THE GREAT CHRONICLE OF BUDDHAS
812
‚Only I must be president of the enshrinement ceremony,‛ thought the country merchant
and gave away three crores. In this way the donations made by both parties increased till
the town merchant's contribution became eight crores.
But the country merchant had only nine crores at his place, In the residence of the town
merchant, however, there were forty crores. Therefore it occurred to the country merchant
thus: ‚If I gave nine crores the merchant from the town would say that he would donate
ten. Then (as I cannot compete with him) the state of my being without wealth will be
known to all.‛ He then said: ‚I will donate this much of money. I shall also take upon
myself servitude to the stupa together with my seven sons, seven daughters-in-law and my
wife.‛ So saying he brought his family members and dedicated them and himself, sixteen
persons in all, to the stupa.
‚Acquisition of more funds is possible, [that of dedicated human labour is not],‛ said the
people, ‚This country merchant has given up his seven sons and seven daughters-in-law
and wife and himself to the stupa. Let him therefore become president of the enshrinement
ceremony.‛ Thus they all unanimously selected the country merchant as president.
In this way the sixteen family-members became slaves to the stupa. But the people agreed
to set them free from servitude. The sixteen-member family however took care of the stupa
till the end of their lives, and on their death were reborn in a celestial abode.
The sixteen persons enjoyed the blissful life in that abode during the whole Buddhantara
asa~khyeyya-kappa
(i.e. the period between the lifetime of Buddha Kassapa and that of our
Buddha). When the time of Buddha-Emergence [
Buddh’uppÈda
came as our Buddha
(Gotama)] appeared, the housewife to the merchant passed away from the celestial abode
and became a merchant's daughter in RÈjagaha. While only a young girl she attained
sotÈpatti
-
phala
.
(‚
AdiÔÔha-saccassa pana paÔisandhi nÈma bhÈriyÈ
,‛ so says the Commentary.) ‚The birth
of a worldling, who has not discerned the Four Truths is burdensome.‛ (For he is likely to
be reborn into a lowly family despite the fact that, that very life is his last (
pacchima-
bhÈvika
): for he has not overcome the risk of falling into a lowly state.) Therefore the deva
who had been the husband of the merchant's daughter, on his return to the human world,
was reborn in a family of hunters. As soon as she saw the hunter, her former love (
taÓhÈ
-
pema
) revived. That was why the Buddha spoke the following verse:
Pubbe'va sannivÈsena, paccup
paÒÒÈ
hitena vÈ.
EvaÑ taÑ jÈyate pemaÑ, uppalaÑ va yathodake.
Because of living together in love in the past and also because of benefiting
one another at present, for these two reasons, love of two types,
taÓhÈ
-
pema
and
mettÈ
-
pema
, arose. (How?) just as lotuses and any other aquatic flowers
thrive, depending on the two factors of water and mud).
It was only because of her love in the past that she followed the hunter to his house.
Their sons, from the celestial abode and took conception in the womb of the merchant's
daughter. The daughters-in-law were reborn in various families, and on coming of age,
they all went over to the home of the hunter's family owing to their affection they had had
in their past lives.
As the result of their services rendered together to the relic stupa dedicated to Buddha
Kassapa the sixteen members of the hunter's family attained
sotÈpatti-phala
in this
Buddha's dispensation.
End of story of KukkuÔamitta the hunter.
Story of Œnanda The Wealthy Merchant
Having distributed the medicinal Dhamma-water of immortality among beings, including
the family of the hunter KukkuÔamitta, while staying at VeÄuvana, RÈjagaha. From there the
Buddha arrived at SÈvatthi and stayed at Jetavana. While staying there, he gave a discourse
beginning with ‚
puttÈ matthi dhanaÑ matthi
‛, with reference to Œnanda the wealthy
merchant and citizen of SÈvatthi. The story in detail is as follows: