Sunday Parable

Repentance and realization

Prof Sunanda MAHENDRA

During the time of the Buddha there lived two young men in a village, discontented with the domestic life. One a carpenter and the other a hunter. They knew each other and discussed about their lives. The carpenter, the elder said: "I am really fed up with this monotonous carpenter's life. All I do is just make wooden items. I straighten crooked wood and I don't have time to straighten my mind." The younger friend listened to the carpenter and retorted.

"I know what you mean! Mine is worse, as I am always aiming at birds and beasts. What a life!" "Shall we become monks?" Asked the carpenter.

"That may be a possible solution." Said the hunter. Following this discussion, they went to have a dip in the river Achiravathi that flowed across the village. The monastery where the Buddha resided at the time was situated close by. Cleansing themselves, both of them went to listen to a sermon of the Buddha. They felt extremely happy on listening to the sermon as it also tend to cleanse their inner selves. Followed by the listening to the sermon of the Buddha they decided to obtain permission to take refuge as monks in the order of Sangha Sasana, the dispensation of the Buddha. They felt happy being monks, and they were tempted to engage in a series of activities which they felt as a variant to their monotonous lives as laymen. They were no longer a carpenter and a hunter. But some of their lay manners did not change. They discussed matters intimately as friends even being monks, "What about a dip in the river Achiravathi?" Asked the older friend.

"Nobody, not even the Buddha will hinder us from taking a bath in the river Achiravathi." "But we got to be secluded." They both walked to the river Achiravathi on their way they saw a flock of swans flying in the clear sky.

"Oh what a lovely flock of swans." Said the young monk, who was formerly a hunter. The older monk was silently watching them. "I feel like shooting one." Said the other. "But you don't have bows and arrows." "But still you can shoot them." "How?" "You hold a piece of pebble like this between your two fingers," then he demonstrated it by picking up a pebble. "Then all you do is to keep a finger and take the aim, and thrust it in the swiftest possible manner." As the elder monk watched, the younger was not only simulated the act but actually pelted a swan. The pebble hit one of the swans and swooped down wounded right in front of them. "Oh what have you done?" Shouted the older monk. "You have wounded the bird. Look! He is in his last moments." Then the shooter took the bird into his hand and tried his best to caress the wounded creature. But they failed to bring back life to the bird as the pebble had hit hard on the heart of the swan. "You are a sinner. See you have killed this innocent bird." Cried the older monk. "I did not mean to kill it. I just tried to show you that a bird who is flying in the sky could be killed even with a small pebble if a hunter is skilful." "Whatever it is you are a sinner now. You should know you are not a hunter anymore." "Yes I know." They buried the swan on the bank of the river Achirvathi. Then they kept silent for sometime. The fact that a swan was killed by a young monk ordained recently had reached the ears of the Buddha. Both the young monks were repenting for the sinful act for what they were sharers. They went to see Buddha who knew why they have come. "Are you repenting over an evil act?" Asked the Buddha. "Yes Master." "In the first instance you should realise that you are two members of a great blissful members of a spiritual community." Both of them kept silent as the Buddha spoke. "You ordained as monks having discontented with the lay life.

But you seem to be doing some of the activities of laymen which are not productive for your upliftment of the spirited manners. You should be restrained in all your ways. Restrain your body! Restrain your mind.

Restrain your actions. Restrain your words. A real Bhikkhu or a monk is a person who possesses these qualities. There was a gathering of a few more monks who had come to listen to the words of the Buddha. Then the two newly ordained monks obtained a subject for meditation and went to their cells with a realization of their follies.

Source: Dhammapada