Ja 214 The Birth Story about the Full River (2s)

In the present the monks are talking about the Buddha’s wisdom. The Buddha explains that even in past lives he had been wise and resourceful and tells how he interpreted a verse and a present of a cooked crow from a king, and so won favour with him again.

The Bodhisatta = the family priest (purohita),
Ānanda = the king (of Benares) (rājā).

Keywords: Wisdom, Resourcefulness.

“That which can drink.” This story the Teacher told while staying at Jetavana, about the Perfection of Wisdom.

On one occasion, the monks were gathered in the Dhamma Hall, talking of the Tathāgata’s wisdom. “Friend, the Supreme Buddha’s wisdom is great, and wide, cutting, and quick, sharp, penetrating, and full of resource.” The Teacher came in, and asked what they talked about as they sat there together. They told him. “Not only is the Tathāgata wise this one time, but he was wise before, and had skill in means.” And then he told them a story.

In the past, while Brahmadatta was king of Benares, the Bodhisatta came into the world as the son of the court family priest. When he grew up, he studied at Taxila; and at his father’s death he received the office of family priest, and he was the king’s counsellor in things human and divine.

Afterwards the king opened his ear to those who provoke quarrels, and in anger bade the Bodhisatta dwell before his face no more, and sent him away from Benares. So he took his wife and family with him, and lived in a certain village of Kāsi. Afterward the king remembered his goodness, and said to himself: [2.122]

“It is not meet that I should send a messenger to fetch my teacher. I will compose a verse of poetry, {2.174} and write it upon a leaf; I will cause crow’s flesh to be cooked; and after I have tied up letter and meat in a white cloth, I will seal it with the king’s seal, and send it to him. If he is wise, when he has read the letter and seen that it is crow’s-meat, he will come; if not, then he will not come.” And so he wrote on the leaf this verse:

In this connection, the one who drinks when the river is full they say, speaking regarding rivers ‘from which a crow can drink’, This seems to have been proverbial, meaning the river is so full even a crow standing on the bank can drink from it. the river is full when they say ‘from it a crow can drink’, but when the river is not full, ‘from it a crow can drink’, is not said. Having stood on the river bank, and stretched out his neck, the crow is able to drink, because of that they say ‘from which a crow can drink’.

The one hidden when the barley is grown they say, barley is merely an abbreviated teaching, but here all young crops that have grown up and are ripe is the intention. I.e. barley is being used as a synecdoche to indicate all young crops. Truly when a crow has entered inside he is able to be concealed, at that time he hides, so hidden is said. Who hides? The crow. Thus with the hiding of the crow ‘the crow-hider’, is spoken of, ‘hidden’ is said because of the crow who is the cause for the word indicating hidden. Because of this then they say hidden.

They call upon him when one has gone far off, having approached a dear person who has gone afar off and lives abroad, seeing him sitting, or, if one of such and such a name approaches, the crow must caw, or, hearing the crow cawing: “Since the crow caws, the one of such and such a name approaches,” saying this they call upon, talk to, address, bring it up, this is the meaning.

Come to him means he must be led home.

Well then, brahmin, you must eat, take, brahmin, you must eat, chew on this crow meat, this is the meaning.

This verse did the king write upon a leaf, and sent it to the Bodhisatta. He read the letter, and thinking: “The king wishes to see me,” he repeated the second verse: {2.175}

In this connection, because the king remembers me, and offers up the crow to me, when the king has received this crow meat, he remembers to make offerings to me.

Geese, herons and peacocks, but because of this, he will present these geese and so on, he will obtain goose meat and so on, then why would he not remember me? this is the meaning. Most excellently, having obtained this goose meat and so on, why would he not remember me, he surely remembers, this is the meaning.

Forgetting would be worse, having obtained this or that, remembering is called excellent, but in the world forgetting is worse, forgetting is low, inferior, but this is not like our king.

Then he caused his vehicle to be made ready, and went, and looked upon the king. And the king, being pleased, set him again in the place of the king’s family priest.