The Cost of Procrastination: Varana Jataka Tale

In a past life, the Bodhisatta was once a renowned teacher, famous around the world, with many students. One day, while his students were gathering firewood, one of them proved to be lazy. When this lazy student encountered a large tree that he thought was dry and rotten, he took a nap at its base instead of breaking off any branches immediately.When the other students started heading back, they woke him up, and he quickly climbed the tree, still half asleep. As he pulled on a branch, it snapped off and poked him in the eye. With one hand covering his wounded eye, he quickly gathered some green branches and returned after all the others, throwing his bundle on top of the pile.The next morning, the Bodhisatta informed the students that they would be visiting a country family who wanted to serve them a meal. However, the journey was long, and they needed to leave early. At the country family’s home, the servant tried to cook porridge but picked up the topmost firewood, which were the green branches gathered by the lazy student. Despite her efforts, she could not get a fire started because the wood was green. As a result, breakfast was not ready, and the students had to cancel their trip.When the students told the Bodhisatta what had happened, he criticized the lazy student, emphasizing that putting off tasks creates problems.

In the Lifetime of the Buddha

This tale has a significant connection to the Buddha’s later life. A group of thirty friends traveled to hear the Buddha preach and were so impressed that they became disciples. Five years later, this group, who had remained close while living in the monastery, decided to go off and practice meditation in the forest. However, one of the men, who was weak-willed and less advanced on the path to insight than the others, decided that living as an ascetic would be too difficult and turned back.The others continued on and, after striving for the entire rainy season, all became arahants. When they visited the monastery to pay respect to the Buddha, they planned to return to the forest promptly. However, their friend who had stayed behind now felt ready to join them. In his eagerness, he slept upright the night before their departure, as some ardent ascetics did, but at one point turned and fell off his plank bed, breaking his thigh.His friends stayed at the monastery to take care of him. The disciple who broke his leg was an earlier birth of the student who poked his eye in the past life, and his friends were among the other students of that time. When the Buddha saw them the next morning, he told them this story to illustrate that this disciple had also delayed their departure in the past due to his laziness and lack of preparation.

Moral

The Varana Jataka teaches us about the importance of diligence and timely action. The story emphasizes that procrastination and laziness can lead to problems and delays, not just for the individual but also for others. The Bodhisatta’s criticism of the lazy student serves as a cautionary tale about the consequences of putting off tasks. This tale underscores the Buddhist principle of mindfulness and the need for consistent effort in achieving spiritual and worldly goals.