Dhammapada Verse 281
Sukarapeta Vatthu
Vacanurakkhi manasa susamvuto
kayena ca nakusalam kayira
ete tayo kammapathe visodhaye
aradhaye magga' misippaveditam.
Verse 281: One should be careful in speech, be well-restrained in mind, and
physically, too, one should do no evil. One should purify these three courses of
action and accomplish the practice of the Path of Eight Constituents made known
by the Buddhas.
The Story of a Swine-Peta
While residing at the Veluvana monastery, the Buddha uttered Verse (281) of
this book, with reference to a swine-peta.
Once Thera Maha Moggallana was coming down the Gijjhakuta hill with Thera
Lakkhana when he saw a miserable, ever-hungry peta, with the head of a swine and
the body of a human being. On seeing the peta, Thera Maha Moggallana smiled but
did not say anything. Back at the monastery, Thera Maha Moggallana, in the
presence of the Buddha, talked about the swine-peta with its mouth swarming with
maggots. The Buddha also said that he himself had seen that very peta soon after
his attainment of Buddhahood, but that he did not say anything about it because
people might not believe him and thus they would be doing wrong to him. Then the
Buddha proceeded to relate the story about the swine-peta.
During the time of Kassapa Buddha, this particular peta was a bhikkhu who
often expounded the Dhamma. On one occasion, he came to a monastery where two
bhikkhus were staying together. After staying with those two for some time, he
found that he was doing quite well because people liked his expositions. Then it
occurred to him that it would be even better if he could make the other two
bhikkhus leave the place and have the monastery all to himself. Thus, he tried
to set one against the other. The two bhikkhus quarrelled and left the monastery
in different directions. On account of this evil deed, that bhikkhu was reborn
in Avici Niraya and he was serving out the remaining part of his term of
suffering as a swine-peta with its mouth swarming with maggots. Then the Buddha
exhorted, "A bhikkhu should be calm and well-restrained in thought, word
and deed."
Then the Buddha spoke in verse as follows:
| Verse 281: One should be careful in speech, be
well-restrained in mind, and physically, too, one should do no evil.
One should purify these three courses of action and accomplish the
practice of the Path of Eight Constituents made known by the Buddhas.
|