18.6 The Story about Culla Sāri
Cullasārivatthu
Dhp 244-245
CST4: Cūḷasārivatthu
Burlingame: Courtesy and Rudeness
Elder Culla Sāri gave medical treatment to others in exchange for a portion of food, which is against the right ways of earning his livelihood as laid down by the Buddha; when the Buddha heard of his behaviour he gave a teaching in some verses.
Keywords: Discipline, Medicine
**
“Life is light for one without shame,” this Dhamma teaching was given by the Teacher while he was in residence at Jetavana with reference to Culla Sāri, a co-resident of Elder Sāriputta.
It seems that one day this bhikkhu administered medical treatment, in return for which he received a portion of choice food. As he went out with this food, he met an elder on the road and said to him: “Venerable Sir, here is some food which I received for administering medical treatment. Nowhere else will you receive food like this. Take it and eat it. Henceforth, whenever I receive such food as this in return for administering medical treatment, I will bring it to you.” The elder listened to what he said, but departed without saying a word.
The bhikkhus went to the monastery and reported the matter to the Teacher. The Teacher said: “Bhikkhus, he that is shameless and impudent like a crow, he that practices the twenty-one varieties of impropriety, lives happily. But he that is endowed with modesty and fear of mortal wrong, lives in sorrow.” So saying, he pronounced the following verses:
244. Sujīvaṁ ahirikena, kākasūrena dhaṁsinā,
pakkhandinā pagabbhena, saṅkiliṭṭhena jīvitaṁ.
Life is light for one without shame,
with the bold courage of a crow,
living a life with backbiting,
recklessness, and with defilements.
245. Hirīmatā ca dujjīvaṁ, niccaṁ sucigavesinā,
alīnenāpagabbhena, suddhājīvena passatā.
Life is hard when endowed with shame,
for the one seeking purity,
for one sincere, and not reckless,
looking for purity of life.
At the end of the teaching many reached the fruition of Stream-entry and so on.