It was while staying in Savatthi that the Buddha told
this story to encourage a disheartened bhikkhu to persevere so that he would
have no regrets in the future. "If you give up your practice in this
sublime teaching which leads to Nibbana," the Buddha told him, "you
will suffer long, like the trader of Seriva who lost a golden bowl worth one
hundred thousand cons."
When asked to explain, the Buddha told this story of the
distant past.
Five eons ago, the Bodhisatta was an honest trader
selling fancy goods in the kingdom of Seriva. Sometimes he travelled with
another trader from the same kingdom, a greedy fellow, who handled the same
wares.
One day, the two of them crossed the Telavaha River to do
business in the bustling city of Andhapura. As usual, to avoid competing with
each other, they divided the city between them and began selling their goods
from door to door.
In that city, there was a ramshackle mansion. Years
before, the family had been rich merchants, but, by the time of this story,
their fortunes had dwindled to nothing, and all the men of the family had died.
The sole survivors were a girl and her grandmother, and these two earned their
living by working for hire.
That afternoon, while the greedy peddler was on his
rounds, he came to the door of that house, crying, "Beads for sale! Beads
for sale! Beads for sale!
When the young girl heard his cry, she begged,
"Please buy me a trinket, Grandmother."
"We're very poor, dear. There's not a cent in the
house, and I can't think of anything to offer in exchange."
The girl suddenly remembered an old bowl.
"Look!" she cried. "Here's and old bowl. It's of no use to use.
Let's try to trade it for something nice."
What the little girl showed her grandmother was an old
bowl which had been used by the great merchant, the late head of the family. He
had always eaten his curries served from this beautiful, expensive bowl. After
his death, it had been thrown among the pots and pans and forgotten. Since it
hadn't been used for a very long time, it was completely covered with grime.
The two women had no idea that it was made of gold.
The old woman asked the trader to come in and sit down.
She showed him the bowl and said, "Sir, my granddaughter would like a
trinket. Would you be so kind as to take this bowl and to give her something or
other in exchange?
The peddler took the bowl in his had turned it over.
Suspecting its value, he scratched the back of it with a needle. After just one
covert look, he knew for certain that the bowl was really made of gold.
He sat there, frowning and thinking, until his greed got
the better of him. At last, he decided to try to get the bowl without giving
the woman anything whatever for it. Pretending to be angry, he growled,
"Why did you bring me this stupid bowl? It isn't worth even one
cent!" He threw the bowl to the floor, got up, and stalked out of the
house in apparent disgust.
Since it had been agreed between the two traders that the one might try the streets which the
other had already covered, the honest peddler came later into that same street
and appeared at the door of the house, crying, "Beads for sale!"
Once again, the young girl made the same request of her
grandmother, and the old woman replied, "My dear, the first peddler threw
our bowl on the ground and stormed out of the house. What have we got left to
offer?"
"Oh, but that trader was nasty, Grandmother. This
one looks and sounds very kind. I think he will take it."
"All right, then. Call him in."
When the trader came into the house, the two women gave
him a seat and shyly put the bowl into his hands. Immediately recognizing that
the bowl was gold, he said, "Mother this bowl is worth one hundred
thousand coins. I'm sorry, but I don't have that much money."
Astonished at his words, the old woman said, "Sir,
another peddler who came here a little while ago said that it was not worth
anything. He got angry, threw it on the floor, and went away. If it wasn't
valuable then, it must be because of your own goodness that the bowl has turned
into gold. Please take it, and just give us something or other for it. We will
be more than satisfied.
At that time, the peddler had only five hundred coins and
goods worth another five hundred. He gave everything to the women, asking only
to keep his scales, his bag, and eight coins for his return fare. Of course,
they were happy to agree. After profuse thanks on both sides, the trader
hurried to the river with the golden bowl. He gave his eight coins to the
boatman and got into the boat.
Not long after he had left, the greedy trader returned to
the house, giving the impression of having reluctantly reconsidered their
offer. He asked them to bring out their bowl, saying that he would give them
something or other for it, after all.
The old woman flew at him. "You scoundrel! she
cried. "You told us that our golden bowl was not worth even one cent.
Lucky for us, an honest peddler came after you left and told us that it was
really worth one hundred thousand coins. He gave us one hundred thousand coins
for it and took it away, so you are too late!"
When the trader heard this, an intense pain swept over
him. "He robbed me! He robbed me! he cried. "He got my golden bowl
worth one hundred thousand coins!" He became hysterical and lost all control.
Throwing down his money and merchandise, he tore off his shirt, grabbed the
beam of his scales like a club, and ran to the riverside to catch the other
trader.
By the time he got to the river, the boat was already in
midstream. He shouted for the boat to return to shore, but the honest trader,
who had already paid, calmly told the ferryman to continue on.
The frustrated trader could only stand there on the
rive-bank and watch his rival escape with the bowl. The sight so infuriated him
that a fierce rage welled up inside. His heart grew not, and blood gushed from
his mouth. Finally, his heart cracked like the mud at the bottom of a pond
dried up by the sun. So intense was the unreasoning hatred which he developed
against the other trader because of the golden bowl that he perished then and
there.
The honest trader returned to Seriva, where he lived a
full life spent in generosity and other good deeds and passed away to fare
according to his deserts.
Having
concluded his story, the Buddha identified the birth: "At that time,
Devadatta was the greedy trader, and I was the honest trader. This was the
beginning of the implacable grudge which Devadatta has held against me through
innumerable lives."
