The Perfection of Loving-Kindness (Metta)

The Sama Jataka is a deeply moving tale illustrating the Bodhisatta’s perfection of loving-kindness (metta), one of the central virtues in Buddhism. It tells the story of a compassionate young man, Sama, who selflessly cares for his parents, even in the face of great suffering, and extends kindness to others, even those who harm him.

The Story of Sama

In this Jataka, the Bodhisatta is born as Sama, the son of two ascetics, Dukulaka and Parika, who had devoted their lives to purity and non-harm. The two ascetics were raised by parents who had vowed to marry their children to each other when they came of age. Despite their parents’ wishes, Dukulaka and Parika refused to follow the path of marriage, preferring a life of asceticism and renunciation. Eventually, they left their homes to live as hermits in the Himalayas, dedicating their lives to meditation and simplicity.

As a reward for their virtuous lives, the king of the gods, Indra, intervened and ensured that their life in the wilderness would be comfortable. He provided them with shelter and the necessary provisions to live peacefully. Their goodness was so powerful that even the wild animals around them showed no aggression and lived harmoniously.

After some time, Indra foresaw that the couple would eventually lose their sight and become vulnerable in the wilderness. To prevent this, he suggested to Dukulaka that they have a child, as the birth of a child would ensure that they were cared for in their old age. Dukulaka, however, rejected the idea of breaking their vow of celibacy. Undeterred, Indra used his divine powers and arranged for the Bodhisatta to be born through a miraculous conception. Thus, Sama was born to the ascetic couple.

When Sama was sixteen, disaster struck. While gathering food in the forest with his parents, the trio took shelter from a heavy rain under a tree. Unfortunately, they stood on an anthill, and the irritation from their sweat caused a snake living there to lash out in defense. The venom of the snake blinded both Dukulaka and Parika, an event that resulted from a past-life karmic mistake in which Dukulaka, as a doctor, had caused a rich patient to go blind after being denied payment.

Despite the overwhelming difficulty of his situation, Sama cared for his blind parents without hesitation. He devised a way to help them move about by tying ropes around their home to guide them. With the help of magical creatures like kinnaras (half-human, half-bird beings) and deer who carried water and food, Sama ensured that his parents were fed and cared for.

The Tragic Encounter with the King

One day, while collecting water by the river, Sama encountered a king who was hunting in the area. The king, a lover of venison, noticed the footprints of deer near the riverbank and set up an ambush. As Sama approached with his helper deer, the king mistook him for a supernatural being. He became convinced that Sama was either a god or a naga, and in his eagerness to learn more, he took the only action he could think of: he shot Sama with a poison arrow.

Sama fell to the ground, blood flowing from his mouth, but even in this agonizing moment, he did not respond with anger. He calmly asked aloud, “Who has shot me, and why?” The king emerged from his hiding place and offered a false explanation—that the deer had fled at the sight of Sama, causing the king to misfire.

Sama, with his profound insight, immediately saw through the king’s lie. The king, feeling the weight of his guilt, confessed. Before losing consciousness, Sama, in an act of pure loving-kindness, asked the king to care for his blind parents. Even though he was gravely wounded, his concern for others remained paramount.

Divine Intervention and Miracles

At this moment, a goddess, who had been Sama’s mother in a previous life, saw the tragedy unfold and decided to intervene. She appeared in the sky and pleaded with the king, urging him to honor his promise to care for Sama’s parents. The goddess reassured him that if he kept his word, he would earn merit and avoid a fate in hell.

The king, believing Sama to be dead, went to find Sama’s parents and sorrowfully informed them of their son’s death. Though grief-stricken, Dukulaka and Parika did not lash out at the king. Instead, they showed him kindness and respect, even in their pain. They declined the king’s offer to care for them and simply asked to be taken to Sama’s body.

When they reached the river where Sama lay, the parents held their son’s lifeless body and wept. The goddess, seeing their suffering, urged them to make an act of truth—a declaration of their pure virtue and a request for a miracle. The Bodhisatta’s parents, along with the goddess, made this solemn declaration, and their deep merit led to an extraordinary result.

Miraculously, Sama’s health and vitality were fully restored, and his parents regained their sight. The king, witnessing this divine intervention, listened as Sama preached to him about the importance of caring for one’s family and fulfilling one’s duties with kindness. The king, deeply moved, vowed to follow Sama’s teachings, becoming a righteous and generous ruler. In the end, the king, Sama, and his parents were all reborn in heaven.

In the Lifetime of the Buddha

In the Buddha’s time, a disciple who had spent twelve years meditating in the forest was faced with a dilemma. His parents had fallen into poverty, and he realized that his spiritual practice was not worth pursuing at the cost of his parents’ well-being. He decided to leave the sangha and care for them, despite the difficulty of balancing his responsibilities with his meditation.

When he returned to the Buddha to inform him of his decision, the Buddha used this opportunity to teach about the virtue of caring for one’s parents. The Buddha recounted the story of Sama to demonstrate that caring for family is always virtuous, and that it is possible to combine spiritual practice with compassion and care for others. The Buddha praised the disciple for his choice, affirming that acts of kindness and responsibility toward one’s parents are to be revered.

The characters in the Sama Jataka—Dukulaka, Parika, the king, the goddess, and Indra—were identified as previous lives of five of the Buddha’s chief disciples: Maha Kassapa, Bhadda Kapilani, Ananda, Uppalavanna, and Anuruddha.

Moral of the Tale

The Sama Jataka highlights the perfection of loving-kindness (metta), a quality that transcends personal suffering and extends compassion to all beings. Sama’s selfless care for his parents, his forgiveness of the king who shot him, and his concern for others even in the face of his own death, demonstrate the power of unconditional love. His willingness to sacrifice for others, without anger or resentment, embodies the Buddhist ideal of loving-kindness as a path to spiritual liberation.

This story teaches the importance of caring for others—especially parents—and fulfilling one’s duties with kindness and compassion. Even in the most difficult circumstances, true loving-kindness remains steadfast, and it can lead to the greatest of spiritual rewards.