Divine Stories

by Andy Rotman

  [Jīvaka Kumārabhūta told the Blessed One what had happened.]729

  “Go and say that whoever is the real Panthaka should come forward,” the Blessed One said.

  So the messenger went there and said, “Whoever is the real Panthaka should come forward.”

  Then the venerable Panthaka went to Jīvaka Kumārabhūta’s house and sat down in his place.

  Jīvaka Kumārabhūta began to serve the community of monks led by the Buddha. Then he served the venerable Panthaka but without respect.

  The Blessed One reflected, “Since this senior disciple is great like Mount Sumeru, Jīvaka Kumārabhūta receives forgiveness. The venerable Panthaka’s virtues should be made known.” Therefore the Blessed One didn’t pass his bowl to the venerable Ānanda.

  As a rule the most senior monks’ bowls are not to be taken [and filled with food] as long as there is no one to take the Blessed One’s bowl [and fill it with food].730

  The venerable Panthaka reflected, “Why are the bowls of the Blessed One and the most senior monks not being taken? It is because I am to make my virtues known here.” Then the venerable Panthaka offered half his seat as a sign of respect, stretched out his arm like the trunk of an elephant, and took the Blessed One’s bowl.

  Now Jīvaka Kumārabhūta, who was standing in the area of the elders, saw this and reflected, “Who is this senior monk who makes use of his magical powers and displays a miracle?”731 He went and followed the bowl until he eventually came to see the venerable Panthaka. When Jīvaka Kumārabhūta saw him, he fainted. Splashed with water, he regained his senses. Then he fell prostrate at the venerable Panthaka’s feet, begged for forgiveness, and uttered these verses:

  A shrine’s virtues are eternal,

  so too water infused with sandalwood.

  The sweet smell of the lotus is eternal as well.

  Pure liquid gold shines eternal, as does pure beryl.

  The matchless anger in wicked people

  is eternal like carvings in stone.

  The joy in noble people is eternal,

  and the forgiveness of arhats remains steadfast.

  The venerable Panthaka said, “You are forgiven, Jīvaka.” The monks questioned the Lord Buddha: “Look, Bhadanta. When Jīvaka Kumārabhūta didn’t know of the venerable Panthaka’s virtues, [509] he was disrespectful, but when he knew of his virtues, he fell prostrate at his feet and begged for forgiveness.”

  “Yes, monks,” the Blessed One said, “not only now, but also in the past. When he didn’t know of his virtues, he was disrespectful, but when he knew of his virtues, he fell prostrate at his feet and begged for forgiveness. Listen to this.”

  The Thoroughbred Horse and the Potter

  Long ago, monks, a caravan leader took five hundred horses from the North Country and came to the Middle Country to sell them.732 Meanwhile a thoroughbred horse733 had descended into the womb of one of his mares. From the very day that he descended, the caravan leader’s horses no longer neighed.

  The caravan leader reflected, “Have my horses fallen sick? Is that why they don’t neigh?”

  After some time, that mare gave birth. A colt was born. From that day on,734 the horses were never quite normal again.735

  The caravan leader reflected, “This colt that’s been born must be an unlucky creature. It’s his fault that my horses have taken sick.” [With the other horses in tow,] he rode that mare of his each day, feeding her the appropriate foods mixed with fresh barley.736

  Eventually the caravan leader arrived at a town called Pūjita (Worshipped) just as the rainy season began.737 He reflected, “If I continue on, the horses’ hooves will get wet and go bad,738 and then the horses won’t be fit for sale. I’ll pass the rains right here.” While he was passing the rains there,739 some local residents who were craftsmen provided for him, offering him their goods. When it was time for the caravan leader to go, the craftsmen approached him, and he distributed various things among them.

  Now there was one potter who lived there who had also provided for him, offering him his goods.

  “Dear husband,” his wife said to him, “the caravan leader is leaving. Go! Go there and ask him for something!”

  So the potter brought a lump of clay to the caravan leader, who was already on his way out of town, and stood before him.740 The caravan leader saw him and said to him, “My friend, you’ve come very late.”

  “Do you have anything to give me?”

  “Everything is gone,” he said. Now the caravan leader had misgivings about that colt, so he said, “Well, there is this one colt. [510] If you like him,741 you can take him with you.”

  “That’s just great,” the potter said. “I’ll make some pots, and he’ll break them!” The colt began to lick the potter’s feet with his tongue. The potter took a liking to the horse, so he took him and left.

  “Did you get anything from the caravan leader?” his wife asked.

  “Yes, I got something. This colt.”

  “That’s just great. You’ll make pots, and he’ll break them!”

  The colt began to lick her feet. She took a liking to him as well. Moving among the pots that were drying,742 the colt didn’t break a single one.

  “Excellent,” his wife said to him. “This colt moves about very knowingly.”

  One time the potter went to get some clay. The colt followed close behind him. When the potter had filled a sack with clay, the colt lowered his back. The potter then loaded the sack of clay on the colt’s back, and the colt lead him back home.

  “My dear, this is an excellent colt!” the potter said to his wife. “I’ll never have to carry clay by myself again. I’ll load it onto him out there, and you can unload it here.” Then he offered the colt some chaff and straw.743

  At that time in the city of Vārāṇasī, a king named Brahmadatta ruled a kingdom that was thriving, prosperous, and crowded with people.744 One day his thoroughbred horse died. Some neighboring vassal kings745 heard that King Brahmadatta’s thoroughbred horse had died.

  “Either present us taxes and tributes,” they ordered him, “or else as soon as you go to that park [you like] outside the city, we’ll bind you around the neck and take you with us!”746

  The king didn’t present them with taxes and tributes, nor did he go out to the park.

  Eventually the caravan leader arrived in the city of Vārāṇasī. King Brahmadatta heard that a caravan leader from the North Country had arrived in Vārāṇasī with horses for sale. He addressed his ministers: “Gentlemen, how long do I have to stay here in the city before I can return to the park. [511] Go and find a thoroughbred horse!”

  The ministers went to the caravan leader and looked at his horses. “Gentlemen,” they said to each other, “these horses could only have been trained by a thoroughbred,747 but there’s no thoroughbred horse here.”

  After examining the mare,748 they conferred among themselves. “This mare gave birth to a thoroughbred horse, but he doesn’t appear to be here.” They then approached the caravan leader and asked, “Did you sell a horse or give one away to anyone?”

  “I didn’t sell any horse,” he said, “but I did give away an unlucky colt to a potter in the town of Pūjitaka.”749

  Again they conferred among themselves. “Gentlemen, this caravan leader is a complete idiot! He’s given away a lucky horse and comes here bringing nothing but unlucky ones!”

  They went and asked the king’s permission and then traveled to Pūjitaka. Once there they approached the potter and, having approached, asked, “What use do you have for this colt?”

  “He carries clay for me,” he said.

  “We’ll give you a donkey,” they said. “You give us the colt.”

  “He’s very good to me,” he said.

  “Then we’ll give you a cart with four bulls.”

  “He’s really very good to me,” he said.

  “If that’s the case,” they said, “then give it some thought, and we’ll come back tomorrow.” With these wor
ds, they departed.

  Then the colt said, “Why don’t you give me to them? Do you think I should carry clay and eat chaff and thorny straw?750 I should carry a kṣatriya king who has been duly consecrated and eat roots smeared with honey off a golden plate! Since they say that I’m a colt, you should say, ‘Are you embarrassed to say that he’s a thoroughbred horse?’ They’ll come again751 tomorrow and they’ll tell you to name your price. You should say, ‘Give me one hundred thousand gold pieces or else as much gold as the horse can pull with his right thigh.’”

  The next day the ministers approached the potter and asked, “Friend, have you given it some thought?”

  “I’ve given it some thought. Are you embarrassed to say that he’s a thoroughbred horse?”

  “He’s an idiot,” they said to each other. [512] “Does he even know whether or not this is a thoroughbred horse?752 That caravan leader must have told him these things.”

  “Okay, let’s say that he’s a thoroughbred,” they said. “Name your price.”

  “Either give me one hundred thousand gold pieces,” he said, “or as much gold as the horse can pull with his right thigh.”753

  “He’s strong,” they reflected. “It’s quite likely he can pull even more than that. Let’s offer one hundred thousand gold pieces.”

  They went and informed King Brahmadatta that a thoroughbred horse was available for one hundred thousand gold pieces. The king, in turn, informed them that they should buy the thoroughbred horse for whatever the price.

  So they bought him for one hundred thousand gold pieces. Then they brought him to Vārāṇasī and placed him in a stable.754 He was given the most nutritious food,755 but he wouldn’t eat it.

  “Have you brought back a thoroughbred horse that’s sick?” the king asked.

  “No, but let’s examine him nonetheless.”

  Then the horse’s groom uttered these verses:756

  “Do you remember, swift horse, in the potter’s stable757

  when you lacked both food and water?758

  You were merely a gaunt head,759 skin, and bones,760

  grazing on grass you had to crush with your teeth.

  But that’s not why you don’t eat now, respected as you are.761

  Don’t stay here. Eat and lead a thousand vehicles!762

  This is a good stable for a thirsty horse.763

  Why don’t you eat? Tell me now. I’ve asked nicely.”764

  Though endowed with great speed, integrity, and fortitude,765

  the horse became impatient and spoke to him angrily.766

  Then the excellent horse cultivated thoughts of restraint,

  and his mind was filled with loving-kindness for his groom.

  “You are proud that an offering has been made according to the rules,

  but you have not followed them as I rightly deserve.767 [513]

  It is best if I die here quickly

  if I am not approached as a sage.768

  Even if a bad person insults you for a long time,769

  if you are virtuous, dear sir, there is no insult.

  But if a good person insults you for even a moment,

  if you are virtuous, [dear sir,] this is an insult.”770

  The groom said to the king, “My lord, the proper procedures for him were not followed. That is why the horse won’t accept the nutritious foods mixed with barley.”

  “What are the proper procedures that should be followed for him?” 771

  “For him, this is the protocol: Make the road look beautiful for two and a half leagues. Then a consecrated king with his fourfold army should come to meet him, and at the place where he stops, fine copper-colored cloth should be tied down.772 The king’s eldest son should hold a hundred-ribbed umbrella above the horse’s head. The king’s eldest daughter should shoo away flies with a golden fan encrusted with jewels. The king’s principal queen should carry roots smeared with honey on a golden plate for him to eat. And the king’s chief minister should clear away the horse’s dung with a golden shovel.”773

  “Then he’s really the king!” the king said. “I’m not the king.”

  “My lord,” the groom said, “this protocol isn’t to be followed for him all the time. However, it should be carried out for a week.”

  “The past cannot be done over,” the king said, “but what remains to be done shall be done.”

  At the place [where he stopped],774 fine copper-colored cloth was tied up. The king’s eldest son held up a hundred-ribbed umbrella. The king’s eldest daughter shooed away flies with a golden yak-tail fan encrusted with jewels. The king’s principal queen carried roots smeared with honey on a golden plate for him to eat. The king’s minister cleared away the horse’s dung with a golden shovel.

  Bearing the very best smelling creams,

  the king, with the groom, propitiated the horse.

  And the principal queen, with sweet love in her heart,

  was presented to the most excellent horse.775

  Since the king wanted to go to the parkland [outside the city],776 the thoroughbred horse approached him and arched his back.

  The king asked the groom, [514] “Is the king somehow causing him back pain?”

  “No, the horse is thinking that the king will experience pain from mounting him,” he said.

  Then the horse bent down, and the king mounted him and set off. As the horse was going along, he came to some water, but he wouldn’t cross it.

  “Is he afraid?” the king asked the groom.

  “No, your majesty, he isn’t afraid. He’s thinking that he must not splash the king with water from his tail.”

  So his tail was put in a golden tube.777 Only then did he enter the water.

  Eventually the king arrived at the park, and there he remained without concern.

  The neighboring vassal kings heard that King Brahmadatta had gone to the park, so they entered Vārāṇasī and closed the gates to the city. When King Brahmadatta heard that the vassal kings had barred the gates to the city, he mounted the thoroughbred horse.

  Now in between Vārāṇasī and the park there was a lotus pond called Brahmāvatī (Presided Over by Brahmā) that was blanketed with blue, red, and white waterlilies. Gliding over those lotuses, the thoroughbred horse entered Vārāṇasī. The king was pleased and said to his ministers, “Gentlemen, what should be done for one who has given life back778 to a kṣatriya king who has been duly consecrated?”

  “My lord, he should be given half of the kingdom.”

  “He’s an animal,” the king said. “What use would he have with half a kingdom? Instead, on his behalf, for a week offerings are to be made, meritorious deeds are to be performed, and an unscheduled lunar festival is to be celebrated.” And so for a week the ministers began to make offerings and perform meritorious deeds. And throughout the week they administered a lunar festival, even though it wasn’t the appropriate time for one.

  The caravan leader asked some men, “Gentlemen, why is there a lunar festival going on now when one isn’t scheduled?”

  “There’s a town called Pūjita,” they said, “and a thoroughbred horse was purchased from a potter there for one hundred thousand gold pieces and then brought here. The horse has given the king his life back. It’s on his behalf, for a week, that they’ve now begun to make offerings, perform meritorious actions, and celebrate a lunar festival, even though it isn’t the appropriate time for one.”

  The caravan leader reflected, “Could the colt that I gave up be this thoroughbred horse? I’ll go and see.” So he went to the thoroughbred horse, and the horse said to him, “My friend, what did you get for those horses of yours? [515] I got the potter one hundred thousand gold pieces!”

  The caravan leader fainted and fell to the ground. Splashed with water, he regained his senses, and then he fell before the thoroughbred horse and begged for forgiveness.

  “What do you think, monks? That caravan leader was none other than Jīvaka at that time and at that juncture. That thoroughbre
d horse was none other than Panthaka at that time and at that juncture. Back then as well when Jīvaka didn’t know of Panthaka’s virtues, he was disrespectful to him, but when he knew of his virtues, he fell prostrate at his feet and begged for forgiveness. Now too when he didn’t know of his virtues, he was disrespectful, but when he knew of his virtues, he fell prostrate at his feet and begged for forgiveness.”

  So ends the Cūḍāpakṣa-avadāna, the thirty-fifth chapter in the glorious Divyāvadāna.

  36. The Story of Mākandika

  MĀKANDIKA-AVADĀNA779

  Mākandika, Anupamā, and the Marriage Plot

  THE LORD BUDDHA, after traveling through the Kuru countryside, arrived at the town of Kalmāṣadamya (Spotted Bullock).

  At that time in Kalmāṣadamya there lived a wandering mendicant named Mākandika,780 who had a wife named Sākali.781 To him, a daughter was born who was beautiful, good-looking, and attractive, and sound in all parts of her body. Her limbs were fine, very fine. She was beyond comparison. For three weeks—that is, twenty-one days—the occasion of her birth was celebrated in full, and at the conclusion of the celebration,782 a name was selected for her.

  “What should this girl’s name be?”

  “This girl is beautiful, attractive, and pleasing,” said Mākandika’s relatives, “and sound in all parts of her body. Her limbs are fine, very fine. She is beyond comparison. Let the girl’s name be Anupamā (Incomparable).” And so she was given the name Anupamā.

  As she was raised and nourished, Mākandika reflected, “I won’t give this girl in marriage to anyone because of his high standing, nor because of his wealth or learning. Instead, I’ll give her to whatever man is as beautiful or more beautiful than she is.” [516]

  Meanwhile the Blessed One, having traveled through the Kuru countryside, arrived at Kalmāṣadamya, and once there he settled down in a Kuru village.

  In the morning, the Blessed One got dressed, took his bowl and robe, and entered Kalmāṣadamya for alms. After wandering through Kalmāṣadamya for alms, he ate his meal, and after eating, he returned from his almsround. He then put away his bowl and robe, washed his feet, and sat at the base of a tree, crossing his legs so that he was curled up like the winding coil of a sleeping snake king.