Jataka 334
Rājovāda Jātaka
The Defilement Dharma
as told by Eric Van Horn
originally translated by H.T. Francis and R.A. Neil, Cambridge University
originally edited by Professor Edward Byles Cowell, Cambridge University
This is a lovely little story in which the righteousness of a king determines whether or not the fruit in the kingdom is sweet or bitter.
“The bull through floods.” The Master told this story when he was at Jetavana. It is about the admonition of a King. The introductory story will be found in full in the Tesakuṇa Birth (Jātaka 521). But in this version of it the Master said, “Kings of old, sire, heeding the words of the wise, ruled justly and attained to rebirth in the heavenly world.” And at the request of the King he told him this story from the past.
Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta was reborn in a brahmin family. And when he came of age, he was trained in all the arts. Adopting the life of a recluse, he developed all the Faculties (1) faith/confidence, 2) energy, 3) mindfulness, 4) concentration/samadhi and 5) wisdom/insight) and the Attainments (jhānas). He took up residence in a pleasant quarter of the Himālaya Mountains, living on wild fruits and roots.
At this time the King—being anxious to find out his defects—went about inquiring if there was anyone who could tell him his faults. And not finding anyone to criticize him, either within his residence or without, either within the city or outside of it, he wandered about the countryside in disguise. He thought, “What will it be like in the country?” And not meeting with anyone there to criticize him, and hearing men speak only of his merits, he thought, “How will it be in the Himālaya region?” And he went into the forest and wandered about until he reached the hermitage of the Bodhisatta.
There—after saluting him and addressing him in a friendly manner—he took a seat on one side. At that moment the Bodhisatta was eating some ripe figs which he had brought from the wood. They were luscious and sweet, like powdered sugar. He addressed the King and said, “Your Excellency, please eat this ripe fig and drink some water.”
The King did so, and then he asked the Bodhisatta, “Why, reverend sir, is this ripe fig so exceedingly sweet?”
“Your Excellency,” he replied, “the King now exercises his rule with justice and equity. That is why it is so sweet.”
“In the reign of an unjust king, does it lose its sweetness, sir?”
“Yes, Your Excellency. In the time of unjust kings, oil, honey, molasses and the like, as well as wild roots and fruits, lose their sweetness and flavor. And not only these but the whole realm becomes bad and flavorless. But when the rulers are just, these things become sweet and full of flavor, and the whole realm recovers its tone and flavor.”
The King said, “It must be so, reverend sir,” and without letting him know that he was the King, he saluted the Bodhisatta and returned to Benares. And thinking to prove the words of the recluse, he ruled unjustly, saying to himself, “Now I will know all about it.” And after the lapse of only a short time, he went back to the Himālaya region. There he saluted the Bodhisatta and sat respectfully on one side. The Bodhisatta—using exactly the same words—offered him a ripe fig. But this time, it was bitter to his taste. Finding it to be bitter he spat it out, saying, “It is bitter, sir.”
The Bodhisatta said, “Your Excellency, the King must be unjust, for when rulers are unjust, everything—beginning with the wild fruits in the wood—lose all their sweetness and flavor.” And then he recited these stanzas:
The bull through floods a devious course will take,
The herd of cows all straggling in his wake.
So if a leader tortuous paths pursue,
To base ends will he guide the vulgar crew,
And the whole realm an age of turmoil rue.
But if the bull a course direct should steer,
The herd of cows straight follow in his rear.
So should their chief to righteous ways be true,
The common folk injustice will eschew,
And through the realm shall holy peace ensue.
The King, after hearing the Bodhisatta’s exposition of the Dharma, let him know that he was the King, and he said, “Holy sir, it was due to me that the figs were first sweet and then bitter. But now I will make them sweet again.” Then he saluted the Bodhisatta and returned home. He ruling righteously and restored everything to its original condition.
Figure: “Now I will make them sweet again.”
The Master, having ended his lesson, identified the birth: “At that time Ānanda was the King, and I was the recluse.”
