Gumbiya Jātaka

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, the monastery near Sāvatthī. It concerned a monk who had come to regret leaving the household life. The Buddha asked him whether the report was true, and the monk admitted that it was. When the Buddha asked what had stirred this feeling, the monk answered plainly that it was the charm of a woman. The Buddha did not scold him. He said that the five kinds of sensual desire are like honey sprinkled with deadly poison, left on a road by one Gumbiya. At the monk's own request, the Buddha then told him a story of the past, as recorded in No. 366 of the Jātaka collection.

In the days when Brahmadatta was king of Benares, the Bodhisatta was born into a merchant's household. When he grew up, he loaded five hundred carts with merchandise and set out from the city to trade. The road led through a forest, and he stopped at its entrance. There he called together everyone in his caravan, the drivers and the hired hands alike. He wanted them to understand the danger before they entered, not after.

The Bodhisatta told them that the road ahead had leaves, flowers, and fruits that were poisonous. He asked them never to eat any strange food without first asking him. He explained that demons were known to leave baskets of fresh rice and sweet wild fruits beside such roads, with poison sprinkled over them. They were not to eat any of it without his consent. Having given this warning, he led the caravan forward into the forest.

Somewhere in the middle of that forest lived a yakkha named Gumbiya. He had spread leaves on a spot beside the road and dropped pieces of honey on them. Then he covered the honey with deadly poison. He did not stay hidden. He wandered about the road pretending to tap the trees, as if he were himself searching for honey. Travellers who saw him and the honey assumed that someone had left it there as a meritorious gift. In their ignorance they ate it, and they died. Afterwards the demons came and devoured their bodies.

When the Bodhisatta's caravan reached the spot, the men saw the same tempting sight. Some of them were greedy by nature and could not restrain themselves. They ate the honey. Others were wise. They said, "We will consult the Bodhisatta before we eat," and stood holding the honey in their hands without tasting it. This was the moment the whole story turns on, because the same warning had been given to all of them, and only some had let it govern their hands.

When the Bodhisatta saw what the wiser men were holding, he made them throw it away. Those who had already eaten the whole portion died. Those who had eaten only half were still in time. He gave them an emetic, and after they had vomited, he fed them the four sweet things. By his skill and power they recovered. The text notes both outcomes without drama: some died, some were saved, and some never ate at all.

The Bodhisatta brought the caravan through the forest in safety to the place he wished to reach. There he sold his wares and then returned to his own house. The Buddha closed the account with verses. They say that Gumbiya laid poison that resembled honey in look, taste, and smell. All who ate it as honey perished through their own greed, while those who wisely abstained were free from suffering and remained at peace. The verses then make the comparison to the monk's trouble directly. Sensual desire is laid out like poison bait for people, and the heart's own wishes have often betrayed it to ruin. Those who give up their besetting faults, however frail they may be, escape the bonds of suffering.

After speaking these verses, the Buddha taught the Four Noble Truths. At the conclusion of the Truths, the monk who had regretted his ordination attained the fruit of the First Path, that of stream-entry (the first stage of awakening, which assures eventual liberation). Then the Buddha identified the Birth by saying that at that time he himself had been that merchant.

The Gumbiya Jātaka is No. 366 in the Jātaka collection, and its teaching is simple and practical. The monk had been tempted by something that looked sweet, and the Buddha offered him an image he could remember when temptation returned. Desire can look and smell like honey while carrying poison. The caravan leader did not forbid his men to eat because he disliked food. He knew what the road was like, and he asked them to wait and check. The wiser men's pause saved their lives, and even the half-poisoned were rescued because someone competent was near. For a monk who feels the pull of the household life, the story suggests the same two protections. One is to stop and consult a wise teacher before acting. The other is to remember that what delights the senses can be a trap laid by someone who benefits when we take the bait.