Jataka 424
Āditta Jātaka
Aflame
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 story makes an important point about giving and generosity. While any form of giving can gain merit, giving to certain types of people and certain types of organizations is more skillful and brings with it greater merit. Giving to a Buddha, for example, brings greater merit than giving to someone else, especially if that someone else is simply lazy or lacks merit themselves. The Buddha makes this point in the Issatta Sutta:
At Savatthi. As he was sitting to one side, King Pasenadi Kosala said to the Blessed One: "Where, lord, should a gift be given?"
"Wherever the mind feels confidence, great King."
"But a gift given where, Lord, bears great fruit?"
"This [question] is one thing, great King – ‘Where should a gift be given?’—while this—‘A gift given where bears great fruit?’—is something else entirely. What is given to a virtuous person—rather than to an unvirtuous one—bears great fruit. — [SN 3.24]
“Whate’er a man can save.” The Master told this story while he was living at Jetavana. It is about an incomparable gift. The incomparable gift must be described in full from the commentary on the Mahāgovinda Sutta [DN 19]. On the day after that on which it had been given, they were talking about it in the Dharma Hall. “Sirs, the Kosala King (King Pasenadi)—after examination—found the proper field of merit, and he gave the great gift to the Saṇgha with the Buddha at its head.” The Master arrived and was told the subject of their discussion as they sat together. He said, “Monastics, it is not strange that the King—after examination—has given great gifts to the supreme field of merit. Wise people of old also—after examination—gave such gifts.” And then he told them this story from the past.
(This is Maurice Walsh’s summary of DN 19: “Mahāgovinda Sutta: The Great Steward (A Past Life of Gotama). The gandhabba Pan͂casikha appears to the Buddha and reports, similarly to Sutta 18, on a meeting of the gods. Then follows the story of the Great Steward who conducted the affairs of seven kings and then retired into the homeless life, bringing many people to the Brahmā-world which is the highest people can reach in an age when there is no Buddha. At the end the Buddha tells Pan͂casikha that he was that steward, but that the path he now teaches, as the Buddha, goes beyond what he was able to teach then.”)
Once upon a time a King named Bharata reigned at Roruva in the kingdom of Sovīra. He practiced the ten royal virtues (generosity, morality, renunciation, honesty, gentleness, asceticism, non-violence, patience, uprightness), won the people by the four elements of popularity (loving-kindness, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity), stood to the multitude like father and mother, and gave great gifts to the poor, the wayfarers, the beggars, the suitors and the like. His chief Queen Samuddavijayā was wise and full of knowledge. One day he looked around his alms hall and thought, “My alms are devoured by worthless, greedy people. I don’t like this. I want to give alms to the virtuous paccekabuddhas who deserve the best of gifts. They live in the Himālaya region. Who will bring them here on my invitation and who will I send on this errand?”
He spoke to the Queen, who said, “O King, do not be concerned. Sending flowers by the force of our giving suitable things and of our virtue and truthfulness, we will invite the paccekabuddhas. And when they come, we will give them gifts with all things they require.” The King agreed.
He made a proclamation by drum that all the townspeople should undertake to keep the Precepts. He himself—along with his household—undertook all the duties for the holy days and gave great gifts in charity. He had a gold box brought, filled it with jasmine flowers, went down from his palace, and stood in the royal courtyard. There he prostrated himself on the ground with the five contacts (the five senses), he saluted towards the eastern quarter and threw seven handfuls of flowers with the words, “I salute the arahants in the eastern quarter. If there is any merit in us, show compassion on us and receive our alms.” But, as there were no paccekabuddhas in the eastern quarter, they did not come on the next day.
On the second day he paid respects to the south quarter. But no one came from there. On the third day he paid respects to the west quarter, but no one came from there. On the fourth day he paid respects to the north quarter, and after paying respects, he threw seven handfuls of flowers with the words, “May the paccekabuddhas who live in the north district of Himālaya receive our alms.”
The flowers flew and fell on 500 paccekabuddhas in the Nandamūla cave. On reflection they understood that the King had invited them, so they called seven of their number and said, “Sirs, the King invites you. Show him favor.”
These seven paccekabuddhas flew through the air and landed at the King’s gate. Seeing them, the King saluted them with delight. He had them come up into the palace. He showed them great honor and gave them gifts. After the meal he asked them to return for the next day and so on until the fifth day, feeding them in this way for six days. On the seventh day he prepared a gift of all the requisites. He arranged beds and chairs inlaid with gold. He set before the seven paccekabuddhas sets of three robes and all other things used by holy men. The King and Queen formally offered these things to them after their meal and stood in respectful salutation. To express their thanks, the Elder of the assembly spoke two stanzas:
Whate’er a man can save from flames that burn his dwelling down,
Not what is left to be consumed, will still remain his own.
The world’s on fire, decay and death are there the flame to feed,
Save what you can by charity, a gift is saved indeed.
Figure: Honoring the paccekabuddha
Thus expressing thanks, the Elder counseled the King to be diligent in virtue. Then he flew up in the air, straight through the peaked roof of the palace, and landed in the Nandamūla cave. Along with him all the requisites that had been given him flew up and also landed in the cave. The bodies of the King and Queen became full of joy. After his departure, the other six also expressed thanks in a stanza each:
He who gives to righteous men,
Strong in holy energy,
Crosses Yama’s flood, and then
Gains a dwelling in the sky.
Like to war is charity,
Hosts may flee before a few:
Give a little piously,
Bliss hereafter is your due.
Prudent givers please the Lord,
Worthily they spend their toil.
Rich the fruit their gifts afford,
Like a seed in fertile soil.
They who never rudely speak,
Wrong to living things abjure,
Men may call them timid, weak,
For ‘tis fear that keeps them pure.
Lower duties win for man, reborn on earth, a princely fate,
Middle duties win them heaven, highest win the Purest State.
Charity is blessed, oh, Lord,
Yet the Law gains high reward.
Ages old and late attest,
Thus the wise have reached their Rest.
So they also went with the requisites given to them.
The seventh paccekabuddha praised in his thanks the eternal nirvāna to the King. And counseling him, he carefully went back to his home as has been said. The King and Queen gave gifts all their lives and then passed fully through the path to heaven.
After the lesson, the Master said, “So wise people of old gave gifts with discrimination.” Then he identified the birth: “At that time the paccekabuddhas reached nirvāna, Samuddavijayā was the mother of Rāhula (Yasodhara), and I was the King Bharata.”
