Mahasara Jataka: The Queen”s Necklace (Jat 92)

　　The Buddha told this story at Jetavana Monastery about the Venerable Ananda.

　　One day the wives of the King of Kosala were talking together, saying, "It is very rare for a Buddha to appear in the world," they said. "It is also rare to be born a human being. We have been born humans during a Buddha”s lifetime, but we are not free to go to the monastery to pay our respects, to hear his teaching, and to make offerings to him. We might as well be living in a cage as in this palace. Let”s ask the king to allow someone to come here to teach us the Dhamma. We should learn what we can, be charitable, and do good works. In that way we will truly benefit from living at this happy time!" They went to the king and made their request. The king listened and gave his consent.

　　That same morning, the king decided to enjoy himself in the royal gardens, so he gave orders that the grounds should be prepared. As the gardener was finishing, he saw the Buddha seated at the foot of a tree. He immediately went to the king and reported that everything was ready, but that the Buddha was there sitting under a tree.

　　"Very good," said the king, "we will go and hear the Master." Then he went to the garden by royal chariot.

　　When he got there, he found a lay disciple, Chattapani, sitting at the Buddha”s feet, listening to his words. When the king saw this lay disciple, he hesitated. Realizing, however, that this must be a virtuous man, or he would not be sitting by the Buddha for instruction, the king approached, bowed, and seated himself on one side.

　　Out of his profound respect for the Buddha, Chattapani neither rose to honor the king nor saluted him. This made the king very angry.

　　Aware of the king”s displeasure, the Buddha praised the merits of the layman, who had, in fact, entered the path of non-returning. "Sire," the Buddha said, "this lay disciple knows by heart the scriptures that have been handed down, and he has set himself free from the bondage of passion."

　　"Surely," the king thought, "this can be no ordinary person who is being so praised by the Buddha." He turned to Chattapani and said, "Let me know if you are in need of anything."

　　"Thank you," Chattapani replied.

　　The king listened to the Master”s teaching. When it was time, he rose and left ceremoniously.

　　A few days later, the king met Chattapani again as he was on his way to Jetavana and had him summoned. "I hear, sir, that you are a man of great learning. My wives are eager to hear the truth. I would be very glad to have you teach them."

　　"It would not be proper, sire, for a layman to expound the truth in the king”s harem. That is the prerogative of the bhikkhus."

　　The king immediately realized that this was correct, so he called his wives together and announced that he would ask the Buddha to appoint one of the elders to become their instructor in the Doctrine. He asked them which of the eighty chief disciples they would prefer. The women unanimously chose Ananda, the Treasurer of the Doctrine.

　　The king went to the Buddha, greeted him courteously, sat down, and stated his wives” wish that Ananda might be their teacher. The Buddha assented, and the Venerable Ananda began teaching the king”s wives regularly.

　　One day, when Ananda arrived at the palace as usual, he found that the women, who had always before been so attentive, were all troubled and agitated. "What”s wrong

　　" he asked. "Why do you seem anxious today

　　"

　　"Oh, venerable sir," they replied, "the jewel from the king”s turban is missing. He has called his ministers and ordered them to apprehend the thief and to find the jewel without fail. They are interrogating and searching everybody, even all of us women. The entire court is in an uproar, and we have no idea what might happen …

《The Queens Necklace》全文未完，请进入下页继续阅读…