Once upon a time when Brahmadatta reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta came to the life as a Nimb-tree spirit in a cemetery grove of that city.

Now one day a robber having been guilty of an act of theft is an outlying hamlet of the city entered the cemetery grove. And at this time two old trees stood there, a Nimb-tree and a Bo-tree the robber placed his stolen goods at the foot of this Nimb-tree and lay down there. Now in these days robbers that were caught were put to torture by being impaled on a stake of the Nimb-tree. So the spirit of the Nimb-tree thought: “If people should come and capture this robber, they will cut off a branch and make a stake from this Nimb-tree and impale him on it. And in that case the tree will be destroyed. So I will drive the fellow away.”

Then he said:–

“Robber! Get up! Why sleepest thou? It is not the time to sleep. The king’s men are here. Run! before the king’s men take you.” Thus he frightened the robber away. And seeing this the deity of the Bo-tree said: “Whether they catch the thief or not, what difference would it make?”

The deity of the Nimb-tree on hearing this said: “O! Bo-tree! You don’t know the secret of my fear;

I would not have the king’s men find that robber here. If they find, they will cut a branch from my tree and use it to impale him on a stake.

And while the two deities were thus conversing together, the owners of the property, following on the trail of the robber, with torches in their hand, when they saw the place where he had been lying down said, “The robber has just risen up and fled from this place. If we catch him, we will come back and here impale him at the foot of this Nimb-tree, or hang him from one of its branches.”

And with these words searching the robber, they went. And on hearing what they said the spirit of the Bo-tree said:–

Beware a danger yet unseen: suspect before too late,

The wise even in this present world look to a future state.

The Master, when he had brought this lesson to an end, identified the Birth: “At that time Sariputta was the Spirit of the Bo-tree. I myself was the Nimb-tree Spirit.”