The Ascetic and the Treacherous Woman: Takka Jataka

In a past life, the Bodhisatta was once an ascetic who lived a blissful life on the banks of the Ganges River. One day, a terrible and abusive daughter of a royal treasurer was pushed into the river by her servants during a great storm. The Bodhisatta heard her cries and pulled her out, taking care of her for several days as she recovered.During her recovery, the woman successfully seduced the Bodhisatta, causing him to lose his spiritual insight. The couple moved to a remote village, where they made a living by selling dates and telling fortunes. The Bodhisatta became known as the Date Sage.One day, a gang of thieves from the mountains raided the village, taking away all the valuables and kidnapping the treasurer’s daughter. The Bodhisatta continued his life in the village, hoping his wife would return someday. However, she became very happy with her new life and feared that the Bodhisatta would take her back, so she schemed to have him killed.She sent a loving message asking the Bodhisatta to come rescue her, and he did. Upon his arrival, she told him to hide in her house until nightfall, planning to flee safely together. However, when the chief thief returned, the woman betrayed the Bodhisatta, telling the thief that her former husband was hiding in the next room.The thief attacked the Bodhisatta mercilessly, but he did not cry out. Instead, he repeatedly said, “Ungrateful wretch.” The next morning, the thief beat him again, and the Bodhisatta’s only response was to repeat the same phrase. Puzzled by this reaction, the thief asked the Bodhisatta to explain himself.The Bodhisatta related his tale, and the thief realized that if the woman could kill a man who had done so much for her, he himself was not safe from her wickedness. In response, the thief sliced the woman in half with his sword.Grateful for being saved from the woman’s treachery, the thief bathed the Bodhisatta from head to foot and fed him fine food. Eventually, the Bodhisatta returned to a holy life in the forest, and the thief joined him. They lived out their years with the joy of spiritual insight and entered heaven after they passed away.

In the Lifetime of the Buddha

This tale has a significant connection to the Buddha’s later life. One of the Buddha’s disciples was struggling to overcome his attraction to women, and the Buddha told him this story to remind him that women could be ungrateful, unreliable, dishonest, wrathful, and quarrelsome. The Buddha emphasized that religion and a spiritual path were the only ways to true happiness.The chief thief in the story was revealed to be an earlier birth of Ananda, one of the Buddha’s top disciples. This narrative highlighted the transformative power of the Buddha’s teachings and the potential for redemption and spiritual growth.

Moral

The Takka Jataka teaches us about the dangers of attachment and the importance of maintaining a detached and wise perspective. The story emphasizes that worldly desires and relationships can lead to suffering and that true happiness comes from following a spiritual path. The Bodhisatta’s experiences serve as a cautionary tale about the unreliability of worldly attachments and the importance of returning to a life of spiritual practice. This tale underscores the Buddhist principle of avoiding attachment and cultivating mindfulness to navigate life’s challenges effectively.