35c: More Stories about Wrong View – 1219 

 

Brahma by the name of Baka! In the past, when you were an absorption-
accomplished ascetic who caused, by your psychic powers, those thirsty 
people of a caravan, who were tortured by the sun in the desert, to have 
water to drink and to bath. Like a man waking up, I recollect again and 
again, by my power of the rememberance of former lives (

pubbe-

nivāsānussati-ñāṇa

), your morality practised in the past. 

At a later time, the ascetic, built a leaf-hut on the bank of the Ganges and lived 
there depending upon a small village for food. Then robbers beat the villagers 
and robbed them 

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 of gold and silver and took with them cattle and people 

as hostages. The cries of the people and the animals created loud noises. On 
hearing the noises, the ascetic wondered what it was all about. Knowing that 
some danger has befallen the villagers, he made a wish: “May these beings not 
perish while I am seeing them.” Then he engaged himself in absorption (

jhāna

), 

the foundation of his psychic powers. Arising from that meditation, he created a 
large army of four divisions – elephants, horses, chariots, and foot-soldiers – 
that marched arrow-shooting, trumpet-blowing, drum-beating and threat-
shouting. 

Seeing the great army, the robbers thought that it was the marching of the king, 
they discarded their loot and fled. The ascetic resolved: “May the property go 
back to their respective owners,” and this happened in accordance with the 
ascetic’s resolve. The people were thus overjoyed. In order to point out also this 
past good deed of Brahma Baka, the Buddha spoke this verse: 

Yaṁ eṇi-kūlasmi’ janaṁ gahītaṁ, 
amocayī gayhaka niyyamānaṁ, 
taṁ te purāṇaṁ vata-sīla-vattaṁ, 
suttappabuddho va anussarāmi. 

Brahma by the name of Baka! In the past when you were an absorption-
accomplished ascetic on the bank of the Ganges, which was also named 
Eṇikūla because there were many herds of antelopes there, you caused the 
villagers, who were taken as hostages and whose properties were robbed 
by theives, to escape from the robbers’ hands by your creation of an army 
of four divisions. Like a man waking up, I recollect again and again, by 
my power of remembering former lives, your morality practised in the 
past.