The Lord did not heed their warnings thrice and went on.
The Lord stayed in a woodland not far away from Bhadravati. A personal attendant Sthavira, Sugata, arrived in Jatilat’s hermitage even before Him. Sugata was an accomplished Buddhist monk. He laid a straw seat for himself near the exit of the serpent, and sat there crosslegged. The serpent spewed smoke in anger, the Sthavira also exhaled smoke. The serpent used his powers to subdue the Sthavira, but failed. When the Sthavira tried his powers, the serpent gave in. The Sthavira, thus, converted the serpent and went over to see the Lord.
The Buddha stayed at Bhadravati for some time, and then left for Kosambi. The serpent’s subjugation by the Lord’s disciple Sugata was soon the talk of the town. The residents of Kosambi received the Lord, and then greeted Sugata. They stood aside and said, “Let us know what you rarely get. We will prepare it for you.” The Sthavira kept quiet. But, the group of six monks said, “Disciples! It is the kabutari wine that the monks rarely get, and which they relish. If you are really pleased with the Sthavira, prepare the wine.” The people agreed to the proposal and invited the Lord for the next day. Back home, they decided to show their residences to the Sthavira. They prepared the wine and invited the Sthavira. He was badly drunk, and fell mid-way. There, he lay for quite some time uttering nonsense.
When the Lord walked back from the meals, he saw the Sthavira lying in an inebriated state. He asked the monks accompanying Him to lift the Sthavira and carry him to where He was staying. The monks laid him at the Lord’s feet. But, he changed his position and lay with his feet-towards the Lord, who asked the monks, “Tell me! Does he still take pride in me like before?”
“No, ven’ble sir!”
“Monks! Who subjugated the serpent at Ambatirtha?”
“Sugata, ven’ble sir!”
“Monks! Could he control even a water snake in his present condition?”
“No, ven’ble sir!”
“Then, monks, is it proper to drink something that will make you senseless?”
“No, ven’ble sir! It is not proper.”
So, the Lord condemned the Sthavira and exhorted the monks to abstain from intoxicating things, and retired to His cottage. The monks at the congregation talked among themselves, “The wine is a very bad thing, which so spoiled the wise accomplished Sthavira that he forgot even the Lord’s stature.”
Lord Buddha told another Sthavira’s tale on the occasion. A Sthavira was born in a Brahmina family during King Brahmadatta’s reign in Varanasi. The Sthavira meditated and dwelt in Himavanta. He had five hundred disciples. When the rainy-season arrived, the disciples said, “Acarya! Could we go to town to have salt sour spices?”
“Disciples! I will stay here. You may go there to gratify your bodies. But, do return when the rains are over.”
The monks went down to Varanasi, where they stayed at the royal park.
The next day, they begged out of the town and returned to the park. The following day, they entered the town, where the people gave them generous alms. When a few days had passed, people told the king, “Your Majesty! There are five hundred hermits from Himavanta, and they stay at the park. They are accomplished ascetics, and virtuous too.” The king went to the park, and requested them to spend the four rainy months there. After that, they started having their meals at the royal place.
One day, the people held a party in the town where wine was lavishly served. The king knew that the monks rarely get wine, and, therefore served fine wine to them. The monks returned to the park in a drunken state, and danced and sang freely. When they were exhausted, they lay down. When they came to senses, they thought over what they had done, and were ashamed. They wept over their act and realised that it was due to their Acarya’s absence that they committed such a sin. So, they at once left the park and marched towards Himavanta. Once there, they steadied their robes and went to salute their teacher. “Sons! I hope you spent your days in the town happily with enough alms? Did you live there amicably?” asked the Acarya. “Yes, Acarya!” They replied, “We did live happily. But, we drank something unfit to drink and lost our senses. We danced and sang in a drunken state.”
And, they recited the following stanza —
Apayimha anaccimha agayimha rudimha ca
Visanjakaraning pitva dittha na humha vanara.
(We danced, sang and wept under the effect of wine. The only solace is
that we were not turned into monkeys by drinking this thing that makes
you senseless.)
The story is republished from Jataka Tales, Retold by Madhukar Piplayan, with permission from the publisher, Samyak Prakashan.
#Buddha #Buddhism #Zen #Life #Lifestyle #wisdomwinds
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