Bodhisatta’s Wisdom: The Unstainable Purity of the Buddha in Jataka Tales

In this Jataka, the Bodhisatta is an ascetic living in the Himalayas. He is surrounded by a community of thirty boars who live in a crystal cave near his hut. Every day, a lion regularly passes by the cave, and the boars are terrified by its reflection in the crystal, which makes them anxious and unhealthy. To deal with the issue, the boars attempt to discolor the crystal by rubbing mud on it. However, instead of dulling the crystal, their bristles end up polishing it, making it even clearer and more revealing.

The boars, realizing their efforts have only made things worse, ask the Bodhisatta for advice on how to fix the problem. The Bodhisatta explains that it is impossible to change the crystal, and suggests that they move to a new home. The boars follow his advice, and they find a more peaceful and safe place to live.

In the Lifetime of the Buddha

In the Buddha’s time, as his fame spread, many of his followers grew in number, while other religious teachers lost much of their influence. Feeling threatened by the Buddha’s growing popularity, a group of heretics devised a plan to ruin his reputation. They hired a beautiful woman named Sundari to spread false rumors about her relationship with the Buddha. Every evening, she was instructed to walk in the direction of the Buddha’s monastery, and every morning, she would walk toward the town, claiming to have had an affair with the Buddha.

This malicious gossip spread for a few days, and soon, the heretics hired men to kill Sundari in order to silence her and further discredit the Buddha. They then informed the king that one of their followers was missing, and they suspected that the Buddha’s disciples had murdered her to hide the Buddha’s supposed sin. The king, believing their accusations, ordered that Sundari’s body be displayed in the cemetery for all to see, in order to expose the Buddha’s “crime.”

However, as the investigation unfolded, the king’s men overheard the murderers discussing their actions, and they were apprehended. Upon interrogation, the murderers confessed and revealed that the heretics had hired them to kill Sundari. The heretics were arrested and, as punishment, were forced to carry Sundari’s body through the streets, proclaiming their guilt and the Buddha’s innocence.

This incident led to the Buddha’s reputation growing even stronger. The Buddha used the event to teach his disciples a valuable lesson: just as it is impossible to stain a precious gem or make it impure, so too is it impossible to tarnish the purity of a Buddha. He told this story as an example of how, no matter what accusations or rumors may arise, the true nature of a Buddha remains untainted and beyond reproach.

In this Jataka, the central metaphor is the imperviousness of fine jewels to stains or imperfections, which is used to illustrate the Buddha’s purity and the futility of attempting to tarnish his reputation. The story serves as both a lesson in the power of truth and an affirmation of the Buddha’s indestructible nature.