A Jataka Tale
This story shows how difficult one feels when someone asks him his favourite object, and how such asking can break friendship.
Once, when Brahmadatta was ruling Varanasi, Bodhisattva (Buddha was first born as Bodhisattva who took birth as many animals and men and then was born as Buddha) was born in a rich brahmin family.After sometime,a brother was born to him.As they both grew up, their parents died.They both became disinterested in materialistic life and became ascetics.The elder set up his hermitage on the upper bank of the river Ganga, and the younger one on the lower bank of the river Ganga.
One day,a serpent king by name Manikantha came from his palace and took a stroll on the banks of the river Ganga in the form of a celibate.He came up to the hermitage of the younger one, and saluting him,sat at a place.Both talked to each other and became friends.From then on, the serpant came everyday to his hermitage in the form of the celibate.It became difficult for them to leave each other.As their friendship increased, the serpant, before going, would take his real form, and encircling the ascetic in his coils,open his huge hood,and take rest for some time.This scared the ascetic.Day by day,he became very weak and pale due to the fear of the serpant.
The ascetic one day went to the hermitage of his elder brother.The elder brother,on seeing him, enquired him why he was so weak.The younger one told him his story.At this, the elder asked him,"Do you like that serpant king come to you or not?"
"No!", answered the younger one.
"Does the serpent king wear any ornament when he comes to you?", the elder brother asked.
"Yes,he wears a jewel", the younger one said.
"Ask him to give you that jewel even before he comes inside your hermitage.He then goes away without encircling you", the elder said.
The younger brother agreed and returned to his hermitage.The next day, the moment the serpant king came, the ascetic asked him to give him his jewel.The serpent king, without sitting, went away.When he came the next day, standing at the entrance of the hermitage itself, the ascetic said,"Yesterday you didnot give me the jewel.You must give me today!"
Hearing this, the serpant king went away.The third day, even as the serpent king came out of the river, the ascetic said,"I have been asking you the jewel for three days.Please give me your jewel today!"
At this, the serpent king said,"I get a lot of foodstuffs and drinks from this jewel.You have been begging too much!I shall never give you this.I shall henceforth not come to your hermitage too!You have been scaring me by asking my jewel just as a young man scares one holding a well sharpened knife!"
So saying, the serpent king disappeared in the river.He never came again to the ascetic's hermitage.The ascetic got relieved from the serpant king.But however,he again became even more weaker.One day,his elder brother came to see him.Seeing him even more weaker,he asked him why he was so now.At this, the ascetic answered that he was weak as he was now missing his friend and had got depressed.The elder brother understood that he couldn't live even without that friend.And he exclaimed,"Once we know that a substance is the favourite of a person,we should never ask him that!If he is asked too much,he develops hatredness against the seeker.Just see, this brahmin asked the serpent king his jewel,and he disappeared!"
He then advised his brother not to worry about this and returned.Gradually both achieved perfection in spirituality and went to Brahmaloka.
A tale from Manikantha Jataka
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