Bodhisatta’s Wisdom: Overcoming Desire and Attachment

Once upon a time, in a kingdom of the distant past, the Bodhisatta—who was not yet the Buddha—sat among an audience of gods, kings, and wise ascetics. He was renowned for his past lives, tales of wisdom and justice, which he shared to teach others about the world. This time, however, he told stories filled with harsh reflections on the nature of women, for his audience had come seeking answers about the fickleness of human desires and attachments.

“Let me tell you,” said the Bodhisatta, “of the ways of women, whose nature is as vicious as black snakes, and as ravenous as fire. Women are unreliable, fickle, ungrateful creatures, and their minds are like shifty monkeys. They will leave you in times of trouble, and their hearts are forever swayed by lust and desire. Women are like the wind: you can never catch them in a net, nor can you ever rely on them.”

As the Bodhisatta spoke, the audience, made up of many wise and powerful beings, nodded in agreement. Their applause echoed throughout the hall, and the vulture king, seated in the front, raised his voice in agreement. “What you say is true, Bodhisatta,” the vulture king declared. “Women cannot be trusted. Their shame knows no bounds, and they care for nothing but their own desires. Like parasites that infest a tree, they will feed off riches and power without ever offering loyalty or affection.”

The Bodhisatta smiled, acknowledging the vulture king’s words. Just as he prepared to continue, a renowned ascetic stood from the back of the crowd. “Indeed,” said the ascetic, “women are as perplexing as fish in the sea, as irritating as thorns on a bush, and as dangerous as blazing fires. Even the holiest of men, when tempted by their charms, fall to destruction.”

The Bodhisatta, now emboldened by the support of the wise ones in the room, continued. “There is no creature more treacherous than a woman. It is safer to talk to a goblin or a snake than to a woman. A woman’s smile can steal your wealth, and even when she is adorned with the finest jewels, she will still turn against her husband. Men who are wise and revered lose their honor when they fall under a woman’s spell. Only by conquering desire for women can one hope to reach enlightenment.”

His words were met with a resounding applause, and the gods and creatures in the hall agreed with his assessment of the dangers of women. But the Bodhisatta’s tale was not yet finished. He had one more lesson to impart.

“The heart of a man must be as firm as stone,” he said, “for women’s charms will lead him astray. It is only by overcoming attachment to women that a man can save himself from the misery of this world. Even when a woman seems sweet and loving, remember, she is but a fleeting shadow, here for a moment and gone the next. To reach the heavens, one must transcend lust, one must renounce the passions of the flesh.”

With that, the crowd murmured in agreement, and each creature, whether god, king, or wise sage, took the Bodhisatta’s advice to heart. But little did they know that this speech—this condemnation of women—was not the end of the story, for the Bodhisatta’s journey to wisdom had only just begun.

The Buddha’s Words to His Disciples

Much later, in a time long after the Bodhisatta had attained enlightenment, he found himself standing before five hundred dissatisfied disciples. These men had once been princes and nobles, but they had forsaken their kingdoms and families to follow the Buddha’s teachings. Over time, however, they grew discontented, longing for their former wives and homes. Their minds were clouded with attachment to the past, and they longed for the comforts of their old lives.

The Buddha, seeing their suffering, decided to address their concerns. He called upon them to gather in the quiet of a Himalayan valley, a peaceful place where the air was still and the landscape serene. It was there, surrounded by lush trees and quiet rivers, that the Buddha decided to tell them a story—a story that would both challenge their attachment and lead them to liberation.

“My dear disciples,” said the Buddha, “I know your hearts are heavy, burdened by your memories of your wives and your former lives. You have longed for the things you have left behind. But let me share a story that will help you understand the folly of attachment, particularly to the desire for women.”

With that, the Buddha began to recount a tale from the past, one in which the Bodhisatta himself spoke bitterly about women, just as the disciples were now thinking. He told them of the time when the Bodhisatta had sat among gods and wise men, speaking of the dangers of women.

“In those days,” the Buddha began, “the Bodhisatta sat among the gods and wise ascetics, giving a speech similar to the one you have in your hearts now. He spoke of the fickleness of women, their betrayal, their endless desires. He spoke of how women are like fire, unpredictable and dangerous, how they could be as treacherous as snakes, and how their beauty could destroy a man’s heart.”

The disciples listened carefully, recognizing the truth of what the Buddha was saying. But the Buddha was not finished. He continued, “The Bodhisatta’s words stirred a great deal of applause, as they did from you, but he soon realized that this view was not the whole truth. While women may embody certain weaknesses, as men do, the real danger lies in attachment to these weaknesses. The Bodhisatta, despite all his wisdom, failed to see the true nature of desire—the desire for women, the desire for attachment, the desire for pleasure. It was not women who were the problem, but the attachment to them that caused suffering.”

The disciples were surprised by this twist in the story. They had expected to hear more condemnation of women, but the Buddha’s wisdom went beyond this simplistic view.

“Now, let me tell you the rest,” said the Buddha. “When the Bodhisatta became the Buddha, he realized that both men and women are subject to the same flaws. Both can be driven by desire, both can be caught in the cycle of suffering. It is not the gender of a person that leads to suffering, but the attachment to desire itself. Women are not the problem—desire is the problem.”

The disciples, moved by the Buddha’s words, realized the truth in his teachings. They understood that their longing for their wives was rooted in desire and attachment, not in the nature of women themselves. In that moment, the five hundred men overcame their dissatisfaction and renounced their attachment to worldly desires.

And so, in that beautiful valley in the Himalayas, the disciples were freed from their longing, and they attained arahantship, the highest state of spiritual enlightenment. They had learned the lesson that the Bodhisatta had failed to grasp in his past life: the true path to liberation lies not in rejecting one gender or another, but in overcoming attachment to all desires, whether for men or women.

As for the Bodhisatta, he had learned from his own mistakes in the long journey that led to his enlightenment. His earlier harsh words about women were not the last word. In the end, he had transcended such limited views and had come to understand the deep equality and potential for wisdom in all beings, regardless of gender.

Thus, the Buddha’s message was clear: the true danger is not in women, but in the attachment to desire itself. Through the Buddha’s guidance, those who were once dissatisfied with their lives overcame their attachments and found peace. They flew home under their own supernatural powers, their hearts light and free of the burdens of desire, knowing that true liberation could only be found through self-control, wisdom, and nonattachment.

And so, the tale of the Bodhisatta’s past life became a lesson not just for the gods and kings, but for all beings, that the path to enlightenment is found through overcoming attachment, not through condemning any one part of life, whether men or women, wealth or poverty. All beings, regardless of gender or station, have the potential to transcend suffering and find peace.

Moral:
True liberation lies not in rejecting any particular desire or group of people, but in overcoming attachment to all desires. Both men and women, regardless of their flaws, are subject to the same cycle of suffering. The path to enlightenment is found through wisdom, self-control, and nonattachment, transcending the limitations of worldly cravings and embracing a deeper understanding of equality and impermanence.