Once on a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta was born a merchant. When he grew up, and was trading with five hundred wagons and one day he came to where the road led through a great forest. Halting at the outskirts, he mustered the caravan and addressed them thus:- “Poison trees grow in this forest. Be Careful. Do not taste unfamiliar leaf, flower, or fruit without first consulting me.” All promised to take every care; and journey into the forest began. Now just within the forest border stands a village, and just outside that village grows a what fruit tree. The what fruit tree exactly resembles a mango tree. And not only in outward semblance, but also in taste and smell, the fruit ripe or unripe imitates the mango. If eaten, it is a deadly poison, and causes instant death.

Now some greedy fellows, who went on ahead of the caravan, came to this tree and, taking it to be a mango, ate its fruit. But others said, “Let us ask our leader before we eat”; and they accordingly halted by the tree, fruit in hand, till he came up. Perceiving that it was no mango, he said; “This ‘mango’ is a What fruit tree; don’t touch its fruit.”

Having stopped them from eating, the Bodhisatta turned his attention to those who had already eaten. First he dosed them with an emetic, and then he gave them the four sweet foods to eat; so that in the end they recovered.

On former occasions caravans had halted beneath this same tree, and had died from eating the poisonous fruit which they mistook for mangoes. In the morning, the villagers would come, and seeing them lying there dead, would fling them by the heels into a secret place, departing with all the belongings of the caravan, wagons and all.

The next morning the villagers came to take the oxen and caravan; But when they came breathless to the tree, there was the whole caravan alive and well!

The disappointed villagers demanded:”How came you to know this was not a mango tree?”

One man in the caravan said,”We didn’t know. It was our leader who knew.”

So the villagers came to the Bodhisatta and said, “Man of wisdom, what did you do to find out this tree was not a mango?”

the Bodhisatta replied:”Two things told me.”

When near a village grows a tree

Not hard to climb, tis plain to me,

Nor need I further proof to know,

No wholesome fruit thereon can grow!

And having taught the Truth to the assembled multitude, he finished his journey in safety.