The grateful elephant : $b And other stories translated from the PāliBurlingame, Eugene Watson
Religion
The grateful elephant : $b And other stories translated from the Pāli
Burlingame, Eugene Watson
Buddhist legends
When the Teacher had thus extolled the practice of honoring the
oldest, he joined the connection and identified the personages in
the Birth-story as follows: “At that time the elephant was one of
my disciples, the monkey was another, but the wise partridge was I
myself.”
_20. The Hawk._
_Walk not in forbidden ground._
_A. Canonical version._
Saṁyutta v. 146-148.
Thus have I heard: Once upon a time the Exalted One was in residence
at Jetavana. At that time the Exalted One addressed the monks:
“Monks!” “Reverend Sir!” replied those monks to the Exalted One. The
Exalted One said this:
In olden times, monks, a hawk attacked a quail with violence and caught
it. Now, monks, as the hawk was carrying off the quail, the quail thus
lamented: “I am indeed unfortunate, I possess little merit,--I who
walked in forbidden ground, in a foreign region. If to-day I had walked
in my own ground, in the region of my fathers, this hawk would not have
been equal to a combat with me.”
“But, quail, what is your feeding-ground? What is the region of your
fathers?”
“A field of clods, turned up by the plow.”
Then, monks, the hawk, not exerting his strength, not asserting his
strength, released the quail. “Go, quail! Even there you will not
escape from me.” Then, monks, the quail went to the field of clods,
turned up by the plow, and mounting a big clod, stood and called the
hawk: “Come now, hawk, I dare you! Come now, hawk, I dare you!”
Then, monks, the hawk, exerting his strength, asserting his strength,
flapped both his wings and attacked the quail with violence. When,
monks, the quail knew: “This hawk is coming for me with a vengeance!”
he entered a crack in that very clod. And, monks, the hawk struck his
breast against that very clod.
“For, monks, so it goes with whoever walks in forbidden ground, in a
foreign region. Therefore, monks, walk not in forbidden ground, in a
foreign region. If, monks, you walk in forbidden ground, in a foreign
region, the Evil One will obtain entrance, the Evil One will obtain
lodgment. And what, monks, is forbidden ground, a foreign region?
The Five Pleasures of Sense. What are the Five? Pleasurable Sights,
Sounds, Odors, Tastes, Contacts. And what, monks, is lawful ground,
the region of the fathers? The Four Earnest Meditations. What are the
Four? Meditation on the Body, on the Sensations, on the Thoughts, on
the Conditions of Existence. Walk, monks, in lawful ground, in the
region of the fathers. If, monks, you walk in lawful ground, in the
region of the fathers, the Evil One will not obtain entrance, the
Evil One will not obtain lodgment.”
_B. Uncanonical version._
Jātaka 168: ii. 58-60.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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