In such wise did the Future Buddha recite the disadvantages of doing deeds contrary to the Precepts, and the advantages of keeping the Five Precepts. With one reason after another he terrified the ogre, preached the Doctrine to him, subdued him, made him self-denying. Having established him in the Five Precepts, he bade him practice them. Then he transformed him into a spirit entitled to receive offerings in the forest, and having admonished him to be heedful, departed from the forest. At the mouth of the forest he told his story to human beings. Then, girded with the five weapons, he went to Benāres and visited his mother and father. After a time becoming established in the kingdom, he ruled righteously, gave alms and performed the other works of merit, and passed away according to his deeds. _10. Vedabbha and the Thieves._ _Cupidity is the root of ruin._ Jātaka 48: i. 252-256. _Whoever seeks advantage by wrong means._ This was said by the Teacher while he was in residence at Jetavana with reference to a disobedient monk. For to this monk the Teacher said: “Monk, not only in your present state of existence are you disobedient, but in a previous state of existence also you were just as disobedient. And through this same habit of disobedience, because you disregarded the words of wise men, you were cleft in twain with a sharp sword and left lying on the road. And through your own fault, and yours alone, a thousand men met destruction.” So saying, he related the following Story of the Past: In times past, when Brahmadatta ruled at Benāres, there lived in a certain little village a certain Brahman who knew a charm called the Vedabbha charm. This charm, we are told, was beyond price, of great worth. When the moon was in conjunction with a certain constellation, the Brahman would look up at the sky and recite that charm, and straightway the Rain of the Seven Jewels would rain from the sky. At that time the Future Buddha was learning the arts and crafts in the house of that Brahman. Now one day the Brahman, accompanied by the Future Buddha, departed from his own village and set out for the kingdom of Cetiya on some business or other. Along the road, at a certain place in the forest, five hundred Despatcher-thieves were in the habit of committing outrages on travelers. They captured both the Future Buddha and Brahman Vedabbha. (But why were these thieves called _Despatcher-thieves_? We are told that whenever they captured two persons, they would _despatch_ one of them to fetch ransom-money; therefore they were appropriately called _Despatcher-thieves_. For example, if they captured father and son, they would say to the father: “Fetch us ransom-money first; then you may take your son and go.” Similarly, if they captured mother and daughter, they would despatch the mother; if they captured an older and a younger brother, they would despatch the older; if they captured teacher and pupil, they would despatch the pupil.)