Verses on Dhamma 5.11.p5

5.11.p5

Punadivase ājīvakā ‘‘ehi, gāmaṃ pavisissāmā’’ti taṃ vadiṃsu. So ‘‘gacchatha tumhe, ahaṃ idheva bhavissāmī’’ti na icchi. Atha naṃ punappunaṃ vatvā anicchamānaṃ ohāya agamaṃsu. Sopi tesaṃ gatabhāvaṃ ñatvā vaccakuṭiyā padaraṃ vivaritvā oruyha ubhohi hatthehi ālopaṃ ālopaṃ katvā gūthaṃ khādi. Ājīvakā tassa antogāmato āhāraṃ pahiṇiṃsu. Tampi na icchi. Punappunaṃ vuccamānopi ‘‘na me iminā attho. Laddho me āhāro’’ti āha. ‘‘Kahaṃ laddho’’ti? ‘‘Idheva laddho’’ti. Evaṃ dutiye tatiye catutthepi divase tehi bahumpi vuccamāno ‘‘ahaṃ idheva bhavissāmī’’ti gāmaṃ gantuṃ na icchi. Ājīvakā ‘‘ayaṃ divase divase neva gāmaṃ pavisituṃ icchati, na amhehi pahitāhāraṃ āharituṃ icchati, ‘idheva me laddho’ti vadati, kiṃ nu kho karoti, pariggaṇhissāma na’’nti gāmaṃ pavisantā ekaṃ dve jane tassa pariggaṇhanatthaṃ ohāya gamiṃsu. Te pacchato gacchantā viya hutvā nilīyiṃsu. Sopi tesaṃ gatabhāvaṃ ñatvā purimanayeneva vaccakuṭiṃ oruyha gūthaṃ khādi.

On the following day the Ājīvakas said to him, "Come, let us go into the village." But he refused to go, saying, "You go, but I shall remain right here. They repeatedly urged him to accompany them, but he refused to do so, and they left him behind and went their way. When he knew they were gone, he removed a plank from the public jakes, and descending therein, took up excrement in both his hands, molded it into lumps, and ate it. The Ājīvakas sent him food from the village, but he refused to eat it. Repeatedly urged to do so, he said, "I have no need of this food; I get food of my own." "Where do you get it?" said they. "Right here," said he. Likewise on the second day and on the third and on the fourth he refused, in spite of much urging, to accompany them to the village, saying, "I shall remain right here."

Said the Ājīvakas, "Day after day this man refuses to accompany us to the village. Likewise he will have none of the food we send him and says, 'Right here I procure food of my own.' What can he be doing? Let us watch him and find out for ourselves." So when they went to the village, they left two of their number behind to watch him. These men pretended to follow in the train of the other monks and then went and hid themselves. As soon as he thought they had gone, he descended as before into the jakes and began to eat excrement. When the spies saw what he was doing, they told the Ājīvakas. As soon as the Ājīvakas heard the news, they said to themselves, “Oh, what an outrageous thing he has done! If the disciples of the monk Gotama should learn of this, they would circulate evil report of us, saying, ‘The Ājīvakas make a practice of eating excrement.’ This man is not fit to remain with us.” So they expelled him from their Order.