12.5 The Story about the Lay Disciple Mahā Kāla
Mahākāla-Upāsakavatthu

“That wickedness done by oneself,” this Dhamma teaching was given by the Teacher while he was in residence at Jetavana with reference to a certain lay disciple named Mahā Kāla, who had attained Stream-entry. {3.149} [29.360]

It seems that on the eighth day of the month Mahā Kāla took upon himself the observance of the Observance Day, and spent the entire night at the monastery listening to the Dhamma. Now during the night some thieves broke into a certain house and began to gather up the spoils. The owners, awakened by the rattling of iron vessels, set out in pursuit of the thieves. Finding that they were pursued, the thieves began to throw away what they had stolen, but the owners pursued them all the same. When the pursuers came in sight, the thieves scattered in all directions, one of them taking the road leading to the monastery.

Now early in the morning, Mahā Kāla, who had listened all night long to the teaching of the Dhamma, was bathing his face on the bank of the monastery pool. As the thief came along, he threw his spoils down before Mahā Kāla and then continued his flight. When the men who were pursuing the thieves came up and saw the stolen goods lying before Mahā Kāla, they said to him: “So you are the man who broke into our house and stole our property! Yet here you are acting as though you had been listening to the Dhamma!” {3.150} And seizing him, they beat him to death, and having thrown his dead body aside, departed.

Early in the morning when the young bhikkhus and novices set out from the monastery with waterpots in hand, they discovered the dead body of Mahā Kāla. And straightaway they reported the matter to the Teacher, saying: “This lay disciple spent the night at the monastery listening to the Dhamma and met death contrary to his deserts.”

The Teacher replied: “It is quite true, bhikkhus, that Kāla’s death was quite undeserved, if one considers only the present state of existence. But what he received was in exact conformity with a wicked deed he committed in a previous state of existence.” Then, in compliance with a request of the bhikkhus, the Teacher related the following

5a Story of the Past: The Soldier and the Man with a Beautiful Wife

Long, long ago, it seems, there was a certain frontier village in the country of the king of Bārāṇasī, and a forest hard by, and at the entrance to the forest a band of thieves used to lie in wait for travelers. The king accordingly posted one of his soldiers at the entrance to the forest, and for a certain consideration this soldier would escort travelers into the forest and back again. [29.361]

One day a certain man, accompanied by a beautiful wife, approached the entrance to the forest in a small carriage. When the king’s soldier saw this woman, desire arose within him. Therefore, when the man said to him: “Sir, escort us through the forest,” the soldier replied: “It is too late now; early in the morning I will escort you through the forest.” But the traveler said: “We are in good time, sir; pray escort us through the forest immediately.” – “Sir, you must turn back; you will find food and lodging in our house.” The traveler did not wish to turn back, but the soldier gave a sign to his men, and they turned the carriage around. And in spite of the traveler’s protests, the soldier lodged the man and his wife in the gatehouse and caused food to be prepared for them.

Now the soldier had a precious stone in his house, and this he caused to be placed in the traveler’s carriage. When it was daybreak, he caused a sound to be made as though thieves were entering his house. Immediately afterwards his men came and reported to him: “Master, your precious stone has been carried off by thieves.” Thereupon the soldier posted guards at the gates of the village and gave orders to them as follows: “Search everybody who comes out of the village.”

Early in the morning the traveler harnessed his carriage {3.151} and set out. The soldier’s hirelings stopped the carriage, searched it, and finding concealed therein the very stone which they themselves had placed there, reviled the traveler, saying: “It was you who stole the jewel, and having stolen it, are now running away.” And having beaten the traveler soundly, they brought him before the headman of the village and said to him: “Master, we have caught the thief.” Said the village headman: “After my good friend had lodged him in his house and given him food to eat, he stole his jewel and tried to run away. Take away this wicked fellow.” And he had him beaten to death and his dead body cast away.

This was his deed in a previous state of existence. When he passed out of that state of existence, he was reborn in the Avīci Hell, and after suffering torment in Niraya Hell for a long period of time, because the fruit of his wicked deed was not yet exhausted, he was beaten to death in this manner in a hundred existences.

When the Teacher had thus related the wicked deed committed by Mahā Kāla in a previous state of existence, he said: “Bhikkhus, it is only the wickedness which living beings here in the world commit that [29.362] crushes them in the four states of suffering.” So saying, he pronounced the following verse:

161. Attanā va kataṁ pāpaṁ, attajaṁ attasambhavaṁ,
abhimatthati dummedhaṁ vajiraṁ vasmamayaṁ maṇiṁ.

That wickedness done by oneself,
born and arising in oneself,
crushes the one who is stupid,
as diamond a rock-jewel.

At the end of the teaching the assembled bhikkhus reached the fruition of Stream-entry and so on.