Buddhist Birth Stories (Jātaka Tales) — SelectionsBuddhismLegend / Oral TraditionPaliShareBuddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 28T. 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. 28: The Bull who Won the Bet / Nandi-Visāla JātakaBuddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 28ListenPlay this chapter in spoken English.Save chapterListen to chapter“Speak kindly.”--This the Master told when at Jetavana concerning the abusive language of the Six. For on one occasion the Six made a disturbance by scorning, snubbing, and annoying peaceable monks, and overwhelming them with the ten kinds of abuse. The monks told the Blessed One about it. He sent for the Six, and asked them whether it was true. And on their acknowledging it, he reproved them, saying, “Harsh speaking, O mendicants, is unpleasant, even to animals. An animal once made a man who addressed him harshly lose a thousand.” And he told a tale. * * * * * Long ago a king of Gandhāra was reigning in Takkasilā, in the land of Gandhāra. The Bodisat came to life then as a bull. Now, when he was yet a young calf, a certain Brāhman, after attending upon some devotees who were wont to give oxen to priests, received the bull. And he called it Nandi Visāla, and grew very fond of it; treating it like a son, and feeding it on gruel and rice. When the Bodisat grew up, he said to himself, “This Brāhman has brought me up with great care; and there’s no other ox in all the continent of India can drag the weight I can. What if I were to let the Brāhman know about my strength, and so in my turn provide sustenance for him!” And he said one day to the Brāhman, “Do you go now, Brāhman, to some squire rich in cattle, and offer to bet him a thousand that your ox will move a hundred laden carts.” The Brāhman went to a rich farmer, and started a conversation thus: “Whose bullocks hereabout do you think the strongest?” “Such and such a man’s,” said the farmer; and then added, “but of course there are none in the whole countryside to touch my own!” “I have one ox,” said the Brāhman, “who is good to move a hundred carts, loads and all!” “Tush!” said the squire. “Where in the world is such an ox?” “Just in my house!” said the Brāhman. “Then make a bet about it!” “All right! I bet you a thousand he can.” So the bet was made. And he filled a hundred carts (small waggons made for two bullocks) with sand and gravel and stones, ranged them all in a row, and tied them all firmly together, cross-bar to axle-tree. Then he bathed Nandi Visāla, gave him a measure of scented rice, hung a garland round his neck, and yoked him by himself to the front cart. Then he took his seat on the pole, raised his goad aloft, and called out, “Gee up! you brute!! Drag ‘em along! you wretch!!” The Bodisat said to himself, “He addresses me as a wretch. I am no wretch!” And keeping his four legs as firm as so many posts, he stood perfectly still. Then the squire that moment claimed his bet, and made the Brāhman hand over the thousand pieces. And the Brāhman, minus his thousand, took out his ox, went home to his house, and lay down overwhelmed with grief. Presently Nanda Visāla, who was roaming about the place, came up and saw the Brāhman grieving there, and said to him, “What, Brāhman! are you asleep?” “Sleep! How can I sleep after losing the thousand pieces?” “Brāhman! I’ve lived so long in your house, and have I ever broken any pots, or rubbed up against the walls, or made messes about?” “Never, my dear!” “Then why did you call me a wretch? It’s your fault. It’s not my fault. Go now, and bet him two thousand, and never call me a wretch again--I, who am no wretch at all!” When the Brāhman heard what he said, he made the bet two thousand, tied the carts together as before, decked out Nandi Visāla, and yoked him to the foremost cart. He managed this in the following way: he tied the pole and the cross-piece fast together; yoked Nandi Visāla on one side; on the other he fixed a smooth piece of timber from the point of the yoke to the axle-end, and wrapping it round with the fastenings of the cross-piece, tied it fast; so that when this was done, the yoke could not move this way and that way, and it was possible for one ox to drag forwards the double bullock-cart. Then the Brāhman seated himself on the pole, stroked Nandi Visāla on the back, and called out, “Gee up! my beauty!! Drag it along, my beauty!!” And the Bodisat, with one mighty effort, dragged forwards the hundred heavily-laden carts, and brought the hindmost one up to the place where the foremost one had stood! Then the cattle-owner acknowledged himself beaten, and handed over to the Brāhman the two thousand; the bystanders, too, presented the Bodisat with a large sum; and the whole became the property of the Brāhman. Thus, by means of the Bodisat, great was the wealth he acquired. * * * * * So the Teacher reproved the Six, saying, “Harsh words, O mendicants, are pleasant to no one;” and uttered, as Buddha, the following stanza, laying down a rule of moral conduct: Speak kindly; never speak in words unkind! He moved a heavy weight for him who kindly spake. He gained him wealth; he was delighted with him! When the Teacher had given them this lesson in virtue (“Speak kindly,” etc.), he summed up the Jātaka, “The Brāhman of that time was Ānanda, but Nandi Visāla was I myself.” ‹Previous chapterBuddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 27Next chapterBuddhist Birth Stories, Vol. I 29›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