Jataka 345
Gajakumbha Jātaka
The Lazy Monk
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
It is somehow reassuring to know that even at the time of the Buddha there were monks who fell down on the job.
“Should a flame sweep.” The Master told this story when he was at Jetavana. It is about a lazy monk. He was, it was said, of gentle birth, and he lived at Sāvatthi. And after giving his heart to the Dharma and undergoing ordination, he became lazy. When it came to studying the Dharma, learning the monastic code, devotion to his practice and his duties as a monk, he did not fully engage in any of them. He was overcome by his defilements and was always found at public lounging places.
The monks discussed his laziness in the Dharma Hall, saying, “Such a person, sirs, after ordaining in so excellent a path that leads to enlightenment, is continually lazy and idle and overcome by his defilements.” When the Master came and asked what the monks were discussing, on being told what it was, he said, “Not only now, monks, but in the past he also was lazy.” And so saying, he told them this story from the past.
Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta became his valued minister. The King of Benares was of a lazy disposition, and the Bodhisatta went about pondering some way to inspire the King. Now one day the King went to his garden accompanied by his minister. And while wandering about he saw a lazy tortoise. Lazy creatures like these, they say, even though they are moving throughout the day, move only an inch or two.
The King—on seeing it—asked, “Friend, what is its name?”
The Bodhisatta answered, “The creature is called a ‘tortoise,’ great King. They are so lazy that even though they move about all day long, they only move an inch or two.” And addressing the tortoise he said, “Ho! Sir tortoise, yours is a slow motion. Supposing a fire arose in the forest, what would you do?” And then he spoke the first stanza:
Should a flame sweep through the grove,
Leaving blackened path behind,
How, Sir Waddler, slow to move,
Way of safety could you find?
The tortoise on hearing this repeated the second stanza:
Holes on every side abound,
Chinks there be in every tree,
Here a refuge will be found
Or an end of us will be.
On hearing this the Bodhisatta gave utterance to two stanzas:
Who e’er does hurry when he ought to rest,
And tarries long when utmost speed is best,
Destroys the slender fabric of his weal,
As withered leaf is crushed beneath the heel.
But they who wait early nor haste too soon,
Fulfill their purpose, as her orb the moon.
Figure: The Bodhisatta addresses the tortoise
The King, hearing the words of the Bodhisatta, from then on was no longer lazy.
The Master, having ended his lesson, identified the birth: “At that time the lazy monk was the tortoise, and I was the wise councilor.”
