134. The Bodhisatta And His Six Brothers
Once upon a time, when Brahmadatta was king in Benares, the Bodhisatta was born as the son of a great brahmin magnifico who owned a fortune of eighty crores of money. The name they gave him was my lord Maha-Kancana, the Greater Lord of Gold. At the time when he could but just go upon his feet, another son was born to the brahmin, and they called him my lord Upa-Kancana, the Lesser Lord of Gold. Thus in succession seven sons came, and youngest of all came a daughter, whom they named Kancana-devi, the Lady of Gold.
133. The Bodhisatta And His Sacrifice
Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta was reborn in the womb of the Queen. When he was born, he was named as Prince Brahmadatta. By sixteen years of age he had been well educated at Takkasila, had learned the Three Vedas by heart, and was versed in the Eighteen Branches of Knowledge. And his father made him a Viceroy.
In those days the Benares folk used to show honour to ‘gods’ and celebrated festivals. They killed number of sheeps, goats, poultry etc., and perform their rites. The Bodhisatta thought to himself, “Led by superstition, men now wantonly sacrifice life; When I succeed my throne, I will find means to end such destruction of life. I will devise some clever stratagem whereby the evil shall be stopped without harming a single human being.”
132. The Bodhisatta And His Pupil
Once on a time, while Brahmadatta was king of Benares, the Bodhisatta was born as the son of an elephant trainer. When he grew up, he was taught all the art of managing the elephant.
And there came a young villager from Kasi who wanted to learn elephant training. The Bodhisatta taught everything according to their own knowledge of thepupil. So this youth learnt all the branches of knowledge from the Bodhisatta, without omission; and when he had learnt, he said to his master: “Master, I will serve the king and please get me one.”
131. The Bodhisatta And His Passion
Once upon a time, in the reign of Brahmadatta king of Benares, the Bodhisatta was born in a Brahmin family, which had wealth to the amount of eight hundred millions of money. He grew up, and received his education at Takkasila and returned to Benares. There he married a wife; and on his parents’ death, he performed their obsequies. Then, as he inspected his treasure, he thought: “The treasure is still here, but they who gathered it are here no more! He was overcome with grief.”
He lived a long time at home, and gave much in alms; he mastered his passions; then he left his weeping friends, and went into the Himalayas, where he built a hut in delightful spot, and lived on the wild fruits and roots of the forest. He cultivated the Faculties and the Attainments, and lived awhile in the bliss of joyous meditation.
