Academic Sutta Name Notes PSA Plae Vagga Nikaya PTS Keywords
J.146 Kaaka Jaataka Once a crow came with his mate to the seashore and ate freely of the remnants of the sacrifice which had been offered by men to the Nagas. They also drank the alcohol that had been left as an offering and became drunk. The crows tried to swim in the surf, the female being washed away and eaten by a fish. Hearing the husbandís lamentations, many crows assembled and tried to empty the ocean, working themselves almost to exhaustion. Seeing their plight, the Bodhisatva, who was a sea-sprite, caused a bogey to appear from the sea, frightening them away. The story was told in reference to a number of monks who had joined the monkhood in their old age. They went for alms to their former wivesí and childrensí houses and gathering together at the house of a particular ex-wife (who was very beautiful), ate all their choicest alms with curries and sauces prepared by that wife. The woman died and the aged monks, returning to the monastery, wept aloud for their benefactress, the giver of the sauces. The matter was reported to the Buddha who identified the crows of the past with the foolish monks. 56/582 Jaataka Khuddhaka J.i.497ff., DhA.iii.422 mourning


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Last modified on: Sunday, 2 January 2000.