Bodhisatta’s Wisdom: Challenging the King for Justice

In a past life, the Bodhisatta was born as an untouchable. One day, his wife, who was pregnant, developed an overwhelming craving for a mango. However, it was not mango season, and the fruit was impossible to find. Despite this, the Bodhisatta’s wife insisted that she would die if she did not have a mango. Wanting to fulfill her wish, the Bodhisatta was determined to find one.

After considering his options, the Bodhisatta remembered a special mango tree in the royal park that bore fruit year-round. Late at night, he snuck into the park and climbed the tree, cautiously searching for a ripe mango. However, just before he could find one, daylight broke, and the Bodhisatta knew he could not come down without being seen. He decided to remain in the tree until nightfall and retrieve the mango after dark.

The next day, the king visited the park to study sacred texts with his chaplain under the mango tree. The king sat in a high seat, while the chaplain sat below. Observing this, the Bodhisatta was deeply disturbed. He knew that a holy teacher should always sit above their students, and this behavior struck him as a wicked violation of proper conduct. Filled with shame over his own misdeed of stealing the mango, the Bodhisatta decided to act.

He swung down from the tree and boldly rebuked the king and the chaplain for their improper seating arrangement. The king, impressed by the wisdom and courage of the untouchable, replied that he would have given the Bodhisatta his crown if he had not been from a low caste. Instead, the king offered to share the kingdom with the Bodhisatta. The king would rule during the day, and the Bodhisatta would rule at night. To honor him, the king placed a garland of red flowers around his neck. From then on, the king always took the lower seat when studying with his chaplain.

In the Lifetime of the Buddha

In the Buddha’s time, there were six disciples who were notorious for disregarding the rules, one of which was teaching from a low seat while their students sat above them. When the Buddha confronted these disciples about their behavior, he recounted this story to show them that, in the past, he had also dealt with a similar situation. He reminded them that true respect for authority and wisdom means adhering to proper conduct, regardless of status or position.

In this story, the king was later reborn as Ananda, one of the Buddha’s top disciples.

Moral: This story highlights the importance of proper respect, especially in spiritual contexts. The Bodhisatta’s bold rebuke of the king for his improper conduct serves as a reminder that wisdom and righteousness should not be bound by one’s social status or caste. In the end, the Bodhisatta’s action led to positive change, and his wisdom was respected, even by those of higher rank. It also illustrates how wrongdoings can lead to reflection and transformation, both for individuals and society.