Bodhisatta’s Generosity and Wisdom: The Power of Compassion in Buddhist Teachings

In this Jataka, the Bodhisatta is a wise and renowned teacher who is approached by one of his students, a virtuous young boy. The student asks the Bodhisatta how people manage to get ahead in life and become prosperous. In response, the Bodhisatta explains that there are four qualities that can lead to success: acting arrogant and angry, slandering others, being deceptive, and being unkind. These behaviors, he claims, help people climb to power and wealth in the world.

The student is shocked by this response, as it goes against his values of virtue and kindness. Disapproving of such selfish and immoral ways, the student decides to reject this path and vows to live a life of asceticism, dedicating himself to a religious life. He remains committed to his ascetic practices until the day he dies.

In the Lifetime of the Buddha

In the Buddha’s time, one of his disciples, who had been a student in a previous birth, asks Sariputta, one of the Buddha’s chief disciples, a similar question: how can someone achieve prosperity? Sariputta gives the same answer that the Bodhisatta had once given to the student in the past: by acting arrogantly, being angry, slandering others, deceiving people, and showing unkindness.

The disciple, just like the student in the earlier birth, is troubled by this response and disapproves of such selfish behavior. When Sariputta shares this conversation with the Buddha, the Buddha tells him this story from the past. He explains that this is not the first time the disciple has rejected such a worldly and harmful approach to prosperity, showing that his inclination toward virtue and disapproval of these wicked qualities has remained constant through his lifetimes.

Reflection on the Story

This Jataka teaches about the contrast between the path to true prosperity—based on moral conduct, kindness, and honesty—and the false path that relies on arrogance, deceit, and cruelty. The story highlights the inner wisdom of those who reject harmful practices, even when they are promoted as the way to worldly success. The virtuous student’s decision to renounce the pursuit of material wealth in favor of a life of asceticism is depicted as a noble choice that leads to spiritual fulfillment. Similarly, the Buddha uses this story to show that moral tendencies, like a rejection of unethical ways, transcend lifetimes and are part of the nature of virtuous individuals.