5.2 The Story about the Elder Mahā Kassapa’s Pupil
Mahākassapattherassa Saddhivihārikavatthu

“If while roaming one cannot find,” this Dhamma teaching was given by the Teacher while he was in residence at Sāvatthī with reference to a pupil of Elder Mahā Kassapa.

It seems that while the elder was in residence at Pipphali Cave, he had two pupils to attend on him. One of these performed his duties faithfully, but the other frequently shirked his duties and sought to take credit for work really done by the other one. For example, the faithful pupil would set out water for washing the face, and a tooth-stick. Knowing this, the faithless pupil would go to the elder and say: “Venerable Sir, water for washing the face is set out, and a tooth-stick. Go wash your face.” And when it was time to prepare water for bathing the feet and for the bath, he would pursue the same tactics.

The faithful pupil thought to himself: “This fellow is constantly shirking his work and is seeking to take credit for my work. Very well! I will attend to him.” So one day, while the faithless pupil was asleep after a meal, he heated water for the bath, poured it into a water-jar, and set it in the back room, {2.20} leaving only a pint-pot of water steaming in a pot. In the evening the faithless pupil woke up and saw steam coming out. “He must have heated water [29.112] and put it in the bathroom,” he thought. So he went quickly to the elder, bowed, and said: “Venerable Sir, water has been placed in the bathroom; go and bathe.” So saying, he accompanied the elder to the bathroom. But when the elder saw no water, he said: “Friend, where is the water?” The youth went to the room where the fire was kept, and lowering a ladle into a pot, perceived that it was empty. “See what the rascal has done!” he exclaimed. “He has set an empty pot on the brazier, and then gone – who knows where? Of course I thought there was water in the bathroom and went and told the elder so.” Much put out, he took a water-jar and went to the bathing-place on the river.

When the faithful pupil returned, he brought water from the back room and set it in the bathroom. The elder thought to himself: “I supposed that this young fellow had heated water for me, for he came to me and said: ‘Water has been placed in the bathroom; come and bathe.’ But just now, in a fit of irritation, he took a water-jar and went to the bathing-place on the river. What can this mean?” After considering the matter, he came to the following conclusion: “All this time this young fellow has been shirking his duties and has sought to take credit for work really done by his brother-pupil.”

When the faithless pupil returned and sat down, the elder admonished him, saying: “Friend, a bhikkhu ought not to say he has done a thing unless he has done it. For example, just now you came to me and said: ‘Venerable Sir, water has been placed in the bathroom; come and bathe.’ But when I went in, you were annoyed and took a water-jar and went out. One who has gone forth should not do so.” The pupil was highly offended. He said to himself: “See what the elder has done! What a way to talk to me just because of a few drops of water!” On the following day he refused to accompany the elder on his rounds. The elder therefore took his other pupil with him to a certain place.

While he was away, the faithless pupil went to the house of a lay disciple who was a supporter of the elder. The lay disciple asked him: “Venerable Sir, where is the elder?” {2.21} – “The elder doesn’t feel well, and therefore remained at the monastery.” – “What then should he have, venerable Sir?” – “Give him such and such food,” said the novice, pretending that the elder had told him to ask for it. Accordingly they prepared food such as he asked for, and gave it to him. He took the food, ate it himself on the way back, and returned to the monastery. [29.113]

Now the elder had received from his supporter robes of great size and fine texture, and these he presented to the novice who accompanied him. The novice dyed them and converted them into under and upper garments for himself. On the following day the elder went to the house of his supporter. “Venerable Sir,” said they, “your novice told us that you were not feeling well, and therefore we prepared food such as he suggested and sent it to you. Evidently, after eating it, you recovered.” The elder said nothing, but returned to the monastery. In the evening, when the faithless novice came in and after bowing to him sat down, the elder said to him: “Friend, yesterday, I am informed, you did such and such. Such conduct ill becomes those who have renounced the world. You should not eat food which you got for another by hinting.”

The novice was provoked and conceived a grudge against the elder. He said to himself: “Yesterday, just because of a few drops of water, he called me a liar. Today, just because I ate a fistful of food his supporter gave me, he said to me: ‘You should not eat food which you got for another by hinting.’ Besides that, he gave an entire set of robes to his other pupil. Oh, the elder has treated me very badly! I shall find some way of getting even with him.”

On the following day, when the elder entered the village for alms, leaving him alone in the monastery, he took a stick, broke all the vessels used for eating and drinking, set fire to the elder’s hut of leaves and grass, smashed to pieces with a hammer everything that didn’t burn, and ran away. When he died, he was reborn in the Mahā Niraya Hell of Avīci. {2.22}

The populace discussed the incident: “They say that a pupil of the elder, unable to endure even a slight rebuke, took offense, set fire to the elder’s hut of leaves and grass, and ran away.”

Some time afterwards a certain bhikkhu left Rājagaha, and desiring to see the Teacher, came to Jetavana and worshipped the Teacher. The Teacher greeted him in a friendly manner and asked: “Whence have you come?” – “From Rājagaha, venerable Sir.” – “Is all well with my son Mahā Kassapa?” – “All is well with him, venerable Sir. But a certain pupil of his, taking offense at a slight rebuke, set fire to his hut of leaves and grass and ran away.”

The Teacher said: “This is not the first time he has taken offense at receiving an admonition. He did the same thing in a previous state of existence also. This is not the first time he has destroyed a house. He did the same thing in a previous state of existence also.” So saying, he related the following [29.114]

2a Story of the Past: The Birth Story about Spoiling the Hut AJ: Ja 321.

In times long past, when Brahmadatta reigned at Bārāṇasī, a hornbill built a nest and made his home in the Himālaya country. Now one day, while it was raining, a monkey came there shivering with the cold. The hornbill saw him and pronounced the following verse:

Monkey, like a human
are your head, hands and feet,
then why, having this form,
do you not build a home?

The monkey thought to himself: “It is true that I have hands and feet; but I lack the intelligence to build a house.” And desiring to make his meaning clear, he pronounced the following verse:

Hornbill, like a human are my
head, hands and feet, but that which is
said to be the best in humans:
wisdom – in me that is not found.

The hornbill thought: “To live in a house would never do for one like you.” And out of scorn for the monkey he pronounced the two following verses: {2.23}

He who has an unstable mind,
a light mind, deceitful, having
inconstant, non-lasting precepts,
(in him) happiness is not found.

He should make, with all his power,
he should overcome his conduct,
away from the lightest cold wind,
the monkey should make up his nest.

The monkey said to himself: “This bird calls me unstable, light-minded, deceitful to my friends, one who never keeps the moral precepts. Very well! Now I will show him what happiness is.” So saying, he destroyed the nest and scattered it to the winds. When the monkey seized the nest, the bird slipped out and flew away.

When the Teacher had given this Dhamma teaching, he identified the characters in the Birth Story as follows: “At that time the monkey was the novice that destroyed the house; the hornbill was Kassapa.”

Then he said: “Bhikkhus, this is not the first time the novice took offense at an admonition and destroyed a house. He did the same thing in a previous state of existence also. It were better for my son Kassapa to live alone than to live with such a fool.” So saying, he pronounced the following verse:

61. Carañ-ce nādhigaccheyya seyyaṁ sadisam-attano,
ekacariyaṁ daḷhaṁ kayirā: natthi bāle sahāyatā.

If while roaming one cannot find
one better or same as oneself,
one should resolve to go alone:
there can be no friendship with fools.

At the end of the teaching the visiting bhikkhu attained the fruition of Stream-entry, and many others reached the fruition of Stream-entry and so on, and there was benefit for many people from the teaching.