Buddha (The concept) -- Juvenile literature; Buddhism -- Juvenile literature; Buddhist legends
But the Bodisat said: “Don’t stop!” and so prevented that. And as the
other gazed and gazed at the departing Bodisat, he was torn with violent
grief; his heart grew hot, and blood flowed from his mouth until his
heart broke—like tank-mud in the heat of the sun.
Thus harboring hatred against the Bodisat, he brought about on that very
spot his own destruction. This was the first time that Devadatta
harbored hatred against the Bodisat.
But the Bodisat gave gifts, and did other good acts, and passed away
according to his deeds.
THE ELEPHANT THAT SPARED LIFE
At that time the Bodisat was born as a nobleman’s son. On the naming-day
they gave him the name of Prince Magha, and when he grew up he was known
as “Magha the young Brahmin.”
His parents procured him a wife from a family of equal rank; and,
increasing in sons and daughters, he became a great giver of gifts, and
kept the Five Commandments.
In that village there were as many as thirty families; and one day the
men of those families stopped in the middle of the village to transact
some village business. The Bodisat removed with his feet the lumps of
soil on the place where he stood, and made the spot convenient to stand
on; but another came up and stood there. Then he smoothed out another
spot, and took his stand there; but another man came and stood upon it.
Still the Bodisat tried again and again, with the same result, until he
had made convenient standing-room for all the thirty.
The next time he had an open-roofed shed put up there; and then pulled
that down, and built a hall, and had benches spread in it, and a
water-pot placed there. On another occasion those thirty men were
reconciled by the Bodisat, who confirmed them in the Five Commandments;
and thenceforward he continued with them in works of piety.
Whilst they were so living they used to rise up early, go out with
bill-hooks and crowbars in their hands, tear up with the crowbars the
stones in the four high roads and village paths, and roll them away,
take away the trees which would be in the way of vehicles, make the
rough places plain, form causeways, dig ponds, build public halls, give
gifts, and keep the Commandments—thus, in many ways, all the dwellers in
the village listened to the exhortations of the Bodisat, and kept the
Commandments.
Now the village headman said to himself: “I used to have great gain from
fines, and taxes, and pot-money, when these fellows drank strong drink,
or took life, or broke the other Commandments. But now Magha the young
Brahmin has determined to have the Commandments kept, and permits none
to take life, or to do anything else that is wrong. I’ll make them keep
the Commandments with a vengeance!”
And he went in a rage to the King, and said: “O King! there are a number
of robbers going about sacking the villages!”
“Go and bring them up!” said the King in reply.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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