Kañcanakkhandhajātaka
“When gladness.”—This story was told by the Master while at Savatthi, about a certain Brother. Tradition says that through hearing the Master preach a young gentleman of Savatthi gave his heart to the precious Faith and became a Brother. His teachers and masters proceeded to instruct him in the whole of the Ten Precepts of Morality, one after the other, expounded to him the Short, the Medium, and the Long Moralities, set forth the Morality which rests on self-restraint according to the Patimokkha, the Morality which rests on self-restraint as to the Senses, the Morality which rests on a blameless walk of life, the Morality which relates to the way a Brother may use the Requisites. Thought the young beginner, “There is a tremendous lot of this Morality; and I shall undoubtedly fail to fulfil all I have vowed. Yet what is the good of being a brother at all, if one cannot keep the rules of Morality? My best course is to go back to the world, take a wife and rear children, living a life of almsgiving and other good works.” So he told his superiors what he thought, saying that he proposed to return to the lower state of a layman, and wished to hand back his bowl and robes. “Well, if it be so with you,” said they, “at least take leave of the Buddha before you go;” and they brought the young man before the Master in the Hall of Truth.
Translated by Bhikkhu Sujato · Pāli: Mahāsaṅgīti Tipiṭaka · Public domain (CC0) via SuttaCentral
1.1PTS 1.278“Yo pahaṭṭhena cittena,He whose heart is well-forged,11.2pahaṭṭhamanaso naro;a man of cheerful mind,21.3Bhāveti kusalaṁ dhammaṁ,develops skillful qualities1.4yogakkhemassa pattiyā;for the sake of sanctuary from the yoke.1.5Pāpuṇe anupubbena,Gradually he would attain1.6sabbasaṁyojanakkhayan”ti.the ending of all fetters.
2.1Kañcanakkhandhajātakaṁ chaṭṭhaṁ.
A man discovers a large lump of gold, but must break it into four to make it useful.
The verse is almost identical with the previous, only differing in the key term.
As with the previous verse, the key term pahaṭṭha rests on both the story and a dual meaning. Pahaṭṭha normally has the sense “cheerful” (√haṁs), but the commentary connects it rather with gold that has been forged (√ghaṁs) until it is luminous and radiant.
