Scriptural Story from Sajyukta-ratna-pitaka-sutra, Vol. 4
Once upon a time in the kingdom of Gandhara, there lived a painter named Ji Na who sold his paintings for a living. After having made thirty taels of gold in three years, he happily left for his hometown. On his way there, he passed through the city of Kapilavastu, where he came across a dharma ceremony that happened to be held every five years. He was awestruck by the magnitude and sacredness of the ceremony so he asked one of the dharma masters, “Dear master, how much does it cost to organize a ceremony such as this per day?” The master replied, “It costs thirty taels of gold.”
Upon hearing the master’s reply, Ji Na thought to himself, “I failed to cultivate enough merits in my past lives to gain sufficient rewards in my present life. Thus, I am so poor and have to work so hard to earn a living to feed my family. Now, with such an unexpected encounter, I should make good use of this opportunity to perform and rejoice in this meritorious deed for my future lives.”
Ji Na then told the master, “I wish to become your disciple and donate money for the ceremony.” He then knocked on the brass temple bell using the bell hammer and announced his offering at the ceremony to the monastics who attended. Ji Na felt satisfied. After the ceremony, he headed for his hometown happily.
At last, Ji Na reached home. As soon as he stepped into the house, his wife asked him, “You have worked for three years away from home. You must have made a lot of money! Where did you keep the gold?”
Ji Na replied, “I’ve already deposited the gold I earned in a very secure place.”
Ji Na’s wife further inquired, “What is this secure place?”
Ji Na happily and proudly replied, “The pure jewel of the monastic assembly.”
Ji Na’s wife was astonished at his direct answer and began to scold him. She even called their relatives and asked them to tie him up and take him to the court. In front of the magistrate, she cried aloud and said,
“My son and I have not wasted a single penny, and we have lived an incredibly difficult life. But my husband spends the money he has earned frivolously. He does not care about his family at all. Please help my son and me obtain justice.”
The magistrate then asked Ji Na, “Why did you spend your money frivolously rather than spend it for your wife and son?”
Ji Na replied, “Life is short, like a flash of lightning or the morning dew. Life and death take place in just a split second, and everything becomes different after. Now, I’m living such a hard life because I did not cultivate any virtues in the past. As such, I’m actually living through the karmic retribution of my past actions. When I was passing through the city of Kapilavastu, I came across this pure and solemn dharma ceremony being held by the monastics. I felt the urge to offer them all my earnings. Hence, I contributed all that I’ve earned in the previous three years to the assembly for the ceremony, and I don’t have any regrets.”
Having heard Ji Na’s explanation, the magistrate was deeply moved and impressed by his wisdom. He praised Ji Na’s wholesome roots and presented him with fine clothes, jewelry, and a horse cart. He also gave Ji Na a village as a reward.
The whole matter turned out to be quite divine for Ji Na. It all started from a single desire to make a sincere offering to the monastics. The wise magistrate was acclaimed by his fellow townsmen, and all the villagers took refuge in the Three Jewels (The Buddha, Sangha and Dharma) and became disciples of the Buddha.
One of the most important requirements for becoming a bodhisattva is to engage in the acts of offerings throughout the whole Buddhahood Path. Those who make offerings with sincerity are in fact upholding the practice of perfecting the cultivation of virtues in generosity. Furthermore, by nurturing fertile field of virtues a.k.a. recipient of offering, (who is likened to a field that is cultivated), one can receive different karmic consequences because good seeds sown will reap better karmic fruits in future lives.
To illustrate this, one who sows a single apple seed today will harvest apples in a few year’s time, when the cause and condition mature. Likewise, cumulative cultivation of virtues in generosity over tens, hundreds, and even thousands of years, the fruits we harvest in our future lives will actually far beyond our imagination. We should therefore be contented to accept whatever situation or wealth we may have in this life as the practice of offerings will generate retributive fruits in the mundane world as illustrated in this story. Also, we ought to remain positive when dealing with life’s adversities instead of constantly whining and complaining.
Therefore, bodhisattvas who have vowed to pursue the Buddhahood for over three immeasurable eons will need to accumulate sufficient merits and virtues through offerings and to endlessly perform wholesome deeds in the mundane world.
#Buddhism #Buddhahood #Karma #Buddhistscriptures
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