Story The Dog King Named Silver ( 22 )

 

22

The Dog King Named Silver

[Justice]

Once upon time, the King of Benares went to his pleasure garden in his fancily decorated chariot. He loved this chariot, mostly because it had intricately handcrafted leather belts and straps. On that day, having stayed long in the pleasure garden, he returned to the palace late. Instead of locking his chariot up properly, it was left outside in the compound. That night it rained heavily. The leather got wet and gave off an odour. The palace dogs caught the delicious wafting leather scent and came down into the compound. They chewed off and devoured the soft wet chariot straps and returned unseen to their places in the palace before daybreak.

When the king woke up and saw that the leather had been chewed by dogs. He called the

servants and demanded to know how this happened. Since they were supposed to watch over the palace dogs, the servants were afraid to tell the king the truth. Instead, they lied that stray dogs were the culprits and fabricated a story that mutts and mongrels that lived in the city had entered the palace through sewers and storm drains and were the ones who had eaten the fancy leather. The king flew into a terrible rage. So angry was he that he decided to take vengeance against all dogs. He decreed that whoever saw a dog in the city was to kill it at once!

The massacre soon started. The dogs could not understand why they were suddenly being

persecuted. Later that day, they learned of the king’s decree. Frightened for their lives, they retreated to the cemetery just outside the city. This was where their leader, King Silver, lived. Silver was king not because he was the biggest, strongest or toughest. He was actually average in size, with sleek silver fur, sparkling black eyes and alert pointed ears. But he walked with great dignity, that brought admiration and respect from men as well as dogs. He was also the wisest, having learned much in his long life, as well as the most compassionate of all dogs. In the cemetery, the dogs were in chaos. They were frightened to death.

 When King Silver queried them, they told him all about the chariot straps, the king’s decree, and the massacre in the city. King Silver knew there was no way a stray could get into the palace grounds, since it was so heavily guarded. He knew the leather must have been eaten by the palace dogs.

“No matter how different we look, somehow we are all related. I must do all I can to save the lives of all these poor dogs, my relatives,” he thought. “Do not be afraid. I will save all of you. Stay here in the cemetery and don’t wander into the city. I will tell the King of Benares who the real culprits are. The truth will save us all,” he comforted them. Before setting out, he went to a different part of the cemetery to be alone. Having trained his mind and practised goodness all his life, he now concentrated very hard and filled his mind with feelings of loving-kindness. “May all dogs be well and happy, and may all dogs be safe. I’m going to the palace for the sake of dogs and men alike. No one shall attack or harm me,” he thought.

With that, King Silver began to slowly walk down the streets of Benares. Because his mind was focused, he had no fear. And because of his long life of goodness, he walked with a calm dignity that demanded respect. Nobody felt the least bit of anger or harboured any bad intention of harming him, instead they marvelled as the Bodhisattva passed by, having sensed the warm glow of his loving-kindness! It was as if the whole city were spellbound. With no obstruction, King Silver walked past the palace guards, right into the royal hall of justice, and sat down calmly underneath the king’s throne! The King of Benares was impressed by King Silver’s show of courage and dignity that when servants came to remove the dog, he ordered them to let him remain.

A while later, King Silver came out from under the throne and faced the mighty King of Benares. He bowed respectfully and asked: “Your majesty, was it you who ordered that all the dogs of the city should be killed?” “Yes, I did,” replied the king. “What crime did the dogs commit?” asked King Silver. “They ate my beloved chariot leather and straps.” “Do you know which dogs did this?” asked King Silver. “No one knows,” said the King of Benares. “My lord,” said the dog king, “for a king like you who wishes to be righteous, is it right to have all dogs killed because of a few guilty ones? Does this do justice to the innocent ones?” The king replied, as if it made perfect sense to him: “Since I do not know which dogs destroyed my leather, only by ordering the mass killing of all dogs can I be sure of punishing the guilty. The king must have justice!” King Silver paused for a moment, before challenging the king with this crucial question - “My king, did you order all dogs to be killed? Or are there some that would be spared?” The king suddenly became a little uneasy as he was forced to admit, before his whole court, that not all dogs would be killed. “The fine pure-breeds of my palace are to be spared.” “My lord, before, you said that all dogs are to be killed in order to ensure that the guilty parties would be punished. Now you say that your own palace dogs are to be spared. This shows that you are biased. For a king who wishes to be righteous, it is wrong to favour some over the others.

 The king’s justice must be unbiased, like an honest scale. Although you have decreed all dogs to be killed, the fact is only stray dogs in the city are slaughtered. Your pampered palace dogs are unjustly saved, while the wandering strays are wrongly killed!” Recognising truth in the dog king’s words, the King of Benares asked: “Are you wise enough to know which dogs ate my leather straps and belts?” “Yes my lord, I do know,” said King Silver, “it could only be your own favourite palace dogs, and I can prove it.” “Do so,” said the king.

The dog king asked to have the palace pets brought into the hall of justice. Then, he requested for a mixture of buttermilk and grass, and the palace dogs were made to eat it. Lo and behold, when this was done they vomited out partly digested pieces of the king’s leather straps! “My lord, no stray dogs from the city can enter your well-guarded palace compound. You are blinded by prejudice. It is your own dogs that are guilty of the crime. Nevertheless, to kill is an unwholesome thing to do because somehow all lives are related. So all living beings deserve the same respect as relatives.” The whole court was astounded by what had just taken place. Overwhelmed by a rare and sudden feeling of humility, the King of Benares bowed before King Silver and said: “Oh great king of dogs, I have never seen anyone such as you, one who possesses perfect wisdom and great compassion. Truly, your justice is supreme. I offer my throne and the kingdom of Benares to you!”

The Bodhisattva replied: “Arise my lord, I have no desire for a human crown. If you wish to show your respect for me, you should be a just and merciful ruler. It would help too if you can observe the ‘Five Precepts’ by refraining from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying and taking of intoxicants.” The king followed the teachings of the wise King Silver, and ruled with great respect for all living beings. He ordered that whenever he ate, all dogs in Benares were to be fed as well.

The moral is ✏ Bias leads to injustice, wisdom leads to justice.

Posted by irawan

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