..續本文上一頁ordered his men to arrange his carts in a fortified circle, to take care of the oxen, and to prepare an early supper for themselves. After the animals and men had all safely bedded down, the merchant and his foremen, swords in hand, stood guard all through the night.

　　At daybreak the merchant replaced his own weak carts for stronger ones and exchanged his own common goods for the most costly of the abandoned merchandise. When he arrived at his destination, he was able to barter his stock of wares at two or three times their value. He returned to his own city without losing a single man out of all his company.

　　This story ended, the Buddha said, "Thus it was, laymen, that in times past, the foolish came to utter destruction, while those who clung to the truth escaped from the yakkhas” hands, reached their goal in safety, and returned to their homes again.

　　"This clinging to the truth not only endows happiness even up to rebirth in the Realm of Brahma, [3] but also leads ultimately to Arahatship. Following untruth entails rebirth either in the four states of punishment or in the lowest conditions of mankind." After the Buddha had expounded the Four Truths, those five hundred disciples were established in the Fruit of the First Path.

　　The Buddha concluded his lesson by identifying the Birth as follows: "The foolish young merchant was Devadatta, [4] and his men were Devadatta”s followers. The wise merchant”s men were the followers of the Buddha, and I myself was that wise merchant."

　　Notes:

　　1. The Uposatha is the full, new, and half-moon days, when many Buddhists observe the Eight Precepts.

　　2. Yojana: a unit of distance, about seven miles.

　　3. The Realm of Brahma refers to the highest heavens, where beings enjoy radiant bliss.

　　4. Devadatta was a cousin of the Buddha. He tried to kill the Master several times, but always failed.

　　(From Jataka Tales of the Buddha, part I. Retold by Ken and Visakha Kawasaki. Copyright@1995.)

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