Buddhist Birth Stories (Jātaka Tales) — SelectionsBuddhismLegend / Oral TraditionPaliShareBuddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 19T. W. Rhys Davids (1880) - EnglishMoreVersion - 1 availableT. W. Rhys Davids (1880)LanguageEnglishEspañol‹Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 1Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 2Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 3Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 4Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 5Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 6Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 9Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 10Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 11Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 12Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 13Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 14Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 15Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 16Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 18Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 19Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 20Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 21Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 22Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 23Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 24Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 25Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 26Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 27Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 28Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 29Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 30Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 31Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 32Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 33Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 34Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 35Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 36Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 37Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 38Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 39Buddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 40›Tale No. 19: On Offerings given under a Vow / Āyācita-Bhatta JātakaBuddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 19ListenPlay this chapter in spoken English.Save chapterListen to chapter“Would you be saved,” etc.--This the Teacher told while at Jetavana, about making offerings under a vow to the gods. At that time, we are told, men about to go on a trading journey used to kill animals, and lay an offering before the gods, and make a vow, saying, “When we have returned in safety and success, we will make an offering to you,” and so depart. Then when they returned safe and successful, thinking, “This has happened by the power of the God,” they killed animals, and made the offering to release themselves from the vow. On seeing this, the mendicants asked the Blessed One, “Lord! is there now any advantage in this?” And he told a tale. * * * * * Once upon a time, in the land of Kāsi, a landed proprietor in a certain village promised an offering to the Genius of a Banyan-tree standing by the gate of the village. And when he had returned safely, he slew a number of animals; and saying to himself, “I will make myself free from my vow,” he went to the foot of the tree. But the tree-god, standing in a fork of the tree, uttered this stanza: Would you be free, you first must die! Seeking for freedom thus, is being bound! Not by such deeds as these are the wise made free: Salvation is the bond of fools!” Thenceforward men refrained from such life-destroying deeds, and living a life of righteousness filled the city of the gods. * * * * * The Teacher, having finished this discourse, made the connexion, and summed up the Jātaka: “I at that time was the Genius of the Tree.” ‹Previous chapterBuddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 18Next chapterBuddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 20›Similar passagesBy tradition and source labelFind similarCompare selectedCompare with similarAsk Deep ThoughtSelect passages to search for parallels.Tap any verse to select it, then compare selected passages or ask Deep Thought. Public domain