The Ascetic and the Rich Man: A Lesson in True Wrongdoing

The Tale
In a past life, the Bodhisatta was an ascetic who lived in the serene heights of the Himalayas. One day, he descended to a town to collect salt and seasoning for his simple meals. As he went on his alms round, a wealthy man, eager to amuse himself at the expense of the ascetic, took him to his home. There, he served the Bodhisatta a meal that included fish.

Once the meal was finished, the rich man smugly declared, “I killed this fish especially for you. You have done wrong by eating it.”

The Bodhisatta calmly responded, “It is not wrong to eat food given by others, but it is wrong to kill. I did not kill the fish. I only accepted what was offered.”

With this, the Bodhisatta reminded him that wrongdoing lies in the act of killing, not in accepting food.

In the Lifetime of the Buddha
In a later life, the same rich man was reborn as a prominent ascetic who opposed the Buddha. After a general had converted to Buddhism, he offered the Buddha a meal that included meat. The heretic ascetic criticized the Buddha harshly for accepting and eating the meat, claiming that this was wrong.

When the Buddha heard his disciples discussing the criticisms of this ascetic, he shared this story, revealing that this same man had, in a past life, made the same spiteful attack against him. The Buddha used the tale to show that the ascetic’s understanding had not changed, and he continued to speak out of ignorance and malice.

Moral
True wrongs lie in harmful actions, such as killing, not in the acceptance of what others offer. Judging others for their choices without understanding the full context reflects ignorance and a lack of wisdom.