| J.025 |
Tittha Jaataka |
The bodhisatva was once the advisor of the king of Benares. One day, another horse
was washed in the place reserved for the kingís state charger, who, when taken there
to bathe, refused to enter. The bodhisatva, divining the reason, directed that the
horse should be taken elsewhere, and not always bathed in the same spot, adding that
a man will tire even of the daintiest food, if it never be changed. The bodhisatva
was amply rewarded for his skill in reading the horseís thoughts. The story was told
in reference to a monk, the disciple of Sariputta. He had been a goldsmith, and in
the meditation on impurity, prescribed for him by Sariputta, proved impossible for
him. He was taken to see the Buddha, who asked him to gaze at a lotus in a pond nearby.
The monk saw the lotus fade and, developing insight, became an arahant. he marvelled
at the Buddhaís power of reading thoughts and temperaments of others. The monk is
identified with the state charger and Ananda with the king. |
55/293 |
Jaataka |
Khuddhaka |
J.i.182ff. |
observation, personality, meditation |