jackal were crowded in a 12 miles square in front of the main gate of Varanasi.
The jackal and its queen were sitting on a lion, and the lion was sitting on a board which was
carried by two elephants. The jackal was too arrogant to shout loudly:” Give me the nation or
we shall have a flight?”
All citizens and soldiers were threatened, and they closed all the gates of the town, standing
inside the town to worry. At that moment, the Bodhisattva came over to the king who was
standing scarily, saying calmly and confidently:” Dear majesty. Don’t worry. Let me flight
with this jackal, as I am the only one who can defeat it.``
Then, standing in a watchtower of the main gate, the Bodhisattva shouted loudly toward the
jackal:'' Hey Sabbadatha. What will you do to occupy this town?”
The jackal confidently said quickly:” I will order all the lions to roar loudly to threaten all
people of Varanasi, and I shall take control of this town easily.”
As planned, the Bodhisattva ordered the soldiers to beat the drums loudly to order people who
lived within 12 miles from the main gate to use the rice powder to cover their ears. Then, when
the lions roared loudly, nobody could be injured by the sounds of lions’ roars. Then the
Bodhisattva again asked the jackal:'' Hey Sabbadatha. What will you do next to take control of
this town?”
The jackal still confidently answered:” I will again order all the lions to roar louder to make all
the people of this town die due to threat and fear.”
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Bodhisattva calmly:” You cannot do it again. Lions are kind of noble animals, and they will
not listen to the lower cart animals like you.”
The jackal was extremely angry:”I can not only order all the lions which are standing in front
of me, but also the lion that I am sitting on.”
The Bodhisattva continued to arouse the jackal:” Okay. Do it if you can! Don’t just talk.”
The jackal used its legs to order the lion that it was sitting on to roar:” Hey. Please roar loudly.”
The lion roared loudly three times, and its roars made the elephants scary. Hence, the elephants
ran away to drop the lion and the jackal down. When the jackal was down, it got injured by the
other animals, when they scarily ran around too. Finally, the animals scarily ran back to the
forest, and a large number of animals were dead and heavily injured when they stepped over
each other to find the way to escape.
Faterward, the citizens took off the rice powders from their ears, and some took animal dead
bodies for eating, while some tried to bury the animal dead bodies.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognised that the jackal was Devadatta, and the king of
Varanasi was Ananda. The consultant was him.
Jataka 242: Story of Sunakha
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a dog which was fed by good food at a motel
which was near to the main gate of Ambala.
The dog was feeded by the water carriers, who brought it from somewhere. The dog grew up
quickly, and it became a big and tall dog. One day, a rich man came to the motel, and the rich
man gave the water carriers a piece of cloth and coin. Then, the rich man used a rope to tie
around the neck of the dog, and he took it away. On the way, the dog showed that it was docile
to the new owner. When the man gave food, the dog immediately ate, and it strictly followed
the man closely.
Hence, the man thought that the dog was familiar to him, so he released the dog from the rope.
Waiting for the rope to be opened, the dog immediately ran back to the motel to meet its former
owners. The story of this dog was spread around, and monks, who gathered at Dharma-hall,
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also talked about it:” Dear venerables. That dog pretended to be docile to its new owner, and
then when the rope was unfastened, it ran back to its former owners.”
When the Buddha entered the Dharma-hall, knowing the issue of the discussion of monks, the
Buddha said :” It is not in the present time, but also, in the past, it was clever to escape from
the attachment.”
in a rich family in Kasi. When he grew up, he got married and had his own family.
At Varanasi, there was a man who had a dog, and the dog looked nice and strong. Hence, a rich
Brahmin gave the man a piece of cloth and a coin to buy the dog. Then the rich Brahmin used
the leather rope to fasten around the neck of the dog, and took it away.
When the rich Brahmin arrived at the edge of the forest, he entered a cottage to take a rest, and
tied the dog beside the cottage. When the Bodhisattva went through the cottage, seeing the dog
was suffering, he spoke the verse:
Too ignorant is the dog
Why not biten the leather rope
Escape from this attachment
Return to your familiar house!
The dog spoke the second verse:
I already have it in my
I wait for the night comes
That time is suitable to me
Cut this rope down and escape!
Then, it waited until night came, and it cut the leather rope down and escaped.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognised that the dog escaped from the rich man, and the
man who gave the idea to the dog was him.
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Jataka 243: Story of Gutila
The Buddha told this story at Bamboo-Grove, about Devadatta. When Devadatta wanted to
leave the Sangha, the monks talked with Devadatta:” Dear Venerable. Devadatta. Due to the
guideline of the enlightened one, you all comprehended well with wisdom-discourses and
achieved four fruits of meditation. Now, you turn to be the enemy of the enlightened one is not
suitable.”
Devadatta said confidently:” Dear all venerable. Gautama is not my master, and he did not
guide me to achieve anything, but myself, by my effort, I learned three wisdom discourses and
achieved four fruits of meditation.”
And the Devadatta decided to leave the Sangha for his own establishment of a new monk
school. Not long after that Devadatta encountered danger. Then the monks gathered at Dharma-
hall, talking about this issue. When the Buddha entered the Dharma-hall, and knowing the
figure of the discussion of monks, Buddha said:” It is not in the present time only but also in
the past, Devadatta left me, became my enemy and encountered danger.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, Bodhisattva was born in a
musician family, and he was named Guttila. When he grew up, he was excellent in most kinds
of musical instruments and music, but he did not get married, spending all his leisure time to
take good care of his parents.
One day, the businessmen who were from Varanasi arrived at Ujjeni for business, and they
gathered to have a party together. They invited some popular musicians to come to play some
kinds of musical instruments for them to entertain. They invited Musila to come to play for
them, but they were not satisfied with the performance of Musila.
Musila was disappointed to ask them:” Why do you feel bored with my performance of Pipa?
My performance is terrible or you all don’t know how to enjoy the Pipa sounds?”
A businessman replied quickly:” Sorry. We often listen to the performance of Pipa from
Guttila, the popular musician of Varanasi, and to compare him, your performance is inferior to
his performance indeed.”
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Musila was surprised to ask:” I don’t believe that there is a musician who can play Pipa better
than me, so I will not take money for this performance but please take me to Varanasi when
you get there as I want to hear the performance from Guttila.”
The businessmen agreed with Musila, and when they returned to Varanasi, they took Musila
together. When they arrived at Varanasi, the businessman took Musila to the home of Guttila
for a visit. Musila entered the house of Guttila and paid respect to the parents of Guttila:” Dear
sir and madam! I would like to meet the master. Just wonder whether he is at home now?”
The mother of Guttila curiously asked:” Who are you? And Why do you want to meet Guttila?”
Musila rapidly replied:” I am here to ask the master to learn music from him.”
Then Musila had waited until Guttila returned, and Musila asked Guttila to be his student.
However, at first, Guttila denied having Musila as his student. After that, Musila asked Guttila's
parents to help him to insist Guttila. Consequently, Guttila, to satisfy his parents, agreed to
have Musila as his student.
Time flies, Musila already learned all skills from Guttila and he wanted to work in the palace,
so he talked with Guttila to help him:” Dear master! I already obtained all the skills from you,
so could you help me to work in the palace?”
Guttila happily replied:” Great my son! I will ask the king to give you a position.”
When Guttila talked with the king about the intention of Musila, the king agreed to have Musila
as the new staff of the palace, but he just received half of Guttila's salary. Then, when Guttila
shared the idea of the king to his student, Musila, his student refused to work with such a low
salary. Therefore, Guttila had to again tell the king the ambition of Musila, and the king calmly
said:” It is okay. If your student’s skills are equal to yours, so I shall give him such salary that
you have received. However, to comprehend his skills, we need to conduct a contest between
you and your student. Is it okay for you?”
Guttila agreed to the king and returned to tell his student Musila. Musila was extremely happy
for the contest. However, Guttila was extremely worried as he did not want his student to lose
for him, and as he feared that he would lose for his student. Therefore, he went to the forest to
prepare for the death there, and within six days, he constantly worried about the contest
happening. His worry made the seat of the king king god, Sakka, become hot, so Sakka
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appeared in the forest to help Guttila:” Hey sir! Why do you stay here in the deep forest to
worry about something?”
Guttila rapidly asked:” Who are you? And why do you stay here too?”
Sakka:” I am Sakka, the king of god. I came here to help you. I know what you are worrying
about. So, take it easy. Return and join the contest. When you play the Pipa, cut the strings but
with this magical chopstick, when you play, still have the sounds. With this way, you can win
your student with great honor. Afterward, you throw the chopstick on the sky, 3000 goddesses
shall appear to dance in the sky.”
Then Guttila returned to Varanasi, and he was confident to come to the contest. At the contest,
Guttila, firstly cut down one string of the harp, but he still could make miracle sounds with the
help of the magical chopstick. However, his student, Musila, was not when he tried to cut down
one string as his master. Continuously, Guttila cut second string, third string, fourth string, fifth
string and sixth string, but he still could make miracle sounds. Not only that, finally, he threw
the chopstick into the sky, and immediately 300 goddesses appeared to dance in the sky. When
Guttila threw the chopstick the second time, 300 other goddesses appeared to dance.
At that time, citizens of Varanasi were extremely angry with Musila, so they complained terrily
and expelled him from the town. After the contest, Guttila was given various benefits and
honors from the king.
After the contest, Sakka returned to his palace, and his gods and goddesses required him to
give them an opportunity to listen to the music of Guttila. So, Sakka sent the god Matali to
drive the heaven vehicle to take Guttila to visit his palace in heaven.
When Guttila arrived at the palace of Sakka, king Sakka requested Guttila:” Dear Guttila.
Please play some songs for us to listen to as goddesses and gods desire to listen to the magical
sounds from your play.”
Guttila calmly requested:” I am a musical player, so could I request payment for my

performance. I don’t require everything but the stories in which your citizens cultivated good
deeds in order to be reborn here.”
Goddesses all agreed to tell their cultivation of good deeds to rebirth in heaven to Guttila after
they listened to the music's playing by Guttila, and Guttila played music for six days. On the
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seventh day, Guttila stopped listening to the stories of the goddesses. There were 37 goddesses
who shared their cultivation of good deeds to Guttila. A goddess offered a set of clothes to the
monk, while another offered food to monks. A goddess cultivated good deeds by taking good
care of her parents-in-law and kept the mind away from anger. Some cultivated good deeds by
sharing food with others, while others tried to calm their minds from anger and arrogance.
After heard the stories from 37 goddesses, Guttila was extremely happy, speaking the verse:
It is my luck to be here
Like seeing the sun rise
Seeing the goddesses
Elegant and virtue
Listen to the true dharmas
I shall follow their cultivations
Cultivating good deeds
Doing givings and saying truths
Be controlled and ascetic
I will be reborn in the place
Without sufferings!
After the seventh day, Sakka ordered Matali to drive Guttila back to Varanasi. When Guttila
returned, he tried to tell people what he observed and heard from the goddesses. Not only that,
he tried to cultivate good deeds as well as encouraged others to do so.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognised that Musila was Devadatta, and the king of
Varanasi was Ananda. The Sakka was Anurudha, and Guttila was him.
244: Story of Viticha
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about an arrogant monk who ran away when he saw the
Buddha.
This monk was excellent in arguments so that he easily beat others with utterances. One day,
he arrived at Savithri ,arrogantly saying to people:'' Who dare argue with me in this town?”
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People of Savatthi introduced him to meet the Buddha, and he went to Jetavana with the crowd
of Savatthi citizens. At Jetavana, he asked the Buddha a question, and the Buddha gave him
the answer properly. In return, the Buddha asked him a question, and he could not give the
answer. Therefore, he was ashamed to run away. The crowd said to the Buddha:” It is miracle
and great, master could beat him down with only one question.``
The Buddha calmly said to the crowd of people:” It is not only in the present time, but also in
the past time, I could beat him down with only one question.”
in a Brahmin family. When he grew up, he gave up the family life, entering the forest in
Himalaya to practice as an ascetic monk. After years of living on the mount Himalaya, he
decided to get down to live in a region that is next to the Ganges river and near to a small town.
One day, an arrogant monk who was excellent in arguments arrived at this town and challenged
people:” In this town, who dares have arguments with me?”
People of the town introduced the Bodhisattva to him, and the arrogant monk arrived at the
cottage of the Bodhisattva with a crowd of people. Bodhisattva invited the arrogant monk to
have a seat, and when the arrogant monk already sat down, the Bodhisattva asked him:” Have
you ever drunk the Ganges water with various kinds of fragrances?”
The arrogant monk asked the Bodhisattva:” What do you think is Ganges? Sands? This side of
the bank or the other side of the bank?
Bodhisattva calmly replied:”If we put the sands, water, this side of the bank and other side of
the bank aside, what is the Ganges river?”
The arrogant monk could not give the answer to the Bodhisattva, so he immediately stood up
and left. After he left, the Bodhisattva spoke the verse:
Does not accept what he can see
Finding to know what cannot see
Traveling for long time
But with the greedy mind
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His mind always think of winning others
I respect those who leave the all the attachments
After telling the story, the Buddha recognised that the arrogant monk was the arrogant one who
met the Buddha, and the ascetic monk was him.
Jataka 245: Story of Mulapariyaya
The Buddha told this story in the forest of Subhaga near Ukkattha, about Mulapariyaya.
There were 500 Brahmins who were ordained in the Sangha of the Buddha, and they were
excellents in three vedas. Due to their knowledge about Vedas, they were too arrogant, so they
left the Sangha and settled in a place with a crowd of monks as the Snagha of the Buddha.
One day, the Buddha paid a visit to their temple and the Buddha gave the teaching about the
basics of practice and eight kinds of achievements in practice. During the talk of the Buddha,
they could not understand everything, so they changed their minds :” We used to think that we
are the best, and nobody could surpass our knowledge. However, the knowledge of the master
is over us indeed.” From that on, they behaved humbly to everyone.
After the Buddha left Ukkattha, the Buddha arrived at Vesali, and stayed at the Gotama temple.
At Gotama temple, the Buddha talked about Gotama sutta, and those Bikkhus obtained
Arhathood.
One day, the monks gathered at the Dharma-hall, talking about this issue:” Dear venerables.
The wisdom and power of the Buddha are great. Those Bikkhus who were too arrogant, but
with the talks of the Master, dismissed their arrogance and finally achieved Arhathood.”
When the Buddha entered the Dharma-hall, and knowing the issue of the talk of the monks, the
Buddha said calmly:” It is not in the present time, but also in the past time, these people lived
with full of arrogance, and I also stopped their arrogances with talks.”
in a Brahmin family. When he grew up, he was well-cultivated and soon became a popular
master. There were 500 young men who came to study with him, and they became arrogant
after they were excellent in three discourses of veda.
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Not only that, but they thought that their knowledge was similar to their master, so they stopped
paying the visit, respect and other duties of students to master. One day, seeing their master
was sitting under an apple tree, they came close to their master, and trying to mock their master,
knocking on the apple tree, they asked their master:” This tree does not have the core indeed!”
The master calmly said to the student:”My students. I want to ask you all a question. Is it
possible?”
The students confidently replied:” Sure. Just ask and we will try to give the answer properly.”
The master asked the student through verse:
The time destroy everything
Destroy even itself
Who is able to win the time?
Who can surpass time and other beings?
After hearing this question, none of the students could give the answer, and at that time, the
master told them:” My students. You are arrogant to think that you already know everything
that I know, but you are not. So, I give all of you seven days. Please return and contemplate on
this question and shall give me the answer.``
The students returned to think for seven days, and they could not find the answer properly.
Therefore, they returned to their master to pay respects, and they sat silently to listen to the
master. The master calmly looked at them, saying:” Do you be able to give me the answer, my
students?”
The students all shyly replied:” No master!”
The master complained them by a verse:
Humans with heads
The hairs grow on the heads
How many heads have ears?
All the students just kept silent and the master said to them calmly:” You are ignorant! Your
ears don’t have wisdom but have holes only.”
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All the students, after that, sorried to their master and dismissed their arrogance. Also they paid
visit and respect to their master again.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognised that 500 students were these 500 monks who
dismissed their arrogance and achieved Arhathood, and the master was him.
Jataka 246: Story of Telovada
The Buddha told this story at the Chamber of Vesali, about the general, Simha-Senapati. It was
the day in which the general Simha-Senapati became the student of the Buddha, he invited the
Buddha to have a meal with meat. The Niganthas knew about this offering, on this occasion,
they decried the Buddha:'' Gotama knew that the foods were impuried but still tried to eat.”
Then the monks gathered at the Dharma-hall, talking about this issue:” Dear venerables.
Niganthas went around to tell people that the Buddha, although knew that the meal was impure,
still tried to eat. They have tried to decry the Buddha.”
When the Buddha entered the Dharma-hall, the Buddha said compassionately:” It is not in the
present time, but also in the past time, the Niganthas tried to tell me that I ate the meat that was
made purposely for me.”
in a Brahmin family, and when he grew up, he left family life for the ascetic monk life. One
day, he got down and went to Varanasi for salts.
One rich man invited the monk to pay a visit to his house. However, this man desired to destroy
the virtue of the ascetic monk, so he intentionally killed some animals to cook for the monk.
After the monk completed the meal, the rich man told the monk in a decried manner:” Dear
venerable. Because of you, I killed chickens and fishes to make these foods, so all the sinks
generated for this meal belong to you, not us.” Then he spoke the verse:
The evils are not able to control the mind
Asking for killing to cook for meal
Who ate this meal
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Are stained by the evil mind!
The ascetic monk calmly spoke the verse to reply the layman:
If people who are ignorant
Killed their wives and children to invite others
The eaters have no faults
As they even eat but they are not attached to the stained mind!
After telling the story, the Buddha recognised that the lay man who offered meals to the monk
was Nigantha, Nattaputa, and the ascetic monk was him.
Jataka 247: Story of Padanjali
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the venerable Laludayi.
One day, when two brothers monks, Sariputta and Moggalana talked about the Dharma, all the
monks who listened to their discussion all spoke highly of them but excepting, venerable
Laludayi. Venerable Laludayi said loudly:” How can they know what I know!”
After hearing the arrogant utterance of venerable Laludayi, two venerables, Sariputta and
Moggalana stood up and went away. Right after that the crowd of monks was dismissed. The
next morning, the monks gathered at the Dharma-hall to talk about this issue:” Dear venerable!
Venerable Laludayi criticized two venerables, Sariputta and Moggallana, and after being
criticized, two venerables just left.”
When the Buddha entered the Dharma-hall and knowing the issue of the talk of the monks, the
Buddha said calmly:” It is not in the present time, but also in the past time, Laludayi just knew
to criticize others, but knew nothing.”
in a Brahmin family, and when he grew up, he became the consultant for the king about all the
holy and ordinary issues. The king had only one prince, namely Padanjali.
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After the king passed away, the funeral of the king was organized sufficiently. After the funeral,
all the officials gathered and they planned to give the prince Padandayi the throne of power.
They had a meeting and most of the officials wondered:” The prince is extremely ignorant. Is
it right if we give him the throne of power?”
Then they decided to organize a court case and invited the prince Padandayi to join. During the
court case, they tried to generate unfair results, giving the win to the person who committed
the crime. Then they asked the prince:” How do you think of the result of this court case?
The prince Padandayi just pouted but said nothing. The consultant of the palace thought that
the prince was wise but pretend to be ignorant, so he spoke the verse:
The wisdom of this prince
Is surpassed others
He pouted to show that
He knows the unfair result of this court case!
The next day, the officials of the palace organized another court case and the prince was invited
to join the court case again. In this court case, they tried to give a fair result, and again asked
the prince Padandayi about the result. The prince again pouted but said nothing. The consultant
was sorrowed to speak the verse:
This person is extremely ignorant
Unable to comprehend the wrong, right, true and untrue
Excepting to pouting
He knows nothing else!
The officials knew that Padandayi was extremely ignorant, so they decided to give the
consultant on the throne of power. So, after the enthronement ceremony, the consultant became
the king of the nation.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognised that Padandayi was Laludayi, and the wise
consultant was him.
Jataka 248: Story of Kimsukopama
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The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about Kimsukopama sutta.
One day, four monks came over to the Buddha to ask for the subjects for their practices, and
the Buddha told them to practice Salayatana ( six internal & external objectives). After
receiving the subjects for practice, they returned to their places to practice, and they, soon,
achieved Arhathood, although they realized different aspects of the Salayatana. One
comprehended deeply the six internal & external objectives, while one other obtained that five
aggregates are non-self. One understood 4 elements and the rest comprehended 18 dharmas.
When these four monks presented their enlightenments to the Buddha, one monk wondered to
ask the Buddha:” I am wondering that four monks accessed different aspects of the Salayatana,
but how could they all obtain Arahood?”
The Buddha compassionately talked to the monks:”It is like four brothers all see the Kimsuka
tree.”
Once upon a time, when king Bramadatta was reigning Varanasi, the king had four sons. One
day, they wondered about the Kimsuka tree, so they asked the driver of the palace to bring
them to see the kimsuka tree:” Hey servant. Could you please take me to see the kimsuka tree?”
The driver replied rapidly:” Yes. It is okay.”
Then the driver took four princes to see the kimsuka tree, but he did not show the same kimsuka
tree to four princes. The driver took the oldest prince to the forest and showed the prince the
new born kimsuka tree, with new born-branches, whereas the driver brought the second oldest
prince to see a kimsuka tree with green leaves. The third oldest prince was taken to the kimsuka
tree which was in the blossom time, and the four prince was brought to see a kimsuka tree
which was fruitioned.
When the four princes sat together, they discussed the shape of the kimsuka tree. The oldest
prince said:``The kimsuka tree looks like fire wood.”
The second oldest prince said:``The kimsuka tree is like the eagle tree.”
The third prince said:” The kimsuka tree looks like a piece of meat.”
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The final prince said:” The kimsuka tree looks like an acacia tree.”
They could not agree to the idea of each other, so they all went to meet the king to ask for
justice. The king, after hearing the explanation, said:” You all were shown the kimsuka tree,
but you did not comprehend that in which stage, the kimsuka tree that you saw was in, and in
which season you saw the kimsuka tree. Not only that, where did you see the kimsuka tree?”
All of you, my sons!
Have seen kimsuka tree
But why still wonder about it?
Why didn’t you ask the driver
Clearly about it?
Then the Buddha said to the monks:” Like four princes who saw the kimsuka but not
comprehended deeply about it. You who have wondered about the Salayatana as you have
never contemplated deeply on it.”
After telling the story, the Buddha recognised that the king of Varanasi was him.
Jataka 249: Story of Salaka
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, related to a popular venerable monk.
This popular venerable monk had a young man ordained as his student, and he often
abused this young monk so that the young monk could not endure the abuse, so he
disrobed to leave the monkhood. Not long after that, the venerable monk constantly
insisted the young man to reordain.
After several times of insisting, the young man could not bear his mind under the
enticement of the utterances of the venerable monk, so he again reordained as a monk
under the instruction of the venerable. However, not long after his reordination, his
master again abused him constantly, and he could not endure the abuse so that he
again disrobed to return to the layman life. Again, the venerable monk came close to
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insist the young man to be his ordained student, but this time, in spite of the attractive
enticement from the master, the young man refused to be his student.
One day, the monks gathered at the Dharma-hall, talking about the issue related to
this young man and his master:” Dear venerable. The young man was clever, so he
refused to reordain as the student of the venerable after comprehending the attitude
of his master.”
When the Buddha entered the Dharma-hall, and knowing the issue of the talk of the
monks, the Buddha compassionately said:” It is not in the present time, but also in the
past, this young mas was clever to recognise that the evil mind of his master that he
refused to continue to be his student.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, the Bodhisattva
was born in a rich family, and when he grew up, he became a rice-seller.
At Varanasi, there was a man who earned a living from entertainment for others. This
man had a monkey, and he forced the monkey to drink medicine to heal with the poison
in order to let the monkey play with the snakes to entertain people. On one occasion,
this man wanted to join the festival, so he gave the monkey to his friend, the rice-seller,
to take care of the monkey. This man enjoyed the festival for seven days, and then he
returned to the house of the rice-seller to take the monkey. When he arrived at the
gate of the rice-seller's house, the monkey ran out the gate to see him, but the man
was not pleased with the monkey. Hence, the monkey used the bamboo stick to hit on
the back of the monkey. Then, the man used a rope to tight the monkey into a pillar
before he went to sleep.
Waiting for the man to sleep, the monkey tried to escape from the tightened rope, and
the monkey climbed up to a mango tree. After eating out the mango fruit, it threw the
mango seeds into its owner. The man was suddenly woken up, and tried to persuade
the monkey to return to work for him by a verse:
You are my only son
Soon became the owner of the family
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Please get down my son
Return home together with me
The monkey replied by a verse:
You already know my mind
Contributed to you only
However, beating me by a bamboo tree
Enjoying to live from the mango trees
With the ripen mango fruits
Return home alone please!
After telling the story, the Buddha recognised that the young man was the monkey,
while the owner of the monkey was the venerable monk who was the master of the
young man, and the rice-seller was him.
Jataka 250: Story of Kapi
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a cheated monk. The cheated action of this monk
was known by the other monks, so one day, other monks gathered at the Dharma-hall, talking
about the cheated actions of him.
When the Buddha entered the Dharma-hall and knowing the issue of the talk of the monks, the
Buddha said slowly:” It is not only in the present time, but also in the past, he was likely to
cheat others. When it was a monkey, to desire to be able to warm up near the wooding fire, it
cheated others.”
in a Brahmin family in Kasi. When he grew up, he got married and had a son. However, his
wife passed away when his son just started walking. The death of his wife made him severely
suffer, so he decided to lead his only son to Himalaya to live as a monk.
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Time flies, the young Brahmin and his son had been in the monkhoods for years, and they knew
how to survive well in the deep forest of Himalaya. In the rainy season, the weather was
extremely cold, so the young monk often burned woods to keep warm in the evening. One day,
a monkey which lived nearby the cottage of the young monk wanted to enter the cottage to
warm up, but it knew that the young monk would drive it away when it would enter the cottage.
So, the monkey wore a piece of cloth of a monk who passed away, pretending to be an ascetic
monk. Walking slowly toward the cottage of the young monk.
The son of the young monk saw the monkey in the robe of the monk, so he thought it was an
old monk. To raise his compassion, he talked with his father to allow the monkey to enter the
cottage:” Dear father! There is an old monk who is standing under a peanut tree, and he is
shocked due to the cold weather. It is better if we invite him to come in to warm up.”
The young monk, after hearing the utterance from his son, looked at the monkey carefully, and
he could recognise that it was a monkey. Therefore, he spoke the verse to reply his son:
It is not the ascetic monk
Calmly and happily
It is a monkey
Living on the trees
Belonging to the angry and greedy ones
Letting it to enter this cottage
It shall make this cottage messy!
With wisdom, the young monk tried to practice hard, and soon he achieved the fruits of
meditation. After that, he guided his son to obtain what he did. They all reborned in the Brahma
realm after passing away.
The Buddha talked about Four Noble truths after telling the story, and many monks obtained
Arhat Hood during the talk of the Buddha. Finally, the Buddha recognised that the monkey
was the cheated monk and the son of the young monk was Rahula, while the young monk was
him.
Jataka 251: Story of Sankappa
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The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a monk who lost their determination in practice.
At the Buddha's time, there was a young man who believed in the Dharma of the Buddha, so
he decided to ordain to be a monk in the Sangha of the Buddha. However, one day, when he
went to Savatthi to get alms, he met a beautiful girl, and when he returned, he could not stay
focused on his practice.
When venerable monks knew the problem of these young monks, they tried to give advice on
helping him to get back his ambition on the dharma practice. However, they failed to do so, so
they desired to take the young monk to meet the Buddha to let the young monk receive the help
from the Buddha.
At the Dharma-hall, the Buddha, after knowing the issue of the young monk, said :” Dear
monks! In the past, the monks who with hard practices were able purified their minds
sufficiently, but they, afterward, were still stained by the women, so it is not a big surprise that
you who are attached with desire. Due to the beauty of the women, the purified men lost turned
back to the attached minds, and the men who were in high positions lost their benefits and
positions. How do you think a wind which can blow the sumeru mount to fall down, is it able
to shake all the falling leaves on the ground. All the enlightened ones, by their strong
determination, were able to overpass the desire. Those without a certain determination shall be
affected by the beauty of the women.”
in a Brahmin family, and when he turned 16, he went to Takkasila to study all the skills and
knowledge. Upon graduation, he returned to Varanasi and soon got married with a beautiful
girl.
Soon after his marriage, his parents gradually passed away. Looking at the fortune which he
had inherited, he realized human life is short, so he decided to leave the family life to enter the
Himalaya to live as an ascetic monk. After years of hard practice, he obtained fruits of
meditation, being able to calm the mind from the attachment.
One day, he decided to get down to town to get salt and vinegar, and for people to cultivate
good deeds from paying respects to him. When he arrived at the park of the palace of the king
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of Varanasi, the sun already set, so he decided to spend one night sleeping in the park of the
king. The next morning, after personal hygiene, he put on the rope and went around getting
alms. When he walked through the palace of the king, standing on the high floor, the king was
attractive when he first looked at the monk, so the king ordered servants to invite the monk to
the palace for the offerings.
When a servant of the king expressed the invitation of the king to the monk, the monk refused.
However, with the insisted invitation of the king, the monk agreed to get to the palace to receive
offerings from the king. During lunch time, the king asked the monk many spiritual questions,
and the monk all could give the answers properly to the king. The king wanted to keep the
monk to live in the palace, so he asked the monk:” Where will you plan to get to Venerable?”
The monk calmly:” I am finding a place for the rainy months.”
The king was happy:” Great! You can stay in the garden of the palace. “
Then the king ordered servants to make a cottage in the garden for the ascetic monk to stay in.
The king took good care of the monk, and he paid a visit to the ascetic daily. One day, he had
to get to the bordering area to calm a rebel, and he talked to the queen to take good care of the
ascetic monk:” Dear my queen. When I am not here, please take good care of our master, the
ascetic monk.”
When the king went away, the queen invited the ascetic monk to the palace to have lunch every
day, and the monk often flew to the palace through the window. One day, the monk arrived
late, and due to the weariness of waiting, the queen lay down the board for a nap. When the
ascetic monk flew through the window to enter the palace, the sound caused when the robe of
the monk abraded to the window woke the queen up, and when she stood up, incidentally, she
dropped the wearing clothes on her beautiful and elegant body. The ascetic monk, after seeing
the naked body of the queen, immediately lost all his puried mind so that when he got to the
table, he could not eat everything. Finally, the queen had to prepare the food into a bowl for
him to take back. Taking the bowl of food, the monk could not use his power to fly through the
window to return to his cottage as usual, but he had to walk down the stairs as normal people.
Looking at the change of the monk, the queen realized that the monk was already attached to
her beauty so he lost all his power.
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When the monk already returned back to the cottage, he put away the bowl of food and lay
down on the bed, thinking about the beautiful shape of the queen. Likewise, he spent one week
just laying on the bed to constantly suffer due to the attachment to the beauty of the queen:”
Oh. How beautiful the queen is. How attractive the queen is. How elegant the queen is.``
After one week, the king returned to the palace from the bordering area, and the king
immediately paid a visit to the cottage of the monk. When the king arrived at the cottage, seeing
everything around was messy, the king thought that the monk had already left as the monk was
used to keeping the cottage always clean. However, the king was surprised, when he entered
the cottage and saw the monk was on the bed, extremely suffering:” Dear master. What
happened to you?”
The monk suffered to reply to the king:” I was injured terribly by an arrow.”
The king was worried for the monk as he thought that his enemy could not attack him, so they
turned to attack those he loved:” Dear master. It is likely that you were attacked by my enemy.
Let me see your injury. “
The monk, at that time, tried to sit certainly in the lotus posture again, and calmly said to the
king:'' Dear majesty! Nobody shot me but myself.” Then the monk spoke the verse:
There is no person who shot me by the archery
There are no arrows
Which made of fur of birds
Which decorated beautifully by the bow-maker
It was my mind
Which was trained to get rid from desire
By my determination and wisdom
The desire generates the injury
And burns up all parts of the body
Similar to the power of the physical fire
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I was not careful to control the desire
Made my mind got stained by desire
It was myself not others
Made me suffered and injured
Then, by the strong determination, the monk tried to contemplate on the meditation again and
he could easily control his mind again. Immediately, he used his power to sit in the thin air,
talking to the king:” Dear majesty. Now, I have to return to the Himalayas.”
The king tried to insist the monk change his mind to continue staying at the palace:” Dear
master. Could you please maintain your stay here as I still have many things to learn from you.”
Despite the insisting invitation of the king, the monk gradually flew up and said to the king:”
Dear majesty! I was stained by desire when I stayed here in the palace, so it is better for me to
return to the mountain.” Then the monk disappeared into thin air to go back to Himalaya
mountain.
After telling this story, the Buddha continued to talk about Four Noble Truths, and the young
monk who lost determination in practice obtained Arhathood during the talk, while many other
monks achieved the Entering Stream level, one-returning and none-returning level. Finally, the
Buddha recognised that the king was Ananada, and the ascetic monk was him.
Jataka 252: Story of Tilamuthi
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a monk who was easy to get angry with. Although
others said nothing to him, he was still easily angry.
One day, at the dharma-hall, the monks gathered to talk about his issue:” Dear venerable. That
young monk is easy to get angry with, and he often angrily shouted loudly when he was out of
mind-control. Not only that, he often grit his teeth. Although he stays in monkhood but is not
able to calm his mind.”
When the Buddha knew the issue of the talk of monks, the Buddha calmly said:” It is not in the
present time but also in the past, he was easy to get angry.”
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Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, the king had only one
prince. Then, when the prince turned sixteen, the prince was sent to Takkasila to be trained
with skills and knowledge, although there were lots of pandits in Varanasi, as the king wanted
the prince to be trained to behave well with others. When the prince was about to leave Varanasi
for Takkasila, the king gave the prince a pair of shoes, an umbrella and 1000 coins:” Dear my
son. Those are all that you can bring to Takkasila to study. Now, it is time for you to leave and
learn new things.”
The prince arrived at Takkasila quickly, and he went to meet the most popular master in
Takkasila to be his student. After paying respect and showing the intention of learning, the
prince gave the master 1000 coins as the tuition fees for the course. As the prince already paid
the tuition fees, he was able to be the assistant of the master, and he often followed the master.
One day, he followed the master to get to a public bathroom to take a shower. On the way to
the bathroom, there was a woman overlooking the sesame which she spread on the tarp for
drying. The prince saw the white sesame, and used his alm to take a handful of sesame to eat.
The woman who oversaw the sesames did not say a word, even she saw the stealing ation of
the prince. A few days later, the prince and his master also got to the public bathroom to take
a bath again, and the prince took a handful of sesames to eat. In this time, the woman, who
oversaw the sesames, did not keep silent, but immediately complained to the master. The
master calmly said to her:” Dear madam! Take it easy please. I will give you the money in
return for the sesames that my student already ate.”
The woman still insisted:” Dear sir! I won’t take any money but please tell him to stop stealing
my sesames again.”
The master tried to calm the woman down:” Okay. I will punish to caution him to stop stealing
your sesames.”
Then the master used a bamboo stick to hit on the back of the prince three times. During the
punishment of the master, the eyes of the master turned red and he got extremely angry with
the master so that he vowed to kill his master in the future :” I will kill him when I have the
chance. I shall not forgive what he did to me today.”
Time flies, and finally, the prince obtained all the skills and knowledge from his study at
Takkasila. When he paid respect to the master before returning to Varanasi, he wanted to lead
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the master to his town to kill him, so he said to his master:” Dear master! On the occasion,
when I shall be given the throne of power of Varanasi, please come to enjoy the congrat-party.”
The master:” Sure. Dear son! My best student! It is my honor!”
After the prince returned from Takkasila, the father king wanted to see how the prince would
rule the nation, so he, soon, gave his son, the prince on the ruling throne of power. When the
prince already became the king, he quickly ordered servants to invite his master to his palace
as he always kept his revenge-mind to his master. However, upon the first invitation, the master
refused to come to Varanasi:'' The prince is too young and it is not the right time for me to
change his mind. So, it is better to wait until the suitable time.``
Time flies, when the new king of Varanasi was in the middle age, the master living at Takkasila
decided to pay a visit to his former student, the king of Varanasi. The master did not wait for
the invitation from the king of Varanasi, but he, himself, arrived at the palace of Varanasi.
When a soldier who oversaw the main gate of the palace informed the king that his former
master, from Takkasila, was waiting outside, the king was happy and excited to avenge his
master, so he ordered the soldier to take the master to the palace immediately. When the master
of the king just arrived at the main hall of the palace, the king was excited to talk loudly:'' Dear
all my officials! Here is my former teacher, and today, he came here to die. I have waited for
this moment for a long time.``
I remember what you have done for me
Punished me terribly due to a handful of sesames
Tightened me with ropes
Hitting me on the back with the bamboo stick
Dear Brahmin! My former teacher
What did you think at the time?
Tightened me with ropes
Hitting me heavily three time
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Why did you dare come here?
The master calmly spoke the second verse:
The wises punish others with stick
As they want his students to get rid of bad behaviors
Their actions are not due to anger
But from the loving kindness
All the wises know that there is not sinks from those
Then the master of the king continued: “ Dear majesty! It is not a big issue that you have to
worry about and memorize for years. If I did not punish you at that time, you would develop
your stealing behaviors. From stealing sesames, you might turn to stealing other things.
Consequently, you would enjoy the stealing actions and become a thief instead of a wise king.”
After the teacher of the king ended his explanation for the punishment to the king in the past,
all the officials advised the king to forgive for the action of the master:” Dear majesty! We
comprehend that the punishment of the master was helpful to you, so you shall not give him a
punishment to death.”
At that moment, the king realized all the virtues of his teacher, so he stepped down to his
teacher:” Dear master! Now I understand you clearly. Please take this nation and rule it with
your virtue.”
The teacher of the king rapidly refused the offering of the king, but finally, he accepted to be
the consultant of the king. The king ordered the servants to get to Takkasila to take the family
members of his new consultant to Varanasi, and gave them lots of benefits. Under the
consultation of his teacher, the king ruled the nation with virtues and he also diligently
cultivated good deeds.
After telling the story, the Buddha continued to talk about Four Noble Truths, and the young
monk who was easy to get angry obtained a non-returning level. Many of the other monks
achieved First-Entering level, one-returning and non-returning level. Finally, the Buddha
recognised that the prince of Varanasi was the young monk who was easy to get angry with,
and the teacher of the prince was him.
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Jataka 253: Story of Manikantha
The Buddha told this story at Aggalava temple in Alavi, about the rule to construct the house
or residing places for Bikkhus.
At the Buddha's time, the monks who lived in Alavaka often inquired of lay Buddhists to satisfy
their desire when they made the cottages for living in. They did not require it directly, but they
suggested the lay Buddhists send more people to help them. The requirements of the monks
made lay Buddhists annoyed so that they often tried to avoid meeting the monks.
One day, venerable Sariputta got to Alavaka for work, and he went around to get alms in the
morning. It was a big surprise to him as people of the town tried to avoid meeting him, instead
of being happy to offer him. Therefore, after having lunch, venerable Saripputa called the
monks who lived in Alavaka to ask to comprehend what happened in Alavaka:” Dear monks.
What has happened here at Alavaka? People of Alavaka seemed to try to avoid meeting me
when they saw me from a far distance?”
When the monks who lived in Alavaka revealed the cause of the issue to the venerable
Sariputta, the venerable Sariputta immediately went to the Aggalava temple to meet pay respect
to the Buddha and to tell the Buddha the problem of the monks in Alavaka. When the Buddha
knew the issue of the monks in Alavaka, the Buddha said to them:” In the past, even the snakes
which have all kinds of seven jewels, but -over-asking also made them annoyed.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, there were two sons born in
a Brahmin family, and Bodhisattva was the oldest brother. They were cultivated well by their
parents, and lived peacefully together. However, their parents passed away, when they just
turned into adulthood, and the loss of their parents made them realize the impermanence of life
so that they decided to leave the family life for the ascetic life as monks in the forest.
They made their cottage at a shore of the Ganges river, and the younger man made his cottage
close to the water, while the older man had his cottage made little far from the cottage of his
younger brother.
One day, the king of snakes, nanely Manikantha, got out of his palace to travel, and seeing the
cottage of the younger man, Manikantha manifested himself in the shape of a young man to
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pay a visit to the cottage of the younger monk. The first visit to the cottage of the younger
mnok made Manikantha excited, so he paid the visit to the younger monk daily. Gradually,
they became close friends with each other, and it appeared that they seemed to be bored if they
could not meet each other daily. One day, due to the uncontrol of the attachment, the king of
the snake, Manikantha appeared in his form of snake to roll around the younger monk for a
while before leaving. After the king of snakes left, the younger monk was extremely feared,
worried and scared, so he paid a visit to the cottage of his brother. The older monk, after
knowing the problem of his younger brother, calmly said:” If you want to stay away from that
snake, it is not difficult. Did you see him wearing something whenever he paid visits to you?”
The young monk replied rapidly:” Dear brother! Yes, he did wear a pearl on his neck.”
The older brother, then, calmly said:” So, when he just comes. Don’t wait for it to sit down,
and you have to ask for the pearl that he is wearing several times. By this way, he shall never
pay a visit to you again.”
The younger monk then returned to his cottage, and in the early morning, he stood at the gate
door, waiting for his friend to come. When the king of the snake jumped out of the water and
stepped into the lobby of the cottage, the younger monk quickly said:” Dear my friend! The
pearl ,which you are wearing, is beautiful. Can you kindly give it to me?”
When the king of the snake heard the asking of the younger monk, he immediately returned
back to the water. The next day, again, the younger monk tried to ask for the pearl of the snake,
when the king of the snake again returned to visit him. The day after tomorrow, the younger
monk, again, asked for the pearl from the king of snakes when the king of snakes again paid a
visit to him. The king of the snake, in this time, spoke the verse explain to the younger monk:
All foods and drinks
Have never lacked
Due to this miracle pearl
Bring all what I want to me
You re asking what is not suitable to ask
I will not continue to come here
Paying visit to you
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Like a innocent child
Holding a smooth stone
You make me scary
As insisting to ask for this pearl
Your ask is impossible
To be satisfied
I will not never pay a visit to you
Then the king of the snake rapidly dived into the water to return to his palace, and he would
never get back to visit the younger monk again. A short time later, the younger missed his close
friend, the king of snakes, so he got serious sickness. For a long time, the older monk paid a
visit to the cottage of his younger brother, as he did not see his brother pay a visit to him. Seeing
his younger brother monk was in serious sickness, he wondered:” What happened to you, my
brother? Does the king of snakes still come here to disturb you?”
The younger brother monk sadly said:” No. No, brother. I asked for his pearl several times, and
he has stopped coming here. As I lost a close friend, I am so sad about this.”
The older monk quickly spoke the verse:
Don’t inquire people
Who we love too much
As over-asking makes them annoyed
They considered us as the disturbed ones
The Brahmin man
Constantly asked for the pearl from the king of snake
It should be annoying about
Shall never return here to visit!
Then the older monk pacified his younger brother to overcome the sorrow to continue the
practice, and soon, they all obtained levels of wisdom and meditation fruits. They all reborned
into the Brahma realm when they passed away.
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After telling the story, the Buddha recognised that the younger monk was Ananda, and the
older monk was him.
Jataka 254: Story of Kundhala-Kucchi-Sindhava
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about venerable Sariputta.
It was the time that after a rainy retreat, and after the Buddha turned around to talk Dharmas to
people, the Buddha returned to live in Jetavana. Local inhabitants tried to organise the offerings
to the Buddha and monks lived in Jetavana, and the local inhabitants invited a monk who
worked as the manager for the offerings. He managed the number of monks who joined the
offering, as well as the procedure of offering.
One day, there was an old woman who came to Jetavana temple, and she wanted to offer for
only one monk as she could not bear to offer more than one monk. She went to meet the
management-monk:” Dear venerable. I want to offer for a monk in this temple. Could you
please help me with that?”
The management-monk rapidly replied:” Dear madam. Thanks very much for your kindness.
However, all the monks in the temple are arranged to receive offerings from others. But, they
left the venerable Sariputta only. It is great and suitable if you want to offer it to the venerable
Sariputta.”
The old woman happily replied:” It is a great honor to me.”
Then the old woman stood at the gate of the Jetavana to wait for venerable Sariputta to get out
for alms. When she saw the venerable getting out, she rapidly paid respect to venerable
Sariputta and showed her will to offer the meal to venerable Sariputta. After the venerable
Sariputta agreed, the old woman happily received and held the bowl for the venerable Sariputta,
and she led the venerable Sariputta to her house.
Some devout Buddhists such as king Pasedani, Anathapindika and his younger brother and
Visakka all sent money and food to the old woman for preparing well for the offerings to
venerable Sariputta. They all sent 1000 gold coins, a beautiful coat and first class ranking foods
to the old woman, while other devout Buddhists, each sent 100 or 200 gold coins to the old
poor lady. Thus, on the day the old woman offered the Venerable Sariputta, she received 100
000 gold coins.
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Not only that, after having lunch, venerable Sariputta tried to pacify the old lady, and
encouraged her to continue to cultivate good deeds and then venerable Sariputta taught the old
lady dharmas so that she obtained the first- entering stream level. The next morning, the monks
gathered at the Dharma-hall, talking about the great virtue of the venerable Sariputta who could
help the old lady to get rid of poverty and obtain the first Entering Stream level.
Buddha said:” Dear all my students. It is not in the present time, but also in the past, Sariputta
was the great refuge for people to rely on.``
in a business family in the North of India. At that time, there were 500 businessmen who often
took their horses to Varanasi to sell.
One day, Bodhisattva went to a small town which was not too far from Varanasi, and he rented
a big house, which was the house of the richest man in the town, to stay and to take care of 500
horses. Just a few days after staying at the house, a female horse of the businessman gave birth
to a pony. The pony was too extractive so that the old woman who took good care of the house
insisted the businessman sell the pony to her:” Dear Sir! Could you please deduct some money
from the payment for the renting of the house, and instead give me the newborn-horse?”
The businessman smiled happily:” Sure. Dear madam, From now on, it belongs to you.”
After the businessman left, the old lady fed the pony with special foods, the flour of red rice
mixed together with newly grass and minced meat. The old lady took good care of the horse as
her child. Time flies, and the pony turned out to be a strong and beautiful adult horse. And,
when the businessman desired to take his horses to rest in the horse of the old lady again, all
his horses were threatened to enter the house.
As a wise man, the businessman knew that there was a special horse in the house, so all his
horses were threatened to enter the house. Thus, he asked the old lady:” Dear madam. Is it
likely that there is a special horse in this house?”
The old lady:” No. No. There is just the horse that you gave me.”
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The businessman:” Where is it?”
The old lady:” It went out to eat grass and it shall be back soon.”
When the horse which was fed by the old lady came back, it surprised the businessman as it
looked like the king of horses, with its special steps and shape. The businessman wondered:”
Which kind of food have you used to feed it?”
The lady slowly:” I have fed it with a mixture of red rice, grass and minced meat.”
The businessman really loved the horse which was fed by the old lady, so he asked:” Dear
madam. Is it possible if I want to buy this horse?”
The old lady:” How Come I sell the child that I have fed?”
The businessman understood the love of the old lady to the horse, so he calmly said:” Don’t
worry, I will just it all what better than you have given to it, from foods, water to the residing
places.”
Then the businessman put six boxes in front of the horse, and each box contained 1000 gold
coins. Then, the businessman gave the old lady a valuable coat. The horse, at that time, cried
as it did not want to leave the old lady. Understanding the emotion of the horse to her, the old
lady pacified the horse:’ Dear my son! I already got a lot of money from the businessman. So,
from now on, please follow and work well for this new owner.”
When the businessman took the horse back home, he tried to give the red porridge as the old
lady often did to the horse, but the horse did not eat, and it spoke the verse:
For those who are ignorant
About the origin of the horses
They feed them by red porrish
As this food is superior to as they think
But you are different
As you know my origin well
So, it is not suitable that
I have to eat the red porrish
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The businessman heard the verse from the horse, he knew that the horse was not a normal one,
so he ordered servants to make special foods to give to the horse. One day, the businessman
brought his horses to sell to the king of Varanasi. At night time, the businessman had to prepare
a special tent for the special horse to sleep, so his action made the king curious. Therefore, the
king asked him:” Is it a special horse?”
The businessman rapidly replied:'' Yes Majesty. It is a special horse. It has special skills and
power.”
The king was curious to ask the businessman to take the special horse to perform for him to
see. The businessman called the special horse, and he sat on his back. Then, he forced the horse
to run around the stadium of the palace. The horse ran too fast so that people saw its shape
covered around the stadium. After the performance, the businessman took off the horse, and he
put a hand toward the horse. The horse walked toward the businessman, and stood lightly on
the hand of the businessman.
The king was too excited and pleased with the performance as well as the talent skills of the
horse, so he decided to give half of the nation to the business man. Not only that, the king made
a special ceremony to give the special horse on the throne of the king of the horses of the nation.
Under the assistance of the special horse and the businessman, the kingdom of Varanasi was
spread over India. The king and businessman ruled the nation with royal dharmas, and they
loved to cultivate good deeds so that they all reborned to heaven when they passed away.
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble truths. During the talk of the
Buddha, a number of monks obtained Entering Stream level, one-returning level, none-
returning level and Arhathood. Finally, the Buddha recognised that the special horse was
Sariputta, and the king of Varanasi was Ananda. The businessman was him.
Jataka 255: Story of Suka
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a monk who died due to indigestion as
he ate too much. After the death of this monk, the monks gathered at the Dharma-hall,
talking about the cause of his death:” Dear venerables! That monk did not control his
desire, so he ate too much that he died due to the indigestion of the food. “
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When the Buddha entered the Dharma-hall, knowing the issue of the talk of the monks,
the Buddha said :” Dear my students. It is not in the present time, but also in the past,
he died due to the indigestion of food.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahamadatta was reigning Varanasi, Bodhisattva was
born as a parrot which lived in the forest of Himalaya. The Bodhisattva, soon, became
the king of thousands of parrots in the region, and soon, had a son. When the son of
the Bodhisattva turned into adulthood, the king of parrot and its wife were weakened,
and they could not fly to find food for a living as they used to do. Hence, their survival
totally was based on the support from their only son.
The parrot-son often took fruits for his parents. One day, from the top of the Himalaya
mountain, the parrot-son saw an island in which there were lots of mango trees, with
the ripening of the mangoes. The parrot-son immediately flew to the island to eat the
mangos, and after a satisfying time of eating the mangos, the parrot-son took a mango
back to its nest to give to his parents. After eating the mango, the father of the parrot-
son said to his son with a concerned voice:'' I guess that you took this mango from an
island which is not far from here. But, from now on, please stop getting there to take
foods as most of the parrots, which went to the island, could not return.``
Despite the caution of the father, the parrot-son still tried to get to the island the next
day, and unable to control his desire, he enjoyed eating the mangos. The parrot-son
flew from tree to tree to eat the mango, and he ate until he could not eat more. Finally,
he took a mango and tried to fly back to the mainland, to his nest. However, as it ate
too much, it could not fly smoothly. Just half of the way back to the mainland, the
parrot-son gradually flew down to the sea, and finally, it was caught by a giant fish.
Waiting for a long time but hearing no news from the only son, the parents of the
parrot-son knew that their son all died on the sea, so they were extremely gloomy.
They soon died as they had no food to survive.
When the birds eat to much
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Without the control of the desire
The birds sink into the sea
Shall never appear again
Then, it is vital to control the desire
Trying to free from the greed
Without the desire, the birds were sunk
With well control of desire, the birds had no trouble
After speaking the verse to summarize the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble
Truths, and many monks achieved First Entering Stream level, one-returning level and
none-returning level. Finally, the Buddha recognised that the parrot-son was the monk
who died due to the indigestion, and the king of parrot was him.
Jataka 256: Story of Jarudapana
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the businessmen of Savatthi.
These businessmen bought products at Savatthi, and before heading to other regions
to sell their products, they paid a visit to the Buddha to receive the blessings from the
Buddha. Before they left Jetavana, they all promised to pay a visit to the Buddha when
they would return Savatthi:” Dear master. Now, we have to go for business, and we
shall pay a visit to you when we return to Savatthi.”
Then they left Savatthi to sell products in other regions. After selling out the products,
they returned to Savatthi, and on the way back, in a drought region, they had no water
to drink, so they suffered terribly. At that time, they saw an old well, but the well had
no water. Therefore, they decided to dig out to seek water. After they digged and took
off some soil, many jewels appeared from the bottom of the wells. They took off all the
jewels and shared them with each other before heading back to Savatthi.
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When they arrived at Savatthi, they were extremely happy to immediately pay a visit
to the Buddha. During the visit, after offerings to the Buddha and monks, they sat down
and told the Buddha all what they encountered during the way back to Savatthi.
The Buddha looked at them and calmly encouraged them:” Dear men! You are well
controlled by desire, so you live happily. Those who are not well-controlled and even
don’t follow the instructions of the wise, often encounter troubles and dangers.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadattva was reigning Varavasi, Bodhisattva was
born in a business family, and he soon became the leader of the businessmen in the
town.
One day, on the way carrying the products to sell to other regions, they went through
a region which was extremely drought, and they saw old wells, without water. With a
desire to drink water, they tried to dig out the wells. Luckily, after taking off the surface
of the soils, they saw a lot of jewels, and they shared equally to each member.
When the leader of the business delegation forced people to hurry to return, other
businessmen, due to the attachment, tried to dig more to find more jewels. Their
digging actions, somehow, made the soils and stones fall down to the palace of the
snakes. The king of snakes was angry to blow the poison up to kill the businessmen,
but not the leader of the businessmen. Then the king of snakes ordered his servants
to drive the leader of businessmen with jewels back to Varanasi.
At Varanasi, the leader of the businessmen used his property to help people who were
poor, in need. He also tried to behave with morality and virtue.
Then the Buddha spoke the verse to summarize the story:
The businessmen who desired to have water
Digging out an old wells
Having a lots jewels
But due to the great greed
They continued to dig the wells
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Made the snakes angry to kill them
Hence, be controlled your minds
With appropriate actions, there is lots of benefits
Over desire, they bring harmfulness!
After that the Buddha recognised that the king of snakes was Sariputta, and the leader
of the businessmen was him.
Jataka 257: Story of Gamani-Canda
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the laudation of the supreme wisdom of the
Buddha.
One day, at the Dharma-hall, the monks gathered to praise the wisdom of the Buddha:” Dear
venerables. The wisdom of the Buddha is great, and his wisdom has surpassed the human and
heaven realm.”
When the Buddha entered the Dharma-hall, and knowing the issue of the talk of monks, the
Buddha calmly said that:” It is not in the present time, but also in the past, I already obtained
this kind of wisdom.”
Once upon a time, when king Janasanda was reigning Varanasi, Bodhisattva was born as the
prince of the king, and she was given birth by the queen. The prince had the supreme beauty
which ordinary people did not have. His face looked purified and looked like the golden mirror,
so people often called him as the Adasa-Mukka ( The prince has the face as the mirror.”)
When the prince turned 16, the king invited the great masters to the palace to teach the prince
about Vedas and the duties which he had to do in life. After 7 years of learning, the prince
obtained all the skills and knowledge from his masters; however, at that time, he encountered
the suffering of the loss of his father. The officials held the ceremony for the king for 7 days,
and on the seventh day, an official said:” The prince is too young, and we have to challenge
him to know whether he is able to sit on the chair of power or not?”
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They planned to invite the prince to come to the court for justice. At the court, they left money
which was well-trained to wear the robe of master, and the money pretended to be the great
master who was excellent about feng shui. And, the officials introduced the money to the
prince:” This is the great master of Feng-Shui, and he knows clearly where should or where
should not build up the house. Even though there are some disadvantages under the earth, he
also could comprehend. With his assistance, the palace was well-constructed. Hence, please
give him an job in the palace.``
The prince looked at the money wearing the robe, and he immediately recognised it was money.
Therefore, he spoke the verse:
It knows nothing about making house
As it is a money
Money cannot help to do construction
But it is likely to destroy all
The officials agreed to the prince, and they took the money back. Two days later, they wore
luxurious clothes for the money, and invited the prince to the court again. At the court, they
pointed at the money and said to the prince:” Dear the prince. In the time of your father king,
this man was a judge, so please appoint him to continue to work as a judge.”
The prince looked at the money wearing luxurious clothes, and he could recognise quickly it
was amoney. Therefore, he spoke the verse:
This is full of hairs
And lacking of wisdom
It is a animal
Cannot became a judge
As my father king talked
It knows nothing!
The officials were pleased when the prince recognised the money, but they did not stop their
challenge to the prince. They brought the money back, and the next day, they tried to make up
for the money. They again took it to meet the prince and said:” Dear prince! In the time of your
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father king, she was the excellent maiden of the palace who served well to you parents. Please
receive her to work in the palace.”
The prince looked at the maiden, and he could rapidly recognise it was money, so the prince
said:” It is just money, and it cannot serve everyone.”
All the officials approved of the wisdom of the prince, and they soon organized the ceremony
to give the prince on the throne of power. During the time of ruling the nation, the new king
tried to rule the nation with royal dharmas so that his reputation was spread around India
rapidly.
During the rule of the new king, a servant of the king, namely Gamani-Canda decided to leave
the palace as he thought that the king was young and would have young people to work with
him. Canda left the palace and went to a rural area to live as a cow-taker for a rich family in
the region. The life of Canda in the rural area was smooth for years before the trouble came to
find him. One day, the owner of Canda lost all the cows, and they doubted that Canda stole the
cows, so they decided to take Canda to the palace to meet the king.
The cow-owner tried to take Canda to the palace, and on the way, due to the hunger, Canda
insisted the cow-owner let him pay a visit to his friend for food. With the agreement of the
cow-owner, Canda went to the house of his friend for a visit; however, his friend was not at
home, but the wife of his friend. Seeing Canda was hungry, the wife of Canda’ friend invited
Canda for meal, so she tried to climb up to a ladder to take the rice on the ceil of the house to
cook. Unluckily, she fell down and the fetus in her stomach was broken. At that time, his friend
just arrived at the gate of the house, and seeing his wife was in danger, he did not ask to
comprehend the issue but tried to take Canda to the palace to meet the king.
Then two men tried to take Canda to the palace for justice. When they just left, a horse ran
close to them, and a man required Canda to use something to make the horse run back. Canda
looked around, but he did not see everything, accepting a stone. Canda picked the stone up and
threw it toward the horse. Unluckily, as the force that Canda used to throw the stone was too
strong so that the stone broke a leg of the horse. So, the horse-owner also decided to take Canda
to the palace for justice.
When Canda and three other men were walking through a mountainside, Canda was threatened
as he had no money to pay for them in case the king forced him to pay for them. Hence, Canda
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decided to jump down from the mountainside. However, Canda did not die as he fell on the
back of an old man who was making a mat at the hill of the mountain. But it was not the luck
of Canda, as the old man died after Canda fell on his back. The son of the old man cried loudly
and his cry attracted three other men to come. Finally, the son of the old man wanted to join
the group to the palace.
One the journey to the palace, Canda and other men met a former village leader. After knowing
that Canda would get to the palace, the former village leader asked Canda to help him to ask
the king a question:'' Dear Canda! I used to be a rich man, a healthy and beautiful man.
However, now I am too weak and poor. What is the reason for this? Please ask the king and let
me know the answer.
Canda agreed to help the former village leader to send a question to the king. Other people who
knew that Canda would help them to get wise answers from the king for their troubles, they
came to meet Canda to ask.
A prostitute asked Canda:” Dear Canda! Could you please help me to ask the king the reason
why when I was young, there were lots of men who tried to find and see me. I had many benefits
at that time. However, when I turned old, I lost everything.``
A young woman suffered to ask Canda for help:” Dear Canda! Right now, I cannot live happily
in my parents’ house as well as the house of my husband. What is the reason for this?”
A snake asked Canda to satisfy its wonder:'' Dear Canda. Could you help me to ask the king
the reason why when I am hungry but my body is not heavy, I have to try hard to move out to
find food. But after eating, my body becomes heavy but I can move very fast.``
A deer asked Canda:” Could you kindly help me to ask the king the reason why I cannot eat
grass in other regions, excepting the grass in this area.?”
A partridge asked Canda to help:'' Could you please help me to ask the king the reason why
when I park on the termite nest, I can sing with elegant and attractive sounds. Nevertherless, I
cannot make elegant and attractive sounds when I park on other places?”
A deity of a tree asked Canda:” Could you please help me to ask the king the reason why in
the past I had lots of benefits, but right now I have nothing.”
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A king of snakes which lived under a lake asked Canda:'' Dear Canda! Could you please help
me to ask the king that why the water in this lake was pure in the past time, but right now it is
too polluted.?”
A ascetic monk ask Canda to help:”Can you generously ask the king the reason why the trees
in this garden were blossomed with sweet fruits, but recently the fruits taste too bitter.?”
A Brahmin who lived near the main gate of the palace asked Canda:” My friend. Can you
generously ask the king the reason why in the past, we studied suttas very fast and could
comprehend clearly the meaning of all suttas; however, recently, we cannot study suttas that
fast and cannot comprehend the meanings of suttas.”
Thus, Canda promised to bring 14 questions to meet the king for the answers. When Canda and
four other men entered the main shrine of the palace, the king, who was sitting on the high
chair, immediately recognized Canda, so the king asked:'' Dear Canda. Long time no see.
Where did you live? And what have you done? Why didn't you continue to live and work in
the palace?”
Canda told the king all that he had happened to him and the reason why he was at the palace.
The king, after comprehended all the issues surrounding the troubles of Canda, called the cow-
owner and asked him:'' Did you see Canda take the cows back to the trap?”
The cows-owner rapidly replied:” No. Dear majesty, no.”
The king looked at the cows-owner for a while and continued to ask:” You are lying to me.
Please remember that I have a face like a mirror.”
The cows-owner finally said:” Dear majesty. Yes. I did see Canda take the cows back to the
trap already.``
Then the king said:” Okay. So Canda was careless to make the cows lost, so he has to pay for
the cows. Nevertherless, as you saw the cows back to the trap, but you were lying to not see,
so you shall be Canda to punish with your eyes.``
The cows-owner worried for his eyes, so he said to Canda:'' Dear Canda. I will not get the
money from you, so please forgive for me.``
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Then the king asked the Canda’s friend who his wife’s fetus was broken:” What is the issue
between you and Canda?”
The Canda’s friend said:” Dear majesty! He beated my wife so her fetus was broken.``
The king turned into Canda:” Is it true that you beated his wife?”
Canda rapidly:” No. No. Dear Majesty. I did not.``
The king then turned into Canda’s friend:” What do you want him to return to you?”
Canda’s friend said: “ I just want a son.”
The king turned to Canda and smiled:” Canda. Althoug you did nto beat his wife, but his wife
tried to cook for you, soshe had to cimb to the ladder and afterward she fell down. Now, his
wife wants a son. You have to take her back to your house, and try to help her to have a son.”
After hearing the justice from the king, Canda’s friend gave Canda some golden coins and
said:” It is okay. The problem between you and me is over here.``
Then the king asked the horse-owner:” Is it true that you required Canda to use something to
threaten your horse to run back?”
At first the horse-owner denied, but when the king asked the second time, he had to accept that
he required Canda to do so. Hence, the king judged that:” Canda, you broke the leg of his horse,
you have to return him 1000 golden coins. I will lend you this money. In turns of this man, he
was lying to me, so please cut his toungue down.”
The horse-owner was extremely worried, so he gave Canda some money and ran away. Then,
the king turned into the son who had father died:” What do you want Canda to return to you?”
The young son of the old man:” Dear majesty! I just want Canda to give my father back.``
The king turned into Canda:'' Dear Canda! This young boy needs a father, so if you get married
with his mom, you shall be his father. It is the best way for you to return to his requirement.``
The son of the old man worried, so he gave Canda some money and immediately ran away.
Then Canda asked the king:'' Dear majesty! I have some questions on behalf of others to ask
you. Could you kindly help them to answer them?”
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The king looked at Canda and calmly said:” Dear Canda. It is fine. I will give the answers to
all the questions that you are going to give me.``
Then Canda tried to ask questions that others asked him to help. Canda did not start the question
of the former village leader, but he began with the question of the Brahmin and the question of
the former village leader was the last question which was given to the king.
For the question of the Brahmin, the king said :” In the past, in their house, there was a male
chicken which crowded in time, and when this chicken crowed, all the people woke up to study,
so they could remember the suttas clearly. But, recently, the new male chicken crowned
wrongly, as it crowded earlier or later, so the people often woke up earlier or later, and they
could not focus on the study well. This is the reason why they could not remember the suttas
well.”
To relate to the question of the ascetic monk, the king said:” Before, the monks who lived in
the garden practiced the Dharmas well and they lived with the right livelihood. However,
recently, they lived with the wrong livelihood. They gave the fruits to the servants. So, when
they return to the right livelihood and right practice, the fruits will turn to be sweet again.”
To the question of the king of the snake, the king said:” Because the kings of snakes which
lived under the lake often fight each other. Their fighting has made the water polluted. If they
stop fighting and live in harmony with each other, the water will return to be pure and clean
again.
To the question of a deity of the tree, the king said:” In the past, this deity often protected the
people who entered the forest for work, so people often offered food to her. But, recently, she
stopped doing that work, so nobody offered anything to her.”
To the question of the partridge bird, the king said that:” Inside the termite nest which the
partridge often parks on to sing, there are lots of jewels.”
To the question of the deer, the king said:” On the tree where the deer often get to eat grass,
there is a nest of bees. The honey often falls down to the grass, and the deer often eat this kind
of grass. For a long time, the deer is addicted to this kind of grass, and the deer cannot eat the
other kind of grass.”
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Relating to the question of the snake which lived in a termite nest, the king said:” The snake
tried to protect the jewels inside the nest, so it is hard for the snake to leave the nest to find
food. But, after eating, as the attachment to the jewels, it can move very fast.”
To the question of the young woman, the king said:” Between the house of her husband and
her parents’ house, there is the house of her lover. She often lived with her lover for a few days
before paying a visit to her parents, and vice versa. Please tell her that the national law strictly
punished this wrong behavior. Tell her to stop her wrong action.”
To the question of the prostitute, the king said that:” In the past, she often stayed together with
only one man, so the man was like to pay for her. But, recently, she changed her principle, as
she did not continue this principle of life. She is likely to receive money from others when she
still has to serve others. So, for time, the men do not want to pay for her.”
To the question of the former village leader, the king said:” In the past, he was a justice judge,
so people loved to give him lots of benefits, such as money and gifts. However, recently, he
was corrupted so much that people hated him. “
So, with the great wisdom, the king gave answers to all the questions of Canda. After that,
Canda transferred the answers of the king to those who asked him to seek the answers from the
king. The king gav Canda lots of benefits, such as gold coins, clothes and properties, and the
king also gave Canda to be the leader of his villager. All Canda and the king used the rest of
their lives to cultivate virtue, and they reborned into heaven after passing away.
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths, and a number of monks
obtained Entering Stream level, one-returning level, none-returning level and Arhathood.
Finally, the Buddha recognised that Gamani-Canda was Ananda, and the king with great
wisdom was him.
Jataka 258: Story of Mandahata
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a monk who lost his determination in
practice. One day, the monk went out for work, and he saw a beautiful girl. When he
got back, his mind was attached to the beauty of the girl so that he could not get back
to his practice.
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The issue of this young monk was rapidly spread around Jetavana. When the monk
was brought to meet the Buddha, the Buddha calmly said to him and others:” Dear
monks! Desire is limitless. When you were in family life, were you even satisfied with
your desire? The desire is like the ocean, and it is difficult to satisfy it. Even the Dharma
king, Cakkavatti, who controlled all four continents, or even the Sakka, king of all gods
and goddesses, also have never satisfied their desire. Hence, how come you can
satisfy your desire?”
Once upon a time, when king Mahasammata was the first king of the world, the king
had a son, namely Roja. Roja had a son, namely Vararoja, and Vararoja had a son,
namely Kalyana. Kalyana had a son, which was named Varakalyana, and Varakalyana
had a son, namely Uposatha. Uposatha has a son, namely Madhata. Madhata was
the Cakkavatin of the world, and he had enough 7 jewels, together with four great wise
officials to support him.
The king Madhata had great virtue and power, so whenever he wanted, he could make
the rain of jewels. And, he ruled four continents with limitless time. One day, he was
sorrowful and the officials asked him:” Dear Majesty! What happened to you? You look
sorrowful.”
The king rapidly wondered:” In this world, where is the place that is suitable to my
virtue?”
An official replied quickly:” Dear majesty. It would be heaven.”
So, the king used his powerful vehicle, together with his servants, to get to the heaven
Catumaharajika. Four kings of four directions of the Catumaharajika came to welcome
the king, and gave him to be the king of the Catumaharajika heaven. The king Madhata
ruled the Catumaharajika heaven for a very long time, and he began to feel bored, so
he asked his officials:” Is there another place which is more beautiful than this place?”
The officials said to the king:’ Dear majesty. There is the 33rd heaven where the
Sakka, king of gods and goddess are ruling. The realm of Sakka is more beautiful than
this realm.”
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The king Madhata used his powerful vehicle, and together with his servants flew up to
the 33rd heaven. The Sakka, king og gods and goddess, came out to welcome him,
and gave him half of his nation. Madhata lived together with the Sakka until the Sakka
passed away, when he reached 36 millions years old. Also, 36 kings of gods and
goddesses passed away, but Madhata was still alive. One day, he desired to kill Sakka
to control all the 33rd heaven. Due to his bad thoughts, his body turned old rapidly,
but as he was a normal person, he could not die in heaven. Therefore, he fell down to
the earth, in the garden of the palace.
A worker who took care of the garden recognised the king Madhata, so she informed
the current king which was the son of Mandhata. The relatives of king Madhata
immediately arrived at the garden to meet the king Madhata, and seeing the king was
too weak, they asked:” Dear Majesty. What shall you give us before you pass away?”
The king calmly looked at his relative and said:” Dear all. After I die, please inform all
people that everything is impermanent. Even I had ruled this world for long time before
I became the king of the Catumaharajika heaven and even I have lived long with the
time of 36 king of Sakka lived, now, I am getting to die soon.”
After telling the story, the Buddha said that:” Desire is limitless. Even the king Madhata
ruled half of the 33 rd heaven, he was not satisfied with his desire. So, only trying to
get rid of the desire is a superior way of living.”
Then the Buddha continued to talk about Four Noble Truths, and the monk who lost
his determination in practice and many other monks obtained the first Entering Stream
level during the talk. Finally, the Buddha recognised that the king Madhata was him.
Jataka 259: Story of Virita-Vaccha
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the event in which Venerable Ananda
was offered 1000 valuable pieces of cloth. 500 were from the queen and maidens of
the king Kosal, and 500 pieces of cloth were offered to venerable Ananda by the king
Kosala, himself.
On this occasion, the Buddha told a story:
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Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, Bodhisattva was
born in a Brahmin family in Kasi, and he was named Tirita-Vaccha. When Tirita turned
16, he went to Takkasila to study, and upon his graduation, he got married and had
his own family. However, after his parents passed away, he realized that life is
impermanent, so he left his family for the ascetic practiced life in the forest near to the
bordering area. For years, he supported himself by fruits and vegetables in the forest.
One day, the king led his army to fight the rebels in the bordering area, and the king
was lost in a battle with the rebels. However, luckily, the elephant carrying the king
rapidly ran into the forest, with the king on his neck. The elephant walked to the cottage
of Vitira, but Vitira left the house to get food. The king took off the elephant and went
to the wells to get water to drink. However, he could not find the bucket and the rope
to take water out from the deep wells, so he took off the seat bell on the elephant too
tight with his upper-cloth to make a long rope to climb down to the wells. However, the
rope that he made was not long enough for him to take the water from the wells, so,
in the extreme thirst, he jumped down to the wells to satisfy his thirst.
After satisfying the thirst, the king encountered the new trouble that he could not get
up from the wells. The elephant was well-trained, so it just stood near the well to wait
for the king. In the afternoon, Virita returned to his cottage, and seeing the elephant of
the king standing by the wells, he knew that the king was in the wells. Immediately, he
walked close to the wells to save the king. The ascetic monk used a ladder for the king
to climb up and he used oil to massage the king.
When the king left, the king insisted on having the monk return the capital together
with him. At the capital, the king ordered servants to make a cottage for the monk in
the garden and let the monk get into the palace to eat the special foods arranged for
him.
Day by day, other servants and officials were jealous about the special treat of the
king to the monk, so they went to meet the prince who was the vice-ruler of the nation
to show their emotion. The prince agreed to them, and the prince went to meet the
king with the verse:
I see this person
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Have no wisdom actually
Are not our relatives
Or our close friends
Why this ascetic monk?
Namely Virita-Vaccha
Have nothing, no benefits
But giving special treats here!
The king looked at the prince and calmly said:” Did you remember that one time, I went
to the bordering area to fight against the rebels, and I got lost in the forest for two
days.?”
The prince rapidly replied:” Dear dad. I remember well.”
Then the king slowly said:” This monk saved my life when I got into trouble in the
forest, so if he agrees I can give him all this nation. Even though he accepted to take
this nation, his help to me is still too great to return to him.”
Then the king continued to talk about the virtue of the ascetic monk as he tried to make
the moon appear beautifully in the sky. From that time, the virtue of the ascetic monk
was comprehended by all people in the nation. The prince and other servants of the
king also changed his attitude to pay great respect to the ascetic monk. The king used
the rest of his life to rule the nation with royal dharmas under the advice of the ascetic
monk.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognised that the king was Ananda, and the
Jataka 260: Story of Duta
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a monk who was too greedy in eating.
When this greedy monk came to meet the Buddha, the Buddha calmly talked to him:”
Dear my student! In the past, due to greed, you were in danger, so now, you should
be able to control your desire.”
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Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, Bodhisattva was
born as the prince of the king. When the prince turned 16, he was well-educated in
Takkasila, and a few years after his graduation, his father passed away, and he was
given the throne of power of the nation.
The new king of Varanasi was a food lover, and he loved to eat all kinds of luxurious
foods. Therefore, people often called him the King of Food Lover. Because the king
only ate the special and luxurious foods, it cost about 100 golden coins to prepare
each meal for him. Not only that, the king loved to show the people of Varanasi about
the foods that he had eaten, so he ordered servants to make a luxurious house at the
center of the town. At the center of this luxurious house, there was a special table and
chairs where the king and his princesses often gathered for meals.
During the time the king and his princesses came to have meals at the special house
in the center of the town, one day, there was a glutton who came to observe the
luxurious meals of the king. Seeing the delicious foods on the table, this glutton could
not control his desire, so disguised as a postman in order to come close to the king.
After disguising as a postman, he shouted loudly:” Please step aside. I am the
message sender.”
To hear the loud voice of the glutton, the crowd rapidly stepped into two sides to give
the way for the glutton to enter. The glutton walked quickly toward the table on which
there were various kinds of delicious foods. When the glutton was close to the table,
he did not care for the king, but rapidly took the foods on the table to eat. A soldier
who stood beside the king tended to take out his sword to kill the glutton. However,
the king rapidly used his hand to give the signal to stop the soldier.
The king waited until the glutton was totally full, and then the king invited the glutton
to drink water and to eat betel nut. Afterward, the king calmly asked:” Dear servant!
Who sent you here to meet me? And What are you gonna tell me?”
The glutton used all his courage to say to the king:” Dear majesty. I am the messenger
of desire. The desire sent me here to meet you.” Then the glutton spoke the verse to
express his idea:
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Due to the stomach
People have to do everything
Even associate with enemies
To receive the benefits
I am the messenger of my stomach
Please, kindly to me
Dear great Majesty
As nights and day time
All people on this earth
Being controlled by the stomach
The king agreed with the explanation of the glutton, so he stood up and talked loudly
toward the crowd:” He is right. He is the messenger of his stomach. To serve the
stomach, people have to work hard.”
Then the king spoke the verse to express his thought toward the glutton:
Dear Brahmin, the wise
Giving you one thousand female cows
Together one thousand male cows
As the gift between the messengers
As you and I all are the messengers of the stomach
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths, and during the talk
of the Buddha, the monk who was greedy to eat obtained none-returning level. A
number of other monks achieved Entering Stream level and One-Returning level.
Finally, the Buddha recognized that the glutton was the monk who was greedy to eat,
and the king who was a lover of luxurious foods was him.
Jataka 261: Story of Paduma
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The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the events in which some monks tried to offer
flowers to the Bodhi-tree- Ananda which was planted at the front gate of Jetavana by Venerable
Ananda.
The event in which Venerable planted a Bodhi tree at the main gate of Jetavana was spread
around India, and some monks from rural area, one day, paid a visit to Jetavana, purposingly
to offer flowers to the Bodhi-tree of Venerable Ananda. When they arrived at Jetavana, they
went to a flower store nearby Jetavana to buy flowers to offer the Bodhi-tree. However, they
were not successful in buying flowers, as the sellers did not want to sell the flowers to them.
So, they suffered to return Jetavana to meet Venerable Ananda to explain their trouble:” Dear
Venerable. We want to offer flowers to the Bodhi-tree that you planted, so we went to the stores
selling flowers nearby but they did not sell flowers to us.”
Venerable Ananda pacified them:” Don’t worry. Just wait here. I will get flowers for all of
you.”
Then Venerable Ananda went to the stores selling flowers, and just a moment later, Venerable
Ananda returned, holding lots of blue lotus flowers. Venerable Ananda shared the lotus flowers
to all the monks in order to let them have flowers to offer Bodhi-tree before returning to their
residing place.
The news about this event rapidly spread around Jetavana, and the next morning, the monks
gathered at the Dharma-hall, talking about this miracle power of Venerable Ananda:” Dear all!
Some venerable monks from rural areas came to Jetavana, and they could not get flowers to
offer the Bodhi-tree. However, in the same direction, Venerable Ananda went there, and got
lots of lotus flowers.”
When the Buddha entered the Dharma-hall, and knowing the issue of the discussion of monks,
the Buddha said:” It is not in the present time, but also in the past, those who were well-behaved
in communication were easy to get flowers and other things.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadattva reigned in Varanasi, Bodhisattva was a millionaire
who lived in the town. In the town, there was a giant lake which was planted with beautiful
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lotus flowers, and a man, who was injured in the nose, had the responsibility to take good care
of the lake and the flowers as well.
The millionaire had three sons, and on an official festival of the nation, the three young men
wanted to have lotus flowers in order to make garlands to wear to enjoy the festival. Then, they
decided to pay a visit to the lotus lake. When they saw the taker of the lake, a young man
rapidly said:
As the hairs and beards
Grow again after cutting
Wish your nose will recover soon
Please let us some flowers
The taker of the lotus lake was extremely angry, and he refused to give them any flowers. Then
the second man tried to convince to taker of the lotus lake with the other verse:
Similar to the seeds
Planting in the soil
Soon grow up the new trees
Likely your nose is
Please give us some flowers
The taker turned his face red, and still refused to give them any flowers. Then the last man tried
to convince the taker by the other verse:
These two are not honored
They desire to have lotus flowers
Saying without logics
The nose is not similar to those
Dear friend! Please give us some flowers
The taker of lotus lake agreed to what the last man said:” Dear friend! You are honored, so I
shall give you some lotus flowers as you deserve for this.” Then the taker harvested some lotus
flowers to give to the man who was honored in talking.
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After telling the story, the Buddha recognised that the son of a millionaire who obtained the
lotus flowers from the lake-taker was him.
Jataka 262: Story of Mudupani
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a young monk who lost his determination in
practice. When the young monk went to meet the Buddha, the Buddha asked him:” Dear
student! What has made you lose your determination in practicing Dharma?”
The young monk shyly replied to the Buddha:” Dear master! The beauty of a young girl has
attracted me, and I cannot continue to focus on my practice.”
The Buddha calmly said to the monk:” It is hard to control the desire of women, so you cannot
control them to run following their attachment. Even the wise men, in the past, also could not
control their daughters to run following the desire. Even when their father still took their hands,
they still could run following their lovers.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, Bodhisattva was born as the
prince who was the son of the king and the queen. When the prince grew up into an adult, he
was well-educated in Takkasila, and after he completed his study, he returned to Varanasi to
continue to rule Varanasi after his father passed away.
The new king had a daughter and his princess sister had a son, so the two kids played and grew
up together. One day, the king said to all officials:” Dear servants! After I die, my nephew will
be the new king of the nation, and my daughter, the only princess, shall be the queen of the
nation.”
A few years later, the king changed his mind, so he said to the officials:” Dear servants. I
already thought properly, and decided to give my daughter to get married with a prince of
another nation, and my nephew to get married with a princess of another nation. Due to these
actions, my relatives shall be increased.”
All the officials again agreed with the king:” Dear majesty! Your idea is great.”
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But it was difficult to carry out his plan, as his daughter and his nephew already fell in love
with each other. So, the king decided to send his nephew to stay out of the palace until he died.
His daughter had to live in the palace and could not leave the palace for any reasons.
When the nephew of the king lived outside of the palace, he extremely missed the princess, hsi
lover, so he tried to contact a maiden who had taken good care of him and the princess. The
nephew of the king sent the message to the princess that he missed her too much, but he had
no way to take her out of the palace.
When the maiden let the princess to know the message of her lover, she spoke a verse and
required the maiden transfer this verse to her lover:
With a soft hand
A well-trained elephant
In a dark time
Suitable time to do it!
After hearing the verse, the nephew of the king rapidly understood the plan that the princess
desired him to do, so he tried to find a young man with soft hands and a well-trained elephant.
The nephew of the king waited for days, and one day, the bakc clouds covered the sky, with
heavy rain. The nephew of the king put the young man with soft hands on the elephant and
moved toward the palace, standing near the room of the princess.
Standing at the window, the nephew of the king tried to inform his lover, the princes, that he
had already arrived. So, the princess asked the king to take a shower. At night time, to worry
that the princess would escape to follow her lover, the king always monitored all actions of the
princess. When the princess asked to take a shower at night time, the king took the hand of the
princess to the bathroom, and the king stood outside to wait for the princess. During the time,
when the princess entered the bathroom, the nephew of the king tried to force the young man
with soft hands to enter the bathroom from the window, and the princess took off all her
wearing jewels to give the young man to wear. Then, the young man wore the clothes of the
prince before getting out of the bathroom. In the dark, the king took the soft hand of the young
man, but he did not recognize it. The king took the young man to the room and returned to his
room to take a rest. The princess waited for a while, and then she escaped from the window to
follow her lover.
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The next morning, when the king paid a visit to the room of her daughter, he was surprised as
there was no princess in the room but a young man. The young man threatened to tell the king
the plan of the princess and the nephew of the king. The king then thought:” The women are
difficult to control, as I tried to hold her hand, but she still could escape to follow her lover.”
Then the king agreed for her daughter and his nephew to get back to their love. The marriage
of the prince and his nephew was soon organized, and they soon became the king and the queen
of Varanasi.
Buddha, the young monk who lost his determination in practice obtained First Entering Stream
level. Finally, the Buddha recognised that the clever king in the story was him.
Jataka 263: Story of Culla-Palobhana
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a young monk who lost his determination in
practicing Dharma because he was attached to the beauty of a girl.
When the Buddha knew the issue of the monk, the Buddha called him and said:” The women
are likely to stain the minds of the wise men. So, you should be able to escape from their
attachment.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, the king did not have any
prince, so he organized a ceremony in which he and all his wives prayed to the gods to assist
them to have a son.
The prayer of the king was accepted by a god who lived in the Brahma realm. The god, who
was going to end his lifespan in the Brahma realm, decided to be born as the son of the queen
and the king. When the prince was born, he cried loudly when the maiden held him, but he
immediately kept silent when he was given to a male servant. From that time, the prince was
taken care by male servants in the palace, and until he turned 16, he still could not get close or
see women. The king made a special house for the prince to stay in.
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However, the king was not happy and worried:” I have only one prince, but he is not attached
to the normal life, so he will not be able to rule this nation when I die. It is better to help him
to get rid of his practice and return to normal life.”
The king, in the town, ordered servants to find an elegant and beautiful girl who was excellent
in singing and dancing. The king promised to this girl:” If you can attract the prince to return
to normal life, you shall be the queen of the nation when my son is on the throne of power.”
The next day, she stood near the house of the prince to sing a song. Her elegant voice really
attracted the prince. And, the prince required her to stand in front of his house to sing a song.
Soon, the prince required her to enter his house to sing. Finally, the prince was in love with this
singer. All the emotional thoughts of the normal men raised in his mind. The prince worried
that the other men would take his lover, so he used a sword to threaten all the men who came
close to this singer.
But, feeling that, living in the palace with a crowd of men was threatening his love, so he took
the singer to the forest. They survived by the fruits and leaves in the forest. In the morning, the
prince often went to the deep forest to collect food, while his wife stayed at home to cook
meals.
One day, when the prince just got out for food, an ascetic monk was flying in the sky, seeing
the smoke coming out from the deep forest. The monk landed for food. The wife of the prince
saw the ascetic monk, she was happy and said:” Dear master! Please wait for a while. I am
cooking, and the food shall be ready for you.”
The ascetic monk sat down to wait, and when he looked at the wife of the prince, her beauty
attracted his mind. The mind of the ascetic monk was stained with desire. When the meal was
ready, the prince returned to the cottage. Seeing the ascetic monk, the prince held the sword
and shouted loudly, while running rapidly toward the monk. The monk was scared of the
prince, and he tried to fly up but he could not as all his power disappeared. Hence, he ran toward
the gulf to escape. When he arrived at the gulf, and seeing the prince still running following
him, the monk used all his courage to jump down to the deep gulf.
When the prince ran close to the gulf, and recognised the robe of the monk of the jumping man,
the prince immediately knew:” He should be a monk who flew here by power of mediation.
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Unfortunately, he was attached to the beauty of my wife and lost all his power. So, I have to
save him.``
Then the prince spoke the verse:
With power of mediation
You came here for alms
In the early morning
Associated with the beautiful woman
You lost all power
You now fell down to the sea
The beauty of women are not impermanent
The beauty shall be disappeared by time
The wises understand this truth
Shall be liberated from attachment!
Hearing the verse from the prince, the ascetic monk rapidly recovered his power of meditation
and flew up to return to his place. The prince, based on this experience, knew that attachment
is tightening people's suffering, so when he returned to the cottage, he took his wife back to the
town of Varanasi. Then, he went to the deep forest to live as an ascetic monk. Soon, he obtained
the fruits of meditation.
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths to the young monk who lost
his determination in practice, and the young monk obtained the First Entering Stream Level.
Finally, the Buddha recognised that the prince in the story was him.
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Chapter Three
Jataka Volume III: Story 264-395
Chiang Mai
Completed on 11th December 2021
Author: Quan Thuan
Jataka Volume III: Story 264-395
Jataka 264: Story of Mahapanada
The Buddha told this story at the bank of Ganges River in Bhaddiya, and the story is about
the super magical power of Venerable Bhaddaji.
On one occasion, after three months of a rainy retreat at Savatthi, the Buddha decided to pay
a visit to Bhaddaya to give teaching to a young man, namely Bhaddaji. Therefore, the Buddha
and monks went to Bhddaya and stayed at Jatiya forest for three months.
At that time, the young man, Bhaddajia was a very rich man, and he had three large and
luxurious houses, which were used for three distinct seasons. Usually, after staying in a house
for the duration of three months, the young man, Bhaddaji and his relatives moved to live in
the other house. People often gathered to observe the richness and luxuriousness of Bhddaji,
so wherever he lived, there was a crowd of people gathered, and thus, around his living house,
there were many activities of people.
After staying three months at Jatiya forest, the Buddha and monks decided to leave Bhaddaya,
so they informed the local people to know that they were going to leave. Hearing the Buddha
and monks were about to leave Bhddaya, people of Bhaddaya came to invite the Buddha and
monks to join the offerings at the center of Bhaddaya. The people of Bhaddaya made an elegant
and luxurious but temporary house at the center of the town which was the place for the Buddha
and monks to stay during the offering ceremony. When the Buddha and monks gathered at the
temporary house, people of Bhaddaya offered the Buddha and the monks with special and
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luxurious foods and essential stuffs. After the meal, the Buddha gave a teaching to the local
people to encourage them to develop their good deeds.
On the same day that people of Bhddaya were offering to the Buddha and monks at the center
of the town, the young man, Bhddaji just moved to the other house. However, there were no
people gathered to see him, and there was not any activity of people around his house. Bhaddaji
was too curious about this strange situation, so he asked a servant:” What has happened to the
people of this town? Why didn’t they come to see me as usual?”
A servant rapidly replied:” Dear sir. Today, people are gathering at the center of the town to
offer the Buddha and listen to the Dharma from the Buddha.”
The young man, Bhaddaji, was happy to hear about the Buddha, so he decided to get there to
listen to the Dharma from the Buddha:” Really? It is great. We should get there to listen to the
Dharma from the Buddha too.”
During the talk of the Buddha, the young man Bhaddaji was able to give up all his attachment,
and obtained Arhathood. At the end of the talk, the Buddha called the millionaire of Bhddaya
which was the father of Bhddaji, and let him know that:” Your son already obtained Arhat
Hood during my talk today, so he is going to leave as a monk or he shall obtain Nirvana.”
The millionaire of Bhaddaya did not want his son to obtain Nirvana, so he insisted to the
Buddha:” I don’t want my son to obtain Nirvana soon, so it is better to let him ordain as a
monk today. After his ordination, please take him together and pay a visit to my house as we
want to offer all of you.”
The Buddha agreed to the millionaire, and a ceremony was organized for Bhaddaji to be a
monk of the Sangha. The next day, the Buddha took Bhaddaji and the monk to the house of
parents of Bhaddaji, and they stayed there for seven days. During seven days, the parents of
Bhddajia were extremely happy to offer food to Buddha, him and the monks.
After seven days, the Buddha took Bhaddaji and other monks to a village, namely Koti, to get
alms. The people of Koti gathered to offer food to the Buddha and monks. After the meal, when
the Buddha was giving Dharma talk to people, Bhaddaji went to the bank of the river nearby
the village. He sat down and contemplated deeply. After the Buddha and monks left the village,
they arrived at the river bank where Bhaddaji was sitting. Bhaddaji did not stand up when all
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the venerable monks went through him, but he just stood up when the Buddha get close to him.
His action made other monks annoyed as they thought that Bhaddaji was too arrogant as he did
not pay respect to the elderly venerable monks.
When the Buddha and monks were on the rafts to cross the river, the Buddha asked Bhaddaji:”
Bhaddaji. Do you remember the palace where you lived in the past?”
Bhaddaji rapidly answered the Buddha:” Dear master. I do remember. It is now under this
river.”
Hearing the answer of Bhaddaji to the Buddha, most monks doubted about Bhaddaji. To assist
Bhaddaji to drive away the doubt from other monks, the Buddha talked to Bhaddaji:'' Let show
us how is the palace in which you lived?”
Bhaddaji used his power to take up the giant palace from the deep river and flew on the sky.
The palace was large about 25 miles, and there were many fishes and other spices which were
relatives of Bhaddaji in the past, but due to the attachment to the palace they were reborn as
the water-spices to live in the palace. When Bhaddaji took the palace out of water, these beings
fell down to the water from the palace. Then, seeing the water-spices were suffering, Bhaddaji
returned the palace to the river.
At that time, most of the monks were extremely surprised about the power of the new-ordained
monk, Bhaddaji, but they were curious about the history of the palace. So, when they got into
the other bank of Ganges River and when the Buddha was sitting in the lotus posture to give
the Dharma talk, they asked the Buddha:” Dear master! We just wonder about the palace where
the venerable Bhaddaji lived in the past.”
The Buddha calmly replied:” It was in the time of king Maha-Panada.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, and the king Suruci was
ruling the Mithila. The son of king Mithila, namely Kumara and the prince of Varanasi, also
named Brahmadatta were close friends when they got to study at Takkasila. During the study,
they promised to each other that they would give their children to get married to each other, if
one of them would have a prince or princess and the other one would have a princess or prince.
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Upon their graduation, they soon became the new kings of their nations after their father passed
away. They soon got married, and the king of Mithila had a son, namely Suruci, and the king
of Varanasi had a princess, namely Sumedha. When the prince of Mithila, Suruci, turned to
adulthood, the king of Mithila wanted to ask the princess Sumedha of Varanasi for him as the
queen.
The king of Varanasi, due to the love of his daughter, requested the king of Mithila:” I
remember my promise to you, my friend! However, I will just let my daughter get married to
your son if he agrees to have only my daughter as his wife.”
Although the prince of Mithila had never met the princess Sumedha, he had heard about the
beauty of the princess Sumedha, so he immediately agreed to the requirement from the king of
Varanasi, although his father highly denied the requirement.
After the marriage, the prince was given the throne of Mithila and princess Sumedha became
the queen of Mithila. They lived happily for ten thousand years, but they could not have any
child. Under the pressure of the citizens of Mithila, the queen had to get more concubines for
her husbands for four batches. There were four thousand beautiful girls who became the
concubines for each batch. Unluckily, they all could not have children, so one day, the queen
and concubines made a ceremony to pray for a child.
The prayer of the queen Sumedha made the seat of Sakka become hotter, so Sakka, king of
gods and goddess, used his power to comprehend. Knowing that the virtuous queen, Sumedhu
was praying for a son, so the king Sakka again used his power to select the virtuous god to be
reborn as the prince of the king and queen of Mithila. Finally, the god, namely Nalakara was
selected as this god was cultivated with great virtue of offering seven PrekaBuddhas in the past
life, and this cultivated virtue was still great although due to this virtue he had reborned in
heaven for several rebirths.
After the prince of king Suruci and the queen Sumedha was born, he was named Mahapanada.
When Maha-panda was born, people of two nations all gathered to donate money to the new
born prince. Each citizen put a golden coin to the front yard of the palace of king Mithila. When
the prince, Maha-panda, turned into adulthood, the king Mithila decided to build a new palace
for him. Thus, the king ordered servants to find an excellent architect. When the king was trying
to find the architect for the construction of the palace for the prince Maha-panda, the seat of
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Sakka again became hot, so Sakka sent Visakamma, the god of architecture to assist the
construction of the palace.
After having the model of the palace, the construction for the palace of the prince Maha-panda
was carried out, and there were lots of workers who had joined the construction of the palace
for the new king. Visakamma appeared in the shape of a human, and he brought food to give
to workers. When the workers were eating, Visakamma walked toward the land which was
constructing the palace. He used a stick to hit on the ground, immediately, there appeared a
palace which was made of seven jewels, and which was 7 floor-high. After the palace was
ready, three big ceremonies were organized for the prince. The first ceremony was for the
establishing of the new palace, while the second and the third ceremony were the ceremony to
give the prince on the throne of the power and the wedding ceremony for him respectively.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the king Maha-panda was Bhaddaji, and the
queen of Maha-panda was Visakha. The Sakka, king of gods, was the Buddha in the
Bodhisattva way.
Jataka 265: Story of Khurappa
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a monk who lost all his determination in the
practice of Dharma. When the Buddha knew his problem, the Buddha called him and said:”
You are lucky to be able to practice this dharma, so you should be determined to devote your
life to this practice. In the past, the wise men all devoted all their determinations to their ways.”
in a ranger family. When he grew up, he inherited the work of his father, and became a ranger.
Soon, he became the leader of 500 rangers who worked in a village near the entering path of a
giant forest. Beside working as a forest taker, the Bodhisattva also moonlighted as a guide for
those who want to enter the forest or cross the forest.
One day, a businessman from Varanasi came to the village, and he had 500 carrying vehicles.
The businessman paid Bodhisattva to be his guide in the forest. When the crowd of
businessmen and his servants got to the middle of the forest, 500 robbers appeared, and they
tried to rob all the products on 500 vehicles. At that moment, all the servants carrying the
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vehicles were threatened to find the way to escape, but only Bodhisattva stayed to find the
robbers. With skills and knowledge about the living in the forest, soon, the Bodhisattva drove
away 500 robbers, and the crowd of people was safe to cross the forest.
After getting to the safe location, the businessman decided to have a meal together as they were
too hungry. During the meal, the businessman asked the ranger:” In that dangerous moment,
why didn’t you try to escape as you have no duty to protect us? And why didn’t you fear the
robbers who held lots of weapons?”
The ranger rapidly replied by the verse:
When the arrows shot toward
Hands with swords attached
In extreme danger and death
I was not feared but courageous
The courage assisted me to the victory
It also motivates me in all actions
To be a hero
It is vital to have courage!
After the meal, the ranger left the business delegation to return to his village, and he used all
the rest of his life to cultivate good deeds.
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths to the young monk, and the
young monk obtained Arhat Hood during the talk. Finally, the Buddha recognized that the
leader of the rangers was him in the bodhisattva way.
Jataka 266: Story of Vatagga Sindhava
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The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a young man who suffered because a young girl
could not have his love so that she died.
At the Buddha's time, there was a young girl who personally fell in love with a man, but her
love was from one side only. Hence, she was so bored that she got serious sickness. Her
relatives, after knowing her trouble, tried to negotiate with the man to assist her to overcome
the sickness. At first, the man refused the inquiry as he did not love the young girl. However,
under the urging of the relatives of the young girl, the man, finally, agreed to help the young
girl. However, during the first date, when the man tried to hold the hand of the girl, the young
girl tried to refuse his love to her. The man was too distracted to leave, and had never met the
girl again. The young girl, soon after that, became weaker day after day, and she finally passed
away.
Hearing the young girl passed away, the young man bought some flowers to pay a visit to the
Buddha, and told the Buddha this issue related to him. The Buddha tried to pacify the young
man:” Dear my student! That young girl loved you so much that she tried to contact you, but
when you came to her, she tried to deny you to make you ashamed to leave. In the past, she did
the same with the wise men.”
Long time ago, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was born as a
Sindh horse. As this horse could run as fast as the wind, so it was named “Windy.” The horse,
Windy, was often brought to Ganges River to take shower. One day, a female donkey went to
Ganges River to drink water, while the Windy was taking shower. Seeing the Windy, the female
donkey immediately fell in love with Windy, so it thought of the Windy all the time so that it
could not eat or drink.
One of its children, seeing the donkey was sorrowful, tried to ask her to comprehend the reason,
and after knowing the trouble of its mother, this donkey-child paid a visit to the Windy when
Windy was taking shower in Ganges River:” Dear Sir! My mom is getting serious sickness due
to his one-way love with you, and she is going to die. Please kindly help my mom to get rid of
this suffering.”
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Windy looked at the donkey-child and compassionately said:” Okay my son! Don’t worry!
Tomorrow, after I complete my shower, the horse-takers shall let me have free time to enjoy
on the shore, so please take your mom to meet me during that time.”
Tomorrow, the donkey-child took his mom to wait for Windy on the shore, so after taking
shower, the horse-takers let Windy free time to enjoy the shore. To wait for that, Windy rapidly
came close to the female donkey and smelled her body. The female donkey, although really
enjoyed the action of Windy, but due to its ego, it thought:” If I just let him do whatever he
wants in this first meet, then he shall despise me. It is better to show him that I don’t want him
to do so.”
So, the female donkey tried to use her legs to pull Windy out, but carelessly, it shot the chin of
the Windy, and the Windy was in serious injury. To be ashamed, Windy immediately left. The
female donkey regretted its action, so it lay down on the shore to cry. When the donkey-child
returned to the shore, and seeing its mom was terribly suffered, it wondered:
Missing him, so you are sick
No eating and drinking
He just came close to you
Why did you try to get rid of him?
The donkey mom sorely spoke the verse to reply its son:
When he came for the first time
If I would let him do everything
My value is zero
So, I tried to get rid of him!
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths to the young man, and
during the talk of the Buddha, the young man got rid of sorrow and obtained the First Entering
level. Finally, the Buddha recognized that the female donkey was the young girl who died due
to missing the young man, and the horse, Windy, was him.
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Jataka 267: Story of Kakata
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a beautiful woman who was faithful to her
husband.
At the Buddha's time, there was a rich couple, who lived in Savatthi, and one day, they went to
the other village to obtain debts from the borrowers. On the way back to Savatthi, they
encountered the robbers, and after they robbed all the properties of the couple, the robber leader
was attached to the beauty of the wife. Hence, the robber leader desired to kill the husband to
possess the wife. At the time, the robber was about to kill the husband, the wife sat on her knee
to insist the robber:” If you kill my husband to possess me, you shall never satisfy your desire
as I shall kill myself to follow my husband.”
Under the strong determination and the faithfulness of the wife, the robbers decided to release
the couple, and the couple was safe to return to Savatthi. On the way back, they bought some
flowers and fragrances and paid a visit to the Buddha.
After offering and paying respect to the Buddha, the couple sat on the seats for them, and the
Buddha asked them:” Where were you from? Were you all safe on the way to get here?”
The husband rapidly replied:” Dear master! On the way back from work, we encountered the
robbers, and due to my wife, the robbers released us.”
The Buddha, then, calmly said:” In the past, she also used to save wise men with her
faithfulness and compassion.”
Long time ago, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, there was a very big pond at the
hill of the Himalaya. There was a giant golden crab that lived in the pond. The golden crab was
very big, and its size was similar to the yard of a house. The golden crab could catch the
elephants to eat, and it used to wait to catch the elephants when the elephants went to the pond
to drink water. So, gradually, all the elephants were threatened to arrive at the pond to drink
water.
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At that time, the king of elephants also was threatened by the golden crab, so it took his wife
to live in another region. Soon, the wife of the king of elephants gave birth to a son, and they
fed their son well. The elephant child grew up quickly, and it soon got married with a beautiful
female elephant. After the marriage, the young elephant wanted to defeat the golden crab for
the elephants could get the pond at Himalaya Mountain to drink water, so it paid a visit to its
father, the king of elephants and insisted:” Dear father, I want to get to the pond at the hill of
Himalaya Mountain to defeat the golden crab, so please let me get there.”
The king of elephants immediately dined:” No. You cannot defeat that crab. Please stop this
arrogant thought.”
However, the young elephants still insisted on getting to the pond. Finally, the king of elephants
let his son lead some elephants to get to the pond to fight with the golden crab. The young
elephant decided to take its wife, its mom and other strong and young elephants to get to the
pond. When they arrived at the pond, the young elephant let other elephants to freely drink
water and eat grass at the shore of the pond, but the young elephant just stayed a little far from
the shore to monitor. Seeing the elephants eating and drinking at the shore of the pond, the
golden crab did not attack immediately, but it waited until the elephants got away from the
shore. After eating and drinking, the elephants returned, and the young elephant stayed behind
to protect other elephants. When the young elephant was about to leave the shore, the golden
crab rose up rapidly from the water, and it used one of its pincers to clamp a leg of the young
elephant.
The young elephant tried to push the golden crab forward, but it could not. The golden crab
gradually pulled the young elephant toward the water. In the dangerous moment, the young
elephant knew nothing but shouted loudly. Other elephants ran away when they heard the
shouts of the young elephants, but the wife of the young elephant stayed to try to save her
husband.
The wife of the young elephant said to her husband:” Don’t worry my honey! I am going to
insist on this crab to release you.”
Then the wife of the young elephant insisted the crab with a verse:
Dear the golden crab, the king of all the crabs
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Your power is limitless and countless
I know you are the greatest one
Please kindly release my husband
After hearing the verse, the crab released the young elephant, and the young elephant tried to
escape from the shore rapidly.
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble truths to the couple, and during the
talk of the Buddha they obtained First Entering Stream level. Finally, the Buddha recognized
that the wife of the elephant was the wife who saved her husband from the robbers, and the
young elephant was him.
Jataka 268: Story of Arama-Dusa
The Buddha told this story at a garden which was near Dakkinagiri, and the story is about the
son of a garden-taker.
One year, after the rainy season, the Buddha and monks left Jetavana and they went to a rural
area which was near Dakkinagiri. A Lay Buddhist invited the Buddha and monks to pay a visit
to his garden for offerings at the garden. When the Buddha and monks got to the garden, the
Buddha sat down on the prepared seat, while some monks were walking around to overlook
the garden under the instruction of a garden care-taker. The garden taker took the monks to see
around, and when they arrived at a vast land which had no trees, the monks wondered to ask
the garden taker:” Why don’t you plant trees in this area?”
The garden-taker rapidly replied:” Before this area was full of trees, but a son of a garden taker
here was crazy to measure the roots of trees before giving water to the trees. Actually, he took
off the trees to measure the roots, so all the trees died.”
After the visit, the monks told the Buddha what they heard from the garden-taker, and the
Buddha, on this issue, was calm for a while then said:” It is not in the present time, but also in
the past, he was likely to demolish the trees due to his wrong thought.”
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Long time ago, when king Vissasena was ruling Varanasi, the palace of the king had a large
garden, and there was an excellent garden-taker who was taking the garden of the palace. One
day, during the national festival, the garden-taker desired to join the festival, so he called the
monkeys which lived in the garden to ask them for help:” Hey monkeys. This garden is
important to the palace, so we have to take good care of it. Now, I am about to leave for the
festival, so you all please assist to give water to the newly sprouted trees.”
The monkeys agreed to help, so the garden-taker left for the festival. When the garden-taker
just left, the monkeys began to enjoy giving water to the trees. And, It was fine if the monkey-
leader did not give his suggestion to the monkeys in giving water to the trees. The monkey-
leader showed his experience to the monkeys:” Dear friends! The water is limited, so we should
measure the water for each tree. Hence, please take off the trees and see their roots. If the trees
which have long roots, we shall give them lots of water, while the trees which have shorter
roots, we shall give them little water.”
The monkeys followed the instruction of their leader, and soon, all the newly sprouted trees in
the garden were demolished. At that time, a young Brahmin arrived at the garden, and seeing
the crazy actions of the monkeys, he asked them:” Please stop your crazy works, all the trees
are dying. Who told you all to do this?”
A monkey said:” My leader told me to do this. You are not wise, so please step aside to watch.
It is not your business.”
The young Brahmin continued with a verse:
How crazy you are
Your cleverness is harmful
The wisdom of the leader was that terrible
Not surprising that you are demolishing the trees
A monkey replied with a verse:
Young Brahmin, do you know the trees
Please stop complaining us
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Without knowing how long the roots are
How much water should they give them?
The young Brahmin was distracted to give the other verse:
I don’t complain you, the monkeys
Neither you leader, your king
But, the garden taker
Who dares give the garden to the monkeys!
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the son of a garden-taker who demolished
the trees was the monkey leader, and the young Brahmin was him.
Jataka 269: Story of Sujata
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about Anathapindika's daughter in law who was named
Sujata. Sujata was the daughter of the millionaire Dhananjaya, and was the younger sister of
Visakha.
When Sujata first became the daughter in law of Anathapindika, she did not keep duties of the
wife to husband, of the daughter to her parents in law. Sujata thought she was from a high
social status family, so she did not have to do those things. Not only that, Sujata was very
aggressive, so she often shouted loudly to the servants.
One day, the Buddha and 500 monks paid a visit to Anathapindika house for a meal, and when
Buddha was giving dharma to Anathapindika and his wife, there were loud noises made from
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the kitchen. The Buddha, due to that, stopped talking for a while, and asked Anathpindika the
cause of the noises. After knowing Sujata was the person who made loud noises, the Buddha
called Sujata to meet him. When Sujata arrived, the Buddha talked to her: “Sujata. There are
seven kinds of wife. Which one do you belong to?”
Having evil minds, not care of good things
Love people outside family than the husband
Use the money without consideration
This one is destroyer of the family
Moneys from the husband to make
Don’t save but try to use
Without consideration how difficult the money was earned
This one is called the thief of the family
Being lazy, do not thing
Aggressive to other members of family
Greedy to eat and drink
This one is too rapacious
Love to do good things
Take good care of husband like the mom to the children
Using the property and money with careful consideration
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This kind of wife is like a mom
Respect the husband
Like the respect of younger sisters to older brother
Humble and faithful to husband
This one is like the sister to the older brother
Having the happiness whenever see husband
Like to see the close friends after long time to see
Faithful, friendly and virtuous to husband
This one is similar to the friend of husband
Enduring with troubles and difficulties
With diligence to serve the husband
Do whatever the husband require
This one is considered as the servant of the husband
Then the Buddha continued to talk to Sujata:” Sujata. Among these seven kinds of wife. The
first three kinds belong to the destroyers of the family, and after they die, they shall be reborn
in the three lower realms. The other four kinds of wife are likely to be reborn into heaven when
they die.”
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During the talk of the Buddha, Sujata obtained the first Entering Stream level, and she humbly
and slowly replied to the question of the Buddha:” Dear master. I shall be the kind of wife
which is similar to the servant to my husband.”
The Buddha smiled at Sujata, and after the meal, the Buddha and 500 monks returned to
Jetavana. This event was rapidly spread to all the monks living in Jetavana. The next morning,
the monks gathered at Dharma-hall, talking about this issue:” Dear all venerable monks. It is
extremely miraculous that the Buddha just gave a short talk, and Sujata totally changed her
attitude to her parents-in-law and her husband as well.”
When the Buddha entered the Dharma-hall and knowing the issue of the talk of monks, the
Buddha calmly said:” Dear my students. It is not the first time I assisted Sujata to change her
attitude, but I did in the past.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, Bodhisattva was born as the
son of the king and the queen. When Bodhisattva turned 16, he was sent to Takkasila to study
skills and knowledge, and after his graduation, he returned and soon was given the throne of
power of Varanasi after his father king passed away.
His mom was an aggressive and easy-going angry person. When she got angry, she tended to
use evil words to insult others. The new king just hoped that he could help her mom to change
to be good. However, he thought it would be not good if he tried to point out directly to her
mom. So, he tried to have a suitable situation to help his mom to change.
One day, the new king, together with his mom and other officials crossed the garden, and at
that time, there was a contra bird singing. The sounds from the contra’s singing were terrible.
So, most of the officials used their hands to cover their ears and shouted loudly:” Oh. The
sounds were terrible. Please stop this bird singing.”
They continued to walk for a while, and there was a cuckoo bird, which was contemplating its
singing, and the sounds from the singing of this bird's elegant, lovely and pleasant voice. The
king, his mom and all officials were attracted to the singing of the cuckoo bird, so they stopped
walking to listen to the singing of the cuckoo. An official could not bear his mind, so he praised
the singing of the cuckoo:” Wow. It is a wonderful sound.”
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The new king realized that it was a suitable time for him to assist his mom to change, so he
said to his mom:” Dear mom. Did you realize that people all love listening to the elegant and
lovely voice, so please stop using the aggressive and ugly voice to talk with others?” Then the
new king continued to assist his mom with three verses:
Contra bird with beautiful outlook
People tend to love its beauty for the first glance
Nevertheless, having the ugly voice
Having no one to love when they listen to its singing
The cuckoo bird is ugly
With spotted of black and white
Luckily, having nice and elegant voice
Everyone loves to listen to its singing!
Hopefully, mom all uses the nice words
Wise words instead of complaints
The talks are elegant and polite
They should be meaningful to assist others!
With these three verses, the new king was able to assist her mom to change her attitude. After
telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the mom of the king was Sujata, and the king was
him.
Jataka 270: Story of Uluka
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The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the serious trouble between the crow and the
owl.
At that time, in the day time, the crows often tried to find to eat the owls, and in the night time,
the owls tried to find the crows to kill and eat them. Thus, the fighting between the crows and
the owls was serious day after day.
There was a monk who lived in a cottage in the forest near Jetavana. Everyday, he had to clean
up lots of dead crows which were killed by the owls in the night time. One day, this monk paid
a visit to Jetavana, and he told other monks about this issue.
The next morning, the monks gathered at the Dharma-hall, talking about this issue:” Dear
venerable monks! The fighting between crows and owls has been serious for a long time. So,
in the night time, the owls often try to kill the crows for food.”
At that time, the Buddha entered the Dharma-hall, and knowing the figure of the talk of the
monks, the Buddha said that:” The trouble between the crows and the owls has originated for
a very long time ago.”
Once upon a time, when all the spices on the earth had no ranking system. So, the humans
gathered to select the strongest and wisest among them to be their leader, while the animals
selected the lion as their king. All the sea spices selected a fish, namely Ananda, as their king.
One day, the birds gathered at the top of the Himalaya Mountain for the discussion about
selecting a bird as their king. So, a bird said:” The humans, animals and sea spices have already
selected their kings, so we should do the same thing.”
After the discussion which took time, some kinds of bird decided to depute the owl as the king
of all the birds. Then, to gain the consent of all kinds of birds, they suggested that after they
shouted loudly the name of the owl, if other kinds of bird had no ideas, the owl would be the
king of all the birds. When a bird was shouting the name of the owl for the second time, a crow
flew up in front of the public, and denied this suggestion:” I don’t agree the owl shall be our
king. Normally, his face looks very angry. What shall happen to us when he gets angry after
being the king of the birds.”
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Then the crow spoke the verse:
Sincere to show my idea
Not agree the owl to be our king
With his angry face, what shall he look like?
When he truly gets angry?
Then the crow flew up to the sky to leave the crowd of birds, at that time, the owl was extremely
angry to fly up, following the crow for the fighting. After the owl and crow left, the birds
decided to select a golden goose to be their king, and afterward, they left for their homes.
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths to the monks, and finally,
he recognized that the golden goose was him.
Jataka 271: Story of Udapana-Dusaka
The Buddha told this story at Isipatana, about a jackal which often made the water into the
wells that the monks used messy and dirty. One day, when the jackal came to the wells, some
novices used the wood sticks to throw toward the jackal to drive it away. After the attacks from
the novices, the jackal had never been to the wells of the monks again.
One day, the monks gathered at the Dharma-hall, talking about this issue:” Dear all great
monks! A jackal which used to come to make the water inside the wells that we use dirty has
stopped coming here after the attacks of the novices.”
When the Buddha entered the Dharma-hall, knowing the figure of the monks, the Buddha
calmly said:” It is not in the present time, but also in the past, this jackal was likely to make the
water messy and dirty.”
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In times gone by, there was a location, named Isipatana, which was near to Varanasi.
Bodhisattva was born as a son in a rich family at Varanasi, and when he turned into adulthood,
he decided to live in the ascetic life at Isipatana. As he was the son of a rich family, there were
some servants who lived together with him at Isipatana. With wisdom, Bodhisattva was the
master of his servants, the other ascetic monks.
Their lives as ascetic monks were floating smoothly, if there was not a jackal who arrived to
make the water in their wells dirty. One day, the ascetic monks tried to catch the jackal, and
they brought it to meet the Bodhisattva. The Bodhisattva used a verse to communicate with the
jackal:
Making by the ascetic monks, the wells
Really valuable in the deep forest
The source for the living life
Why make it dirty? Dear jackal?
The jackal shamelessly looked at the face of the Bodhisattva and slowly said:
Have been the habitual tendency from my ancestor
Drinking water and enjoy the water
It is not my fault, but our habit
Your complaint should be wrong?
The Bodhisattva tried to convince the jackal:
This habit which has been transferred from generations
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Is wrong and not suitable to the community
Please kindly stop your habit
Wrong or right, you should contemplate to know!
Then the Bodhisattva asked other monks to release the jackal. From that time, the jackal had
never been to the wells to drink water again. After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that
the jackal in the story was the jackal which was attacked by novices, and the master of monks
was him.
Jataka 272: Story of Vyaggha
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, on the occasion in which the venerable Kokalika invited
Venerable Sariputta and Venerable Moggallana to pay a visit to his location as the lay people
desired to meet these two great monks. However, due to the anger and the desire of venerable
Kokalika, Sariputta and Moggalana refused the invitation of Kokalika:” Dear venerable
Kokalika. Thanks very much for your invitation, but we regret to inform you that we will not
be able to follow you to meet your followers. Hence, just be in your way.``
The next morning, the monks gathered at Dharma-hall, talking about this issue:” Dear great
monks! Venerable Kokalika cannot live in harmony with venerable Sariputa and Moggallana,
but he often tries to invite venerable Sariputta and Moggallana to live in his location.``
When the Buddha knew the issue of the discussion of monks, the Buddha calmly talked to
monks:” Dear students! It is not in the present time, but also in the past, Kokalika could not
live-in harmony with Sariputta and Moggallana, but he still tried to get close with them.”
deity in a tree in a forest, and not far from his living, there was another deity which also lived
in an evergreen tree. In the forest where these deities lived, there were a lion and a tiger, and
the lion and tiger often caught other animals to eat. They often put the leftovers around the
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region which two deities lived in. The unwanted smells from the rotten meat of animals made
the deity which was the friend of Bodhisattva angry, so he came to show his ambition of driving
the lion and tiger away to the Bodhisattva:” Dear friend! The lion and the tiger have made this
forest messy, so I am going to drive them away.”
Bodhisattva deity tried to convince his friend to stop this ambition:” Please stop your intention.
If the lion and tiger leave, the humans will soon come here to destroy this forest.”
Despite the advice from Bodhisattva, his deity friend still kept his intention in his mind, and
one day, he could not endure to carry it out. He appeared in horrible shape to threaten the lion
and the tiger. After being threatened, the lion and the tiger left the forest. Soon after the lion
and the tiger left, humans did not see the footsteps of the lion and the tiger, so they came to the
forest to cut down the tree. A vast area of the forest was soon demolished by humans.
Seeing the disturbances from humans, the angry deity paid a visit to the Bodhisattva, and asked
for a solution. Bodhisattva thought for a while, then calmly said to his friend:” The best way to
solve this issue is to bring the lion and the tiger back to this region. The lion and the tiger are
living in the forest which is not far from here. So, you have to get there to bring them back.”
The angry deity rapidly found the residing place of the lion and the tiger, and he tried to
convince the lion and the tiger to return with a verse:
Dear two friends. It is time to come home
Where you were born and grew up
The forest shall be demolished without you
No forest, you shall lose your homes
However, the lion and the tiger refused to return, so they said to the angry deity:” Please stop
coming here to disturb us again. Please be in your way.”
The angry deity sorrily returned alone, and soon, the whole forest was destroyed to make the
plantation for the farmers, and the two deities had to leave to live in another region.
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After telling the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble truths, and finally, the Buddha
recognized that the angry deity was Kokalika, and the calm and wise deity was him.
Jataka 273: Story of Kacchapa
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about two martial officials of the king Kosala. These
two martial officials were friendly to others, but they could not talk to each other. Whenever
they had to work together, they all had arguments. The king Kosala, their friends and their
relatives tried to assist them to solve the trouble between them, but they failed to do so.
One day, the Buddha paid visits to their houses, and with the talks about loving-kindness, the
Buddha was successful in helping them to get rid of the trouble between them. Not only that,
these two martial officials obtained first Entering Stream level during the talks of the Buddha
to them.
When the monks gathered at the Dharma-hall to talk about this issue, the Buddha calmly said
that:” It is not in the present time but also in the past, with talks, I could assist them to solve
their trouble between each other.
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was born in a
Brahmin family in Kasi, and when he grew up, he was sent to Takkasila to study. After he
graduated from Takkasila, he decided to leave the family life to live as an ascetic monk in
Himalaya Mountain. With strong determination, he soon obtained the fruits of meditation.
The Bodhisattva often meditated in front of his cottage, and there was a monkey which lived
near to his cottage, often coming to disturb his contemplation. However, with hard practice, he
did not let the disturbing actions of the monkey interrupt his practice.
One day, a turtle came to the pond near to the cottage of the ascetic monk to drink water, and
after drinking water, the turtle opened its mouth to sleep at the shore of the pond. The monkey
saw the turtle, it came close to the turtle, and used its finger to put into the mouth of the turtle.
At that time, the turtle woke up and it suddenly closed its mouth, keeping the finger of the
monkey with its solid teeth. The monkey was in extreme suffering and pain, but it could not
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make the turtle open its mouth again. At the dangerous moment, the monkey remembered the
ascetic monk, so it brought together the turtle to the cottage of the ascetic monk for assistance
from the monk.
To see the monkey bringing the turtle to walk slowly toward his cottage, the ascetic monk knew
that the monkey was getting trouble, but he still tried to ask the monkey with mockery manner:
Who brings the bowl to beg for food?
From where? How did you arrive here?
The monkey in the extreme suffering, insisted the monk to help:
I have been disturbing you for time
If you help me, I shall never come to disturb you again!
The ascetic monk, at that time, spoke the verse to the turtle:
Turtle and monkey all are beings
Please kindly forgive the monkey! Dear turtle!
To hear the advice from the monk, the turtle released the finger of the monkey. The monkey
was released from the suffering, it immediately put the turtle down, and ran rapidly to the deep
forest. The turtle also moved slowly toward the forest.
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths to the monks, and finally,
the Buddha recognized that the turtle and the monkey were two martial officials, and the ascetic
monk was him.
Jataka 274 +275: Story of Loka
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a voracious monk. This monk was too greedy in
eating, so he was brought to meet the Buddha. When the monk was sitting in front of the
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Buddha, the Buddha calmly said to him:” Dear my student! In the past, due to the attachment
to the delicious foods, you were in danger, so now, you have to try hard to control your eating
attachment.``
as the pigeon. In the town, there was a chef of a millionaire family, who liked to cultivate good
deeds, so the chef put a basket in the kitchen as the place for the birds to sleep at night. Hence,
the Bodhisattva came to live in the basket of the chef at night.
One day, a crow flew over the kitchen of the millionaire, and the crow was attached to the
various kinds of fishes in the kitchen. The crow thought:” Wow. There are lots of kinds of fish
in this kitchen. I have to find a way to enter this kitchen to enjoy the fish. “
At that time, the crow saw the pigeon flying up from the basket in the kitchen. The crow tried
to fly following the pigeon. To notice a crow flying behind, the pigeon parked on a cliff and
asked the crow:” Dear friend! You and I are two different kinds of birds. I am a total vegan,
and you prefer to eat meat to survive. So, why do you follow me?”
The crow tried to convince the pigeon:” Dear Sir! It is not a big problem at all. From now on,
I will try to follow you and just eat veggie foods. Please let me follow to serve you.”
The pigeon agreed and both birds flew to a harvested field to find food. When the pigeon was
eating rice seeds, the crow also pretended that it was eating the rice-seeds. However, it tried to
catch some worms to eat when the pigeon did not notice. Thus, both birds stayed at the rice
field until the late afternoon, and they flew back to the house of the millionaire. The chef of the
millionaire’s kitchen saw another bird arriving, so he put the other basket as the nest for the
crow to stay in.
The crow tried to follow the pigeon out to find food for five days, and finally, it could not
control its mind from the fishes in the kitchen. In the early morning of the sixth day, the crow
pretended that it was having a problem with its stomach, so the pigeon flew out for food alone.
The crow lay silently in the basket and waited for the chance to eat the fish. After the chef
cooked the fish, he poured the fish out on a big dish, and he left the kitchen to clean up the
cookers. Waiting for that moment, the crow flew out of the basket, and enjoyed the fish which
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was just made by the chef. Unluckily, the chef returned suddenly, and seeing the crow stealing
the food, the chef took off its neck. In extreme anger, the chef took off all the feathers of the
crow and threw it into the basket.
In the late afternoon, when the pigeon returned to the kitchen, the pigeon was surprised to see
the crow in the basket with its bare body. The pigeon, immediately, comprehended that the
crow might steal the foods and was punished by the chef, so the pigeon was mockery the crow:
Dear crane! How did you come here?
Where did you from?
My friend! The crow is about to return
That nest belongs to him!
The crow rapidly replied with suffered voice:
Having no another bird or crane
Your friend! The greedy crow is here
Not being controlled the mind
I was in the dangerous situation!
The pigeon talked to the crow:” I know that you have already been punished for stealing fish
from the chef. Due to your desire, you are in danger. Right now, this kitchen is no longer
suitable for the birds to stay, so I have to move to another place. Take care friend.”
Then the pigeon immediately flew out of the kitchen to find another suitable place to reside.
Buddha, the greedy monk obtained the none-returning level. Finally, the Buddha recognized
that the crow was the greedy eating monk, and the pigeon was him.
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Jataka 276: Story of Kurudhamma
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the story is about the killing action of a young
monk who killed a goose.
There were two monks who often travelled around together after their ordination. One day,
after taking shower from a river, they sat on a cliff to watch the sky, while waiting for their
robes to dry. At that time, there were two geese flying over their heads, and one monk picked
stones up from the shore of the river, and with strong force, he tried to shoot the geese in the
sky.
One of two geese was shot to its head, so it fell down to death. The other monk complained
about the killing monk, and then they all went to Jetavana to meet the Buddha. After knowing
the killing action of the young monk, the Buddha still calmly told him:” Dear my student! You
are in the liberated practice, so it is not suitable for you to carry out any killing action. In the
past, the wise men, even, did not meet the teachings of the Buddhas, they still tried to control
and do harmful actions to other beings. So, you have to try hard to control your mind.”
In times gone by, when the king Dhananjaya was ruling a big town, namely Kuru, Bodhisattva
was born as the prince of the queen and the king of Kuru. When he turned 16, he was well-
educated at Takkasila, and he soon graduated from Takkasila after obtaining great skills and
knowledge from great masters in Takkasila. After his father king passed away, he was given
the throne of power of Kuru, and he tried to rule the nation with royal dharmas. He, himself,
kept five precepts as the principle for his life. Under his ruling, his mom, his queen, officials
and most of the citizens of Kuru likely kept five precepts as the principle of their lives. Not
only that, the king also built up four offering halls at four gates of the town to assist people to
have the opportunity to cultivate virtues and to assist the needs. By cultivating good deeds, the
people of Kuru lived happily.
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At that time, the king Kalinga ruled the town Dantapura. The kingdom of Dantapura, at that
time, was in severe drought, so poverty was spread around the town. At first, many people had
to leave their homes for survival in other regions. However, the drought soon occupied the
whole kingdom, and the people gathered at the palace to assist the king to make rain. The king
asked the officials:” How did the kings in the past pray for rain?”
An official rapidly said:” In the past, the former kings often did good deeds, such as helping
the poor people, eating only veggie food and living in the ascetic conditions for seven days.”
The king of Dantapura tried to follow this suggestion for seven days, but it still did not rain.
So, the king continued to ask the officials:” Do you have another method to pray for the rain?”
An official suggested the king get the black elephant, namely Anjana-Vasabho from the Kuru
kingdom:” Dear majesty. In the kingdom of Kuru, there is a black elephant, which can make
rain. If we have that elephant, it shall rain soon.”
The king wondered:” How to get that elephant? We cannot defeat the arm and the king of Kuru
for the elephant.”
An official rapidly pacified the king:” Dear majesty. Don’t worry. We don’t have to fight to get
the elephant as the king of Kuru loves to do offerings to others, so if we ask him, he shall give
us the elephant.”
The king of Dantapura sent eight Brahmin to meet the king of Kuru for the elephant, and they
soon got the Anjana elephant, as the king of Kuru loved to offer others. However, after getting
the Anjana elephant, it still did not rain. So, the king talked to the officials:” It is likely that the
king of Kuru has practiced royal dharmas, so by his virtue, it rains often in Kuru. Please take
the Anjana elephant to give back to the king of Kuru, and try to ask him about the Dharma that
he has practiced into this golden board. After having the dharma, we shall practice to pray for
rain.”
The delegation of the king Dantapura soon arrived at the kingdom of Kuru, and they said to the
king of Kuru:” Dear majesty! Please take this elephant back as it could not assist to have rain
in our kingdom. Our king thinks that because you have practiced the Kuru Dharmas, and your
practice has kept the weather well in Kuru. Thus, we came here this time to ask for the Kuru-
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dharmas that you have practiced. Please tell us and we shall write it into this golden board to
bring back our nation for practice.”
The king of Kuru contemplated for a while, and he calmly and slowly talked to the delegation
of Dantapura kingdom:” I am too sorry to say that I cannot give you what I am doubting about.
A long time ago, there was a festival named Kattiaka in this nation. During the festival, I went
to a tremendous lake, shooting arrows toward four directions in the sky. After I shot, people
just could find three arrows that I shot, and they could not find the rest one as it might fall
down to the water. I have doubted whether my arrow fell down and killed any fish in the lake,
so I am not staying peaceful by this dharmas.”
The servants of Dantapura rapidly:” But it was not your intention, and you have no fault about
that. Please teach us what you have practiced.”
The king of Kuru had no way, so he taught to the delegation of Dantapura about five precepts
( no killing, no stealing, no deceit, not alcohol and no sexual misconduct). When the delegation
was about to leave, the king of Kuru suggested they meet his mother for better teaching on
Kuru-dharmas- practice.
The delegation of Dantapura paid a visit to the mother of the king Kuru, and after paying respect
to the mother of the king Kuru, they asked for the dharma from her:” Dear madam! The majesty
of this nation has humbly introduced us to meet you for the true-dharma-practice, so please
teach us about it.”
The mother of king Kuru looked at all members of the delegation of king Dantapure and calmly
said:” I really want to bring benefits to others by practicing this dharma, but I am not happy
with this practice. Hence, it may not bring benefits to you. Long time ago, my son, the king of
this nation, gave me some perfumes and a precious wood-necklace. After I got it, I decided to
give the perfume to the wife of my son, who is the king, and I gave the necklace to the wife of
the vice-king as she might not have this precious necklace. After doing these, I regretted that I
discriminated against them for giving the gifts to them.”
The delegation of Dantapura was surprised to say to the mom of the king of Kuru:” Dear
madam. Your action is not affecting your virtue we suppose, so please teach us this dharma.”
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The mother of the king taught the dharma to the delegation, but she still introduced her daughter
in law, the queen of the Kuru nation to the delegation. So, the delegation went to meet the
queen for the true-dharma:” Dear the queen, the mother of all Kuru citizens. We are introduced
by your mom to learning true-dharma from you, so please teach us about it.”
The queen looked at all members of the delegation and honestly said:” I am doubting about
the dharma that I have practiced, so it is hard to give it to you. Long time ago, when the vice-
king was on the elephant to enter the palace, from the high floor, I looked at him, and my desire
arose rapidly with the immoral thought that I wanted to have him as my husband. After that
thought, I am really regretted about my virtue.”
The delegation of Dantapura rapidly said:” Please teach us what you have practiced as we
think your thought is normal as we are humans, so that thought cannot destroy your virtue at
all.”
Then the delegation was taught the dharma from the queen; however, before the delegation
left, she introduced the vice-king of the nation to the delegation as the vice-king was better than
her about the dharma-practice. Hence, the delegation left for the visit to the vice-king of the
Kuru kingdom.
After knowing the intention of the delegation, the vice-king said:” Too sorry. My practice is
not perfect as I have one thing to regret about my practice. Long time ago, when I paid a visit
to the palace, I brought together a crowd of servants. When I entered the palace, they had to
wait outside. When I just entered the palace, it was raining, so the king kept me to sleep at the
palace that night. In the morning, I left the palace to return to my place, and I was suffering as
my servants still waited for me the whole night under the heavy rain. Due to this fault, I am not
too happy about my practice.”
The delegation of Dantapura insisted to the vice-king:” This small mistake was not your
intention, so you have no fault in it. Please give us the dharma that you have practiced.”
The vice-king finally taught the dharma to the delegation of Dantapura, but he introduced his
master, the consultant of the kingdom as the person of better practice of dharma. When the
delegation met the consultant and asked for the dharma, the consultant said honestly to the
delegation:” I am not the perfect practitioner of the Kuru-dharma as I made mistakes in the
past. Long time ago, when I was on the way to get out of the palace, I saw a beautiful vehicle
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carrying strong horses to the palace to give to the king. I was attached to the vehicle, so I
thought that it would be great if the king gave me this vehicle as it deserves my position and
my age. The next morning, the king called me to the palace and he gave me that vehicle.
However, I refused to receive the vehicle as I regretted the attachment to the property of
others.”
The delegation insisted the consultant teach them the dharma that the consultant had practiced
and before they left the consultant introduced the elephant-trainer of the palace as the well-
practitioner of the dharma. When the delegations met the elephant-trainer and asked him for
the dharma, the elephant-trainer slowly answered with an ashamed voice:” I am not the perfect
practitioner of the dharma as I generated mistakes in the past. Few years ago, I had to decide
the land-field of the palace and a farmer. After measuring, I found a suitable point to put a
stick down to mark the land between the farmer and the palace. However, at the point that I
was intending to stick a stake down, I saw a hole in the crab. So, I contemplated whether to
stick the stake toward the land of the farmer or the land of the palace. Finally, I did not want
to give priority to the palace or the farmer, so I stuck the stake to the point which also was the
hole of the crab as I thought there was no crab inside. However, When I stuck down, I heard
the cracking sound under the hole. I know that I killed the crab, so I am fully happy with my
practice.”
The delegation of Dantapura rapidly said:” Dear friend! You were not intending to kill the crab,
so you have no fault about it. Please give us the dharma that you have practiced.”
The elephant smiled to give the dharma which he had practiced to the delegation of Dantapura,
but he still suggested the delegation meet the driver of the king for listening to the dharma from
the person who had practiced the dharma well. The delegation met the driver of the king to ask
for the dharma, and the driver shily answered:” I am sorry as I am not the perfect-practitioner
of Kuru dharma. Few months ago, I brought the king to a lake for a picnic, and we returned in
the late afternoon. At that time, it was covered by the black clouds, so when we arrived at the
center of the town, I was afraid that the king would get wet. Then I used the rob to hit the two
horses which were carrying the vehicle to force them to run faster. From that day, whenever I
drive the vehicle to the center of the town, the horses all try to run faster. I really regretted my
action.”
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The delegation was happy to write the dharma from the practice of the driver and to base on
the suggestion of the driver, they paid a visit to a millionaire of the town for learning of better
practice of the Kuru dharma. When the millionaire comprehended the ambition of the
delegation of Dantapure, he honestly said:'' I am too sorry as I am not the perfect practitioner
of the Kuru-dharma. Long time ago, I went to the rice-fields to have a look at the development
of rice. At a field-rice, I saw the rice-seeds were beautiful, so I harvested a bowl of the rice.
After that I really regretted for that action as those rice was for the palace, and I stole the rice
in the field.``
The delegation still insisted the millionaire teach them the dharma and after writing into the
golden book, they paid a visit to the store-taker of the king based on the suggestion of the
millionaire. Similar to others, the store-taker refused to give the dharma to them:” Dear all
great men! I am not the perfect practitioner of the Kuru dharma as I had made mistakes in the
past. Long time ago, when I was measuring the rice for the palace, I used some rice-seeds to
mark the portions that I already counted and measured. At that time, it was about to rain, so I
quickly gathered all the marking seeds to put together in a rice-container. However, I did not
remember that I put those marking rice to the portions that I counted or not. If I put them to
the portions counted then the farmers lost some rice. It was a terrible experience, and I am not
fully happy with my practice.”
The delegation of Dantapura was happy to write down the precious dharma from the store-
taker of the king, and then they paid a visit to the gate-taker based on the suggestion of the
store-taker. After showing the intention, the gate-taker shyly said to the delegation:” Too sorry
as I am not the perfect practitioner of the dharma. Not long ago, at the edge of the forest near
to the gate that I monitored, there were two people, a man and his sister. They were collecting
wood for burning. At that time, I had to close the gate soon, so I shouted loudly toward them
that it would not a good time to do the sexual relationship in the forest. Afterward, I know that
the woman was not the wife of the man but his sister, so I really regret calling them as a
couple.”
The delegation still insisted the gate-taker to read the dharma that he had practiced to them and
then they paid a visit to a prostitute as she was well-known with her virtue. When the delegation
met her, she refused to teach them:” Dear great and noble men! I am not the perfect practice
of Kuru-dharma as I committed it in the past. Long time ago, Sakka, the king of gods, appeared
as a young man, and gave me 1000 coins, saying he would come tomorrow. However, I waited
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for three years, and he did not come. During this period of time, I did not receive money and
did not date with other men, so, I was too poor. Hence, one day, I went to the court to explain
to the judges and asked for a solution. The judge advised me to continue my work as usual, I
agreed. After I left the court, in the evening, a young man came close to me and gave me 1000
coins. At that time, I was putting my hands toward getting the money, but finally, I took my
hands back as I thought it was not good action. At that time, the young man who stood in front
of me appeared as the young man gave me 1000 coins three years ago. Not only that, in a
moment, that young man appeared in his own form, the Sakka, king of Gods. Then Sakka flew
up in the sky. The lights from his body lightened all the town as the day time. Due to this action,
I really regretted my virtue and my practice.``
The delegation pacified the prostitute:” Dear madam. Your virtue is great, and you have not
received money from a new man. So, your virtue was not broken at all.”
Then the delegation of Dantapura insisted the prostitute to teach them the dharma that she had
practiced into the golden book. Finally, they realized that it was enough to write into the golden
book, so they returned Dantapura with precious dharmas that they learned from people of Kuru
kingdom. After having the dharmas, the king and officials tried to apply the Kuru-dharmas into
their living activities. Not long after their practice, it rained all over the kingdom of Dantapura,
and the poverty disappeared in the kingdom of Dantapura.
After telling this story, the Buddha talked about the Four Noble Truths to monks. A number of
monks who listened to the story and the dharma-talk of the Buddha obtained Entering Stream
level, one-returning level, none-returning level and Arhathood. Finally, the Buddha recognized
that Uppalavana was the prostitute, and Kolita was the store-taker. The millionaire, the
consultant, the vice-king, the queen and the mom of the king of Kuru were Sariputta, Anurudha,
Kassapa, Nandapandita, Yasodhara and Maya respectively, and the king of Kuru was him.
Jataka 277: Story of Romaka
The Buddha told this story at Bamboo-Grove, about the plan of Devadatta to kill the Buddha.
Buddha told the story:
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Once upon a time, when king Brahmadattva was reigning Varanasi, Bodhisattva was born as a
pigeon which lived in a cave with other pigeons. Near their living cave, there was a cottage of
an ascetic monk, and the Bodhisattva often took his pigeons to pay visit to the ascetic monk to
listen to the Dharma. Times gone, the ascetic monk had to leave for settling the life in another
place, and there was another monk came to stay in that cottage.
During the stay of the new monk, the Bodhisattva still kept the habit of leading his pigeons to
listen to the dharma from the monk who lived in the cottage every day. Thus, the flock of
pigeons and the new monk lived in harmony with each other, and the pigeons paid great
homage and respect to the new owner monk as they used to do with the monk who stayed
before.
Times gone, one day the villagers from the village nearby paid a visit to the cottage of the
monk, and they brought the soup that they took time to cook to offer the monk. After having
the soup, the monk was attached to the taste and smell of the soup, so he asked the villagers:”
Dear great offerors! Could you please let me know which kind of ingredients are used to make
this soup?”
A villager replied quickly:” We used the meat to cook this kind of soup.”
The ascetic monk, after that, planned to catch some pigeons to cook for eating. So, he prepared
all the ingredients which were ready to cook soup, and sat down at the gate of his cottage to
wait for the pigeons to come. When the pigeons came to pay a visit to him, he secretly caught
some pigeons and killed them. Then he put them into the pan which was waiting for cooking.
Thus, day by day, the ascetic monk killed some pigeons to cook soup.
Gradually, the number of pigeons reduced rapidly, so it made the Bodhisattva pay attention to
the actions of the monk as the Bodhisattva doubted that the monk killed and ate his pigeons.
So, the Bodhisattva cautioned his pigeons about the monks. The next morning, the Bodhisattva
still pretended to take his pigeons to pay a visit to the monk. However, they did not land at the
cottage but at the yard of the cottage. From the far distance, Bodhisattva saw the monk hiding
a tiny stick in his long sleeve, which used to kill the pigeons. Not only that, Bodhisattva
discovered that the eyes and the actions of the monk were scheming, so he signaled the pigeons
to fly away immediately. At that time the monk tried to drive away the doubt from Bodhisattva,
so he spoke the verse:
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At this forest, for years
Pigeons pay visit to me daily
We have lived in harmony and peace
Stayed together without the doubts
Now, the pigeons are scary of me
Flying away from this forest
They have forgotten the friendship between me and their parents
Are they truly the descendants of their parents?
The Bodhisattva spoke the verse to replied to the scheming verse of the monk:
We are not ignorant to continue to live with you
We are still the pigeons, the birds of peace
Nevertheless, you have changed your mind
You have lost your way of practice!
The Bodhisattva cautioned the monk to leave, otherwise he would inform the villagers about
the killing actions of him. Then the Bodhisattva led his pigeons to find another suitable place
to reside.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the monk with wrong livelihood was
Devadatta, while the moral monk and the king of pigeons were Sariputta and him respectively.
Jataka 278: Story of Mahisa
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about an aggressive monkey.
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At the Buddha's time, there was a Brahmin family at Savatthi, and this family had an aggressive
monkey and some elephants. The monkey used to enter the trap of the elephants to play with
the elephants. At a corner of the elephants’ trap, there was the residing place of the humble and
generous elephant, and this elephant was disturbed by the monkey very often. The monkey
often jumped on the back of this elephant to defecate on the body of the elephant. However,
with patience and loving-kindness, this elephant did not harm the monkey but tried to drive it
away.
One day, this elephant was moved to stay in another corner and another elephant was moved
to stay in the residing corner of the generous elephant. As usual, the monkey entered the
elephants’ trap and jumped on the body of the new moving-in elephant to play. However, this
elephant was not that generous, so the elephant used its trunk to hold the monkey and threw
the monkey out. The monkey was terribly injured and it had never been to the elephants’ trap
again.
This issue was rapidly spread to Jetavana, and one day, the monks gathered at the Dharma-hall,
talking about this story. When the Buddha entered the Dharma-hall and knowing the figure of
the talk, the Buddha calmly said that:” In the past, this monkey was in danger when it tried to
disturb others several times.”
as a buffalo which lived in Himalaya Mountain, and this buffalo was robust and giant.
However, this buffalo practiced the dharma, so it did not harm others.
One day, the buffalo saw an evergreen tree, and there was a vast green grass under the tree.
Therefore, the buffalo stayed at the tree to eat grass. At that time, an aggressive monkey which
lived around the region, jumped on the back of the buffalo. The monkey walked toward the
head of the buffalo to hold a horn of the buffalo to teeter, and then it moved to the tail of the
buffalo, holding the tail to teeter. The buffalo still kept calm to eat grass. Thus, whenever the
buffalo came to the tree to eat grass, this aggressive monkey all disturbed the buffalo.
The deity of the tree often saw the disturbing actions of the monkey to the buffalo, so the deity
was surprised and wondered to ask the buffalo:” Dear buffalo friend! You looked robust and
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healthy, but why have you let the monkey disturb you several times, without punishing actions
to the monkey. If you beat the monkey, it shall never come back to disturb you.”
The buffalo calmly said:” I have practiced dharma, and it should not be a monkey to destroy
my practicing virtue of loving-kindness. Soon, the monkey will disturb other buffalos, and it
shall be harmed by other buffalos. Hence, I don’t have to engage in killing or harming deeds.”
Few days later, this buffalo moved to another place for the living, and soon, another buffalo
came to eat grass under the evergreen tree. The monkey, as usual, jumped on the body of the
buffalo to disturb, but unlucky, this buffalo was not compassionate so that the buffalo shocked
its body to make the monkey fall down on the ground. Then, the buffalo used its horns to attack
the monkey. The monkey got seriously injured, so it tried to climb up to the tree to escape.
After telling this story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths to the monks, and then the
Buddha recognized that the monkey in the story was the monkey which disturbed the elephant,
while the aggressive buffalo was the aggressive elephant. The generous buffalo was him, the
Buddha in the Bodhisattva way.
Jataka 279: Story of Satapata
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about two Brahmins, Panduka and Lohita.
There were six Brahmins who were close friends to each other, and they often paid visits to the
Buddha to learn valuable dharmas from the Buddha. Mettiya and Bhumaja lived in Rajgir,
while Punabhasu and Kitariji lived near to Jetavana. And, Panduka and Lohita lived in Savatthi.
These Brahmins often said to their close friends and relatives:” You are great to base on the
background of rebirth, of social status and richness, so if you give your ideas to others, we may
learn something new from you.”
Although they first tried to encourage others to give their ideas, when others were about to give
their ideas, they all tried to suspend them. For long time, their friends and relatives all tried to
avoid meeting them. Their issue was quickly spread around Jetavana, so when Panduka and
Lohita paid a visit to the Buddha, the Buddha said to them:” Is it true that you all first encourage
others to give their ideas, but later on, when they are about to give their ideas?”
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Panduka and Lohita shyly replied:” Yes, Sir”
Then the Buddha said to them that:” So, you attitude like the young man and the crane in the
story that I am about to tell.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was born in a
poor family in Kasi, and thus, when he grew up, he decided to be a robber. He gathered 500
young men to be his followers. They often entered the rich houses at night to rob their
properties.
At that time, a millionaire gave a farmer to borrow 1000 coins, but the millionaire died before
the farmer would be able to return that much of money. So, the wife of the millionaire told their
only son:” Dear my son! Your father gave a man to borrow 1000 coins, and he has not returned
that money to us. I am afraid that that man will not return that money after I die. So, today,
please pay a visit to his house and take the money back.”
The young man followed the instruction of his mother, so he soon arrived at the borrower of
his father money. Then, the young man was easy to get back the money from the farmer. After
getting the money, the young man was hurry to return his house. However, as the house of his
borrower and his house was too far, so it took him several times to travel. During this time, his
mother passed away, and she immediately reborn as a jackal in the forest on the way her son
was about to cross. The jackal knew that there were robbers in the forest, so it tried to wait for
the young man to come to suspend him to enter the forest. However, the young man did not
understand the language of the jackal, and thought that the jackal would bring bad luck, so he
tried to threaten the jackal away.
When he was about to enter the forest, there was a beautiful crane flew close to him, and the
crane shouted loudly:” Hey robbers! This man is carrying a lot of money. Come to kill him and
take the money.”
The young man did not understand the language of the crane, so he thought the crane was
bringing luck to him. The young man followed the crane to enter the forest. The young man,
soon, was caught by the robbers. During the time the young man was about to enter the forest,
the leader of the robbers was on the top of a tree, and he understood the language of both the
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jackal and the crane, so when the young man was brought in front of him, he asked:” Hey young
son! Why did you travel to this forest? Where are your parents? And did you have any news of
your mother?”
The young man rapidly replied to the robbers-leader:” Dear sir. I am on the way back from
getting money back from a borrower of my father, and my father passed away, while my mom
is staying at home to wait for me.”
The robbers-leader at that time said:” Do you know that your mom passed away for a long time,
and she reborn as the jackal which tried to save you from danger to enter the forest. Do you
know that the crane which led you here was one of your enemies and know he reborn as a
crane? Because you cannot understand the language of the animals, so you thought that the
jackal is harming and the crane is bringing luck to you. Now, due to the love of your mom to
you, I will release you without any harms and robbery as well. Please hurry to return to do the
funeral to your mom.”
Then the robbers released the young mand and even protected him until he got out of the forest.
After telling this story, the Buddha recognized that the robbers-leader was him.
Jataka 280: Story of Puta-Dusaka
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the son of a garden-taker who destroyed all the
leaves-baskets.
One day, a millionaire of Savatthi invited the Buddha and the monks to pay a visit to his garden
to have an offering- meal at the garden. During the time of preparing the meal, the monks were
guided to walk around the tremendous garden to have a look. When they arrived at a blossomed
fruit tree, the garden-taker climbed up to the tree, and he rapidly used leaves of the tree to make
the baskets for monks to contain the fruits. However, when the garden-taker threw the leaves-
basket down to the ground, his son grasped and demolished all the leaves-basket.
This issue was told to the Buddha by the monks, and the Buddha looked at the young boy, the
son of the garden-taker and said:” It is not in the present, but also in the past, he was likely to
do the same thing.”
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in a rich family, so after his father died, he inherited all the fortune and became a rich man.
One day, he crossed a forest for work, and at the corner of the forest, he saw a farmer who was
staying on the top of the tree, making the leaves-basket. After making the baskets, the farmers
threw the baskets down to the monkey to keep. However, his monkey demolished all the
baskets that it grasped. Seeing that funny situation, the young Brahmin talked to the monkey:”
Hey monkey! Please stop destroying the baskets as your owner took time to do them.”
The monkey rapidly replied to the Brahmin:” You are extremely ignorant, so you don’t know
that it is the inherited behavior of the monkey?”
The young Brahmin talked to the monkey:” Although this behavior is transferred from your
ancestor, this action is wrong, so you have to stop it. I don’t intentionally complain to you but
to your owner who does not comprehend the attitude of the monkey, so he has given the baskets
to you to keep.’
Then the young Brahmin left that place to continue his journey.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the monkey was the son of the garden-taker.
Jataka 281: Story of Akhantara
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, related to the event in which Venerable Sariputta gave
the mango juice to Bikkhuni, Bimbadevi.
After the establishment of the Bhikkhus, Maha-Praijapati and 499 other women insisted the
Buddha allow women to ordain as clergy. After ordination, these women practiced hard and
they obtained enlightenments. Not long after the establishment of Bhikkhunis- association, the
mother of Rahula, the queen Yasodhara decided to ordain to live the life of a bagger monk, so
she went to a Bhikkhuni temple in Savatthi to ordain as a female monk, with dharma name as
Bimbadevi
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During her stay at Savatthi, Rahula often paid a visit to her, and one day, she got abdominal
floating. Thus, when Rahula paid a visit to her, she could not leave her cottage but Rahula had
to enter her cottage to see her. Rahula asked her:” Dear mom. What happened to you? How
can I help you to get rid of this suffering?”
Bikkhuni Bimbadevi said:” When I was in the palace, I used to drink mango juice to solve this
sickness, but now we are bagger-monks, so it is hard to find the mango juice.”
Rahula pacified his mom:” Don’t worry mom. I will get the mango juice to give you tomorrow.”
Then Rahula went to meet his master, Venerable Sariputta for help. After paying respect to
Venerable Sariputta, Rahula kept silent with a sorrowful face, so Venerable Sariputta asked
him:” Why do you look so worried about something?”
Rahula rapidly:” Dear master. My mom is getting sick, so she needs to drink mango juice to
heal the sickness. However, I have no way to find the mango juice.”
Venerable Sariputta pacified Rahula:” Don’t worry my son. I will have mango juice for your
mom tomorrow.”
Tomorrow morning, Venerable Sariputta took Rahula to pay a visit to the palace of the king
Kosala. At the palace, Venerable Sariputta let Rahula wait outside, and he alone paid a visit to
the palace. Seeing Venerable Sariputta, the king called people to bring the mangos to make the
juice to offer Venerable Sariputta. After getting the mango juice, Venerable Sariputta did not
drink but brought it to give Rahula and he left to return Jetavana.
Seeing that the Venerable Sariputta did not drink mango juice but brought it out, the king asked
a servant to go to observe to know the reason for the strange action of Venerable Sariputta. The
servant returned to tell the king Kosala what he saw, so the king Kosala decided to continue to
offer the mango juice to Bikkhuni Bimbadevi until she totally recovered.
This event rapidly spread around Jetavana, and one day, the monks lived at Jetavana gathered
to talk about this issue. When the Buddha entered, and after knowing the figure of the monks,
the Buddha slowly said that:” In the past, the mom of Rahula also received mango juice from
Sariputta when she got sick.”
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Brahmin family, and when he turned 16, he was well-cultivated at Takkasila. After his study,
he returned and got married to a beautiful girl. However, he was not attached too much to
family life, so after his parents passed away, he entered Himalaya to live the ascetic life of a
monk. With diligence, he soon obtained the fruits of meditations, with virtue and wisdom.
One day, he decided to get to the town to get salts, so he took some monks to get to the town,
Varanasi, to get alms. At Varanasi, they stayed in the mango-garden of the king. During his
stay in the mango garden, he often talked Dharmas to people, and due to his virtue, the seat of
Sakka, king of the gods was shaking, so the king Sakka, after knowing the reason, tried to cause
some trouble to the Bodhisattva to drive him back to Himalaya. The Sakka planned:” I will
appear to inform the queen that she needs to eat a middle-ripen mango to have a son. After
that the queen and the king will ask servants to get to the garden to find the mango, and I will
make all the mangos disappear. So, the king will think that the monks eat all and expel them
back to Himalaya.”
The Sakka did as he thought, and the king finally expelled all the monks living in the mango
garden. However, after the Bodhisattva and monks were expelled, the queen still hoped to have
a middle-ripen mango to eat to have a son, so the king called the officials for help:” Dear all
servants. My queen needs a middle-ripen mango to eat. Can you give me some suggestions to
get the middle-ripen-mango?”
An official rapidly said:” I heard that near to the Himalaya Mountain, there is a golden hill,
and on the hill, there are mango trees which can blossom the middle-ripen mangoes. However,
the people cannot enter that golden hill, so you have to send a parrot to get there.”
The king then, based on the suggestion of the official, said to his beloved parrot:” Dear servant!
You have been fed with luxurious foods and have lived in the golden cave. I have treated you
with all the best, so now it is the time for you to return what I have given you. Please fly to the
golden hill to get the middle-ripen mango for me.”
The parrot rapidly:” Dear majesty! Don’t worry! I shall get the middle-ripen-mango for you.”
The parrot diligently flew all the night and day time, and after passing several hills and
mountains, it finally arrived at the golden hill, but this place was the residing home of the King
Vessavana, the king of all Yashas. So, whoever entered the golden hill would be killed by the
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Yashas. When the parrot secretly entered the golden hill in the night time; however, it still was
discovered by the Yashas. When the parrot was going to be killed by Yashas, it said loudly to
the Yashas:” Dear sirs! You are servants of the king Vessavana, and I am the servant of king
Varanasi. When we do with all mind to our king, our bosses, we shall be reborn into heaven.
So, I am not worried about the death. Please kill and assist me to be reborn in heaven.”
The Yashas heard the utterance from the parrot, they raised up their compassions, so they
released the parrot. But, the parrot did not want to return without the middle-ripen-mango, so
it inquired the Yashas:” If you release me without giving me the middle-ripen-mango, I shall
be died here better than return Varanasi as I am not able to complete the mission that my king
asked me to do. “
Yasha said compassionately:” We understand your trouble, but we cannot give you anything
on this hill as everything is marked and if I give the mango to you, we shall be killed by the
king Vessavana when he discovers our stealing action. However, next to the golden hill, there
is a forest and there is an ascetic monk living there. The king Vessavana often offered mangos
to this monk, so if you are lucky, you shall get the mango from that monk.``
The parrot tried to fly to the cottage of the ascetic monk who was mentioned by the Yashas,
and after paying respect, the parrot asked for the middle-ripen-mango. The ascetic monk was
pleased to give the parrot a middle-ripen-mango after hearing the story from the parrot. The
parrot was happy to take the mango back to Varanasi for the queen. However, after eating the
middle-ripen-mango, the queen was not able to have a son.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the parrot was Ananda, while the queen of
Varanasi was Bikkhuni, Bimbadevi. The ascetic monk lived near the golden hill Sariputta, and
the ascetic monk who was expelled from the mango-garden was him.
Jataka 282: Story of Seyya
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about an official of king Kosala.
This official was a moral, humble and well-working person, and he had helped the king for
several works before he encountered trouble. One day, other officials, due to their jealousy,
slandered this official committed several crimes. The king was angry so he sentenced this
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official and let soldiers use iron chains to tighten around his body. During the time being
sentenced, this official did not get suffered or angry, but he used the careless-time in the prison
to contemplate on the loving kindness, and he achieved First Entering Stream level during the
time he was in the prison. Short time later, the king was calm to consider his case, and the king
knew that he had committed no crimes. Finally, he was free from the prison.
After being released, he tried to buy some flowers and fragrances to pay a visit to the Buddha.
The Buddha compassionately pacified him:” We heard that you were sentenced by slandered
words of others. Is it difficult for you to stay in prison?”
The official respectfully told the Buddha:” Dear Master! I really did not suffer at all when I
was in prison. Even I utilized the careless time to focus on the dharma practice, and was able
to stay strongly with loving-kindness.”
The Buddha smiled:” Great! In the past, the wise men also knew how to utilize the unwanted
conditions to succeed in their lives.”
In time gone by, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, Bodhisattva was born as the
prince of the king and the queen. After being well-cultivated with skills, virtue and knowledge
at Takkasila, he was given on the throne power of the nation after his father died. During his
rule, he applied ten royal dharmas into practice and used these dharmas as the principles for
the national law.
One day, there was an official who committed sexual misconduct with one of his maidens, and
his crime was informed to the new king. The new king did not punish him but expelled him out
of the nation. This official held a grudge against the king of Varanasi, so he went to work for
a nation which was a neighboring nation with Varanasi. During his work in the neighboring
nation, he convinced the king of that nation to take the army to occupy Varanasi. After three
times of insisting, the king of the neighboring nation followed the suggestions of this man to
take the army to attack Varanasi.
When the neighboring king and his soldiers were at the bordering area, some officials talked
to the king of Varanasi to take soldiers to fight against. However, the king of Varanasi refused
and ordered the soldiers to open the gates to let the king of the neighboring nation enter freely.
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After entering and controlling Varanasi, the king of the neighboring nation sentenced the king
of Varanasi. During the time in the prison, the king of Varanasi did not suffer but he tried to
contemplate on lovingness to all his servants, his soldiers, his maidens and even his enemy
king. His compassion made the king which occupied Varanasi felt tormented and distressed as
he was on the fire. So, he asked his officials:'' Dear servants! Why do I encounter this trouble?”
A wise official said:” As you sentenced the king of Varanasi, a person who preferred to use
virtue to rule the nation, you encountered his trouble. If you release him and return Varanasi
to him, this sickness will automatically disappear.”
The neighboring king of Varanasi released the king of Varanasi and returned Varanasi to him.
Before returning to his nation, the neighboring king said:” Whenever you encounter trouble,
let me know and I shall take my soldiers to assist Varanasi.”
After that, the king of Varanasi called his servants to teach that:” By loving-kindness, I was
able to save others from death due to the fighting between two nations. So, please develop your
loving-kindness to all others, as it is the best way to bring benefits to society.”
After teaching loving-kindness to his servants, the king of Varanasi gave his son to the throne
of power and he left the palace, heading toward Himalaya for ascetic life of the monk.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the neighboring king was Ananda, and the
king of Varanasi was him.
Jataka 283: Story of Vadhahaki-Sukara

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the venerable Dhanuggàhatissa.
When the king of Kosala, Pasenadi gave his sister to get married with the king Bimbisara of
Magadha, the king Pasenadi gave the village, namely Kasi, which is located between two
nations to Magadha. After the Ajatasatu killed king Bimbisara and sentenced his mother until
his mother died in the prison, the king Pasenadi decided to take the village Kasi back. So, there
were several fighting between two nations. Sometimes, Kosala won, and sometimes Magadha
won.
After several times of losing the control to Kasi, the king Pasenadi asked his servants to ask
monks about the procedure on how to regain the control of Kasi forever. Near the military-base
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of king Pasenadi, there was a cottage and there lived two monks, namely Utta and Tissa. The
servants of king Pasenadi arrived at the cottage of venerable Tissa and Utta, but it was night
time, so they sat down outside to wait for the monks in the cottage. In the early morning, the
venerable Tissa got up at 3 am and he called his friend venerable Utta to get up too. They
burned up fire to cook water to drink and during the time waiting for the water, venerable Tissa
talked to venerable Utta:” Do you know that the big stomach, Pasenadi, has no idea about
fighting, so he often was defeated by his nephew Ajantasattu. “
Venerable Utta curiously asked:” If you were him, what would you do to regain control of Kasi
forever?”
The venerable Tissa:” If I was him, I would divide the army into three groups, two groups
waited from two hills, and one group tried to fight with the soldiers of Ajatasattu. After fighting
awhile, this group would pretend to lose and run back. At that time, king Ajantasattu would
chase following, and at that moment, two groups of soldiers from the hills would run down to
catch the king Ajantasattu. “
The servants of king Pasenadi sat outside and listened to all the plans talked about by venerable
Tissa, so they silently returned to the military base to tell the king Pasenadi what they heard.
The king Pasenadi strictly followed the instruction of venerable Tissa, and consequently, he
could catch the king Ajantasattu easily. But, afterward, he could not kill his nephew, so he gave
his daughter to get married with his nephew, and the two nations stopped fighting each other.
This event was spread to Jetavana and the monks gathered at Dharma-hall, talking about the
knowledge of the venerable Tissa about fighting. When the Buddha entered the dharma-hall,
and after knowing the issue of the talk of the monks, Buddha calmly said:” It is not in the
present time, but also in the past, Venerable Tissa was excellent in fighting.”
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was born as a
deity living in a tree in a forest. There was a small village near to the forest and a wood-
carpenter often came to the forest to cut the trees to carry back as the tools for his works. On
one occasion, he saw a small boar, so he took it back to feed it. When it grew up, it assisted the
carpenter to move the trees to a base-camp for the easiness to moving the cutting woods to
other destinations. Also, it was clever as it lived with humans for a long time. Times flew,
realizing that the villagers wanted to kill his boar for meat, so the carpenter released it to the
deep forest.
After being released, this wise boar traveled around, and when it moved to a mountainous side,
it saw hundreds of boars living in a cave. The wise boar was happy to join this crowded family
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of boar. However, it noticed that almost all the boars which lived in the cave looked green and
weak, so it asked for the reason:'' Dear all friends. Could you tell me why you lived in a place
which had an abundance of foods, but you all looked weak and green?”
While most of the boar silently with sorrow thought, a boar rapidly said:” there is a tiger which
lives in a cave nearby here, and it often comes here to catch other animals to eat. Some boars
have been eaten by this tiger.``
The wise boar said:” Don’t worry. I am gonna assist you with all the skills and knowledge to
fight against the tiger.”
Then the wise boar used the whole night time, training the boars the plan to win the tiger. It
divided the boars to stand with several layers and itself stood near to the two deep holes they
dug. In the morning, the tiger went to the cave of the boars in order to catch boar for food, but
the tiger was surprised as the boars were standing in layers, and they were ready to protect each
other. The tiger was sorrowful to go back to its cave without food.
When it returned without meat, the monk who lived together with the tiger and had been sharing
meat with the tiger asked the tiger the reason. After comprehending the issue, the monk
encouraged the tiger to get to the cave of the boar again, and encouraged the tiger to roar loudly
to threaten the boars before attacking. The tiger went to the cave boars again, and seeing the
tiger, the boars rapidly stood into the layer as planned as taught by the wise boar. The tiger
tried to roar to threaten the boars; however, the tiger did not afraid, so the tiger jumped toward
the wise boar to catch this boar. Unlucky, the tiger fell down to the deep hole dug by the boars.
After the tiger fell down to the hole, the boars walked to the cave of the tiger to catch the monk
who often encouraged the tiger to kill the boar to take meat for him. Seeing the boars coming
from the distance, the monk climbed on a giant tree to escape. When the boars arrived, they
did not see the monk in the forest, but with the special nose of the boars, they soon discovered
the monk hiding on the tree. So, they tried to hit the tree to threaten the monk, and then they
returned to their cave. A ceremony was soon organized to give the wise boar to be the leader
of all the boars in the region.
The deity of the tree saw all the fights of the boars to the tiger and the monk, so he spoke the
verse:
I saw a wonderful power
From the gathering of several ones
The boars were able to win the tiger
With power of gathering together
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After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the wise boar was venerable Tissa, and the
deity of the tree was him.
Jataka 285: Story of Manisukara
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the assassinate of the beautiful girl, Sundhari.
After the Buddha established the Sangha, the fame of the Buddha was well-known around
India, and thus, people of India preferred to offer things to the Buddha and his monks compared
to their offering to the monks of other lineages. Due to the loss of benefits from the followers,
one day, the monks of other lineages gathered to discuss the plan to regain their fame and their
benefits. After several hours of discussion, they decided to utilize the beauty of a beautiful girl,
namely Sundhari to fulfil their plan.
They called Sundhari, and showed Sundhari that they suffered as they lost benefits for the
Buddha. Being convinced by the stimulants of the monks of other lineages, Sundhari agreed to
help them to carry out their plan. So, Sundhari brought lots of flowers and fragrances and stood
at the main gate of Jetavana to catch the intention of people. When had people cross or got
close to her, he said that:” I am going to pay a visit to Gotama, and we shall live together in a
room.``
At the night time, Sundhari returned to the temple of monks of other lineages to sleep and in
the early morning, she returned to the main gate of Jetavana to get notice of people. When there
were people who crossed Jetavana or got close to her, she all said that:” I just slept together
with Gotama last night. We even had sex together.”
After Sundhari got the concern of people, the monks of other lineages paid money to some
poor men to kill Sundhari and threw the body of Sundhari in the garden of Jetavana. After that,
they informed the king Kosala that the Buddha had sex killed Sundhari as the Buddha wanted
to hide his fault of having sex with Sundhari.
The king Kosala was extremely surprised, so he calmly called people to detect Jetavana first,
and the soldiers of the king Kosala found the dead body of Sundhari inside Jetavana. During
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the investigation of the king Kosala, all the monks could not leave the temple and the Buddha
as well. Most of the monks of other lineages went around to smear the Buddha. When the
monks told the Buddha about this issue, the Buddha advised monks to keep calm and he spoke
the verse:
Telling lie will bring the fruits of reborn in the hells
Doing evil acts, even try to refuse
The bad fruits are waiting
There is no way to escape from the causes
During the time, the servants of king Kosala went around to find the murders who killed
Sundhari, a group of men were argued about their killing acts to Sundhari. A murder said:” You
are using the money that receiving from killing Sundhari to drink this alcohol. Do you feel like
this alcohol fantasy?”
The servants of the king Kosala were about the cross the sitting place of the murders, and
hearing the utterance from them, the servants of king Kosala took catch all of them to the
palace. And, at the palace of king Kosala, they finally revealed that the monks of other lineages
asked them to kill Sundhari, not the Buddha and monks of the Buddha.
After this trouble, when the monks gathered at the dharma-hall, the Buddha told the monks:”
Dear all students. On this earth and even in the whole universe, no one can make the Buddha
stained and impure. Trying to make the Buddha impure or stained is like making a pearl getting
dirt, so this action is impossible to carry out. “
In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, there was born a boy in a
Brahmin family, and after being cultivated at Takkasila, the young Brahmin realized the family
life was not suitable to his interest. Hence, he went to Himalaya to live the ascetic life of a
forest monk. With diligence in practice, he soon achieved the fruits of meditation, with
calmness, compassion and wisdom.
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Near the cottage of the ascetic monk, there was a crystal cave, and there were about thirty boars
living in. There was a tiger which often walked across the crystal cave. From inside the cave,
seeing the tiger walking outside, the boars were often scary, so they decided to use muds from
the pond nearby to make the crystal walls dirty, so they would never see the tiger whenever the
tiger crossed the cave. However, the more diligent the boars were to make the crystal walls
dirty, the cleaner and brighter the walls were. To be distracted, the boars paid a visit to the
ascetic monk to ask the reason: “Dear master. We have tried hard to use the mud to make the
crystal walls dirty. However, the crystal walls seem to be brighter than ever before. What
should we do to stain them?”
The ascetic monk replied the question of the boars with a verse:
The crystal is kind of unstained material
All clean and bright
Nothing can make the crystal stained and dirty
Boars should move to live in another cave!
To follow the instruction of the ascetic monk, the boars moved to another cave to live. The
ascetic monk still lived in the cottage, and with strong determination, after passing away, he
was reborn into the Brahma realm.
Jataka 286: Story of Saluka
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a young monk who fell in love with a girl, and
lost his determination in dharma-practice.
When he was brought to meet the Buddha for help, the Buddha said to him:” Do you know that
in the past life, due to this girl, you were killed to make food for her friends and her relatives?
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Now, you should be diligent and patient to overcome your desire in order to stay in the dharma-
practice.”
In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was born as
a male cow, namely Big-Red, and his brother cow was named Little-Red. They all had to work
hard everyday from the early morning until the evening for their owners, the farmers in a small
village.
Beside these two cows, the farmers also fed a male pig, namely Saluka. This pig was growing
up in a beautiful trap, and was fed by the porridge made from rice-powders. With delicious
foods, Saluka tried to eat a lot, so he became very fat.
Saluka was given a lot of delicious food as the farmers desired to have a fat pig to have more
meat to prepare for the wedding of their daughter, but Saluka did not know about his coming
death. Hence, he enjoyed the foods the farmers gave him, and soon, became very fat.
One day, due to jealousy, Little-Red talked to his older brother:” Dear brother! I am really
jealous of that pig, as it can stay in luxurious places with delicious foods, and especially, it has
never worked at all. “
Big-Red calmly taught his silly brother:” Don’t be jealous of him, but should be compassionate
to him as he is going to be killed to make food for the wedding of the daughter of our owners.
They have fed Saluka for this purpose only. “
A short time after their conversation, the pig, Saluka, was killed to make food for the wedding
of the daughter of the farmers. Big-Red and Little-Red, after the death of Saluka, were happy
because they were fed to work not for making foods.
After telling this story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths to the attached monk, and
the attached monk was able to obtain First Entering Stream level. Finally, the Buddha
recognized that the attached monk was the pig which was killed for making food in the
wedding.
Jataka 287: Story of Labbha-Garaha

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This story was told at Jetavana, about a monk who was a friend of Venerable Sariputta.
One day, a monk who was an old friend of Venerable Sariputta paid a visit to Venerable
Sariputta, and after sitting down for close talk, this monk asked venerable Sariputta:”
Dear my best friend. Please show me how to earn more benefits, such as offerings,
clothes and so on.``
Venerable honestly said to his friend:” If you desire to have more benefits, there are
four ways. Firstly, you have to leave the Sangha, and give up your honesty. Secondly,
you try to be scheming, with clever and scheming talks to others to gain benefits. Third,
you have to be able to use sweet words to gain support from others. Finally, you should
be able to use evil words in cases which can bring benefits.”
After hearing the utterance from Venerable Sariputta, this monk did not agree with these
plans, so he was reluctant to leave. Venerable Sariputta, after that, paid a visit to the
Buddha and told the Buddha about this issue. The Buddha said that:” It is not in the
present time, but also in the past, this monk did not want to use scheming ways to gain
benefits.”
In times gone by, when the king Brahmadatta was reining Varanasi, the Bodhisattva
was born in a Brahmin family, and when he turned 16, he was well-trained with
knowledge of vedas and eighteen kinds of skills. After the graduation, he decided to be
a teacher, and with knowledge and wisdom, he soon became the renowned-master in
the region, with 500 young men to follow to study.
One day, when he was sitting in front of the yard to enjoy the tea, a young student paid
respect to him and asked:” Dear master. How shall I earn more benefits after I
graduate?”
The master looked at his young student and spoke the verse:
Telling lie to gain benefits
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Using scheming words to attract others
Using evil words to smear others
These are the best ways to earn more benefits in society!
After hearing the verse, the young student showed his idea about a virtuous life with
right livelihood and left. Soon, he became an ascetic monk to spend all his life practicing
in a forest, and with diligence, he was reborn in the Brahma realm after passing away.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the young student who denied using
scheming ways to gain benefits was the monk who was a friend of venerable Sariputta,
and the renowned master was him.
Jataka 288: Story Macch-Udana
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a scheming businessman.
millionaire family, and the Bodhisattva also had a younger brother. They grew up quickly,
and soon, all had their own families.
After their father died, they inherited the business of his father, so they did not separate the
property, but shared the profits from the incomes. One day, they together went to a far region
to do the business, and when they were on the way to return, they parked at the Ganges River
to have meal, and after eating the meal, they Bodhisattva threw the leftovers to the fishes to
pray for the virtue to the deity of the Ganges River. After his prayer, the deity of Ganges who
received the offering of the virtue was pleasant as the prayer assisted her to be more powerful.
During the time that the Bodhisattva was praying, his brother wanted to have all the money
from the business trip, so he took out a silk-clothing bag, which was similar to the one they
were keeping money in. With this attachment, the brother of Bodhisattva put tiny stones into
the bag, and then he put the two bags, stone and money bag together into a basket which he
took responsibility to carry. When they had to sit on the boat to cross the Ganges River to return
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home, in the middle of the Ganges River, the brother of Bodhisattva tried to take the stone bag
to throw to the river, and he shouted loudly:” Dear Brother! Too sorry! I dropped our money
down to the river. I shall return my saving money to you.``
Bodhisattva pacified his brother:” Don’t worry my brother. It is an accident, and you have no
fault for this, so don’t need to worry about this money anymore.”
The brother of Bodhisattva did not know that he threw the money bag to the river, not the stone
bag. At that time, the deity of Ganges River wanted to save the money for the Bodhisattva for
the prayer of him to her, so she forced a giant fish to swallow this bag of money. After a few
days, some fishermen went to the Ganges River to catch fishes, and the giant fish which
swallowed the money bag of the Bodhisattva was stuck into the net of the fishermen, so they
brought the fish to sell in the market of the town of Varanasi.
When the brother of Bodhisattva returned to his house, he was extremely happy to own all the
money from the business trip, so he rapidly ran into his room to open the money bag to look at
the money. However, he was terribly sorrowed as he saw all the tiny stones, not money. So, he
was attached to the money that he threw down to the Ganges River so that he could not eat and
sleep.
About the fishermen, when they brought the giant fish which swallowed the money bag to sell
in the market, the deity of the Ganges River used her power to make the fishermen sell the fish
with the price of the money bag into the fish’s stomach. So, whoever wanted to buy the fish,
they all said:” This fish is worth 1700 coins.”
With this high price of the fish, nobody dared to buy the fish, so in the late afternoon, they took
the fish to the house of Bodhisattva to sell. The Bodhisattva looked at the giant fish, and he
asked:” How much for this fish? And how much did you desire to sell others?”
A fisherman rapidly said:” It is only seven coins for this fish if you buy it, but it is 1700 coins
if others buy it.”
The Bodhisattva was curious about this strange thing, so he paid them 7 coins to buy the fish,
and then he gave his wife to make food. When his wife cut the fish to make food, she saw the
money bag inside the fish, so she hurriedly ran to meet Bodhisattva to inform about this strange
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issue. The bodhisattva checked the money bag, and he was able to recognize that the money
bag was of him and his brother. So, he desired to share the money with his brother.
At that time, the deity of Ganges River used her power to speak in the thin air to let the
Bodhisattva know that she assisted him to gain back the money:
Giving food to the fish
Giving the virtue of offering to me
In the return, I give this money back
As a way to show my gratitude!
Then the deity of Ganges river spoke the second verse to caution the Bodhisattva about his
brother
With scheming and greedy mind
Planned to have all the money
With evil mind, he would not able to get luck
Laying on the bed to cry for his loss and attachment!
Then the deity said to the Bodhisattva:” You don’t need to share the money to your brother, as
he planned to possess all that money alone. However, unlucky, he threw the money bag into
the river instead of the stone bag. Now, he is suffering due to his attachment to the loss of the
money.”
Bodhisattva calmly said:” I cannot do that as your advice, as half of the money belongs to him,
despite all his evil actions.”
Then the Bodhisattva shared 500 coins to his brother and told him the miracle story that he
experienced.
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After telling the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths, and the businessman
achieved First Entering Stream level. Finally, the Buddha identified that the dishonest brother
was the scheming businessman, and the honest businessman in the story was him.
Jataka 289: Story of Nana-Chanda
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a valuable wish of venerable Ananda, when he
was recommended to be the permanent assistant of the Buddha.
During the first 20 years of teaching, there were several venerable monks who worked as the
assistants of the Buddha. One day, the Buddha talked to all monks:” I am getting old, and I
want only one monk to be my permanent assistant, so please suggest a monk who is able to
carry out this work.”
Firstly, the monks suggested Venerable Sariputta to the Buddha; however, the Buddha highly
refused this suggestion. Then, the monks recommended Venerable Ananda to keep this
position, and upon the suggestion of the monks, the Buddha said that:” I only accept to keep
this position if the master agrees to my wishes. Firstly, don’t give me the clothes that others
offer him. Secondly, don’t give me the foods that others offer him. Third, Don't ask me to stay
in the same room with him. Fourth, don’t ask me to get to wherever people invite him. Fifthly,
the master shall go together with me to the places that I am invited. Sixthly, I have to join in
the discussions of the groups of people who pay a visit to the master. Seventhly, I can meet my
master whenever I have questions. Finally, the master has to retell what he talks to others
during the time that I did not stay to listen to the Dharmas.”
The Buddha agreed to the inquiries of venerable Ananda, and he became permanent assistant
of the Buddha.
The next morning, the monks gathered at Dharma-hall, talking about this issue, and when the
Buddha entered the dharma-hall, and knowing the figure of the discussion of monks, the
Buddha calmly said that:” It is not in the present time, but also in the past, I satisfied the wishes
of Ananda.”
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One upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, Bodhisattva was born as the
son of the queen and the king of the nation, and when he grew up, he was well-educated in
Takkasila. Upon his graduation, he returned to Varanasi, and soon was given the throne of
power of the nation after his father passed away.
During his ruling, there was a clergy of the palace which was dismissed as he had no
contribution to the palace and the nation as well. After being dismissed, he returned to live in
a rural area, in poor condition.
One day, the king disguised as a mundane man to get out of the palace to observe the life of
people around. Unluckily, when the king crossed a small road in which there were many
alcohol stores, the king was chased by some robbers who were drinking at a store. After a while
of chasing, the robbers were able to catch the king. After robbing the coat of the king, they took
the king together toward their place.
At that time, the clergy who were dismissed from the palace saw the sky, and he knew that the
king was encountering trouble, so he talked with his wife:” Dear honey! Our king is getting in
trouble as he was caught by his enemies.
At that time, the king was in the vehicle of the robbers crossing the house of the clergy, and
the king heard all the utterances of the clergy to his wife. The king was surprised about the
knowledge of the clergy. At that time, the king tried to persuade the robbers to release him:”
Dear all the noble men! I have nothing but the coat only. You don’t need to carry me together
as you will have to prepare food for me. It is better to let me go. I will appreciate your kindness
forever.”
The robbers thought the words of the king were honest, so they released the king. After being
released, the king tried to get back to the town, and when he crossed the house of the clergy,
he heard the discussion of the clergy to his wife:” Dear honey! It is fine. Our king was released
and he is safe now.”
The next morning, the king called all the clergies of the palace and asked:” Did you watch the
sky yesterday, and did you comprehend something related to me?”
They said:” Dear majesty. Yes, we did and we realized that there are no troubles to you and
this nation at all.”
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The king then asked some soldiers to invite the dismissed clergy to the palace, and when the
dismissed clergy arrived, the king asked:” Did you watch the sky yesterday, and did you
comprehend something related to me?”
The dismissed clergy honestly:” Yesterday I watched the sky, and based on my experience, you
were caught by some people but later on, they released you.”
The king said to all:” This is a great clergy. He could predict sufficiently what happened to me
yesterday. So, from now on, he will be the main clergy and main consultant of the nation.”
The king then turned to the dismissed clergy:” Now, I give you a wish. Please think twice and
let me know your wish.”
The dismissed clergy:” Dear majesty. Could you please let me ask other members of my family
as I want to bring benefit to them by this wish.”
After discussion with all members of his family, the next day, the dismissed clergy entered the
palace to let the king know all the wishes of his family members:”
Dear majesty, the great!
Different ideas, different wishes of my family members
My wife wishes, 100 cows
Myself wish a village
The son wishes a vehicle with strong horses
Valuable earring, my only daughter
Punna, my servant wishes a new millstone
The king satisfied all the wishes from the family members of the dismissed clergy, and let him
keep an important position in the palace.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the dismissed clergy was Ananda, and the
king was him.
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Jataka 290: Story of Sila-Vimamsa
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, related to a Brahmin who stole the golden coins of the
king Kosala to test whether the king paid respect to him due to his background or his morality.
At the Buddha time, there was a Brahmin who worked for the king Kosala, and this Brahmin
kept strictly five precepts, not killing, not having sexual misconduct with other, not having
stealing, not drinking and not telling lie. Among officials of the nation, the king Kosala loved
this Brahmin more than other officials.
One day, this Brahmin wondered whether the king and other people paid respect to him due to
his high position, his background or his morality. So, he decided to put him into the challenge.
Hence, after working in the palace, before returning home, he went to the storage of the palace
and took 1 golden coin. The storage-taker saw he took the money, but due to his morality, the
storage-taker just kept silent. The next day, he stole 2 golden coins, and the storage-taker still
kept silent. The day after that, he took 5 golden coins from the storage of the palace, and this
time, the storage-taker shouted loudly. After the shout of the storage-taker, many soldiers
arrived at the storage immediately, and they caught the official to the king.
The king immediately got angry to blame him:” Why did you do that stealing actions? I pay
you lots of money monthly.”
The official said calmly:” Dear majesty. I did not steal the coins. I just wanted to test whether
you and others have paid respect to me due to my background, my knowledge, my position or
my morality. Now, after testing, I realize that morality is more important than others. So, dear
majesty, please let me leave my job for dharma practice.”
After getting permission from the king Kosala, the official went to Jetavana to ordain as a
monk, and with strong determination, he soon obtained Arhathood. His achievement soon,
spread around Jetavana, and one day, the monks gathered at Dharma-hall, talking about him:”
Dear great venerable monks! The official who challenged himself by stealing golden coins of
king Kosala left his high position in the palace to ordain as a monk at our temple. After a short
time, he achieved Arhathood. It is great man.``
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The Buddha, after knowing the figure of the talk of the monks, calmly said:” Dear monks. In
the past, the wise men also put themselves into the challenge to test the respect of others to
them, and after realizing the importance of morality, they left their high positions and achieved
enlightenment.”
In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, there was a clergy who worked
as the consultant of the king, and was a moral person of keeping five precepts (Not telling lie,
not drinking, not having sexual misconduct, not stealing and not killing). By keeping five
precepts, this clergy was loved by almost all others including the king and all people in the
palace. On day, he contemplated that:” The respect that people have given to me is due to my
background, my knowledge, my high position or my moral practice? I need to test it.”
So, in the afternoon, after the working hours were over, he went to the storage of the king to
take a golden coin, and he did the same for two days. In the first and the second stealing action
of the clergy, the storage-taker did not say everything, but in the third time, he caught the clergy
and brought the clergy to the king. When the king asked him the reason for his stealing, the
clergy said:” I just want to test whether morality is the most valuable thing on this earth.”
Overpass all other things on this earth
Morality is the most valuable
Whoever live with moral acts
Enlightenment is not far distance
Moral people are bright among others
Live happily until they pass away
With accumulation of morality
Be able to reborn in the heaven
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Then the clergy asked the king of Varanasi to let him leave his job to live a monk life. After
getting approval from the king, he left his family to enter Himalaya for an ascetic life as a forest
monk. With the fundamentals of morality and determination in dharma practice, he soon
obtained fruits of meditation and was reborn in the Brahma realm after passing away.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the clergy in the story was him.
Jataka 291: Story of Bhadra-Ghata

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the nephew of Anathapindika,
The nephew of Anathapindika inherited the fortune for his parents, about 4 million golden
coins. However, he did not concentrate on doing business but enjoyed playing and drinking.
Soon, he ran out of all the money and he even sold his house. Finally, when he had nothing, he
paid a visit to his uncle, Anathapindika, for help. Seeing the nephew in the terrible situation,
Anathapindika generously gave him 1000 golden coins in order to assist him to be able to do
business again. However, his nephew wasted this valuable money for playing, and he soon paid
a visit to his uncle again for help. The second time, Anathapindika gave his nephew 500 golden
coins as the investment money for doing business. Nevertheless, the nephew of Anathapindika
used this money carelessly, and he soon had no money. Consequently, he again arrived at his
uncle's house, Anathapindika to ask for assistance. This time, Anathapindika just gave him two
sets of clothes, and he sold these two sets of clothes to take money to play. Afterward, he paid
a visit to his uncle to seek for help and generosity again, but this time, Anathapindika refused
to help him. Hence, he travelled around and soon died on the road. After he died, people
informed Anathapindika about the death of his nephew. Anathapindika ordered servants to do
funerals for his nephew, while he paid a visit to the Buddha.
After paying respect to the Buddha, Anathapindika told the Buddha about his nephew. The
Buddha then calmly said:” How could you satisfy a guy who was too greedy even though he
had a wishing bowl in hands in the past.”
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a business family. After being an adult, he got married and after his father died, he inherited
all the fortune and business from his father. With diligence, his business was gradually
succeeded and he saved 4 million golden coins for his son. Besides doing business, the
Bodhisattva also enjoyed cultivating good deeds of helping others, so he soon reborn as Sakka
after passing away.
His only son was addicted to drinking and playing, so, his son gathered people to drink all the
time. Soon, all fortune was run out, and he only had to travel around as a bagger for a living.
One day, with the power of contemplation, Sakka knew that his son in the previous life was in
difficulty, so he appeared in a human form and gave a wishing bowl to his son, saying:” Dear
son! This wishing bowl can satisfy all wishes, so you have to take good care of it.”
The only son of Bodhisattva, after having the wishing bowl, still lived in the horrible tendency,
drinking all the time. He wished to have food and wine to drink only. One day, after drinking
a lot, he was drunk, so he threw the wishing bowl on the sky and tried to catch the wishing
bowl when the bowl fell down the ground. Unlucky, he could not catch the wishing bowl, so
the bowl was broken into segments. Losing the wishing bowl, the son of Bodhisattva had
nothing to eat, and he soon died on the road.
Then the Buddha spoke the verse to summarise the story:
The feckless man, having wishing bowl
Whatever wishes, the bowl all give
Having this bowl as miracle
Money or food, no difficult to have
With ignorance, in drunken mind
Throwing the bowl to demolish it
Encountering suffering of poverty
Traveling without food and house
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Then the Buddha recognized that the son of the businessman in the story was the nephew of
Anathapindika, and the Sakka, king of gods and goddesses was him.
Jataka 292: Story of Supatta
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, related to the offering of Venerable Sariputta to
Bikkhuni, Bimbidevi.
After Yashodara was ordained as a Bikkhuni, Rahula often paid visit to his mom, and one day,
upon his visit, he knew that his mom was having a stomach problem. There was no serious way
to solve the problem but a meal with fresh butter, red tilapia fish and rice. Rahula had no way
to gain these kinds of foods, so he told his master, venerable Sariputta, to help him.
The next morning, Venerable Sariputta paid a visit to the palace of king Kosala, and the king
Kosala ordered servants to offer Venerable Sariputta the meal with fresh butter, rice and red
tilapia fish. Venerable Sariputta did not eat at the palace but put it into his bowl and gave
Rahula to give his Bhikkhuni, Bimbadevi.
A servant of king Kosala told this issue to king Kosala and king Kosala decided to offer a meal
with fresh butter, red tilapia fish and rice to Bikkuni, Bimbadevi until she recovered. This event
soon spread to Jetavana, and the monks gathered at Dharma-hall, talking about the assistance
of Venerable Sariputta to the mother of Rahula. When the Buddha knew the figure of the talk
of monks, the Buddha said to monks:” It is not only in the present time, but also in the past,
Sariputta gave Bhikkhuni, Bimbadevi with the foods that she wanted.”
a crow, namely Supatta, and with wisdom, the Bodhisattva soon became the king of 80
thousand crows in the town. The king of crows had a wife, namely Suphassa and a faithful
assistant, namely Sumukho.
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One day, when the king of crow took his wife to fly to other region to find foods, when they
flew over the kitchen of the king, the smell of the cooking fishes made Suphassa attached to
the food of the king of Varanasi, so the next morning, when the king of crow called his wife to
fly out for living, his wife denied and said:” Now, I don’t want to eat everything but the foods
of the king Varanasi. “
The king of crow said to his wife:” Don’t worry. I will try to get it to you.”
However, the king of crow had no way to get the food of king Varanasi to his wife, so it stayed
on a cliff and contemplated sorrowly. Seeing the worry for the king, Sumukho flew close to
Supatta and asked:” What are you worried about? Dear my majesty?”
Supatta told Sumukho about the attachment of his wife to the food of king Varanasi, so
Sumukho calmly said:” Don’t worry. Tomorrow, you will have that food.”
Then Sumukho called other crows and told them the plan to steal the food of king Varanasi.
To base on the plan of Sumukho, eight strong crows had nothing to do, but waited until the
chef would drop the dishes of food, and then they would try to take the rice and fish to give to
their queen and their king. Other crows would attack the legs and the hands of the chef, while
Sumukho would attack the neck of the chef.
The next morning, they did similar to what they planned, and when the crows were attacking
the chef, the king of Varanasi was on the high floor and shouted loudly:” Hey servant. Drop
all the dishes and take a crow and bring it to meet me.”
The chef of the king Varanasi dropped all the dishes out of his hands and used his hands to
catch Sumukho, which was trying to attack his neck. At that time, eight strong crows tried to
take fish and rice to give to their queen and king, while other crows enjoyed eating the leftover
foods.
When the chef took the crow, Sumukho, to the king of Varanasi, the king asked:” Hey black
crow! What made you devote all your life to stealing the food?”
Sumukho, without fear, slowly replied with verses:
In this town of Varanasi
King of crows, namely Supatta
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Having 80 thousand servants
All live together in the town
The queen, Suphssa desired to have your food
With fresh fish, cooked with fantastic smell
To satisfy the desire of the queen
We came here to take the food
After hearing the verse from Sumukho, the king of Varanasi thought:” I have offered my
servants with valuable things, such as a village, gold and high positions, but nobody is willing
to devote their lives for me. This animal is willing to die for their king and queen, so I should
release it for its virtue.”
Then the king released Sumukho. From that day, the king asked the chef to cook more rice to
offer to the crows living in the region.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the crow, Sumukho, was Sariputta and the
queen of crow was Bimbadevi, while the king of crows was him.
Jataka 293: Story of Kaya-Vicchinda
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a young man who got yellow fever and who
rapidly obtained Arhathood after his ordination.
At the Buddha time there was a Brahmin, who one day got yellow fever, and although he tried
to have varied methods of healing, he was not able to get rid of the suffering the this sickness.
When he was about to die, he prayed that he would leave the family life to ordain as a monk.
After his prayer, he gradually recovered and he left his family to be a monk in the Sangha of
the Buddha. With strong determination, he soon obtained Arhathood.
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His wonderful story was rapidly spread around Jetavana, and the monks gathered at Dharma-
hall, talking about this issue:” Dear Great monks! That monk got serious sickness, and by
prayer, he recovered and was obtained as a monk. Wonderfully, he could achieve Arhathood
quickly after his ordination.”
The Buddha, after knowing the figure of monks, said calmly that:” In the past, the wise men
also were able to recover from serious sickness after honest prayers, and they decided to leave
the family life to live as ascetic monks to bring benefit to themselves and others.”
In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, Bodhisattva was born as a boy
in a Brahmin family. When he grew up, he got married with an elegant girl and was attached
to doing business. In a short time, he obtained a number of moneys. Unluckily, one day, he got
the yellows fever, and could not recover even though had tried various methods and healing
strategies.
In the terrible suffering, one day, he honestly prayed to the sky that he would leave for monk
life if he could recover. Soon after his prayer, he recovered and got rid of this terrible sickness.
To keep the promise to his prayer, he left his family to live as a monk in Himalaya Mountain.
With diligence in practice, he soon achieved fruits of meditation, with development of loving
kindness, calmness and wisdom. One day, he was happy to speak the verse to express his
happiness of monk life:
With terrible and serious sickness
Suffered, I was punished by the illness
The body was weak and dry
As the flowers are fading
This body is impure and dirty
With sickness and sickness
Attachment of the body, are ignorant
Reborn in suffering realms
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Then, Bodhisattva spent the rest of his life practicing loving-kindness, compassion, joy and
equanimity. After passing away, he was reborn in the Brahma realm.
Jataka 294: Story of Jambu-Khadaka

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about Devadatta and Kokalika.
After the Venerable Sariputta and Moggalana paid a visit to the temple of Devadatta and
Kokalika to take 500 new ordained monks back to Jevatana. Devadatta and Kokalika graduallu
lost their benefits and seldom got offerings from others. Hence, Kokalika went around to talk
with people:” Devadatta is a royal family member, belongs to the Okkaka royal family. He has
great knowledge about suttas and achieved supreme powers, and he is a great master. So please
come to offer him.``
In return, Devadatta also walked around to speak highly of Kokalika:” Venerable Kokalika was
born in the North in a noble Brahmin family, and he had great knowledge in dharmas. He is a
great master indeed. Please come to visit and offer him.”
Their actions were rapidly spread to Jetavana, and one day, the monks gathered at Dhama-hall,
talking about the livelihoods of Devadatta and Kokalika:” Dear great brothers! Kokalika and
Devadatta walk around to speak highly of each other to encourage people to come to offer
them.”
When the Buddha entered the Dharma-hall, and knowing the figure of the talk of monks, the
Buddha calmly said:” It is not in the present time but also in the past, they used this way to
earn a living.”
One upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was born as
a deity lived in a forest of peach trees. One day, in the blossoming season, a crow parked on
the top a peach tree to enjoy the fruits. At that time, there was a jackal crossing the peach tree
which had a crow on. The jackal wanted to have peach fruits to eat, so it spoke highly of the
crow:
Which bird is on the peach tree
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Having elegant and attractive singing
Standing posture likes a peacock dancing
Beautiful in all gestures, you are!
The crow was happy to hear the praise from the jackal, so it also replied the jackal with a verse:
Who was born in a noble family
Knowing to praise others with good words
You look like the lion in all postures
Come to eat this special foods
Then the crow tried to shake the branch of the peach tree to drop the ripen fruits for the jackal.
At that time, the deity of the peach tree spoke the verse to smear the crow and the jackal:
The crow and the jackal, I know clearly
Enjoying eating ruin and smelling meats
You are not from noble backgrounds
Telling lie each other as noble ones
Then the deity of the peach tree appeared in terrible shape to drive away the crow and the
jackal.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the jackal was Devadatta and the crow was
Kokalika, while the deity of the peach tree was him.
Jataka 295: Story of Anta

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the wrong livelihoods of Devadatta and Kokalika.
deity of a palm tree which grew up at the edge of a small village. One day, there was a cow
which died of a mystical sickness, so to be scared to eat the cow, the villagers carried it to the
landfills of the village which was near to the palm tree where the Bodhisattva lived.
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After the villagers left, a jackal which lived near the edge of the village smelled the ruined
meat, so it arrived at the landfills of the village to enjoy the cow's dead body. During that time,
a crow which was parked on a tree near the landfills, desired to have cow meat to eat, so it tried
to speak highly of the jackal:
Giant body like a big cow

Beautiful, the standing posture like the lions
The great king of all animals
Please kindly give me a portion of cow meat
The jackal was pleasant about the praise of the crow, so in return, it spoke a verse to invite the
crow to fly down to enjoy the cow meat together:
Who are from noble backgrounds!

Know to speak highly of others
You look beautiful as a peacock
Please come and enjoy this food
The deity of the palm tree, hearing the praised verses of the jackal and the crow to each other,
felt funny, so he spoke the honest verse to play with the jackal and the crow:
Among animals, lowest one, the jackal

In birds, crow is lowest one
In relate to trees, the palm tree is lowest quality
We are in the lowest rankings!
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the jackal was Devadatta and the crow was
Kokalika, whereas the honest deity of the palm tree was him.
Jataka 296: Story of Samuddha
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about venerable Upananda.
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Upananda was a greedy monk, and he often tried to collect a lot of food and personal stuff, like
robes, bowls and shoes. During the rainy retreat, Upananda did not stay at one place, but he
preferred to travel to live in several temples. Wherever he lived, he tried to convince young
monks to live simply in order to get rid of desire, and being convinced by Upananda, they threw
away new robes, new bowls in order to wear on the old robes and old bowls. After the young
monks threw their stuff, Upananda collected all those things and put on a horse vehicle to bring
them to his room at Jetavana.
This behavior tendency of venerable Upananda was noticed by most monks living in Jetavana,
and one day, they could not endure this living style of venerable Upananda so they gathered at
Dharma-hall, talking about venerable Upananda:” Dear venerable brothers! Venerable
Upananda was extremely greedy, and he preferred to convince others to get less but he is greedy
to take a lot.”
When the Buddha knew this living style of Upananda, the Buddha called the venerable
Upananda to teach him that:” It is wrong to convince others to live with a simple and less
attached life but we are likely to attach and grasp a lot. So, you should be diligent to live simply
first before encouraging others.”
Then the Buddha talked to the monks:” It is not in the present time, but also in the past, he was
trying to advise others to live simply, but he did not.”
the deity of the ocean, so, he monitored and overlooked all the sea spices and the sea as well.
One day, there was a crow flying across the sea to find food, and seeing the fishes were playing
in the water, the crow advised:” Dear fishes and great birds! Please save the sea water, as it is
limited. Don’t drink too much the sea water.``
The deity of the ocean heard the advice of the crow, the deity was funny to mock the crow:
Which bird flying over the ocean
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Ignorant to suspend the sea spices to enjoy the water
Sea water even is limited
All the spices on this earth cannot drink out
The crow was angry to reply the deity of ocean:
As people often say that

Crow drink without stop
I shall drink out this sea water
Make the ocean without water
The deity of ocean spoke the verse to teach the crow:
Although the sea water decreases a little bit

Shall be filled up again within one day
No spices in this earth can drink out sea water
Stop being silly, dear crow!
Then the deity of the ocean appeared in the horrible form to chase the crow away.
After telling the Buddha recognized that the crow was Upananda, while the deity of the ocean
was him.
Jataka 297: Story of Kama-Vilapa

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a young monk, who still was attached to his wife
after the ordination.
When the Buddha knew the trouble of this monk, the Buddha called him and asked:” Is it true
that you are still attached to your wife after you have been in this dharma- practice?”
The young monk:” Yes. Dear master.”
The Buddha looked at the monks and calmly said:” Due to that woman, in the past, you were
punished terribly. So, now, you have to try hard to get rid of your desire.”
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deity who lived near to the palace of the king.
At that time, during the national festival of Varanasi, people often wore colorful clothes to
enjoy the festival. In the town of Varanasi, in a poor region, there was an extremely poor family,
and the young couple had no money to live comfortably. Hence, having colorful clothes was a
big challenge to them.
During the festival and seeing people wearing colorful clothes to enjoy the festival, the wife
talked with the husband:” Dear honey! For years, I have had no colorful clothes to enjoy the
Katina festival, so could you please enter the palace of the king to steal some beautiful clothes
for me.”
The husband firstly refused the suggestion of his wife, but as his wife constantly insisted, he
finally agreed to get to the palace to steal some clothes for his wife. Then, he waited until it
turned dark and from the back wall of the palace, he climbed up to the palace. After getting
inside, he tried to reach the storage house where would store various things. Finally, with effort,
he arrived at the storage house of the palace, and tried to demolish the locks of the doors to
enter the storage house. While he was demolishing the locks, some soldiers who stood nearby,
heard the strange sounds, so they rapidly got to his place, catching him easily.
When he was brought to the king, the king was angry and punished him terribly. To base on
the utterance of the king, the soldiers took the young husband out of the palace, beside the river,
tightened him into a giant stake, and there were some soldiers monitored to avoid his escape.
For several days under the sunlight without water, the young husband terribly suffered and
looking on the sky, with some birds freely flying, he suffered to speak the verse:
Birds, freely flying on the sky

Kindly sending message to my wife
The most beautiful woman in the town
I could not satisfy her desire
The colorful clothes and fragrances

With jewels and perfumes
Could not bring back to her
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But my heart will be love her forever
Then he soon died due to exhaustion of water and food. After telling the story, the Buddha
talked about Four Noble Truths to the monks, and the young monk who was attached to his
wife achieved Arhathood. Finally, the Buddha identified that the husband was the young monk
who was attached to his wife, and the deity of the tree who observed the issue was him.
Jataka 298: Story of Udumbara
The Buddha told this story, upon the trouble that a monk encountered.
At Buddha time, there was an old monk, who lived in a cottage which was made on a giant
cliff in the bordering area, and which was near to a well-developed village. The life of this
monk was comfortable as villagers often offered a lot of food and stuff to him whenever he got
to the village for alms.
One day, there was a young monk who paid a visit to this old monk, and the next morning, the
old monk took the visiting monk together to the village to get alms. To see that the villagers
offered a lot of food and stuff, the young monk planned to drive the old monk away to live in
the cottage and to enjoy the offering from the villagers. Hence, the young monk asked the old
monk:” I guess that you did not pay a visit to our great master, the Buddha for a long time,
didn’t you?”
The old monk replied:” Yes. I also desired to pay a visit to the great master, but nobody takes
care of this cottage as I am afraid that the animals in the forest will come to make this cottage
messy when I leave for long days.”
The young monk, as planned, quickly said:” So, venerable. You can get to Jetavana to visit our
great master. I will be here to take care of this cottage.”
The old monk was happy to leave for the visit to the Buddha the next day, and after several
days lived at Jetavana. During the time the old monk stayed at Jetavana, the young monk went
to the village to get alms, and whenever he saw people, he told lies about the bad behaviors of
the old monk to the villagers.
After several days at Jetavana, finally, the old monk decided to return to his location, and when
he arrived at his cottage, the young monk did not allow him to enter his cottage. Hence, he had
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to stay under the big tree temporarily. In the morning, he got to the village for alms, and he was
surprised as nobody dared give him anything as they believed the lying of the young monk
about him.
Sorrowfully, he returned to Jetavana to tell the great venerable monks there, and his issue, soon,
being the topic of discussion of monks at Jetavana the next morning. When the Buddha entered
th Dharma-hall, and knowing the issue of the talk of monks, the Buddha calmly said:” In the
past, that person also used scheming way to drive away others from their living places.”
deity living in a giant tree in a deep forest. Near the tree of the Bodhisattva, there was a cave
and there lived an old monkey which had a red-face. During the rainy season, the cave of the
red-face monkey was the best place for residing. One day, there was a big monkey which had
black-face went near the cave of the red-face monkey to find food. At that time, it was raining,
and the black-face monkey had to hide itself under a luxuriant tree to avoid the rain. From the
luxuriant tree, the black-face monkey saw the red-face monkey was comfortably sitting in the
cave, so it planned to steal the cave and drive the red-face monkey away. Hence, it bended its
stomach toward and pretended that it was full and shouted toward the red-face monkey:”
The fig fruits were ripened in this forest

Enjoyed eating, I am now full
Together get there, I show you the place
Staying here without food only
The red-face monkey easily believed the black-face monkey, so it left the cave to go toward
the direction that the black-face monkey showed it. After hours of searching, it could not find
the ripened figs, so it decided to return to its cave. When it returned it rapidly realized that it
was deceived by the black-face monkey as the black-face monkey was in its cave. To plan to
regain the control of the cave, the red-face monkey said:”
Blessing to those who are kindness

Showing the place which is full of food
Totally full after enjoying eating
With various kinds of fruits
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The black -face monkey knew that the red-face monkey was trying to deceive it to regain
control of the cave, so it mocked the red-face monkey:” We are all monkeys, so I understand
the scheming plan and thought of other monkeys. “
The red-face monkey, afterward, decided to leave to find other places for living.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the red-face monkey was the old monk and
the black-face monkey was the young monk. The deity of the giant tree was him.
Jataka 299: Story of Komaya

The Buddha told this story at Pubbarrama, about some monks who were extremely aggressive,
rude and talkative.
These monks lived at Purbbarama, and their rooms were close to the Buddha room. These
monks were talkative and greedy to know the issues related to others, and then they gathered
to argue about what they heard and knew. The Buddha knew about their problem, so the
Buddha called the venerable Moggalana to advise them to change.
After the teaching of venerable Moggallana, they totally changed their attitude and behaviors
to be better. This event made the monks at Purbbamara noticed about the negative behaviors
of them, so other monks, one day, gathered at the Dharma-hall, talking about the issue of these
monks:” Dear great brothers! Those monks, although have been in the dharma practice for
long time, did not focus on their practice but concerned too much about the problem and issues
of others. They finally were complained by the master and venerable Moggalana.”
When the Buddha entered the Dharma-hall for teaching, and knowing the figure of concern of
monks, the Buddha said that” It is not in the present time, but also in the past, they wasted their
time to concern the problems and issues of other people.”

only son in a rich family, and he was named Komayaputta. After being well educated when he
grew up, he left his family to enter Himalaya for an ascetic life as a forest monk. With diligence
in practice, he soon achieved levels of meditative contemplation, compassion and wisdom.
Not far from his living place, there was a group of ascetic monks, who did not try hard in
practice but often gathered to play together for fun. They had a monkey which often performed
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to entertain these monks. One day, they lacked oils and salts, so they went to the village nearby
to stay for a few days to collect salts and oils from the offerings of villagers.
When he just left, Komayaputta went across to their cottages to find fruits, and seeing nobody
was there, Komayaputta decided to stay there a few days. During the time Komayaputta stayed
there, the monkey of the talkative monks tried to come to perform to make Komayaputta smile.
Nevertheless, instead of praising the monkey, Komayaputta complained to the monkey:”
Whoever lives together with ascetic monks should try to perform in the moral and disciplinary
ways as the ascetic monks do. Please stop performing to entertain others, but try to be moral
and disciplinary.”
The monkey followed the instruction of Komayaputta, so it tried to perform as well as
Komayaputta did and it stopped playing around as usual. After a few days, Komayaputta
returned to his place, and the talkative monks also just returned to their cottages. The monkey
saw the talkative monks, but it did not enjoy playing as usual but just kept silent. So, the
talkative monks were wondered to ask it:
Monkey, you were naughty

Playing all the times together with us
Performing as your nature as usual
Being moral and disciplinary is not satisfied us
The monkey rapidly replied:
Following the teaching of Komaya, the great master

Listening to the great utterances
I already changed my attitudes
Contemplating and concentrating are my acting
After telling this story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths to the monks, and finally,
the Buddha recognized that the talkative monks in the past were talkative monks at
Purbbamara, and Komayaputta was him.
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Jataka 300: Story of Vaka
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, related to the practice of monks about Vinaya.
After the ordination about two years, venerable Upasena paid a visit to the Buddha, and he
took his friend who just ordained for one year. During the visit, the friend of the venerable
Upasena was too aggressive, so the Buddha advised him about his behavior.
The friend of the venerable Upasena was sad, so he returned and tried to practice hard. Finally,
he obtained Arhathood and vowed to keep strictly 13 dharma rules of the monks. He also
advised other monks to practice these 13 dharma rules. Knowing the hard practice of friend of
Upasena, the Buddha, on one visit to the Buddha, friend of Upasena was told by the Buddha
that whoever would practice 13 dharma rules of monks would be able to pay a visit and stay
together with the Buddha in the rainy retreat. Friend of Upasena was happy to inform other
monks, and they vowed to practice these 13 dharma rules of the monks, so in one rainy retreat,
they were able to stay in the same temple with the Buddha. During the rainy retreat, they tried
to practice hard these rules. Nevertheless, after the rainy retreat, they threw all the old robes to
wear on the new robes and left the residence.
After the rainy retreat, some great monks went around to monitor and observe the rooms of
monks, and seeing the old robes were thrown around the rooms, the Buddha said that:” Their
practice is just like the wolf keeping precepts in some days.”
Sakka, king of gods and goddesses, in the 33rd heaven.
In the forest, near the river, there was a giant cliff and a wolf lived on the cliff. One day, during
the rainy season, the water covered the cliff and the wolf could not leave to find food, so the
wolf thought:” Okay. I will try to practice the dharma by skipping meat from now on.”
The Sakka, at that time, tried to challenge the wolf, so he appeared as a mumble goat, which
parked to the cliff from the river. The wolf saw the goat, it could not endure the hunger, so it
decided:” Okay. Let me eat meat today, and skip eating meat tomorrow.”
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Then the wolf jumped toward the goat to grasp the goat, but the goat rapidly jumped to the
river to swim to the river bank. The wolf was sorrowed to think:” Okay. So, I am still not
committed to my vow of skipping eating meat today. It is my luck.”
The Sakka at that time appeared in the form of the king of gods and goddesses and spoke the
verse in the thin air to mock the wolf:
Wolf survive by eating other animals

Eating meat and drinking bloods
One day, vowing to skip eating meat
This vow is made but hard to keep
To know the vow of wolf, Sakka challenges

To appear as the goat appearing in front of the wolf
To see the goat, the wolf jumping to grasp to eat
To throw the vow, skipping eating meat
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the Sakka was him.
Jataka 301: Story of Culla-Kalinga
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the participation of four women of Jainism into
the Bhikkhuni Sangha.
At Vesali, which was the hometown of Licchavi people, the people of Licchavi extremely
enjoyed discussion and arguments, so they often organized arguments competitions between
people to find out the best argumentative speaker. One day, there were two monks of Jainism,
one male and one female, who arrived at the town of Vesali. The people of Licchavi were
happy to organize the argumentative contestant with these two monks, and after these two
monks won them, they continued to organize the argumentative contestant between these two
monks of Jainism to find out the best one among the two. After hours of arguments of about
500 topics, Licchavi people realized that these two monks were excellent in arguments, so they
decided to let them get married to each other to have excellent children.
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Soon after the marriage, they had 5 children, four daughters, and one son. Their daughters were
named Saca, Lola, Avavadaka and Patakara respectively, their only son was named Saccaka.
When their children grew up, they were well-educated by both father and mother, so they
inherited the great knowledge of 1000 topics, 500 ones from their father while the rest from
their mother. Time flies, when their mom was about to pass away, their mom finally gave the
final advice to four daughters:” Dear all my daughters. After I die, if the lay men can defeat
your arguments, please get married with them despite of who they are, and if the monks defeat
your arguments, please become their disciples.”
After their parents passed away, four daughters traveled around for arguments, and they had
defeated most of the people who wanted to have arguments with them before they reached
Savithri. One day, they paid a visit to Savitthi, and were arrogant to put a branch of peach
flowers on the main road, saying:” If whoever dares to have arguments with us, please tell them
to take off this branch of peach flowers.”
After informing the people of Savithri their purpose, they went to the center to have a meal.
When they just left, venerable Sariputta left Jetavana for alms. On the way, the venerable
Sariputta saw the branch of peach flowers on the small mound of soil, so he asked the people
to comprehend the issue. After knowing the purpose of the people who put the branch of peach
flowers at the main road, venerable Sariputta told people to take off the branch of peach flowers
and asked them to inform the argumentative women to pay a visit to Jetavana to have arguments
with him.
Soon, the four women led a crowd of people who arrived at the room of venerable Sariputta
for debate between them and venerable Sariputta. After hours of asking, four Licchavi women
were defeated by venerable Sariputta, and as they promised with their mother, they asked
venerable Sariputta to let them become students of venerable Sariputta. Venerable Sariputta
agreed to let them join the Sangha of the Buddha, but had to get to the temple of Bhikkhuni,
Upplavanna for ordination. After the ordination, they practiced hard and soon achieved
Arhathood.
Their story was, then, spread around Jetavana, and the monks gathered at the Dharma-hall,
talking about their story. When the Buddha entered the dharma-hall, and comprehended the
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issue of the talk of monks, the Buddha calmly said:” It is not in the present time, but also in the
past time, Sariputta also assisted them to stay in the right dharma practice.”
In times gone by, when king King Kalinga was ruling Dantapura, king Potana was reigning
Assaka. The king Kalinga of Dantapura had superhuman health, and he could defeat
hundreds of other strong men together. Not only that, his army was the most skillful army
around India.
The king Kalinga wanted to fight with others, but nobody around India dared to fight with
him. So, an official consulted him to let four of his beautiful princesses to get around India to
inform the kings around that whoever, would desire to have them as wives have, would be
ready to fight with their father king, king of Kalinga. After long times of travel around India,
most of the nations closed their gates when the delegation of four beautiful princesses of king
Kalinga was about to get close to their nation. When they arrived at Assaka, the king Potani
also ordered soldiers to close the gates. However, a wise official, namely Nadisena, told the
king to open the gates to take the four princesses of king Kalinga as his queens first, and he
would have a miracle plan to defeat the army of king Kalinga. The king Potani was attached
to the beauty of four princesses, so he followed the instructions of his official Nandisena.
Soon after the four princesses of king Kalinga became the wives of king Potani, king Kalinga
took his skillful army to attack Asska. When the king Kalinga was about to across the
bordering area to enter Asska, the official Nandisena sent a message to the king Kalinga to
request him to stay at the bordering area, and the army of Asska would be arrived soon for
fighting as the king of Potani did not want to make normal people to get injuries.
The king Kalinga agreed to settle at the bordering area, and during his setting at the bordering
area, he disguised as a soldier and paid a visit to an ascetic monk who lived in the forest nearby.
After paying respect to the monk, the king Kalinga asked:” Dear venerable. The armies of
Dantapura and Asska is about to have fighting, so which nation will win.``
The ascetic monk rapidly replied:” Dear sir! I cannot give you the answer now, but I shall give
you the answer tomorrow after I ask Sakka about this.”
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After the king of Kalinga left, Sakka paid a visit to the ascetic monk and the ascetic monk asked
Sakka:” Dear the majesty of heaven! Would you please let me know which nation, Assaka or
Dantapura, will win in the battle going to happen?”
Sakka rapidly:” By supreme power, I know that Asska will lose and Dantapura will win.”
Tomorrow morning, the king Kalinga disguised as a soldier to pay a visit to the ascetic monk
again, and having the answer from the ascetic monk, the king of Kalinga became arrogant to
prepare well for the battle. So, in the battle, his army could not defeat the army of Asska.
Finally, two kings had to each other to decide which nation would be the winner. At first, the
King Kalinga, with super health, easily surpassed the king Potani. When the king Potani was
about to lose, his wise official, Nandisena came close and encouraged:” Dear majesty. Don’t
be threatened to make you weak. Be brave and you will win.”
With the advice from the wise official, the king Potani tried hard to regain his confidence, and
finally, he drove the king Kalinga to run away.
After the battle, the king Kalinga sent the gifts to the king Potani as the wedding gifts to his
daughters to marry with the king Potani. After the marriage of the king Potani and four
princesses of king Kalinga, the two nations gradually built up good relationships with each
other.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the four daughters of king Kalinga were four
women of Licchavi and the king Potani was Sariputta, while the ascetic monk was him.
Jataka 302: Story of Maha-Assaroha

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about Venerable Ananda. The background of the story
is related to the helping of Venerable Ananda to others, and in return, Venerable Ananda
received the respect and offerings from others.
To base on this circumstance, the Buddha said to monks who gathered at the Dharma-hall,
listening to hsi talk:” Dear all my beloved students! Good deeds are likely to receive rewards
in return.”
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In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, the king used the royal
dharmas to rule the nation, so the king was loved by almost all citizens of the nation.
One day, at the bordering area, there was a rebellion of unidentified people, and the king took
a group of soldiers to the bordering area to coerce the rebels. Unluckily, the king and his
soldiers lost in the battle, so the soldiers ran away. The king was injured and was on his horse
heading to a village to escape the rebels.
At the village, the villagers were doing the morning work at their rice-fields, and seeing the
man, on the horse, with weapons, they were scared to run back to their houses and closed the
doors. Among villagers, there was still a man, who was not scared of the king, so he came close
to the king and asked:” Dear sir. We heard that the great king and his army are in this region
to fight against the rebels. So, are you the soldier of the king or a rebel?”
The king rapidly reassured the villager:” Dear friend! I am a soldier of the king, as we lost in
the battle, I ran here to escape. Please give me a place to reside for a few days.”
The village, without doubt, took the king to his house and gave him to sit on his seat. After
that, the villager asked his wife to take water to assist the king to clean his feets, while the
villager cooked a meal for the king. At night time, the villager and his wife moved out of their
room to let the king sleep in their sleeping room. Thus, the king was taken care of by the
villagers until the king totally recovered. And, before the king left, the king talked to the
village:” Dear great friend! I have no money to give you in return for your help during my stay
here at your house. However, please give me the chance to return your help by paying a visit
to my house at the center of the town. When you arrive at the main gate of the town, please ask
the soldier the house of the Great Knight, and the soldier shall take you to meet me.”
Then the king left the house of the villager to return to the palace, and when he arrived at the
main gate of the town, he stopped by and said to the gate-taker:” Dear great servant! A villager
from the bordering area shall pay a visit to this town soon, and when he asks the house of the
Great Knight, it is mine, so please take him to meet me. You will be given 1000 coins for this
job, and don’t let everyone know this.”
Soon, the villager had work in the town of Varanasi, so he prepared some special foods and
sets of clothes to give his friend the Great Knight. When he arrived at the main gate and asked
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the soldier, the soldier immediately took him to meet the king. The villager was surprised to be
taken to the palace of the king; however, he regained his comfortability when he met his old
friend, the Great Knight, the king. The king was friendly enough to run out the palace to
welcome his friend, and not only that, the king asked his wife, the queen, to take water to assist
the villager to clean his feets.
They, after that, tried to eat the foods cooked and prepared by the villagers, and tried on the
clothes that the villagers gave them. Then, the king asked the chef to prepare a special meal for
the villagers to eat. Finally, the king wanted to keep the villager to stay in the town and shared
half of the nation to him. Soon, a luxurious house was built near to the palace as the house for
the villager and his family members.
All the officials of the nation were jealous of the reward that the king gave the villager, so they
paid a visit to the princess of the king to ask for the protest of the villager. When the princess
and the officials went to the palace to complain to the king about the special treatment of the
king to the mundane villager. The king said:” Dear son! When I was injured from the battle in
the bordering area, I was saved by this villager. During my stay, he gave me the most special
treatment. So, even if I give the whole nation to him, the return still is not equal to his help to
me.”
Hearing the utterance from the king, the officials and the princess changed their attitude to the
villager.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognised that the villager was Ananda, and the king of
Varanasi was him.
Jataka 303: Story of Ekaraja
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, related to the events of an official of king Kosala. This
official was slandered to commit some crimes, and the king Kosala, in anger, put him into
prison. During the prisoning time, he did not suffer but spent the whole prisoning time
meditating, and achieved the first Entering Stream level.
After proper detection, the king Kosala released this official and gave him lots of benefits as
well as giving him a higher position than before he was put into the prison. After being free,
this official paid a visit to the Buddha and told the Buddha everything happened to him.
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The Buddha, in this circumstance, told him:” You are not the only person, but in the past, wise
men likely utilized the unwanted situations to succeed in their lives.”
In times gone by, when king Bramadatta was ruling Varanasi, Bodhisattva was born as the
prince of Varanasi, and after his father passed away, he was given the throne of power of the
nation. He tried to rule the nation with the virtue of royal dharmas. One day, one of his official
was discovered having sexual misconduct with one of his maiden of the palace, so the king
expelled him from the palace.
holding the revenge on the king, this official went to the neighboring nation of Varanasi to
work as the consultant for the king Dabbasena. During the consultation, the official, more than
one time, advised the king Dabbasena to attack the town of Varanasi. Under the stimulation of
this official, the king Dabbasena finally brought the army to attack Varanasi. When the army
of king Dabbasena was about to arrive at the town, the officials asked the king to take the army
to fight against the enemy. Nevertheless, the king Varanasi refused and ordered the soldiers to
open the gates for the king Dabbasena to enter easily without killing.
The king Dabbasena was welcome to enter the palace, and the first thing he did was to tighten
the king of Varanasi and hung her up-side-down on the ceiling of the palace. During the time
being hanging on the ceiling, the king of Varanasi still stayed with moral thought, and he tried
to develop the loving-kindness to his enemy, the king Dabbasena. He also was happy as he did
not cause the death of the soldiers of two nations by joining the fighting.
With his great compassion, the king Dabbasena felt like he was burned by fire, so he could not
stay peaceful to enjoy the victory. The next morning, the king Dabbasena asked the officials
about his sickness, and a wise official said that:” Because you caught and hung the king of
Varanasi, a moral king, so you encountered this issue. Just release him and you shall get rid
of this sickness.”
The king Dabbasena immediately paid a visit to the shrine of the palace to order servants to
release the king Varanasi and he spoke the verse:
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Great king, the empire of Varanasi
With greatest wealth on this earth
You look peaceful and calm
Even in this trouble as living in the hell
The king Varanasi replied by the verse:
In the past I vowed to live ascetic life

Living in the forest or mountain
Presently, having greatest wealth
My face should not be unconscious
Happiness and sufferings are just the flip of coin

Wise people all stay calm in all situations
Having troubles or not are not the big deal
When you comprehend the nature of the universe
Hearing the value utterance from the king of Varanasi, the king Dabbasena said:” From now
on, I will be your servant, so whenever you encounter difficulties, please let me know. I and my
people shall give you a hand with all our effort.”
Then the king of Varanasi continued to rule the nation with virtue and he was reborn in the
After telling the story, the Buddha recognised that the king Dabbasena was Ananda, and the
Jataka 304: Story of Dadara
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The Buddha told this story when he stayed at Jetavana, and the story was told based on the
circumstance in which a monk was likely to get angry although he had been in the practice of
teh Buddha.
To base on the issue this monk, the Buddha talked to him and other monks who gathered at
the Dharma-hall:” In the past, he was an aggressive and angry person too, and due to his
anger, the princes of the snakes had to live in a landfill for three years.:
In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, the king of snakes lived in a
hill, namely Dadara, in the Himalaya region. The king of snakes had two princes, Mahadadara
and Culladadara. Culladadara was an easily-getting angry snake, and it often argued and fought
with the dragons. One day, the king of snakes desired to expel Culladadara out of the kingdom
as he could not endure the angry attitude of Culladadara. However, Mahadadara insisted his
father to let Culladadara chance to change. Then, time flies, Culladadara still was too arrogant
to show his anger to everyone, so the king Naga decided to expel Culladadara out of Himalaya,
and again Mahadadara asked his father to give Culladadara the opportunity to change his
attitude.
However, time flies, Culladadara still kept his arrogant and angry behavior, and the king Naga
decided to expel Culladadara again. This time, Mahadadar still insisted his father give
Culladadara the chance to change. King of snakes, Naga was not satisfied with Mahadadara
after several times asking to help Culladadara, but Culladadara could not change. Hence, he
decided to expel not only Culladadara but also Mahadadara out of the nation. He angrily said
to his children:” Dear sons! You have been too arrogant as you think you deserve to show your
arrogance in the position of the princes, so now the two of you have to leave and live in a
landfill in Varanasi for three years.”
When they were at the landfill in Varanasi, a group of children often used tiny stones, wooden
sticks and pieces of brick to throw them. One day, Culladadara could not endure the children,
so he said to his brother :” They don’t know that we are poisonous snakes, so I will spark the
poison to kill them.”
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Mahadadara advised his brother with a verse:
Being expelled in a landfill

Being humiliated and cursed
Positions and the ranks, we are
Or morality I have cultivated, who cares?
Ignorant to show ego

As you are high-status
In snakes, you have high position
But here, you are nothing
Hearing the utterance of Mahadadara, Culladadara changed his attitude, and they humbly lived
in the landfill for three years until their father allowed them to return to Dadara.
After telling the story, the Buddha talked Four Noble Truths to the monks, and the angry monk
achieved none-returning level. Finally, the Buddha recognised that Culladadara was the angry
monk, and Mahadadara was him.
Jataka 305: Story of Silavimamasana
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about an occasion in which a group of monks got
together to enjoy talking about desire.
That night, the Buddha with supreme power knew that some of his students were getting lost
in their thoughts and their practice, so the Buddha asked Venerable Ananda to call all the
monks to gather to listen to his talk. Venerable Ananada went to each room to knock on the
doors to call the monks to gather in front of the room of the Buddha.
Soon, the monks gathered in front of the room of the Buddha, and the Buddha looked around
the crowd of monks and said:” The wise men, in the past, were scared of crime, so they avoided
committing crimes.”
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a Brahmin family, and when he grew up, he studied with a renowned master in the town, and
he became the most excellent one among 500 students of the master.
The master had a beautiful daughter, and he planned to select a moral student to get married
with his daughter. So, one day, he challenged his students :'' Dear all my beloved students! I
have a lovely daughter, and I would like to give her the most valuable and precious clothes and
jewels. So, please try to steal the clothes and jewels of others to give me, and I just receive the
gifts if you steal from others but others don’t know. The most clever one will change to be the
husband of my daughter.”
Then, from that day, students of the master tried to steal the valuable clothes and jewels of
others to give to the master. The master carefully put the name of each student on the gifts that
they gave him. Afterward, the master realized that Bodhisattva did not give him anything, so
he called Bodhisattva and asked:” Why didn’t you try to steal something and give it to me?
The Bodhisattva calmly said:” Dear master. I believe that we cannot hide our actions even if
we try hard. Even though we can hide the eyes of humans, we still could not hide from the eyes
of gods. So, I did not try to take things from others.”
Every action, good and bad

Unable to hide from others
Ignorant ones think they can
The blue sky sees everything
THe master was happy to recognise Bodhisattva was a moral one, so he said:” As you know,
my family does not lack of valuable and jewels, so I just challenge to comprehend what you all
have learned from me and what you all tend to carry out in the real life. Afterward, you deserve
to be the husband of my daughter.”
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The master then returned all the clothes and jewels that his students gave back to them, and
then he organized the wedding for Bodhisattva and his beautiful daughter.
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths, and 500 monks who
gathered to listen to the Buddha’s talk that night all achieved enlightenment. Finally, the
Buddha identified that the master of 500 students was Sariputta, and the wise and moral student
was him.
Jataka 306: Story of Queen Sujata

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the queen Mallika.
One day, the king Kosala and his queen Mallika had a terrible argument, and the argument was
so that they could not see each other. After the argument, the king Kosala was not concerned
about the queen Mallika anymore. During that time, the queen Mallika thought of the Buddha
for prayer, and her prayer made the Buddha comprehend the situation of her and her husband,
king Kosala.
Then in the next morning, the Buddha decided to pay a visit to the palace of king Kosala, and
when Buddha was invited to sit on the special seat for him, the Buddha did not see the queen
Mallika so that the Buddha asked the king:” Where is the queen Mallika, dear the king of
Kosala?”
The king slowly said:” Dear master! You don’t need to be concerned about her. She has been
arrogant in her position that she does not care what is wrong and what is right.”
The Buddha then advised the king Kosala:” Before you gave her this high status, but now you
are taking off all what you gave her. Are you doing something wrong?”
The king Kosala realized his fault from the advice of the Buddha, so he asked a servant to call
the queen Mallika to meet the Buddha. And, then, the king Kosala and the queen Mallika lived
in harmony with each other again.
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This event quickly spread around Savitthi and Jetavana as well, and the monks gathered at the
Dharma-hall, talking about this issue:” Dear all great Brothers! With only advice, the master
could assist the king Kosala and the queen Mallika live in harmony with each other again.”
The Buddha, in this circumstance, said:” it is not in the present time, but also in the past, I
assisted them to live in harmony with each other within advice.”

In times gone by, when king Varanasi was reigning Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was the
consultant of the king, about the mundane as well as supermundane things.
One day, there was a beautiful girl, who was named Sujata, who arrived at the yard of the
palace to sell apples to the soldiers. At that time, the king of Varanasi was standing on the high
floor to look down to the yard, and the king immediately fell in love with the apple-seller. So,
the king called a soldier to invite her to the palace and soon, she became the queen of the nation.
In the heart of the king, there is nothing important but his new married queen.
Time flies, the queen became more arrogant in the position of the queen, and the love of the
king to the queen was fading due to the time. Hence, they often had some arguments but not
serious. On day, when the king was eating an apple, the queen suddenly asked the king:
Look like an egg. What is it?

Putting inside the golden tray
Beloved color of red
Where is the growing of this tree?
The king of Varanasi, at that time, got angry, as he thought that his queen had been an apple-
seller, but she would pretend that she did not own the apple tree. So, the king spoke the verse
to the queen:
With mundane clothes, without crown
Having no shy as the seller
Taking with bags of apples
Why did I ask what is it?
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Being too arrogant, you are
Having no honest what is wrong or right
Please, return to sell the apple
You are no longer the queen of Varanasi
At that time the consultant of the king who was observed the whole argument of the queen and
the king, so, the consultant spoke the verse to reconcile the relationship of the king and the
queen:
The ego develops basing on new position

It is the nature of humans
Please, having forgiveness to her
As you gave her on that high position
Hearing the advice from the consultant, the king forgave the queen and they lived in harmony
with each other for the rest of their lives.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the queen Sujata was the queen Mallika and
the king of Varanasi was the king of Kosala, and the consultant was him.
Jataka 307: Story of Palasa

The Buddha told this story in the forest where he was about to achieve Maha-Nirvana.
In the night before the Buddha obtained Maha-nirvana, Venerable Ananda knew that the
Buddha would be about to achieve Maha-Nirvana soon, so he was extremely sorrowed and
went to a corner of the temple to cried and thought:” the master is about to achieve Maha-
Nirvana, and I have not obtained Arhathood. My assistance of 25 years together with the
master is going to be zero.”
The Buddha, at that moment, comprehended the suffering and thought of venerable Ananda,
so the Buddha called him and compassionately said:” Ananda. You have cultivated a great and
tremendous virtue, and don’t be worried that this virtue will disappear after I achieve Maha-
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Nirvana, as your assistance to me during your time when you were getting sink in the past still
blossoms until now. Be diligent to practice and you shall achieve Arhathood.”
Then the Buddha, on this circumstance, told the story:
the deity of a giant persimmon tree in the forest nearby a small village. At that time, the
villagers often paid respects and donated foods and flowers to the deities of trees in the forest.
In the village, there was a very poor man, but he had great faith in the deities of the trees. One
day, he brought 5 kinds of flowers and a big candle to offer the deity of the persimmon tree.
After making the offering ceremony, he returned home. The next day, he again went to the
forest to pay a visit to the persimmon tree. Seeing the poor man was faithful, the deity of the
persimmon appeared as a old man and talked to the poor man:
Brahmin, the wise man

Why ignorant, asking the tree without wisdom
All wishes as talk with the thin air
Obtaining no replies at all
The poor man spoke the verse to reply:
The giant tree, have been hundred years old

The palace of the deities in the forest
I am too faithful to him
He should be the deity, the taker of the jewels- storage
The deity of persimmon, at that time, talked to the poor man:” I am the deity of this tree. To
see your faithfulness, so I appear to give you the jewel-storage. However, it is difficult for you
to dig the jewel storage out and carry it back. So, please return home, and you shall see the
jewel-storage at your house. However, you should use the storage to cultivate good deeds.”
The poor man agreed and left the forest. When he arrived at his house, the jewel-storage was
ready for him to use.
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After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the poor man was Ananda, and the deity of
the persimmon tree was him.
Jataka 308: Story of Javasakuna

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the ingratitude of Devadatta to the Buddha.

In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, Bodhisattva was born as a
woodpecker which lived in the forest near Himalaya.
One day, on the way to find food, the woodpecker saw a lion was suffering laying down on the
ground. To be compassionate to help the lion, the woodpecker asked the lion:” What could I
do to help you, Sir?”
The lion suffered to say:” a bone is getting stuck into my throat, so It is killing me.”
The woodpecker rapidly pacified the lion:” Don’t worry. I will help you. Just open your mouth
and I will enter your mouth to take the bone out.”
The lion, then, opened its mouth to let the woodpecker enter to take the bone out. Before
entering the mouth of the lion, the woodpecker was careful to put a big stick to stop the lion
from suddenly closing its mouth to kill it. Then, the lion was rescued easily by the woodpecker.
After taking the bone out of the throat of the lion, the woodpecker immediately flew up on a
tree.
After a few days, the woodpecker saw the lion was eating a big cow, so it challenged the lion
to ask for meats from the lion:
With my kindness as I showed

Rescuing you from the trouble
No wishing of anything
But a little meat as the return from you!
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The lion smiled and shouted loudly:
Putting head into the mouth of lion

Kind of eaters of blood and meat
Nevertheless, you have been safe
It is my return to you
The woodpecker, at that time, said to the lion:” I already know your nature. As I helped kind of
ingratitude, it is difficult to get the return. “
Then the woodpecker flew to other places to find food for a living.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the lion was Devadatta, and the woodpecker
was him.
Jataka 309: Story of Chavaka
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the mistake of six monks in teaching Vinaya to
his students. Six these monks talked Vinaya to their students, when they were sitting in the
lower place while their students were on the high places.
When the Buddha comprehended the issue, the Buddha called them and said:” You are wrong
as you did not respect the most important things in your practice, the Vinaya. Don’t be sorrow
by my complaint, as in the past, the wise men also complained their students when they were
in the similar circumstance.”
a poor family which belonged to the lowest cart at that time. When he grew up, he got married
with a beautiful girl which was in the same race with him. Soon, after the marriage, his wife
got pregnancy, and she asked the Bodhisattva to find the mango to her. Unlucky, during her
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pregnancy, it was not the mango season, so the Bodhisattva had no way to find the mango to
his wife.
One day, too attached to the mango, his wife talked to him:” If you cannot find mango to me,
I shall die soon.”
To love his wife too much, the Bodhisattva thought of stealing the mango from the palace of
the king, as there was a mango tree in the palace which blossomed fruits all the time. The
Bodhisattva went to the palace of the king, getting to the garden and climbing on the mango
tree. After getting some mangos, the Bodhisattva was scared to get down as there were many
people across the garden. So, he decided to sit on the mango tree until the evening.
In the evening, when he was about to get down from the mango tree, the king and his dharma
master arrived at the garden. The king, then, sat on a high chair, while his master sat on the
grow to teach dharmas to him. The Bodhisattva, was on the mango tree, was not satisfied with
the attitude of the king and his master, as the king, as a student was sitting on high place, while
his master, a teacher, was sitting on the ground. Then, the Bodhisattva decided to get down and
said to the king and the dharma master:” Dear majesty! I am a stealer and you are ignorant,
while your master is a dead.”
The king asked him what he implied, so he spoke the verse:
Dear majesty and the great master

Realizing the mistake, you all are doing
You are demolishing your virtue
As learning dharmas in the wrong way!
The dharma master of the king realized what the Bodhisattva implied, so he said:” I received
the salary from the king, which I use to buy food for a living. So, it is normal if the king is
sitting on high position to listen to me teachings.”
The Bodhisattva said calmly:” People are similar in the nature, even poor or rich, man or
woman. We all have to get old and finally die. So, it is essential to respect the Dharmas which
assist us to cultivate the virtue to reward good living conditions.”
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The king was satisfied by the explanation of Boddhisattva, so he asked:” Dear young boy.
Which cart you belong to? And where were you born?”
The Bodhisattva rapidly replied:” Dear Majesty. I was born in a lowest cart family.”
The King, then, said:” It is a big regret to me, as I cannot give a person of lowest cart to work
as the official in my palace, but I will give you to be the leader of a crowded village in my
nation.”
The king, then put a red garland of flowers on the neck of the Bodhisattva and talked to a
official to manage to the Boddhisattva to be a leader of a village. From that time on, the king
paid great respect to his dharma teacher and the dharmas that he listened from his teacher.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the king was Ananda, and the poor man was
him.
Jataka 310: Story Sayha
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a young monk who lost his determination in the
dharma- practice. After this monk was ordained in the Shanga of the Buddha, he practiced
pretty hard, but one day, on the way of getting alms, he was attached to the beauty of a elegant
girl, so from that time, he had no motivation in the dharma-practice.
When the young monk was brought to meet the Buddha for best solution, the Buddha
compassionately said to him:” Why do you desire the family life after leaving it for the
enlightened path. Do you know that in the past, the wise men gave up even the high position
in the palace to reside in the enlightened dharma practice?”
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son of a Brahmin family in the town, and he was born in the same day with the prince, the son
of the king and the queen. The king of Varanasi wanted to have a boy t make friend with his
son, so he asked the officials:” I want to have a boy who was born in the same day with my son,
your princes as his friend. Please find a son for me.”
Then, the officials decided to take Bodhisattva to meet the king, and the king was happy to
have Bodhisattva as friend of his son. The Bodhisattva and the prince were well-taken care and
well-educated together. Time flies, the king of Varanasi passed away, and the princess was
given on the throne of power of the nation.
When the princes was just on the throne of power, he was too busy to concern of his friend, the
Bodhisattva. So, the Bodhisattva decided to leave the palace for the ascetic life of a forest
monk:” I have to leave the palace soon, as the new king, my friend, soon, will force me to work
as the consultant replacing of my father position.”
Then the Bodhisattva returned home and paid the last respect to his parents before heading to
Himalaya for the ascetic practiced life. Arrived at Himalaya, the Bodhisattva made a cottage a
mountainside of a hill of the mountains of Himalaya. With determination and diligence, he
soon achieved the fruits of meditation practice, such as calmness, wisdom and loving-kindness.
After years, the new king missed the Boddhisatva, so he ordered as official, namely Sayha to
get to Himalaya to find the Bodhisattva. Sayha tried to ask the people to find some information
related to the Bodhisattva, and after knowing the Bodhisattva was at Himalaya, he immediately
went to Himalaya to meet the Boddhisatva.
When Sayha arrived at the cottage of the Bodhisattva, he saw the Bodhisattva was sitting in
the lotus-posture, so he sat at a corner to wait for the Bodhisattva to get out of the
contemplation. After the Bodhisattva released his practice, Sayha paid respect to him and
inform the Bodhisattva that the new king wanted to have him as the consultant for him. The
Bodhisattva looked at Sayha and compationately said:” Even, the king gives me to be the king
of the whole nation or even the king of the whole India, I also would not prefer to do it. As I
already tried to get rid of the desire life, it is not likely to return.”
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Sayha knew that he could not advise the Bodhisattva to return, so he paid respect and left
Himalaya. When he arrived at the palace, he told the new king everything about the
conversation of him and the Bodhisattva. The king stopped disturbing the Bodhisattva.
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths, and the young monk who
lost determination in the practice and a number of monks achieved First Entering Stream level.
Finally, the Buddha recognized that the new king of Varanasi was Ananda and the official
Sayha was Sariputta, while the ascetic monk was him.
Jataka 311: Story of Pucimanda

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the Venerable Moggalana.
One day, in the night time, there was a man who ran quickly toward the cottage of Venerable
Moggalana. The man, after getting behind the cottage of the Venerable Moggalana, lay down
on the ground to hide himself from something. At that time, Venerable Moggalana knew that
a man just arrived behind his cottage, and venerable Moggalana thought that the man would
be a thief, so he desired to drive the man away to avoid the trouble to himself and the thief as
well, because venerable Moggalana knew that the villagers soon would arrive at his cottage.
After venerable Moggalana just drove the thief away, the villager with weapons in hands
arrived at his cottage. However, they soon left at they knew that the thief already left. The
next morning, Venerable Moggalana went to the town to get alms and then he paid a visit to
the Buddha to tell the Buddha about the event he encountered in the previous night.
On this circumstance, the Buddha said that:” It is not only you, but also the wise men in the
past, were clever to solve the troubles they encountered.”

In time gone by, the Bodhisattva was born as the deity of a giant Nimbo tree at a cemetery of
the town. Not far from the Nimbo tree, there was an evergreen Banya tree, and there was a
deity lived in the Banya tree.
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One day, a thief ran to the cemetery, and the thief hid all the jewels and money that he stole
into a hole of the Nimbo tree. Then, the thief lay down at the root of the Nimbo tree to hide
from the findings of the soldiers and villagers. The deity of Nimbo tree knew that the thief
could not escape if he would stay there. The most important thing that the deity of the Nimbo
tree worried that the soldiers would kill and hang the thief on his Nimbo as it was the cultural
behavior of the people. So, to protect the Nimbo tree as well as to save the thief, the deity of
the Nimbo tree urged the thief:
Hey, the men, the thief

Stopping sleeping, but running away
Soldiers are about to come
They shall kill you for your crime
Then the deity continued to shout loudly:” Run away, the silly man. You are not safe here, as
the soldiers shall find you easily here.”
The thief was threatened by the deity, so he woke up, taking all the jewels and money and run
to the deep forest. At that time the deity of the Banya tree was wondered to ask the deity of the
Nimbo tree:” What did you save the thief? There are some benefits for doing that?”
The deity of Nimbo tree replied that:” Yes. When the soldiers arrive at this place, they will be
able to catcth the thief if he is still here. So, I saved him as well as save my place, as the soldiers
shall kill him and hang on my Nimbo tree.”
Right after the conversation of two deities, the soldiers and villagers arrived at the cemetery to
find the thief, but after hours of finding, they could not find the thief, so they left. After the
soldiers and villagers left, the deity of the Nimbo tree spoke the verse:
Dangers not come, still worry

Having methods to solve, otherwise it is late
The wise, in the present
But comprehend the trouble happening in the future
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After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the deity of Banya tree was Sariputta, and
the deity of the Nimbo tree was him.
Jataka 312: Story of Kassapamandiya

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about one old monk.
A young Brahmin, who was faithful to the teachings of the Buddha, so he left his family to be
a monk in the Sangha of the Buddha. With diligence in the practice, not long after the
ordination, he achieved the Arhathood, and after his mother passed away, he advised his
younger brother and his father to be the monks living at Jetavana together with him.
In one rainy retreat, they went to the other temple for the retreat, and after the retreat, the
prepared to return Jetavana. The young monk told his brother to accompany his father, slowly
walking back Jetavana, and he would go first to clean their rooms. After he left, his brother
tried to force his father to walk faster in order to arrive Jetavana soon, but his father was
annoyed by the force. Therefore, he returned to the starting point to walk. Thus, when it was
coming dark, they still were in the region which was far from Jetavana. In the late afternoon,
not seeing his father and his brother, the young monk went to have see what happened to his
father and his brother. When the young monk found his father and his brother, he let them to
take a rest and then they slowly walked back to Jetavana. As they walked slowly, so, they
arrived at Jetavana in the late evening.
In the next morning, the young monk paid a visit to the Buddha, and the Buddha asked him:”
I heard that you returned yesterday, but then what happened to postpone your visit to me
yesterday?”
The young monk told the issue related to his father to the Buddha, the Buddha compassionately
said:” In the past, he disturbed the wise men, but in the present, he disturbed you.”

a Brahmin family in Kasi. When he grew up, he did business and his family stayed wealthy.
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However, after his mother died, he decided to donate all the fortune to the poor people, and he
took his younger brother and his father to the Himalaya to live the ascetic life of forest monks.
At Himalaya, they found the roots and leaves of available-eating as the foods for survival, but
during 3 months of rainy season, they had to move to live in another place as during the rainy
season, they had no way to find foods for living. Not only them, but other monks also had to
leave Himalaya during the rainy season.
On time, after the rainy season, they were about to back to his cottage at a mountainous location
on Himalaya, and the Bodhisattva talked to his brother and his father:” Dear dad and brother.
I need to go back first to clean our cottage and prepared food for us as well. So, dad and
brother just walk slowly to return.”
After the Bodhisattva left, his brother wanted to be able to back soon, so he forced their father
to walk quicker as normal. Their father was angry, so he decided to return the starting point
and slowly walked toward Himalaya. The Bodhisattva, after leaning the cottage and prepared
foods, went out to find his father and his brother as he worried for their safety. When he found
his father and his brother, they still argued each other, and they tried to convince the
Bodhisattva to follow their idea. However, the Bodhisattva just kept silent.
When they already returned, after the dinner, the Bodhisattva assisted to message for his father,
and during the message, he advised his father:
If the young child is bad-behavioral

To be wise, be patient to assist them to change
Wise people don’t keep in mind the argument
Ignorant, demolish the relationship after the argument
After the advice of the Bodhisattva, his father changed his attitude in behaving to his young
brother as well as other people.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the younger brother and the father of the
ascetic monk were the father and the younger brother of the young monk, and the ascetic monk
was him.
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Jataka 313: Story of Khantidavi
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the story is related to a young monk who was easily
angry at others.
When the young monk was brought to meet the Buddha, the Buddha advised him that:” You
have been in my dharma practice, which assists people to reduce anger, but you are still likely
to get anger easily. You have to try hard to get rid of it. Do you know that the wise man in the
past, although they were punished heavily, but still not have anger to the people to punish
them”
In times gone by, when a king of Kasi was ruling Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was born in a rich
family of Brahmin caste, and he was named Kundakumara. When he grew up, he was well-
educated at Takkaasila, and after his parents passed away, he inherited 800 million golden
coins, a big amount of money. However, he did not attach to the big fortune, but worried:” My
parents had to work hard to save this much money for me, and If I work hard, I will transfer
the fortune to my children. So, life is meaningless. I have to get rid of this meaningless life.”
Then he donated his fortune to the people in poverty, and he left the town to live in the
mountains of Himalaya. With diligence, he soon obtained fruits of meditation, with wisdom,
calmness, loving-kindness and equanimity. One day, running out of the salts, he went down to
the town to seek for the salt and oil. When he was walking across the house of an official, the
official was attached by the compassion and calmness on the face of Bodhisattva, so after
offering the food to the Bodhisattva, the official took him to the garden of the palace to reside
for a few days.
When the Bodhisattva just arrived and stayed at the garden of the palace, the king Kalabu also
took hundreds of women to the garden to play. He lay on the bed, putting the head on the thigh
of a maiden, listening to the music from other maidens. After hours, the king fell asleep, and
seeing the king already asleep, the maidens left to travel around the garden. Seeing the
Bodhisattva was sitting calmly, they got around to listen to the dharmas from the Bodhisattva.
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When the maidens were listening to the Dharmas from the Bodhisattva, the king woke up and
went around to find the maidens. Seeing the maidens gathered around a monk, the king was
jealous to ask the monk:'' Which teaching are you talking about Sir?”
The monk replied rapidly:” Compassion and calmness.”
The king then asked soldiers to punish the monk terribly. Firstly, they used the robs to hit on
his body, then they cut down his hands and his legs. Finally, they cut down his ears. During the
punishment, the king asked the monk:'' Hey monk! Do you still want to teach about calmness
and compassion?”
The monk still calmly replied:” Dear sir! I still stay with compassion and calmness.”
Then the king kicked on the chest of the monk and took the maidens to leave. When the king
just left the garden, the ground where he was standing was broken into two parts, and the fire
from the ground swallowed the king into the ground. All the maidens were scared to run back
to the palace. At that time, the official who took the Bodhisattva to the garden also appeared to
say sorry to the Bodhisattva, and said:” Dear Venerable! If you are angry, please don’t be
angry with us, but only the king.”
The Bodhisattva calmly said:” I have no anger to the king as I vowed to stay with calmness
forever.”
Then the Bodhisattva, soon, passed away. The maidens, officials and the people of the town
made the funeral for the Bodhisattva in the most honorable way.
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths, and the easy-getting angry
monk obtained the None-returning level, while a number of other monks achieved the First
Entering stream level. Finally, the Buddha recognized that the king Kalabu of Kasi was
Devadatta, and the ascetic monk was him.
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Jataka 314: story of Lohakumbhi
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the story was based on the circumstances in the life
of the king Kosala.
One day, in the night time, the king Kosala heard four horrible sounds from the earth, so the
king was scared to sleep. He waited until the morning to call the Brahmin clergies to ask them:”
Dear my servants. Last night, I heard horrible sounds which originated from the earth. I just
wonder whether this is a bad omen to me?”
The officials said to the king that:” We think that it is an unlucky sign, so we have to conduct a
ritual, with the meat and blood of animals to heal this bad omen.”
The king Kosala agreed to the advice of the officials and let them prepare for the ritual
ceremony. The clergies were happy as during the rituals, they could get many things. When the
clergies were about to leave the palace, the queen Mallika arrived at the palace, and seeing the
smiles of the clergies, the queen wondered to ask the king:” What will the clergies do? I realize
that they are in a hurry to do it?”
The king Kosala:” Yes. They are preparing the rituals with the meat and blood of animals to
solve the bad omen from the sounds that I heard yesterday.”
The queen Mallika was faithful to the Buddha, so she advised the king Kosala:” I think we
have to pay a visit to get advice from the Buddha first, as it should not be a good way to kill a
big number of animals to bring luck to us.”
The king Kosala, then, accompanied the queen Mallika, to pay a visit to the Buddha. After
paying respect and offering flowers and fragrances to the Buddha, the king sat down and told
the Buddha his terrible experience and asked the Buddha for a solution. The Buddha smiled
and compassionately said:” There is no omen for that sound. Some beings of hell could not
endure the sufferings, so they shouted loudly as a way to rescue themselves. Not only could you
hear the sounds from the hells, but in the past, the wise kings also did. Similarly, at first, they
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had planned to kill a number of animals for the ritual to heal the bad omen, but later on, they
changed their mind based on the wise and compassionate advice of the wise men.”
Brahmin family. When he grew up, he decided to leave the family life for ascetic life as the
forest monk. So, he went to the Himalayas to practice as an ascetic monk. With diligence, he
soon obtained fruits of meditation, with compassion, calmness, wisdom and supreme powers.
One day, the king of Varanasi, late at night, heard the horrible sounds from the ground, so the
king was scared that he could not continue to sleep. In the early morning, the king called his
celebrant to ask the reason, and the celebrant told the king to conduct a ritual with meat and
blood of animals to heal the bad omen. The king was scared, so he let the celebrant do the
ritual. With the power of meditation, the Bodhisattva comprehended that the king was about to
kill a big number of animals for the ritual, so with compassion to all the beings, he wanted to
stop the king from doing the ritual. Hence, he used his supreme power to fly to the garden of
the palace, and calmly stayed in his calmness of meditation in the garden of the king.
At that time, a student of the celebrant came close to his master, the celebrant to ask:” Dear
master. Vedas advise that killing would bring unhappiness to us. So, killing ritual is not helping
the king to get rid of the bad omen.”
The celebrant, due to the benefits would gain from the ritual, refused the suggestion of his
student. This student was unpleasant, so he went around the garden of the palace. Incidentally,
he saw the Bodhisattva was sitting calmly in the lotus posture, so he came close to ask the
dharmas from the Bodhisattva. After giving some teachings to the young boy, a student of the
celebrant, the Bodhisattva asked him:'' Could you please give me some details about the king
of the town? Is it he a good king who had ruled the nation with morality?”
The young student of the celebrant replied rapidly:” Yea venerable! Our king is a moral one,
but he is going to kill a bundle of animals for the ritual due to the sounds he heard last night.”
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The Bodhisattva said:” Oh dear. I don’t know about the king, but if he comes here, I could give
him some information about the sounds he heard last night and the method to solve the bad
omen as well.”
The student of the celebrant was happy to meet the king and quickly, he took the king to meet
he Bodhisattva as the king was eager to hear the explanation on the sounds he heard last night.
When the king arrived, the Bodhisattva said:” Dear majesty. The sounds you heard last night
were from beings of the hells. It was long times ago, there were four men who likely committed
sexual misconduct with women who already had family, and their actions demolished the
happiness of their families. Due to their bad actions, they are reborn into the hell of the iron
bowl. For thousands of years, they were able to get on the top of the bowl and wanted to speak
out the verse which they had kept in mind for thousands of years. However, they could not
speak out their verses, yet they just could say “ du, sa, ha, and se.”
The person spoke the sound “”du” wanted to say that:
Having selfishness with others

Having sexual misconduct with wives of others
Having no cultivated good deeds
Now, have no way to escape from this suffering!
The person who shouted the sound” sa”, desired to say the verse:
Enduring with several punishments

Having unlimited time to be punished
Reborn with uncounted number of births
Punishments still have to endure
The one who shouted the sound “ ha”, was greedy to say the verse:
Being punished terribly in the hells

Due to Karma, not which I cultivated
Generating sufferings to others
Now, receiving the returns without time of stopping
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The person, who shouted the sound “ se”, wanted to speak the verse:
Hopefully to be released from the hells

Having chance to reborn in human realm
To vow to only cultivate good deeds
To decorate the life with good virtue
Then the Bodhisattva continued to advise the king:” The sounds from the beings of the iron
bowl hell are not affecting you, so you don’t need to do the ritual by killing a big number of
animals.”
The king was calm after hearing the utterance from the Bodhisattva, and right away, the king
ordered the celebrant to release all the animals which were prepared for the brutal ritual.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the young student of the celebrant was
Sariputta, and the ascetic monk was him.
Jataka 315: Story of Mamsa

This story was told at Jetavana, by the Buddha, based on the circumstance related to Venerable
Sariputta.
One day, some monks got sick, and after taking medicines, they desired to have some special
food to heal their sickness. To base on the inquiry of the sickness monks, a group of young
monks went to the town of Savithri, purposely getting desirable foods for illness monks.
Nevertheless, they could not get the desirable foods as they wanted. So they were saddened to
return to Jetavana. On the way back, they met Venerable Sariputta, and they told Venerable
Sariputta about their troubles. Venerable Sariputta told them to wait for him, and similar to
those monks, venerable Sariputta also went around Savitthi to get alms. But, different from
those monks, venerable Sariputta could get the foods that the sick monks wanted. Venerable
Sariputta gave food to the young monks, and he also returned to Jetavana.
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A few days later, the monks gathered at the Dharma-hall, talking about the miracle of the
venerable Sariputta:” Dear great brothers! In the same path, venerable Sariputta could obtain
the foods that the sick monks wanted, but the young monks could not.”
The Buddha, after knowing the issue of the talk, said that:” Not only Sariputta, but wise men
in the past, with elegant and well-talking communications could get what they wanted.”
In times gone by, when the king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, Bodhisattva was born as
the only son in a business family in the capital of Varanasi.
One day, Bodhisattva and three of his close friends traveled around the town for sightseeing,
and when they were sitting in a tea-store, they saw a hunter carrying a cart, and on the art, there
was a bundle of deer’ meats. Bodhisattva and his friend challenged themselves to get the deer’s
meat from the hunter without paying money. So, they got close to the hunter, and one of
Bodhisattva's friends walked toward the hunter, saying:” Dear robust man. Could you please
give me some deer meat?”
The hunter rapidly said:” Your begging is deserving of the bones and the skins of the deers.
So, take them.”
The second friend of the Bodhisattva stepped forward, saying:” Dear brother. Could you give
me some deer?”
The hunter told him:” Okay. You called me brother, so you deserve the rib meat. Please take
it”
The third friend of the Bodhisattva got close to the hunter, saying:” Dear dad. Could you please
give me some deer?”
The hunter said to him:” I feel warm in my heart when you call me dad. So, please take this
heart of the deer.”
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Then, the Bodhisattva stepped slowly toward the hunter, saying:” Dear great friend. Could you
please give me some deer?”
The hunter told the Bodhisattva:” I feel comfortable when you call me friend, so I will give
you all the meat on this cart. Please take this cart.”
The Bodhisattva, afterward, took the hunter to his house, and he treated the hunter and his
family members with great respect. Not only that, the Bodhisattva assisted the hunter to give
up the hunting career to help him to do business.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the hunter was Sariputta, and the young
Jataka 316: Story of Sasa
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the story was told based on the great offering
of a millionaire to the Buddha and monks.
A millionaire who lived in Savitthi, one day, invited the Buddha and 500 monks to the offering
for 7 days. He ordered people to make a temporary tent which was big and large enough for
the offering activities, as well as the residing place for the Buddha and 500 monks during the
offerings.
On the seventh day, the Buddha talked to the millionaire:” You have cultivated great deeds
from this great offering to monks who have devoted all their lives practicing the Dharmas. Not
only you, in the past, the moral men did similar to you, and even they offered the meat on their
bodies to the monks.”
In times gone by, the Bodhisattva was born as the rabbit which lived in the forest near to
Himalaya, and the forest was close to a river, a small hill and a village. The rabbit had three
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other friends, a jackal, a monkey and an otter. Under the advice of the rabbit, these four animals
all practiced the dharma, and they proffered to do offering to ascetic monks after the full moon
day.
One day, on the full moon day, the rabbit reminded his friend to prepare the food to offer to
the beggars and monks. The next morning, the otter went to the river, and it soon found the
string of red fish that the fisherman just hid under the sands. The otter carried the red fish back
to its cave and thought:” If nobody asks, I will eat this food gradually.”
The jackal, on the same day, got to the village, and in the kitchen of a villager, it saw the grilled
lizard, barbecued meats and a bottle of cheese. The jackal entered the kitchen and shouted
loudly three times:” These things belong to whom?”
Hearing no reply, the jackal brought all these things back to its cave and thought:” If nobody
asks for an offering, I will eat this food gradually.”
The monkey, on the same day, saw a branch of mango fruits, so it brought it to its nest and
thought:” If nobody asks for an offering, I shall eat them day after day.”
In the case of the rabbit, it did not want to steal things from others, so it thought:” If today,
there is someone who asks for an offering, I will offer my life to him.”
The thought of the rabbit made the seat of Sakka become hot, so the Sakka appeared as an
ascetic monk to challenge the rabbit. Sakka came close to the rabbit's cave of the rabbit and
said:” Dear rabbit. Could you please give me some food, as I am too hungry so I will die soon!
Please give me food to keep this body alive to continue my practice.”
The rabbit was happy as it could carry out its vow, so it said to Sakka calmly:” Dear venerable.
I have nothing to offer you, so I decided to offer my body and my life. When you burn on the
fire, I will jump into the fire to kill myself. After that you can eat me to keep healthy to continue
your practice.
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The Sakka walked toward a bundle of woods and with supreme power, in a second, he could
make a giant fire. Then, he called the rabbit:” Dear rabbit. The fire is ready. Please come here
as I am too hungry.”
The rabbit walked toward the fire, and before jumping into the fire, it shook its body three
times to make sure no insects would be grilled together with it. When the rabbit jumped to the
fire, the fire rapidly disappeared. And the ascetic monk appeared as the Sakka, saying to the
rabbit:” Great Rabbit. I am not an ascetic monk. I am Sakka, and just wanted to challenge
your vow.”
The Rabbit said confidently to the Sakka:” Dear Sakka, not only you, but now others ask me
for offering, I also continue to devote my life to them.”
Sakka said to the rabbit:” Great rabbit. Wish that your virtue will be great day after day.”
Then the Sakka returned to his palace. From that on, the rabbit and his friends were more
determined in dharma-practice.
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths to the millionaire, and the
millionaire achieved the first Entering Stream level. Finally, the Buddha recognized that the
Otter was Ananda, while the jackal was Moggalana. The monkey was Sariputta, whereas the
rabbit was him.
Jataka 317: Story of Matarodana
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, related to the circumstance of a millionaire of Savithri.
This millionaire was extremely sorrowed after his brother passed away, so he denied eating,
drinking, taking a bath and even sleeping. Every afternoon, he went to the cemetery land, beside
the tomb of his brother, crying terribly. During this time, the Buddha, by his supreme power,
knew that the millionaire could achieve First Entering Stream level, so, the next morning, the
Buddha and a young assistant monk paid a visit to his house. The millionaire, heard that Buddha
was in front of his house, hurried to prepare the seat for the Buddha. After the millionaire paid
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respect, he offered the Buddha and the young monk special foods. Then the Buddha said to the
millionaire:'' I heard that you have been extremely sorrowful since the death of your brother.
However, you have to remember that everything in the universe is impermanent and everyone
has to experience death, although they fear death. The wise men, in the past, comprehended
this truth, so they were not sorrowful when their relatives died.”

youngest son in a business family. When he was still in his childhood, his parents passed away,
so he was taken good care of by his older brother. However, the terrible experience was not
that, but his older brother passed away, after enduring a serious kind of sickness.
During the funeral of his older brother, all of his relatives were sorrowful. However, he did not
show any sorrowful emotion, and still stayed calm. Some of his relatives were angry because
of his attitude, so they complained to him:” Oh dear. His brother took good care of him, but
when his brother died, he did not even cry or showed his love to his brother.”
He calmly replied to his relatives:” Dear sirs and madams! Everything is impermanent, and
nothing survives forever. Everyone, finally, whether they want to or not, has to die. This is the
truth and phenomenon of the universe. Why don’t you feel sorrowful for yourself, your future
death, as you cannot escape from death? Why do you have to cry and be sorrowful for the
truths of the phenomenon?”
Then he spoke the verse to summarize his idea:
Crying for the alive ones, not the dead ones

All beings, humans, animals, insect, deities and gods
All have to die if they are born
Wise men should comprehend this truth
Trying to live forever is ignorant

Be wise and pleasant to the death
As everyone has to go through this experience
So, why do I have to cry for my brother’s death?
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All the relatives, after hearing the teaching from Bodhisattva, became less sorrowful, and they
resided in the truth of the death.
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths to the millionaire, and during
the talk of the Buddha, the millionaire obtained the First Entering Stream level. Finally, the
Buddha identified that the young man who was well-comprehended the truth of the death was
him.
Jataka 318: Story of Kanavera
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, on the issue of a young monk who was still attached to
his wife after the ordination as Bikkhu.
When the young monk was brought to meet the Buddha, the Buddha said to him: “Dear my
student. You have to try hard to get rid of the sexual desire as it the cause of the circle of rebirth
in Samsara, and do you know that due to of the woman that you are thinking about, you was in
danger in the past.”
robber. The robber was strong and robust, so he could escape from the attacks of the people
and soldiers after his robbing. Unluckily for him, one time, he entered the house of a millionaire
to steal the jewels of the millionaire, and the millionaire, the next day, went to the palace to
inform the king:” Dear majesty. There is a dangerous robber, which just robbed my house last
night, and he soon will enter the palace to steal property. Please let the soldiers to try to catch
him.”
The king was angry about the robber, so he forced the martial official of the town to plan to
catch the robber. It was not a big deal for the martial official, so the robber was soon caught.
After being caught, the robber was brought to the court of the martial official for the judge
before giving him the penalty of death. When the robber was taking to meet the martial official,
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Sama, the most beautiful and renowned prostitute in the town, was on the high floor, looking
at the robber. Seeing the robber was robust, healthy and handsome, Sama fell in love with the
robber, so Sama decided to rescue the robber to have him as her husband. Then Sama asked a
servant to take 1000 coins to meet the martial official to exchange for the life of the robber.
The martial official, who was a customer of Sama and loved her, still denied her suggestion,
so he said to the servant of Sama:” Please tell Sama that this robber was renowned and most
people can identify his face. If Sama can give a man who is likely to replace the robber for
death, I will release the robber.”
Sama deceived a businessman who was a constant customer to replace the robber, so she said
to the businessman:” Dear honey! The robber which is about to give a penalty of death is my
brother, as I am a prostitute, so he has never been here to meet me. However, I cannot just
stand by to watch my brother being killed. I already talked to the martial official about this
issue and the martial official let me exchange 1000 coins with the life of my brother. So, could
you help me to take this much of money to give the martial official?”
The businessman brought the bag of 1000 coins to meet the martial official, and the martial
official let the soldiers catch the businessman to replace the robber. Then, he put the robber to
lie down on a cart covered with white clothes, and let the servants of Sama to pull the cart back
to the house of Sama. When the robber was welcomed and was enjoyed sex with Sama, the
businessman was giving death alternatively the robber.
From the time having the robber, Sama was enjoyed having sexual actions with the robbers, so
she stopped receiving new customers. However, the robber was clever and he realized that
Sama would put him to death if she found the new man that she loved. So, the robber planned
to escape from Sama. One day, the robber invited Sama to have a picnic in the garden, and
when they were out of the house, the robber pretended to love Sama too much. The robber took
Sama into a luxuriant tree, and Sama let the robber do it without doubt. At the luxuriant tree,
the robber tried to hit on the head of Sama to make her faint. Then, the robber escaped after
taking all the jewels that Sama wore on.
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After awakening, Sama tried to find the robber, but she could not find the robber. Sama thought
that:” He escaped as he thought that he incidentally killed me, so I have to try to inform him
that I am still alive.``
Then she called some singers and musical players and gave them 1000 coins, asking them to
travel around to sing the message that Sama wanted to send to the robber. The singers and
musical players went to most of the big and crowded towns of the nation, but had no new of the
robber. One day, they arrived at a rural village, and when they just song the message of Sama:
In the beautiful landscape of the spring

All the trees and flowers were colorful
Awakening from the faint
Sama is still alive, waiting for you!
The robber knew that Sama wanted to inform him to return, so he came close to the singer to
ask: “Did you mean that Sama, the well-known prostitute in the capital, is still alive.”
Then he asked by the verse:
The wind cannot make the mountain collapsed

As well could not make the ground broken
However, the dead is not re-alive
It is too miracle to me
The singer, as prepared, song the second verse:

Sama, still alive in this earth
Having no interest other men
Keeping one meal everyday
Waiting for only you, her husband!
The robber, then, was determined to say to the singer:” Dear friend. Please let Sama know that
I will never return into her hands as it is not my preferable life. Moreover, Sama's emotion is
changeable, and she shall fall in love with the new man, so I don’t want to be the redundancy
to her life. Be keep this beautiful moment.``
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The singer immediately returned to inform Sama about the conversation with the robber, and
from that on, Sama returned to her previous life, without even a thought of the robber.
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths to the young monk, and the
young monk achieved the First Entering Stream level. Finally, the Buddha recognized that the
young businessman who was killed alternatively of the robber was the young monk who was
attached to his life. Sama was the former wife of the young monk, and the robber was him.
The Buddha told this story at a temple, namely Badarka, in Kosambi, and the story was told
related to a circumstance of venerable Rahula.
One day, the monks gathered at the dharma-hall of Badarka temple to praise the diligence of
venerable Rahula:'' Dear great brothers! Venerable Rahula was diligent to practice.``
In this circumstance, the Buddha told the monks:” It is not in the present time but also in the
past, Rahula was a hard-working person.”
in a Brahmin family. When he grew up, he was well-educated in Takkasila, and upon his
graduation, he decided to leave the family life for the practical life of an ascetic monk. So, he
paid his last respects and homage to his parents and went to Himalaya for ascetic life. With
diligence, he, soon, obtained the fruits of the practice, with wisdom, calmness and loving-
kindness.
At the region near to the cottage of the Bodhisattva, there was a small village, and there was
a hunter who lived by hunting the partridge birds. The hunter had a model bird, which was
forced to sing and make sounds to attract other partridge birds to come. Thus, by this
procedure, the hunter easily caught the partridge birds.
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One day, the model bird thought:” Due to my singing, other partridge birds came and were
caught by the hunter. So, it is my fault, so I have to keep silent.”
Then the model bird kept silent, but the hunter did not let the model bird kept silent as the bird
planned. The hunter used a tiny stick to hit on the body of the model bird, and the model bird
was threatened to continue to sing to attract other birds to come. Time flies, again, the model
bird raised a doubt:” Catching and killing other birds was not my sink. However, due to my
singing, other birds have come to be caught, so I just wonder whether I have sunk for this
action. Who can give me the answer to this question?”
Some days later, after catching some birds, the hunter paid a visit to the cottage of the
Bodhisattva to ask for the water. After drinking water, the hunter lay down on the ground
behind the cottage to take a nap, and while the hunter was sleeping, the model bird tried to ask
Bodhisattva a doubtful question. It asked: “Please let me know that due to my singing, my
friends have come, and they have been caught and killed. Just wondering whether I have to
bear this bad karma?”
The Bodhisattva replied quickly to help the model bird to get rid of suffering of doubt:”
Have no intention to do bad things

Then the actions will not gain bad karma
Being passive in doing the actions
Shall not gain the bad karmas for those actions
Due to the teachings of the Bodhisattva, the model bird got rid of the suffering of doubt, and it
stayed calm and happy. When the hunter got up, he took the catching birds and the model bird
way.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the model bird of partridge was Rahula, and
the ascetic monk was him.
Jataka 320: Story of Succhaja
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The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the story was related to a couple of Brahmins who
lived in Savithri.
This couple was rich, so they gave others to borrow the money and gain benefits from giving
others to borrow the money. One day, they paid a visit to another town to retrieve the money
from a borrower, and on the way back, they went through a mountain. The wife asked her
husband when she saw the mountain:” If this mountain turns into a golden mountain and
belongs to you, will you give me some parts of it?”
The husband coldly said:” No. Why do I have to share it with you?”
The wife was sorrowful, and then she kept silent during the journey of returning. To save
money, the couple did not stop by any stores for eating and drinking, so they were thirsty when
they arrived at the Jetavana. Hence, they entered Jetavana to drink water. The Buddha, by
the power of meditation, knew that the couple could gain benefits from his teachings, so the
Buddha said in front of his room, waiting for the couple.
After drinking the water, the couple, on the way out, crossed through the room of the Buddha,
and saw the Buddha was sitting. They paid respect to the Buddha. Then, they sat down to
listen to the Buddha. The Buddha asked the woman:” During the journey. Did your husband
behave well and love you?”
The woman sadly replied:” To be honest! I love my husband, and am willing to do everything
to carry the benefits and happiness as well to him. However, I feel that my husband doesn't
love me too much. “
The Buddha compassionately looked at the couple and said:” If your husband knows of the
great things that you have done for him, he will change his attitude toward you.”
In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was an official
of the king, and he consulted to the king all the mundane as well as super mundane things.
The king had only one prince, and the king was a kind of doubted person, so, one time, seeing
the prince, having a crowd of servants, walking around to work, the king was threatened that
the princes would kill him to be the king early. Hence, he expelled the princes and his wife out
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of the nation:” Dear son! You have to experience the life of normal people before you can rule
this nation well. Hence, from tomorrow, please get out of the palace and just return when I
pass away.”
The princes took his wife to leave the palace, and they settled for their new lives at an edge
of a forest which was near to the bordering area. They kept living by collection of fruits and
leaves in the forest to eat. Time flies, the father king passed away, and the prince hurried to
take his wife back to the palace. On the way back, they went through a mountain, and seeing
the mountain, the wife of the prince asked her husband:” If this mountain turned to be the
golden one, would you give me some parts of it?”
The prince coldly answered:” Nothing at all. Why do I have to share it with you?”
The wife of the prince was sorrowful to keep silent, and they, soon, arrived at the palace. The
prince was given the throne of power of the nation, and his wife was given the throne of the
queen of the nation. However, the queen had nothing, accepting the title.
The Bodhisattva thought:” I need to assist the queen to gain the benefits as she already lived
in the suffering condition together with the king when they were expelled from the palace.”
The Bodhisattva came close to the queen and asked:” Dear madam. Some servants told me
that you have never given them something. You are too selfish at all, so it is not suitable to be
the queen of the nation.”
The queen sorrowfully replied:” Dear servant! You know I have nothing but the title as the
queen. So, I cannot give others things as I don't even have anything.”
The Bodhisattva advised the queen:” I will help you to gain the benefits from the king, so I will
ask you this question in front of the king and other officials. Do you let me do it?”
The queen rapidly replied: “Why not?”
Then the next morning, when the king was having a meeting with officials, the queen paid a
visit to the main shrine. When the queen just arrived at the main shrine, the Bodhisattva asked
her:” Dear madam. Some servants said to me that you have never given them anything. You
are so selfish and do not deserve to be the queen of the nation.”
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The queen quickly:” Dear all great servants of the nation! I am not selfish at all, but I have
nothing to give others as I even have nothing for me.”
Then the Bodhisattva asked the king:” Is it true that you have not given any benefits to our
queen?”
The king calmly said:” Yes. It is true. I haven’t.”
The Bodhisattva, then, advised the king:” Dear majesty. As we know the virtue and the
faithfulness of the queen to you have been great and well-known. The queen even lived in
difficult conditions in a forest together with you when you were not the king. So, we believe
that with her virtue and faithfulness, she deserves to enjoy all the glory things which a queen
should have.”
The king contemplated on the advice of the Bodhisattva, and the king remembered all the
things that the queen did for him. Afterward, the king gave all glory rewards to the queen, and
gave the Bodhisattva a higher position in the palace.
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths to the couple, and they all
obtained first Entering Stream level. Finally, the Buddha recognized that the new king and the
queen of Varanasi were a couple, while the wise official was him.
Jataka 321: Story of Dutikusaka

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the background of the story was related to the event
in which a novice monk burned out the cottage of venerable Mahakassapa.
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When venerable Mahakassapa stayed at a cottage near Rajagaha, he had two novice monks to
assist with daily activities. One novice was well-behaved, while the other one was too
scheming. The scheming one was lazy, but often showed that he was diligent in front of the
venerable Maha Kassapa. When the other novice already cooked hot water and put it on the
table for the venerable Mahakassapa, the scheming one came and said to the venerable Maha
Kassapa:” Dear master. The hot water is ready for you to drink. Please drink it before it
becomes cold.``
One day, the honest novice was angry about his friend, the scheming one, so after cooking the
hot water for venerable Maha Kassapa to take a bath, he did not take to the bathroom as usual,
but took to his room. When the scheming saw the honest novice leaving the kitchen, he thought
the water for taking bath for their master was ready, so he paid a visit and said to venerable
Maha Kassapa:” Dear master. The water is ready. Please take a bath.``
When the venerable Mahakassapa entered the bathroom, seeing no hot water, the venerable
Mahakassapa asked the scheming novice. Afterward, the honest novice brought the hot water
to give them to take a bath. After taking a bath, venerable Mahakassapa taught the scheming
novice:” My student! Be honest, as scheming is not suitable to carry on this dharma-practice.”
The scheming novice was angry, so the next day, he did not follow his master to enter the
village to get alms, but went to the house of a sponsor of his master to play. Seeing the novice
alone, the sponsors asked:” Where is venerable Maha Kassapa? What should I give you?”
The scheming novice:” My master is not healthy today, so he stayed at home. Could you please
give me some special foods to give him?”
The scheming novice took the food, entered the forest to eat, and then returned to the cottage.
He thought his sink was not able to be discovered, but the next day, venerable Mahakassapa
paid a visit to the house of his sponsor, and he soon discovered the sink of his student, the
scheming novice. Venerable Mahakasspa, after returning, called his scheming novice to
advise:” Dear my student! Please be honest as scheming actions, soon, will bring terrible
rewards.”
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The scheming novice was extremely angry, so when venerable Mahakasspa and the honest
novice went out to get alms, he burned out the cottage and left. This event was rapidly spread
to the monks living in Rajagaha, and when they paid a visit to the Buddha, they told the Buddha
about the event.
The Buddha, in this circumstance, said:” Maha Kassapa staying alone is still better than living
together with that novice.”
Don’t accompany with the mundane ones

Avoiding to make friends with the evils
Making friends with those who overpass us
Otherwise, should walk alone with be better
Then the Buddha said:” It is not in the present time, but also in the past, that a novice
demolished the place of the one who gave him good advice on development.”
In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Vanaranasi, the Bodhisattva was born
as a Singila bird, a kind of bird which had a horn on its head. When the Bodhisattva grew up,
it decided to make a certain nest on the mountainous side of Himalaya. After the nest was
completed, it was also the rainy season, and the Singila bird had a safe place to reside.
During the rainy season, there was a monkey which could not endure the cold weather of the
rainy season, so it ran close to the nest of the Singila bird to ask for help. The Singila bird said
to the monkey:” You look similar to the humans which have hands and legs. Why don’t you try
to find a place to reside to escape from the cold.”
The monkey rapidly replied:
Dear great bird, my friend

Although the monkeys are similar to humans
About the shape, with hands and legs as well
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But wisdoms are different
The Singila calmly said:” If you want to have a peaceful and safe life, go and make a safe place
to reside to avoid from sunlight and the rain as well.”
The monkey was angry about the advice of the Singila bird, so it jumped toward to grasp the
Singila bird. Rapidly, the Singila flew up and flew away. The monkey was angry, so it
demolished the nest of the Singila bird and left that place.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the monkey was the scheming novice, and
the Singila bird was him.
Jataka 322: Story of Dadabha

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the question of some monks about the ascetic
practical methods of monks of other lineages.
One day, some ascetic monks of other lineages settled their residences near Jetavana. Some
practiced by enduring the burning of fires, while some preferred to sleep and stay on the rough
places. Likewise, some did not lie down to sleep and take rest, whereas, some of them paid
respect to the fire. One day, some monks of the Sangha of the Buddha went across their places,
and seeing their hard practice, these monks asked the Buddha:” Dear great master! What
benefits they will gain from those hard practices?”
The Buddha said:” There is no benefit, as it is not wrong practice, and they will not succeed
with their spiritual practice by those methods. These methods are nothing, as they are similar
to the fear of the rabbit from the falling sound of the fruit.”
lion, and he lived in a forest of palm trees. Nearby the forest of the palm trees was a vast of the
Vilva trees. There was a rabbit that lived in the Vilva trees region.
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One day, the rabbit, after its lunch, thought:” What will I do if the ground is demolished and
collapsed?”
When it just raised this thought, a fruit of the Vilva fell down on the branch of the luxuriant
Vilva tree, and it made a tremendous sound. The rabbit thought that the ground was broken up,
so it rapidly ran away. One the way running, another rabbit saw this rabbit was threatening to
run, so it asked:” What happened to you? Dear friend?”
The rabbit replied rapidly:” The ground is broken up and collapsed, so I have to rush to run
out of this region.”
Then the second rabbit joined to run following the first rabbit, and during their way of running,
about 100 other rabbits joined their running. Not only that, seeing a line of rabbits which were
extremely threatened to run, other animals, such as some deers, boars, rhinos, buffalos, cows,
tigers and elephants also ran following the line of sacred rabbits. These animals were threatened
as they would die by their fears.
Seeing the animals were in danger due to their ignorance, the Bodhisattva wanted to save them,
so the Bodhisattva ran quickly toward the path that the animals were running. Then, the
Bodhisattva roared loudly three times. Hearing the roars of the lion, all the animals were
threatened to stop running. Then the Bodhisattva came close to help them to get rid of the worry
of the unreal phenomenon, so he wisely asked:” Why do you have to run with extreme fear?”
An animal replied quickly:” The ground is demolished and collapsed, so we have to run to the
safe places.”
Bodhisattva continued:” Who saw the ground being demolished and collapsed?”
All the animals then asked each other this question, and finally they figured out that the first
rabbit was the one which saw the ground was demolished. The lion came close to the rabbit,
asking:” Did you see the ground was demolished and collapsed?”
The rabbit was scared to answer:” Yes Sir! After lunch, I was laying down under a luxuriant
Vilva tree, and thought of what would happen if the ground was demolished and collapsed.
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Then, at that time, I heard a tremendous sound from the ground, so, I think the ground
collapsed.”
The lion, at this time comprehended the issue, and he guessed that a fruit of Vilva tree fell
down to make a tremendous sound, but the rabbit was ignorant to think that the ground had
collapsed and its fear was spread to other animals. Then the Bodhisattva tried to pacify all the
animals by letting them to wait, and the Bodhisattva took the rabbit to the Vilva trees to detect.
The Bodhisattva put the rabbit on his back, and with the speed of the lion, the Bodhisattva, in
a few seconds, arrived at the Vilva tree where the rabbit was laying before running. The lion
and the rabbit found that the ground was still in the normal situation, and there was a Vilva
fruit near the Vilva tree that the rabbit lay down.
Then the Bodhisattva took the rabbit back to the crowd of other animals, and pacified them
with the verse:
Threatening by the falling of the fruit

Firstly, the ignorant rabbit was running
Other animals were participated
All were in extreme ignorant and scared
None of them dared to find the truth

Believing in the unreal things
All were chaos and scary of death
Without calmness and wisdom
Whoever obtained the calmness

And wisdom of the truth
Easily realizing the truth
Among chaos and unreal things
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the wise lion was him.
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Jataka 323: Story of Brahmadatta
The Buddha told this story when he stayed at the Aggalava temple, near Alavi town, and the
background of this story was related to the rules and disciplines in building the temple.
The issue was that the monks who lived in this region were likely to ask lay-sponsors for things
and foods to build up their residences. When the Buddha knew this issue, the Buddha said to
them:” In the past, the wise men who were sponsored from the king, but for the simple things,
such as the shoes and an umbrella, they also did not ask, as they wanted to keep strictly the
rules of ascetic monks.”
In times gone by, when the king Pancala was ruling Kampillaka, the Bodhisattva was born in
a Brahmin family, in a small town of the nation. When he grew up, he was well-educated at
Takkasila, and then, having interest in the practical life of a forest monk, he left his family to
be an ascetic monk living in Himalaya. With diligence, he soon obtained fruits of the practice,
with wisdom, calmness, compassion and discipline.
One day, he went to the capital to get alms, as he ran out of salts and oil, and he stayed in the
garden of the king. During the stay of the Bodhisattva, the king paid a visit to him, and the king
loved his way of practice so that the king offered the daily foods and stuff to him during his
stay at the garden during the rainy season. After the rainy season, Bodhisattva wanted to leave
to return to the Himalaya, but his shoes were broken and so was his umbrella. Hence, the
Bodhisattva planned to ask the king for a pair of shoes and an umbrella.
When the king and officials paid a visit to him, Bodhisattva was shy to show his inquiry in
front of the crowd, so he asked the king:” Could I talk to you alone for a thing?”
The king agreed and all the officials left, but then the Bodhisattva thought that it was not good
to ask the king as his inquiry could bring bad consequences to the friendship between him and
the king if the king would refuse his inquiry, so he just let the king return. Time flies, 12 years
passed, and Bodhisattva still could not express his inquiry to the king.
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One day, the king thought of the Bodhisattva:” My friend was often required to talk with me
alone but then he kept silent. I think because he wants to return to normal life, and wants to
ask for the kingdom but feels shy to express his idea. Today, I will ask him and I will give him
everything, even kingdom. “
Then the king paid a visit to the Bodhisattva and asked:” Dear great friend! It Has been 12
years, you have not been able to show your inquiry to me. Don’t be shy. Let me know what you
want. Even if you want this kingdom, I shall give you.”
The Bodhisattva at that time, slowly talked to the king:” Dear majesty. I just want a pair of
shoes and an umbrella. That is all. Could you please give me these?
Whoever ask for something from others

Already having crying
Whoever refuse the asks of others
Similar having cry
Worrying that when I show inquiry

Both of us having cries
So, keeping this inquiry in my mind
As Not letting all of us crying
The king was extremely surprised, so he said:” Oh Dear! Only these things but you could not
express your inquiry. I shall give you 1000 cows and a servant to take care of the cows for you.
The Bodhisattva denied the offerings of the king, and he just received a pair of shoes and an
umbrella. Before he left, he advised the king to diligently reside in the dharma practice and
keep five precepts. Bodhisattva, after returning to the Himalaya, practiced hard and he was
reborn in the Brahma realm after passing away.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the king Pancala was Ananda, while the
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Jataka 324: Story of Cammasataka
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, on the event related to a monk who enjoyed wearing
robes made of animal feathers.
At the Buddha's time, there was a monk who often wore robes made of animal feathers, and
this monk was happy with these feather robes. One day, on the way to get out for work, he
walked close to an adult male goat, and this goat, when saw the monk, stepped back and looked
at the monk. The monk thought that the goat wanted to pay respect to him, so the monk did not
try to escape from the attack of the goat. Few seconds later, the male goat ran quickly toward
the monk to hit him. The monk rapidly fell down on the ground and got serious injuries.
This story was rapidly spread to Jetavana and when the Buddha comprehended this issue, the
Buddha slowly told the monks:” Wearing feather robes is not the preferred attitude of monks,
so you all should avoid wearing robes made of animal feathers of animals. In the past, this
monk was ignorant to think that he was respected by the goat, and also got attacked and
injured.”
In times gone by, Bodhisattva was born in a business family, and when he grew up, he soon
became an excellent businessman. One day, the businessman went out to entertain, watching
people have their male goats fighting each other. At the time, when the businessman was
watching the fights between the male goats, there was a monk who arrived at the Goats-
Fighting Hall, getting close to his sitting chair. This monk was wearing a robe made of the
feathers of animals, so smelling the animals’ meat on the body of the monk, a strong goat
stepped back to attack him. However, this monk was ignorant to think that the goat paid respect
to him, so he praised of the goat:
The wise animal, paying respect to me

Brahmin monk with virtue and wisdom
The animal is wiser than other ones
Wish you will be famous among others
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When the monks just completed his verse, the businessman quickly cautioned the monk:” Dear
venerable. Please quickly step aside to avoid the attack of the goat.”
But it was too late, as the goat already hit the monk with all his force. The monk fell down and
got terrible injuries.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the monk in the story and the monk who loved
wearing the robes made of feathers’ animals was one, while the businessman was him.
Jataka 325: Story of Gobha

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the story was about one scheming monk.
When the scheming monk was brought to meet the Buddha, the Buddha advised:” You have to
try to change your attitude as scheming attitude will not succeed in this practice. In the past,
you were a scheming monk, due to your desire, so now you have to change your behavior.”
In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta, the Bodhisattva was born as a Gecko, and he lived
in a forest which was near to a village. There was a monk who built up a cottage at the edge of
the forest for his practice, and the cottage of the monk was near to the residence of the Gecko.
The gecko, on an incidental occasion seeing the cottage of the monk, paid a visit to the monk
to listen to the dharmas from the monk, so, from that time, the gecko often visited the monk to
listen to the dharmas-talks.
One day, the monk was given a special soup which was cooked by his sponsors from the
village. The soup was cooked by using gecko and some special ingredients. The monk was
attached to the taste of the soup, so he was curious about the ingredients of the soup, so he
asked the villagers:” Oh dears! I have never eaten soup with this special taste, so could you
please share the method as well as the ingredients of this soup.”
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After knowing that the major ingredient of the soup was the meat of gecko, the monk
immediately thought of the gecko which often came to his cottage to listen to the dharma-
talks:” Why shouldn’t I catch that giant gecko to cook for soups. It is extremely big.”
Then, the next day, the monk prepared the pan, ingredients and woods in order to cook soup
after catching the gecko. As usual, the gecko paid a visit to the monk. However, his scheming
face made the gecko scary, so the gecko carefully stopped and thought:” The eyes and the face
of the monk today are too scheming, and he is planning to do some evil things. I have to be
careful as the eyes of this monk told me that he is not a real dharma- practice.”
The gecko, then, moved toward the blowing of the wind to smell and the gecko discovered that
the monk was planning to catch it after eating the soup cooked by the meat of gecko:” I still
can smell the meat of gecko from this monk, so it is likely that this monk ate gecko from the
offerings of villagers, and now, he is planning to catch me to cook as he is addicted to the taste
of the foods. He is not a real practitioner of the enlightened dharma at all. So, I don’t have to
pay any visit to him.”
Then the gecko moved away. Seeing the gecko stop and then move back, the monk guessed
that the gecko already comprehended his plan, so he threw the stick toward the gecko. Luckily
to the gecko, the stick did not hit its body but its tail only. The monk was angry:” Go away!
Now, you escape from me.”
The gecko replied:” I can escape from you, but you shall not be able to escape from the Karma.
Please be careful.”
Then the gecko spoke the verse:
Wearing on the robes of monks

Not able to control the evil mind
Throwing the tick toward me
Revealing, the fake practice, you are
Then the gecko continued:” Please go away from this region, otherwise, I will inform the
villagers to catch you for committing the rules of monks and stealing.”
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The monk, after a few days, left the cottage to settle in a new place.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the monk who was attached to the taste of
food was the scheming monk, while the gecko was him.
Jataka 326: Story of Kakkaru

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and based on the circumstances related to Devadatta.
One day, Devadatta told lies with 500 new ordained monks and took them to leave the Sangha
of the Buddha. Finally, he did not have enough virtue to keep 500 monks to stay with him, and
he consequently got sick.
The Buddha, in this circumstance of Devadatta, said:” Dear monks. It is not in the present time,
but also in the past, Devadatta was likely to tell lies to gain benefits, but consequently he got
sorrowful.”
In times gone by, when king Brahamadatta was ruling Varanasi, Bodhisattva was born as a god
of the 33rd heaven. One day, there was a festival in Varanasi, and the deities who lived around
Varanasi also joined the festival. On this occasion, the king of gods and goddesses, Sakka sent
four gods to take heaven flowers to join the festival. Each god wore a Kakkaru garland of
flowers to join the festival. When four gods descended to Varanasi, their lights shone in the
square of 12 miles. All the people of Varanasi and the deities were wondering about this miracle
thing, so they tried to predict the cause of this miracle thing. The gods landed in the front yard
of the palace of the king, and then flew up to stay in the thin air.
The king, officials and his relatives quickly arrived at the front yard to pay respect to the gods,
and the king asked them:” Dear great gods. Where are you from?”
A god rapidly replied:” We are from the 33rd heaven. We came here to join the festival.”
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The king looked at the flower on their neck, asking:” Dear Sir. Which kind of flower are you
wearing? It has a miraculous smell.”
A god said calmly:” This flower is called Kakkaru flower, and only blossoms in the 33rd
heaven.”
The king, then, asked for the flower:” Dear Sir! I guess, you have lots of flowers in heaven, so
could you please give us these garlands of Kakkaru flowers.”
A god said:” This flower can give to the most moral one.”
Then he spoke the verse to demonstrate his idea:”
Those who have skip stealing from others

Also skipping telling lie to gain benefits
With virtuous livelihood has been cultivated
Deserved to wear this garland of Kakkaru
At that time, the celebrant of the king wanted to have this garland of Kakkaru, so he told the
god that:” I have cultivated these virtues, so please give the flower to me.”
The first god gave the garland of Kakkaru to the celebrant, and then the celebrant asked three
other gods to give him the garlands of Kakkaru:” Could you also please give me the Kakkaru
garland?”
A god spoke the verse:
Whoever earn for living with right way

Not scheming to gain profit
Not enjoying having playing and drinking
Deserving to have this garland of Kakkaru
The third God spoke the verse:
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Whoever having the ambition in right dharmas
Having determined aim to the practice
Not attaching to the taste of foods
Deserving wearing this garland of flowers
The fourth God said:

Whoever having no gossip of mistakes of others
Even publicly or secretly to do
Completing all the vows already made
Deserving to wear this garland of flowers
The celebrant said to them:” I have cultivated these virtues, so please give me those garlands
of flowers.”
The gods gave the garlands to the celebrant and returned to their place. When the gods just left,
the celebrant got a serious headache. And he tried to take these garlands off but he could not.
At that time, the king and the officials asked him:” What happened to you?”
The celebrant sorrowfully said:” I told lies to get these garlands, and this is my karma.”
A few days later, the king was sorrowful about the sickness of the celebrant, so he asked his
officials:” The celebrant is getting punishment for his bad behaviors. So, what should we do to
help him?”
An official suggested to the king to organize another festival. So, the king ordered the people
of the town to celebrate a new festival, and as predicted by the king, the gods again descended
to join the festival. The king ordered servants to carry the celebrant to put in front of the gods,
and the celebrant with terrible suffering, insisted to the gods:” Dear gods. I already understand
my sin of telling lie. Please forgive me and take these garlands of flowers out of my head.”
A god said to the celebrant and all people there:” I already knew that you were telling a lie, but
still gave you. So, please be honest in your practice.”
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Then the gods took off the garlands of Kakkaru out of the head of the celebrant and returned
to their place.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the celebrant was Devadatta, while the first,
second and third God were Mahakassapa, Moggalana and Sariputta. The leader of Gods was
him, the Buddha in the Bodhisattva way.
Jataka 327: Story of Kakati

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a young monk who regretted his ordination as he
was attached to his wife.
When the young monk was brought to the Buddha, the Buddha advised him:” The women are
difficult to keep their hearts forever. The men, in the past, put their women in a palace which
stood alone on the sea, but they still could not keep their women to associate with other men.”
son of the queen and the king, so after his father king passed away, he was given the throne of
power of the nation. After being the new king of Varanasi, he got married with a beautiful and
elegant woman, namely Kakati. The king was attached too much to Kakati due to her beauty
and elegance.
One day, the king of birds, Garuda, appeared in the shape of man to play chess with the king
of Varanasi. When he was playing chess with the king of Varanasi, he saw the queen Kakati of
king Varanasi, and he was attached to the beauty of the queen. Hence, he took the queen to his
palace located on the sea. At the palace, he was happy to enjoy the life of the couple with
Kakati.
When the queen Kakati was brought away from Garuda, the king of Varanasi missed her too
much, so the king ordered a musical player, namely Natakuvera, to find the queen. As a wise
man, Natakuvera knew that the person who often came to play chess with the king of Varanasi
was the king Garuda, and the king Garuda already took the queen Kakati away. So, he went to
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a lake which was told that the king Garuda often landed to drink and swim. Waiting for the
king of birds, Garuda was enjoying the sunlight, Natakuvera hid himself under the thick
feathers of the king Garuda. And, when the king Garuda flew back, Natakuvera held the tail of
the king. Soon, he arrived at the palace of the Garuda. He stayed there for a few days, under
special treat of the queen Kakati. After that, using a similar method, he was successful in
Varanasi.
Waiting for the king of Garuda came to play chess with the king, he walked out from inside
the room of the king, saying:”
The scents from my body are from my lover

The most beautiful of this town
Kakati, the most elegant woman
Making my heart think of her all the time
Garuda was surprised to ask the musical player:
Being able to cross the big ocean, the Ke-buk

Did you arrive at my island, my palace?
Crossing all other seven big oceans
Sim-bal, my forest, did you arrive?
The musical player rapidly said:

Due to your help, I arrived
The Sim-bal Forest, your palace
Dating with Kakati, the beautiful woman
My love was from your help only
The Garuda was ashamed to speak:
Too attached to the beauty, I was scheming

Being extremely ignorant
Beautiful woman should keep alone
I am now being the connection for lovers
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Then the king Garuda flew back to take Kakati to return to the king Varanasi, and he had never
returned to the palace to play chess with the king.
After telling the story, the Buddha talked Four Noble Truths to the monk, and during the talk
of the Buddha, he achieved the first entering stream level. Finally, the Buddha recognized that
Netakuvera was the young monk, while the king of Varanasi was him.
Jataka 328: Story of Ananusociya

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a millionaire who had a beautiful wife. However,
his wife, soon, passed way due to serious sickness, so he was extremely sorrowful that he could
not eat, drink, sleep and do the business.
During his sorrowful emotion, the Buddha, by the power of meditation, knew that he could
achieved the first entering stream level, so the next morning, the Buddha took a assistant monk
to pay a visit to his house. Seeing the Buddha, he suddenly forgot his sorrowfulness to prepare
the seat for the Buddha, and then he asked his servants to prepare the flowers and the foods to
offer the Buddha. Then, he sat down and kept silent.
The Buddha asked him with concern:” I heard that your wife just passed away, so it is the
reason to make you to be sorrowful all the time. To remember that everything is impermanent,
and nobody can live forever. If you can contemplate on this truth, you will be able to release
from the sorrow. “

a rich Brahmin family, and he was well-educated in Takkasila, when he turned into adult. After
he completed his study at Takkasila, his parents asked him to get married; however, he denied
and said:” I want to be a monk, and the family life is not my purpose and interest.”
However, his parents still insisted him to have family before he could leave the family for
ascetic life. Under the pressure of his parents, he took out a picture drawing a beautiful woman,
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saying:” I just get married if you can find the woman which looks like the woman in this
picture.”
His parents let people to make the golden statue of the woman in the picture, and then they
went around to seek for the woman who would like the statue. Time flies, they could not find
the woman which would like the statue in Varanasi, so they went to the neighborhood nation
of Varanasi, Kasi.
In the town of Kasi, there was a beautiful girl, which was named Simmillabhasina, and which
was the only child of a business family. And as she descended from the Brahma realm, so she
did not attach to the desired life of normal people. She often talked with her parents that:” When
you all pass away, I will leave for the dharma-practice life.”
When the servants of the parents of Bodhisattva stood in the square of Kasi to show the golden
statue to seek for the woman would like the statue, a citizen of Kasi said:” It is Simmillabhasina,
the daughter of a millionaire family. “
To base on the information of the people of Kasi, the servants of parents of Bodhisattva soon
arrived at the house of Simmillabhasina, and soon, the wedding the Bodhisattva and
Simmillabhasini was organized. However, after the wedding, although they lived together in a
room, they did not attach with sexual desire. Hence, they did not sleep together. Time flies, the
parents of Simmillabhasina and parents of Bodhisattva all passed away. Bodhisattva and
Simmillabhasina donated all their fortune to the charity organizations and people in needs.
Then they left the luxurious life for the ascetic life in Himalaya. They practiced in Himalaya
for years before deciding to get to Varanasi to buy some salts and essential stuff. At Varanasi,
they stayed at the garden of the king, and they got around to get alms for living. One day,
Simmillabhsina got dysentery after eating porridge offered by people. She was terrible and
suffered, so the bodhisattva put her into a stretcher to push together to the palace to ask for
medicine. At the palace, the Bodhisattva put Simmillabhsina in front of the palace and then he
left for getting medicine. When he just left, Simmillabhasini died.
A beautiful girl, in the robe of ascetic monk, died at the gate of the palace got the notice of the
crowd of people. They gathered and cried for her death. At that time, the Bodhisattva returned,
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and seeing Simmillabhasina died, he just tried to covered her dead body with her robe. The
people asked him:” Dear venerable, what is your relationship with this beautiful woman?”
The Bodhisattva rapidly replied:” Before we left for the monk’s life, she was my wife.”
A citizen of Varansis wondered:” Why we are crying for her, but you are not? You don’t love
her?”
The Bodhisattva said calmly:” Everything is impermanent and nobody can escape from the
death. When she was alive, she was my wife, but now she reborn in the other realm. There is
nothing to be sorrowful for this. “
Everyone has to experience the death

Although rich or poor, young or old
Having no way to escape from the death
As it is the nature of the universal phenomena.
Everything is not solid as their nature of impermanence

Love all what are in the presents
Don’t be regrated what are broken
As it is the truth of universal phenomena
Fater giving teachings to people, the Bodhisattva made the funeral to Simmillabhasina under
the assistance of citizens of Varanasi. Then, he returned Himalaya to continue his practice.
With diligence, he obtained fruits of meditation, and reborn in the Brahma realm when he
passed away.
When the story was ended, the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths to the young
millionaire, and the millionaire obtained the first entering stream level during the talk of the
Buddha. Finally, the Buddha recognized that Simmillabhasini was mother of Rahula, and the
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Jataka 329: Story of Kalabahu
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the circumstance of the story was the loss of profit
and sponsors of Devadatta.
After the planning of killing the Buddha failed, most of the people left Devadatta, including
the king Ajantaisattu. This event was discussed by the monks of Jetavana. When the Buddha
knew the figure of the discussion of the monks, the Buddha said:” It is not in the present time
but also in the past, due to the wrong livelihood, he lost all the profits that he gained.”
parrot, namely Radha, and he had a brother, namely Potha. One day, on the way of earning a
living, they were caught and finally given to the king. The king loved these parrots too much,
so the king gave the parrots special foods. Also, they were put into a golden trap.
Soon, the hunter brought a black face-monkey to give to the king, and the king had special
love for this black-face monkey so that the king did not concern to the parrots anymore. At that
time, the Bodhisattva did not concern too much, but his brother was not satisfied with the
special treat that the king gave the black-face monkey. Then Radha pacified its brother:
Having profit and lost the benefits

Praising or humiliating, being happy or being sorrowful
All are impermanent and not be able to keep for long
Seeing this truth, and stop being unpleasant
Then the parrot, Potha asked his brother: “You are wise, so could you predict when the monkey
will be expelled from the palace?”
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Radha calmly:” The monkey likely enjoys playing around, as it is their nature. It will, soon,
make the children of the king threatened. It is the time the king expels the monkey out of the
palace.”
Time flies, the black-face monkey went around to play and it made the children of the king
threaten to cry, so the king asked the servants to release the monkey to the forest.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the black-face monkey was Devadatta and
the parrot, namely Potha was Ananda, while the Radha was him.
Jataka 330: Story of Silavimamsa

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the background of the story was related to a virtuous
official of king Kosala.
After challenging himself into the trouble of stealing the golden coins of the king, he recognized
the virtuous behavior was the most important in society, so he left his job and stayed with the
practice of morality.
When this circumstance was told to the Buddha, the Buddha said that:” In the past, the wise
men also challenged themselves to realize the key role of the virtuous acts.”
In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was reigning

Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was an official of the king. The Bodhisattva kept
five precepts (Not killing, not drinking, not telling lies, not having sexual
misconduct and not stealing). By practicing these five precepts, the
Bodhisattva was respected by the king and others. One day, he wanted to challenge
himself to comprehend whether others had paid respect to him due to his high
position, his wisdom, his knowledge or his virtue.
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After stealing some of the king, he was brought to meet the king, and under the anger of the
king, he said calmly:” Dear majesty. I am not the stealer. I just wanted to challenge myself to
realize whether my high position, my wisdom, my knowledge and my virtue, which one has
made others pay respect to me. Now, I already know that virtue is the most vital one. So, I want
to leave this job for an ascetic life. Please agree with me.”
Getting permission from the king, the Bodhisattva returned to his house to say goodbye to all
his relatives and then he went to the Himalaya to practice as an ascetic monk. One afternoon,
when he was sitting to drink tea at the front door of his cottage, he saw an eagle bird which
was grasping a piece of animals’ meat. Seeing this eagle bird, the other eagle birds attacked to
gain the piece of meat. When this eagle bird suffered to loosen the piece of meat, another bird
took it. Immediately, the birds together attacked the bird who just grasped the piece of meat.
From this he enlightened that:” The desire is like a piece of meat. Whoever gives it up, they are
free.”
One day, he got to the town to buy salts and went through the house of a girl, namely Pingala.
This girl was waiting for her lover at the front gate of her house. However, her lover did not
come. Feeling sorrowful, Pingala lay down to sleep peacefully. When the Bodhisattva
comprehended this issue, he thought:” Although people are unsatisfied with their desire, they
still should be able to sleep calmly.”
In the afternoon, he left the town and when he just entered the forest, he saw a monk sitting
calmly in the meditation posture. He realized that:” In this life, the most happiness and
calmness should be the concentration of meditation.”
Then, he returned to his cottage and practiced hard. When he passed away, he was reborn into
the Brahma realm.
After telling the story ,the Buddha recognized that the ascetic monk was him.
Jataka 331: Story of Kokalika
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and this story was related to venerable Kokalika.
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In times gone by, when king Varanasi was ruling Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was born in a
Brahmin family. When he grew up, he worked as an official of the king. At that time, the king
of Varanasi was a talkative person, so the king talked about everything at any time. The
Bodhisattva desired to assist the king to change. However, he had no suitable opportunity to
demonstrate to the king.
One day, the king and the official went to the garden of the palace for a stroll, and when they
arrived at a wonderful landscape, they stopped by to enjoy the landscape. The Bodhisattva and
the king sat down near a giant tree, which had a nest of a crow on it.
There was a cuckoo which gave birth to an egg into the nest of the crow when the crow went
out for a living. Then the crow took good care of the egg of the cuckoo until the egg blossomed
into a tiny birth. At first, the crow also loved this tiny bird. However, when the king and the
Bodhisattva arrived near to the nest of the crow, smelling and hearing the sounds from humans,
the new born cuckoo yelled loudly, and its yells were not of the crow. The crow was angry to
grasp the tiny bird to throw down to the ground.
The tiny bird fell down to the legs of the king, and the king wondered to ask the Bodhisattva:”
Why did the crow throw their child down to the ground?”
Bodhisattva looked at the tiny bird and he rapidly comprehended that the tiny bird was not a
crow. The Bodhisattva thought it was a suitable sample to assist the king to change. So, he
spoke the verse: “Dear majesty! Those who talk too much at a suitable time will be in trouble.
This tiny bird is not a crow but a cuckoo, and the crow took good care of it as the crow does
for other tiny birds. However, just recently, this bird yelled, and the yells of this tiny bird made
the crow recognize it is not a crow, so the crow threw it down to the ground.”
Being talkative is not bringing benefits

Similar to this tiny bird, will encounter trouble
Although the poisons or sharp swords
Would not be harmful as talkative behavior
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After the talk of the Bodhisattva, the king tried to change his attitude, so he just talked at the
suitable time. Also, the king gave more profits and benefits to the Bodhisattva.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the tiny bird of cuckoo was Kokalika, while
the wise official was him.
Jataka 332: Story of Rathalathi
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about a Brahmin clergy of the king Kosala.
One day, this clergy was on his horse vehicle to get out for his work, and at a narrow path, from
the opposite side, there were some horse-vehicles running. The clergy got out of the vehicle
curtain, shouting toward the running opposite vehicles:” I am the clergy of the king Kosala,
please step aside for my vehicle to go first.”
Almost all the vehicles rapidly stepped aside to give priority to the vehicle of the clergy, but
one vehicle did not do the same. Then the clergy was angry to take the stick of the driver to
throw toward the drivers of that vehicle. Unluckily, the stick did not hit any driver but hit the
vehicle only, and when the stick hit the board of the vehicle, the force-feedback made the stick
return to the clergy and hit on his head to make him injured.
The clergy angrily came to the palace to talk to the king, and the king let some officials take
responsibility for the lawsuit. After time of detecting and investigating, the officials claimed
that the drivers of the opposite vehicle had no fault, but the fault was from the clergy.
This event was rapidly spread to Jetavana, and the monks gathered at the Dharma-hall, talking
about this issue. When the Buddha knew the figure of the monks, in this circumstance, the
Buddha said:” It is not in the present time, but also in the past, he also behaved similarly.”
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In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, Bodhisattva worked as the
judge of the town. One day, the clergy of the king, due to his anger to the drivers of a vehicle
which did not step aside to give him priority to go first at a narrow path, held the stick of his
drivers to throw toward people of the opposite vehicle. Unluckily, the stick did not hit any
drivers, but with its force-feedback, the stick returned quickly and hit on the forehead of the
clergy, so the clergy got injured at the forehead.
To keep this anger, the clergy arrived at the palace to tell lies to the king that the drivers of the
opposite vehicle hit him to get injured. The king called all the drivers of the opposite vehicle
to meet him, and without proper investigation, the king judged that the fault was from the
drivers of the opposite vehicles, so the king ordered his soldiers to confiscate all the properties
of these drivers.
A few days later, the Bodhisattva knew that the king gave wrong judgment to his lawsuit, so
the Bodhisattva paid a visit to the king and advised the king to reinvestigate this lawsuit:” Dear
majesty! We have to reinvestigate the lawsuit which was engaged with the clergy, as based on
my investigation, the clergy was injured, not the drivers. Hence, you confiscated all their
properties, without proper detection. It is not the right case of the wise and compassionate
king.”
The king agreed to the advice of the Bodhisattva, and he, himself, tried to reinvestigate this
lawsuit case, and soon returned the properties to the drivers as the king detected that they had
no fault.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the clergy in the story was the clergy of king
Kosala, whereas, the wise judge was him.
Jataka 333: Story of Gobha

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the couple of a millionaire of Savithri.
The wife was faithful to the husband, but contrary, the husband was tight-fisted and selfish to
everyone, including his wife. One day, they went to another town to retrieve the money from
a borrower, and after getting the money from their borrower, they hurried to return. During the
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journey, the husband wanted to save money, so he did not stop by to buy everything for them
to eat and drink. Luckily, when they stopped to take a rest at the shore of the river, some
villagers were grilling the geckos, and the villagers gave them a giant gecko for lunch. The
husband advised the wife to find water, and when the wife left, the husband rapidly ate out of
the gecko. When the wife returned, the husband said:” Honey. Too sorry. The gecko already
ran away.”
The wife did not say everything as she knew that her husband, after eating the gecko, tried to
tell lies to her. Due to the thirst, when they arrived at Jetavana, they got to Jetavana to drink
water, and after drinking water, they paid a visit to the Buddha.
The Buddha asked the wife:” How has your husband treated you, my student?”
The wife was unpleasant to say:” Dear great master. I have been faithful to him, but he has
been selfish to me.”
The Buddha compassionately pacified the wife:” When he remembers all the things that you
have done for him, he will give all the glory as the wife to you.”
In times gone by, when the king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, Bodhisattva was the
consultant of the palace. At that time, the king was a doubted person, so when he saw his only
son, who often had a crowd of servants to work for, walking through the main gate, with the
crowd of servants and soldiers, he was threatened that his son would kill him to be the king
earlier. Hence, he expelled his son out of the palace. The prince was sorrowful to take his wife
to leave the palace.
They settled for new life at the bank of the river which is near to a forest and a small village.
They had to collect fruits in the forest and had to plan vegetables for a living. They had to
endure all the difficulty of a normal farmer in the rural area. Time flies, the king of Varanasi
died, and the prince hurried to take his wife back to Varanasi. The ceremony was rapidly
organized to give the prince on the throne of the king and his wife on the throne of the queen
of the nation.
However, the new king did not give any benefits to his queen, so the queen had to live in
suffering emotion. One day, the Bodhisattva saw the queen and the king stayed together at
the garden, so he decided to walk close to assist the queen to gain benefits from the king.
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After paying respect to the king and the queen, the Bodhisattva said to the queen:” Dear
madam! I have been working for you and the king for a long time, but you have never given
me any gifts. Could you please, in front of the majesty, give me something?”
The queen, in the mixed emotion of anger and sadness, slowly talked to the Bodhisattva:”
Dear great servant! How could I give you something when I don't even have anything? As I
have gained no benefits from the king, except for the title as the queen of the nation.”
The Bodhisattva said to the king:” No. Our king is a compassionate person, and he is generous
to everyone.”
The queen calmly said:” My servant! You don’t know that on the way back from the forest, we
had no food, but luckily, a villager offered us a grilled gecko. At that time, your majesty tricked
me to go to find water to drink, and he ate out the grilled gecko.”
Then the Bodhisattva talked to the queen:” If our majesty does not love you any more, why
don’t you leave for a happy life in another palace?”
Showing love to those who love us

Showing respects to those who respect us
Being kind to the ingratitude ones should be harmful
So, being isolated with them to keep a happy life!
When the king heard the verse from the Bodhisattva, the king recognized his fault to the queen,
so he said lovely to the queen:” Dear honey! Due to the conversation between you and my
consultant, I realized my fault. I will give you everything for your contribution to me during the
time we lived with difficult situations in the forest. I will give you even this nation if you want.”
Then the king gave all the glory which the queen gave to her, and the king also gave various
benefits to the Bodhisattva for the concern and advice of the Bodhisattva to make the king
realize his fault.
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths to the couple, and they all
obtained the first Entering Stream level. Finally, the Buddha recognized that the king and the
queen were the couple who listened to the Dharma talk from the Buddha, while the wise
consultant was him.
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Jataka 334: Story of Rajavada
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, on the occasion in which the Buddha gave the
precious teachings to king Kosala on how to be a good king.
The Buddha, after giving advice to king Kosala on how to rule the nation with right dharmas,
said to him calmly:” Dear majesty! In the past, the kings followed the advices of the wise men,
so they had ruled the nations with royal dharmas until they were reborn on the heaven.”
Brahmin family. After having education at Takkasila, he left his family to be a forest monk
who lived in the forest of Himalaya. With diligence, he, soon, obtained the fruits of meditation
practice, such as wisdom, compassion, concentration and supreme power.
At that time, the king of Varanasi, after long time of applying the royal dharmas into his ruling
of the nation, he had got the praises from all people of the nation. However, he did not satisfy
with his success, so he asked officials whether he had some mistakes or faults in the ruling, but
they all spoke highly of the king. Then the king disguised himself as a Brahmin to travel around
to comprehend his mistakes. However, after travelling around, he still could not find out some
mistakes of his rulings. Finally, he decided to get to Himalaya Forest to ask the ascetic monks
as the ascetic monks would be wise men who could assist him to be better king.
When the king travelled in Himalaya, he occasionally entered the cottage of Bodhisattva to ask
for food and water. During the visit, the Bodhisattva gave the king the figs which collected
from the deep forest. The Bodhisattva, by his power, knew that the man who paid visit to him
was the king, so he said to the king:” Dear Brahmin. Do you know the reason why the figs are
too sweety? As the king is ruling the nation with royal dharmas, so all the fruits in the nation
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are sweaty and tasty. Not only fruits, but the flowers are more beautiful. The people are more
virtuous. However, if the king rules the nation with injustice methods, all the fruits in the nation
will be bitter and be tea-tasted.”
The king memorized all the teachings of the ascetic monk, and when he arrived at the palace,
he tried to test the truth of the talk of the ascetic monk. Therefore, he ruled the nation with
injustice for a time. Then, again, he paid the visit to the ascetic monk. Again, the Bodhisattva
gave him the figs to eat. When he ate the figs, he was surprised as the taste of the figs was not
sweety but bitter and tea-stated. The king wondered to ask the Bodhisattva:” Dear venerable.
The figs you gave me last time and this time are two distinct ones, didn’t they?”
The Bodhisattva talked to the king:” No. just from one tree. But, because the king is ruling the
nation with injustice methods, so all the fruits in the nation are bitter and tea-stated, including
this figs fruits.”
Then the king stood up and let the ascetic monk know that he was the king of Varanasi. He
said:” Dear master! I am the king of this nation, and due to the methods of ruling the nation, I
realize that royal methods can benefits everything, including the trees of the nation. Thanks
very much for your precious teachings.”
Then the king returned and tried to rule the nation with royal dharmas all the rest of his life,
and he was reborn in the Brahma realm, when he passed away.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the ascetic monk was him in the Bodhisattva
way.
Jataka 335: Story of Jambuka

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, about the trouble of Devadatta, after he pretended in
the ways Buddha often did. Finally, all the monks left him and he got injured by the kick of
Kokalika.
In this circumstance, the Buddha said that:” It is not in the present time, but also in the past, he
tried to follow my way and got injured.”
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lion which lived in a cave of Himalaya. This lion often caught giant animals to eat, and then
the lion came to a pond nearby to drink water. One day, after having lunch with the meat of a
giant cow, the lion ran to the pond to drink water. At that time, a jackal was drinking water at
the pond. Seeing the lion, the jackal was threatened that it could not escape if it tried to run, so
it lay down at the shore.
When the lion arrived, the lion was surprised to ask the jackal:” Hey jackal. Don’t you fear
that I will kill you for food? Why don’t you run away?”
The jackal was threatened but used all his courage to say slowly:” Dear Sir. I am waiting for
you as I want to be your assistant. Please let me follow you.”
The lion agreed and said:” Okay. Greta. Just follow me, but you don’t have to hunt the animals.
It is my job. You just get out and observe which animal you want, and then inform me. We shall
have that to eat. Now, follow me.”
Then the jackal followed the lion to the lion’s cave, the lion still slept on its bed inside the cave,
and the jackal had a corner in front of the cave to sleep. Then, from that on, the lion often
caught cows and buffalos to eat, and after eating, the lion brought the leftover back to the jackal.
Time flies, as the jackal lived together with the lion, so all the animals also were threatened by
the jackal. So, one day, the jackal said to the king:” Dear sir! From tomorrow, you don’t have
to bring food to me, and please stay at the cave, as I shall catch an elephant for us to eat.”
The lion was surprised to advise the jackal:” Hey jackal. Don’t be crazy! You are not the lion,
so you will be killed if you attack an elephant. Please stop this silly idea.”
However, the jackal did not listen to the honest advice of the lion, so the next morning, it ran
down to the pond and attacked the elephant. Consequently, the jackal was attacked by the
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elephant and got seriously injured. The lion was on the high position, observing the injury of
the jackal, the lion spoke the verse:
Measuring ability and skills well to fight with others

Be careful in the words, in utterances
Be honest in your way, your position
All enemies, will be under your feats
After telling the story ,the Buddha recognized that the jackal was Devadatta, while the lion was
him.
Jataka 336: Story of Brahachatta
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, based on the circumstance of a scheming monk.
In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was the
consultant of the king for mundane and supper mundane issues. One day, the king Varanasi
wanted to attack the kingdom of king Kosala, and under the consultant of the Bodhisattva, the
king of Varanasi was easy to occupy the kingdom of king Kosala. After taking the whole
control of the town, the king of Varanasi put the king Kosala into prison.
Luckily, the prince of king Kosala, namely Chatta, was able to escape from the attack of king
Varanasi, as the prince Chatta disguised as clergy to run away. Then the prince Chatta went to
Takkasila to study Vedas and skills with a famous master. After he graduated, he went to a
forest where there were 500 monks. The prince Chatta joined this community, and soon became
their leader. After being the leader of 500 monks, the prince Chatta brought them to the town
of Varanasi to get alms.
When they got to Varanasi, the king was attracted to their way of practice, so the king of
Varanasi invited them to the palace for offering, and then the king invited them to maintain
their stay at the garden of the palace.
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Knowing the mantra which could chase the place where people hide their property. At the night
time, by the mantra, the prince Chatta could find out the location, where the king Varanasi hid
his tremendous fortune. Then, the prince Chatta talked to 500 monks:”To be honest, I am a
prince of king Kosal. After the king Varanasi attacked my kingdom, I disguised myself as a
clergyman and could escape from him. Now, I know where he hid his fortune. Could you please
help me to bring the fortune back to Kosala? I will rebuild my nation using this fortune.”
The monks all said:” Dear sir! Great to be under your utterance. We shall do everything that
you want us to do.”
So, in the night time, they used the leather bags to contain all the jewels and golden coins that
the king Varanasi hid under the ground, and then they put the grass into the storage and covered
the ground as having nothing. And, then they silently moved back to Kosala. Using the giant
fortune, the prince Chatta was able to gather lots of strong men to work as his soldiers and soon
he was successful in regaining control of his nation.
The king Varanasi, after knowing this issue, went to the garden and dug the ground to find his
fortune. But inside the container was not jewels and golden coins but grass. The king was
sorrowful so he went around to say:'' Grass. Oh, dear Grass.”
Bodhisattva asked the king:” Why were you so sorrowful, my majesty?”
The king replied rapidly:” Chatta, the monk, stole my fortune. Using the grasses to replace my
jewels and golds. They are not the real practitioners of Dharma. Due to my ignorance, I was
deceived by them.”
The Bodhisattva pacified the king:” Dear majesty. Most of that fortune was from his nation.
So, now he has returned, it is normal. Don’t need to be too sorrowful.”
Hearing the advice of the Bodhisattva, the king Varanasi got rid of boredom and tried to rule
the nation with royal dharmas.
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After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the scheming monk, Chatta, was the
scheming monk in Sangha of Buddha, while the wise consultant was him.
Jataka 337: Story of Pitha

The Buddha told this story at Jevtana, and this story was related to the circumstance in which
a monk got angry at the sponsors of the Sangha, after he could not get food.
One day, a monk from a rural area paid a visit to Jetavana, and after having a place to stay, he
asked a novice living in Jetavana:” Dear novice! Could you please let me know who takes
responsibility for the visiting monks in this temple?”
The novice was honest to say:” Dear venerable! Anathapindika and Visakha preferred to give
food and drinks to all the visiting monks.”
The next early morning, this monk paid a visit to the house of Anathapindika, but he could not
get anything as he came too early. So, he went to the house of Visakha; however, as he arrived
too early, there was nothing for him. Finally, he decided to walk around for sightseeing and
would return later. Then he walked around, and when he returned to the houses of
Anathapindika and Visakha, the foods and drinks were gone. So, he had to return to Jetavana
without food and drinks. To be angry, he complained Anathapindika and Visakha to other
monks, and this issue was spread to almost all the monks of Jetavana.
When the Buddha knew his attitude, the Buddha called him and said:” Why did you get angry
at the sponsors when you could not get food and drinks? The wise men, in the past, did not get
angry at all when they could get food and drinks from givers.”

son in a Brahmin family, and when he turned adult, he went to Takkasila for learning of Vedas
and skills. After graduation, he did not attach to the family life, so he left his family, heading
to Himalaya for the practice as an ascetic monk. With diligence, he soon achieved the fruits of
meditation.
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One day, he went to the town of Varanasi to get salt and oils. When he arrived at the town, he
asked people of the town whether there were some sponsors for the visiting monks in this town.
After getting information about the devout sponsor of monks, a millionaire, the next morning,
he paid a visit to his house. However, the millionaire was not at home for his visit to the palace
of the king, and all his servants did not notice the visit of the monk. So, the Bodhisattva left to
return to the garden of the king. When he just left the house of the millionaire, the millionaire
just arrived at his gate, and seeing the Bodhisattva, he rapidly called the servants to invite him
to enter the house for the offerings.
After the ascetic monk was offered with stuff and meal, the millionaire apologized to the
monk:” Dear venerable. We vowed to give food and drinks to all the monks who pay a visit to
us. So, today, for the first time, a monk did not get anything and left our house. Please forgive
us for this mistake and fault.”
The Bodhisattva said calmly:” There is nothing to be sorry about. I did not get annoyed at all,
as it is the tendency of untrained-spiritual people.”
The millionaire was pleasant to tell the Bodhisattva:” this is the habitual tendency which had
been transferred for generations in our family. So, whenever, the monks pay a visit to us. We
all treat them as we treat our beloved relatives.”
Then the millionaire desired to keep the Bodhisattva to stay in his house for a few days, and
during the stay, the Bodhisattva talked various precious teachings to the millionaire. Then,
Bodhisattva left the house of the millionaire for the arrival to his cottage in Himalaya.
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about the Four Noble Truths to the monks, and during
the talk of the Buddha, the visiting monk achieved first entering stream level. Finally, the
Buddha identified that the millionaire was Ananda, while the ascetic monk was him.
Jataka 338: Story of Thusa
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The Buddha told this story at Bamboo-Grove, and this story was based on the issues related to
the king Ajantasattu.
During the time of pregnancy of Ajantassatu, the queen of Maggadha, Vaidehi often felt that
she desired to drink the blood of the king Bimbasara. One day, she told the king Bimbasara
about this strange emotion., and the king called all the predictors of the nation to ask for the
reason, and the predictors told the king that the coming son would likely kill his father for the
kingdom. The queen Vaidehi, after hearing that his son would kill her husband for the kingdom,
decided to drink some medicine to kill the pregnancy. When king Bimbasara knew about this
issue, he talked to his queen:” Dear honey! Don’t be scared that our son will kill me for the
nation, as I cannot live forever. Let's give birth to our son.”
Soon, a boy was born to this world, and he was named Ajatasattu. The king Bimbasara loved
his son too much. One day, the Buddha and the monks paid a visit to the palace of king
Bimbasara, and the king Bimbasara showed his newborn son to the Buddha and monks. The
Buddha comprehended the worry of king Bimbasara, so the Buddha said to the king:'' Dear
majesty! In the past, the kings, due to the worries of their sons to their safeties, they often
expelled their sons out of the nation and their sons just returned after they died.``
In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was a famous
master in Takkasila. When the prince of the king Varanasi turned 16, he went to study with the
Bodhisattva. With diligence, the prince of king Varanasi, soon, obtained all the skills and
knowledge from the Bodhisattva, so he desired to return his nation. By the power of meditation,
the Bodhisattva knew that the coming son of the prince would kill him for the seat of power,
so before the prince left, the Bodhisattva gave him 4 letters and told him to read in the fixed
time written outside the envelope.
The prince returned to Varanasi, and after years working as the vice king, he was given the
throne of power after his father passed away. The new king soon had a son, and the son of the
new king was well-educated. When the prince of the new king turned 16, his desire for power
was raised strongly, and he wanted to kill his father to be the king immediately.
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So, after talking with his servants, he intended to put the poison into the rice to kill his father
king. Before eating meal, the new king remembered the advice of his master, so he spoke the
verse:
Scheming taste and smell, the mouse

In the meal, recognizing which should eat
Avoiding eating those foods
Trying eating each of rice seed
The prince of the new king of Varanasi was threatened as he thought his father would discover
his plan, so he stood up and went back to tell his servant about his failure. His servants said to
him:” Don’t worry! It is your thinking only.”
So, then they went to the forest, spending the whole night talking about the plan to kill the king.
To base on the plan, the king prince held a knife and would kill the king during the party which
was organized the next day. At the party at the palace, the prince held the knife while walking
around to find the suitable time to kill his father. At that time, remembering the letter of his
master, the king spoke the verse:
He secreted talks in the forest

Comprehended clearly, I am
All the plans, I already know
Don’t think that I don’t know
The prince was extremely scared after hearing the verse of his father, so he ran out the palace
to meet his servants for the new plan. As planned, the prince stood in front of the room of the
king on the high floor, with a sharp knife to kill the king. The king at that time, spoke the verse
written by his master before getting up stair:
The evil monkey with the stained mind

Wanting to do brutal acts
The child was young to comprehend good and bad
Be humble as you are still too young
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The prince was scared to run out of the corridor on the high floor to inform his servants that
his father would know their plan. However, his servants still insisted that he kill the king. Then,
as planned, he went to his father, hiding under the bed. Waiting for his father to get sleep, and
he would get out to kill the king. However, when the king just entered his room, he spoke the
verse:
Carefully to crawl without sounds

Similar to the crawls of the mouses and the goats
Hiding under my bed, you are
Who you are, I already comprehend!
The prince was terribly scared to crawl out of the bed and sat on his knees to say sorry to his
father:” Dear father. Please forgive me. I will stop my plan of killing you.”
The king calmly said to his prince:” Dear son! You are in a hurry to be on the throne, so you
don’t care about what is good and what is bad. “
Then the king ordered his servants to put the prince into the prison, and then the king prayed
to his master for the great wisdom, great power and great concern to him. The king used the
rest of his life to cultivate good deeds, and after his death, his prince was released to be on the
throne of the nation.
After telling this story, the Buddha again reminded the king of the main figure of the story.
However, the king Bimbasara was not concerned about the advice of the Buddha. Finally, the
Buddha identified that the master of the king Varanasi was him.
Jataka 339: Story of Babaru
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and this story was based on the circumstance in which
the monks of other lineages lost the benefits after the establishment of the Sangha of the
Buddha.
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At that Buddha time, the monks of other lineages disliked the Sangha of the Buddha as they
lost benefits from the lay sponsors. Some even planned to slander crimes to the Buddha. One
day, the monks gathered at the Dharma-hall, talking about this issue.
The Buddha, based on this discussion of monks, said that:” It is not in the present time, but
also in the past, before the virtuous ones appeared, the unmerited-cultivating obtained lots of
benefits. However, when the virtuous ones appeared, they lost most of their usual incomes.”
peacock which lived in a forest near Himalaya Mountain. The peacock was beautiful when it
grew up, so it became the king of all other peacocks which lived in the region.
At that time, Baveru was the crowded town for the businessmen to stop by for selling and
buying products, but there were no birds that lived in the town of Baveru. One day, some
businessmen arrived at the town of Baveru to do their business, and they brought to the town a
black crow. The crow was the only bird, so people paid great love to the crow. Then some local
people desired to buy the crow from the businessmen:” Dear sirs! Could you please give us
this crow as there is no bird in this town?”
So, after a bargain, the businessmen agreed to sell the crow to the local people with 100 coins.
The local people put the crow into a golden cage, and they gave the crow with special foods,
such as fish, meats and fruits. So, in a place which had no other birds, this ugly crow was given
a special gift to people.
Not long after that, these businessmen brought a peacock which was the king of all peacocks
to Baveru. The local people were attracted to the beauty of the peacock, so they insisted the
businessmen sell the peacock to them. After the bargain, the peacock was bought by the local
people with 1000 coins. And, they built up a trap which was made of seven kinds of jewels for
the peacock to stay in. They gave the peacock all the special foods of humans. From the time
the peacock arrived at the town of Baveru, the local people were not concerned any more about
the crow, so they released the crow. The crow was sorrowful to fly to the forest to live.
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With attractive and elegant voice

Peacock arriving at the town of Baveru
The crown lost its supports
Benefits and the concerns
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the peacock was him.
Jataka 340: Story of Visayha

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and this story was based on the circumstances in the
life of Annathapindika. The detail of the background was told in the Jataka no. 40.
At that time, Anathapindika donated 540 million to build up Jetavana for the Buddha and the
Sangha to stay. Not only that, he often brought foods and properties to offer the Buddha and
the monks lived in Jetavana. He also invited the Buddha and the Sangha to pay a visit to his
house for the offerings.
Whenever the Buddha and 80 elderly monks paid a visit to the house of Anathapindika, a deity
living on the fourth floor could not stay there, so she had to move down until the Buddha or
elderly monks left. The deity was not satisfied, so she advised Anathapindika to stop visiting
the Buddha and neglected the Buddha and monks when they came to his house.
Anathapindika did not agree with the deity and expelled the deity out of his house. Then
Anathapindika paid a visit to the Buddha and told the Buddha about this issue. The Buddha,
then, calmly told Anathapindika:” The wise men, in the past, loved offerings and they did
offerings with all their hearts. They did not even listen to the advice of the Sakka, who appeared
to advise them to stop offering.”
in a business family, and he was named Visayha. When he grew up, with the cleverness in
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doing business, he could gain tremendous profits. His fortune was about 800 million at that
time. Bodhisattva loved to offer to others. He built up 6 offering halls for ease in giving to poor
people. Four offering halls were at the gates of the town, while one was in the center and one
was in front of his house.
The offering works of the businessman made the seat of Sakka, the king of gods and goddesses
shaking, so the Sakka used his power to comprehend the issue related to the shaking of his
chair. Seeing that the Bodhisattva was eager to do offerings, the Sakka was worried that with
the great virtue of offerings, the Bodhisattva would replace him to be the king of gods and
goddesses. So, the Sakka used his power to hide all the fortune of the Bodhisattva, including
all the servants, golds, coins and foods.
When his wife informed him that all the fortune disappeared, including all the servants, the
Bodhisattva was still calm, and said to his wife:” Dear honey! We cannot stop our offering
works, so please go around and look whether there is still something left.”
The wife of the Bodhisattva went around to monitor and she saw the baskets and a reaping
hook, so she gave the Bodhisattva and said:” Sorry! I just can find these things.”
Bodhisattva decided to enter the forest to cut the grass by the leftover things of his house. The
first day, he could cut and bring to the market to sell two giant bundles of grass. Then he
separated the money into two parts, one for the living of his family and one for the offerings.
When he used the portion of money which planned to give to the poor, the money was not
enough as there were too many baggers. So, he used the portion of money which was for the
living of his family for the offerings. Then, he and his wife had no money to buy new food,
and they had to eat whatever they found at their house. He continued to offer in this way for 6
days, and his motivation made Sakka change his mind.
Sakka appeared to advise him:” Dear great man! Stop offerings and you shall have enough
money to live comfortably. Don’t push yourself and your relatives into trouble.”
The Bodhisattva did not agree with the Sakka:” Who are you?”
Sakka said:” I am Sakka, king of gods and goddesses.”
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The Bodhisattva then said calmly to the Sakka:” Why did you advise me to stop offering others.
Due to the virtue of offerings, you are able to be the king of gods and goddesses. So, now you
advise me to stop doing offerings. Your advice is not appreciated.”
The Sakka knew that he could not advise the Bodhisattva to stop offerings, so he asked the
Bodhisattva for the purpose of offering:” Dear great man. What is your ambition in doing this
offering?”
The Bodhisattva rapidly:” I am keen on doing offerings, not due to being the king of gods and
goddesses and not due to being the citizens of Brahma realm, but as I prefer to cultivate good
deeds for the enlightenment.”
The Sakka was happy to hear the purpose of the Bodhisattva in doing offerings, so the
Bodhisattva used his power to return the fortune to the Bodhisattva. Then the Sakka returned
to his palace.
Jataka 342: Story of Vanara
The Buddha told this story at Bamboo-Grove, and the story was based on the method in which
Devadatta used to assassinate the Buddha.
The Buddha on this circumstance said to the monks:” It is not in the present time, but also in
the past, even he tried to use scheming methods, he still could not harm me.”

monkey which lived in a forest near to the Ganges River. When the monkey grew up, it became
robust and wise, so gradually, it became the king of all monkeys in the region.
The king of the monkey often went to the Ganges River to drink water, and seeing the monkey,
a female crocodile wanted to eat the heart of the monkey, so it insisted to his husband:” Dear
honey. If I cannot eat the heart of this money, I will die soon.”
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The husband crocodile agreed to help his wife catch the king of monkeys to eat the monkey’s
heart. So, one day, when the king of monkeys arrived at the bank of Ganges River to drink
water as usual, the male crocodile appeared, saying to the monkey:” Dear monkey. Why don’t
you get to the opposite bank to find food, as there are lots of ripe fruits on that side.”
The monkey wondered:” How could I get to the other bank of the river?”
The male crocodile was happy as the monkey was about in its hands, so it said calmly to the
monkey:” Don’t worry! I will give you a hand. You can stand on my back and in a second, I
will transfer you to the opposite bank.”
The monkey agreed and jumped on the back of the crocodile, and the crocodile carefully and
slowly swam to the opposite bank of the river. When the crocodile was in the middle of the
Ganges River, the crocodile did not want to hide its purpose anymore, so it said to the monkey
on its back:” Dear monkey. You are silly as you believed me. You are going to be killed and
your heart will be the food of my wife.”
The monkey, in the dangerous moment, calmly said:” Good to hear your plan and ambition of
catching me. But too sorry as I did not take my heart together. Could you see that tree? We,
monkeys, put our heart on that tree. But, by the love of you to your wife, I will be kindly to give
it to you. However, you have to drive me back.”
The crocodile insisted to the monkey:” Oh dear. Please be generous. I don’t want to harm you
at all but as my wife is eager to eat your heart.”
When the crocodile drove the monkey back to the shore of the river, the monkey quickly
jumped on the shore and said to the crocodile:” To be honest. I don’t want to cheat you but I
have to keep surviving. These are not our hearts but only the fig fruits.
Then the monkey spoke the verse:
Those with the wisdom and right minds

Being able to convert the bad situation into goods
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In the edge of extreme danger, never threatened
Although the enemies are strong and powerful
The crocodile was angry as it was too late to comprehend this issue, so it sank down to return
to its house.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the crocodile was Devadatta, while the king
of monkeys was him.
Jataka 343: Story of Cuntani

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the story was based on the issue of a crane which
made the tiger attack two princes.
This crane lived and worked in the palace of king Kosala as a text transferred bird. One day,
when it flew out for the work for the king Kosala, two new born children of it were,
occasionally, killed by two princes of king Kosala. When the crane came back, it was sad to
keep its revenge on those people who killed its children. One day, when these two princes were
playing near the trap of a tiger, the crane attracted two princes to make them come close to the
trap of the tiger. Finally, two princes were attacked and got injured by the tiger.
After seeing two princes being attacked by the tiger, the crane was satisfied and it flew up
toward the Himalaya. This event spread around the town and rapidly reached Jetavana. One
day, the monks gathered to talk about this issue, and the Buddha, after comprehending the
issue, said to the monks:” Dear my students! It is not in the present, but also in the past, this
crane was keen on its revenge on those who harmed its children.”
In times gone by, the Bodhisattva was born as the prince of king Varanasi, and soon, the
Bodhisattva was given the throne of power of the nation. The king ruled the nation with royal
Dharmas, so his virtue spread to all the corners of the nation.
At the palace of the king, there was a giant crane which worked as the text-transferred bird of
the palace. This crane had two children, and one day, when it got out to send a text to another
king, two of its children were playing with two princes of the king. Unluckily, two princes
made two tiny cranes die. When the crane returned, it was extremely sorrowful, so it waited
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for revenge on the two princes. One day, seeing two princes were playing near the trap of the
tiger, the crane tried to open the trap of the tiger, and the tiger got out to make two princes
seriously injured. Then the crane came close to the king of Varanasi to inform of its revenge:
“Dear majesty. I really respect your virtue. However, because two of your sons made two of
my children die. So, I released the tiger to attack them as a way of revenge. Now, I cannot
continue to stay here.”
The king Varanasi calmly said
Revenge will cause the revenge

Harming and killing should be ended
There is no peace from revenge
Be relaxed to maintain your stay
The crane said:” Dear majesty. The harmers and being harmed cannot live in harmony. I
already harmed your children. I cannot continue to live here.”
The king still was compassionate:”
If they all are wise to cultivate good deeds

Still be able to live in harmony to each other
As the wise can bring the lesson to new living
You don’t need to worry from my revenge
The crane was still worried about revenge from the king, so it flew up, heading toward
Himalaya.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the crane in the story was the crane which
harmed children of king Kosala, while the wise king of Varanasi was him.
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Jataka 344: Story of Ambacora
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the story was based on an event in the life of an old
monk who took care of the mango garden.
This old monk was an ascetic monk who was ordained in the old age, and after the ordination,
he lived in his mango garden, inside a cottage. During the mango season, he often brought
mangoes to his relatives and his friends. One day, during the mango season, in the morning,
when he went out to get alms in the village, some men entered to take a big number of mangos
in his garden. After the thieves left, four daughters of a businessman occasionally entered his
mango garden after traveling for sightseeing.
When the old monk returned, he knew that a big number of mangos were lost, so they were
indicted as the thieves of mangos. Four girls had to try hard to explain, and finally, they had to
swear that they did not steal the mangoes before being able to leave.
This event soon spread around and reached Jetavana, and the monks, one day, gathered at the
Dharma-hall, talking about this issue. When the Buddha knew this issue, the Buddha said that:”
It is not in the present time, but also in the past, this man forced others to square that they did
not steal his property before letting them go.”
Sakka, king of gods and goddesses. One day, the Sakka used his power to monitor the people
of Varanasi to comprehend the virtuous ones and evil ones. After knowing the people, who
were cultivating with virtue of taking good care of their parents, keeping precepts, having only
vegetable foods and likely offerings and giving others, Sakka often encouraged them and
assisted them to enhance their virtue.
One day, Sakka monitored the monks lived in Varanasi, and he comprehended a old monk who
lived in a mango garden, and he did not keep the right livelihood of a monk, but he kept his
survival by taking care of the mango garden and by selling the mangos to others. So, Sakka
used his power to hide his mango fruits, when he went out for work. During that time, four
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young women arrived at his garden to visit. When the old monk returned, he saw that all the
mango fruits disappeared, so he claimed the four women as the stealers.
A woman said:” Dear venerable. We just arrived at the garden, and we did not even know how
the shapes of the mangos were.”
The old monk said:” If you all want to leave, each of you has to swear.”
The first girl swear:
If eating and stealing the mangos

Shall get married with a rude man
The man has beard and hairs curled up
The hairs are in curls on his head
The second girl swear:
If I stole your mangos

Will be single forever
For all the youth of ages
Until thirty, without husband
The third girl swear:
If I stole the mangos in this garden

Will be broken in relationship with men
Dating even is making
Finally, the relationship is broken
The fourth girl swear:
If I stole the mangos fruits of you

Even with my beauty
Wearing luxurious clothes and fragrances
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Being unmarried all the youth
After swears, all the girls were permitted to leave, and the monk was so sorrowful at the loss
of the mangos that he could not sleep. At that time, the Sakka appeared in horrible shape to
drive the old monk out of the mango garden forever.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the four girls were four daughters of a
businessman and the old monk was the old monk who lost the mangoes, while the Sakka was
him.
Jataka 345: Story of Gajakumbha

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the story was based on the negative attitude of a
young monk.
This young monk was born in a noble family, and after his ordination, he was arrogant to focus
hardly on his practice. So, he was lazy, and he often gathered at the public corners where young
people often had gatherings, and sometimes he had some arguments and fights with lay people.
His issue was finally told to the Buddha, and the Buddha, on his problem, said that:” It is not
in the present time, but also in the past life, he was lazy and aggressive to others.”

consultant of the king. At that time, the king was a lazy man, and Bodhisattva tried to find a
way to assist the king to get rid of his laziness, but he found no suitable chance.
One day, the king, his consultant and other officials had a stroll in the garden of the king. On
the way, they encountered a turtle, which slowly moved its body forward. The king was curious
to ask the turtle:” Hey turtle. You are too lazy to move, so I just wonder what will you do when
there is a fire catching you?”
The turtle calmly and slowly replied the king:
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Holes to reside are lots of
Even, the hook of trees’ roots
All the safe place to reside for the danger
If cannot run quickly, so accepting the death
The Bodhisattva said the verse to modify:

Whoever do things in hurry
As well do things in lazy ways
All will miss the chance to succeed
Similar to having the bundle of leaves
Whoever, careful to do things

Nor hurry neither laziness
Having clear direction
Like the moon shining on the sky without clouds
The king realized the advice from the verse of the Bodhisattva, so he stopped being lazy.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the turtle was the lazy monk, while the wise
consultant was him.
Jataka 346: Story of Kesava

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the story was based on the question of king Kosala
toward the monks’ action of giving the food they received to lay people and having the simple
foods from their sponsors.
At the Buddha time, Anathapindika offered daily foods and drinks to 500 monks of the Buddha,
so his house was full of the yellow robes and the compassion of the monks. On one occasion,
the king Kosala observed this wonderful event, from military demonstration, so he decided to
ask the Buddha to give 500 monks to his palace for the offerings daily. However, the officials
and servants of the king did not show their love and respect to the monks, but just tried to
complete their duties. Hence, the monks did not want to sit at the offering hall of the palace to
eat, but they brought their foods and beverages to the houses of their sponsors to eat. At the
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houses of their sponsors, they exchanged the foods and the beverages to the sponsors and they
ate the simple foods from the giving of their sponsors.
One day, a farmer brought lots of fruits to the palace for the king to offer to the monks, so the
king and some servants took the fruits to the offering hall, and the king was surprised as there
were no monks, empty the offering hall was. So, the king asked the officials who distributed
the food to the monks:” I just wonder why my offering hall is empty? The monks did not come
to receive the offerings or other reasons?”
After the official told the king the issue, the king was sad to pay a visit to the Buddha to
complain. The Buddha compassionately pacified the king:” Dear majesty! Don’t be sad. The
monks just wanted to share their love to others, so they shared the luxurious foods to their
sponsors while they ate the simple foods prepared by their sponsors. This is the way of sharing
love with each other. The luxurious foods, even, lacked love and were not tasty at all. Did you
know that in the past, people who got serious sickness, and even well-skilled doctors could not
assist them to recover? Finally, they visited their friend. During the visit, they ate only porridge
with wild vegetables but they could recover their health.”
in a Brahmin family, and he was named Kappa. After being well-educated in Takkasila, in the
age of adulthood, he left his family for the ascetic practice at Himalaya. At the mountain, he
made a cottage and used all the time practicing the dharmas. With strong effort, he soon
achieved the fruits of meditation with wisdom, calmness and compassion.
After that he made friends with another ascetic monk who was the master of 500 monks in the
region, and who was named Kesava. After connecting, the relationship between Kappa and
Kesava was close, and finally, Kappa moved to stay together with Kesava and became the vice
leader of the association of monks of Kesava.
One day Kappa and Kesava led a group of monks to the town to get alms as they ran out of
salts and oil. At the town, they stayed at the garden of the king, and the king loved the way of
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practice and talk of Kesava, so he insisted Kesava to remain at the palace. Kesava agreed and
let Kappa let monks back to the Himalaya and continued the practice.
For a short time, Kesava missed his close friend, Kappa, so he could not sleep for many days.
Finally, he got serious dysentery sickness, and the king called 5 well-skilled doctors in the
palace to come to help Kesava to get rid of the sickness. Then Kesava asked the king to let him
return to the Himalaya. The king agreed and let his official, namely Narada, together with the
hunters who were well-comprehended in the region of Himalaya to take Kesava back to the
mountain. When they got to the setting place of Kappa, the delegation of the king immediately
returned and only Kesava stayed.
Seeing Kappa, Kesava was extremely happy, and he got rid of boredom. After that, Kappa
cooked the porridge which was made of red-rice and wild vegetables for Kesava to eat. After
eating this simple food, the sickness of Kesava almost disappeared. And, after a few days, he
totally recovered from the dysentery.
Short time later, the king missed Kesava, so again, the king asked Narada to pay a visit to
observe the sickness of Kesava. Arriving at the setting place of Kappa, and seeing Kesava was
totally recovered, Narada wondered to ask:” Which kind of medicine did you use to heal your
sickness??
Kesava was happy to show his emotion to Narada:
Everything here is full of happiness

Narada, even the trees and the grasses
The talks of Kappa are full of compassion and wisdom
Listening, I feel comfortable and calm
Then Kesava said that:” Without medicine, but the porridge of red-rice and wild vegetable
assisted me to get rid of the dysentery.”
Then Narada encouraged Kesava to return to live in the palace:
Having the luxurious foods from the king

It is not suitable to you to eat these simple foods
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Not suitable to live in the lacking condition
Together with these monks
Kesava confidently said to Narada:
Whether delicious or not

Whether luxurious or mundane
The foods being tasty with the love
Love can heal all the sickness of the world
Knowing that could not encourage Kesava to return to the palace, Narada decided to return
alone and told the king about what he observed. The king was happy for the recovery of Kesava.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the king was Ananda, while Narada was
Sariputta. The ascetic monk, Kappa, was him.
Jataka 347: Story of Ayakuta

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and this story was told to encourage people to cultivate
good deeds.
only son of the king and the queen. When he turned adulthood, he went around to cultivate
knowledge and skills, and after he completed his study, he returned to work as the vice-king of
the nation before officially being given the throne of power of the nation.
The new king ruled the nation with royal dharmas, so he encouraged people to cultivate merits
through right livelihoods and virtuous actions. During his throne, he put a ban on animals’
killing for the rituals or religious sacrificial ceremonies, as he thought that the sacrifice of
animals for the rituals would be brutal and not uncompassionate.
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Due to the ban of the new king, the Yakshas did not have much foods too eat, so they gathered
at their central base in Himalaya to find the solution for their trouble. Finally, they decided to
kill the new king of Varanasi for ending the ban on animals’ sacrifice, and a robust Yaksha,
held a harmer which was big as the giant house, sent to the palace to kill the king of Varanasi.
When the Yaksha arrived at the bed of the king of Varanasi, it desired to use the giant harmer
to beat on the head of the king to kill him, but at that dangerous moment, the Sakka, king of
gods and goddesses, appeared in the thin air on the head of the Yaksha, with the ax which
would use to make thunders. The Yaksha was threatened of the Sakka, so it stopped harming
the king of Varanasi. At that time, the king woke up, and seeing the Yaksha, the king
wondered:”
Standing on the thin air

With giant harmer on the hands
Protecting me from my enemies
Or tending to harm me with the harmer?
The Yaksha was threatened to the virtue of the king, so it scarily replied:
As the sender of the Yakshas

Arriving here to kill you, the king
Aiming to beat your head with the harmer
However, I stopped as In-dra protecting you
The king of Varanasi was extremely happy to hear about the protection of the Sakka to him, so
he spoke the verse to praise the Sakka:
Having the protection from In-Dra

King of all gods and goddesses, the Sakka
Even thousands of Yakshas shout and roar behind
Having no fear, as having Indra protection
Then the Yaksha rapidly flew back to their base to inform others of his failure. The king of
Sakka, at that time, said to the king of Varanasi:” Dear great man! Don’t be worried of the
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harms of Yakshas to you as I and my servants shall protect you well. Please cultivate your
cultivation of merits.”
Then the king Sakka disappeared to return to his palace.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that Anurudha was the Sakka, while the king of
Varanasi was him.
Jataka 348: Story of Aranna

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and this story was based on an event of a young monk
who was attracted to a young girl.
At the time of Buddha time, there was an elegant girl, who was in the age of youth, but failed
to date any man. So, her mother decided to attract a monk of the Buddha to get married with
her daughter. To carry out the plan, one day, she prepared lots of food and invited monks to
get her house for offerings. During the offering, her daughter was made up beautifully,
attracting the monks. However, most of the monks did not desire the daughter of the sponsor.
When the girl and the woman were sad as their plan failed, there came a young monk, having
a handsome face, swearing clean robe, with polished bowl on hands. The girl and the woman
were happy as they knew that this young monk was too attached to the objects of five senses.
So, they often invited this monk for the offering, and what came came, as the monk finally fell
in love with the daughter of this sponsor. So, selecting a suitable day, he took off his robe, his
bowl, and put them in front of great monks, saying:” Dear masters. I cannot continue this
practice as my mind is too attached to family life.”
This monk was brought to meet the Buddha, and, to base on his issue, the Buddha said:” Dear
my student! Sexual love finally bring harm and suffering to people. You have to try hard to get
rid of it. In the past, you were attacked by this woman so that you were about to leave your
practice, so why do you attack her again?”
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In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, Bodhisattva was born as a boy
in a Brahmin family, and when he turned 16, he was well-educated in Takkasila. Soon, after
his graduation, he got married to an elegant girl, but unlucky, his wife soon passed away due
to a serious sickness. Hence, after sorrowful emotion, he was determined to leave his family
life to be an ascetic monk in a forest near to a rural village. Then he took his only son together
to live as monks in the forest.
Time flies, the son of the ascetic monk grew up quickly and was an adult. But, unlike his father,
the young man was not a devout practitioner of dharma, as his mind was still attached to the
desire. One day, the village was attacked by the robbers, and after the robbery, the robbers
killed some villagers and caught some beautiful women. During the attack of the robbers, a
woman ran rapidly toward the cottage of the ascetic monk, and she hid herself in the cottage.
During the time the girl took refuge at the cottage, the ascetic monk, the father of the young
man, was not at home, so the young man and the girl had sexual relation with each other.
Then, the girl insisted the young man follow her to build up the happiness of family life.
However, the young man wanted to talk with his father before he left for family life, so the girl
returned to the village to wait for the young man. When the ascetic monk backed, the young
man asked:” Dear dad! Which elements should I concern myself with when I get to live in the
town or the village?”
The ascetic monk spoke the verse to explain his idea:
Those who love you

Being give all the benefits to you
Believing in your words
Being patient in your words or actions
Whoever cultivate good words and good actions

Having no evil speeches, no harmful actions
Make friends with these people
As they assist you to develop
The changeable ones, both words and actions
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Similar to the habitual tendency of the monkey
Stopping association with them
As they just bring harm to you
The young man said:” It is difficult to find people with these good elements as you mentioned,
so I will not leave this forest.”
Then the young man vowed to devote his life to dharma practice, and his father was happy to
give him lessons and methods on dharmas-practice.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the young man and the girl in the story were
the young monk and the girl, while the ascetic monk was him.
Jataka 349: Story of Sandhibheda

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and this story was related to the slandering behaviors
of six monks who lived at the temple.
At Jetavana, there were six monks who often gathered together to slander of other monks, and
their issue was comprehended by the Buddha, then in one occasion, the Buddha talked to them
and other monks:” Slander is harmful as slander can break the relationship of others. Slanders
make the not severe arguments and troubles become more severe and serious. Therefore,
slander is similar to the sword, which can break the friendships and relationships of people.
Moreover, those who are likely to slander others, in the end, will be rewarded with a bad effect
of hate from their friends and their relatives.”
In times gone by, when the king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, Bodhisattva was born as
the prince of the king, and upon his graduation of skills and knowledge in Takkasila, he worked
as the assistant for his father until his father passed away. After being given the throne of power
of the nation, he applied royal dharmas to rule the nation.
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In his nation, in a rural area, there was a farmer who fed lots of cows, and one day, on the way
taking the cow back to the trap, a female yellow cow escaped from his control, and this cow
went to the forest to make friends with a lion. Soon, the lion and the yellow cow all had their
child, and the child of the cow and the child of the lion were close friends to each other.
Time flies, the mother cow and the mother lion passed away, and the friendship between the
young cow and the young lion was still close to each other. They often traveled together, often
played together, and often slept together. Their friendship was a miracle, so their friendship
was noticed by the wooders. One day, when some wooders went to the palace to sell the woods
to the king, they also told the king this miracle story of the cow and the lion. The king said to
the wooders:” Great to hear that a cow and a lion can live in harmony with each other.
However, if there is a third animal to join them, their friendship will soon be demolished. So,
please let me know when there is another animal to make friends with.”
Soon after the visit of the wooders paid a visit to the king, when the wooders returned to the
forest to cut the trees, they realized a jackal joined to be the servant of the yellow cow and the
lion. After serving the cow and the lion, the jackal thought:” Why should I have to serve these
animals? I will make them argue and fight each other and then I will leave.”
When the wooders completed cutting the new batch of trees to sell to the palace, they also
informed the king that there was a jackal who made friends with the cow and the lion. The king
was wise to understand the destiny of the friendship of the cow and the lion, so he said to the
wooders:” If the jackal makes friends with them, the jackal soon will make the cow and the lion
fight each other. So, the friendship of the cow and the lion is about to end.”
Then the king spoke the verse to demonstrate his idea:
Having evil and scheming mind

Being able to separate the friendship of others
Jackal was the most terrible scoundrel
Friendship of cow and lion shall be break
Human friendship is similar to that

Friendship of the cow and the lion
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Having others to slander
Will be broken or be in troubles
During the conversation of the king and wooders, the jackal was successful in slandering the
cow and the lion fought with each other. Consequently, the cow and the lion all got serious
injuries due to their fighting. The jackal was successful in generating trouble for the cow and
the lion, it left to live in another region.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the wise king was him.
Jataka 351: Story of Manikundala

The Buddha told this story at Jetvana, and the story was about the virtuous official who was
slandered to committing sexual conduct with a maiden of the king Kosala. Hearing the crime
of the official, the king Kosala put him into prison. At the prison, this official did not suffer,
but he tried to contemplate on mediation and was enabled to achieve first entering stream level.
After being released from the prison, the official paid a visit to the Buddha, and told the Buddha
what he achieved.
The Buddha, in his circumstance, said:” You are not the only person who could utilize the bad
and unwanted conditions to reward the good results, as the wise men, in the past, were able to
do so.”
In times gone by, when Bodhisattva was the king of Varanasi, the Bodhisattva ruled the nation
with royal virtuous dharmas and precepts, so the life of people in the nation was comfortable
and wealthy. One day, detecting an official had sexual relationship with a maiden, the king did
not punish terribly but fired him from the job in the palace. This official held the revenge on
the king, so he went to Kasala to work for this king, and after having the faith of the Kasala to
him, he advised the king Kasala to attack Varanasi.
During the attack of king Kasala to Varanasi, the king of Varanasi did not let his soldiers to
fight again, but ordered them to open the gates to avoid the death of people and soldiers due to
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the fights. When the king Kosala took control of Varanasi, he put the king of Varanasi into
prison. During the time in the prison, the king Varanasi spent all the time contemplating on the
compassion of everyone, and his compassion made the king Kasala felt uncomfortable. To base
on the advice of a wise official, the king Kosala finally had to release and return the nation to
the king Varanasi in order to get rid of the serious sickness.
Before leaving the king of Kasala spoke the verse to the king of Varanasi to ask:
Being taking all the happiness of the life

The powerful throne, servants and luxurious life
Beautiful wives and beloved children
The loss has not made you suffered
The king Varanasi calmly replied:
Everything is impermanent, similarly those things

All things will have to leave us
Time, they leave us, we get sad and sorrowful
Similar to the moon, on the sky
In circle, gradually full and then less full
Then disappear on the sky
Then the king Kasala returned to his kingdom, and then from that time two kings became close
friends.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the king of Kasala was Ananda, while the
Jataka 352: Story of Sujata
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The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and this story was based on the sorrowfulness of a
young Brahmin after his father passed away. This young Brahmin was the son of a business
family, and he was the only son of the family. When he was young, his mother passed away,
his father took good care of him, so when his father passed away, he was in extreme suffering.
By the power of meditation, the Buddha recognized that this young man could achieve first
entering stream level, so the next morning, the Buddha took an assistant monk to accompany
him to the town of Savithri to get to his house to get alms. Seeing the Buddha arrive at the front
door, the young Brahmin was happy to get rid of his boredom to welcome the Buddha. After
giving the Buddha to sit on the clean and well-decorated place, he brought the water to help
the Buddha to wash his feet, and then he offered food and drinks to the Buddha and the assistant
monk.
Then the Buddha asked him:” Dear great man! It looks like you are suffering for something.
Could you share your suffering with us and we shall give you appreciated solutions if possible.”
The young Brahmin told the Buddha:” Dear master. My father just passed away, and I am a
little sad due to his death.”
The Buddha pacified him slowly:” Dear great man! The wise men, in the past, got rid of the
boredom of their fathers’ death after listening to the wise advice of the great masters.”
business family, and he was named Sujata. He grew up under the support and good care of his
father and his grandfather. His father loved his grandfather too much, so when his grandfather
died, his father often went to the tomb of his grandfather to cry. He often skipped eating,
drinking and taking showers.
Seeing the sorrowfulness of his father, Sujata decided to help his father get rid of the boredom.
One day, he saw a cow which had died and his body was put on the side of the main road led
to the town, so he thought:” this is the right sample to help my father get rid of the boredom.”
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So, he brought the water and grasses to give to the dead cow, and then he tried to sit there with
the dead cow. People, who traveled across his sitting place, advised him to stop crying and stop
giving food and drink to the dead cow:” Sujata. Are you crazy? The cow is dead and it cannot
eat and drink.”
However, he ignored their advice, so they had no better solution but paid a visit to his house to
inform his father about the craziness. They told his father:” Dear sir! Sujata, your beloved son
is getting crazy, as he is giving food and drinks to the dead cow.”
His father, after hearing the issue related to him, suddenly got rid of the boredom, and his father
rushed to run to his sitting place to advise:” Dear Sujata! Stop doing that action. The cow is
dead, and it cannot eat or drink.”
Sujata rapidly replied to his father:
This cow is still having chance

To be alive as its yesterday
Having enough all the organs
Heads, body and four legs
Nevertheless, grandfather cannot

All organs have been ruined
Still have a crazy man
Crying for nights and days
Hearing the verse from Sujata, his father understood that he tried to do that action to assist him
to be enlightened from the impermanence of phenomena. He thought:” My son is extremely
wise and faithful as he is trying to assist me to wake up from my boredom.”
Then the father of Sujata spoke the verse to praise the wisdom of Sujata:
Similar to the strong burning fire

Pouring water, the fire is burning off
My mind was sorrowful and sad
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Your advice is the best medicine to me
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths to Sujata, and during the
talk of the Buddha, Sujata achieved first entering Stream level. Finally, the Buddha recognized
that Sujata was him.
Jataka 353: Story of Dhonasakha

The Buddha told this story, when he stayed at the forest of Bhesakala, near Sumsummaragiri,
and in the tribe of Bhaggas, and the story was related to the event in the life of the prince,
Bodhi.
This prince was the son of king Udena, and when he arrived at Sumsummaragiri, he loved this
location. Hence, he found the well-designed architects to construct the palace for him. He
required the architecture of his palace to be totally different from the palaces of other kings.
After years, the construction of the palace for him was totally completed, and to worry that the
architects would use this design to construct the palace for other kings, so he put them into the
prisons forever.
This event was spread around India, and reached the monks of the Buddha, when the Buddha
took monks to pay a visit to Bhaggas. Hearing the monks discussed about this event, the
Buddha said to all the monks:” It is not in the present time but also, in the past, he put into the
prison 1000 servants as he was scared that they would share his secreted things to others.”

In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was a famous
master in Takkasila, and he had 500 students, including the prince of Varanasi. Among
students, the prince of king Varanasi was not only the most excellent, but the greediest one.
Hence, when the prince of Varanasi graduated and was about to return to his nation, the master
advised him:” Dear my beloved student. Being brutal to others is not the virtue and the way of
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ruling of the wise king, so when you are given the throne of power, please remember to use the
virtue to rule the nation.”
After he returned to the nation, he worked as the assistant to his father king until his father
passed away, and then he was given the throne of power of the nation after the official
ceremony. Among the officials of the king of Varanasi, there was a scheming celebrant, and
this celebrant wanted to be the only celebrant of the whole India, so they consulted the king
Varanasi to attack other nations. Under the scheming of the celebrant and the excellent skills
and knowledge of the king Varanasi, the army of the king Varanasi quickly occupied other
nations. After a year, almost all the territory of India, including 1000 nations, were under the
control of the king Varanasi, but not Takkasila, as Takkasila had the help of Bodhisattva.
The king Varanasi settled in front of the town of Takkasila, and at a Banyan tree, the king
Varanasi asked his celebrant:'' Dear my great servant. We have tried hard but still could not
defeat Takkasil. Do you have any miracle plan for this?”
The celebrant advised the king to kill all 1000 kings used their bloods to do the rituals to the
deity of the Banyan tree, so the king ordered his servants to kill 1000 arrested kings, and used
their bloods to pour around the Banyan tree to offer to the deity of the Banyan tree. At that time
the king was happy about his sacrifice ritual, a Yaksha living nearby attacked the king, and the
king fell down on the ground. Not only that, a vulture bird, holding a giant sharp bone, parked
on the Banyan tree, and it carelessly dropped the giant sharp bone on the head of the king of
Varanasi.
In the serious injury, the king remembered all the brutal people who died due to the wars he
generated, including the death of 1000 arrested kings. The king remembered clearly the last
teaching of his master that doing bad would reward bad conditions. The king of Varanasi also
missed all his relatives, his beautiful queen and his children.
In the last breath, he spoke to his celebrant, the Pingiya:
In the last moment of my life

Understand properly the teaching of my master
Generating brutal things to others
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Soon, gaining the same or similar sufferings
Laying down on the ground, under the Banyan tree

Having the special perfume of lute woods
Seeing the sufferings of all people have been died in my war
Enduring the suffering as they did, I am
Then the king of Varanasi died and was immediately reborn into hell. The army of the king
Varanasi was dismissed after his death as nobody wanted to continue to generate suffering to
others.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the brutal king of Varanasi was the Bodhi,
prince of the king Udena. Pingiya, the celebrant of the king Varanasi, was Devadatta, while the
wise and famous master was him.
Jataka 354: Story of Uraga
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the story was based on an event of a man who was
extremely sorrowful after the death of his son.
Seeing this man could blossom his virtuous deeds that he cultivated in the past lives, the
Buddha decided to pay a visit to assist him to develop his spiritual life. The next morning after
contemplation to see the suffering of the man, the Buddha took an assistant monk together to
get to Savitthi and arrived in front of the man's house. The man was happy as the Buddha paid
a visit to him, so he hurriedly ran out to welcome the Buddha. He held the bowl for the Buddha
and invited the Buddha sat on the special seat for the visiting master in his living room. Quickly
he brought pure water to assist the Buddha to wash feet, and offered the Buddha with foods
and drinks prepared.
Then, the Buddha compassionately stimulated him:” I heard that you have been sorrowful due
to the death of your only son. It is natural due to the love of father to children. Anyhow, the
dead people cannot revive, and death is one of the truths of all beings, including humans. There
is no one who can escape from death, as this is the impermanent nature of the universe. Having
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birth is preparing for developing and dying. The wise men, in the past, acknowledged this
universal truth, so they did not get stuck in the sufferings and sorrowfulness.”
Brahmin family in a rural village which was not far from the town of Varanasi. When the
Bodhisattva grew up, he focused on doing farm work for living; nonetheless, he tried to
cultivate himself with virtue dharmas. As the tendency, he soon got married with a faithful girl
and they, soon had two children together, one son and one daughter. Time flies, his son had a
beautiful girl married as his wife, and to assist the family, they hired a woman to work as the
maiden of his family.
Every day, the Bodhisattva all managed leisure time for all six members of the family to get
together to listen to his teachings of dharmas. He told them about the truths of the universe,
such as impermanence, suffering, happiness, and encouraged them to engage with the
cultivation of virtue.
One day, as usual, the Bodhisattva and his son went to their farms to work, and when his son
was burning leaves and dry grasses near a giant tree, he was bitten by a poisonous snake, as the
snake got angry when the smoke entered his cave. Due to the poison of the snake, in a moment,
the son of the Bodhisattva became cold quickly and died. When Bodhisattva saw his son lying
on the ground, he rapidly ran close to his son to rescue. But he realized that it was too late to
save his son as his son had already died. He did not cry or did not show the sorrowfulness on
his face, yet, he just used a piece of cloth to cover the body of his son.
And he continued his work until he saw a neighborhood went through his farms. So he asked
them to inform his wife:” Dear friend. Could you please help me to inform my wife to prepare
only a portion of food today, and tell her that all the members have to get here today instead
of giving the meal to the maiden to bring to me.”
When the neighbor informed his wife, his wife acknowledged that his son had already died, so
she informed other members for the death of her son. Then, after they had lunch, they took the
portion of food to the farm to her husband. After Bodhisattva had lunch, all the members of his
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family collected the wood to put into one place until the wood became a pile. The Bodhisattva
then put the dead body of his son on the pile of woods, and after saying prayers, they burned
the pile of woods.
Due to their calmness to the death of their family member, the seat of the Sakka, king of gods
and goddesses became hot, so Sakka used his power to comprehend the cause which made his
seat hot. Knowing the calmness from Bodhisattva and his family members, Sakka appeared
and stood in the thin air on the fire, saying:” Dear all great men! Are you burning an animal
for a meal?”
Bodhisattva recognized Sakka, but he still calmly replied:” Dear Sakka. It is not an animal but
our family member, my son.”
Sakka continued to ask:” You don’t love him, so do the other members do to him?”
Bodhisattva still calmly answered:” No! I loved him, and so did the other members.”
Sakka pretended to wonder:” Why don’t you all cry for him, if you love him?”
The Bodhisattva spoke the verse to reply the Sakka:
All beings have to experience the death

When their lifespans are over
Even the snake can take off the skin to live longer
Still cannot escape from the death
Then the wife of the Bodhisattva said:
Due to the karma, he was reborn in my family

Due to Karma, he reborn for the new life
Rebirth and death are due to the karma
There is nothing to be sorrowful
The daughter of the Bodhisattva, then, presented:
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Crying and being sorrowful
Having no benefits for us and for him as well
Crying just only makes us more suffered
Hance, being calm is the best way
The daughter in law of the Bodhisattva said:
Similar to the children who are ignorant

Wanting to have the moon on the sky
Crying for the death is ignorant
As having no benefits to al
The maiden of the Bodhisattva said to the Sakka:
The vase was broken into thousand pieces

Unable to put those pieces into the original shape
Dead people cannot revive due to our sorrowfulness
Why do we have to cry and be sorrowful?
The Sakka was pleasant to hear all the explanations and ideas from Bodhisattva and his
members’ family about the meaning of death, so he gave them lots of jewels and encouraged
them to use the jewels to assist the people in need.
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths to the Brahmin man, and
acknowledging the meaning of all figures of the talk of the Buddha, the Brahmin man achieved
first entering stream level. Finally, the Buddha identified that the maiden was Khujjutarà, while
Uppalavanna was the daughter of the Brahmin. Rahula was the son of the Brahmin, whereas,
the wife of the Brahmin was Khema and the wise Brahmin was him.
Jataka 355: Story of Ghata

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the story was based on the difficulty that an official
of king Kosala encountered. This official was slandered to generate some crimes and he was
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put into prison. During the time being sentenced, he utilized the free time, practicing dharmas
and achieved first entering stream level. He soon was released after the king Kosala property
investigated his crimes. After being released, he prepared some flowers and fragrances to offer
the Buddha, and then he told the Buddha what he experienced during the period being
sentenced.
The Buddha smiled to tell him:” Dear my student! Nonetheless, not only you, but the wise men,
in the past, also were calm in the difficult conditions.”

In time gone by, Bodhisattva was the king of Varanasi, and he ruled the nation with royal
dharmas. However, not all people in his nation could follow the virtuous rules that he tried to
promote to all of his citizens. An official in his palace, with a scheming mind, tried to attract
some beautiful maidens in the palace to be his lovers. After times of keeping the secret, his
fault finally was unrolled. The king of Varanasi did not punish him terribly, but just fired him
from the job as the official of the nation.
This official went to the neighboring nation to work for that nation, and having the anger to the
king of Varanasi, this official assisted the neighboring king to attack Varanasi. When the army
of the neighboring king arrived at the neighboring area, the officials of the king Varanasi asked
the king to take the army to protest the nation. However, the king Varanasi refused and asked
the soldiers to open all the gates to let the army and the king of the neighboring nation enter
freely.
Soon, the neighboring king took the whole control of Varanasi, and put the king of Varanasi
into prison. At the prison, without suffering and anger, the king of Varanasi stayed focused on
his contemplation and compassion. His compassion, somehow, made the neighboring king feel
annoyed. So, he asked some of his clergies to comprehend the sickness. His clergies advised
him:” Dear majesty! As you caught and put the king of Varanasi into the prison, you have this
sickness, as the king of Varanasi has been practicing forgiveness and compassion.”
The king of the neighboring nation went to the prison, and he saw the officials and relatives of
the king of Varanasi were crying and suffering, but the king was still calm. He asked the king
of Varanasi:
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Others are worrying for their safety
Tears and sorrowfulness on their face
Your face is still calm
Ghata, don’t you worry about death and loss?
The king of Varanasi replied:
The past actions cannot change

Staying focus on the present
Worrying is not the best healing
As it put people into sufferings
Wherever I stay, the prison or palace

Deep forest or isolated island
Having no worry and sufferings
Due to the virtues of good deeds
Then the neighboring king released the king of Varanasi and returned to the control of Varanasi
to the king of Varanasi. However, the king of Varanasi did not want to continue to be the king,
so he gave his son on the throne, while he left the palace for the ascetic life of practitioner.
With diligence, h, soon achieved fruits of meditation and ascended to the Brahma realm after
passing away.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that Ghata, king of Varanasi was him.
Jakata 356: Story of Karandiya

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and this story was based on an event in the life of
venerable Sariputta.
At that time, Venerable Sariputta made a cottage at the edge of a forest and near to the ocean,
so the fishermen often paid a visit to his cottage to ask for the water. Whenever the fishermen
arrived at his cottage, he all talked dharmas to them; nonetheless, they were not able to carry
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out the teachings of Venerable Sariputta into his life, although they were patient to listen to the
teaching from Venerable Sariputta.
Sadly, one day, venerable Sariputta talked to the Sangha about this issue, and all the elderly
monks advised him to stop giving teachings to those who did not want to practice these precious
teachings. However, despite the advice from elderly monks, Venerable Sariputta still tried to
give the Dharmas to those who got to his cottage to ask for water or to take a rest.
One day, the monks living in Jetavana, gathered at the Dharma-hall, talking about this issue of
Venerable Sariputta. When the Buddha heard from the monks this issue of Venerable Sariputta,
the Buddha said that:” Dear all students. It is not in the present time, but in the past, he was
eager to give teaching to others although others did not want to listen and practice his
teachings.”
Then the buddha told the story:
Brahmin family, and was named Krandiya. Karandiya went to Takkasila to study with a
renowned master when he turned 16, and his master was a talkative person so that his master
gave the teachings to almost all people that he met, although those people did not prefer to
listen to his teachings.
One day, all the students gathered to advise his master to stop teaching to those who did not
desire to listen to the dharma. They said honestly:” Dear master. Many people did not want to
listen to the dharmas, as they cannot practice these dharmas. So, please stop teaching to those
who don’t want to listen to you.”
The master did not change despite of the hard effort of his students to assist him to change his
talkative attitude. One day, the master let Krandiya to take group of students to participant in
the offerings in the neighborhood village. On the way back, they went through a mountain
which had a tremendous cave. Karandiya, at that time, thought:” I have to utilize this cave to
assist my master to change his attitude.”
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So, while other students were sitting to take a rest, Karandiya stood up to bring the stone to put
into the cave. When other students asked him to comprehend the reason for his work, he did
not reply. Finally, they returned and told the master about his issue. The master immediately
got to the place where Karandiya was bringing the stones to fill the cave. The master advised
Karandiya:'' Dear my beloved student. Be calm and think twice. It is impossible to you to level
this tremendous cave using your human force of hands.``
Karandiya, then, rapidly said:
Using hands is not able to level the cave

Or leveling the swamp areas
Other people with other perspectives
Believing in your words?
The master recognized the precious advice from the verse of Karandiya, so he said:
Karandiya, my beloved student

Your kindness to do this to assist me to change
The ground is difficult to be levelized
People thoughts should be distinct in concepts
Then the master and Karandiya returned to their school, and the master stopped giving dharmas
to all the people he met as he often did.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified the master as Sariputta, while Karandiya, the
student, was him.
Jataka 357: Story of Latukika

The Buddha told this story at Bamboo-Grove, and the story was based on the brutal actions of
Devadatta in killing the Buddha.
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When the monks gathered at Dharma-hall, talking about this issue, the Buddha entered the
Dharma-hall. Knowing the figure of the monk, the Buddha said that:” It is not in the present
time, but also in the past, He was brutal to others.”
In time gone by, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was born as an
elephant, and soon, it became the king of 80 thousand elephants in the region due to its strong
health and wisdom. The bodhisattva often took its elephants to travel for foods, and they often
got to the familiar area to find for living.
One day, when they were moving across the forest, a quail came in front of the Bodhisattva to
insist:” Dear sir! Please protect my children as I am afraid your elephants will step on them to
kill them.”
The Bodhisattva walked toward to use its body to protect the region in which the quails standing
and waiting for all 80 thousand elephants all crossed, the Bodhisattva said to the mother quail:”
There is still an aggressive elephant which will cross here soon, and this elephant was brutal,
so you shall ask him to protect, otherwise, he shall step on your children.”
The mother quail, to follow the advice of the Bodhisattva, insisted the aggressive elephant
avoid its children. However, the aggressive elephant was brutal to reply:” I don’t plan to step
on your children. However, if you already asked, I shall kill all of your children.”
So, the aggressive elephant tried to step in to kill all the baby quails, and it also tried to kill the
mother quail. Luckily, the mother quail flew up on the high tree to escape the attack. Holding
the anger, the mother quail said to the aggressive elephant:” Wait for my revenge. Don’t think
that I am tiny so that I cannot harm you.”
Then the mother quail paid a visit to his close friend, a crow and the quail asked the crow to
help her to attack the eyes of the aggressive elephant when it would cross the forest again.
Then, the quail asked a frog which lived in the pond that the elephants often came to drink
water:” Dear friend. When the aggressive elephant gets injured. It is hard for him to see
everything foe several days. During that time, he will be thirsty and desire to drink water.
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Please stay on the high hill to shout loudly. When the aggressive elephant hears your voice, it
will try to get to your place to drink water. Hence, it will fall down to get injury.``
As planned, after the constant attacks of the crow to the eyes, the eyes of the aggressive
elephant got injured, so it could not see everything. It tried to locate the pond to drink water by
the voices of the frogs. At that time, it walked up the high hill and fell down. Consequently, it
got seriously injured.
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about the cultivation of loving-kindness, and
encouraged monks to avoid behaving brutally to others. Finally, the Buddha identified that the
aggressive elephant was Devadatta, while the king of elephants was him.
Jataka 358: Story of Culla-dharmapala

The Buddha told this story at Bamboo-Grove, about the assassination of Devadatta to the
Buddha.
When monks were concerned to talk about the plans of Devadatta in killing the Buddha, the
Buddha, in this circumstance, said:” It is not in the present time, but also, in the past, he was
likely to kill me. Even though he was not able to harm me in this life, in the past, he used brutal
procedures to punish me.”
In times gone by, when king Mahapatapa was ruling Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was born as the
prince of the king and the queen, and the Bodhisattva was named Culla-dharmapala. The king
was a brutal person, and he preferred to use horrible and brutal punishments to servants who
made him angry.
After the Bodhisattva was born, the queen did not concern about the king but the queen spent
all her time taking care of her son, Dharmapala. Thus, the queen just stayed with the new born
prince for seven months. To miss the queen, the king paid a visit to the queen. However, the
queen was happy to stay with Dharmapala, so she did not stand up to welcome the king. The
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king saw the happiness of the queen to Dharmapala, he was jealous of his son, Dharmapala, as
Dharmapla now had all the love of the beautiful woman, the queen.
The king did not say anything to the queen, but returned to the main shrine of the palace. After
time of consideration, he called a soldier to get to the room of the queen to take Dharmapala to
him. The soldier immediately went to the room of the queen to take the pricne Dharmapala
from the hands of the queen to give to the king. Nevertheless, the king did not want to hold his
son, but let the soldier put Dharmapala into a crib.
After putting into the crib, the soldier was about to leave, but the king asked him:” Take your
sword and cut two hands of the prince. Quickly.”
The soldier was surprised but he had to carry out the order from the king. The soldier slowly
walked toward the prince Dharmapala, and took off his sword to cut down two hands of
Dharmapala. At that time, the queen had just arrived, and she insisted the king forgive the
prince. Her insistent voice made the king get angrier, so the king asked the soldier to cut two
legs of the prince Dharmapala:” Please cut two legs of it. Hurry up.``
The soldier then used the sharp sword to cut two legs of Dharmapala, and then he was about to
run away to cry. However, the king continued his brutal punishment to the prince Dharmapala:”
It is not all. Please cut its head and cut its body into pieces.”
The queen ran toward the soldier, saying:” Please cut my head instead of its head.”
The soldier knew that the prince Dharmapala already died due to the serious injuries, so he
pushed the queen out and ran close to the crib, using his sharp sword to complete the order of
the king. Then he ran away quickly. The queen Canda crawled toward the crib to hold the body
of the Dharmapala, crying terribly. A moment later, the queen had a heart-attack and passed
away.
At that time, the ground under the seat of the king Mahapatapa was broken into two parts. The
fire from the Avici hell reached to his seat and swallowed him into the ground. The officials,
then, made funerals to the queen Canda and the prince Dharmapala, and then they gave a wise
official to the throne of power of the nation.
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After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the king Mahapatapa was Devadatta and the
queen Canda was Mahapajapata, while the prince Dharmapala was him.
Jataka 359: Story of Suvannamiga

Brahmin woman who assisted his husband to ordain as monk in the Sangha of the Buddha, so
did she.
At Buddha time, there was a girl who was the daughter of one millionaire who was the sponsor
of the Buddha and Sangha. This girl enjoyed offering food and drinks to the Buddha and monks,
and she was extremely faithful to the Buddha, the teachings of Buddha, and monks.
One day, she was asked to get married with a son of a millionaire in the same region, but her
parents required that they just let her get married if the husband's family would allow her to
continue to keep her belief as well as her merit in cultivating offerings to the Buddha and
monks. After the wedding, she took good care of her family, and she managed the leisure time
to invite the monks of the Buddha to come to their house for offerings. Gradually, to base on
the teachings of elderly monks for her and her husband after each offering day, she and her
husband obtained first entering stream level. Soon, they encouraged all the members of her
husband's family to be students of the Buddha. Not only that, after a few years, she and her
husband were bored of the family life, so they left to be the nun and monk in the Sangha of the
Buddha. With hard practice, they soon obtained arhathoods.
Their story was spread around Jetavana, and the monks gathered at the Dharma-hall, talking
about their miracle story. When the Buddha comprehended the figure of the talk of monks, the
Buddha said that:” It is not in the present time, but also in the past, she insisted her husband
to get rid of danger and death.”

In times gone by, when king Brhamadatta was ruling Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was born as a
golden deer which lived in the deep forest of Himalaya. The golden deer had a pair of silver
horns, pearl-bright eyes and yellow-polish skin. With strong health and wisdom, the golden
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deer soon became the king of 80 thousand deer in the region, and he had faithful female deer
marry him.
One day, when the golden deer took his deer to get out for a living, the golden deer carelessly
put a leg into a big sawtooth trap of the hunter. The golden deer, then, used all his force to try
to get its leg out of the sawtooth trap, but the more diligent it tried to get rid of the trap, the
tighter the sawtooth trap kept its leg. It was super-pained, so it shouted loudly. His wife, from
far distance, heard his voice, so she rapidly got close to observe what happened to her husband.
Seeing the golden deer, her husband was in the sawtooth trap, she tried to keep calm to pacify
her husband:” Dear honey! Don’t worry. I will insist the hunter to release you, even if I use my
life for the exchange.”
Then the hunter, with a sharp sword on his hands, moved quickly toward the couple of the deer.
Seeing the hunter was aggressive to kill them, but the wife of the golden deer did not scare of
death, she rapidly stepped out the path to protect her husband, saying to the hunter:” Dear sir.
My husband, this golden deer is a virtuous king of 80 thousand deer, and he ruled the deer with
compassion. Please release him and I will alternate him to be killed by you. If you still want to
kill him, then kill me first and kill him later as I cannot bear to see my husband die in front of
me.”
The hunter was surprised as this was the first time he heard the voice of the animal talking to
him. The hunter also was surprised by the faithfulness of the female deer to its husband:” Even
in the humane society, it is hard for the wives and the servants to sacrifice their lives for their
husbands or their kings. I cannot kill them with their virtue. “
Then the hunter spoke the verse to calm the couple of deer which were terribly scared of him:
Surprising me, the deer speaking human voice

Virtuous you all are, I comprehend
Releasing the golden deer, I am about
Get rid of the worry and fear
Then the hunter quickly released the golden deer from the sawtooth trap, in return, the golden
deer gave him a valuable pearl, saying to him:” Dear sir! I have nothing to return you, but this
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pearl. Please stop killing animals for living as this livelihood is about to bring bad rewards to
you and your family members. With this pearl, you can live luxuriously all the rest of your
lifespan. Take good care.”
Then the golden deer and his faithful wife slowly stepped into the deep forest, and the hunter
decided to give up hunting animals for a living.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the hunter was Channa and the wife of the
golden deer was the nun who obtained Arhathood, while the golden deer was him.
Jataka 360: Story of Sussondi

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the story was based on the unfaithfulness in practice
of a young monk after he was a beautiful girl on the way he got alms in the town.
When the monk was brought to meet the Buddha for the best solution, the Buddha advised
him:” Dear my beloved student! It is hard to keep the beautiful women even if you already
have them in your hands. The women, even, who stayed in the isolated island with all the
miracle things of the king Garuda, were still trying to have sexual misconduct with other men.
So, you have to try hard to get rid of the desire for women.”
In times gone by, when king Tamba was ruling Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was the king of all
the birds, namely Garuda, and the Bodhisattva lived in his luxurious palace located on an
isolated island from the humane society. Whenever had free time, Bodhisattva often disguised
himself as a handsome and noble man to play chess with the king of Tamba. The Bodhisattva
often gave some special wood and perfume to the king Tamba, so the king loved to meet and
play chess with him.
Due to the handsome look, all the maidens loved to see him, and they also told the beautiful
queen Sussondi about the Bodhisattva. The queen, sometimes, secretly stood after the curtain
to see the Bodhisattva. One day, she could not bear her mind to come to see him in close
distance, so she pretended to bring tea for the king Tamaba when the king was playing chess
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with the Bodhisattva. When the queen Sussondi looked at the Bodhisatta, she fell in love with
him, and so did the Bodhisattva to her. Hence, the Bodhisattva decided to have the queen
Sussondi as his wife. He used his power to make a storm to hit the palace and, in the darkness,
he took the queen Sussondi to his palace. At the palace, they enjoyed being lovers.
Time flies, the king missed the queen, so the king sent one of his excellent servants, a musical
player, namely Sagga to find the queen. Sagga was special as when he played music all the
animals would be crazy to dance when they heard the sound from his musical playing. Sagga
went around the nation, but he could find the queen, so he decided to find her on the sea. He
asked a giant boat to let him accompany them without fees of traveling, and in return, he would
pay music to them whenever they needed. When they were on the far-distance from the
mainland, the sailors insisted Sagga play music to them, but Sagga denied as he thought it
would bring harm to them when the giant fishes would hear the sounds from his plays and
would attack the boat. Finally, to relieve the pressure of the captain of the boat, he had to play
the music to them, and soon the giant fishes were attracted to the sounds of his plays so that
they attacked the boat. The boat was broken into pieces, and Sagga was lucky to hold one piece
of wood. The waves and the winds gradually pushed Sagga to the island of Garuda.
The queen Sussondi saw Sagga, she immediately recognized him, as she also loved him with
his special handsome and special skills in playing music. The queen took him to her room, and
took good care of him. After days of staying together, they could not bear of their sexual desire,
so they slept together.
After months, Sagga realized that the queen was not a faithful woman as she was likely to
change her lovers constantly despite the great love of previous lovers to her, so Sagga decided
to leave the island. One day, when the boat occasionally arrived at the island, Sagga rapidly
stepped on their boat to go back to the mainland. After getting back to the mainland, Sagga
waited for the Garuda to come to play chess with the king, and the he said to the Garuda:
Smelling the scents of the valuable forest

Hearing the sounds of the waves all the time
Enjoying the life with the beautiful lover
Sussondi already took off my heart
Garuda wondered to ask Sagga:
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Ocean of Semura, you passed?
Which method, as it is hard?
Telling me the truth
Returning Sussonda to Tamba
Sagga honestly said to the Garuda:
Scent from the queen is attractive

With smooth body, and hands
We ate together under her care
Lying down on her bed
We looked at each other with greedy desire
All the day and night times
Tamba and Garuda should know
These are my real words!
Garuda was sad with the attitude of the queen, and he thought:” This woman was beautiful but
she has no faithfulness to any man, so she has no value to me now.”
So he immediately returned the queen Sussondi to the king Tamba, and had never returned to
the palace of the king Tamba.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the king Tamba was Ananda, while the king
Garuda was him.
Jataka 361: Story of Vannaroha

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the story was about the harmony living of two
venerable Sariputta and Moggallana to each other.
In one rainy retreat, Venerable Sariputta and Moggalana lived together in one place, and a
volunteered man stayed together with them to serve them with essential needs. This lay man
was a talkative person, and when the met Venerable Sariputta, he said that:” Dear venerable.
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Do you know that venerable Moggallana said to me that you are not equal to them in the
background, wisdom, richness and practicing achievement?”
Venerable Sariputta just said to him:” Okay sir. Please stay focused on your work only, not our
issue.”
Then when venerable Sariputta went out for work, he met venerable Moggallana and said the
same thing:” Dear venerable. Do you know that venerable Moggallana said to me that you are
not equal to them in the background, wisdom, richness and practicing achievement?”
Venerable Moggallana also said calmly:” Don’t border about these things please. Please focus
on your work only.”
Then, when two venerable monks met each other, they decided to give the lay man to leave as
he was trying to slander to separate the harmony between the monks. Then, after the rainy
retreat, they returned to Jetavana, and told the Buddha this issue. The Buddha, on this
circumstance, said that:” It is not in the present time, but also in the past time, he tried to break
the living harmony of two of you, but he could not.”
In times gone by, when king Varanasi was ruling Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was born as a deity
of a giant tree in the forest which was near to Himalaya Mountain. Not far from his tree, the
was a tremendous cave, and there were a lion and a tiger lived together in the cave. These two
animals lived in harmony to each other. One day, a jackal asked them to be their servant, and
the jackal ate the leftover from their foods. Time flies, the jackal was bored of eating the
leftover food and unpleasant to serve the lion and the tiger, so the desired to break the
relationship of the lion and the tiger.
When the tiger went out, the jackal came close to the lion, saying:” Dear sir. I just wonder if
there were arguments between you and the tiger? As when you went out, the tiger said that the
lion is not equal to me in background, health, wisdom and the outlook.”
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The lion immediately recognized the slander of the jackal, so the lion said:” Go away. And,
please don’t repeat this issue as tiger would never say these things.”
When the lion went out, the jackal came close to the tiger and said the same thing to the tiger.
The tiger was wise to recognize the slander of the jackal, but it still doubted about this issue.
Hence, one day, the tiger asked the lion: “Did the jackal Sudatha say to you that You are greater
than me about the background, health, wisdom and the outlook?”
The lion said to the lion:” Did the jackal also say the same thing to you?”
Then they realized that the jackal wanted to break their friendship, so, the expelled the jackal
out of their cave. Then, they lived in harmony until they all passed away.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the jackal was the lay man who served two
venerable monks, while the lion was Sariputta. The tiger was Moggallana, whereas the deity
of the tree who observed this story was him.
Jataka 362: Story of Silavimamasa

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the story was based on the event in the life of an
official of the king Kosala. This official was diligent and virtue-cultivated, so he was loved and
respected by the king and other officials.
One day, this official thought:” The king and other people paid great respects to me, and this
is due to my wisdom, my hard-work, my high position or my virtue-cultivation? I need to carry
out a test to comprehend this issue.”
Then, in three consecutive days, after the time of working was over, he went to the storage of
the palace to take some golden coins. In the first and the second time, the storage-taker did not
say everything, but in the third time, he shouted loudly and some soldiers caught the official to
meet the king. The king wondered to ask:” Dear my beloved student! Your income is not low,
so why do you have to steal these coins?”
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The official then explained his purpose in taking the golden coins to the king and then he
realized that only virtue -cultivation was the most important element in his life, so he asked the
king to leave his job for an ascetic life of the forest monk.
This event in the life of the official was attracted to people, so the people often talked about
him. One day, the monks in Jetavana got to the Dharma-hall, talking about this issue with the
official of king Kosala. Then, when the Buddha, comprehended the figure of the talk of the
monks, the Buddha said:” In the past, the wise men also tested their virtue and then they also
left their high-position jobs to be ascetic monks for enlightenment.”
Brahmin family, and when he turned 16, he went to Takkasila to study skills and knowledge.
And, he was successful in getting the job as the consultant for the king after he just graduated
from Takkasila. During the time worked for the king, he was diligent to keep five precepts (No
harms others, no alcohol, no sexual misconduct, no stealing and no telling lies). By keeping
these precepts, he gradually built up his virtuous attitude, and the king and other officials were
respected by him for his virtuous life.
One day, he wondered whether the king and others paid respect to him due to his good merit
or his wisdom. So, for several days, when the working time was over, he got to the storage of
the palace to take some golden coins in front of the storage-taker. For the first, second and the
third time, the soldier who monitored the storage was silent to let the Bodhisattva take the
golden coins, as he also respected the Bodhisattva for his virtuous livelihood. However, the
fourth time, the soldier could not calm his mind, so he called other soldiers to catch the
Bodhisattva to meet the king for the judge.
At the main shrine, the king was not angry as few golden coins would be nothing to him, but
he extremely wondered the motivation of the Bodhisattva in stealing the golden coins, so he
asked:” Dear my servant. I know that you did not lack money, and few golden coins are nothing
to you. But, why did they not often steal these golden coins?”
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The official calmly said:” Dear majesty. I am too sorry to disturb you for my issue. To be
honest, this is the test that I conducted to test whether people paid respect to me due to my
great knowledge or my virtue. Now, I am certain that virtue-cultivation is the only element that
makes others pay respect to me. So, I want to leave this job as a consultant to live as an ascetic
monk. Please let me satisfy this ambition.”
Virtue overpasses all other aspects

Beauty, richness, wisdom and knowledge
It is hard to compare to the virtue to other factors
As virtue is supper-high factor human life
Family background and knowledge

Relationships and relatives
Are not the key factor of the happiness and peace
But virtue is the only one
Then the Bodhisattva returned to his house to say the last utterances to his relative and then he
got to the Himalaya to live an ascetic life of the forest monk.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the official who left the high-position job
for the ascetic life was him.
Jataka 363: Story of Hiri

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the story was based on the event in the life of
Anathapindika.
Anathapindka had a friend who was the richest one in the neighboring area in the North, and
this millionaire often sent his servants to take their local products to sell in the town of Savitthi,
and during the time the servants of this millionaire got to Savitthi, they all stayed at the house
of Anathapindika.
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Anathapindika always told his servants to take good care of the servants of his friend. Even
Anathapindika told his servants to assist the servants of his friend to sell the products. After
they sold out their products, they returned to the neighboring area, with all the money obtained
from selling the product.
One day, Anathapindika would like to expand his business to the North, so he told his servants
to carry the products made in the town of Savithri to sell in the neighboring area. Anathapindika
also gave his servants some gifts to give his friend for helping them to stay and sell the products
sufficiently. However, when the servants of Anathapindika arrived at the house of the
millionaire who was a friend of Anathapindika, he did not allow the delegation of
Anathapindika to stay at his house, and even, he did not send any servants to assist in selling
the products. The servants of Anathapindika, finally, had to rent the motel to stay, and it was
not difficult for them to sell their products. Therefore, they soon returned to their house.
Not long after that, the millionaire who lived in the neighboring area again sent the delegation
to Savitthi to sell products and they paid a visit to the house of Anathapindika for assistance.
At that time, Anathpindika did not stay home, so some of his servants associated with the
delegation from the neighboring area. The servants of Anathapindika got angry at them as they
did not get any help when they went to the neighboring area to sell the product. They managed
to the house and the storage for the delegation of the millionaire in the neighboring area, and
then in the night time, they got to the storage to take away all the products of the delegation of
the millionaire from the neighboring area. The servants of the millionaire lived in the
neighboring area had to return to their hometown without money.
Not long after that, Anathapindika occasionally knew this issue, so one day, when he paid a
visit to the Buddha, he told the Buddha this complicated issue. In this circumstance, the Buddha
said that:” It is not in the present but in the past, he was an unfaithful friend.”
In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, Bodhisattva was a businessman,
and he often assisted his friend, a millionaire who lived in the neighboring area to sell the local
products in the town of Varanasi. He let the servants of his friends stay in a clean and luxurious
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place, and even sent servants to instruct the servants of his friend to sell the products more
properly.
In return, his friend did not give any help when the bodhisattva sent his delegation to sell the
product in the neighboring area. The servants of the Bodhisattva were angry to rent a giant
house as the settling base for their selling. Encountering all the difficulties, they finally sold
out the products and returned to Varanasi.
Short time later, his friend again sent the servants to his house to ask for help selling the
products. At that time, he did not stay at home, so some of his servants, due to the anger,
planned to take all the products of the servants of the friend of the Bodhisattva. This event was
kept in secret from the Bodhisattva; however, finally, some servants had to tell him about this
crime. On this circumstance, the Bodhisattva speak the verse:
The wise men don’t associate with the ignorant ones

Sweet but cliché words, saying without power
Friendship should be based on the interaction
Good acts should be given to the good help
Without the consideration of each other’s

Mistakes and faults
Being faithful to each other as children
Believing into their parents
Although others to interfere and slander

True friendship will never be broken
Living in harmony and good association
Bringing benefits for all
Then, Bodhisattva realized that life in society was not suitable to him, so he donated all his
fortune to his relatives and poor people, and then he went to the Himalaya to live the ascetic
life of a forest monk. With diligence, he soon achieved the fruits of meditation.
After telling the story, the millionaire who lived in Varanasi was him.
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Jataka 365: Story of Ahigundika
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the story was based on the attitude of an elderly
monk of the Sangha of the Buddha.
This elderly monk had one young student, and he often forced this student to work super hard.
Not only that, he also often complained about this young student with all the not vital things.
Hence, the young student decided to disrobe. When this student disrobes, this monk tries to
convince him to re-ordain as monk, and then after this young man re-ordained, this elderly
again tries to punish him with hard work and complaints. So, he disrobed the second time to
return to his house to assist his parents with farm work. Not long after, this elderly monk paid
a visit to his house to convince him to re-ordain again and he promised not to make him feel
uncomfortable. However, he was punished with hard work and complaints again. So, he
decided to quickly disrobe to return to his house to assist his parents. Short time later, the
elderly monk again visited his family and insisted on re-ordain as monk. This time, the young
man was clever to refuse the elderly monk, so the elderly monk finally returned to his cottage
and lived alone.
This issue, then, was told to the Buddha, and the Buddha just calmly and slowly said:” It is not
in the present time, but also in the past, this man was sensitive to realize the problem of his
master, so even his master was hardly convinced, it did not accept him.”
Brahmin family, and when he grew up, he planted the wheat and sold wheat for living. Near
his house, there was a man who worked doing entertainment for others. He had a snake and a
monkey, and he trained the monkey to play with the poison snake to entertain the people.
One day, he had to get to another village to enjoy the local festival for seven days, and before
leaving, he gave his monkey to the Bodhisattva to take care of the monkey when he was not at
home. During seven days, the Bodhisattva gave the monkey to eat special foods made of wheat.
When the owner of the monkey returned, he quickly got to the house of Bodhisatva to take the
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monkey. Seeing its owner, the monkey rapidly ran out to welcome him; however, the man, in
the drunken statement, used a stick to hit on the back of the monkey, so the monkey was scared
to jump on the tree to escape. The owner of the monkey worried that without the monkey, he
could not easily earn money, so he convinced it:
Dear beautiful monkey, my son

Returning here to play together
Having you, I am glad to live
Having you, my life fill with happiness
The monkey rapidly said:
Telling lies, you are

Beautiful monkey? How is it?
Enjoying playing and traveling
Having drinking, beating me hardly
Remembering, dear the deceived man

The rough bed, I had to lie down
Terrible foods, having to eat
Being treated to work out of health
Remembering all these terrible

Lacking loving to each other
Lacking the sustainable connection
Your way, return to live, my way, I am!
Then the monkey jumped from tree to tree to the deep forest.
Then the Buddha identified that the owner man was the elderly monk and the monkey was the
young man, while the wheat farmer was him.
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Jataka 366: Story of Gumbiya
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and this story was based on the desire of a young monk
to the young girls.
This young monk ordained in the Sangha of the Buddha, but later on, when he got to the town
to get alms, he could not calm his mind under the beauty of the young girls who often offered
the foods to him.
When he was brought to meet the Buddha for the solution, the Buddha, after knowing his issue,
said to him:” Sexual desire is one of five harmful ambitions, and it is like the tasty rice mixed
the poison of the Yakshas.”
business family, and when he grew up, he became the leader of the business association in the
town. One day, he led a delegation of 500 vehicles. When they were about to cross the forest
which was the living place of the Yakshas, the Bodhisattva said to all the members of the
delegation:” Dear all great friends! This forest is the living place of the Yakshas, and they tend
to mix the poisons with beautiful, smelling and tasty foods and put them on the paths to trap
the people and animals to eat. If those are unlucky to eat, they will die and become the food for
the Yakshas.”
And then they began to enter the forest. Seeing the delegation of Bodhisattva, a Yaksha, namely
Gumbiya appeared and it mixed the delicious foods with poisonous honey and put the foods
on the leaves of the flowers along the sideway, and then it manifested as an old man who was
seeking for the honey. Some members in the delegation of the Bodhisattva were not able to
control their minds from the attachment of the foods put on the sideway, so they got serious
issues on their health. Then, they had no way to solve the problem, but found Bodhisattva to
ask for help.
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Soon, some of the members died due to the poison, and some were rescued by the Bodhisattva,
by some special methods and his powers. Then he spoke the verse:
Poisonous honey put on the sideway

Yaksha, Gumbiya arranging to trap people
Danger and the death, waiting for those
Could not control the attachment from the delicious foods
Sexual desire is similar to the poisonous honey

Arranging to trap people into suffering
In great attachment, humans love each other
When love fading, they punish each other to suffer brutally
Those who can control their minds

From all kinds of the desire
Getting rid of the trap of danger and suffering
Achieving happiness and enlightenment
After telling this story, the Buddha talked Four Noble Truths to the monks, and the young monk
obtained first entering stream level. Finally, the Buddha recognized that the wise businessman
was him.
Remembering all these terrible

Lacking loving to each other
Lacking the sustainable connection
Your way, return to live, my way, I am!
Then the monkey jumped from tree to tree to the deep forest.
Then the Buddha identified that the owner man was the elderly monk and the monkey was the
young man, while the wheat farmer was him.
Jataka 367: Story of Saliya
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The Buddha told this story at Bamboo-Grove, and the story was based on the injury of
Devadatta.
In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, Bodhisattva was born in a
rural village, and he often played with other children at the edge of the village. There was a
giant Banyan tree near the place where Bodhisattva and his friends often gathered to play.
In the village, there was an old man who was a doctor, but as the villagers were healthy for a
long time, the old doctor was in financial trouble. One day, when he was in his stroll around
the edge of the village, he saw a poisonous snake lay in a hole on the high position of the
Banyan tree. The evil thoughts aroused from this mind:'' Now, I have no money as the villagers
are all healthy, so if the children play with this poisonous snake, I shall assist them to heal their
injuries to gain money for a living.”
Then the old doctor walked close to the crowd of the children, saying:” Dear beloved sons and
daughters! I saw a porcupine on the Banyan tree, so if any of you can climb up, you shall have
it.”
Bodhisattva was pleased to hear of the porcupine, so he climbed up to the Banyan tree. When
he put his hand into the hole on the Banyan tree to take the porcupine out, he saw the snake.
To base on the natural reflection of his body, his hand rapidly took the neck of the snake, and
threw it away. Incidentally, the poison snake fell on the neck of the old doctor, and the poison
snake bit on the hand of the old doctor to generate serious symptoms to his body. The old doctor
quickly tried to get his house to heal the poison from the snake.
Then the Bodhisattva got down and gathered together with other children, then he taught the
children:
Whoever want to harm others

By poison of the snakes
Due to the force of the karmic
Not able to escape from bad return
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Being attacks, but without fighting against
Due to the patient and compassionate
Greatest protection from all the harms
Not harmful and suffered
Those always attack others

Who do not want to fight against!
Soon or later, gain their return force
It is self-harming, due to the karmic
Similar to throwing the sands opposite to the wind

The throwers should gain the return of sands
Trying to harm the virtuous ones
Soon or later, will gain the returns from their actions
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the old doctor was Devadatta, while the wise
child was him.
Jataka 368: Story of Takasara

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the story was based on the event in which some
monks spoke highly of the great wisdom of the Buddha, when they gathered at the dharma-
hall.
The Buddha said to the monks:” Dear my beloved students. It is not only in the present time,
but in the past, I was able to obtain great wisdom which could assist me to help others.”
In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, Bodhisattva was born in a rural
village, and he often got to the edge of the village to play with other children. One day, an old
doctor came close to the Bodhisattva and other children to deceive them to put their hands into
the hole which was the residing place of a poison snake, on a Banyan tree. When the
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Bodhisattva put his hand into the hole which the poison was staying in, the snake rapid attack
the Bodhisattva, but the Bodhisattva was lucky to hold on the neck of the snake and threw it
away. Incidentally, the snake fell on the neck of the old doctor and bit him on his hand. After
he got back to heal the poison of the snake, he soon died due to the extreme poison of the snake.
Then the villagers gathered to claim that the Bodhisattva and his friends were accused of the
death of the old doctor, so they planned to take the Bodhisattva and his friends to the palace of
the king for the judge. During the journey, seeing his friends were threatened, the Bodhisattva
advised them:” Don’t be scared, as it will make the king and others think that we desired to kill
the doctor. Be calm and relaxed as we are not the killers at all. I will have way to convince the
king to release us soon.``
When the children were brought to the king, the king was surprised as all the children were not
worried and scared but stayed calm and relaxed. So the king asked:”
Hey my sons and my daughters

Being tightened with bamboo robes
Being accused of killing of the doctor
The penalty of death will give if killed the doctor
Your faces look calm and relaxed

Without worries and fear
Is it due to you all not killers?
Or having an inhumane feeling after killing?
The Bodhisattva answered the king:
Being sorrowful or worried

Not be able to solve the issue
Accepting the destiny will come
With honesty, there is no worry
Doing bad shall gain bad rewards

Cultivating good deeds shall gain good rewards
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Worrying or having cheating methods
Having no way to escape from the karmas
To hear the wise replies from the Bodhisattva, the king asked the judges to properly investigate
this lawsuit related to the death of the old doctor. After days, the results were fair that
Bodhisattva and his friends had no fault in the death of the old doctor. The king loved the
Bodhisattva, so the king arranged the Bodhisattva to be well-cultivated with skills and
knowledge, and gave him to work as the consultant of the palace after he graduated.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the king of Varanasi was Ananda, while the
wise child was him.

young monk who was attached to the desire.
In times gone by, in the time of the Kassapa Buddha, there was a selfish monk, who was trying
to find the way to suspend others to offer foods and drinks to another monk who obtained
Arhar-Hood. Due to the karma, this monk was reborn into the hells for a very long time before
he could be reborn in the human realm, and a rural village, and was named Mittavinda.
When Mittavinda was born, his village had several troubles and difficulties. His mother had
nothing to eat, so she took him to beg for a living. Time flies, Mittavinda grew up, and he went
to a master's program to study. As he had no money to pay for tuition fees, he had to work
around the school. But, having a selfish, lazy and greedy mind, Mittavinda was not able to
endure the hard work at school, so he went to a village to get married with a poor girl and soon
had two children. However, his wife and his children soon were killed by Yakshas, and he had
no relatives and no way of living, so he made a bamboo raft to discover the sea for new hope
of his life.
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On the ocean, Mittavinda occasionally drifted to the isolated island, where there was a silver
palace and a golden palace. There were lots of beautiful women living at these palaces, and
Mittavinda enjoyed having luxurious life with these beautiful women. After that, he wanted to
find more beautiful women to enjoy his life with, so he left the island and occasionally fell
down to the Usada hell at the bottom of the sea. When Mittavinda entered the Usada hell, it
was captured at the hell, and could not escape from the hell. At this hell, all the beings were in
the circle of rebirth again after being killed by giants’ wheels.
Enduring this suffering, Mittavinda wished to escape but could not. One day, a god from the
heaven got to the Usada hell for work, he incidentally walked close to Mittavinda, and
Mittavinda asked him:
Which bad and evil actions I cultivated

Rewarding this brutal punishment
The wheel crushes my body and then revive to be punished again
This suffering from which action, could you tell me?
The god, with his power, knew that Mitta was too attached to sexual desire with hundred of
beautiful women at silver and golden palace, but he did not satisfy, so this karma led him to
the hell of Usada. The god said to Mitta:
Being the owner of the silver and golden palaces

Together owning hundreds of beautiful women
Not satisfying, but trying to get more
Being stuck into this hell for punishment
Desire of beings is limitless

Having no boundary for the desire
Doing everything to satisfy the desire
Finally, obtaining bad rewards
Reborning in the hells

With limitless ways of punishments
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Nobody gives the suffering to them
Themselves give, due to their karmic acts
Then the god returned to heaven, and Mittavinda continued to endure the sufferings in the hell
of Usada.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that Mittavinda was the greedy monk, while the
god was him.
Jataka 370: Story of Palasa
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the story was based on an event in which the
Buddha encouraged the monks to avoid doing bad things, even small or not severely bad
actions.
The Buddha taught the monks:'' Dear my great students! You have to try to avoid doing bad
things, bad actions, even not severely bad actions. The wise men, in the past, were very careful
with their actions to avoid having trouble. The evil acts are similar to the roots of the Banyan
tree, they demolish all things that they touch.``
as a golden goose, and the golden goose lived in a cave on the mountain of Himalayas. The
golden goose often flew to a giant pond in Varanasi to find food for living. And, on the shore
of the pond, there was a giant Judas tree, and there was a deity living in the tree. The golden
goose and the deity of the Judas tree made friends with each other, and gradually, they became
close friends to each other.
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One day, a wandering bird, after eating the banya fruits, parked on the top of this judas tree,
and this wondering bird defecated on the body of the Judas tree, and soon, the seeds of the
Banya from the defecation of the wandering bird grew up a tiny Banya tree on the main body
of the Judas tree. When the tiny banyan tree was about 1 meter, the golden goose paid a visit
to the Judas tree, and seeing the banyan tree growing on the Judas tree, the goose said:” Dear
friends! Please take this banyan tree off the body of your Judas tree, as when this Banyan tree
becomes bigger, it will destroy your home.”
The deity of the Judas calmly said:” Thanks for your concern, but it does not matter at all. If it
becomes bigger, it will become my new house.”
The goose insisted the deity:
Worrying when it grows up, trouble and difficulties come

From the love that you cultivating
It is your issue, not me
As shall not return here.
Then the golden goose returned to the Himalayas and had never returned to visit the Judas tree.
The banyan tree gradually became bigger, and finally the banyan tree pushed the Judas to fall
down with the heavy weight of the Banyan tree. The deity suffered to say:
With high and heavy, the Banya

Pushing my house to collapse
Not listening to the advices of the golden goose
Bringing the trouble and difficulties to me
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths to the monks, and during
the talk of the Buddha, 500 monks obtained arhat-hoods. Finally, the Buddha identified that
the golden goose was him.
Jatka 371: Story of Dighitikosala
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The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and this story was based on the arguments of groups of
monks who lived in Kosambi. Due to the arguments of the monks, the Buddha left the Sangha
to live alone in the forest for three months.
After three months, the monks realized their fault, so they paid a visit to the Buddha for
forgiveness. On this occasion, the Buddha taught monks:” Dear all my beloved students! You
have been here in the robes of monks to practice the dharmas from my teachings. However,
you did not focus on the practice, but argued about the meanings of the words. In the past, the
wise men, who were faithful to the advice of their parents, did not raise revenge and anger to
their enemies, even their enemies killed their parents, robbed their nations, and expelled them
to live in the forest.”

In times gone by, when the king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, the king led his army to
attack the kingdom of Kosala. As the king of Kosala encouraged people to cultivate virtues of
forgiveness and loving-kindness, he did not take the army to fight against the army of king
Varanasi, so in a short time, the king Varanasi could occupy Kosala easily. After having total
control of Kosala, the king of Varanasi put the king Kosala and all his relatives to the prison,
but the only son of king Kosala, the prince Dighavu was successful to escape from the prison.
Before escaping, the king Kosala advised his son:” Dear son. If you can escape, please don’t
try to harm your enemy as revenge will generate revenge, anger will create anger, hatred will
cause hatred. So, be compassionate to our enemy and take a compassionate life. Take care!
My son.”
Then Dighavu escaped to live in the forest, and for a living, he collected fruits and vegetables
in the forest. Time flies, one day, the king of Varanasi went to the forest and he got lost in the
forest. Luckily, the king of Varanasi, finally, found the cottage of the prince Dighavu, and he
paid a visit to the cottage to ask for refuge for a few days. Knowing the visitor to the cottage
was the king of Varanasi, the prince Dighavu still was calm to treat the king of Varanasi, his
enemy, with all the good foods and drinks.
After a few days, one day, in the night time, the prince Dighavu could not bear his revenge, so
he took a sharp knife to hold into his pocket, and tended to kill the king Varanasi in the night
time. However, he remembered the advice from his father to forgive his enemy, so he could
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not kill the king Varanasi. Finally, he put the knife on the neck of king Varanasi to threaten the
king:” Do you know that I am the son of king Kosala, and my parents were killed by you. Now,
your life belongs to my decision. How will you escape from death?”
The king Varanasi calmly said:
Being in your hands, with sharp knife on neck

Lying down on the ground, without protection
Having no way to escape from your attack
My life now belongs to your decision.
The prince Dighavu calmly said:
Without property and luxurious stuff

With good words and good actions
Keeping me to be calm and happy
Inside the deep forest, with dangers
Revenge will never be burned off by other revenges

With the angry thoughts of harming enemies
Navigating beings into the sufferings
Leading beings into circle of fighting
Loving-kindness and forgiveness

The elements of the peaceful society
Great loving-kindness and forgiveness
Bringing the peace for the beings
Then the prince Dighavu kept silent for a while, and he gave the sharp knife to the king of
Varanasi, saying: “To base on the advice of my parents, as well as my practice, I cannot kill
you, so please kill me if you want to kill the seed of enemy from me.”
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The king Varanasi enlightened that loving-kindness was the most important element for the
peaceful society, so, he said to the prince Dighavu:” I also cannot kill you, as I already
understand that loving-kindness and forgiveness are vital to our lives.”
Then the king Varanasi to invite the prince Dighavu to the town of Varanasi. At the palace, in
front of the officials, the king of Varanasi spoke highly of the prince Dighavu with loving
kindness and forgiveness, and then the king decided to give her daughter to get married with
the prince Dighavu and returned the kingdom of Kosala to the prince. After the marriage, the
prince Dighavu was given on the throne of power of the kingdom of Kosala, and he ruled the
kingdom with royal dharmas as his father did.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that the prince Dighavu was him.
Jataka 372: Story of Migapotaka

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the story was based on the event in the life of an
elderly monk.
This elderly monk received a young boy to be his student, and after the ordination as novice,
the young novice took good care of the elderly monk. However, one day, this young novice
died after a short time enduring a serious sickness. Upon the death of the young student, the
elderly monk was in extreme sorrowfulness, so he cried all and wandered around without
mindfulness.
His issue was told to the Buddha, and the Buddha, in this circumstance, told him the monks
that:” It is not in the present time, but also, in the past, this monk was sorrowful for the death
of his beloved one.”
In times gone by, when king Varanasi was ruling Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was born on the
33rd heaven, and was the king Sakka of all the gods and goddesses.
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In the nation of Varanasi, there was a Brahmin who was bored of the family life, so he gave all
his fortune to others and went to the Himalayas to practice as the ascetic monk. At the forest,
he made a nice cottage to live in and near to his cottage, there were some deer living around.
One day, a mother deer gave birth to a baby deer, and the ascetic monk was attached to the
baby deer, so he took the mother and the baby deer to live in his cottage. He gave lots of special
fruits and grasses to the baby deer as well as its mother deer.
Time flies, the baby deer grew up to be an adult-deer, but the ascetic monk still kept it alive
with him and he found the special grass and fruits to give it. One day, due to eating too much
grass, the deer got dysentery and soon the deer died. Upon the death of the deer, the ascetic
monk was in sorrowfulness, so he skipped eating and drinking, spending time lying on the bed
to cry.
The Sakka, occasionally, knew the issue of the ascetic monk, so he appeared as the wooder to
stimulate the ascetic monk to get rid of sorrow. The Sakka said:
Being sorrowful with the death of the deer

Ascetic monk losing his way of practice
Leaving family for the enlightenment
Being controlled by the mundane emotion
The ascetic monk said:
Losing a close friendly deer, a son

Man, do you know that?
Crying is the best solution
Burning off the sorrow in the mind
The Sakka continued:
Desire of having and possessing things

Losing causes suffering and sorrow
Wise men should not be as mundane men
Death is impermanent, should comprehend!
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With the cries and tears can heal the death
I shall advise others to cry
Saving people from the death
Generating the happiness forever
The ascetic monk realized the impermanence from the serves of the Sakka, so he said:
Similar to the floating fire

Sparking stronger with the pour of butter
Pouring the cold water, suddenly
Burning off my fire of sorrow
Then the Sakka appeared in his real shape and returned to his palace. The ascetic monk began
to focus on the proper practice based on the advice of Sakka.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the baby deer was the young novice and the
ascetic monk was the elderly monk, while the Sakka was him.
Jataka 273: Story of Musika
The Buddha told this story at Bamboo-Grove, and this story was related to the king Bimbisara
and his son, Ajatasattu.
A few months after the king Ajatasattu was born, the king arranged foods and drinks to offer
the Buddha and monks. After offering the Buddha and the monks, the king Bimbisara brought
his son to show the Buddha and the monks. At that time, with supreme power, the Buddha
knew that the king Bimbisara would encounter trouble from his son, so the Buddha said to the
king Bimbisara:” Dear majesty! The wise kings, in the past, doubted their sons’ ambitions, so
they expelled their sons out of the palace and just allowed them to return after they died. “
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In times gone by, when king Bramadatta was ruling Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was born in a
Brahmin family, and in the ages of youth, he was well-educated in Takkasila before becoming
a renowned master in this town. Due the fame, there were lots of young men from noble
families who came to study with him, and the son of the king Varanasi, namely Yava, was one
of his students.
After years of learning, finally, the Bodhisattva let his student, Yava, graduate to return to his
nation. However, with the power of meditation, the Bodhisattva predicted that his student
would be killed by his son, so to assist his student to get rid of this trouble. One day, when the
Bodhisattva paid a visit to the trap of the houses, he saw a giant mouse from a hole at the back
side of the horse trap eating the meat from an injury on one leg of the horse. Feeling annoyed,
the horse used his leg to kill the mouse and kicked the mouse to fall down to the wells. A few
days later, the Bodhisattva paid a visit to the horse trap again, and he saw the horse was
enjoying eating the wheat in the front yard. To base on these events, the Bodhisattva wrote
three verses based on Yava, and told him to open to read this in the times and places he wrote
in the letter.
The prince Yava returned to the nation to work as the vice-king for a few years, and when his
father died, he became the king of the nation. Soon, his wife gave birth to a son, and his son,
at the age of 16, was attached to the power of the king. Hence, his son asked the servants of his
son for the plan to be the king earlier. Finally, they decided to kill the king to give the young
prince the chair of power.
Then the young prince held a sharp knife to wait for his father in the bathroom of the palace.
A maiden, namely Musika, was preparing the warm water for the king to take shower. When
she walked close to the bathtub, she was killed by the young prince, and the young prince threw
Musika into the other bathtub. Other maidens did not see Musika, so they went around to find
Musika, and that time, the king remembered the advice of his master, so he read the first verse:
People asking where is the mouse?

It was killed and threw into water
Nobody knows but only me
Even, the killer, I know
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The young prince was extremely shaken due to the fear that his father had already discovered
his plan. He held the knife and walked slowly out of the bathroom. The servants of the young
prince still advised the young prince to keep killing the king as the king might not discover
their plan. Then the young prince, the next day, held the knife to wait for his father at the dark
corner of the stair leading to the king’s room. Before the king walked up the stair, he spoke the
second verse:
Like the animal, the horse

Going and returning, you do
After killing the mouse
Enjoying to eat the wheat, I know
The young prince was terribly scared from the meaning of the verse, so he ran away rapidly.
Returning to tell his servants about the verse, but his servants still advised him to keep the plan
carried out. Half of the month later, the young prince took a shovel to stand on the high position
of the stair leading to the king’s room, and he planned to kill the king when the king just stepped
up. The king, before walking up, spoke the verse:
Evil child! Hasn’t be aware of bad attitude

With brutal and evil mind of killing
Holding the tool which like the spoon
About to catch and kill you, my child!
The young prince was terribly scared, so he could not even step away. Having no way, the
young prince threw away the shovel and sat on his knees to insist to the king:” Dear majesty!
Please forgive me as I am ignorant and blind my mind due to my attachment to power.”
The king was surprised as he did not understand what was happening. However, as a clever
king, he rapidly comprehended his son was planning to kill him, so he called the soldier to
catch his son to put into prison, and not allow to be free until he would pass away. Then he
contemplated the virtue and the wisdom of his master.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the wise master was him as in the Bodhisattva
way of practice.
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Jataka 374: Story of Culladhanuggaha
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the story was based on the loss in the motivation
practice of a young monk.
This young monk got married with a beautiful woman before he left his wife to be a monk in
the Sangha of the Buddha. However, after years of practice, he was not able to succeed in the
practice, so he missed family life, missed his wife.
When he was brought to meet the Buddha for help, the Buddha looked at him, smiling:” Do
you know that in the past, due to this woman, you got in danger. Hence, you have to try hard
to overcome the desired love for her.”
Sakka, king of gods and goddesses.
There was a young Brahmin who was born in Varanasi, but went to Takkasila to study skills
and knowledge. After years, he was excellent in archery, so the master decided to give his
daughter to get married with him. After the marriage a short time, the young Brahmin decided
to return to Varanasi to assist in the development of his nation. On the way back to Varanasi,
he heard that an aggressive elephant had demolished and killed people in a rural area, so he
decided to help the people to get rid of the disturbance of the elephant to the people. He took
his beautiful wife to get to the village where the aggressive elephant was staying, and with only
one shot of arrow, he killed the aggressive elephant to assist people to return to their village.
Then, he heard that there was a group of robbers lived in the forest nearby, and they often killed
and robbed the property from people. He decided to help the people to solve this issue.
Therefore, he took his beautiful wife to arrive at the forest, and walked close to the tent of the
robbers.
He burned a fire and told his wife to walk to the tent of the robbers to ask for the grilled meat
of deer that the robbers were grilling. The beautiful woman stepped toward the robber's tent,
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talking with the handsome robber who was the leader of all the robbers:” Dear handsome man.
Could you give us a piece of grilled deer meat?”
The leader of the robber looked at the young Brahmin, and he realized that the young Brahmin
was a talented man. Hence, he talked to other robbers:” Her wife is a special man. We will get
into trouble soon if we don’t satisfy him. Please give her a piece of grilled meat.”
But some robbers were arrogant, so they gave the beautiful woman fresh deer meat only. When
the beautiful wife returned to give the raw meat of deer to the young Brahmin, the young
Brahmin was angry, so he took out the arrow to shoot toward the robbers. With excellent skills
of archery, 49 robbers were killed immediately, but not the leader of robbers as the young
Brahmin had only 49 arrows. Seeing there was still alive a robber, the young Brahmin ran
forward to fight with the robber with hands and feet. Finally, he and the last robber were
holding each other on the ground. At that time, he shouted toward his wife:” Dear honey.
Please give me my knife, I have to kill him.”
The beautiful woman, at that time, was attached to the handsome robber who was fighting with
her husband. She did not want her husband to kill this robber, so she tried to give the hilt of the
knife toward the robber, while the tip of the knife was toward her husband. So, the robber
quickly took the hilt of the knife to punch into the stomach of her husband. Her husband was
seriously injured, so he lay down on the ground, whimpering terribly.
The beautiful woman, who saw her husband got injured and about to die, decided to follow the
robber. Then, they became a couple. After enjoying the family life with the beautiful woman,
the robber, one day, thought that:” This woman was helping me to kill her husband, so sooner
or later, I will be her next victim. Hence, it is better to leave her now.”
The next day, he took his lover to a large river, and told his lover:” Dear honey! There was a
crocodile under this river, so we couldn't cross the river. If you take off your jewels and put
into a piece of cloth, as it shall look like a person to attract the crocodile, I shall catch the
crocodile to save people from the danger of this crocodile.”
The beautiful woman believed in the words of the robber, putting all her jewels into the cloth
of the robber, and the robber rapidly wrapped the jewels and swam to the opposite bank of the
river. At that time, he shouted toward his lover:” Dear honey! It is time for us to separate as
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we cannot continue to live together. Thanks very much for your jewels. You already assisted
me to kill your husband, so you are not a faithful woman to be my lover forever. Please return
to your house and try to be faithful to your lover.”
The beautiful sat down to cry. At that time, the Sakka used his power to manifest a giant fish,
a giant eagle and a jackal while carrying fresh meat. The jackal was carrying fresh meat walking
in front of the beautiful woman, and when the jackal was about to eat the meat, the giant fish
jumped out of the water, dropped it on the shore of the river. The jackal threw the fresh meat
away, and rapidly ran toward the fish. When the jackal was close to the fish, the fish jumped
down to the water. During this time, a giant eagle flew down to pick the fresh meat up. The
jackal lost both the fresh meat and the fish. The beautiful woman said:” The dirty jackal was
too greedy, so it lost both the meat and the fish.”
The jackal replied quickly:
Being easy to recognize the mistakes, the fault of others

Difficult to recognize our fault
Beautiful women, due to the desire
Lost both the husband and the lover
The beautiful woman was angry to reply the jackal:

Dirty jackal, saying the scorching words
Returning my town, my house
Having new lover, new husband
Being faithful, not difficult at all
The Sakka heard the arrogant words from the evil woman, he said:
Stealing the bottle of milk

Habiting to steal the other value stuff
Assisting other man to kill her husband
Tending to behave more brutally to next husbands
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The beautiful woman was ashamed due to the verse of the Sakka, so she stood up and tried to
find the way to return to Varanasi. Sakka appeared in his form to return to his palace.
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about the Four Noble Truths, and the young monk
who lost motivation in practice achieved first entering stream level. Finally, the Buddha
identified that the husband of the evil wife was the young monk, while the evil woman was the
wife of the young monk. The Sakka was him.
Jataka 375: Story of Kapota
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the story was based on the event in which a monk
was greedy to grasp things.
When this monk was brought to meet the Buddha for a solution, at the Dharma-hall, the
Buddha, in his circumstance, said compassionately to him and other monks:” Dear my students!
Greed is one of three major harmful elements for our practice to obtain enlightenment, so you
have to try hard to get rid of the desire, as desire can lead you all to danger.”
In times gone by, the Bodhisattva was born as a pigeon which lived in a luxurious basket in the
kitchen of a millionaire of Varanasi. Then, there was a crow which was greedy to eat the foods
in the kitchen, so it made friends with the pigeon. The pigeon led the crow back to the kitchen,
and the chef of the kitchen prepared another basket for the crow to stay in.
A few days living in in the kitchen, the crow all followed the pigeon to get out in the day time
for a living and they just returned in the evening for sleeping. One day, the crow saw the fried
fishes on the dishes, it could not bear its desire on those foods, so in the morning, when the
pigeon called it for getting out for a living, it said to the pigeon:” Dear friend. Please go alone
as I am having a stomach ache.”
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After the pigeon flew out for a living, the crow still stayed in the basket silently. It waited until
the chef cooked the fish and put the fish on the dishes to be ready for the millionaire to eat, and
when the chef got out of the kitchen for a moment, the crow flew out of its basket, enjoying
eating the cooked fish on the dishes. At that time, the chef entered, and seeing the crow was
eating the food on the dishes, the chef closed the door of the kitchen and it was easy to catch
the crow. Then he was angry and took off all the feathers of the crow and threw it into the
basket.
When the pigeon returned in the evening, and seeing the crow with a bare body, the pigeon
understood the issue, but it still teased the crow:” Dear crane! That basket is the nest of my
friend the black crow, so please urgently get out as when he returns, he shall kick you out.”
The crow cried loudly:
Teasing you are, in my trouble

Encountering the danger extremely
The chef, in anger, took off all feathers
Putting ingredients on my body
The pigeon replied:
Desire generating the ignorance

As you have done, my friend
Keeping away from human foods
As it generates the dangers
Then the pigeon thought that the kitchen of the millionaire was not the suitable place for it after
the crow stole the food, so it flew up, heading for another place.
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths, and the greedy monk
achieved the one-returning fruit level. Finally, the Buddha identified that the greedy monk was
the crow, while the wise pigeon was him.
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Jataka 376: Story of Avariya
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the story was told from the attitude of the ferryman
who sailed the boat to send people to cross two banks of the river which was near to the Jetavana
temple.
One day, in the afternoon, there was a monk who wanted to cross the river to pay a visit to the
Buddha. However, the ferryman did not want to send him across the river. After insisting, the
ferryman finally agreed to sail the boat to send the monk to cross the river, but the ferryman
was unable to do his normal job. Hence, he sailed strongly to make the water spark on the body
of the monk. Finally, the monk also could get to the Jetavana river after enduring the anger of
the ferryman.
The next morning, the monk paid respect to the Buddha and told the Buddha about the attitude
of the ferryman, the Buddha, on this occasion, said that:” It is not in the present time, but also
in the past, he was rude to the wise men, and also disturbed the wise men as he did to you.”
in a Brahmin family, and after he was well-educated in Takkasila, he loved the ascetic life of
the forest monk, so he left his family for the ascetic practice. After years of ascetic practice,
one day, he decided to return to the town of Varanasi to get salts and oils. When he arrived at
the town of Varanasi, he stayed in the garden of the king, and from the high floor, looking at
the garden, the king was attracted to his special attitude and gesture, so the king invited him to
the palace for offerings.
Then the king insisted that he stay in the garden of the palace as the king wanted to learn more
from him. During the stay at the garden, the Bodhisattva often advised the king to develop four
qualification-elements of mind, diligence, patience, loving-kindness and compassion. He often
spoke the verse to advise the king:
Trying to control the hatred, dear Majesty

Father of all the citizens, should not be angry
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Not having hatred to behave with others
This is the right ruling of the great king
In the forest or among the crowd of people

On the ocean or the isolated island
Trying to get rid of the hatred
It is the best way cultivating happiness
Then, the Bodhisattva stayed in the garden of the palace for 12 years, and the king paid a visit
to him every day. One day, he realized that the king and officials already got used to his
teachings, so he decided to travel around the nation before returning to the Himalayas. He did
not inform the king, but told the garden-taker:” Please send my words to the king that I desire
to travel around the nation, and then I will return to the Himalayas. Tell the king you don't
need to send people to find me.”
Then he went to the bank of the Ganges River, asked the ferryman to give him a hand across
the river. The ferryman was a rude, ignorant and aggressive person. The ferryman did not take
money from the passengers before sending them across the river, so he often fought and argued
with the passengers when they did not give the money to him. Seeing the monk, the ferryman
asked:” Dear venerable. Will you pay me when you are sent to the opposite bank of the river?”
The monk rapidly:” Sure. I will give you some tips on how to be rich, happy and calm.”
Soon, the ferryman sent the ascetic monk to the opposite bank of the river, and the ferryman
asked for the payment:” Dear master. Could you please pay me the money for sending you to
this bank of the river?”
The monk quickly said:” Oh yes. Don’t worry. I am giving you the tip on to be richer”
So, he advised the ferryman:” Instead of asking for money after sending people to cross the
river, you can collect the money first. Carrying this tip, you don’t have to argue, or fight with
the passengers.”
The ferryman still insisted:” Dear master. That is all. Could you give me something?”
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The monk spoke the verse:
In the forest or among the crowd of people

In the ocean or on the isolate island
Getting rid of the hatred
The life is fulfilling with happiness
The ferryman was ignorant, so he did not accept the payment from the advice of the ascetic
monk, so he threw the Bodhisattva on the shore of the river, and then he kicked and punched
into the face of the Bodhisattva. At that time, the wife of the ferryman arrived, and recognized
Bodhisattva as the monk who lived in the garden of the king, his wife insisted:” Dear husband!
Please stop as this monk was the visitor of the majesty. We shall encounter trouble if the king
discovers that you kicked his visitor.”
In extreme anger, the ferryman could not control his mind, so he ran toward his wife to kick
on her stomach. The wife fell down on the ground and her pregnancy was broken. Seeing the
blood coming out from her stomach, the people took the ferryman to the palace of the king for
the judgment. At the palace, the king punished the ferryman heavily.
After telling the story, the Buddha advised the monks to be careful in giving the dharma-talks
to others as the ascetic monk gave the teachings to the king and the king gave him the profits
of a village. However, when the ascetic monk gave the teachings to the ferryman, he got
attacked. Then, the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths, and during the talk of the Buddha,
the visiting monk achieved first entering stream level. Finally, the Buddha identified that the
ferryman in the story was the guy who sent the monk across the river. The king was Ananda,
while the ascetic monk was him.
Jataka 377: Story of Setakeku
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the story was told related to the scheming attitude
of a monk in the Sangha of the Buddha.
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Brahmin family, and after well education in Takkasila, he became the renowned master in the
town, and he had 500 students. One of his students was named Setakeku, and this student was
the leader of other students. As he studied everything quicker than others, he was so arrogant.
One day, Setakeku took other students to get out for work, and on the way, they met a young
man of the lowest social class, candela class. Worried that the dirty things from the candela
man would blow to him by the winds, Setakeku tried to run far from the Candala man.
However, the Candala man tried to run following Setakeku. Setakeku was angry to insult the
Candala man with all the brutal words. The Candala man still was calm enough to ask Setakek:”
Who are you? And why were you scared of me?”
Setakeku, in extreme arrogance, said that:”I am a Brahmin, and an academic Brahmin.”
The Candala man was pleased to hear the reply from Setakeku, so he asked :” If you are the
scholar, can you give the answer to my question? If you can answer I will do everything that
you desire. However, in case you cannot give me the answer properly, you have to crawl
through my crotch.”
Setakeku was too arrogant to agree and then the Candala asked him:” Do you know what are
the four directions of human society?”
Setakeku did not think properly, so he said:” The children in my family also can answer this
question. They are East, West, North and South.”
The candela man smiled and said:” I don’t think you gave the right answer to my question. You
don’t even understand it. So, you have to crawl under my crotch.”
Then the Candala man jumped over the head of Setakeku to force him to crawl through his
crotch. Setakeku then returned to tell the Bodhisattva about the question of the Candala man.
The Bodhisattva said:” Be calm, and the candela man was a wise man. Do you know what are
the four directions in human society?”
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My sons, getting rid of the hatred
As it leads you to the ignorance
First direction should be parents
Second one is likely to be teachers
Sponsors and the supporters

Should comprehended as one direction
The last direction is the highest one
The state of without desire, without fear
Bodhisattva tried to convince his student, Setakeku, to get rid of the hatred, but Setakeku was
not satisfied. Hence, Setakeku left the Bodhisattva to go to Takkasila to study with a renowned
master. Upon his graduation, he joined the practice with 500 monks in a forest. With wisdom,
he soon became the leader of these 500 monks.
One day, Setakeku led 500 monks to the town of Varanasi, and they settled their stay at the
garden of the king. At the garden of the king, Setakeku tried to convince the monks to pretend
that they were hard-practiced monks, and wise monks. When the king visited them, the king
was pleased with their practice, so the king offered lots of food and drinks to them. At that
time, the consultant of the king realized that all the monks were trying to show their hard-
practice in suffering postures, so the consultant spoke the verse:
The wise men can be the good ones

The wise men can be the evil ones
Thousand words and phrases of Vedas are not helpful
Encountering the real situation, real difficulties
Setakeku was angry to the consultant, so he spoke the verse:
The wise men can be the good ones

The wise men can be the evil men
However, Are Vedas being useless?
How can you cultivate virtue?
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The consultant calmly said:
Vedas’ words are not totally useless

Depending on how to practice
Some people based on Vedas to achieve success
Myself just based on my right livelihood
Under the persuasion of the consultant, 500 ascetic monks of Setakeku realized that they had
not resided in the true practice, so they disrobed to work as the servants for the king.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that Setakeku was the scheming monk, while the
Candala man was Sariputta. The great master of 500 men in Varanasi was him.
Jataka 378: Story of Dirimukha

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the story was told to assist monks to comprehend
the benefits of the ordination.
In times gone by, when king Maggadha was ruling Rajagaha, Bodhisattva was born as the son
of the queen and the king, and he was named Brahmadatta. On the same day, the wife of the
celebrant of the palace gave birth to a son, and he was named Dirimukha. The prince and the
son of the celebrant grew up together. They studied, ate, drank and slept together. When they
turned 16, they were all sent to Takkasila to study with a renowned master. Upon graduation,
they decided to travel around the nation.
One day, they got to Varanasi, and they entered a temple to take a rest. At the temple, Brahmins
welcome them to have seats. Before they enter the living room of the temple, the Brahmins put
the white cloth on the chair of the Bodhisattva, but they even put the red carpet leading to a
chair to welcome his friend Dirimukha. Bodhisattva, seeing this event, thought that:” The virtue
of my friend was great, and he is likely to be the new king of this town Varanasi.”
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The next day, they left the temple and got to the garden of the palace of Varanasi. The
Bodhisattva was tired of lying down on the stone bed of the king to sleep, while Dirimukha
was sitting in meditation. At that time, the celebrant of Varanasi, with four kinds of armies,
was on the luxurious vehicle to demonstrate around the nation to find the new king as the
previous king passed away 7 days ago. Hearing the music, Dirimukha immediately realized
that the army were finding the new king for the nation, so Dirimukha thought:” When they get
here, seeing my friend, they will give him on the throne of the power, and my friend will ask
me to be his consultant. It is not the life that I expect. So, I have to leave him now.”
Then Dirimukha left the garden and joined the crowd of the people standing on the sideroad.
When the delegation went through the garden, the celebrant saw the Bodhisattva was lying on
the stone bed, with all the signs of the great king, so he decided to select the Bodhisattva to be
the new king of Varanasi. He woke up the Bodhisattva and presented his purpose. The
Bodhisattva agreed and the Bodhisattva was given the throne of the power of Varanasi.
When Bodhisattva was enjoying all the glory of the power seat, his friend Dirimukha went to
a forest. In the forest, in the afternoon, seeing the flowers from a high tree fall down to the
ground, he suddenly was aware of the impermanence, suffering and none-self. Then, in the sky,
the monk robe fell on his body, and all the power of an enlightened person appeared in him.
He used the power to fly up in the sky, heading toward the mountain of Nandamula. Time flies,
Dirimukha had stayed in the mountain of Nandamulaka for 40 years, and during this time, his
friend, the king of Varanasi was trying to find him. Knowing the concern of his friend,
Dirimukha flew up to the palace of Varanasi, staying in the garden. A soldier saw him landing
from the sky, so he wondered to ask:” Dear venerable. Are you a god, a deity or a enlightened
one?”
Dirimukha calmly smiled:” I am Dirimukha, friend of our majesty, the one that the king is
trying to find. Please inform the king to come here to meet me.”
The soldier hurriedly ran to the palace to inform the king:'' Dear majesty. Your friend
Dirimukha just landed in the garden from the sky, and he wanted to see you.”
The Bodhisattva was rapidly commended that his friend already obtained enlightenment, so he
called all his officials and his relatives together with him to pay a visit to the garden to respect
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his friend. After paying respect to Dirimukha, the king and all officials, soldiers and the
maidens of the king humbly sat down on the ground to listen to the holy words from Dirimukha.
After giving the dharmas- talk to all people, Dirimukha advised the king to leave the power for
ascetic life. He said to the king:'' Dear majesty. Desire is similar to the mud, so you have to try
hard to get rid of the desire. The best way, right now for you, is to leave your power and ordain
as a monk.``
The king spoke the verse to express his idea:
Attaching to the desire, in the deep mud

Although knowing the desire is harmful
Nevertheless, loving this life, not easy to give up
Vowing to cultivate good deeds only
Dirimukha continued to advise the king :
Ignoring the advice from the wise men

Who with great compassion to help beings
Attaching to the power, the family life
Being reborn again and again
Being suffered in the circle of rebirth

Desire is dirty in the eyes of the wise men
Mundane people are attached to it tightly
Eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind are attached
The body contains all dirty things

With bloods, mixed water and mixed foods
Six senses are attached to the external objectives
Beings have to endure the endless circle of rebirth
The Dirimukha said to the king calmly:” What I said is the truth from my enlightened wisdom,
and you need to make the decisions for your life, not me or others.”
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Then Dirimukha flew up in the sky, heading toward the mountain of Nandamulaka. The king
was respectful to all the teachings of Dirimukha, so he put his palms together to pay the last
respect to his friend. After that, the king managed all the works in the palace as well as in the
kingdom, and then he left the palace for the ascetic life of a forest monk in Himalaya. With
diligence in practice, he soon obtained the fruits of meditation practice, and was born in the
Buddha, a number of monks achieved First entering Stream level, one-returning level, none-
returning level and Arhathood. Finally, the Buddha identified that the king of Varanasi was
him.
Jataka 379: Story of Neru

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the story was related to an event in the life of a
monk.
At Buddha time, there was a young monk who stayed at Jetavana to study the meditation
methods with the Buddha, and then in one rainy retreat, this monk went to a rural village which
was near to the bordering area to find a suitable place for a three months retreat. When this
monk just arrived, the villagers loved his teachings, so they made for the monk a cottage in the
forest nearby for the practice. Also, they often paid visits to learn Dharmas from him. Short
time later, there was a monk of another lineage, who believed in the eternality of the soul,
arrived at the village, and the villagers then left the monk who was the student of the Buddha,
to follow the eternal belief monk. Not long, they also left this eternal belief monk to follow a
new arriving monk who spread the belief of no rebirth. Finally, the villagers also left this new
arriving monk, when a monk who was a student of Mahavira arrived at their village.
For three months, the monk who was a student of the Buddha was annoyed to live with these
ignorant people, as they had no capability to recognize the right and the wrong, so when they
just arrived at Jetavana, they immediately told the Buddha what he encountered.
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The Buddha, in this circumstance, said that:” In the past, even animals also could not endure
living together with the dull ones. How did you have to endure living together with them for
that long?”
golden swan, and the swan lived together with its younger brother in the mountain of Citakutta,
and they often got to the mountain of Himalayas to find for living. One day, they crossed a
special mountain which was named Neru. Neru was a golden mountain and the light from the
mountain shined all the things and animals lived nearby. So, all the birds and animals living on
the Neru had the same color of gold.
The brother of the Bodhisattva asked:” What is the name of this mountain? And why did all
the birds and animals have the same color when they stayed here , including us?”
The Bodhisattva said:” This mountain was called “ Neru”, a golden mountain, so the gold
mountain shined its lights to all the birds and the animals that lived nearby. “
The brother of the Bodhisattva said:” We are swans, the noble birds but now have the same
color as crows and other birds. Similarly, the lions and tigers are noble animals, but they now
have the same color as other animals, such as jackals or deer.”
Then the bother of the Bodhisattva spoke the verse:
At the place, the wise and the ignorant are similar

Good and evil are similar.
It is not a good place to reside
Better to leave for another place
Neru, make difficulty to recognize

Wise and the ignorant, or bad and good
Diligent and the lazy, or the clever and the dull
Staying here is not a good idea
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Then the Bodhisattva and its brother flew up in the sky, heading to its cave on the mountain of
Citakutta.
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths, and the young monk
obtained the first entering stream level. Finally, the Buddha identified that the younger swan
was Ananda, while the older swan was him.
Jataka 280: Story of Asanka

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the story was related to a young monk who was
attacked by his former wife.
When the young monk was brought to meet the Buddha for a solution, the Buddha, in this
circumstance, advised compassionately to the young monk:” Dear my beloved student.
Attachment to your former wife is harmful to your practice of enlightenment which shall lead
you to the ultimate happiness. In the past, this woman made you lose all the army in a battle
with the enemy, and finally, you had to live in suffering conditions in the Himalayas for three
years. “
Brahmin family, and after well-education in Takkasila, the Bodhisattva decided to leave the
family life for the ascetic life of a forest monk in Himalaya. With hard contemplation, the
Bodhisattva soon obtained fruits of meditation.
One day, as usual, he often went to a lotus pond to take shower, and he realized that almost all
the lotus flowers in the pond were fading. Nevertheless, there was still a giant lotus flower
which was growing bigger. To be curious, the Bodhisattva moved toward it slowly, and when
the Bodhisattva touched the lotus flower, a female baby. With the power of meditation, the
Bodhisattva knew that the baby was born from the 33rd heaven, so the Bodhisattva brought the
baby to his cottage to take care of the child, and he named the child as Asanka.
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Time flies, the lotus baby had stayed together with the ascetic monk for more than 10 years,
and one day, the Sakka paid a visit to the cottage of the Bodhisattva. Seeing the young girl, the
Sakka asked the Bodhisattva :” Dear venerable! Your daughter has already turned into
adulthood, and she cannot continue to live in your cottage. So, I will make her a crystal palace
nearby here for her to stay in, and she still can work and take care of you.``
The Bodhisattva agreed, so the Sakka used his power to make a crystal palace for the girl from
heaven. One day, some hunters got through the cottage of the Bodhisattva, and they stopped
by to drink water. During the time, when Asanka brought the foods to the Bodhisattva, the
hunters were surprised by the beauty of Asanka, so when they returned to the town of Varanasi,
they told their friends about Asanka. Quickly, the king heard about the beauty of Asanka, so
the king took soldiers and officials to pay a visit to the cottage of the Bodhisattva. Under the
assistance of the hunters, the king soon arrived at the cottage easily.
After paying respect and offering food and stuff to the Bodhisatta, the king said to the
Bodhisattva:” Dear venerable. Your daughter is now a beautiful woman, so it is better for her
to live in my palace. So, please let me take her to the palace and take good care of her.”
The Bodhisattva did not agree or deny, but said to the king:'' Dear majesty. If you can predict
the name which I put to my daughter, I will let you bring it to the palace.``
Then the king gathered all the officials and the soldiers to contemplate finding the name of
Asanka. They made tents near the palace of Asanka to live, and one year passed, but they were
not able to find out the name of Asanka. Hence, the king decided to return as most of his
soldiers died in the forest due to the wild animals and sickness. When the king was about to
leave, Asanaka opened the window from her room, saying to the king:” Dear majesty. Do you
know that on the 33rd heaven, there is a forest namely Cittalata, and there is a tree, namely
Avasati. The fruits of this tree was special as whoever drank it, they could contemplate in the
meditation calmness for 4 months. This tree just blossoms for every 1000 years, but to be able
to have the fruits from this tree, the gods and goddesses often pay a visit to the tree from 1000
years to wait for the fruits. So, you just stayed her for one year, but now intending to leave?”
The king was attractive and convinced by the words of Asanka, so the king asked some officials
to return to send more soldiers and food for him to continue to predict the name of Asanka.
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Time flies, the second year passed, but all the answers from the king were refused by the
Bodhisattva as all were wrong names. During this stay, most of his soldiers died by the attacks
of wild animals and sickness. So, the king was determined to return to his palace, and when the
king was about to leave, Asanka opened her window, saying:” Dear majesty! In the past, there
was a crane which often parked on the original source of a purified river to drink water and
the crane wished that if the place which it was parking would have enough food, it would settle
its life there. And, at that time, the Sakka defeated all the Asuras, so the Sakka was pleasant to
satisfy the wishes of others. With the power of meditation, the Sakka knew the wish of the crane,
so the Sakka used his power to make the parking place of the crane filled with various resources
of food. Dear majesty, if you keep your wish, you shall fulfill it.”
The king was convinced by the sweet words from Asanka, so the king decided to retain his stay
for one more year. During the time of this year, most of his soldiers also died due to the attacks
of wild animals and the sicknesses, so the king decided to leave the forest after being refused
by the Bodhisattva several times. When the king was about to leave, Asanka opened her
window to convince the king to remain his stay, but the king was determined to leave, so he
spoke the verse to show his idea to Asanka:
The cliché words are useless

The values things just want to keep forever
Without giving to the honest friends
The relationship will have to end
Not promising to continue to stay

As the challenge I have taken is over my ability
I have been unable to complete the task
All the wise men should be smiled of this
During the time of staying here

Losing my solders and money for living
Raising my doubts about the meaning of the stay
It is better to leave my beloved one!
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As the king mentioned the meaning of the name of Asanka, Asanka was happy to shout toward
the king:” Finally, you already mentioned my name. So please talk to my father, and I will
follow you to get to your palace.``
The king was extremely pleasant, so he showed the Bodhisattva the name of Asanka:” Dear
venerable. The name of your daughter should be Asanaka.”
The Bodhisattva smiled and let the king take her daughter to Varanasi. When they arrived at
the palace, the wedding of Asanka and the king was organized, and they lived happily together
for the rest of their lives.
Jataka 381: Story of Migalopa

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the story was related to the attitude of a young
monk who did not keep up with the Sangha disciplines.
When the monk was brought to meet the Buddha, the Buddha, based on his issue, said:” Dear
my beloved student! Do you know that disciplines are the regulations which assist you to
succeed in the Dharma practice? In the past, due to the unwell-behavior, you did not listen to
the wise men, and finally got in trouble in the horrible storm of Verambla.”
vulture, which was named Aparanna, and which lived on the top of Gijjhapabbata. With
wisdom, the Bodhisattva soon became the king of all the vultures which lived in the region.
The son of the king of vultures was named Migalopa, and it was a robust and strong vulture.
Hence, it often flew faster and higher than the other vultures. Other vultures often complained
about the arrogant attitude of Migalopa to their king.
One day, the king of vulture advised his son, Migalopa:” Dear son! It is dangerous to fly up
too high in the sky, the floating blow of winds are stronger than the lower level, so you may
encounter danger when you fly up too high.”
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Despite the advice from the father, Migalopa still was arrogant to fly up too high. One day,
Migalopa flew up too high compared to other vultures. During that time, a strong storm hit the
mainland of India, and Migalopa was blown away. However, I was lucky to be safe after falling
down a tree. Knowing the accident of Migalopa, the king of vulture said:
Birds enjoying flying in the high sky

Often getting troubles in the strong storms
When the storm hit, not able to escape
Often they have to die due to the strong storms
Denying the valuable advices from the wise men

The honest and warm advice for the safety
Encountering the black storm of Verambla
Getting in dangers, leaving wife to others
Those arrogant and ignorant to not follow the advices

From the parents and the wise men
Soon or later, shall gain the troubles
Similar to the arrogant vulture getting the Verambla
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that Migalopa was the young monk who did not
keep up the Sangha disciplines, while the king of vultures was him.
Jataka 382: Story of Siri-Kalakanni
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and this story was based on the precepts-practice of
Anathapindika and his relatives.
After Anathapindika obtained the first entering stream level, he and his family relatives were
devout in the precepts-practice. They kept well five precepts, not killing, not telling lies, not
having sexual misconduct, not drinking and not stealing.
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Their practice got concerns of people around and even the monks of the Buddha, so one day,
at a gathering for listening to the dharmas of the Buddha, the monks discussed the well-practice
of precepts of Anathapindika and his relatives. When the Buddha entered the Dharma-hall, and
knowing the issue of the talk of monks, the Buddha said that:” In the past, the wise men were
able to keep their relatives to live morally and happily with the practice of right livelihood and
precepts-practice.”
a Brahmin family, and when he grew up, he was a faithful practitioner of precepts. Not only
self-practice, he was successful in convincing all his relatives to keep the precepts well. So, he
was considered as Suciparivàra, meaning as the purification of whole family practice. One day,
the Bodhisattva thought that:” I have to prepare a special seat, a special room, and a special
bed, which use for the visitors who have more virtues than me.”
At that time, on the Catumaharajika heaven, the daughter of the king Virùpakkha, which was
named Kalakani, and the daughter of the king Dhatarattha, namely Siri, were close friends and
they all got together to a lake which was for the heaven members, namely Anotatta to take
shower. When they arrived at the lake, they encountered the difficulties that they could not take
shower together, so they had to decide who would enter to take shower first.
So they asked their father kings, Virùpakkha and Dhatarattha, to decide who would be able to
take a bath first, but their fathers could not give the decision, so they asked the Sakka for help.
Sakka also could not give a direct reply to this complicated issue, so Sakka talked to Kalakanni
and Siri:” Dear all great women! I cannot give you any judgment, but in the town of Varanasi,
there is a man named Suciparivàra. He prepared a special seat for the virtuous visitor, so if
you can sit on that seat you will be the one who can take shower first.”
In the evening, Kalakanni appeared in the blue lights, sitting on the lotus flower to get the
notice from the Bodhisattva. The Bodhisattva opened his eyes, and he was able to recognize
that the goddess was not a virtuous one. However, to be polite, he still asked:” Dear great
goddess! Where are you from?”
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Kalakanni rapidly replied:
Virùpakkha, my father
Ka-li, my name, the goddess of unvirtuous cultivation
Please giving me a room to reside
To be able to stay near you as desire
The Bodhisattva asked:” I need to know your practice of virtue before being able to give the
room to you, so please let me know about this.”
Kalakanni quickly said:”
Telling lies and attaching to the pleasant objects

Jealous, ungrateful, angry, and greedy
Evil and brutal, I have encouraged people to do
Enjoying these things, they soon reward bad luck
Those who behave ignorantly

Those are arrogant from the wise men
Those who are aggressively behaving
All are my friends, my servants
Ka-li, the goddess of evil things

Inviting you to come to other towns
This place is not for you
As it is boring to your behavior
Then Kalakanni rapidly disappeared with anger. Hence, Siri appeared, with the yellow lights
covering her body, sitting on the lotus flower. The Bodhisattva was pleasant to see Siri, but the
Bodhisattva still was careful to ask:” Dear the goddess. Could you please let me know where
you are from?”
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Siri rapidly answered:
Dasharatha, my father king

Virtue, wisdom and compassion
The certain place for the happiness
All the virtuous ones are my visitors
Good and bad, rich and poor, basing on the karmic acts
Not able to generate virtues to others
Cultivating with all moral and virtuous acts
Residing peace, wealth and happiness in this life
Bodhisattva was pleased to invite Siri to stay in his special room. Siri stayed in that room and
sat on the special seat, and in the early morning, he returned to heaven, and got to the lake of
Anotatta to take shower.
After telling the story, the Buddha recognized that Siri was Uppalavannà, and the virtuous
Brahmin was him.
Jataka 383: Story of Kukkuta

The Buddh told this story at Jetavana, and the story was based on the loss of motivation in
practice of a young monk after seeing a beautiful girl from a morning alms-round.
When this monk met the Buddha to ask for disrobing, the Buddha advised him:” Dear my
beloved student! You should contemplate that the woman is like a cat, and they tend to catch
and play with the victim before harming them. So, you have to be careful and be mindful to get
rid of the desire.”
rooster which was the leader of hundreds of other chickens which lived together on a giant tree.
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Not far from the living tree of the rooster and other chickens, there was a cat, and this cat was
extremely scheming. So, it often deceived the chickens to get into its control before eating
them. Gradually, most of the chickens were killed by the cat, but the chicken could not catch
and kill the Bodhisattva. So, the cat planned:” I have deceived and have eaten a big number of
the chickens, but not their leader. I have to deceive him that I love him, and then when he is
drunk, I will be able to catch and eat him.”
Then the cat deceived the Bodhisattva:
The robust bird with potting—stars

High comb falling down beautifully
Falling in love with you, I am
Getting down and we live together
The Bodhisattva calmly said:
Beautiful and elegant girl

We are not the same kind of animals
Finding a handsome male cat
Being able to be your beloved husband
The cat was frustrated as the it could not deceive the Bodhisattva easily, so the cat continued
to say the attached words to the Bodhisattva:
Vowing to devote all my youth to you

With all the elegant and faithful words
Being your wife or your servant
Depending your treat to me
The Bodhisattva tried to reveal the evil behavior of the cat, so the Bodhisattva said:
Cat, have drunk the bloods and eaten my chickens

Killing with brutal and evil way
Being the faithful wife is the cheating
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Wanting to eat me as eaten my chickens
The cat understood that the Bodhisattva had put caution to it, so it could not deceive the
Bodhisattva to eat. Finally, it had to move to another place for a living.
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about the Four Noble Truths, and during this talk, the
attached monk obtained the first entering stream level. Finally, the Buddha recognized that the
leader of the chickens was him.
Jataka 384: Dhammadhaja
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the story was based on the attitude of a monk of
the Sangha. This monk likely deceived others for his benefits.
When the monks gathered at the dharma-hall, talking about the attitude of this monk, after he
had deceived others many times, the Buddha, in this circumstance, said that:” In the past, he
was likely to deceive others.”
a bird, and this bird soon became the leader of the birds- community on an isolated island. The
lives of the birds were happy and peaceful as all the birds had never known as the scheming
cheats until a crow arrived at the island from a sunken boat of the businessmen.
When the crow arrived at the island, the crow was happy as it thought that it could deceive the
innocent birds to eat their eggs and their children. So, the crow flew up on the high top of a
hill, standing on one foot, heading toward the sun, opening its mouth.
Some birds were curious, so they flew close to the crow, asking:” Dear venerable! Are you
practicing dharma?”
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The crow nodded its head constantly:” Yes! Yes. You can see. I am standing on one leg.”
A bird wondered:” Why do you have to stand on one leg? What is the benefit of this training?”
Another bird wandered:” Why do you have to open up your mouth?”
The crow continued to lie:” Oh dear. I tell you the truth that I don’t eat anything but the wind.
So, I often open my mouth to eat the wind.”
The crow, as a tendency, told lies:” If I stand on two legs, this earth cannot endure my weight,
so to avoid harming others, I stand on one leg.”
The crow then said to the birds:” Come on! I will teach the dharmas to you all. Please cultivate
good deeds as good deeds are the seeds of peace and happiness. Please be diligent to practice
for this life and the coming life.”
Most of the birds believed in the utterances of the crow, so they gave their eggs and their
children to the crow to protect:” Dear venerable. Please help us to protect these eggs and our
children.”
Then when the birds flew away to live, the crow appeared in its evil attitudes, eating some eggs
and some baby birds. Then, in the late afternoon, when the birds were returning, the crow
pretended to stand on only one leg again. Some birds recognized their eggs and their children
disappeared, so they asked each other to find out the causes:” Why my eggs and my children
disappeared. Only the saint-crow stayed here. But we cannot be bothered to ask him.
The Bodhisattva, in this circumstance, doubted the crow:” Before the crow came here, there
was no such strange issue. So, the crow is pretending to eat our eggs and our new-born
citizens.”
Then the next day, the Bodhisattva also pretended to fly away to live as other birds, and for a
while, the Bodhisattva flew back to park on a luxuriant branch of tree and tried to hide himself.
Then the Bodhisattva monitored the crow. Seeing the crow ate some eggs and some new-born
birds, then the crow pretended again in a one-leg-standing posture.
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The Bodhisattva waited for its birds to return, and then they gathered in a far distance for an
urgent meeting. The Bodhisattva let other birds know the deceived actions of the crow. Then,
they planned to catch the crow. After putting the plan, the Bodhisattva divided the birds into
some groups, and these birds would attack the crow after the Bodhisattva first attacked the
crow. The crow could not endure the attacks of the crowds of birds, it used all its force to fly
up to the sky, heading toward the sea. As it was getting injured and the sea was large, the crow
was too exhausted to fall down to the deep sea.
After telling the story, the Buddha identified that the crow was the deceived monk, whereas
the king of the birds was him
Jataka 385: Story of Nandiyamiga
monk who still took good care of his parents after his ordination.
The monk, then, was brought to meet the Buddha, and the Buddha, in his case, said that:” Dear
my beloved student! It is great that you still could take good care of your parents. Faithful act
to the parents is the most virtuous act. In the past, even animals were extremely faithful to their
parents.”
In times gone by, when king Kosala was ruling Saketa, the Bodhisattva was born as a deer, and
this deer had practiced keeping precepts and virtuous actions since he turned into adulthood.
Then, he was called Nandiyamiga, or the virtuous deer, due to his virtuous act, including taking
good care of his parents.
During that time, the king Kosala loved hunting, so he took his soldiers for hunting daily, and
the hunting activities of the king disturbed the daily activities of the farmers who lived in the
region near the hunting forest of the king. During the hunting time of the king, all the farmers
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had to leave their farms and gradually they became poor as they were not able to plant rice or
wheat.
One day, the farmers in the region decided to prepare a special hunting place for the king, so
they would be able to return to their daily activities. Hence, they made fences around the forest
of Anjanavana, and then they made a lake and a well. Around the lake, they planted lots of
grass. Then they drove the deer, buffaloes, cows and some other kinds of animals into this
forest. Then, they told the king to just hunt in this region.
One day, when the farmers entered the forest to drive the deer to the forest of Anjanavana,
Nadiya and his parents were hiding under a luxuriant tree, and Nandiya said to
his parents:” Dear dad and mom. They are trying to drive us to the region for the king to hunt,
if we get there, we shall die soon or later. So, I will run out when the farmers arrive here to
save two of you. Please take good care of yourselves.”
When the farmers walked close to the luxuriant tree, Nadiya ran out, and the farmers chased
Nadiya to the forest of Anjanavana. Arriving at Anjanavana, Nandiya enjoyed eating grass and
drinking water in the lake, waiting for death. One day, the parents of Nadiya missed him, so
when they saw a Brahmin, they asked him in a human voice:” Dear Brahmin. Who are you?
Where are you from? And Where are you getting to?”
The Brahmin was surprised by the deer which could speak the human voice, but he tried to
keep calm to reply:” I am Saketa, and I am from the capital. I am crossing the forest of
Anjanavana.”
The parents of Nadiya:” Could you please inform my son, namely Nandiya. If you get to the
forest of Anjanavana?”
The Brahmin agreed and when he got to the forest of the palace, he found Nadiya and informed
Nadiya the message of his parents. Nadiya calmly said to Saketa:” Dear Sir. Thanks for this
information. I can jump out of the fence to return to live with my parents. However, as the king
of all the deer, I cannot close my eyes to see my deer gradually being killed by the brutal play
of the king. I will bring benefits to the king and my deer before leaving here.”
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The next day, Nandiya was selected to be the object for the hunting of the king. Nandiya also
pretended to run around with extreme fear, but tried to show his body to the king to shoot.
During this time, the mind of Nandiya also contemplated compassion to the king, his deer and
his parents. The compassion from Nandiya made the king stop shooting toward him. The king
threw the bow and the arrows down. At that time, Nandiya walked close to the king, asking:”
Why didn't you shoot me?”
The king said to Nandiya:” I can recognize the compassion from you, the deer. So, I cannot
shoot you. I will release you, your deer, and I will stop this brutal play forever.”
Nandiya was pleasant, so he taught the benefits from virtuous practice to the king:” Dear
majesty! You will be a great king if you can apply ten virtuous dharmas into your rules. “
Then Nandiya spoke the verse:
Offering, precepts, generosity and honesty

Being humble, self-controlled, calm and tolerant
Being patient and respective to others
These are ten virtuous elements for the merit-cultivation
Cultivating these elements

I have been residing in the peace and happiness
With calmness of the mind
Compassion to the others
Then the king let soldiers to release all the birds and animals from the forest of the palace. The
king also ordered soldiers to go around the nation to inform people about the development of
compassion to all the kings of birds and animals. Then the king ruled the nation with ten
virtuous elements.
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths, and the pious monk
obtained first entering stream level. Finally, the Buddha identified that the Brahmin Saketa was
Sariputta and the king was Ananda, while the king of deer was him.
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Jataka 386: Story of Kharaputta
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and this story was based on an event in the life of a
young monk. This young monk already got married with a beautiful and elegant woman before
leaving for monk life. During the time, the monk stayed at Jetavana, his former wife often paid
visit to him, and gradually, he was attached again to his wife and tended to leave the Sangha.
When he was brought to meet the Buddha for a solution, the Buddha advised him that:” Dear
my beloved student! Be on your way and don’t let that woman disturb your practice. In the
past, due to this woman, you were about to die when they jumped into a tremendous fire. Some
wise men saved your life.”
In times gone by, when king Senaka was ruling Varanasi, Bodhisattva was born as the king of
gods and goddesses, Sakka.
At that time, the king of snakes, namely Naga often went to the human society to find food,
and one day, when he got to the garden of the king to find a living, he was caught by a crowd
of youths. When the crowd of youths were about to kill the snake, the king Senaka arrived at
the garden, and the king asked the youths to release the Naga.
To return to the saving from the king Senaka, in the night time, the king Naga returned its
palace to bring lots of jewels to give to the king Senaka, saying:” I am a snake deity, and I was
saved in the garden by you today. This is my return for your saving.”
Then the king Senaka and the king Naga became close friends. One day, the king Naga gave
one of his maidens to serve the king Senaka, and a mantra to call the maiden whenever the king
needed. This maiden was a sexual-enjoyer, so one day, when the king Senaka took her to the
garden, at the pond, for a picnic, the maiden saw a water snake. Hence, the sexual desire arose
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inside the mind of the Naga maiden, so she appeared into the form of a snake to enjoy sex with
the water snake. The king Senaka did not see her, so he used the mantra to call her. When the
king was reading the mantra, the Naga maiden appeared beside the water snake. The king was
angry, so he used a bamboo stick to hit on the body of the Naga maiden.
The Naga maiden got angry, so she immediately returned to the kingdom of Naga and told a
lie that the king Senaka had brutally punished her without cause. The king Naga got angry and
sent four strong snake youths who had extreme poisons to kill the king Senaka. When these
boys arrived at the room of the king, they heard the conversation of the king and his queen, and
they knew the real reason for the punishment of the king Senaka to the Naga maiden. Hence,
they rushed to return to inform the king of Naga. The king Naga felt guilty as he was about to
kill his close friend without proper investigation. So, the nest day, he paid a visit to the king
Senaka and gave him a mantra which assisted the king to understand all the animals and insects’
languages, but the Naga was careful to remind the king Senaka that:” If you reveal this mantra
to other people, you will be burn out by the fire. Be careful.”
The next day, when the king sat to have tea with his queen, he smiled many times after hearing
the conversations of insects and animals nearby. During the strange behavior of the king, the
queen was curious but she did not ask the king until they all were on the bed. At that time, after
enjoying their desire with each other, the queen asked the king about the reason for his smiles.
The king was honest to talk about the secret and miracle of the mantra.
Then the queen asked:” Dear majesty! Could you please give me this mantra?”
The king Senaka quickly answered:” No. I could not ask when I give this mantra to you, I will
be burned out by the fire.”
The queen was super-curious about the mantra, so she insisted the king give her the mantra.
The king Senaka could not defeat the nice voice of his queen, so he tended to give the mantra
to her at the garden the next day. During this time, due to the compassion of the king Senaka,
when he was in danger, the Sakka knew about his danger, so the Sakka appeared as a goat
wandering in the garden of the king. When the king Senaka got close to the pond where he was
promised to teach the Mantra to his queen, the Sakka, in the form of a goat, said to a donkey
which was eating grass nearby:” Dear silly donkey. The humans often tighten you into trees,
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stakes or pillars. Now, you are free but enjoying the grass. You are more ignorant than the
king Senaka.”
The donkey wondered:” Hey goat! In some aspects, I agree that I am too silly and ignorant.
But, the king Senaka was a wise man, so why did you say he is ignorant?”
The goat tried to speak loudly to make the king hear from far away:” The king Senaka was
about to be burned out by the fire after he gave the mantra to his queen. Wait for that moment
here.``
The king Senaka understood the conversation of the goat and the donkey, so the king asked the
goat:” Hey. Why did you know that I am going to die by fire, and how can I solve this issue?”
The goat advised the king:” Dear majesty! You have to benefit your people, and even the insects
and animals in this nation. Right now, if you sacrifice your life for just the happiness of only
the queen. This sacrifice is too silly. Be careful when thinking about this nation. “
The king Senaka was surprised by the wisdom of the goat, so he asked:” Dear goat. Where are
you from?”
The Sakka at that time appeared in the form of the Sakka, saying:” I am Sakka, and I just want
to save your life for the benefit of others.”
The king Senaka asked:” Dear Sakka! What should I do when my queen asks me for the
mantra?”
Sakka answered:” Just punish her brutally before giving the mantra. So, she will not ask for
the mantra again.”
Then the Sakka returned to his palace. At that time, the queen arrived and asked for the mantra.
But the king asked the queen to endure being hit 100 times with bamboo sticks. Otherwise, she
could never hear of the mantra. The queen agreed but finally she withdrew as she could not
endure the punishment. From that time, the queen had never asked for the mantra.
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Buddha, the young monk who was attached to his former wife obtained first entering stream
level. Finally, the Buddha identified that the king Senaka was the young monk and the queen
was his former wife, while the Sakka was him.
Jataka 387: Story of Suci
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the story is about the great benefits of the wisdom
of the Buddha.
Upon the raising of monks to the wisdom of the Buddha, the Buddha slowly said to monks at
the Dharma-hall of Jetavana:” Dear my beloved students! It is not in the present, but also in the
past, I obtained this great wisdom to benefit others.``
in a blacksmith family, and when he grew up, he was excellent in the blacksmith career. And
soon, he was well-known in his village. Not far from his village, there was a village of 1000
families and all the families of the village were excellent in blacksmith works. With varied and
diverse products, they were successful in exporting their products to around the nation.
The village chief of the village was the most excellent in making blacksmith products, and he
had a beautiful daughter which was compared as the goddess descended. The beauty of the
daughter of this village chief was spread around the region by the buyers who got to the house
of the village chief to buy products. The Bodhisattva heard of the beauty of the daughter of the
village chief, so he decided to find the way to get the beautiful girl as his wife.
So, with special skills in making blacksmiths, he made a very tiny needle, which was covered
by 7 layers of coverage, and these coverages also looked like the needle. The Bodhisattva was
careful to put the tiny needle into a bamboo hub, and got to the village of the beautiful girl. He
tried to locate the house of the village chief, shouting:” Needle. Special needle. Who wants to
buy this special needle?”
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At that time, the village chief was sitting on a long wood chair after eating, and his daughter
was blowing the fire to prepare the red charcoal for her father to make the blacksmith products.
Hearing the selling voice of Bodhisattva, the beautiful daughter of the village chief raised up
her compassion, so she walked out and stood at her garden gate to wait for the Bodhisattva to
cross. When Bodhisattva was crossing her house, she said compassionately:” Dear young man.
Don’t be silly. All the families in this village are excellent in making steel products, and we
have sold out products to around the nation. You shall not be able to sell your needle here. If
you are wise, get to the other village to sell your needles.”
Bodhisattva was calm to say:” As you don’t know about the specialty of my needles, you said
these hollow words. If your father knows of my skills, he might even give you a chance to
marry me.”
The village chief heard the conversation between the Bodhisattva and his daughter, and he was
curious about the needles of the Bodhisattva, so he called the Bodhisattva to show the needle
to him. The Bodhisattva refused until most of the villagers gathered to see his products. Then
the village chief called most of the villagers to come to see the special needle of the
Bodhisattva. In front of the crowd of excellent blacksmiths, Bodhisattva took out from the
bamboo-hub a tiny needle, and in front of the crowd, he gradually took off the layers of
coverages of the needle. All the watchers were extremely surprised as they could not make
those tiny coverages. However, the villagers had not respected the skills of the Bodhisattva, so
they asked him:” What is special about this tiny needle?”
Bodhisattva asked the village chief to give him a thick piece of steel, and he used the tiny
needle to penetrate the thick piece of steel as he penetrated a piece of tofu. At that time, the
village chief and all the villagers were respective to the great skills of the Bodhisattva, so the
village chief decided to give her daughter to get married with the Bodhisattva. Time flies, after
the village chief passed away, Bodhisattva became the next village chief of the blacksmith
village.
After telling the story, the Buddha taught about Four Noble Truths to monks, and then he
identified that the beautiful daughter of the village chief was the princes Yasodara, and the
great skills blacksmith was him.
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Jataka 388: Story of Tundila
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the story was based on the fear of death of a young
monk. This young monk was born in Savatthi, and due to the fear of death, he was ordained as
monk in the Sangha of the Buddha. However, after the ordination, he still was scared of death
all the time. When he heard the loud noises, sudden sounds and even the sounds of the winds,
he was all scared of death.
His issue was soon spread around Jetavana, and the monk gathered at the Dharma-hall, talking
about his trouble. When the Buddha entered the Dharma-hall and after knowing the issue of
the young monk, the Buddha calmly said that:” It is not in the present time, but also in the past,
he was extremely scared of death.”
boar which lived in a forest in the rural area of Varanasi. Bodhisattva had one brother who was
also born at the same time. One day, the motherboard led two of her children out to find food,
and after eating, they went to the luxuriant tree near to the path that the villagers often crossed
through. At the time, at the time, three boars were taking rest, a elderly woman slowly walked
through the path near to their resting place. As the elderly were old, she used a stick to assist
her walks. The sounds of the stick from the elderly made the motherboard extremely scared,
so she left two of her children to run away.
The elderly saw two baby boars, so she took them back to feed them. The elderly woman took
good care of two boars as she did for her own children, and they were named as Mahatundila
and Cullatundila. Time flies, two baby boars turned into adults, and they looked fat. Sometimes,
some villagers stopped by the house of the elderly in order to buy two boars, but the elderly
always refused and said to the villagers:” I always consider them my sons, so I cannot sell my
sons for others to eat them.”
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During one festival, most of the villagers enjoyed eating and drinking, and after a few days,
they ran out of food. So, they went to the house of the elderly woman to ask about buying the
boars. Firstly, the elderly determined to refuse the villagers. Then the villagers gave the elderly
some glasses of wine, and after drinking the wine, the elderly woman was not mindful of her
decision so she agreed to sell the Cullatundila to the villagers.
While the villagers prepared the ropes and trap to catch the boar, the elderly tried to call
Cullatundila to get out from the luxuriant tree. Cullatundila rapidly ran out of the luxuriant tree
to meet its mother, the elderly woman, but it quickly ran back to meet Mahatundila after seeing
the crowd of people with traps and ropes in their hands. Cullatundila was scared to tell its
brother:” Dear brother. Today, I shall be killed for making food for the villagers as I saw they
are waiting for me in front of the gate.”
Seeing Cullatundila was extremely scared, Mahatundila raised up his compassion to advise
Cullatundila:” Dear brother. Don’t he threaten death as we have been fed for making foods for
humans. “
Then Mahatundila continued to say the verse:
Jumping into the purified pond of water

Washing out all the dirty sweats
Perfume trying to put more on the body
Seeing the miracle happening
With great compassion to its brother, the verse of Mahatundila was spread around the nation,
and even reached the palace of the king. At that moment, the king called his officials together
with soldiers to get to the rural village to detect the owner of the verse. Some villagers also
gathered at the house of the elderly woman, and the loud noise made the buyers of the boars
and the elderly wake up from the drunkenness.
At that time, Cullatundila did not understand the advice of its brother, so it asked its brother:”
Dear brother! I don’t understand why I have to jump into the purified water to clean up the
dirty sweat to get peace and safety. Could you kindly explain these figures to me?”
Mahatundila slowly said:
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True dharma is the purified water
Dirty sweats are the desire, evil acts and ignorance
Perfumes are the virtuous acts, which arise from precepts and good acts
Virtue from the cultivating of good deeds will remain forever
Everything is impermanent
Death is the truly nature of the universe
Everyone has to experience the death
Being calm and mindful to prepare for the death
Hearing the miracle teachings from Mahatundila, the crowd of villagers were happy, so they
put them on special chairs to demonstrate around the village, and when the king and the
officials got to the village, they took two boars to the palace. At the palace, Mahatundila talked
about the virtue of keeping precepts and virtuous acts to the king and officials. Then, after a
long time staying in the palace, Mahatundila took his brother Cullatundila to the forest.
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths to the monks, and the monk
who was scared of death obtained first entering stream level. Finally, the Buddha identified
that Cullatundila was the monk who was scared of death, while Mahatundila was him.
Jataka 389: Story of Savannakakkata

The Buddha told this story at Bamboo-Grove, and this story was based on the event in which
venerable Ananda put him into danger to save the Buddha from the aggressive elephant, namely
Dhanapala.
When the monks gathered at the dharma-hall, talking about this issue, the Buddha, in this
circumstance, said:” Dear monks. It is not in the present time, but also in the past, Ananda was
willing to put himself into danger to save me.”
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In times gone by, there was a Brahmin village which was named Salindiya which was located
in the East of Rajagaha. Bodhisattva was born in this village, and as his parents were famers,
when he grew up, he became an excellent farmer. With excellent skills and knowledge, the
Bodhisattva soon possessed a large area of farm which was about 8000 hectares.
One day, as usual, after eating, the Bodhisattva went to the pond located inside his territory to
take water for drinking as the water in this pond was purified. At that time, he saw a golden
crab, so he put the golden crab into his pocket and returned to his farm work. In the afternoon
before returning home, he went to the pond to put the golden crab back. Then, it became his
habit, and gradually, the golden crab became his close friend.
One day, a couple of crows arrived at his territory, and seeing the eyes of the Brahmin were
beautiful, so the wife crow insisted her husband take the eyes of the Brahmin for her to eat. She
said to her husband:” Dear honey! I wish I could eat the eyes of that Brahmin.”
The husband crow was scared to reply:” No. It is the desire which can lead us to death. Stop
it. Please.”
The wife crow insisted:” Inside the big tree over there, there is a giant poisonous snake, and
if you serve it for a few days, it shall help us to kill the Brahmin. After the Brahmin dies, I can
eat his eyes.”
Then the male crow asked the poisonous snake to be its servant. Time flies, the golden crab
turned bigger, and at that time, the poisonous snake asked the crow:” Hey crow! You have been
serving me well. So, what could I do for you?”
The male crow was happy to say:” Dear sir! My wife desires to be able to eat the eyes of the
farmer in this territory, so if you can kill him with your poison, we shall carry out this dream.”
The poisonous snake promised to the crow, and the snake hid under the grass which the
Bodhisattva often got to work. When the bodhisattva walked close to the grasses, the snake
jumped out rapidly and bit on the hand of the Bodhisattva. The Bodhisattva quickly fell down
on the ground. At that time, the golden crab went out of the pocket, and seeing the male crow
was flying down to attack the eyes of the Bodhisattva, the golden crab used one of its pincers
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to hold the neck of the crow. At that time, the poisonous snake, seeing the crow was in danger,
moved quickly to attack the crab. However, the crab used the rest of the pincer to hold the neck
of the snake.
The snake in the danger insisted to the crab:” Dear Crab. You are the kind of animal which
cannot eat snakes or crows, so please release us.”
The crab said:” I will loosen you up a little bit, but you have to withdraw your poison from this
Brahmin, otherwise, you will die soon.”
The snake agreed and the golden crab loosened up its pincer to the snake, and the snake tried
to withdraw all the poisons from the body of the Brahmin. Then, the golden crab released the
snake and the male crow. The snake and the crow were extremely happy, so they rapidly moved
away from the golden crab. For a moment, the Brahmin awakened, and he continued his farm
work. The couple of the crows flew to another region to live.
Then the Buddha spoke the verse to identify:
Black poisonous snake, the Maya

Black crow, the evil Devadatta
Assisting crab was Ananda
Farmer of the territory, was me
After reading the verse, the Buddha continued to talk about Four Noble Truths, and a number
of monks achieved first entering stream level, one-returning level, none-returning level and
Arhathood.
Jataka 390: Story of Mayhaka

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the story was related to a millionaire who lived in
Savatthi.
This millionaire was a selfish person. Although he was extremely rich, he did not prefer to
spend money buying expensive clothes or luxurious foods. He enjoyed the simple foods and
tried on the cheap clothes. He did not have a wife and children, so when he passed away, his
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fortune was given to the palace. The soldiers had to use many vehicles to transfer his fortune
to the palace of king Kosala days.
The king Kosal was curious about this millionaire, so soon, the king paid a visit to the Buddha.
After telling the Buddha about the special issue of the millionaire and his richness, king Kosala
wondered:” Dear master. Why didn’t he enjoy the luxurious life when he was super rich?”
The Buddha calmly said: “Everything is due to karma. His present behavior was due to his
karmic acts in the past.”
In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, there was a rich businessman
who had never donated his money to the charities or people in poverty. This businessman was
extremely selfish. One day, on the way out of the palace after having an appointment with the
king, he saw a PaceekaBuddha, who was named Tathagasithi. When he saw the
PaccekaBuddha, he raised up his generosity, so he asked the PaccekaBuddha:” Dear venerable.
Did you get food from someone?”
The PaccekaBuddha calmly replied:” No. I haven’t.”

The businessman invited PaccekaBuddha:” Dear venerable. Please get to my house and I am
happy to offer food to you today.”
Then he asked a servant to take the PaccekaBuddha to his house for the offering. When the
PaccekaBuddha arrived at the house of the businessman, the wife of the businessman gave the
PaccekaBuddha to sit on the special chair and then offered him a bowl of rice with special
foods. After the offering, the Paccekabuddha took his bowl to leave the house of the
businessman. At the time, the Paccekabuddha was out of the gate of the businessman’ house,
the businessman had just arrived at the gate. Then, he asked the Paccekabuddha:” Dear
venerable. Did you get the food from my relatives or my servants?”
The Paccekabuddha replied:” I wish you all the best luck for this offering. I got the food.”
The businessman looked at the special foods inside the bowl of the Paccekabuddha, his
selfishness arose, so he thought:” If one of my servants eats this portion of food, he can do lots
of work for me.”
The selfishness arose to make the businessman feel annoyed for his offering. So, he offered a
Paccekabuddha with a stained mind. Then the Buddha spoke the verse to illustrate his idea:
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Offering with the pleasant mind
Receivers and the givers all are happy
With pleasant mind in giving others
The fruits of the donation would be great
Then the king Kosala wondered:” Dear master. So why didn’t he have any children or wife?”
Then the Buddha told the second story:

In times gone by, when king Brahmadatta was reigning Varanasi, Bodhisattva was born in a
business family, and his parents were super-rich. The total fortune of his family was about 800
million golden coins. After he got married and had a son, his parents soon passed away, and he
and his younger brother had to take good care of the business. After times of working, the
Bodhisattva enjoyed the offerings, so he gave all the business works to his younger brother to
be able to devote his time for the offering acts.
Bodhisattva built an offering hall in front of his house to donate daily to the people in need and
in poverty. When his son turned 5, he realized that family life was not his interest anymore, so
he gave his wife and his son to his younger brother to take care of. Then, he left the family for
the ascetic life of the forest monk. With diligence in practice, he soon obtained the fruits of
meditation, power, compassion and wisdom.
During this time, his son was gradually growing up, and his younger brother thought it was
dangerous to his fortune, so one time, his younger brother took his son to the river to take
shower, and at the river, his younger brother killed his son. When his younger brother returned,
he told a lie that the child was floating away by the river.
Bodhisattva comprehended the issue of his younger brother, so he solved the issue, he flew up
on the sky, heading toward his house in the town of Varanasi. Then, landing at the front yard,
seeing him, all the servants, his wife and his younger brother ran out to welcome him. At that
time, he asked his son:” Dear brother. Where is my son?”
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His younger brother still was calm and replied:” Dear brother. He and I went to the river to
take shower, but later on I could not find it. It was likely that your son died due to the floating
of the river.”
The bodhisattva slowly said to his younger brother:” Don’t tell lies, as I already knew this
issue. You worried about sharing the fortune to my son, so you killed him. You like the Mayha
bird which is brutal and evil, which can even kill the relatives to possess the food.”
Having a bird, called Mayha

Living in a forest near Himalayas
Ripen fruits from the trees all want to possess
Shouting: These are mine
A flock of other bird stop by

Enjoying eating the ripen fruits
Despite the shouts of the Mayha
The Mahya still shouts daily
The richness, don’t share the richness

To relatives or others
Not even enjoy the richness
Similar to the Mayha bird
Hearing the utterance of the Bodhisattva, his younger brother was scared, so he insisted the
Bodhisattva to forgive his fault. The Bodhisattva, with compassion, forgave his brother and
advised him to continue the offering. Then, he flew up in the sky, heading toward the
Himalayas.
After telling the story, the Buddha said:” Due to the killing of the son of his brother, he did not
have a wife and any children. Due to the selfishness in the offering, even he was rich but could
not enjoy the richness.”
Then the Buddha identified that the ascetic monk was him, while the younger brother of the
ascetic monk was the strange millionaire.
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Jataka 391: Story of Dhajavihetha
The Buddha told this story Jetavana, and the story was told to encourage the ordination of the
monks for the benefits of others.
On one occasion, when monks discussed the benefits of ordination, the Buddha said to the
monks that:” It is not in the present time, but also in the past, I left the family life to live as an
ascetic monk for the benefits of others.”
king of gods and goddesses, the Sakka.
At that time, there was trouble happening to the queen during the night time. At that time, in
the night time, a monk used black magic to enter the room of the queen and raped the queen
many times. The soldiers could catch this criminal as he used his supreme power to escape
easily. At first, the queen tried to hide other his terrible thing, but then she told the king that
she often was raped by a man in the night time. The king said to the queen:” So could you mark
on his back and we shall be able to catch him.”
Then, in the night time, when the man entered to rape the queen, the queen used the red ink to
mark on his back, and the queen soon informed the king about the signal that she put on the
back of he criminal. Then, the king ordered the soldiers to go around to seek the man who had
a red hand fingerprint on the back. The soldiers saw an ascetic monk who was staying in a
cemetery who had a red fingerprint on the back, so the soldiers tried to cover the monk.
However, he used the magic to disappear in the thin air.
When the soldiers were frustrated to inform the king about the magic of the monk, the king
was angry at the attitude of the monk. He said:” In the daytime, they pretend to practice hard,
but they learned the black magic. In the night time, they go around to rape women and commit
the other crimes. So, from now on, expel all the monks out of this nation.”
805 | P a g e
Then the soldiers followed the instruction of the king, they went around to chase and catch the
monks. Whoever wore the robes like the acetic monks were also caught put into prison or were
expelled out of the nation immediately. Later, the people of the nation could not find the monks
when they wanted to do the merits. Also, the nation lacked the monks who advised them to do
good deeds, so the crimes increased gradually in the town of Varanasi.
At that time, the king of Sakka realized that for a long time, there was no new god or goddesses
born in heaven, so the Sakka used his power to detect the cause. After knowing the cause of
the issue, the Sakka thought:” Nobody, but me, has to assist the king of Varanasi to get rid of
his wrong thought of monks.”
So the Sakka paid a visit to the Paccekabuddha who lived at the mountain of Nandamula, and
after the conversation, the Sakka asked for the help from a Paccekabuddha to change the
attitude of the king to the monks. Then the Sakka appeared as a young monk who followed the
Paccekabuddha. They walked slowly toward the palace of the king, some soldiers saw the
Sakka and the Paccekabuddha, so they informed the king. The king from the high floor was
attracted to the virtuous gesture of the Sakka and the Paccekabuddha, so the king asked the
Sakka:” Dear young venerable. You look special with great virtue, so why do you have to serve
this old monk?”
Sakka calmly said:” I cannot tell you directly about the virtue of my master, but I will let you
know my name.”
Then the Sakka spoke his name:
The gods will never say the name
The masters who cultivated with great virtue
Revealing my name to all you
Sakka, the king of gods, I am
The king was surprised to continue to ask:
Humans and gods all pay respects

Which virtue you have cultivated
Sakka, sharing to me the method
How to cultivate the virtue as you have done
806 | P a g e
The Sakka replied quickly:
Paying respects to the virtuous masters

Having the special gesture, standing and sitting
Having the fame in this life
Being born on the heaven the next life
The king was pleased to raise his faithfulness to the virtuous masters, so he said to the Sakka:”
Thanks very much sir for helping me to get rid of the wrong attitude about the monks. From
now on, I will try to pay respect to all great masters.”
The Sakka then said to the king:
Great faithfulness to the great masters

Heading toward the cultivation of virtue
Sakka walking together with the great master
In front of your face, not the fake ones
The king understood the advice of the Sakka, so the king hurriedly ran down to the yard to pay
respect to the Pacekabuddha, and at that time, the Paccekabuddha used his power to sit in the
lotus posture in the thin air, teaching the king:” The black magic men are not the real monks
who sacrificed their lives for the benefits of others. There are still great masters who are truly
practiced for the benefits of themselves and others. So, please be well recognized by the good
and fake monks. Be diligent in offering and keeping precepts.”
Then the Sakka also used his power to stand in the thin air, teaching the cultivation of virtues
to the king and others. Then, they all used their supreme powers to return to their places. The
next day, the king ordered the soldiers to go around to inform that the king would allow the
monks to re-enter the nation.
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths, and then the Buddha
identified that the Paccekabuddha obtained Nirvana and the king was Ananda, while the Sakka
was him.
807 | P a g e
Jataka 392: Story of Bhisapuppha
The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and this story was related to an event of a monk who
lived in a forest.
This young monk was ordained as a monk at Jetavana, but he soon moved to live in a forest
near Kosala. The practical life in the forest was calm and smooth, as the forest was beautiful
with thousands of flowers blossoming. One day, the monk went to a lotus pond to take shower,
and he smelled the scent of the lotus flowers in the pond. At that time, a deity appeared, saying
to the monk:” Hey young monk! You already stole the scent from the lotus flower. It is not the
habit of the monk.”
The monk was scared that he had committed the rule of stealing, so he did not feel comfortable
with his practice. Finally, he decided to return Jetavana to ask the Buddha whether he
committed the rule of stealing or not.
When the monk told the Buddha about the issue, the Buddha said:” Be calm my beloved
student! In the past, the deities also threatened the wise men that they committed the rules.”
a Brahmin family in Kasi, and after well-education in Takkasila, he left the family life for being
a ascetic monk in a deep forest which near to Himalayas. Near to his cottage, there was a large
pond of lotus flowers, and the lotus flowers often blossomed with beautiful flowers and scented
smells. One day, Bodhisattva got to this lotus pond to take shower, and after taking shower, he
walked close to a lotus flower to smell the scent. At that moment, a deity appeared, cautioning
the Bodhisattva:” Dear venerable. You committed the monk rule as you stole the scent of the
flower. Please be well-practiced and stop stealing.”
I don’t harvest or break the flower

The scent floating around
808 | P a g e
Smelling I done as breathing the air
Not stealing at all, dear deity
At that time, a villager was digging the mud to take off the roots of the lotus. The monk saw
the villager, he said to the deity:” Why don’t you complain to the villager for stealing the roots
of the lotus, but complained about me for just smelling the scent of the flowers.”
The deity looked at the villager, then said to the Bodhisattva:
The family attached men, with all kinds of attachment

Don’t bother them as reminders are useless
Although trying to remind them as much
They consider the advices as the terrible complaints
You have left the family life

To live as the virtue cultivated man
The evil act, even small
Similar to the giant black cloud on the sky
The Bodhisattva was thrilled by the advice of the deity, so he said to the deity:
With great grateful to your concern

With your great knowledge on the virtue cultivating
Seeing me to commit the rule again
Please remind me, with the concern
The deity calmly said:
I don’t live here to serve for you

I am not working for you as debt
Be mindful to walk your way
Achieving the ultimate happiness
809 | P a g e
Buddha, the young monk achieved first entering stream level. Finally, the Buddha identified
that the deity was Uppalavanna, while the ascetic monk was him.
Jataka 393: Story of Vighasa

The Buddha told this story at East Garden, and the story was based on the enjoy of the
attachments of some monks. At East Garden, there was a group of monks who
enjoyed the attachments after the ordination. When venerable Moggallana knew
this issue, then Moggallan complained about them. This issue, then, was spread around, and
when the monks told the Buddha this issue, the Buddha said that:” It is not in the present, but
also in the past, they enjoyed the attachment.”
In times gone by, when the king Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, Bodhisattva was born as
the king of gods and goddesses, the Sakka. At that time, there were seven brothers who were
born to a Brahmin family in Kasi, and when they grew up, they decided to leave the family for
the ascetic practice of forest monk.
Despite the strong desire in practice, after the ordination, these men did not focus on the
practice but were attached to materialism. They enjoyed the food and drinks. Not only that,
they were too much on the decoration of their cottages and their swearing clothes. They often
collected the leftover meat from the lions and the tiger to eat, as these are the freshest meat.
The Sakka knew their issue, so the Sakka decided to pay a visit to help them to get rid of the
wrong practice. Then the Sakka appeared as a parrot, flying toward the cottages of these men,
saying the verse:
Be happy to those on this earth

Living by the offering of others
Being praise by the wise men
Ascending to the heaven, the next life
One of seven men replied the parrot:
810 | P a g e
My brothers, my wise men
Listening to the parrot, speaking human language
The bird, praising of our virtue
Great men, we are, the bird also knows
The parrot denied their thinking:
Not having the praise to you all

Those men, the eaters of the ruin meat
You have eaten the leftovers
Not the offerings from others
One of seven monks said:” We have been the monks for seven years, and we have eaten only
the leftovers from the lions, tigers and other wild animals. So, who deserves the ascetic practice
more than us?”
The parrot said:
Eating the leftover from lions, tigers and other wild animals
All the major foods you have eaten
They are the leftovers, not for the monks to eat
Although you consider they are
One of the monks asked:” So, what are the right foods for the ascetic monks?”
The parrot said:
The foods getting from the sponsors

Those give the monks with essential things
These things are from their leftovers to give
Consider as the right foods for monks
Seven monks were awakened after the conversation with the Sakka, so from that time, they
changed their living attitude. Sakka appeared in his form and returned to his palace.
811 | P a g e
After telling the story, the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths to the monks, and finally
the Buddha identified that seven monks were these attached monks, while the Sakka was him.

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and this story was related to a monk who was too greedy
to grasp everything.
When the Buddha knew his issue, the Buddha said:” It is not in the present time, but also in
the past, due to greed, he was not satisfied with those things he had, and then went to the deep
forest to find more things.”
quail which lived in a deep forest, and the quail ate grasses and seeds for the living. At that
time, there was a greedy crow which lived near the landfills of Varanasi. At the landfills, people
threw lots of bodies of animals. After living by these ruined meats, the crow did not satisfy
these foods, so one day, it flew to the deep forest to find the foods.
At the deep forest, one day, it saw the quail, which was too fat, so it flew close to the quail,
asking:”
The crows all have to be mindful to enemies

Having concern and worry to outer objects
The foods found, not enough to eat
Hence, being thin and weak as you see
The hang grasses and the seeds

Your foods are not nutritious
Why so fat! The humble quail
Tell me quickly your method
812 | P a g e
The quail calmly said:
Being satisfied what I have

Staying in the familiar region
Knowing clear where to gain foods
Being fat, not that difficult
Being pleasant and happy

To satisfy what I have
Not suffer to think off what out of hands
The life, then, always peace and calmness
Then the Buddha talked about Four Noble Truths to the monks, and during the talk of the
Buddha, the greedy monk obtained the first entering stream level. Finally, the Buddha
identified that the crow was the greedy monk, while the quail was him.
Jataka 395: Story of Kaka

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, and the story was related to a greedy monk who enjoyed
grasping more things and stuff.
pigeon which lived in the kitchen of a millionaire in the town. One day, a greedy crow arrived
at the kitchen to ask the pigeon to assist it to be able to live in the kitchen. By the invitation of
the pigeon, the crow, then, was provided a basket to live in in the kitchen.
Seeing the special fishes cooked by the chef of the kitchen, the crow planned to eat these foods.
So, one day, the crow did not fly out to find food but stayed in the basket with the reason of
having a stomachache. When the pigeon flew away for a living, and when the chef left the
kitchen after cooking, the crow was rapidly flying out, parking on the table, enjoying the
cooking fish. At that time, the chef suddenly entered the kitchen, and the chef was extremely
angry, seeing the crow eating his cooked food. Then, he closed the doors and the windows, and
813 | P a g e
easily caught the greedy crow. The chef was angry, so he brutally took off all the feathers of
the crow, and threw the crow into the basket.
In the late afternoon, the pigeon returned, seeing the crow without feather, the pigeon
understood the story, but still mocked the crow:
Beautiful my friend, the crow

Changed total black into the new color
You look bright, not dark as normal
Enjoy the new shape, my friend!
The crow said arrogantly:
The feathers all grow fast

I desire to take them off one time
Wishing, finally approached
The barber assisted me to take off all feather
The pigeon then said to the crow:” Enjoy your new shape and take good care of yourself. This
kitchen is no longer the best place for me. Bye.”
Then the pigeon immediately flew up in the sky, heading to the new suitable place to reside.
The crow had no food to eat and it could not move out of the basket, so it gradually died.
that the crow was the greedy monk, whereas the pigeon was him.
814 | P a g e
815 | P a g e

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Jatakamala: Discourse on the

Previous lives of the Buddha

work with them.

Chapter I: Volume I: Story 1-120……………………………………………………….1

Chapter II: Volume II, Story 121-263…………………………………………………255

Chapter III: Volume III, Story 264-395……………………………………………….543

Then the Buddha told the story:

Then the Buddha told the story:

Jataka 3: Story Serivanija

Then the Buddha told the story:

Jataka 4: Story of Cullakasetthi

The grands of Mahapanthaka:” Dear my beloved nephew! To be honest! It is a great honor to

His parents:” It is great venerable! It is our pleasure.”

Then the Buddha told the story:

Jataka 5: Story of Tandunali

The Bodhisattva also tried to mock the king:

Jataka 6: Story of Devadhamma

Mahimsara asked:” Why did you catch them?”

Being ashamed and scared of the evil acts

Jataka 7: Story of Katthahari

The Buddha asked the king:” Who is the father of Vasabhakhattiya.?”

King Kosala:” The king Mahanama.”

The Buddha continued to question the king:” Who is her husband?”

King Kosala was ashamed:” Me. King of Kosala.”

Then the Buddha told the story:

Dear majesty, the father of all citizens

Jataka 8: Story of Gamani

Then the Buddha told the story:

Don’t be greedy to take the power

Jataka 9: Story of Makhadeve

Then the Buddha told the story:

The king compassionately looked at the officials and said:

My hairs turning white quickly

Jataka 10: Story of Sukhavihari

Then the Buddha told the story:

The Bodhisattva spoke the verse:

Those who don’t need the protection

Jataka 11: Story of Lakhana

Then the Buddha told the story:

The well-cultivated with wisdom and virtue

Jataka 12: Story of Nigrodhamiga

Mother of Venerable Cumarakassapa was an only daughter of a millionaire in Savatthi, and

Then the Buddha told the story:

Then the Buddha told the story:

Jataka 14: Story of Vatamiga

Then the Buddha told the story:

Jataka 15: Story Kharadiya

Then the Buddha told the story:

Then the Bodhisattva continued:

Jataka 16: Story of Tipallatthamiga

Then the Buddha told the story:

Jataka 17: Story of Maluta

Then the Buddha told the story:

Whether dark or bright, the moon

Jataka 18: Story of Matakabhatta

Then the Buddha told the story:

Then the deity spoke the verse:

Beings who know the sufferings

Jataka 19 Story of Àyàcitabhatta

If want to bring happiness in the future

Praying for luck by killing is ignorant

Jataka 20: Story of Nlakapana

Jataka 21: Story of Kurunga