Generosity-Wisdom Protecting Kin, Merits Benefiting Sentient Beings (Part2/3)

Sutra of the Collection of the Six Perfections, Fascicle 3 

One day, it was the turn of a doe about to give birth to go to the palace. It told the deer king, “I dare not evade my call to death, but I only plead that you allow me to give birth to my fawn. Let the next deer go in my place first!” The deer next in line heard this and hurriedly bowed its head to the ground, saying with tears of sorrow, “I will certainly go to my death! But I still have one whole day of life left. Although it is only one whole day, if I go to my death when it is truly my turn, then I will harbor no resentment in my heart.”

The deer king, unable to bear the thought of the next deer dying a day earlier, decided to act. Early the next morning, avoiding the herd, it went alone to the superintendent of the Royal Kitchen. The cook recognized that it was the deer king and immediately went to report the matter to the king. The king asked the deer king why it had presented itself to the superintendent of the Royal Kitchen. The deer king recounted everything that had happened. Upon hearing this, the king shed tears of sorrow and exclaimed, “How can this be? Even animals can embody the boundless benevolence of heaven and earth, willing to sacrifice their own lives to save other sentient beings, practicing the vast loving-kindness and compassion of the ancients and embodying virtues that align with the will of heaven! Although I am a ruler of men, I slaughter the lives of sentient beings every day merely to nourish and enrich my own body. My cruelty and ferocity are no better than those of a jackal or wolf!”

Thus, the king sent the deer king back to its original habitat and issued the following commandment to all the people in the kingdom: “From now on, anyone who infringes upon the deer shall be treated as if they have infringed upon the people and shall face the consequences of the law.” From that time onward, the king and his civil and military officials adhered to this teaching, and the people cultivated benevolent hearts, ceasing to take another life. The blessings extended even to the grass and trees, and the nation flourished in peace and prosperity.

    The deer king at that time was none other than Buddha Śākyamuni, and the king was the venerable Śāriputra. The Buddha’s teachings state that bodhisattvas, who are in the process of attaining Buddhahood, must extend loving-kindness to all sentient beings, engaging in immeasurable and boundless acts of generosity. In other words, bodhisattvas must selflessly rescue and protect sentient beings life after life to develop the meritorious quality of generosity and accumulate merits, which are essential for achieving the Path to Buddhahood. (Part 2/3) 

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