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Story Of VisakhaPart I
Part I
Translated from the Dhammapada, and from Buddhaghosa`s comment
"As flowers in rich profusion piled
Will many a garland furnish forth;
So all the years of mortal man
Should fruitful be in all good works."
"As flowers in rich profusion piled." This doctrinal instruction was
given by The Teacher while dwelling near Savatthi in Eastern Monastery; and
it was concerning Visakha, a female lay disciple. She was born, we are told,
in the city of Bhaddiya, in the kingdom of Bengal. Her father Dhananjaya, son
of Mendaka the treasurer, ranked also as treasurer, and her mother was the
lady Sumana, his principal wife.
When Visakha was seven years old, The Teacher, perceiving that the
Brahman Sela, and others of her city, were competent to attain to salvation,
went thither on his wanderings, accompanied by a great congregation of
priests.
Now at that time Mendaka, who was filling the office of treasurer in that
city, was head of a household of five persons of great merit. The five persons
of great merit were: Mendaka the treasurer; Paduma, his principal wife;
Dhananjaya, his eldest son; the latter`s wife, Sumana; and Mendaka`s slave,
Punna. Now Mendaka the treasurer was not the only person of illimitable wealth
in Bimbisara`s territory. There were five of them: Jotiya, Jatila, Mendaka,
Punnaka, Kakavaliya.
When Mendaka the treasurer heard of the arrival of The One Possessing the
Ten Forces, he sent for the little maid Visakha, the daughter of his son
Dhananjaya the treasurer, and said to her:
"Dear girl, this is an auspicious day for you and for me! With your five
hundred girl-attendants mount five hundred chariots, and with these five
hundred female slaves as your retinue go to welcome The One Possessing the Ten
Forces."
"Very well," said she, and did so. But as she will knew what etiquette
required, when she had gone as far in her carriage as was proper for carriages
to go, she alighted, and on foot drew near to The Teacher. Then she did him
obeisance, and stood respectfully at one side. Pleased with her behavior, The
Teacher taught her the Doctrine, and at the end of the discourse, she attained
to the fruit of conversion, together with her five hundred maidens.
Also Mendaka the treasurer drew near to The Teacher, and listening to a
sermon, attained to the fruit of conversion, and invited him for the morrow
to breakfast. On the next day at his own house he served The Buddha and the
congregation of the priests with excellent food, both hard and soft; and thus
for half a month he gave liberally. And when The Teacher had stopped in the
city of Bhaddiya as long as he wished, he departed.
Now at that time Bimbisara and Pasenadi the Kosalan were connected by
marriage, being each of them the husband of the other`s sister. And one day it
occurred to the Kosalan king: "In Bimbisara`s territory dwell five men of
illimitable wealth, while there is not one in mine. Suppose, now, I go to
Bimbisara, and ask him for one of these persons of great merit."
And going to king Bimbisara, he was received cordially by the latter, who
then asked, "What was your purpose in coming?"
"In your territory dwell five men of illimitable wealth, persons of great
merit. I have come with the intention of taking one of them back with me. Let
me have one."
"It would be impossible for me to move one of those great families."
"I will not go without," was the reply.
The king took counsel with his ministers, and then said to him:
"To move such powerful personages as Joti and the others, would be like
moving the world. But Mendaka the great treasurer has a son called Dhananjaya
the treasurer: I will consult with him, and then give you my reply."
Then Bimbisara sent for Dhananjaya the treasurer, and said to him,
"Dear friend, the king of the Kosalans says he will not return home
unless you go with him. Therefore, go with him, pray."
"Sire, I will go, if you send me."
"Then make your preparations, dear friend, and go."
So he got himself ready, and the king was full of kind attentions to him,
and at parting formally instrusted him to Pasenadi the king. And Pasenadi the
king set out for Savatthi, intending to spend one night on the way. And coming
to a pleasant spot, they bivouacked there.
Then said Dhananjaya the treasurer,
"Whose territory are we on now?"
"Mine, O treasurer."
"How far is it from here to Savatthi?"
"Seven leagues."
"It is very crowded in a city, and my suite is a large one. Sire, if it
so please you, I will dwell here."
"Very good," said the king in assent; and mapping out for him a city, he
gave it to him, and went away. And from the circumstance that the settlement
in that place was made in the evening [sa-yam], the city received the name of
Saketa.
Now there was dwelling at Savatthi a young man named Punnavaddhana, who
was the son of a treasurer named Migara, and had just come of age. And his
mother and father said to him,
"Son, choose yourself a wife from what family you please."
"Oh! I have no use for anything of that sort."
"Son, act not so! No family can last without children."
"Well, then," said he, when they continually insisted, "If I can have a
girl endowed with the five beauties, I will do as you say."
"But, son, what are these five beauties?"
"Beauty of hair; beauty of flesh; beauty of bone; beauty of skin; and
beauty of youth."
(The hair of a woman who is experiencing the reward of great merit is
like a peacock`s tail, and, when it is loosened and allowed to fall, reaches
to the bottom of the tunic, where the ends turn and point upwards. This is
"Beauty of hair." The lips are of a fine color, resembling a bright red gourd,
and are smooth and pleasant to the touch. This is "Beauty of flesh." The teeth
are white, with even interstices, resembling a row of diamonds set upright, or
evenly cut mother-of-pearl. This is "Beauty of bone." The skin, even without
the application of sandal-wood perfume, or any rouge, or other cosmetic, is
glossy like a blue-lotus wreath, and white like a wreath of kanikara flowers.
This is "Beauty of skin." She possesses a youthfulness as fresh when she has
brought forth ten times, as if she had brought forth but once. This is "Beauty
of youth.")
Then his mother and father invited and entertained one hundred and eight
Brahmans, and inquired of them,
"Are there any women endowed with the five beauties?"
"Assuredly there are."
"Then let eight of you go in search of a girl of this description."
And giving them a liberal present, they continued: "When you return, we
will remember you again. Go, search for a girl of this description, and as
soon as you find her, put on her this decoration." And with that they placed
in their hands a gold wreath worth a hundred thousand pieces of money, and
dismissed them.
So the eight Brahmans went searching through all the large cities, but
discovered no girl endowed with the five beauties. Then they turned back,
and as they were returning, they chanced to arrive at Saketa on Public Day.
"Now," thought they, "our mission will be effected."
It seems that every year in that city there was held a festival called
"Public Day". Then all those ladies who are not in the habit of going out
of doors issue forth from their homes with their attendants, and show
themselves in public, going on foot to the banks of the river. And on the
same day they do this, all the rich men`s sons of the warrior and other
castes station themselves alongside the paths in order to put garlands on the
heads of any pretty girls they may see of equal rank with themselves.
And these Brahmans came also, and stationed themselves in a hall on the
banks of the river. At that moment Visakha, then some fifteen or sixteen years
of age, came to that place on her way to bathe in the river, being decked in
all her ornaments, and attended by five hundred maidens. And suddenly a cloud
arose, and it began to rain. The five hundred maidens took to running, and
sought refuge in the hall. The Brahmans scanned them carefully, but saw not
one among them endowed with the five beauties. Then Visakha came up at her
natural gait, and entered the hall, and her garments and ornaments were wet.
The Brahmans perceived that she had four of the beauties, and being
desirous of seeing her teeth, they began conversing among themselves, saying,
"Our daughter is of a lazy disposition; her husband, we must needs
suppose, will have to content himself with sour gruel."
Then said Visakha, "What is that you are saying?"
Dear girl, we say thus and so."
(They say the sound of her voice was sweet, sounding forth like the
tones of a gong of bell-metal.)
Then with a sweet voice, she asked them again,
"Why do you say that?
"Your attendant women came running to this hall, and did not get their
garments or their ornaments wet. But though it is but a
little way, you did not run at all, and got your garments and ornaments wet.
This is why we speak as we do."
"Good sirs, say not so. I am better able to run than they; but I had my
reasons for not running."
"What were they, dear girl?"
"Good sirs, there are four things which do not appear to advantage when
running. And there is another reason."
"Dear girl, what are the four things?"
"Good sirs, an anointed and richly dressed king does not appear to
advantage when he binds up his loin-cloth, and runs in the royal court. Every
one finds fault, saying, `How is it this great king rushes around like any
householder?` He appears to advantage when walking at a slow gait. The king`s
caparisoned state elephant does not appear to advantage when running. He
appears to advantage when marching at an elephant`s natural dignified pace. A
man who has retired from the world does not appear to advantage when running.
Every one finds fault, saying `How is it this monk rushes about like any
layman?` He appears to advantage when adopting a tranquil gait. No woman
appears to advantage when running. People justly find fault with here, saying,
`How is it this woman rushes about like a man?` These four do not appear to
advantage when running."
"But what, dear girl, was your other reason?"
"Good sirs, a daughter is brought up by her mother and father, who put
a value on every limb in her body. For we are goods for sale. They bring us
up in order to marry us into another family. If we should run and stumble,
either over our skirts or over some obstacle on the ground, and in falling
should break either a hand or a foot, we should remain as burdens on our
families. But articles of ornament, if they get wet, can dry. This, good sirs,
was my reason for not running."
All the while she was talking, the Brahmans were beholding the splendor
of her teeth, such splendor as they felt they had never seen before. And
having applauded her speech, they took the gold wreath, and placed it on her
head, and said:
"You, dear girl, are the one whom this befits."
Then she asked them: "Good sirs, from what city are you come?"
"From Savatthi, dear girl."
"The treasurer, the head of the family, what is his name?"
"His name, dear girl, is Migara the treasurer."
And my young master, what is his name?"
"He is the young Punnavaddhana, dear girl."
Having thus ascertained that the family was of equal caste to her own,
she sent a message to her father to send the chariot. For although she had
come on foot, it is not allowed to maidens to return in that manner when once
they have been decorated with the wreath. The daughters of influential
families return in chariots and the like; others, either mount ordinary
carriages, or walk under a palm-leaf parasol, or, if that is lacking, they
raise the skirts of their cloaks and throw them over their shoulders. In the
present instance, her father sent her five hundred chariots, and she and her
attendants mounted and returned home, while the Brahmans accompanied them.
Then said the treasurer to the Brahmans,
"Whence are ye come?"
"From Savatthi, great treasurer."
"The treasurer, what is his name?"
"Migara the treasurer."
"What is the son`s name?"
"Young Punnavaddhana."
"The riches, how great are the riches?"
"Four hundred millions, great treasurer."
"His riches, by the side of ours, are but as a farthing. However, from
the time one obtains a protector for a maiden, why look for anything else?"
Thus he gave his consent.
After a day or two of hospitable entertainment, he dismissed them. And
they returned to Savatthi, and announced to Migara the treasurer:
"We have found the girl."
"Whose daughter is she?"
"Dhananjaya the treasurer`s."
"That is a powerful personage whose daughter you have secured for us. We
must go quickly to fetch her." Then he went and announced to the king the
circumstances of the case, and that he must needs absent himself for a while.
And the king thought to himself: "This is the great personage whom I
removed from before Bimbisara and settled in Saketa. I ought to pay him some
attention." And he said to Migara the treasurer,
"I, too, will go."
"Very good, sire," replied the other, and sent the following message to
Dhananjaya the treasurer: "When I come, the king will come also, and the
king`s army is large. Shall you be able to take care of so many people, or
not?"
The return message came: "Let ten kings come, if they wish."
Then Migara the treasurer took all the inhabitants of that large city,
leaving barely enough to guard the houses, and when he had come within half a
league of Saketa, he halted, and sent a message announcing his arrival.
Then Dhananjaya the treasurer, after sending out to them a large present,
consulted with his daughter:
"My dear," said he, "I hear that your father-in-law has come with the
king of the Kosalans. Which house shall we get ready for him, which for the
king, and which ones for the deputy kings?"
Now clever was the treasurer`s daughter, with a fully matured and keen
intellect, the result of longing expressed and aspiration cherished through
a hundred thousand world-cycles. And she gave orders: "Let such and such a
house be got ready for my father-in-law, such another for the King, and such
others for the deputy kings." After making these arrangements, she next
summoned the slaves and servants, and said to them: "Let so many of you wait
on the king, and so many on the deputy kings; and do you who are hostlers and
the like take care of the elephants, horses, and other beasts; for our guests
must have a merry time while they are here." Such were her orders. And why? So
that none might say: "We came to Visakha`s merrymaking and got nothing for our
pains, but spent our time looking after our beasts."
That same day, Visakha`s father sent for five hundred goldsmiths, and
giving them a thousand nikkhas of red gold, besides silver, gems, pearls,
coral, diamonds, etc., enough to go with it, he said: "Make for my daughter
what is called the great creeper parure."
After remaining a few days, the king sent a message to Dhananjaya the
treasurer, saying,
"It is too great a load for a simple treasurer to feed and take care of
us. Be pleased to appoint a time for the maiden`s departure."
But Dhananjaya the treasurer returned word to the king:
"The rainy season is now come, and you can well afford to remain
four months. Let everything pertaining to your army be my care. It will be
time enough for your majesty to go when I dismiss you."
From that time on it was like a continual festival for the city of
Saketa. From the king down, every one was provided with garlands, perfumes,
garments, and other gifts, so that each one felt himself the especial object
of the treasurer`s hospitality.
Thus three months went by, but the parure was not yet finished.
Then came the masters of ceremonies, and announced to the treasurer:
"There is no lack of anything else, but the army has not sufficient wood
to cook its meals."
"Go, my dear sirs, take all the tumble-down elephant stables, and other
buildings of the kind in the city, and all the dilapidated houses, and use
them for cooking-fuel."
This wood did the cooking for half a month, and thereupon they again
announced to the treasurer:
"There is no wood."
"At this time in the year one cannot go for wood. But open the
store-houses where stuffs are kept, and make wicks of the coarse cloths, dip
them in vessels of oil, and so cook your meals."
They did so for half a month, and thus four months had gone by, and the
parure was finished. There was no thread in this parure; silver was used
instead. When this parure was on, it extended from head to foot. At the latter
place were bunches of gold medals, and silver dies. On the crown of the head
was a medal, at the top of the ears two, at the throat one, at the knees two,
at the elbows two, and at the sides of the waist two.
Now a part of this parure consisted of a peacock, and there were five
hundred feathers of red gold in the wing on the right side, and five hundred
in the one on the left side. The beak was of coral, the eyes were of jewels,
and likewise the neck and the tail-feathers. The midribs of the feathers were
of silver, and likewise the shanks of the legs. When placed in position on
Visakha`s head, it appeared like a peacock dancing on the summit of a
mountain, and the sound which came from the thousand midribs rolled forth like
the tones of celestial choruses and orchestras. And it was only when people
had come quite close that they knew it was not a real peacock.
This parure was worth ninety millions, and a hundred thousand was spent
on the workmanship. But what was the deed in a previous existence which caused
her to obtain this parure? They say that in the time of Kassapa Buddha she
gave cloth for robes to twenty thousand priests, also thread and needles and
dyeing material, all her own property; and the parure was the result of this
liberality. For the giving of robes by a woman attains its fruition in the
great creeper parure; by a man, in the supernatural bowl and robes.
When the great treasurer had thus spent four months in getting ready his
daughter`s trousseau, he began giving her the dowry. He gave five hundred
carts full of money, five hundred carts full of gold dishes, five hundred full
of silver dishes, five hundred full of copper dishes, five hundred full of
silk garments, five hundred full of clarified butter, five hundred full of
husked rice, and five hundred full of plow-shares and other implements. They
say the reason why he thus gave her all manner of implements was for fear that
his daughter in her new home might need something, and be obliged to send to a
neighbor`s for it. And he gave fifteen hundred waiting-maids whose duties were
to bathe, feed, and dress her,-all of them handsome slaves, and richly
dressed, and riding in five hundred chariots, three to each several chariot.
Then he determined to give his daughter some cattle, and gave orders to
his men:
"Look you now! Go and open the door of my lesser cattle-fold, and post
yourselves for a distance of three quarters of a league, and at every
quarter-league have a drum. And let the space across from side to side be a
hundred and forty cubits, and let not the cows transgress those limits. And
as soon as you get them in position, sound your drums."
They did so. When the cows passed out of the fold, and had gone a
quarter-league, the men gave a signal with the drum, and again at the end
of the second quarter-league, and again at the third quarter-league. And they
hemmed them in at the sides. Thus, for a space of three-quarters of a league
in length, and a hundred and forty cubits across, the cows stood so close that
they chafed one another.
Then said the great treasurer, "That is enough cows for my daughter. Shut
the door." So they shut the door of the fold; but, notwithstanding the door
was shut, such was the effect of Visakha`s merit that the vigorous bulls and
the milch cows leaped up and got out. And in spite of all the men could do to
prevent them, sixty thousand vigorous bulls and sixty thousand milch cows got
out, and behind the milch cows followed vigorous bull calves.
What was the deed in a previous existence by reason of which the cattle
thus got out? Because once she kept on giving, in spite of the efforts people
made to stop her. As tradition has it, in the time of The Supreme Buddha
Kassapa, she was the youngest of the seven daughters of king Kiki, and her
name was Servant-of-the-Congregation. And as she was once giving the five
products of the cow in alms to twenty thousand priests, the young priests and
the novices cried, "Enough, enough!" and closed their hands up tight. But,
notwithstanding their efforts to prevent her, she kept on giving, saying,
"Here is a sweet bit; here is a dainty morsel." This was the reason the cattle
kept on coming out, notwithstanding the efforts made to prevent them.
When the treasurer had got thus far in his giving, his wife said to him,
"You have assigned goods to my daughter, but no male and female vassals
to do her bidding. Why is this?"
"Because I want to find out who are fond of her, and who are not. Of
course, I shall send vassals with her to do her bidding. When she comes to
mount her chariot to depart, I shall make proclamation: `Let all who wish to
go with my daughter, do so; and let all others stay at home.`"
Now the day before she was to depart, the treasurer sat in his room and
had his daughter sit by him, and he admonished her, telling her what rules of
conduct she should adopt when she came to dwell in her husband`s family. And
it happened that Migara the treasurer was seated in the next room, and
overheard the admonition of Dhananjaya the treasurer, which was as follows:
"My child, as long as you dwell in your father-in-law`s family, the
in-door fire is not to be taken out of doors; out-door fire is not to be
brought within doors; give only to him who gives; give not to him who does not
give; give both to him who gives, and to him who does not give; sit happily;
eat happily; sleep happily; wait upon the fire; and reverence the household
divinities." This was the tenfold admonition.
On the next day he assembled the different guilds of artisans, and in the
presence of the royal army he appointed eight householders to be sponsors for
his daughter, saying, "You are to try any charge of sin that may be brought
against my daughter in her new home." Next he had his daughter put on her
great creeper parure that was worth ninety millions, and gave her besides five
hundred and forty millions with which to buy aromatic powders for her bath.
And causing her to mount a chariot, he took her about in the neighborhood of
Saketa as far as to Anuradhapura, through fourteen villages that were subject
to him; and as he went through one after another, he caused proclamation to be
made: "Let all who wish to go with my daughter, go." On hearing the
proclamation all the inhabitants of the fourteen villages, without exception,
issued forth, saying, "When our mistress is on the point of leaving, why stay
we here?" Then Dhananjaya the treasurer, full of polite attentions to the king
and Migara the treasurer, accompanied them a short distance on their way; and
having intrusted his daughter into their hands, he there took leave of them.
And Migara the treasurer rode in a conveyance behind the others, and
beholding a great crowd of people following, he asked,
"Pray, who are these?"
"They are male and female vassals to do the bidding of your
daughter-in-law."
"Who could ever feed so many? Beat and drive them away and keep only
those who do not run."
"Hold!" cried Visakha; "do not drive them away! The one army can feed
the other."
But the treasurer persisted, saying, "My dear girl, we have no use for
them. Who is there to feed them?" And he caused his men to fling clods of
earth at them, and to beat them with sticks, and all those who did not run he
took with him, saying, "These are a plenty."
When Visakha approached the gate of the city of Savatthi, she began to
reflect, "Shall I enter seated in a covered conveyance, or standing erect
in a chariot?" Then she thought, "If I am in a covered conveyance when I
enter, no one will see the elegance of my great creeper parure." So she
entered the city standing in her chariot, and showing herself to the whole
town. And when the inhabitants of Savatthi beheld the magnificence of Visakha,
they said, "This, then, is Visakha. Truly, her magnificence becomes her well!"
And thus it was in great pomp she entered the treasurer`s house.
Then all the inhabitants of the city sent gifts to her, according to
their power, and according to their ability; for they thought, "Dhananjaya the
treasurer was exceedingly hospitable to us when we went to his city." But
Visakha took all the gifts that were sent her, and distributed them to the
different families everywhere throughout the city. And in sending, she
accompanied each gift with an affectionate message: "This is for my mother,
this for my father, this for my brother, and this for my sister;" thus
treating each one according to age, and making, as it were, all the
inhabitants of the city her relatives.
Now towards the end of the night, her thoroughbred mare gave birth to a
foal. And Visakha, accompanied by her female slaves bearing torches, went to
the stable, and superintended while they washed the mare with warm water, and
anointed her with oil. Then she returned to her own quarters.
Now Migara the treasurer had for a long time been favorably disposed
to the sect of naked ascetics. And urged by this feeling, though The Buddha
was dwelling in a neighboring monastery, he neglected him in the festivities
of his son`s wedding, but determined to do the naked ascetics an honor. So,
on a certain day, he had some rice porridge cooked in several hundred new
dishes, and extended an invitation to five hundred of the unclothed. And when
he had got them all into his house he sent a message to Visakha, saying,
"Let my daughter-in-law come and do reverence to the saints."
When Visakha heard the word "saints" she was greatly delighted, for she
had been converted, and was a noble disciple. But when she came to the place
where they were eating, and beheld them, she was angry with the treasurer,
and returned to her own quarters, saying reproachfully, "These persons so
devoid of shame and fear of sinning cannot be saints. Why did my father-in-law
have me summoned?"
When the unclothed caught sight of her, they all with one mouth
reproached the treasurer:
"Why, O householder, did you not find some one else for a
daughter-in-law? You have introduced into your house an arrant
misfortune-breeder, a disciple of the monk Gotama. Make haste and have her
expelled from the house."
"It is out of the question," thought the treasurer, "for me to expel her
just because these men tell me to do so. She is from too powerful a family."
And he dismissed them, saying,
"Your reverences, young people sometimes act without knowing what they
are about. Hold your peace!"
Then he sat down on a costly seat, and began to eat the sweet rice
porridge from a golden bowl. At that moment a [Buddhist] elder on his begging
rounds entered the house. Visakha was standing fanning her father-in-law, and
saw him. And thinking, "It would not be fitting for me to announce him to my
father-in-law," she moved off in such a way as to call his attention to the
elder. But the foolish, unconverted man, although he saw the elder, made as
if he did not see him, and with head bent down, he kept on eating.
"Pass on, reverend sir," said Visakha, when she perceived that her
father-in-law made no sign, notwithstanding he had seen the elder; "my
father-in-law is eating stale fare."
The treasurer, although he had borne with the talk of the naked ascetics,
the moment she said, "He is eating stale fare," removed his hand from his
bowl, and exclaimed,
"Take away this rice porridge, and turn the girl out of the house! To
think that she should accuse me, and in a time of festivity, too, of eating
anything unclean!"
But all the slaves and servants in the house belonged to Visakha. Who
was there to seize her by hand or foot? There was not one who dared so much
as open his mouth.
"Father," said Visakha, after listening to him; "I`ll not leave so
easily as you seem to think. I am not a common prostitute, picked up at some
river bathing-place; and daughters whose parents are still living are not
turned out so easily. Now my father has provided for this very case. When I
was starting to come hither, he summoned eight householders, and put me in
their charge, saying, `If any charge of sin be made against my daughter,
investigate it.` Have these men summoned, and establish my guilt or
innocence."
"She speaks well," said the treasurer, and had the eight householders
summoned.
Said he: "This young girl, when I was seated, in a time of festivity,
eating rice porridge from a golden bowl, said I was eating what was unclean
Find her guilty and turn her out."
"Dear girl, is it so, as he says?"
"That is not as I say:-but when a certain elder on his begging-rounds
came and stood in the door-way, my father-in-law, who was eating sweet rice
porridge, paid no attention to him. Then I thought: `My father-in-law is not
acquiring any merit in this existence, but is consuming old, stale merit.`
So I said: `Pass on, reverend sir; my father-in-law is eating stale fare.`
Now, what fault is there here of mine?"
"There is none. Our daughter speaks justly. Why are you angry with her?"
"Sirs, granted that this is no fault: but one night in the middle watch,
she went out behind the house, accompanied by her male and female slaves."
"Dear girl, is it so, as he says?"
"Good sirs, I went for no other reason but that I thought when a
thoroughbred mare was bringing forth in this very house, it would not do
to sit still and make no sign. So I had my slave-girls take torches, and
went and caused the mare to receive the attentions suitable for a time of
foaling."
"Sir, our daughter does in your house work that is unfit even for
slave-girls, What fault can you discover here?"
"Sirs, granted that here also there is no fault. Her father, however, was
admonishing her at the time she was starting to come hither, and gave her
ten admonitions of a deeply hidden meaning; and I do not understand them.
Let her tell me their meaning. For instance, her father said, `The in-door
fire is not to be taken out of doors.` Is it possible, pray, for us to get
on with our neighbors, without ever sending fire to their households?"
"Is it so, as he says, dear girl?"
"Good sirs, my father did not mean that by what he said; but this is what
he meant: `Dear girl, if you notice any fault in your mother-in-law, or your
father-in-law, or your husband, do not tell of it outside in some one else`s
house. There is no worse fire than this.`"
"Sirs, so be it: but her father said: `Out-door fire is not to be
brought within doors.` Would it be possible, if our in-door fire were to go
out, for us not to fetch fire from outside?"
"Is it so, as he says, dear girl?"
"Good sirs, my father did not mean that by what he said; but this is
what he meant: `If any of your neighbors, whether male or female, speak ill
of your father-in-law, or of your husband, do not bring their talk home, and
repeat it saying. "So and so has this or that to say of you." For there is no
fire comparable to this fire.`"
Thus, in this point also she was guiltless. And as in this case, so also
in the others; and the following is their purport:-
"When her father said to her: `Give only to him who gives,` he meant,
`Give only to those who give borrowed articles back again.`"
And "Give not to him who does not give," meant, "Give not to those who do
not give back again what they borrow."
"Give both to him who gives, and to him who does not give," meant, "When
your needy relatives and friends come to you, you should give to them, whether
they are able to repay you or not."
"Sit happily," meant, "When you see your mother-in-law, or your
father-in-law, or your husband, you should rise, and not keep your seat."
"Eat happily," meant, "You should not eat before your mother-in-law, or
your father-in-law, or your husband. You must eat after you have waited on
them, and they have been helped to everything they wish."
"Sleep happily," meant, "Do not ascend your couch to lie down to sleep
before your mother-in-law, or your father-in-law, or your husband; but when
you have done for them all the different services which should be done, you
can afterwards yourself lie down to sleep."
"Wait upon the fire," meant, "You should look upon your mother-in-law,
your father-in-law, and your husband, as if they were a flame of fire, or a
royal serpent."
"Reverence the household divinities," meant, "You should look upon
your mother-in-law, your father-in-law, and your husband, as your divinities."
When thus the treasurer had heard the meaning of the ten admonitions,
he was unable to find any reply, and sat with downcast eyes. The householders
then said to him,
"Treasurer, is there any other sin in our daughter?"
"Sirs, there is none."
"Then, if she is guiltless, why did you attempt without cause to turn
her out of doors?"
"Good sirs," said Visakha, at this point in the discussion, "although
at first it was not fitting that I should leave at the command of my
father-in-law, yet now that you whom my father appointed to try charges
which might be brought against me, have found me guiltless, it is a good
time to go."
So saying, she gave orders to her male and female slaves to get ready
the carriages and make the other necessary preparations.
"Dear girl, I spoke in ignorance; pardon me," said then the treasurer,
speaking half to the householders.
"Good sir, I do pardon you all there is to pardon. I am, however,
daughter in a family that has studied and has faith in the religion of The
Buddha, and to see something of the congregation of the priests is necessary
to us. If I can be allowed to wait on the congregation of the priests at my
pleasure, I will stay."
"Dear girl, wait on your monks as much as you please," was the reply.
Visakha, accordingly, sent an invitation to The One Possessing the Ten
Forces, and on the next day received him at her house. And the naked monks,
when they heard that The Teacher had gone to the house of Migara the
treasurer, went also, and sat down outside the house encompassing it. Visakha,
having given the water of donation, sent a message to her father-in-law:
"All the arrangements for the entertainment are ready. Let my
father-in-law come and wait on The One Possessing the Ten Forces."
But as he was about to go, the naked ascetics restrained him, saying,
"O householder, go not near the monk Gotama."
So he sent back word: "Let my daughter-in-law wait on him herself."
When she had waited on The Buddha and on the congregation of the priests
that followed him, and the meal was now at an end, she again sent a message:
"Let my father-in-law come and hear the sermon."
"If I were not to go now, it would not do at all," said then the
treasurer; for he was very desirous of hearing the Doctrine.
"Well, then," said the naked monks, when they saw he was bent on going,
"you may listen to the Doctrine of the monk Gotama, if you will sit outside of
a curtain." Then they went ahead of him, and drew a curtain around, and he
went and sat down outside of the curtain.
But The Teacher thought, "Sit outside of a curtain, if you will, or
beyond a wall, or beyond a mountain, or at the end of the world. I am The
Buddha, and can make you hear my voice." And marching as it were with a
mighty Jambu trunk held aloft, and showering down as it were showers of
ambrosia, he began to teach the Doctrine in consecutive discourse.
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