Verses on Dhamma 5.12.p8

5.12.p8

Atīte kira bārāṇasiṃ nissāya nadītīre paccekabuddhassa paṇṇasālaṃ kariṃsu. So tattha viharanto nibaddhaṃ nagare piṇḍāya carati. Nāgarāpi sāyaṃpātaṃ gandhapupphādihatthā paccekabuddhassūpaṭṭhānaṃ gacchanti. Eko bārāṇasivāsī puriso taṃ maggaṃ nissāya khettaṃ kasi. Mahājano sāyaṃpātaṃ paccekabuddhassūpaṭṭhānaṃ gacchanto taṃ khettaṃ maddanto gacchati. Kassako ca ‘‘mā me khettaṃ maddathā’’ti vārentopi vāretuṃ nāsakkhi. Athassa etadahosi – ‘‘sace imasmiṃ ṭhāne paccekabuddhassa paṇṇasālā na bhaveyya, na me khettaṃ maddeyyu’’nti. So paccekabuddhassa piṇḍāya paviṭṭhakāle paribhogabhājanāni bhinditvā paṇṇasālaṃ jhāpesi. Paccekabuddho taṃ jhāmaṃ disvā yathāsukhaṃ pakkāmi. Mahājano gandhamālaṃ ādāya āgato jhāmapaṇṇasālaṃ disvā ‘‘kahaṃ nu kho no ayyo gato’’ti āha. Sopi mahājaneneva saddhiṃ gato mahājanamajjhe ṭhitakova evamāha – ‘‘mayā tassa paṇṇasālā jhāpitā’’ti. Atha naṃ ‘‘gaṇhatha, imaṃ pāpimaṃ nissāya mayaṃ paccekabuddhaṃ daṭṭhuṃ na labhimhā’’ti daṇḍādīhi pothetvā jīvitakkhayaṃ pāpesuṃ. So avīcimhi nibbattitvā yāvāyaṃ mahāpathavī yojanamattaṃ ussannā, tāva niraye paccitvā pakkāvasesena gijjhakūṭe ahipeto hutvā nibbatti. Satthā idaṃ tassa pubbakammaṃ kathetvā, ‘‘bhikkhave, pāpakammaṃ nāmetaṃ khīrasadisaṃ, yathā khīraṃ duyhamānameva na pariṇamati. Tathā kammaṃ kayiramānameva na vipaccati. Yadā pana vipaccati, tadā evarūpena dukkhena socatī’’ti anusandhiṃ ghaṭetvā dhammaṃ desento imaṃ gāthamāha –

The story goes that in times long past men erected a bower of leaves and grass on the bank of the river near Benāres for a Private Buddha. During his residence there the Private Buddha regularly went to the city for alms, and the residents of the city, in the evening and in the morning, took perfumes and garlands in their hands and went and ministered to the Private Buddha. Now a certain resident of Benāres was plowing a field near the wayside, and as the multitude passed by in the evening and in the morning to do service to the Private Buddha, they trampled his field. The farmer tried to prevent them from so doing, saying to them, "Do not trample my field," but in spite of his best efforts, was unable to do so. Finally the following thought occurred to him, "If the bower of the Private Buddha were not in this place, they would not trample my field." Accordingly, when the Private Buddha had entered the city for alms, the farmer broke all of his vessels for eating and drinking and set fire to his bower of leaves and grass.

When the Private Buddha saw his bower burned down, he wandered forth at his own good pleasure. When the multitude drew near with perfumes and garlands and saw the bower of leaves and grass burned down, they said, "Where can our noble teacher have gone?" Now the farmer also had gone with the multitude, and standing among them, said, "It was I who burned down his bower of leaves and grass." Then the multitude cried out, "Seize him; seize him. All because of this wicked man, we have lost the privilege of seeing the Private Buddha." And they beat him with sticks and stones and deprived him of life. He was reborn in the Avīci Hell. After suffering torment in this Hell until the great earth was elevated a league, he came out thence; and because the fruit of his evil deed was not yet exhausted, he was reborn on Vulture Peak as a snake-ghost. End of Story of the snake-ghost.

When the Teacher had related his misdeed in a former state of existence, he said, "Monks, as for an evil deed, it is like milk. Even as milk does not turn as soon as it is drawn, even so an evil deed does not at once ripen. But when it has once ripened, that moment it brings with it suffering such as this." And joining the connection and preaching the Law, he pronounced the following Stanza,