Jataka 370
Palāsa Jātaka
The Sprout
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
The Pāli Canon is full of warnings to pay close attention to even the smallest defilements. As this story shows, they can grow into something quite pernicious.
“The goose said to the Judas tree.” The Master told this story while he was residing at Jetavana. It is a warning about defilements. The incident that led to the story is set forth in the Paññā Birth (Jātaka 149). But on this occasion the Master addressed the Saṇgha, saying, “Brothers, defilements should be regarded with suspicion. Though it be as small as a banyan shoot, a defilement may prove fatal. Sages of old also suspected whatever was open to suspicion. And with this he told them this story from the past.
Once upon a time in the reign of Brahmadatta, King of Benares, the Bodhisatta was reborn as a golden gosling. When he grew up to be an adult goose, he lived in a golden cave in the Cittakūṭa mountain in the Himālaya region. He would often go and eat in the wild rice paddy that was on a natural lake. On his way there, he would pass a big Judas tree. On his way, both coming and going, he would stop and rest there. So a friendship sprang up between him and the deity that lived in that tree.
By and by a certain bird, after eating the ripe fruit of a banyan, came and perched on the Judas tree. He dropped its excrement into the fork of it. Subsequently a young banyan tree grew there. It grew to the height of four inches. It was bright with red shoots and greenery. The royal goose, on seeing this, addressed the guardian deity of the tree. He said, “My good friend, every tree on which a banyan shoot springs up is destroyed by its growth. Do not allow this to grow or it will destroy your home. Go back at once. Pull it up and throw it away. One should suspect anything that justifies suspicion.” And after talking to the tree-sprite in this way, the goose uttered the first stanza:
The goose said to the Judas tree,
“A banyan shoot is threatening thee.
What you do in your bosom rear
Will rend you limb from limb, I fear.”
On hearing this the tree deity, not heeding his words, repeated the second stanza:
Well! Let it grow, and should I be
A refuge to the banyan tree,
And tend it with a parent’s love,
It will to me a blessing prove.
Then the goose uttered the third stanza:
It is a cursed shoot, I fear,
It does within your bosom rear.
I say goodbye and off I flee,
This growth alas! Does not like me.
With these words the royal goose spread his wings and headed straight for Mount Cittakūṭa. And from then on, he did not come back any more.
By and bye the banyan shoot grew up. The banyan tree also had its guardian deity. And as it grew, it broke down the Judas tree. And with that the home of the tree deity also fell. At this moment, reflecting on the words of the royal goose, the tree deity thought, “The king of the geese foresaw this danger in the future and warned me about it, but I did not heed his words.” And thus lamenting, he uttered the fourth stanza:
A specter grim like Meru’s height
Has brought me to a fearful plight.
Scorning the words friend goosey said,
I now am overwhelmed with dread.
Figure: The dying tree and its ailing deity
As it continued to grow, the banyan broke down all of the Judas tree and reduce it to a mere stump, and the dwelling place of the tree deity completely disappeared.
Wise men abhor the parasitic thing
That chokes the form to which it loves to cling.
The wise, suspecting danger from the weed,
Destroy the root before it comes to seed.
This was the fifth stanza, inspired by Perfect Wisdom.
The Master here, his lesson ended, taught the Four Noble Truths. At the conclusion of the teaching, 500 monks attained enlightenment. Then he identified the birth: “At that time I was the golden goose.”
