CHAPTER XXV.

STORY OF THE PRIEST LOKATISSA.

PARA TAKEN, while he resided in the Getavana monastery, preached as follows the Vatthu' of Akusala Upapi/itakam.

Lokatissa-Mahāthera, on account of an evil deed which he had committed in a previous state of existence, became an embryo in a village of a thousand fishermen, in the country of King Kosala. From the very day on which he was conceived, the thousand fishermen who were fishing with traps and nets, could not catch a single fish, and they consequently suffered from hunger. Moreover, from the day the child was conceived, their village was seven times burned down, and seven times had a fine imposed upon it by the king. The fishermen, who had been in misery ever since the child was conceived, began to reflect, "It was never like this with us before; it is only now that we have become poor and miserable, therefore, this state of things must have arisen from there being among us some degenerate being whose former deeds. were bad." Accordingly, the thousand fishermen divided themselves into two parties of five hundred 2 Guilt, evil deeds.

1 Sacred story.

each, which went out fishing separately. The fishermen who came from the quarter where the parents of the embryo Lokatissa resided, obtained nothing; but the other party of five hundred obtained abundance. The unsuccessful party of fishermen again divided themselves into two parties of two hundred and fifty each, and again the party to which the embryo child belonged obtained nothing. In this way they continued to subdivide, till at last the house of the parents of the embryo Lokatissa was alone in its misfortune; then the thousand fishermen, perceiving that the degenerate being must belong to that man's house, expelled the family from the village.

The parents of the child, who were in abject poverty at the time of its birth, had no love for it, for they said to themselves, "From the very day that the child was conceived, misfortunes befell the thousand fishermen, and we ourselves have been reduced to misery." Now, because the child was destined to become a Rahanda, they had no power to destroy it; the light of the reward of Arahatta was to shine in that child's heart like a lamp burning inside an earthen pot. When the child was big enough to walk alone, his parents gave him a piece of broken pot to serve as a cup; then inveigling him inside a house, they left him there and ran away to another place.

The child, thus left alone in the world, used to live by going about with his piece of broken pot in his hand, begging victuals from house to house; and this he continued to do till he was seven years of age. About this time, my lord Sariputta came to receive alms in the Savatthi country. When he saw the child-beggar, he took compassion upon him, and

calling him to him, said, "Who are your parents?” The child replied, "Lord and master, I have no one on whom to depend; my parents, in consequence of being in the greatest poverty ever since my birth, have deserted me." My lord Sariputta took the child with him to the monastery, and made him a probationer for the priesthood. After some time had passed, and he was twenty years of age, he made him a Pañkānga. When he was advanced in years he became celebrated as Lokatissa. This Lokatissa had not the attribute of attracting offerings. At a time when unparalleled offerings were made, he could not obtain enough to fill his belly with; he procured just sufficient to sustain life. When any one put a single ladleful of yagu1 or rice into his thabet and was about to put more, the thabet always appeared to be full, so they poured it into the other thabets, and put no more in his. When the people, making offerings to all the priests in succession, came to this Lokatissa's thabet, all the food which they had in the yagu-cup ready to offer to him, would disappear.

One day, Lokatissa having developed Vipassana,' became a Rahanda. Notwithstanding that he had thus become a Rahanda, he could never obtain offerings. On the day when he was going to obtain Paranibbāna, my lord Sariputta, who was aware of it, said to himself, "This Lokatissa-thera will obtain Paranibbāna to-day, therefore, I will give him as much food as will satisfy him." With this thought, he sent for Lokatissa-thera, and invited him to come and

A particular preparation of rice made with a variety of ingredients.

2 A kind of miraculous knowledge.

receive rice with him; but my lord Sariputta, because Lokatissa was with him when he went to collect rice, did not obtain a single ladleful; the people did not even give him the usual respectful salutations. My lord Sariputta, knowing that Lokatissa-thera had not the attribute of attracting offerings, then sent him away, saying, "Go and stay in my monastery." As soon as he had gone away, all the people cried, "Here comes my lord Sariputta," and hastened to make him offerings of food. My lord Sariputta sent a quantity of this food to Lokatissa-thera; but on the road to the monastery, the people who were taking it forgot all about Lokatissa, and ate it up themselves. When my lord Sariputta returned to the monastery, Lokatissa made obeisance to him. Sariputta said, "Lokatissa, have you eaten the food I sent you?" He replied, "I have had none to eat." Sariputta, on hearing this, was startled; then looking at the sun and finding that it was not too late, he said to him, "Remain here," and having given him a place to stop in, he went off to the palace of King Kosala, and stood there ready to receive alms. King Kosala, directly he saw my lord Sariputta, filled his thabet with rice and Katumadhu. When Sariputta arrived with the food at the monastery, he did not give him the thabet, but holding it against his breast said to him, "My lord Lokatissa, take the food out of the thabet which I am holding, and eat it; " but Lokatissa, out of respect to my lord Sariputta, would not presume to eat it. Then my lord Sariputta said, "I will stand up and hold the thabet, you also stand up and eat from it; if I let go the thabet, all the food will disappear, and you

1 Food which a priest may eat after 12 o'clock; see page 120.

will have nothing to eat." Accordingly, Lokatissa stood up and ate the food out of the thabet, while my lord Sariputta stood up and held it with both hands. Lokatissa ate enough to fill his belly, and on that very day obtained Paranibbāna. Para Taken performed Lokatissa's sepulture, and erected a Pagoda over his bones and other relics.

At this time the Rahans in the assembly of the law were saying to each other, "How was it that this Lokatissa-thera, who was so wanting in the attribute of attracting offerings, obtained the way, the reward, and Nibbana ?" Para Taken, wishing to discourse upon the events of the past, preached as follows:(( 'Rahans, my dear sons, it was because in a former state of existence this Lokatissa-thera destroyed the offerings of a Rahanda, that he himself received none. It is because he had formerly steadily practised the Vipassana, 'instability, misery, unsubstantiality,' that he acquired the law of the way and the reward.”

Then he proceeded to relate the events of times long past, as follows:

"This Lokatissa-thera, in the time of the Para Taken Kassapa, was a Rahan. A Thugyuè built a monastery for him, and supplied all his wants. In this monastery of the Thugyuè he strenously exerted himself to acquire the Vipassana. One day a Rahanda who had come from the Himavanta forest, arrived at this Thugyue's village. The Thugyuè, inspired with affection for him as soon as he saw him, invited him into his house and set food before him. 'Deign to reside,' said he 'in my teacher's monastery, do not go anywhere else; as long as you remain here I will supply you with food.' So saying, he had him conducted to his teacher's monastery. The