The Bodhisatta’s Wisdom: Overcoming Malice with Justice and Righteousness

The Bodhisatta’s Wisdom: Overcoming Malice with Justice and Righteousness

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Once, the Bodhisatta was a young prince, beloved by the people but overlooked by his own father, the king. During his studies in the city of Taxila, the Bodhisatta mastered a remarkable spell that allowed him to understand the language of animals. One evening, while sitting alone in his chamber, the Bodhisatta overheard a conversation that would set the course for a remarkable series of events.

A jackal, prowling outside the palace, had spotted a man resting near the gates. The jackal whispered to her two cubs that she would steal the man’s shoes for them to feast on. The Bodhisatta, hearing this, leaned out of his window and warned the man to raise his shoes so that the jackal could not snatch them. Furious at being thwarted, the jackal cursed the prince, vowing revenge.

A few nights later, the jackal found a drowned man in a lotus pond. She told her cubs that the man had valuable coins and a ring, and they would feast on his body. The Bodhisatta again overheard the plot. This time, he warned a passerby to retrieve the man’s belongings and ensure the body sank, denying the jackal her prey. Enraged, the jackal once more cursed the Bodhisatta, vowing that in three days, a rival king would lay siege to the city and the prince would meet a terrible fate.

As foretold, the rival king attacked, and the Bodhisatta’s father, the king, ordered him to defend the city. The Bodhisatta, aware of the curse, explained his fear of the prophecy. However, the king, indifferent to his son’s fate, commanded him to go. The Bodhisatta, though reluctant, gathered his soldiers and secretly left through a back gate to set up camp outside the city. Respect for the Bodhisatta’s wisdom and leadership led the citizens to follow him, and the king, realizing his impending doom, fled the city with his queen and a few loyal servants.

Once the Bodhisatta learned that his father had escaped, he returned to the city, reclaimed the throne, and decisively defeated the rival king. The royal family, now living in exile in the forest, faced even greater trials. The queen, feeling isolated and abandoned, began an affair with a servant, and together they plotted the murder of the king. One day, while the king bathed, the servant killed him and buried his body. The chaplain, who had been gathering fruit nearby, witnessed the murder but managed to escape undetected.

In an effort to protect himself, the chaplain pretended to be blind, claiming that venomous snakes had attacked his eyes. The servant, believing the chaplain had not seen the murder, continued to act as if everything were normal. The chaplain, now living in the forest, continued his charade, leaving the servant to care for him.

Time passed, and the queen gave birth to a son. Unbeknownst to the boy, he was the true heir to the throne. Raised by the servant, the boy believed him to be his father. But as the boy grew older, the chaplain revealed the truth of his royal lineage and taught him how to wield a sword. The young prince, now of age, took vengeance on the servant, killing him in the same manner his father had been murdered. The prince rebuked his mother for her betrayal, and together with the chaplain, they returned to the kingdom.

The Bodhisatta, now ruling with wisdom and justice, appointed the young prince as the viceroy of the city, ensuring that the rightful heir would lead with honor.

In the Buddha’s time, it was revealed that the wicked king in this story was a previous incarnation of Devadatta, a disciple of the Buddha who later became his greatest adversary. The Buddha shared this tale with his followers to show them that even those who seek to harm the wise and righteous are bound to fail, just as Devadatta’s attempts to harm the Buddha in his past life were futile. The true power lies in wisdom, justice, and moral integrity.


Moral of the Story:
Wisdom and righteousness will always prevail over malice and evil. Even in the face of treachery, the just and wise are destined to triumph.

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