12.3 The Story about the Elder Padhānika Tissa

Dhp 159

Burlingame: “Be Ye Doers of the Word”

Compare: Ja 119 BG: This story is a very free version of the Introduction to Ja 119.

Elder Padhānika Tissa took five hundred bhikkhus with him and went to the forest; at night he urged them three times to put forth effort, but he himself went to sleep; the bhikkhus, being worn out, made no progress; the Buddha spoke a verse about the elder.

Keywords: Meditation, Cheating, Past Lives, Bodhisatta, Animals

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“He should do as he would advise,” {3.142} this Dhamma teaching was given by the Teacher while he was in residence at Jetavana with reference to Elder Padhānika Tissa.

This elder, we are told, obtained a subject of meditation from the Teacher, and taking five hundred bhikkhus with him, entered upon [29.355] residence in a forest. But first he admonished the bhikkhus, saying: “Friends, you have obtained a subject of meditation from the Living Buddha; therefore be heedful in meditation.” So saying, he lay down and went to sleep. Those bhikkhus walked up and down during the first watch, and in the middle watch entered the monastery. When the elder, who was sleeping, woke up, he went to those bhikkhus and said to them: “Did you come here thinking to yourselves: ‘We will lie down and go to sleep’? {3.143} Leave the monastery immediately, and devote yourselves to meditation.” So saying, he himself went back again, lay down, and went to sleep.

The other bhikkhus walked up and down during the middle watch, and in the last watch entered the monastery. The elder woke up again, went to them, drove them out of the monastery, and then himself went back again, lay down, and went to sleep. Since the elder did this repeatedly, those bhikkhus were not able to concentrate their attention, either on the recitation of the sacred word or on their meditations, and as a result, their minds were distraught. Finally they said to themselves: “Our teacher must be exceedingly energetic. Let us watch him.” When they discovered what he was doing, they said: “We are lost, friends; our teacher declaims empty declamations.” So tired were the bhikkhus from the little sleep they got that not a single bhikkhu was able to develop distinction.

Having completed residence, they went back to the Teacher. The Teacher, after exchanging the usual friendly greetings with them, asked them: “Bhikkhus, did you observe heedfulness? Did you perform your meditations faithfully?” Then the bhikkhus told him the whole story.

The Teacher said: “Bhikkhus, this is not the first time this elder has made your efforts miscarry; he did the same thing before.” So saying, in compliance with their request, he related

The Birth Story about (the Cock) Crying at the Wrong Time: BG: Ja 119. AJ: I include the story here, the commentary has only the verse.

In the past when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta was born into a northern Brahmin family, and when he grew up, learned all knowledge and became a teacher of world-wide fame with five hundred young brahmins studying under him. Now these young brahmins had a cock who crowed betimes and roused them to their studies. And this cock died. So they looked all about for another, and one of their number, when picking up firewood in the cemetery-grove, saw a cock there which he brought home and kept it in a coop. But, as this second cock had been bred in a cemetery, he had no knowledge of times and seasons, and used to crow casually – at midnight as well as at daybreak. Roused by his crowing at midnight, the young brahmins fell to their studies; by dawn they were tired out and could not for sleepiness keep their attention on the subject; and when he fell crowing in broad day they did not get a chance of quiet for repeating their lesson. And as it was the cock’s crowing both at midnight and by day which had brought their studies to a standstill, they took the bird and wrung his neck. Then they told their teacher that they had killed the cock that crowed in and out of season.

Said their teacher, for their edification: “It was his bad upbringing that brought this cock to his end.” So saying, he uttered this verse:

No mother and father raised him,
not under teacher’s influence,
neither at the right or wrong time,
did the cock know when to call out.

The Teacher said: “At that time that cock was this very Elder Padhānika Tissa, those five hundred bhikkhus were these very novices, and the world-renowned teacher was I myself.”

Having related this Birth Story, the Teacher said: “Bhikkhus, if a man is to admonish others, he must first subdue himself; for if, under these circumstances, he admonish others, {3.144} being well subdued [29.356] himself, he can subdue others.” So saying, he pronounced the following verse:

159. Attānañ-ce tathā kayirā yathaññam-anusāsati,
sudanto vata dametha, attā hi kira duddamo.

He should do as he would advise
another to do, then being
well-trained, he could train another,
for self is difficult to train.