Golden Peacock Jataka: Overcoming Lust and the Power of Wisdom

In a past life, the Bodhisatta was born as a golden peacock, the leader of his flock. His feathers were so radiant and beautiful that he was the most admired of all peacocks. One day, while admiring his reflection in a pool of water, the Bodhisatta realized that his extraordinary beauty might one day lead him into danger. Fearing the envy and greed his beauty might provoke, he decided to leave the human realm and live in solitude. That night, without informing anyone, he flew away to the Himalayas, where he found a remote cave that was inaccessible from both above and below.

Every morning at sunrise, and again at sunset, the Bodhisatta would sit on a hilltop and recite two powerful protection spells in worship of the sun. His prayers protected him from harm, and he lived in peace, safe from the reach of any hunter.

However, his presence did not go unnoticed. A hunter once saw the golden peacock sitting on his hilltop, and before his death, he shared the story with his son, just in case the king ever became interested in capturing the rare bird.

After the hunter passed away, the queen of the kingdom had a vivid dream in which she sat listening to the golden peacock preach. She awoke with an intense longing to have the bird in her possession, believing that it could bring her immense happiness. However, knowing her husband, the king, would not easily be persuaded by dreams, she feigned pregnancy and told the king that unless she could have the golden peacock, she would die from the longing.

The king, concerned for his queen, consulted his chaplains, who confirmed that such a creature might indeed exist. He then summoned all the hunters in the kingdom to find the golden peacock. Of all the hunters, only the man informed by his deceased father knew where to find the bird, and he was given money and sent on the quest to capture it.

The hunter followed the father’s instructions and made his way to the Bodhisatta’s hilltop. He tried day after day to set snares, but the Bodhisatta’s daily prayers and charms protected him, and none of the traps would work. Even when the Bodhisatta stepped into one of the snares, it would not close. The hunter died without ever capturing the bird, and soon after, the queen died as well, overcome by grief from her unfulfilled wish.

In anger, the king ordered an inscription to be made on a golden tablet, proclaiming that anyone who could capture the magical golden peacock would be granted eternal youth and immortality. This inscription sparked the interest of several future kings, who sent hunters to find the golden peacock. However, despite their efforts, the bird remained elusive, and each king failed in his quest.

Seven years later, a hunter sent by the seventh king realized that he had no success. Determined to understand why, he began to observe the Bodhisatta closely. He saw that the peacock performed his morning and evening prayers diligently, and the hunter soon understood that it was the Bodhisatta’s holiness that protected him from the snares. With this newfound knowledge, the hunter devised a new plan.

He captured a peahen and trained her to dance when he clapped his hands and cry out when he snapped his fingers. He took the peahen to the hilltop early one morning. When the Bodhisatta arrived and heard the peahen’s song, he was seized by lust for the first time in seven thousand years. Forgetting his daily prayers, he flew off to find the female peahen, and in doing so, he became ensnared by the hunter’s trap.

The hunter, instantly regretting his actions, decided to free the Bodhisatta. In order to avoid causing the peacock any harm, he planned to cut the snare with an arrow from a distance. However, as the hunter drew his bow, the Bodhisatta noticed him and pleaded, “Take me to the king alive!” The hunter, surprised by the request, explained that he was not harming the bird but intended to set him free. The two then spoke at length about virtue, and the Bodhisatta’s wisdom was so profound that the hunter became a private Buddha—one who reaches enlightenment alone, without teaching others the path.

Moved by his conversation with the Bodhisatta, the hunter made a solemn vow (an act of truth), requesting that all the birds he had captured, as well as all the other creatures imprisoned across the land, be set free. Miraculously, every captive creature in all of India was released from its chains. The hunter, now enlightened, flew off to Nandamula Cave to live out his life in solitude, and the Bodhisatta returned to his peaceful life in the Himalayas.

In the Lifetime of the Buddha:

The Buddha told this story to one of his disciples who was struggling with lust and desire for a woman. By hearing this tale, the disciple understood that the Bodhisatta himself had faced and overcome the same challenge in the past. The disciple, inspired by the Bodhisatta’s ability to transcend lust, achieved arahantship (enlightenment) soon after hearing the story.

The Buddha did not explicitly identify any other earlier births in this tale, except for his own as the golden peacock.

Moral:

The story of the golden peacock teaches important lessons about overcoming desire and the consequences of lust. It illustrates the Bodhisatta’s mastery over his desires, as well as the transformative power of wisdom. The hunter’s regret for his actions and subsequent enlightenment shows that even in moments of moral lapse, it is possible to change through reflection and virtuous living. Additionally, the story emphasizes the importance of self-discipline and the potential for even the most worldly of beings to attain spiritual liberation.