[Buddha-l] Buddha fights back

[Dan Lusthaus]

Pursuant to some previous discussions about the sanctioning of violence -- whether it is even permitted in self-defense, for instance -- I came across this Jataka story which is interesting for being quite different from the ones usually paraded in the literature. This appears in the 31st fascicle of Fo benxing ji jing 佛本行集經 (Sutra Collection of Past Deeds of the Buddha), T.3.190.797b20-c16. A translation of the whole sutra, with some abridgements, was completed in the 1800s by S. Beal; he gave it the Sanskrit title: Abhiniṣkramaṇa sūtra by which it is still known in some quarters. His translation of this story is in his The Romantic Legend of Śākya Buddha, ch. 31, pp. 229f.

Typically Jataka stories offer admiring (and gory) tales of self-sacrifice, sacrificing one's own "blood, flesh and bone" to help another sentient being. Feeding the exhausted mother tigress by cutting off pieces of his own flesh and putting them in her mouth until she'd regained the strength to devour him herself (in order to help her nurse her cubs) is perhaps the best known of this genre, but ascetics getting hacked to bits by jealous kings while refusing to lift a finger or offer even a word in self-defense, becomes the norm in these stories. Literally giving life and limb, with no concern for self-preservation becomes a recurrent theme. Hence, the following story (my translation) is intriguing for offering a different take, a different Buddha.

--
Then the Bhikṣus said to the Buddha: "It is truly wondrous, World-Honored One, inconceivable, that one man, alone, by himself, should be able to subdue all the Māras." Having said this, they became silent.

At that time the World-Honored One replied to the Bhikṣus, saying: "You, Bhikṣus, listen carefully. I, not only in the present, in this way subdued Māra alone, by myself, but already did so in the past, where also I subdued Māras in this way, alone, by myself."

Then the Bhikṣus asked the Buddha, saying: "World-Honored One, what happened? We politely request that you explain this in greater detail."

At that time, the Buddha responded to the Bhikṣus, saying: "You should listen carefully. I remember, in incalculable antiquity, there were two brothers, birds who were parrots. One's name was Moluoqili 摩羅祁梨 [*Mālāgiri ](which means "beautiful hair mountain"), and the other's name was Saotuoqili 臊陀祁梨 [*Sūttagiri] (which means "Well given mountain"). At one time the two parrots were up in a tree. Suddenly, a falcon quickly came along, snatched one of the tiny birds and took off into the sky.

At that time, the elder brother spoke these verses to the younger brother:

"A man suffers pain, alone, by himself; a man also feels pleasure alone, by himself.
You should peck that falcon, and injure him in a vital place.
If you besiege him with enough pain, he will release you.
Now, your body is tiny, and my strength is weak;
Put all your effort into it, don't slack off!"

The Younger brother, having heard what the elder brother said,
  Summoned up all his energy and force,
  Exhausting his body to the limit of its strength, thinking this is the end,
  He pecked the falcon in its body's vital place.
The falcon, suffering much pain in his body, afflicted,
  Quickly became ill, and released the parrot,
  Since his body ached from pain.
Quickly, flying here and there, seeking refuge,
  The parrot was released due to skillful pecking
  of that falcon at its most vital joint.
There was no place to which the falcon could escape or hide from its besiegement,
  It was so intense! The parrot took off into the sky.
The falcon, seeing the parrot, flew in pursuit,
  But gave up, as [the parrot] had gone too far, seeking the living path.

The pecking parrot then, was me, explained Śākyamuni.
The falcon was Māra-pāpīyān.
Having already subdued him them, how much more so today, with all the merits that have been accumulated [since then]?
How could King Māra not be subdued? You Bhikṣus should know that.
-- 

Dan