Once, there lived a virtuous boy in avillage. He was very bright and soft spoken. As a young man he trained the villagemen in the ways of morality. There were twenty families in the village. He selected a head from these families and taught them to stick to the practice of the five rules of a moral life— the Panca Silas (five precepts). Gradually, the whole village started practising the five rules. They worked together to beautify their surroundings. They built several public service centers and schools. They constructed roads and planted trees along them. They installed water stalls on the crossings, and built ponds and wells. Thus, the young man made their lives virtuous and comfortable.
There were no killings, no thefts, no wining, and no quarrels in the village any more. The village watchman was very disappointed by the latest improvement. All sources of his income dried up. He was left with no job. He thought that the young man was the sole cause of his ruin. There were no fines charged as there were no crimes. Everyone followed the virtuous young man. Nobody cared for the watchman any more. So, he decided to teach them a lesson.
The watchman approached the king with complaints against the villagefolk. He said—“Your Majesty! The people of my village have turned wicked. They kill, they steal, they indulge in immoral acts, they lie and they cheat. They drink and loaf through the streets. The villagefolk are spoiling the harmony of the village under the influence of a young man.”
The king heeded the watchman’s complaints and ordered his soldiers to arrest them. When they were brought before him, the king said—“Let them be trampled to death by the elephant.”
The village people were, thus, laid in the royal courtyard, and an elephant was brought to trample them. The young man told his people—“Let you all adhere to your sense of morality. Maintain loving-kindness for the backbiting watchman, the ignorant king, the violent elephant and your impermanent bodies.”
The people obeyed the young man. The king signalled, and the elephant was let loose. The watchman was secretly joyful. But, the elephant refused to move ahead. It trumpeted and paced back. The king ordered to replace the elephant. But, the other elephant also retreated. Then, a third elephant was brought to execute the village people. But, when even the third tusker refused to trample the men, the king was baffled. He thought that the people must be having some potion with them. He ordered his soldiers to search them. But, they found nothing on their persons.
The king concluded that the village people were magicians. They must be chanting some magic words (mantra). He ordered his soldiers to find out whether they used any charms. When the soldiers asked them, the villagers said—“Yes! We do use magic words.”
The soldiers reported their version to the king, who called all of them and said — “Which magic words do you chant? Tell me.”
The virtuous young man said–“Your Majesty! We have no magic words as such. It is just that all of us from our respective families do not kill, do not steal, do not misbehave, do not lie, and do not drink. We have loving-kindness for all, practise charity, repair our roads, dig wells and ponds, and build schools. This is the only magic word we possess. We chant only this magic word. This is our beneficent mantra.”
The king was pleased with their explanation. He sent the watchman to prison, and rewarded the village people fittingly. As for the young man, the king accepted him as his mentor, and kept him in his palace.
The story is republished from Jataka Tales, Retold by Madhukar Piplayan, with permission from the Publisher, Samyak Prakashan.
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