23-24
The Great Horse Called Knowing-one
[Courage]
Once upon a time, King
Brahmadatta, who ruled Benares in northern India, had a mighty horse.
Unbeknowst to the king, this horse that was born in the land
of Sindh, in the Indus
River valley of western India, was a
Bodhisattva. Not only was the horse big and strong, he was also very
intelligent and wise. When he was still a colt, people noticed that he always
seemed to understand what his rider wanted even before he was told. So he was
given the name ‘Knowing-one’. ‘Knowing-one’ was considered the greatest and
bravest of all royal horses, and so was given the very best of everything. His
stall was decorated and was always kept clean and beautiful. As horses are
usually faithful to their masters, ‘Knowing-one’ was especially loyal. He was
grateful of how well the king cared for him, and for the respect and trust the
king had for him.
One day, seven neighbouring kings
allied to wage war on King Brahmadatta. Each king brought four great armies -
an elephant cavalry, a horse cavalry, a chariot brigade and ranks of foot
soldiers. Together the seven kings, with all their armies, surrounded the city
of Benares.
King Brahmadatta assembled his ministers and advisers to make plans for
defending the kingdom. They advised him not to surrender. “Your majesty, we
must fight to protect our possessions and positions. But you should not risk
your life by fighting the battle personally. Instead, send out the champion of
all knights to represent you on the battlefield. If he fails, only then should
you go.” The king summoned the champion. “Can you defeat the seven kings?” he
asked. “If you allow me to ride on the great horse ‘Knowing-one’ when fighting
the battle, I will be able to win,” replied the knight. The king agreed and
said: “My champion, it is now up to you and ‘Knowing-one’ to save our country.
Take whatever you need with you.” The champion knight went to the royal stables
and ordered that ‘Knowing-one’ be fed well and dressed in his protective
armour, with all the finest trimmings.
Then he bowed respectfully and
climbed onto the beautiful saddle. ‘Knowing-one’ knew the situation. “These
seven kings have come to attack my country and my king, who feeds and cares for
me. I cannot let the seven kings with their large and powerful armies threaten
my king and all in Benares. But I also cannot
allow the champion knight to kill those kings, for I too would have a share in
the unwholesome action of taking the lives of others, even if the battle was
victorious. Instead, I will capture all seven kings without killing anyone.
That would be a truly great victory!” he thought. With that thought,
‘Knowing-one’ spoke to his rider: “Sir knight, let us win this battle in a new
way, a way without destroying lives. Capture each king, one at a time, and
remain firmly on my back. Let me find the true course through the many armies.
Watch me as you ride, and I will show you the courage that goes beyond the old
way, the killing way!” As he spoke of “a new way”, and “the true course”, and
“the courage that goes beyond”, it seemed the noble steed became larger than
life. He reared up majestically on his powerful hind legs, and looked down on
all the armies surrounding the city. The eyes of all were drawn to this
magnificent one. The earth trembled as his front hooves returned to the ground
and he charged into the midst of the four armies of the first king. He
seeme to possess the speed of lightning,
the might of a hundred elephants, and the glorious confidence of one from some
other world.
The elephants had never seen a
horse such as this, and so the elephant cavalry retreated in fear. The horses
recognised that this great horse, one of their own kind, was the worthy master
of them all, and so the horse cavalry and the chariot brigade stood still and bowed
as the Bodhisattva galloped past. The ranks of foot-soldiers scattered like
flies before a strong wind. The first king hardly knew what had happened,
before he was easily captured and brought back into the city of Benares. And so too with
the second, third, fourth and fifth kings. In the same way the sixth king was
captured. But not before one of his loyal bodyguards leaped out from his hiding
and thrust his sword deep into the side of the brave ‘Knowing- one’. With blood
streaming from his wound, ‘Knowing-one’ carried the champion knight and the
captured sixth king back to the city. When the knight saw the gushing wound, he
was afraid to ride the injured ‘Knowing-one’ against the seventh king. So he
got another war horse, one that was just as big as the brave ‘Knowing-one’, and
dressed it in full battle armour. “This champion knight lost his courage so
quickly. He hasn’t realised the true nature of my power - the knowledge that
true peace is only won by peaceful means. He tries to defeat the seventh king
and his armies in the usual way with an ordinary horse,” thought ‘Knowing- one’
to himself when he saw what happened.
“Having taken the first step to
prevent killing, I cannot stop now. If I do, all the effort I put in to prevent
such killing would go down the drain!” “Sir knight,” said ‘Knowing-one’ to the
knight “the seventh king and his armies are the mightiest of all. If you fight
the battle with an ordinary war horse, even if you slaughter a thousand men and
animals, you will still be defeated. Only I, ‘Knowing-one’ of the mighty Sindh
horse tribe, can win the battle without harming any and bring back the seventh
king alive!” The champion knight regained his courage and mounted the great
horse. Though in great pain from his deadly wound, the brave horse struggled to
his feet, reared and charged through the four armies, and helped bring back the
last of the seven kings. Again all those in his path were spared from harm.
Seeing their seven kings in captivity, all armies dropped their weapons and
surrendered.
Realising that ‘Knowing-one’
would not live through the night, King Brahmadatta went to see him one last
time. He wept to see the great horse dying, for he had raised him since he was
a colt and had come to love him. “My lord, I have served you well. And I have
gone beyond and shown a new way of achieving victory, one that does not require
any bloodshed. Now, you must grant me my last wish. You must not kill these
seven kings, even though they have done wrong to you. For a bloody victory sows
the seeds of the next war. Forgive them for attacking you. Let them return to
their kingdoms, and may you all live in peace from now on,” said Knowing-one.
“Whatever reward you would give to me, give to the champion knight instead. Do
only wholesome deeds, be generous, honour the Truth, and kill no living beings.
Rule with justice and compassion.” Then he closed his eyes and breathed his
last. The king sobbed uncontrollably, and all mourned the passing of the great
horse. With the highest honours, they cremated the body of the Bodhisattva.
King Brahmadatta had the seven
kings brought before him. They too honoured the great one, who had defeated
their vast armies without spilling a single drop of blood, except his own. In
his memory they made peace, and never again did these seven kings and
Brahmadatta waged war on one other.
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