Ja 187 The Birth Story about Being Cleansed in Four Ways (2s)

Ja 187 Catumaṭṭajātaka
The Birth Story about Being Cleansed in Four Ways (2s)

Alternative Title: Catumaṭṭhajātaka (Cst)

In the present one vain old monk comes and sits with the two chief disciples and offers to teach them. They walk away in disgust. The Buddha tells a story of how a jackal interrupted the virtuous talk of two geese and a Devatā in a tree, and how they flew away back to the Himālayas.

The Bodhisatta = the Tree Devatā (Rukkhadevatā),
Sāriputta and Moggallānā = the two young geese (dve haṁsapotakā),
the old monk = the jackal (sigāla).

Keywords: Vanity, Suitability, Devas, Animals, Birds.

“Sit and sing.” This story the Teacher told while staying at Jetavana, about an old monk. Once, we are told, the two chief disciples were sitting together, questioning and answering; when up came an old monk, and [2.74] made a third. {2.107} Taking a seat, he said: “I have a question too, sirs, which I should like to ask you, and if you have any difficulty, you may put it to me.” The elders were disgusted; they rose up and left him. The Saṅgha who listened to the discourse of the elders, after the meeting broke up, came to the Teacher; he asked what brought them there untimely and they told him what had happened. He replied, “This is not the first time, monks, that Sāriputta and Moggallāna have been disgusted with this man, and left him without a word; it was just the same in olden days.” And he proceeded to tell a story of the past.

In the past, when Brahmadatta was king of Benares, the Bodhisatta became a Tree Devatā that lived in a forest. Two young geese flew down from Mount Cittakūṭa and perched upon this tree. They flew about in search of food, returned there again, and after resting flew back to their mountain home. As time went on and on, the Devatā struck up a friendship with them. Coming and going, they were great friends, and used to talk about the dispensation to one another before they parted.

It happened one day as the birds sat on the treetop, talking with the Bodhisatta, that a jackal, halting at the foot of the tree, addressed the young geese in the words of the following verse:

In this connection, ascending the canopy above, conventially above in this tree, having ascended to the highest canopy.

You must discuss means you must discuss, This is a 2nd person middle imperative form, and is defined by the more regular form of the imperative. you must speak together.

Descending low means having descended, standing in a low place, you can discuss.

The king of beasts also listens, having made himself the king of beasts, he said this.

Filled with disgust, the young geese took wing and flew back to Cittakūṭa. When they were gone, the Bodhisatta repeated the second verse for the jackal’s benefit:

You should discuss the golden with the golden, Deva with Deva, whoever is cleansed in four ways. Re-enter your hole, dear jackal! {2.108}

In this connection, golden means having a beautiful colour.

With the golden means with the second young goose.

Devas with Devas means having assembled two Devas, he speaks.

Whoever is cleansed in four ways means in body, in birth, in tone, in virtue. When cleansed, purified in these four ways, this is literal meaning. He speaks thus blaming with words of praise the impure one, when inferior in four ways, why is the jackal here? This is the intention here.

Re-enter, the Bodhisatta, having seen the object of fright, spoke thus putting him to flight.

When the Teacher had ended this discourse, he identified the Jātaka, “In those times the old man was the jackal, Sāriputta and Moggallāna the two young geese, and I myself was the Tree Devatā.”