Verses on Dhamma 5.15.p9

5.15.p9

Eko pana puriso āpaṇadvārena āgacchanto pañca kambalasatāni pasāretvā nisinnaṃ ekaṃ āpaṇikaṃ disvā āha – ‘‘ambho, eko sāmaṇero kambale saṃharanto āgacchati, tava kambale paṭicchādehī’’ti? ‘‘Kiṃ pana so dinnake gaṇhāti, udāhu adinnake’’ti? ‘‘Dinnake gaṇhātī’’ti. ‘‘Evaṃ sante sace icchāmi, dassāmi, no ce, na dassāmi, gaccha tva’’nti uyyojesi. Maccharino hi andhabālā evarūpesu dānaṃ dadamānesu maccharāyitvā asadisadānaṃ disvā maccharāyanto kāḷo (dha. pa. 177) viya niraye nibbattanti. Āpaṇiko cintesi – ‘‘ayaṃ puriso attano dhammatāya āgacchamāno ‘tava kambale paṭicchādehī’ti maṃ āha. ‘Sacepi so dinnakaṃ gaṇhā’ti, ahaṃ pana ‘mama santakaṃ sace icchāmi, dassāmi, no ce, na dassāmī’ti avacaṃ, diṭṭhakaṃ pana adentassa lajjā uppajjati, attano santakaṃ paṭicchādentassa doso natthi, imesu pañcakambalasatesu dve kambalāni satasahassagghanikāni, imāneva paṭicchādetuṃ vaṭṭatī’’ti. Dvepi kambale dasāya dasaṃ sambandhitvā tesaṃ antare pakkhipitvā paṭicchādesi. Sāmaṇeropi bhikkhusahassena saddhiṃ taṃ padesaṃ pāpuṇi. Āpaṇikassa sāmaṇeraṃ disvāva puttasineho uppajji, sakalasarīraṃ sinehena paripuṇṇaṃ ahosi. So cintesi – ‘‘tiṭṭhatu kambalāni, imaṃ disvā hadayamaṃsampi dātuṃ yutta’’nti. Te dvepi kambale nīharitvā sāmaṇerassa pādamūle ṭhapetvā vanditvā, ‘‘bhante, tayā diṭṭhadhammassa bhāgī assa’’nti avaca. Sopissa ‘‘evaṃ hotū’’ti anumodanaṃ akāsi.

The shop-keeper thought to himself, "This man who came along, in accordance with his nature, said to me, 'You had better hide your blankets,' and I replied to him, 'In case the novice is receiving them as gifts, I will give him what is my own, if I wish; if not, I will not.' Now a man feels ashamed not to give what is in plain sight, but cannot be blamed for hiding what is his own. And since among these five hundred blankets there are two each of which is worth a hundred thousand pieces of money, it will be entirely proper for me to hide them." So he folded the two blankets border to border and hid them by inserting them in the pile.

Just then the novice, accompanied by the thousand monks, came to that very place. When the shop-keeper saw the novice, he was filled with love for the boy; in fact his whole body was suffused with love. He thought to himself, "On seeing a boy like this, I should be willing to give my heart's flesh, let alone blankets!" Straightway he removed those two blankets from the pile, placed them at the novice's feet, paid obeisance to him, and said, "Reverend Sir, may I have a share in the Truth you have seen." "So be it," said the novice,

returning thanks to him. So the novice, who had received five hundred blankets without the city, received another five hundred within the city. Thus on one day alone he received a total of one thousand blankets, all of which he gave to the congregation of monks. Therefore the monks gave him the name Tissa the Blanket-Giver, Kambaladāyaka Tissa.