| J.020 |
Na.lapaana Jaataka |
Once the bodhisatva was born as the leader of a troupe of monkeys. He gave strict
orders that none of the troupe should eat or drink anything in a strange place without
his prior consent. One day the monkeys were very thirsty and arrived at a lake in
the forest -- but they do not eat until their leader arrives. He examined the lake
and surmised that it was haunted by an ogre. He then provided all his followers with
long reeds, which by the power of his virtue, hollow out into drinking straws. The
monkeys are able to drink without endangering themselves by coming into physical
contact with the water. Thenceforth all the reeds around the lake are hollow. This
is the story of one of the four miracles that will endure throughout the kappa. The
Jataka was related by the Buddha in Nalakapana to explain the hollowness of the reeds.
The ogre in the story is identified with Devadatta. |
55/274 |
Jaataka |
Khuddhaka |
J.i.170ff. |
observation, prudence |