Kumbha Jataka — The Fifth Precept (Jataka 512) from Jataka Tales of the Buddha, Part III retold by Ken and Visakha Kawasaki edited by Dhr. Seven, Ashley Wells, Xochitl, Wisdom Quarterly
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| Mom, can we be drunk cats for Halloween? - Honey, it's may we. We talked about this. |
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| I like to stick my paw in jars and drink up. |
At that time Sabbamitta was the king of Savatthi. He welcomed two merchants, Sura and Varuna, and asked them what they wanted. They asked for large quantities of ingredients to make an alcoholic brew and many huge jars. After they had combined the recipe, they put it into the jars and tied a cat to each to stand guard against rats.
As the brew fermented, it began to seep out. And the guard cats lapped up the potent drink that ran down the sides, became intoxicated, and laid down to sleep.
Rats snuck in and nibbled at their ears, noses, and tails. The king's men were shocked and reported that the cats tied to the jars had died from drinking. "Surely these merchants must be making a poison!" the king concluded. He immediately ordered them to be beheaded.
As Sura and Varuna were being executed, their last words were, "Sire, this is liquor! [It's poisonous but] tastes good!" After putting the alcohol merchants to death, the king ordered the jars to be broken.
By then, however, the effects of the alcohol had worn off the cats, and they were playing merrily with hangovers. The guards reported this to the king. [Oops, said the king, let's throw a party.]
How drinking alcohol began
Kumbha Jataka ("Jug Birth Story") — The Fifth Precept (Jat 512) edited by Wisdom Quarterly
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| This poison will make me forget for a while, and I will break all Five Precepts at once. |
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Once upon a time, while the Buddha was residing at Jetavana Monastery in Savatthi, Visakha, the wealthy and devout lay Buddhist, was invited by a large number of women she knew to join in celebrating a festival in the city.
"That is a [liquor] drinking festival," Visakha replied. "I do not drink [in keeping with the Five Precepts the Buddha taught]."
"All right," the women said, "go ahead and make your offering to the Buddha. We will enjoy the festival."
The next morning, Visakha served the Buddha and the monastics (monks and nuns) at her house and made great offerings of the Four Requisites to them.
- [1: Four Requisites: appropriate food, medicine, clothing, shelter.]
That afternoon, after the meal, she proceeded to Jetavana to offer sweet incense and beautiful flowers to the Buddha and to hear him teach the Dharma. Although the other women were quite drunk, they accompanied Visakha.
Even at the gate of the monastery itself, they continued drinking. When Visakha entered the hall, she bowed reverently to the Buddha and sat respectfully to one side. Her many drunken companions, however, were oblivious to propriety. They seemed not to notice where they were. Even in front of the Buddha some of them danced, some sang, some stumbled around intoxicated, and some bickered.
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| C'mon, let's party! It's time to dance gaily. |
In order to inspire a sense of spiritual urgency (samvega) in them, the Buddha emitted a dark blue radiance from his eyebrows, and everything suddenly became dark.
The drunk women were stricken with the fear of death and instantly sobered up. The Buddha then disappeared from his seat and stood atop Mount Meru (Mt. Sumeru). From the auspicious curl of white hair between his eyebrows, he emitted a ray of light as bright as if one thousand moons and suns were rising.
He asked, "If, while carelessly enjoying yourselves and laughing, you are smoldering and surrounded by darkness [enveloped by disorienting smoke], why not seek light?"
The Buddha's words touched their now receptive minds, and all of the women became stream-enterers (the first stage of awakening/enlightenment).
The Buddha then returned and sat down in his chamber. Visakha bowed once more and asked, "Venerable sir, what is the origin of this custom of drinking intoxicating alcohol, which destroys a person's modesty and sense of shame [fear of wrongdoing]?"
In answer to Visakha's question, the Buddha revealed this story of the distant past.
Past life story
Long, long ago, when Brahmadatta was reigning in Baranasi (Varanasi, Bharat, ancient India), a hunter named Sura went up to the Himalayas from his hometown in Kasi to look for game.
In that remote forest there was a unique tree whose trunk grew to the height of a man with his arms held up over his head. At that point three branches spread out, forming a hollow about the size of a big water barrel. Whenever it rained, the hollow filled up with water.
Around the tree grew a bitter plum tree, a sour plum tree, and a pepper vine. The ripe fruit from the plum trees and the pepper vine fell directly into that hollow. Nearby there was a patch of wild rice. Parrots plucked the heads of the rice and sat on the tree to eat. Some of the seeds fell into the water. Under the heat of the sun, the liquid in the hollow fermented and became blood red.
The discovery of alcohol.
In the hot season, flocks of thirsty birds came there to drink. Swiftly they became intoxicated; they wildly spiraled upwards, only to fall drunkenly at the foot of the tree. After sleeping for a short time, they woke up and flew away, chirping merrily. A similar thing happened to monkeys and other tree-climbing animals.
The hunter observed all this and wondered, "What in the world is in the hollow of that tree? It can't be deadly poison, for if it were, the birds and animals would be dead." He drank some of the liquid and became intoxicated the same as they had.
As he drank, he felt a strong craving to eat slaughtered meat. He kindled a small fire, wrung the necks of some of the partridges, fowls, and other creatures lying drunk and unconscious at the foot of the tree, and roasted them over the coals.
He gesticulated drunkenly with one hand as he stuffed his mouth with the other like an ogre.
While he was drinking and eating flesh, he remembered that there was a hermit named Varuna who lived near there. Wishing to share his liquid discovery with the hermit, Sura filled a bamboo tube with the liquor, wrapped up some of the charred meat, and set out for the hermit's leaf hut.
As soon as he arrived, he offered the hermit some of the beverage, and both of them ate and drank with gusto.
The hunter and the hermit suddenly realized that this addictive drink could be a way to make a fortune. They [bottled it in that they] poured it into large bamboo tubes, which they balanced on poles slung across their shoulders and carried it to Kasi.
From the first border outpost, they sent a message to the king that drink-makers had arrived. When they were summoned, they took the alcohol and offered it to the king. The king took two or three drinks and became intoxicated.
After a few days, he had consumed all that the two men had carried and asked if there were any more.
"Yes, sire," they answered.
"Where?" asked the king.
"In the Himalayas."
"Go and fetch it," ordered the king.
Sura and Varuna went back to the forest, but they soon realized how much trouble it was to return to the mountains every time they ran out. They took note of all the ingredients and gathered everything needed. In this way they were able to brew the alcohol in the city.
The citizens began drinking the liquor, forgot about their work, and became impoverished. The city soon looked like a ghost town.
At that point the two drink-makers left and took their business to Baranasi, where they sent a message to the king. There, too, the king summoned them and offered them support. As the habit of drinking spread, ordinary business deteriorated, and prosperous Baranasi declined in the same way as Kasi had.
Sura and Varuna next went to Saketa and, after abandoning Saketa, proceeded to the city-state of Savatthi.
At that time the king of Savatthi was named Sabbamitta. He welcomed the two merchants and asked them what they wanted. They asked for large quantities of the main ingredients and hundreds of huge jars.
After everything had been combined, they put the mixture in the jars and tied a cat to each jar to guard against rats.
As the brew fermented, it began to overflow and seep out. The cats eagerly lapped up the potent drink that ran down the sides, became thoroughly intoxicated, and lay down to sleep. Rats came and nibbled at their ears, noses, and tails.
The king's men were shocked and reported to the king that the cats tied to the jars had died from drinking the escaping potion.
"Surely these men must be brewing a poison!" the king concluded, and he immediately ordered them beheaded. As Sura and Varuna were being executed, their last words were, "Sire, this is liquor! It makes you forget all your problems!"
After putting the drink-merchants to death, the king ordered that the jars be broken. By then, however, the effects of the alcohol had worn off, and the cats were playing merrily. The guards reported this to the king.
"If it were poison," the king said, "the cats would have died. It may make cats forget after all. Let us drink it."
He ordered that the city be decorated and that a pavilion be set up in the courtyard. He took his seat on a royal throne under a white parasol [that seems to symbolize a vimana or flying saucer that gives a ruler the power to rule], surrounded by his ministers, prepared to drink.
At that moment, deva-king Sakka, ruler of the deities [of the Realm of the Thirty-Three and the Four Great Kings of the Sky], was surveying this world and wondering, "Who is dutifully taking care of parents? Who is conducting him/herself well in thought, word, and deed?"
When the celestial King Sakka saw King Sabbamitta of Savatthi seated in his royal pavilion, ready to drink the intoxicating brew, he thought, "If King Sabbamitta drinks that, the whole world will perish. I will make sure that he does not drink it."
King Sakka instantly disguised himself as a Brahmin and, carrying a jar full of liquor in the palm of his hand, appeared standing in the air in front of King Sabbamitta. "Buy this jar! Buy this jar!" he cried.
King Sabbamitta saw him and asked, "Where did you come from, Brahmin? Who are you? What jar is that you have there?"
"Listen!" Sakka replied. "This jar does not contain butter, oil, molasses, or honey. Listen to the innumerable vices this jar holds.
"Whoever drinks this, poor silly fool, will lose control of himself until he stumbles on level ground and falls into a ditch or cesspool. Under its influence, he will eat things he'd never touch in his right mind [like slaughtered charred meat]. Please buy it. It is for sale, this worst of jars!
"The contents of this jar will distract a person's wits until he behaves like a brute, an ogre, giving his enemy the fun of laughing at him. It will enable him to sing and dance stupidly in front of an assembly. Please buy this wonderful liquor for the obscene gaiety it brings.
"Even the most bashful will lose all modesty by drinking from this jar. The shyest person can forget the trouble of being dressed and can shamelessly run about the town nude. When he or she is tired, s/he'll happily lie down anywhere, oblivious to danger or decency. Such is the nature of this drink. Please buy it. It is for sale, this worst of jars!
"When one drinks from this, one loses control of one's body, tottering as if one cannot stand, trembling, jerking, and shaking like a wooden puppet worked by another's hand. Buy my jar. It's full of wine.
"The person who drinks from this is prey to every danger because s/he loses his/her senses. One might burn to death in one's bed, stumble into a pack of jackals, drown in a puddle, become reduced to bondage or penury. — There is no misfortune that drinking this may not lead to.
"Having imbibed this, humans may lie senseless on the road, soiled with their own vomit and blood and licked by dogs. A person may become so intoxicated as to tie one's beloved parents to a tree, revile a spouse, and in blindness even abuse (molest) or abandon an only child. Such is the merchandise contained in this jar.
"When a person drinks from this jar, one can deludedly believe that all the world is his/hers and that s/he owes respect to no one. Buy this jar. It is filled to the brim with the strongest drink.
"Addicted to this drink, whole families of the highest class will squander their wealth and ruin their name. Buy this jar, sire. It is for sale.
"In this jar is a liquid that makes tongue and feet lose control. It creates irrational weeping and laughter. It dulls the eye and impairs the mind. It makes a person contemptible.
"Drinking this will create strife. Friends will quarrel and come to blows. Even the old devas (titans, asuras) were susceptible and lost their heaven because of drink. Buy this jar and taste the wine.
- [2: The asuras ("titans"), the predecessors of the devas ("shining ones"), lost their heaven because Sakka, when he was reborn there as king, expelled them when they were too drunk on sura (a celestial brew) to fight back.]
"Because of this beverage, falsehoods are uttered with pleasure, and forbidden actions are performed with foolhardy joy. False courage will lead to danger, and friends will be betrayed. The person who drinks this will dare any deed, unaware that one is dooming oneself to hell [niraya, the downward path, the lowest world of which is hell]. Try this drink, sire. Buy my jar.
"The one who drinks this brew will do harm (bad karma) in thought, word, and deed. One will see good as harm and harm as good. Even the most modest person will act indecently when drunk. The wisest person will babble foolishly. Buy this lovely liquid and become addicted. You will grow accustomed to unskillful behavior, to lies, to abuse, to filth, and to disgrace.
"When thoroughly drunk, humans are like dull oxen struck to the ground, collapsing and lying in a heap. No human power can compete with the poisonous power of liquor. Buy my jar.
"In short, drinking this will destroy every virtue (moral). It will banish shame, erode good conduct, and kill good reputation. It will defile and cloud the mind. If you can allow yourself to drink this intoxicating liquor, sire, buy my jar."
When the king heard this, he realized the misery that would be caused by consuming intoxicating alcohol. Overjoyed at being spared the danger, he wished to express his gratitude:
"Brahmin," he cried, "you have outdone even my mother and father in caring for me! In gratitude for your excellent words, let me give you five choice villages, a hundred serving women, seven hundred cows, and ten chariots with pure-bred horses. You have been a great teacher."
"As chief of the Thirty-Three Devas," King Sakka replied, revealing his identity, "I have no need of anything. You may keep your villages, maid servants, and cattle (symbols of wealth). Enjoy your delicious food, and be content with sweet cakes. Take delight in the truths I've taught you. In this way you will be blameless in this world and will attain a glorious heavenly rebirth in the next."
With these words, Sakka returned to his celestial abode.
King Sabbamitta vowed to abstain from alcohol and ordered that the jars be smashed. From that day on, he kept the precepts and generously dispensed alms to the needy. He lived a good life and was indeed reborn in a heaven.
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| Deva-King Sakka looks over this world. |
Back to the Buddha
The Buddha here ended this lesson and identified the details of that ancient past life: "At that time Ananda was King Sabbamitta, and I myself was Sakka."
