Ja 221 The Birth Story about the Renunciant’s Robe (2s)

In the present laymen club together and offer robes to Devadatta. The Buddha, hearing about it, tells a story of how a hunter had dressed as a Paccekabuddha in order to kill elephants, and how he had rebuked him for dishonouring the robes.

The Bodhisatta = the master of the herd (yūthapati),
Devadatta = the man who killed elephants (hatthimārakapurisa).

Keywords: Dissemblance, Cheating.

“If any man.” This story the Teacher told while staying at Jetavana, about Devadatta.

It was occasioned by something that happened at Rājagaha. At one period the Captain of the Dhamma was living with five hundred monks at the Bamboo Grove. And Devadatta, with a body of men, wicked, like himself, lived at Gayāsīsa.

At that time the citizens of Rājagaha used to club together for the purpose of almsgiving. A trader, who had come there on business, brought a magnificent perfumed yellow robe, asking that he might become one of them, and give this garment as his contribution. The townspeople brought plenty of gifts. All that was contributed by those who had clubbed together consisted of ready money. There was this garment left. The crowd which had come together said: “Here is this beautiful perfumed robe left over. Who shall have it – elder Sāriputta, or Devadatta?” Some were in favour of Sāriputta; others said: “Elder Sāriputta will stay here a few days, {2.197} and then go travelling at his own sweet will; but Devadatta always lives near our city; he is our refuge in good fortune or ill. Devadatta shall have it!” They made a division, and those who voted for Devadatta were in the majority. So to Devadatta they gave it. He had it cut in strips, and sewn together, and coloured like gold, and so he wore it upon him.

At the same time, thirty monks went from Rājagaha to Sāvatthi to salute the Teacher. After greetings had been exchanged, they told him all this affair, adding, “And so, sir, Devadatta wears this mark of the saint, which suits him ill enough.” “Monks,” said the Teacher, “this is not the first time that Devadatta has put on the garb of a saint, a most unsuitable dress. He did the same before.” And then he told them a story.

In the past, when Brahmadatta was king of Benares, the Bodhisatta came into this world as an elephant in the Himālayas region. [2.139] Lord of a herd that numbered eighty thousand wild elephants, he dwelt in the forest land.

A poor man that lived in Benares, seeing the workers of ivory in the ivory bazaar making bangles and all manner of ivory trinkets, asked them would they buy an elephant’s tusks, if he should get them. To which they answered, yes.

So he took a weapon, and clothing himself in a yellow robe, he put on the guise of a Paccekabuddha, One who has attained the knowledge needful for attaining Nibbāna, but does not preach it to men. with a covering band about his head. Taking his stand in the path of the elephants, he slew one of them with his weapon, and sold the tusks of it in Benares; and in this manner he made a living. After this he began always to slay the very last elephant in the Bodhisatta’s troop. Day by day the elephants grew fewer and fewer.

Then they went and asked the Bodhisatta how it was that their numbers dwindled. He perceived the reason. “Some man,” he thought, “stands in the place where the elephants go, having made himself like a Paccekabuddha in appearance. Now can it be he that slays the elephants? I will find him out.” So one day he sent the others on before him {2.198} and he followed after. The man saw the Bodhisatta, and made a rush at him with his weapon. The Bodhisatta turned and stood. “I will beat him to the earth, and kill him!” thought he, and stretched out his trunk – when he saw the yellow robes which the man wore. “I ought to pay respect to those sacred robes!” said he. So drawing back his trunk, he cried, “O man! Is not that dress, the flag of an Arahat, unsuitable to you? Why do you wear it?” and he repeated these lines:

In this connection, impure, The word means not-not-impure (a+ni+kasāva). impure is said to be lust, hatred, delusion, anger, rivalry, jealousy, selfishness, deceit, cheating, stubbornness, wrathfulness, conceit, great conceit, vanity, heedlessness, all unwholesome things, all wrong ways of living, all one thousand five hundred deeds leading to existence, that are called impure. For whatever person has not removed them, continuing and not relinquishing them, or going out from them, is known as one who is impure.

The yellow robe means being dyed in yellow dye it has the state of the flag of the worthy ones. In ancient India the normal male householder’s robe was white, and a yellow or stained robe was worn by renunciants. The flag of the worthy ones, is otherwise the flag of the Arahants.

The one who... will put on the... robe, having become such a one, such a robe he will put on, wear and wrap himself in.

Abstaining from restraint and truth, from what is reckoned as restraint of the sense faculties, from restraint, from what is reckoned as Nibbāna, from the ultimate truth, he abstains, he shuns it. Or, the word in the instrumental case has ablative meaning: from this restraint and truth, this is the meaning. Here truth means verbal truth, also the four truths is suitable.

Is not worthy of the yellow robe, that person, because of being impure, is not worthy of the yellow robe, the flag of the worthy ones, for him it is not suitable.

The one who... throws out any impurity, but the person, as previously mentioned, because of throwing off impurity, is free of impurity.

Steady in virtue, he who is well placed in the virtues of the paths and fruits, being led, stands like one established amongst them. This is a term for one possessing virtuous practices.

Endowed means possessed of.

With restraint and truth means with restraint and truth in the aforementioned manner.

Is worthy of the yellow robe, such a person is worthy of this robe that is a flag of the worthy ones.

With these words, the Bodhisatta rebuked the man, and bade him never come there again, else he should die for it. Thus he drove him away.