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seen him killing, so also he had not seen thoseliving insects. Besides, as the thera had alreadyattained arahatship he could have no intention ofkilling and so was quite innocent." On beingasked why Cakkhupala was blind although hewas an arahat, the Buddha told the followingstory:Cakkhupala was a physician in one of his pastexistences. Once, he had deliberately made awoman patient blind. That woman had promisedhim to become his slave, together with herchildren, if her eyes were completely cured.Fearing that she and her children would have tobecome slaves, she lied to the physician. Shetold him that her eyes were getting worse when,in fact, they were perfectly cured. The physicianknew she was deceiving him, so in revenge, hegave her another ointment, which made hertotally blind. As a result of this evil deed thephysician lost his eyesight many times in hislater existences.Then the Buddha spoke in verse as follows:Verse 1: All mental phenomena have mind astheir forerunner; they have mind as their chief;they are mind-made. If one speaks or acts withan evil mind, 'dukkha' follows him just as the

wheel follows the hoofprint of the ox that drawsthe cart.At the end of the discourse, thirty thousandbhikkhus attained arahatship together withAnalytical Insight (Patisambhida).Dhammapada Verse 2Matthakundali VatthuManopubbangama dhammamanosettha manomayamanasa ce pasannenabhasati va karoti vatato nam sukha1 manvetichayava anapayini.Verse 2: All mental phenomena have mind astheir forerunner; they have mind as their chief;they are mind-made. If one speaks or acts with apure mind, happiness (sukha) follows him like ashadow that never leaves him.1. Sukham/sukha: in this context, happiness,satifactoriness, fortune, etc., and rebirth in thethree upper planes of happy existence.

The Story of MatthakundaliWhile residing at the Jetavana monastery inSavatthi, the Buddha uttered Verse (2) of thisbook, with reference to Matthakundali, a youngBrahmin. Matthakundali was a young brahmin,whose father, Adinnapubbaka, was very stingyand never gave anything in charity. Even thegold ornaments for his only son were made byhimself to save payment for workmanship. Whenhis son fell ill, no physician was consulted, until itwas too late. When he realized that his son wasdying, he had the youth carried outside on to theverandah, so that people coming to his housewould not see his possessions.On that morning, the Buddha arising early fromhis deep meditation of compassion saw, in hisNet of Knowledge, Matthakundali lying on theverandah. So when entering Savatthi for almsfood with his disciples, the Buddha stood nearthe door of the brahmin Adinnapubbaka. TheBuddha sent forth a ray of light to attract theattention of the youth, who was facing theinterior of the house. The youth saw the Buddha;and as he was very weak he could only professhis faith mentally. But that was enough. Whenhe passed away with his heart in devotion to the

Buddha he was reborn in the Tavatimsa celestialworld.From his celestial abode the youngMatthakundali, seeing his father mourning overhim at the cemetery, appeared to the old man inthe likeness of his old self. He told his fatherabout his rebirth in the Tavatimsa world and alsourged him to approach and invite the Buddha toa meal. At the house of Adinnapubbaka thequestion of whether one could or could not bereborn in a celestial world simply by mentallyprofessing profound faith in the Buddha, withoutgiving in charity or observing the moral precepts,was brought up. So the Buddha willed thatMatthakundali should appear in person;Matthakundali soon appeared fully decked withcelestial ornaments and told them about hisrebirth in the Tavatimsa world. Then only, theaudience became convinced that the son of thebrahmin Adinnapubbaka by simply devoting hismind to the Buddha had attained much glory.Then the Buddha spoke in verse as follows:Verse 2: All mental phenomena have mind astheir forerunner; they have mind as their chief;they are mind-made. If one speaks or acts with apure mind, happiness (sukha) follows him like a

shadow that never leaves him.At the end of the discourse Matthakundali andhis father Adinnapubbaka attained SotapattiMagga and Sotapatti Phala. Adinnapubbakaalso donated almost all his wealth to the causeof the Buddha's Teaching.Dhammapada Verses 3 and 4Tissatthera VatthuAkkocchi mam avadhi mamajini mam ahasi meye ca tam upanayhantiveram tesam na sammati.Akkocchi mam avadhi mamajini mam ahasi meye ca tam nupanayhantiveram tesupasammati.Verse 3: "He abused me, he ill-treated me, hegot the better of me, he stole my belongings;".the enmity of those harbouring such thoughtscannot be appeased.Verse 4: "He abused me, he ill-treated me, hegot the better of me, he stole my belongings;".the enmity of those not harbouring suchthoughts can be appeased.

The Story of Thera TissaWhile residing at the Jetavana monastery inSavatthi, the Buddha uttered Verses (3) and (4)of this book, with reference to Thera Tissa.Tissa, son of the Buddha's maternal aunt, was atone time staying with the Buddha. He hadbecome a bhikkhu only in his old age, but heposed as a senior bhikkhu and was very pleasedwhen visiting bhikkhus asked his permission todo some service for him. On the other hand, hefailed to perform the duties expected of juniorbhikkhus; besides, he often quarrelled with theyounger bhikkhus. Should anyone rebuke himon account of his behaviour he would gocomplaining to the Buddha, weeping, very muchdissatisfied and very upset. The others alsofollowed him to the presence of the Buddha. TheBuddha told them not to harbour thoughts ofenmity, for enmity could only be appeased bynot harbouring enmity.Then the Buddha spoke in verse as follows:Verse 3: "He abused me, he ill-treated me, hegot the better of me, he stole my belongings;".

the enmity of those harbouring such thoughtscannot be appeased.Verse 4: "He abused me, he ill-treated me, hegot the better of me, he stole my belongings;".the enmity of those not harbouring suchthoughts can be appeased.At the end of the discourse, one hundredthousand bhikkhus attained Sotapatti Fruition.Dhammapada Verse 5Kalayakkhini VatthuNa hi verena veranisammantidha kudacanamaverena ca sammantiesa dhammo sanantano.1Verse 5: Hatred is, indeed, never appeased byhatred in this world. It is appeased only byloving-kindness. This is an ancient law.1. esa dhammo sanantano: This is the same as"poranako dhammo," the doctrine followed bythe Budhha and his disciples. The exhortation is

not to return hatred for hatred but to conquer itby loving-kindness (absence of hatred).The Story of KalayakkhiniWhile residing at the Jetavana monastery inSavatthi, the Buddha uttered Verse (5) of thisbook, with reference to a certain woman whowas barren, and her rival.Once there lived a householder, whose wife wasbarren; later he took another wife. The feudstarted when the elder wife caused abortion ofthe other one, who eventually died in child birth.In later existences the two were reborn as a henand a cat; a doe and a leopardess; and finally asthe daughter of a nobleman in Savatthi and anogress named Kali. The ogress (Kalayakkhini)was in hot pursuit of the lady with the baby,when the latter learned that the Buddha wasnearby, giving a religious discourse at theJetavana monastery. She fled to him and placedher son at his feet for protection. The ogresswas stopped at the door by the guardian spirit ofthe monastery and was refused admission. Shewas later called in and both the lady and theogress were reprimanded by the Buddha. The

Buddha told them about their past feuds as rivalwives of a common husband, as a cat and ahen, and as a doe and a leopardess. They weremade to see that hatred could only cause morehatred, and that it could only cease throughfriendship, understanding and goodwill.Then the Buddha spoke in verse as follows:Verse 5: Hatred is, indeed, never appeased byhatred in this world. It is appeased only byloving-kindness. This is an ancient law.At the end of the discourse, the ogress wasestablished in Sotapatti Fruition and the longstanding feud came to an end.Dhammapada Verse 6Kosambaka VatthuPare ca na vijananti1mayamettha yamamase2ye ca tattha vijananti3tato sammanti medhaga.Verse 6: People, other than the wise, do notrealize, "We in this world must all die," (and, notrealizing it, continue their quarrels). The wiserealize it and thereby their quarrels cease.

1. Pare ca na vijananti: 'Pare' means 'others'; inthis context, people other than the wise. Thesepeople do not realize that they must die, andbehave as if they were never going to die andkeep on quarrelling. Therefore, they aresometimes referred to as the ignorant or thefoolish, or those who are not worthy of love andrespect.2. mayamettha yamamase: lit., "We here mustdie," meaning we, of this world, must die; or allmen are mortal.3. ye ca tattha vijananti: in the case of those whounderstand, meaning the wise. The wiseunderstand (or realize) that all men are mortal.The Story of Kosambi BhikkhusWhile residing at the Jetavana monastery inSavatthi, the Buddha uttered Verse (6) of thisbook, with reference to the bhikkhus of Kosambi.The bhikkhus of Kosambi had formed into twogroups. One group followed the master ofVinaya and the other followed the teacher of the

Dhamma and they were often quarrelling amongthemselves. Even the Buddha could not stopthem from quarrelling; so he left them and spentthe vassa, residence period of the rains, allalone in Rakkhita Grove near Palileyyaka forest.There, the elephant Palileyya waited upon theBuddha.The lay disciples of Kosambi, on learning thereason for the departure of the Buddha, refusedto make offerings to the remaining bhikkhus.This made them realize their mistake andreconciliation took place among themselves.Still, the lay disciples would not treat them asrespectfully as before, until they owned up theirfault to the Buddha. But the Buddha was awayand it was in the middle of the vassa; so thebhikkhus of Kosambi spent the vassa in miseryand hardship.At the end of the vassa, the Venerable Anandaand five hundred bhikkhus approached theBuddha and gave the message fromAnnathapindika and other lay disciples imploringhim to return. In due course the Buddhareturned to the Jetavana monastery in Savatthi.The bhikkhus followed him there, fell down at hisfeet, and owned up their fault. The Buddha

rebuked them for disobeying him. He told themto remember that they must all die some dayand therefore, they must stop their quarrels andmust not act as if they would never die.Then the Buddha spoke in verse as follows:Verse 6: People, other than the wise, do notrealize, "We in this world must all die," (and, notrealizing it, continue their quarrels). The wiserealize it and thereby their quarrels cease.At the end of the discourse, all the assembledbhikkhus were established in Sotapatti Fruition.Dhammapada Verses 7 and 8Mahakalatthera VatthuSubhanupassim viharantamindriyesu asamvutambhojanamhi camattannumkusitam hinaviriyamtam ve pasahati Maro1vato rukkhamva dubbalam.Asubhanupassim viharantamindriyesu susamvutambhojanamhi ca mattannumsaddham2 araddhaviriyam

tam ve nappasahati Marovato selamva pabbatam.Verse 7: He who keeps his mind on pleasantobjects, who is uncontrolled in his senses,immoderate in his food, and is lazy and lackingin energy, will certainly be overwhelmedby Mara,3 just as stormy winds uproot a weaktree.Verse 8: He who keeps his mind on theimpurities (of the body), who is well-controlled inhis senses and is full of faith and energy, willcertainly be not overwhelmed by Mara, just asstormy winds cannot shake a mountain of rock.1. Maro/Mara: in this context kilesamara, thedefilements hindering the realization of Nibbana.2. saddham/saddha: According to theCommentary,(a) unwavering (unshakable) faith in the Buddha,the Dhamma (the Doctrine) and the Samgha(the Buddhist Religious Order) and(b) faith or belief in kamma (action) and itsresults.3. Refer to 1.

The Story of Thera MahakalaWhile residing in the neighbourhood of the townof Setabya, the Buddha uttered Verses (7) and(8) of this book, with reference to Mahakala andhis brother Culakala. Mahakala and Culakalawere two merchant brothers from the town ofSetabya. While travelling about with theirmerchandise on one occasion, they had achance to listen to a religious discourse given bythe Buddha. After hearing the discourseMahakala asked the Buddha for admission tothe Order of the bhikkhus. Culakala also joinedthe Order but with the intention of coming out ofthe Order and to bring out his brother along withhim.Mahakala was serious in his ascetic practice atthe cemetery (Sosanika dhutinga) and diligentlymeditated on decay and impermanence. Hefinally gained Insight and attained arahatship.Later, the Buddha and his disciples, includingthe brothers, happened to be staying in theforest of Simsapa, near Setabya. While stayingthere, the former wives of Culakala invited theBuddha and his disciples to their house.

Culakala himself went ahead to prepare seatingarrangements for the Buddha and his disciples.Once there, the former wives of Culakala madehim change into lay clothes.The next day, the wives of Mahakala invited theBuddha and his disciples to their house hopingto do the same with Mahakala as the wives ofCulakala had done to Culakala. After the mealthey requested the Buddha to let Mahakalaremain to "express appreciation" (anumodana).So the Buddha and the other disciples left.Arriving at the village gate the bhikkhusexpressed their dissatisfaction andapprehension. They were dissatisfied becauseMahakala was permitted to stay behind and theywere afraid that, like Culakala, his brother,Mahakala, too, would be made to leave theOrder by his former wives. To this, the Buddhareplied that the two brothers were not alike.Culakala indulged in sensual pleasures and waslazy and weak; he was just like a weak tree.Mahakala, on the other hand, was diligent,steadfast and strong in his faith of the Buddha,the Dhamma and the Samgha; he was like amountain of rock.Then the Buddha spoke in verse as follows:

Verse 7: He who keeps his mind on pleasantobjects, who is uncontrolled in his senses,immoderate in his food, and is lazy and lackingin energy, will certainly be overwhelmedby Mara, just as stormy winds uproot a weaktree.Verse 8: He who keeps his mind on theimpurities (of the body), who is well-controlled inhis senses and is full of faith and energy, willcertainly be not overwhelmed by Mara, just asstormy winds cannot shake a mountain of rock.Meanwhile, the former wives of Mahakalasurrounded him and tried to remove his yellowrobes. The thera, sensing their attitude, stood upand rising up into the air by his supernormalpowers passed through the roof of the houseinto the sky. He landed at the feet of the Buddhaat the very moment the Master was coming tothe end of his utterance of the above twostanzas. At the same time, all the bhikkhusassembled there were established in SotapattiFruition.Dhammapada Verses 9 and 10Devadatta Vatthu

Anikkasavo kasavam1yo vattham paridahissatiapeto damasaccenana so kasavamarahati.Yo ca vantakasav'assa2silesu susamahitoupeto damasaccenasa ve kasavamarahati.Verse 9: He who is not free from taints of moraldefilements (kilesas) and yet dons the yellowrobe, who lacks restraint in his senses and(speaks not the) truth is unworthy of the yellowrobe.Verse 10: He who has discarded all moraldefilements (kilesas), who is established inmoral precepts, is endowed with restraint and(speaks the) truth is, indeed, worthy of theyellow robe.1. kasavam or kasavam vattham: the yellow orreddish yellow robe donned by members of theBuddhist Religious Order. There is a play onwords in the above stanzas; 'anikkasavo',meaning, not free from faults of moraldefilements and therefore, stained;

and kasavam, the yellow robe, dyed sombre insome astringent juice and is therefore stained.2. vantakasav'assa: lit., has vomited all moraldefilements; it means, has discarded all moraldefilements through the four Path Knowledge(Magga nana).The Story of DevadattaWhile residing at the Jetavana monastery inSavatthi, the Buddha uttered Verses (9) and (10)of this book, with reference to Devadatta.Once the two Chief Disciples, the VenerableSariputta and the Venerable Maha Moggallana,went from Savatthi to Rajagaha. There, thepeople of Rajagaha invited them, with their onethousand followers, to a morning meal. On thatoccasion someone handed over a piece of cloth,worth one hundred thousand, to the organizersof the alms-giving ceremony. He instructed themto dispose of it and use the proceeds for theceremony should there be any shortage offunds, or if there were no such shortage, to offerit to anyone of the bhikkhus they thought fit. It sohappened that there was no shortage ofanything and the cloth was to be offered to one

of the theras. Since the two Chief Disciplesvisited Rajagaha only occasionally, the clothwas offered to Devadatta, who was a permanentresident of Rajagaha.Devadatta promptly made the cloth into robesand moved about pompously, wearing them.Then, a certain bhikkhu from Rajagaha came toSavatthi to pay homage to the Buddha, and toldhim about Devadatta and the robe, made out ofcloth worth one hundred thousand. The Buddhathen said that it was not the first time thatDevadatta was wearing robes that he did notdeserve. The Buddha then related the followingstory.Devadatta was an elephant hunter in one of hisprevious existences. At that time, in a certainforest, there lived a large number of elephants.One day, the hunter noticed that theseelephants knelt down to the paccekabuddhas*on seeing them. Having observed that, thehunter stole an upper part of a yellow robe andcovered his body and hand with it. Then, holdinga spear in his hand, he waited for the elephantson their usual route. The elephants came, andtaking him for a paccekabuddha fell down ontheir knees to pay obeisance. They easily fell

prey to the hunter. Thus, one by one, he killedthe last elephant in the row each day for manydays.The Bodhisatta (the Buddha-to-be) was then theleader of the herd. Noticing the dwindlingnumber of his followers he decided toinvestigate and followed his herd at the end ofthe line. He was alert, and was therefore able toevade the spear. He caught hold of the hunter inhis trunk and was about to dash him against theground, when he saw the yellow robe. Seeingthe yellow robe, he desisted and spared the lifeof the hunter.The hunter was rebuked for trying to kill undercover of the yellow robe and for commuting suchan act of depravity. The hunter clearly did notdeserve to put on the yellow robe.Then the Buddha spoke in verse as follows:Verse 9: He who is not free from taints of moraldefilements (kilesas) and yet dons the yell

amatapadam" meaning "Mindfulness is the way to Nibbana, the Deathless," is a very important and significant verse. Mindfulness is the most important element in Tranquillity and Insight Meditation. The last exhortation of the Buddha just before he passed away was al