Jathaka stories:

Kulawaka jathakaya

Retold by Risitha Deelaka Wickmal Subasinghe

Once when the Buddha was staying at Dewram Viharaya in Savath Nuwara, He preached the Kulawaka Jathakaya to a monk who drinks unfiltered water.

(It is regarded a sin if a monk drinks unfiltered water. Because in unfiltered water, there are a lot of microlives live.) Two monks who were at Savath Nuwara who became friendly on their return trip from Kosol Rata and felt thirsty and went in search of a well. After walking quite a distance they found a small well.

One monk who had a piece of cloth with him strained the water and drank, but was not willing to lend the cloth to the other. The other had no other alternative except to drink water without straining.

Upon reaching Jethawanaramaya both monks called on the Buddha.

"Where do you both come from?", the Buddha inquired. "Sir, we went to Kosol Rata, stayed there and came returned," said one. Then the Buddha asked again. "It seems that you both are not in friendly terms. What is the reason may I know?, the Buddha demanded. "Sir, this monk refused to part with his piece of cloth to strain water. So I had no other option except to drink unstrained water, - the other replied.

"Monks, violating someone's right to live is a great sin and that who refrains from that sin and make others live with it is a great merit." Thus, said the Buddha and preached the Kulawaka(nest) Jathakaya.

There was a king called Magadha in the Magadha Rata in ancient India. The Bodhisatva was born to a rich aristocratic family in a village called Machala. He was later came to be known as Magha. He was a young and handsome aristocrat. He entered wedlock at the right age, lived peacefully and faithfully looking after his wife and children. He strictly adhered to the five precepts of the Dhamma and was also benevolent.

Thirty families lived in Machala. They set up a trade centre in the centre of the village, with a community building for people who pass-through the village to rest, and a huge pot of water to quench their thirst.

People who in the area respected Magha and always followed his advice. Magha taught them the five precepts of the Dhamma and advised them to strictly follow those rules. Gradually the people became righteous. They rose early in the mornings, systematically trashed the garbage on either sides of the roads, cleared the rocks, built bridges, set up community halls and gave alms and so on.

The village headman became envious of the good community work done by the people led by Magha. When people sold toddy and slaughtered animals, they paid him money as bribe, but now that all of them started leading righteous lives and he became the poorer, no one was there to give bribes. The fuming man went to the king and complained.

"O, great king! A gang of thieves have come to our village and they are digging the earth in search of hidden treasures," he complained. Without holding a fair inquiry, the king announced death sentences for thirty people. The Royal mahout brought the most furious elephant belonging to the king to crush the thirty.

The innocent crowd was petrified with fear. Magha advised them, thus, "Do not panic. We have not done anything wrong. Review Dhamma and look at those who try to kill you in loving kindness, including the king and the elephant." Everyone who was sentenced to death did as they were told by Magha.

To everyone's wonder, the elephant which was believed to be ferocious did not charge at them. Despite mahouts prodding with all his might, the elephant refused and walked away. Then they brought another elephant and that too behaved like the earlier one.

The king became suspicious of the people and ordered his men to check if they had done any charm on the elephants.

"Yes, great king, we have a good spell," replied Magha. "I order you to chant that same spell right in front of me, the king commanded.

"Great King, the only mantra we know is that we do not kill animals, do not steal, do not engage in adultery, do not take alcohol, and do not tell lies and we spread love and kindness, we give alms, we build and repair roads, dig ponds, set up halls - and that is our mantra." The king was so impressed, he decided to punish the village headman for misleading the king. The king vested all the properties that belonged to him and gave them to Magha, who with the other thirty went back to their village with happiness and carried on with their meritorious activities. They built a huge hall at the junction for beggars and provided them with rotti and board.

There were four women, Sudharma, Chithra, Nanda and Sujatha in Magha's residence. Among them, Sudharma, Chithra and Nanda always engaged in meritorious activities except for Sujatha.

Sudharma offered a gem-studded Koth to the newly set up hall, Chitra put a beautiful park near the hall, Nanda built a pond near the hall but yet Sujatha showed no interest whatsoever to any communal activities. All three women accumulated merits by the work they had done.

Magha, the Bodhisatva believed in " the one who cherishes his parents, always in conversation in tender words, not telling tales, not being stingy and respects truthfulness and as the person who is admired by Gods". He led his life according to that.

He had a noble birth as the Shakra, the king of Gods in heaven, after he ended his life on earth.

There was a hard-minded evil community called Asura in the heavens. Shakra thought of a strategy to expel them from the heavens and he provided them with divine toddy. After they were intoxicated the Shakra drove them off to a place where other Asuras sojourn. That was under the huge rock called Mahameru Parvatha. There is an everlasting tree in heavens called Parasathu. Pattali is the everlasting tree in the Asura Bhavana (territory). When the Pattali tree bore flowers, Asuras realized that they had been expelled from their realm in heavens. They declared war against Shakra. When Shakra was on the verge of defeat, he got into his chariot called Vaijayanthi Ratha and fled via the sea. Due to the strength of his chariot the entire jungle vibrated and some bird nests (Kulawaka) with chicks fell into the sea and lamented out of fear of death. When Shakra heard the cry of birds, he halted his chariot so that the rest of the birds would not fall into sea. "We have never destroyed any one's life. If we flee via sea, we would save our lives but not these innocent birds'. So let us sacrifice our lives to Asuras." Thought the Shakra and turned his chariot to another direction. Asuras on seeing the turning of Shakra's chariot mistook that scene. They were petrified with fear that Shakra has received new divine power and now he would come towards them to destroy them. Out of fear of death they returned to their Asura territory. Shakra returned to heavens again and established strong defense lines across the heavens and called that particular part of the heavens Ayodya Pura.

Sudharma, Chitra and Nanda were born in heaven by the merits they had done during their life on earth. Three of them received positions of divine servants of the Shakra and they had the opportunity to be close to Shakra in heavens. Sudharma received a five hundred feet tall gem- studded stage by the merit of offering a gem -studded Koth for the hall at the centre of the city. Chitra received a divine park by her name. Nanda too received a huge divine pond in the heavens by the merits of offering a pond for the hall during their life on earth. Yet, Sujatha who showed no interest for any meritorious deeds having no merits at her disposal was born as a crane in the jungle.

Shakra inquired into Sujatha by his divine mind since she was absent in heaven while the other three were present. He could see Sujatha had received a low birth. He brought her to heaven and showed how the other three were enjoying with divine property. Shakra explained to Sujatha that they attained divinity by the merits they had done during their life on earth.

"You did not engage in any meritorious activities during your life on earth.

That is why you were born as an animal. Bear in mind to engage in meritorious deeds hereafter so that you will receive divinity", advised Shakra to the crane and escorted her back to the jungle.

The crane acted upon the advice given by Shakra and after her death, she was born to family whose trade was pottery making. Since she received a life of a human being, she engaged in a lot of meritorious deeds by which she was re-born as a daughter of Chepachiththiya -the king of Asuras.

When that Asura maiden attained age, her father gave her an opportunity to pick a person to marry at her own sweet will. The Asura king held a huge ceremony for his daughter to pick her partner; Shakra too participated in the ceremony in a form of an Asura. Asura princess sensed the relationship of Shakra and her in previous births, chose him to be her partner. Shakra took the princess to heaven and made her the queen of eight thousand million of celestial women.

The Buddha preached this story to the monks who gathered on that occasion.

"Monks! Shakra who was the king of heavens dared to lose his kingdom and life itself to save the lives of birds.

He guarded the observance of his precept of 'Not killing'. Yet, this monk being in the Buddha Sasana committed that sin. He drank water without filtering. That must not be happened again. The Buddha advised the monks after he preached the Kulawaka Jathaka.

The Buddha was born as the king of deities- Shakra in that life.