Ja 4122 min read

The Spirit of the Cotton-Tree

Koṭasimbalijātaka

“I bore with me”—The Master told this tale while dwelling in Jetavana, concerning rebuke of sin. The incident leading to the tale will appear in the Panna Birth. On this occasion the Master, perceiving that five hundred Brethren were overcome by thoughts of desire in the House of the Golden Pavement, gathered the assembly and said, “Brethren, it is right to distrust where distrust is proper; sins surround a man as banyans and such plants grow up around a tree: in this way of old a spirit dwelling in the top of a cotton-tree saw a bird voiding the banyan seeds it had eaten among the branches of the cotton-tree, and became terrified lest her abode should thereby come to destruction:” and so he told a tale of old.

Pāli: Mahāsaṅgīti Tipiṭaka · Public domain (CC0) via SuttaCentral

0.1Jātaka
0.2Sattakanipāta
0.3Gandhāravagga

0.47. Koṭasimbalijātaka

1.1PTS 3.398“Ahaṁ dasasataṁbyāmaṁ,1.2uragamādāya āgato;1.3Tañca mañca mahākāyaṁ,1.4dhārayaṁ nappavedhasi.
2.1Athimaṁ khuddakaṁ pakkhiṁ,2.2Appamaṁsataraṁ mayā;2.3Dhārayaṁ byathasi bhītā,2.4Kamatthaṁ koṭasimbali”.
3.1“Maṁsabhakkho tuvaṁ rāja,3.2phalabhakkho ayaṁ dijo;3.3Ayaṁ nigrodhabījāni,3.4pilakkhudumbarāni ca;3.5Assatthāni ca bhakkhitvā,3.6khandhe me ohadissati.
4.1Te rukkhā saṁvirūhanti,4.2mama passe nivātajā;4.3Te maṁ pariyonandhissanti,4.4arukkhaṁ maṁ karissare.
5.1PTS 3.399Santi aññepi rukkhā se,5.2mūlino khandhino dumā;5.3Iminā sakuṇajātena,5.4bījamāharitā hatā.
6.1Ajjhārūhābhivaḍḍhanti,6.2brahantampi vanappatiṁ;6.3Tasmā rāja pavedhāmi,6.4sampassaṁnāgataṁ bhayaṁ”.
7.1“Saṅkeyya saṅkitabbāni,7.2rakkheyyānāgataṁ bhayaṁ;7.3Anāgatabhayā dhīro,7.4ubho loke avekkhatī”ti.

8.1Koṭasimbalijātakaṁ sattamaṁ.