Prince Goodspeaker and
The Water Demon
[Chapter 1. Rebirth of the Bodhisattva]
Once upon a time, there was a very righteous king. He had a lovely queen who gave birth
to a beautiful baby. The king was very happy. Wanting to give his son a name that might
help him later in life, he called him Prince Goodspeaker.
This prince was no ordinary baby. This was not his first life nor his first birth. Millions
of years before, he had been a follower of a Buddha - a fully “Enlightened One”. He had
wished with all his heart to become a Buddha just like his beloved master - to gain the same
enlightenment and experience of complete truth.
Lives after lives, he had been reborn - sometimes as poor animals, sometimes as long-
living gods and sometimes as human beings. He always tried to learn from his mistakes
and develop the “Ten Perfections”, so he could purify his mind and remove the three root
causes of unwholesomeness - the poisons of craving, anger and the delusion of a separate
self. By using the Perfections, he would someday be able to replace the poisons with the
three purities - non-attachment, loving-kindness and wisdom.
No one really knows about the millions of lives lived by this great Bodhisattva. But many
stories have been told - including this one about a prince called Goodspeaker. After many
more rebirths, he became the Buddha who is remembered and loved in all the world today.
[Chapter 2. The Teachings of the Gods]
Soon after, the queen gave birth to another son. He was named Prince Moon. When both
children had just learnt to walk, their mother suddenly became very ill and passed away.
To help him look after his playful children, the king found a princess to become his new
queen. A few years later, this queen gave birth to a beautiful bright little boy.
He was named Prince Sun. Pleased with his queen and wanting to reward her for bringing up all three children, he promised to grant her one wish.
He was named Prince Sun. Pleased with his queen and wanting to reward her for bringing up all three children, he promised to grant her one wish.
“Thank you my lord, I will tell you my wish
in the future,” replied the queen after careful consideration.
Days flew by, and the three princes soon grew up. The queen noticed that Prince Goodspeaker
was intelligent and understanding. “If these two older princes remain in the palace, my son,
Prince Sun, will never get a chance to be king. Therefore, I must do something to make him
the next king,” thought the new queen.
One day, when the king was in a good mood, the queen respectfully approached him and
reminded him of the one wish he had granted her. As he was in a happy mood, the king
said: “Ask whatever you want!” “Oh my husband and king, grant my wish that our son,
Prince Sun, will succeed you as the next king when you pass away,” she answered.
The king was shocked by
her request. He became angry and said: “My first two children are
like bright stars! How can I hand the throne over to my third son? My citizens will blame
me. That cannot be done!” The queen kept quiet.
Even though the king was in a good mood earlier, he was now worried and anxious. He
was afraid that his queen might scheme to kill his first two sons. He decided that he must
do something to ensure the safety of his two older children.
The king secretly called the two princes to him. He told them of the queen’s dangerous
desire, and sadly bade them farewell so that they could remain safe from the queen’s plot
-
ting. They should return only after their father’s death to take their rightful places and rule
the kingdom. The two obedient princes accepted their father’s order and prepared to leave.
In a few days, they were ready. They said painful goodbyes to their father and friends, and
left the palace. On their way through the royal gardens, they chanced upon Prince Sun.
The youngest prince had always been very affectionate and friendly towards his two older
half-brothers, and was upset to hear that they were leaving the palace. So he decided that
he too would leave the kingdom. The three friendly princes departed together.
For several months they travelled, until they reached the forest of the mighty Himalayas.
Weary and tired from the journey, they sat down under a tree to rest. Then the eldest
brother, Prince Goodspeaker, instructed the youngest prince to fetch some water from a
nearby lake using lotus leaves. “Bring them back here so we can all have a drink,” he said.
But the princes did not know that the beautiful dark blue lake was possessed by a water
demon! He was permitted by his demon king to eat any beings that he could convince to
venture into the water. But there was one condition. He could not eat anyone who knew
the answer to this question - “What are the teachings of the gods?”
When Prince Sun arrived at the lake, he was dehydrated, dirty and tired. He went straight
into the water without a second thought. The water demon rose up from under the water
suddenly and captured him. “What are the teachings of the gods?” demanded the demon.
“I know the answer to that! The sun and the moon are the teachings of the gods,” replied
the prince. “You don’t know the teaching of the gods, so you belong to me!” laughed the
water demon and pulled Prince Sun under the water and locked him up in a deep cave.
When Prince Sun did not return after some time, Prince Goodspeaker asked his second
brother, Prince Moon, to fetch the water from the lake. When he reached there, he too went
right into the water immediately. Again, the water demon appeared, grabbed him and asked:
“What are the teachings of the gods?” Prince Moon’s replied: “The four directions - North,
South, East and West - these are the teachings of the gods.” “You don’t know the teach
-
ings of the gods, so you belong to me!” guffawed
the water demon. Then he imprisoned
Prince Moon in the same underwater cave with Prince Sun.
When both his brothers did not return, Prince Goodspeaker began to worry that they might
be in some danger. He went to the beautiful dark blue lake searching for them. As he was a
wise and careful person, he did not step into the water immediately. Instead, he investigated
and saw that there were two sets of footprints which led into the lake - but not out of it! To
protect himself, he got his sword, bow and arrows ready, and began to walk around the lake.
Seeing that this prince did not go straight into the lake, the water demon appeared disguised
as a humble villager and said: “My dear friend, you look tired and dirty. Why don’t you get
into the water, take a bath, drink, and eat some lotus roots?”
Remembering the one-way footprints, Prince Goodspeaker demanded: “You must be some
kind of demon disguised as a human! What have you done with my brothers?” Surprised
at being recognised so quickly, the water demon returned to his true ferocious form. “By
my rights, I have captured your brothers!”
“For what reason?” asked the prince. “So that I can gobble them up!” answered the demon.
“I have permission from the demon king to feed on all who step into this lake and do not
know the teachings of the gods. Only one who knows the teachings of the gods is spared.”
“Why do you need to know the teachings of the gods? What good does it do for a demon like
you?” asked the prince. The water demon replied: “I know there must be some advantage
to me.” “Then I will tell you what the gods teach,” said Prince Goodspeaker.
“But I have a
problem. Look at me. I am all covered with dust and dirt from travelling. I cannot speak
about wise teachings in this condition.”
By now, the water demon realised that this prince was especially wise. He had him washed
up and refreshed. He also gave him water to drink, tender lotus roots to eat and prepared
a comfortable seat decorated with pretty wildflowers for him. After laying aside his sword,
bow and arrows, the Bodhisattva sat on the adorned seat. The ferocious demon sat by his
feet, just like a student listening to a respected teacher as he said:
“These are the teachings of the gods:
You should be ashamed to do unwholesome deeds.
You should be afraid to do unwholesome deeds.
You should always do wholesome deeds - deeds that bring happiness to others and help
mankind.
Only then will you find inner peace and happiness.”
The water demon was pleased with his answer. “Worthy prince, you have completely
satisfied my question. You have made me so happy that I will return you one of your
brothers. Which one do you choose?”
“In that case, release my youngest brother, Prince Sun,” declared Prince Goodspeaker. “My
lord prince and wise one, you know the teachings of the gods but you do not practise them!”
replied the demon to Prince Goodspeaker’s choice. “Why do you say that?” asked the prince.
“Because you leave the other brother to die, saving only the youngest. You do not respect
seniority!” answered the demon.
To this, the prince replied: “Oh demon, I know the teachings of the gods, and I do practise
them. The three of us came to this forest because of our youngest brother. His mother
wants him to be the next king. So it is for our protection that our father, the present king,
sent us here. The young Prince Sun joins us out of friendship. But if we return to the court
without him, and say he was eaten by a water demon who wants to know the teachings of
the gods, who would believe us? They would think we killed him because he is the cause of
our danger. This would bring shame to us and unhappiness to the kingdom. Fearing such
terrible consequences, I command you again to release the young Prince Sun.”
The water demon was so pleased with this answer that he said: “Well done, well done, my
lord. You know the true teachings of the gods, and you do practise them! I will gladly
return
both brothers to you!” Saying that, he descended into the lake and brought both princes
up. They were wet but unharmed.
The Bodhisattva further gave helpful advice to the demon. He said: “Oh water demon, my
new friend, you must have committed many unwholesome deeds in your previous lives
to be born as a flesh-eating demon. If you continue your old ways, you will be trapped in
a terrible state even in later lives. For unwholesome deeds only lead to shame, fear and
unpleasant rebirth. But wholesome deeds pave the way to self-respect, peace and pleasant
rebirth. Therefore, it would be much better for you, from now on, to do pure deeds, rather
than impure deeds.” Hearing this, the demon changed his ways, and the princes lived
together happily under his protection.
One day, word came that the king had died. The three princes as well as their friend, the
water demon, returned to the capital city. Prince Goodspeaker was crowned as king. Prince
Moon became the chief minister and Prince Sun became the commander of the state’s army.
The water demon was awarded a safe place to live, where he was well-fed, well-cared for
and entertained for the rest of his life. In this way, they all acquired wholesome meritorious
thoughts leading to rebirths in the heavenly realms.
The moral is
✏
Unwholesome actions bring shame and fear, while wholesome actions
bring self-respect and peace to one.
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