Sonaka Jataka: The Power of Renunciation & Spiritual Wisdom

The Sonaka Jataka narrates a story of friendship, spiritual realization, and the impermanence of life. It contrasts the path of worldly ambition with the path of spiritual renunciation, illustrating the transformative power of insight into the nature of existence. The story also highlights the dangers of attachment and the wisdom of those who choose to renounce worldly pleasures for spiritual freedom.

The Plot

The Bodhisatta as a King

In this previous life, the Bodhisatta is born as a prince and the son of the chief queen. His closest friend is the son of the royal chaplain, and the two grow up together, sharing the same education and experiences. The two friends, deeply bonded, are sent to Taxila for further studies, where they complete their education.

After finishing their studies, they embark on a journey through the land, seeking new experiences. They arrive in a city just a week after the king’s death, and the city is now without a ruler. The two friends decide to set up camp in the royal park and spend the night there. The following morning, they go to the city to seek alms, and during this time, they have an encounter that will change their fates.

At one house, the Bodhisatta is offered a seat covered with a white cloth, while his friend is given a seat with a red woolen rug. The friend interprets this as a sign or omen that the Bodhisatta is destined to become the next king, while he himself will be chosen as the commander-in-chief.

The Royal Selection

Later, as the two rest in the park, the royal chariot is sent out without a driver, a customary way of selecting a ruler. The procession comes by the park where the Bodhisatta and his friend are resting. The Bodhisatta’s friend, desiring to renounce worldly life and become an ascetic, hides from the royal procession. Meanwhile, the Bodhisatta is awakened by the sounds of the royal musicians. The royal chaplain offers the Bodhisatta the throne, and the Bodhisatta, after a brief coronation right there in the park, accepts the crown and assumes the title of king.

Once crowned, the Bodhisatta forgets his friend, as his focus shifts entirely to his new role as ruler. Meanwhile, his friend, feeling the emptiness of worldly life and desiring liberation, reflects on the impermanence of all things, symbolized by a falling leaf. This realization deepens his insight into the transient nature of life, leading him to become an ascetic. His clothes magically transform into those of an ascetic, and filled with joy at the prospect of no more rebirths, he heads to the Himalayas to live a life of meditation and self-discipline.

The Bodhisatta’s Search for His Friend

Forty years later, the Bodhisatta, now a mature king, remembers his old friend and wonders about his whereabouts. He composes a song in search of his friend:

“A thousand coins for one who sees my friend so dear,
A hundred if they give me any news that they hear.”

This song spreads throughout the kingdom, and dancing girls and other residents sing it. Over time, the song becomes a popular refrain, sung by people across the city and country, but no one knows the whereabouts of the ascetic friend.

The Ascetic’s Response

A decade later, the Bodhisatta’s friend divines that the king wishes to see him. He decides to respond by preaching to his old friend about the dangers of desire and the blessings of renunciation. To do so, he visits the city and sits down in the royal park. There, he hears a young boy singing the king’s song and teaches the boy a response refrain:

“Give me the thousand coins because at last,
I have seen with my own eyes your dear friend from the past.”

The boy, now with the ascetic’s message, goes to the palace, but instead of simply singing the refrain, he demands the king announce the song publicly by the sound of a drum so everyone can hear it. The king agrees. Once the crowd gathers, the king sings his part of the song, and the boy responds with the message that he has found the Bodhisatta’s dear friend.

The Confrontation and the Friend’s Teachings

The Bodhisatta, eager to meet his old friend, rushes to the park, where the two friends reunite. The Bodhisatta, full of joy, listens to his friend, who begins to explain the benefits of the ascetic life—from freedom from attachment to the safety of inner peace. However, the Bodhisatta, still attached to the comforts of his royal life, interrupts, stating that he is too fond of worldly pleasures to give them up.

The ascetic friend, seeing the king’s attachment, tells him a parable to illustrate the dangers of clinging to the material world. The parable involves a foolish crow who sees an elephant carcass floating down the Ganges River and mistakenly believes it to be a perfect home. The crow climbs onto the carcass, eating and drinking to his satisfaction. However, as the carcass floats out to sea, with no land in sight, the crow finds himself trapped and eventually eaten by a sea creature.

The friend finishes his story and then rises into the sky, returning to his hermitage in the Himalayas, having offered his counsel.

The Bodhisatta’s Renunciation

The parable deeply affects the Bodhisatta. He realizes that the pursuit of worldly pleasures is ultimately futile and leads to suffering, just as the crow’s attachment to the elephant carcass led to his demise. The Bodhisatta, overwhelmed with remorse and insight, decides to renounce his throne. He hands over the kingship to his eldest son and, like his friend, goes to live the life of an ascetic in search of spiritual liberation.

In the Lifetime of the Buddha

In the Buddha’s time, the Buddha overheard his disciples discussing his Great Renunciation, the moment when he left behind his life as a prince to seek enlightenment. The Buddha shared this story as an example of a similar renunciation from his past life. Just as the Bodhisatta in the Sonaka Jataka renounced his kingdom for spiritual awakening, so too did the Buddha renounce his princely life to seek the truth and achieve enlightenment.

The Bodhisatta’s son, who inherits the throne after the Bodhisatta’s renunciation, is said to be an earlier birth of the Buddha’s son.

Themes and Moral Lessons

1. Impermanence (Anicca): A central theme in the story is the impermanence of all things, symbolized by the falling leaf. The recognition that all material possessions and worldly power are fleeting is what leads both the Bodhisatta’s friend and later the Bodhisatta himself to renounce worldly life and seek spiritual liberation.
2. The Dangers of Attachment: The parable of the crow teaches that attachment to worldly desires is like the crow’s attachment to the floating elephant carcass—ultimately leading to destruction and suffering. Renunciation and the pursuit of wisdom and self-realization are the true paths to freedom.
3. Spiritual Friendship: The story highlights the profound impact that a spiritual friend can have on one’s life. The Bodhisatta’s friend, through his example and teachings, leads the Bodhisatta to understand the futility of worldly pleasures and to make the radical shift from king to ascetic.
4. Renunciation and Enlightenment: The story illustrates the process of renouncing the material world in favor of a life dedicated to spiritual development. This theme is directly connected to the Buddha’s own renunciation of his royal life in search of enlightenment.
5. The Power of Insight: Insight into the true nature of existence (such as the impermanence of life) is the key to overcoming attachment and suffering. The ascetic’s realization about the transient nature of life is the turning point that leads him to become a Buddha in his own right, even though he does not teach others.

The Sonaka Jataka thus serves as a parable for all who are attached to worldly things, encouraging them to reflect on the fleeting nature of life and the importance of pursuing spiritual wisdom over material gain.