Sankicca Jataka

At Jivaka's mango grove, the Buddha told this story about King Ajatasattu. Jataka No. 530 of the Pali Canon records the tale, and this retelling follows that text. Urged on by Devadatta, Ajatasattu had caused the death of his own father. Soon afterwards Devadatta, on his way to ask the Buddha's pardon, was swallowed by the earth at the gate of Jetavana. The king heard of it and was seized by fear that the same fate awaited him. Even sleep gave him no peace, because it brought dreadful dreams, and he found no joy in his royal splendour.

One night at the full moon of the Kattika festival, an autumn full-moon observance, the king sat among his courtiers and reflected that his father's glory had been greater than his own. A fever came over him. He saw that none but the Buddha could remove his fear, and that only the physician Jivaka could take him there. He called out how lovely the clear night was and proposed paying respects to some teacher. After the followers of other teachers had spoken, he questioned Jivaka, who praised the Buddha. The king ordered elephants prepared and went to the grove. The Buddha greeted him kindly, taught him, and at the end the king declared himself a disciple.

From then on the king gave alms, kept the moral precepts, and listened to the Buddha's gentle teaching. In the company of a virtuous friend, his terror eased and his peace of mind returned. In the Hall of Truth, the monastery's assembly hall, the monks marvelled at the change. The Buddha asked what they were discussing and, on hearing, said that not only now but long ago too this man had been consoled through him. Then he told a story of the past.

In the time of King Brahmadatta of Benares, the king's son, also named Brahmadatta, was born. At the same time the Bodhisatta was conceived in the house of the family priest and was named young Sankicca. The two boys grew up together in the palace and were great friends. When they came of age they studied at Takkasila and returned home. The king made his son viceroy, and Sankicca stayed with him.

One day, while the old king was away in the pleasure garden, the viceroy gazed on his father's glory and longed for it. He thought that if he waited for his father's death he would be old before he reigned. He told his friend that he meant to take the throne by force. Sankicca refused. He said that harming a father is a grave matter and that this road leads to hell. Three times the viceroy raised it, and three times his friend opposed him. Then the viceroy turned to his attendants, who fell in with the plan.

Sankicca heard of the plot and decided not to keep company with such people. Without even taking leave of his parents, he slipped out by a side door and went into the Himalayas. There he became an ascetic, lived on roots and wild fruit, and reached the attainments of deep meditation. Hearing of him, many youths of good family left home and were ordained under him. The viceroy, meanwhile, carried out his plan and took the throne, but his enjoyment of it lasted only a short while.

Soon fear fell on the new king, and he lost his peace. He remembered his friend and thought that if Sankicca had been there, he would have stopped him and could now free him from this dread. In harem and court alike he praised Sankicca, and he wished he knew where he lived. After fifty years in the Himalayas, the Bodhisatta thought, "The king remembers me. I must go and teach him the Law and take away his fear." With five hundred ascetics he travelled through the air and came down in the royal garden called Dayapassa.

The keeper of the garden recognised the sage and ran to tell the king. The king set aside the five emblems of royalty, his crown and other royal regalia, went on foot, greeted his friend, and recalled their old days. Then he asked where wrongdoers are reborn, adding that he too had strayed from righteousness. Sankicca answered with a gentle image. If you point the right road to a lost traveller and he follows it, no thorns meet him, and if you set a wrongdoer right and he follows, he escapes his sorrow.

The sage said that right is like the high road and wrong is a byroad, since right leads to heaven and wrong leads to hell. He named the eight great hells of Buddhist cosmology, traditional named realms of suffering, from Sanjiva to Tapana and Patapana, and spoke of many lesser ones. He did not dwell on his words for their own sake. He used them as a warning to those who harm holy people, who take life, or who live carelessly, and he pointed to old kings who came to ruin through wronging sages. Then he opened the earth to show the heavens, where Brahmas, devas, and Indra enjoy the ripe fruit of virtue. He urged the king to rule righteously.

The king heard the sage's discourse and was comforted from that time on. After staying a while, the Bodhisatta returned to his dwelling. The Buddha ended the story and said, "Not now only, but of old also was he consoled by me." He identified the births. Ajatasattu was the king, the Buddha's followers were the company of ascetics, and the Buddha himself was the sage Sankicca.

This story is often remembered for its hells, but its heart is a friendship. Sankicca refused to help his friend do wrong, and he refused three times. When the friend finally came to grief, he did not say "I told you so." He travelled a great distance to bring comfort. The point for the devotee is hopeful. Remorse can become the start of right living, and a good friend can show a person where the road turns back.