The Tale of the Miserly Treasurer: Illisa Jataka 

In a past life, the Bodhisatta was once a barber. During this time, there was a royal treasurer named Illisa who was exceptionally rich but extremely miserly. He neither shared his wealth nor enjoyed it himself and suffered from various physical ailments, including a disabled leg and a permanent squint.One day, Illisa saw a man enjoying a mug of liquor and developed a craving for it. However, not wanting to share it with anyone, he had his slave buy a jar and hide it in a thicket by the riverside. Illisa then snuck down to the thicket to drink alone.Illisa’s family had held the same position for seven generations and were known for their generosity and righteousness. His father, due to his virtuous deeds, had been reborn as Indra, the king of the gods. At the moment Illisa went to drink in the bushes, Indra wondered about his family’s legacy and divined his son’s wicked behavior. Indra decided to intervene to convert his son to goodness.Indra took on Illisa’s likeness and visited the king, offering to give him the entire family fortune. The righteous king refused the offer, so Indra went to Illisa’s house, where nobody could tell he was not the real treasurer. Indra told the servants to be on the lookout for an imposter and not let him in. He then told Illisa’s family it was time to be generous and sent the town crier through the streets proclaiming by the beat of a drum that he was giving away his treasure. Many people came to Illisa’s house, filling baskets and sacks with gold, diamonds, pearls, and other valuables.One man took Illisa’s carriage and oxen, and as he rode out of the city, he sang Illisa’s praises for giving everything away. Illisa, shocked and desperate, tried to seize them back but was fought off and received beatings from each person he tried to stop.When Illisa went to the palace to ask the king why he was being punished this way, the king told him about the earlier visit from the person who looked just like him. Illisa asked the king to summon this imposter, but even side by side, nobody, not even his wife and children, could tell who the real treasurer was. Illisa then thought of his barber, the Bodhisatta, who had seen a wart on his head hidden by his hair. However, Indra, being a god, willed a wart to grow on his own head, making it impossible for the Bodhisatta to distinguish between them.Illisa lost all hope and crashed to the floor in despair over the loss of his riches. Indra then floated into the air, revealed his true self, and explained to his son that he had risen to his exalted state in heaven because he gave generously to the poor and enjoyed doing good deeds. He warned Illisa that if he did not begin to do the same, he would slice off his head with a thunderbolt. The humbled treasurer swore he would give alms and do good deeds, and he kept this promise for the rest of his life12.

In the Lifetime of the Buddha

This tale has a significant connection to the Buddha’s later life. The treasurer of the past was an earlier birth of a rich and miserly royal treasurer known as the Millionaire Miser. One day, he developed an insatiable urge to eat a sweet stuffed cake but did not want to share it with anyone. To keep the cake to himself, he had his wife sneak up to the seventh floor of their house and cook a single cake using only broken rice.The Buddha became aware of the treasurer’s fate and sent Moggallana, one of his top disciples, to save him by encouraging him to make cakes for all the Buddha’s disciples. Moggallana flew to the treasurer’s home and floated in mid-air outside the window where the treasurer and his wife were. Initially, the treasurer was angry and told Moggallana to leave, but eventually, he decided to make a second cake. Each small piece of dough swelled up to fill the pot, and when they were ready, the cakes had all stuck together.As the treasurer tried to pull them apart, his craving waned, and he decided to give them all away. Moggallana accepted the basket and preached to the couple about the blessings of generosity. He invited them to offer their cakes to the Buddha and his disciples waiting in the monastery six hundred fifty kilometers away. The couple served their cakes, along with milk mixed with ghee, honey, and sugar, and even after everyone had eaten, there were leftovers. After a sermon from the Buddha, they climbed back up the stairs and magically returned home, where they spent the rest of their lives giving away all their money.When the Buddha heard some of his disciples praising Moggallana, he told them this story to illustrate that Moggallana, who had been Indra in that earlier birth, had also converted this miserly treasurer to goodness in the past. The king in those days was an earlier birth of Ananda, another of the Buddha’s top disciples12.

Moral

The Illisa Jataka teaches us about the importance of generosity and the dangers of miserliness. The story emphasizes that true virtue and happiness come from giving and doing good deeds, rather than hoarding wealth. Indra’s intervention serves as a model for how to guide others towards a path of righteousness and generosity. This tale underscores the Buddhist principle of the benefits of almsgiving and the negative consequences of greed and selfishness.