Tag Archives: The Bodhisatta – The Goat and The Brahmin

107. The Bodhisatta – The Goat and The Brahmin

Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, a Brahmin, who was versed in the Three Vedas and world-famed as a teacher, being minded to offer a Feast for the Dead, had a goat fetched and said to his pupils: “My sons, take this goat down to the river and bathe it; then hang a garland round its neck, give it some grain to eat, groom it a bit and bring it back.”

They took the goat to the river, where they bathed and groomed and set it on the bank. The goat, becoming conscious of the deeds of its past lives, was overjoyed at the thought that on this very day it would be freed form all its misery, and laughed aloud. Then at the thought that the Brahmin by slaying it would bear the misery which it had borne, the goat felt a great compassion for the Brahmin, and wept with a loud voice.