28
The Bull Called
Delightful
[All Deserve Respect]
Long, long ago, the Bodhisattva
was born as a calf in a city called Takkasila, in the country of Gandhara.
Seeing he was well-bred for strength, a rich man bought the calf and soon became
very fond of the gentle animal. He took good care of the calf, he named
‘Delightful’, and fed him only the best food. In time, Delightful grew up into
a big, fine strong bull. “My master brought me up, and generously gave me good
food and constant care, even when there were difficulties. Now that I am a
fully grown bull and there are none that can pull as heavy a load as I can, I should
put my strength to good use and give something in return to my master,” he
thought. So he said to his master: “Sir, please challenge a wealthy merchant
who is proud of having many strong bulls by saying that yours can pull 100
heavily loaded bullock carts.”
Following Delightful’s advice,
the rich man went up to one such merchant and struck up a conversation with
him. After a while, he brought up the topic of who had the strongest bull in
the city. “Many have bulls, but no one has any as strong as mine,” boasted the
merchant. “Sir, I have a bull that can pull 100 heavily loaded bullock carts,”
contested the rich man. “No, friend, That can’t be. How can such a bull exist?
This is too incredible!” exclaimed the merchant. “I do have such a bull, and I
am willing to make a bet,” replied the rich man. “In that case, I will bet
1,000 gold coins that your bull cannot pull 100 loaded bullock carts.” The bet
was made and a date and time were fixed for the challenge. On that day, the
merchant linked 100 big bullock carts together. He filled them with sand and
gravel to make them really heavy. The rich man, on the other hand, fed the
finest rice to his bull. He bathed Delightful and placed a beautiful, fresh
garland of flowers around his neck.
Then he harnessed the first cart
to the bull and climbed up onto it. Wanting to make himself seemed very
important, he cracked a whip in the air and yelled at the faithful bull: “Pull,
you dumb animal! I command you to pull, you big dummy!” “I have never done anything bad to my master,
and yet he insults me with such hard harsh words! Besides, this challenge was
my idea,” thought Delighful with indignation. So he remained in his place and
refused to pull the carts.
The merchant laughed and demanded
his winnings from the bet. The rich man had no choice but to pay him 1,000 gold
coins. Saddened by his financial loss, he returned home and sat down,
embarrassed by the blow to his pride. Delightful grazed peacefully and when he
reached home, he saw his master lying miserably on his side. “Sir, why are you
lying there like that?” he asked. “Are you sleeping? You look sad.” “I lost
1,000 gold coins because of you. With such a loss, how can I sleep?” answered the
man. “Sir, you called me a dummy. You even cracked a whip in the air above my
head. In all my life, did I ever break or step on anything? Have I ever made a
mess in the wrong place, or behaved like a dummy in any way?” “No, my pet,”
answered the rich man.
“Then sir, why did you call me a
dumb animal and insult me in the presence of others?” asked the bull. “It is
your fault. I have done nothing wrong. But since I feel sorry for you, go again
to the merchant and make the same bet for 2,000 gold coins. And remember to use
only respectful words that I deserve so truly.” The rich man went back to the
merchant. This time he made a bet for 2,000 gold coins. The merchant agreed as
he thought it was easy money to earn. Like the first time, he set up 100
heavily loaded bullock carts, while the rich man fed, bathed and decorated the
bull with a garland of flowers around his neck.
When all was ready, instead of
brandishing a whip, the rich man touched Delightful’s forehead with a lotus
blossom. Then speaking as if he were his own child, he said gently: “My son,
please do me the honour of pulling these 100 bullock carts.”
Lo and behold, the wonderful bull
pulled with all his might and dragged the heavy carts,
until the last one stood in the
place of the first. The merchant dropped his jaws wide open in disbelief. He
had no choice but to pay 2,000 gold coins to the rich man. The onlookers were
so impressed that they honoured Delightful with gifts. But even more important
for the rich man than his winnings was the valuable lesson he had learnt in
humility and respect.
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