法句譬喻經 25: Anger (kodhavaggo)
Texts from the Buddhist Canon commonly known as Dhammapada, with accompanying narratives 25
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Anger (kodhavaggo)
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In days of old, when Buddha was residing in the Gridhrakūta Mount, near Rājagriha, then Devadatta, in concert with Ajātaśatru Rāja, contrived a plan for the destruction of the Teacher and his followers. The plan was this:— That the King should prohibit the people of the town from giving anything in charity to the community, and so, when they had found their begging excursion through the streets ineffective, that then the King should ask them all to an entertainment at the palace. Meantime Devadatta, having intoxicated 500 elephants, was to let them loose on the Teacher and his followers, and so destroy them all. Accordingly, the invitation was given and accepted by Buddha, and so on the morrow they entered the city as agreed upon. On this the elephants, having been let loose, with upraised trunks, came bellowing down on the crowd, on which the 500 Rahats who followed Buddha rose into the air (and flew away), but Buddha, with Ānanda by his side, checked the fury of the beasts, who now came and bowed down, and went before the Teacher perfectly subdued. On this Buddha, raising the five fingers of his hand, caused the appearance of five lions, who uttered their roar, whilst the earth shook, and the elephants lay down affrighted on the ground. Hereupon Buddha and his followers proceeded to the King's palace, and after listening to the confession of the King, Buddha uttered these stanzas :—
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“Amongst men there is no one who is not blamed, from old time till now. Since they blame the man of many words, they blame the patient and quiet man; they also blame the man who seeks the happy medium; there is always blame in the world. Those who desire to find fault with the righteous (holy) man are never able to discriminate with impartiality (take a middle course); they blame him entirely or they praise him entirely, but it is all done from some false idea of profit or fame. But he whom the enlightened and wise praise, and whom they consider and call upright and good, a man of true wisdom and innocent life, without any ground for censure in himself, as a Rahat for purity, there is no blame for him—such an one the gods themselves must admire, even Brahma and Śakra must praise such an one.”
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Having concluded these stanzas, the World-honoured One related this anecdote:—"There was in days gone by a certain King, who loved above all things the flesh of the wild goose for his daily food. Consequently he used to keep a hunter (or fowler) for the express purpose of snaring these birds, and providing flesh for the royal table. One day the fowler having gone out for this purpose, there came a flock of geese, 500 in number, with their king at their head, and alighted in search of food just where the snares were set. In consequence the king of the birds was trapped, and remained entangled in the toils. Then the rest, in consternation, flew round and round the place, but would not leave it. One of the geese in particular kept flying close by the net, and, undaunted by the arrows of the fowler, kept uttering piteous cries, whilst the drops of blood (from her wounds) kept falling on the ground, and so from morn till eve she continued to act. Then the fowler, moved with compassion, liberated the king of the birds, and joyfully he flew away to rejoin the flock. On relating this to the King, he highly approved of what he had done in liberating the bird. Now at that time, Buddha said, I was the king of the wild geese, Ānanda was the faithful bird that would not leave me, you, O King! were the King of the country, and the huntsman was Devadatta, who has ever sought to do me harm (but on this occasion I do not withhold from him some portion of praise for his humane conduct) [such at least appears to be the moral of the story].”
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Translated from the Chinese by Samuel Beal, 1878.
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Texts from the Buddhist canon, commonly known as Dhammapada, with accompanying narratives
25.p6
Published by Trübner & Co, Ludgate Hill, London, 1878.
25.p7
Translated by the Shamans Fā-Kheu and Fā-Lih, of the Western Tsin Dynasty.
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Original book can be downloaded at https://archive.org/details/textsfrombuddhis00beal.
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Prepared for SuttaCentral by Yasoj and Ven. Vimala.
Linked texts (1)
- 法句譬喻經 — Classical Chinese