The Blessed Buddha was staying in Śrāvastī, in the Jetavana, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park. When, in the thick of Yaṣṭī Grove, the Blessed One established in the truths the King of Magadha, Bimbisāra of the Guilds, along with 80,000 gods and hundreds of thousands of Magadhan brahmins and householders, Bimbisāra had the bells rung throughout his land and this pronouncement was read: “No one shall steal in my lands. If anyone does so, I will banish them and provide recompense from my own stores and treasury.”
EN
When the Blessed One used the analogies of the Daharopama Sūtra to subdue Prasenajit, the King of Kosala, Prasenajit too had the bells rung throughout his land and this pronouncement was read: “No one shall steal in my lands. If anyone does so, they will face capital punishment and I will provide recompense from my own stores and treasury.”
EN
At this, the robbers and bandits of Magadha and Kosala all moved to the borderlands. From their camps, they sacked merchant caravans traveling between Magadha and Kosala.
EN
On one occasion, a caravan of merchants set out from Magadha for Kosala with an armed escort. When they reached the borderlands, their caravan leader said, “Gentlemen, King Prasenajit is belligerent and ruthless. And if he will recompense us our losses, why do we pay the wages for an armed escort? The escort can turn back now.”
EN
The escort turned back as the caravan of traders continued, reduced in numbers. The bandits, though, had posted a lookout who was lying in wait and when he caught sight of them he asked, “Gentlemen, why do you sit indifferent when a small caravan of traders is approaching?”
EN
With that, the bandits set upon the caravan, taking the lives of some merchants as other merchants abandoned their goods and fled. Without reflection, arhats do not have access to prescience and insight; and so the life of an arhat traveling with the merchants was also taken.
EN
Those merchants who had fled sought out King Prasenajit, their faces and bodies smeared with dirt, howling, their hair in disarray. Pressing their palms together they said, “Your Majesty, in your lands we have been reduced to a state where we are not fit to be merchants!”
EN
“What happened?”
EN
“We were sacked by bandits.”
EN
“In what region?”
EN
“In a region near the borderlands.”
EN
The king commanded his general Virūḍhaka, “Bring me the stolen goods and the bandits. And be quick about it!”
EN
As Virūḍhaka set out at the head of the four branches of the armed forces, the bandits were sitting around unconcerned with their armor off in a śāla forest, dividing their spoils. General Virūḍhaka had them surrounded and, once the bandits were hemmed in, struck fear into their hearts with the sound of conchs and war-drums. Some of the bandits abandoned their spoils and fled while some were killed. Taking sixty of the bandits who had been captured alive, General Virūḍhaka returned to the king with the stolen goods and said, “Your Majesty, these are the bandits and these are the stolen goods.”
EN
The king then said to the bandits, “Gentlemen, I, the king, had the bells rung and announced, ‘No one shall steal in my lands. If anyone does so, they will face capital punishment and I will provide recompense from my own stores and treasury.’ Did you not hear?”
EN
“We heard, Your Majesty.”
EN
“Well then, why did you rob the merchants?”
EN
“We have no other means of making a living, Your Majesty.”
EN
“Why did you take life?”
EN
“To instill fear.”
EN
“You may have instilled some fear but the fear I instill today shall be like none ever seen before.”
EN
The king then ordered his ministers, “Gentlemen, execute all of these men today.”
EN
As they were being led to the execution grounds, their sentences were proclaimed along the high roads and side streets, at intersections and crossroads. In the commotion, one bandit escaped in the midst of a crowded street and approached a monk in Jetavana and said, “Noble one, I want to go forth.”
EN
The monk allowed the bandit’s going forth and ordained him while the other bandits were being executed.
EN
The Blessed One had advised, “Monks, again and again you should be able to scrutinize your own failings, others’ failings, your own strengths, and others’ strengths. Why is that so? Because your own failings and others’ failings act as a spur to disenchantment, while your own strengths and others’ strengths also act as a spur to disenchantment.”
EN
In light of this advice, the monks had taken to visiting the charnel ground. When the time came for the monks to visit the charnel grounds again, the bandit turned monk accompanied them, and there he saw that the other bandits had been executed. He stood still, choked with tears. The monks said, “Venerables, though he has only newly gone forth, he has such a kind heart.”
EN
When he began to sob, the monks asked, “Venerable, why do you make such a fuss?”
EN
The bandit turned monk replied, “This is my father. This is my brother. This is my uncle on my father’s side. This is my uncle on my mother’s side.”
EN
“These men took the life of an arhat,” said the monks.
EN
When the bandit turned monk admitted they had taken the life of an arhat, the monks asked the Blessed One about it, and the Blessed One decreed, “Monks, this person has killed an arhat. A person who has killed an arhat will not take root in this Dharma and Vinaya. Therefore, monks, you should exclude from this Dharma and Vinaya those persons who have killed an arhat. If someone wishing to go forth approaches any of you, you should ask, ‘You are not a killer of an arhat, are you?’ If you allow going forth and grant ordination without asking this, a breach occurs.”
The Blessed Buddha was staying in Śrāvastī, in the Jetavana, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park. When, in the thick of Yaṣṭī Grove, the Blessed One established in the truths the King of Magadha, Bimbisāra of the Guilds, along with 80,000 gods and hundreds of thousands of Magadhan brahmins and householders, Bimbisāra had the bells rung throughout his land and this pronouncement was read: “No one shall steal in my lands. If anyone does so, I will banish them and provide recompense from my own stores and treasury.”
EN
When the Blessed One used the analogies of the Daharopama Sūtra to subdue Prasenajit, the King of Kosala, Prasenajit too had the bells rung throughout his land and this pronouncement was read: “No one shall steal in my lands. If anyone does so, they will face capital punishment and I will provide recompense from my own stores and treasury.”
EN
At this, the robbers and bandits of Magadha and Kosala all moved to the borderlands. From their camps, they sacked merchant caravans traveling between Magadha and Kosala.
EN
On one occasion, a caravan of merchants set out from Magadha for Kosala with an armed escort. When they reached the borderlands, their caravan leader said, “Gentlemen, King Prasenajit is belligerent and ruthless. And if he will recompense us our losses, why do we pay the wages for an armed escort? The escort can turn back now.”
EN
The escort turned back as the caravan of traders continued, reduced in numbers. The bandits, though, had posted a lookout who was lying in wait and when he caught sight of them he asked, “Gentlemen, why do you sit indifferent when a small caravan of traders is approaching?”
EN
With that, the bandits set upon the caravan, taking the lives of some merchants as other merchants abandoned their goods and fled. Without reflection, arhats do not have access to prescience and insight; and so the life of an arhat traveling with the merchants was also taken.
EN
Those merchants who had fled sought out King Prasenajit, their faces and bodies smeared with dirt, howling, their hair in disarray. Pressing their palms together they said, “Your Majesty, in your lands we have been reduced to a state where we are not fit to be merchants!”
EN
“What happened?”
EN
“We were sacked by bandits.”
EN
“In what region?”
EN
“In a region near the borderlands.”
EN
The king commanded his general Virūḍhaka, “Bring me the stolen goods and the bandits. And be quick about it!”
EN
As Virūḍhaka set out at the head of the four branches of the armed forces, the bandits were sitting around unconcerned with their armor off in a śāla forest, dividing their spoils. General Virūḍhaka had them surrounded and, once the bandits were hemmed in, struck fear into their hearts with the sound of conchs and war-drums. Some of the bandits abandoned their spoils and fled while some were killed. Taking sixty of the bandits who had been captured alive, General Virūḍhaka returned to the king with the stolen goods and said, “Your Majesty, these are the bandits and these are the stolen goods.”
EN
The king then said to the bandits, “Gentlemen, I, the king, had the bells rung and announced, ‘No one shall steal in my lands. If anyone does so, they will face capital punishment and I will provide recompense from my own stores and treasury.’ Did you not hear?”
EN
“We heard, Your Majesty.”
EN
“Well then, why did you rob the merchants?”
EN
“We have no other means of making a living, Your Majesty.”
EN
“Why did you take life?”
EN
“To instill fear.”
EN
“You may have instilled some fear but the fear I instill today shall be like none ever seen before.”
EN
The king then ordered his ministers, “Gentlemen, execute all of these men today.”
EN
As they were being led to the execution grounds, their sentences were proclaimed along the high roads and side streets, at intersections and crossroads. In the commotion, one bandit escaped in the midst of a crowded street and approached a monk in Jetavana and said, “Noble one, I want to go forth.”
EN
The monk allowed the bandit’s going forth and ordained him while the other bandits were being executed.
EN
The Blessed One had advised, “Monks, again and again you should be able to scrutinize your own failings, others’ failings, your own strengths, and others’ strengths. Why is that so? Because your own failings and others’ failings act as a spur to disenchantment, while your own strengths and others’ strengths also act as a spur to disenchantment.”
EN
In light of this advice, the monks had taken to visiting the charnel ground. When the time came for the monks to visit the charnel grounds again, the bandit turned monk accompanied them, and there he saw that the other bandits had been executed. He stood still, choked with tears. The monks said, “Venerables, though he has only newly gone forth, he has such a kind heart.”
EN
When he began to sob, the monks asked, “Venerable, why do you make such a fuss?”
EN
The bandit turned monk replied, “This is my father. This is my brother. This is my uncle on my father’s side. This is my uncle on my mother’s side.”
EN
“These men took the life of an arhat,” said the monks.
EN
When the bandit turned monk admitted they had taken the life of an arhat, the monks asked the Blessed One about it, and the Blessed One decreed, “Monks, this person has killed an arhat. A person who has killed an arhat will not take root in this Dharma and Vinaya. Therefore, monks, you should exclude from this Dharma and Vinaya those persons who have killed an arhat. If someone wishing to go forth approaches any of you, you should ask, ‘You are not a killer of an arhat, are you?’ If you allow going forth and grant ordination without asking this, a breach occurs.”
Sutraya