22.6 The Story about the Woman Jealous by Nature
Issāpakata-Itthivatthu
Dhp 314
Burlingame: The Jealous Woman
A jealous woman found out her husband had been unfaithful with one of their maidservants, and had her nose and ears cut off, threw her into a dungeon and then went to listen to the Dhamma; one of her relatives discovered the matter and informed the Buddha, who gave the teaching in a verse.
Keywords: Cruelty, Servants, Listening to Dhamma
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“Better undone is wrong-doing,” this Dhamma teaching was given by the Teacher while he was in residence at Jetavana with reference to a certain jealous woman.
It seems that the husband of this woman had intercourse with a certain female servant who lived in the house. Thereupon this jealous woman bound the servant hand and foot, cut off her nose and ears, threw her into a secret chamber, and closed the door. Then, in order that she might hide the deed which she had committed, she said to her husband: “Come, good husband, let us go to the monastery and listen to the Dhamma.” And taking her husband with her, she went to the monastery, and sat down and listened to the Dhamma.
It happened that some relatives of hers came to her house to pay her a visit. As soon as they opened the door and saw the outrage that had been committed, they released the female servant. Thereupon she went to the monastery, and standing in the midst of the fourfold company, informed the One of Ten Strengths what had happened. The Teacher listened to what she had to say and then replied: “One ought never to do even a slight wrong, thinking: ‘Others know nothing about this wicked deed which I have committed.’ Even though no one else knows about it, one should do only that which is good. For a wicked deed, even though one hide it, brings remorse afterwards, but a good deed produces nothing but happiness.” So saying, he pronounced the following verse:
314. Akataṁ dukkataṁ seyyo, pacchā tapati dukkataṁ,
katañ-ca sukataṁ seyyo, yaṁ katvā nānutappati.
Better undone is wrong-doing,
wrong-doing one later regrets,
better done is what is well-done,
which, when done, one does not regret.
At the end of the teaching the lay disciple and his wife were established in Stream-entry, and then and there they freed the servant and made her a follower of the Dhamma.