Two Mothers
(Renunciation)
Once upon a time, there was a very well-known teacher in the
city of Takkasila, in northern India. He taught religion, as well as all other
subjects. His knowledge was vast and he was widely renowned as a teacher. At
that time, a son was born to a rich family in Benares. The family kept a holy
fire burning constantly ever since. When the boy turned 16, they gave him a
choice. They said, “This holy fire has been burning since the very day you were
born. If you wish to be reborn in one of the highest levels of heavens, take it
into the forest and worship the fire god. “However, if you wish to lead the
life of an ordinary family man, you must learn how to manage the wealth of our
family in the affairs of the world. If this is the life you choose, go and
study under the world-famous teacher of Takkasila.” The young man replied, “I
don’t want to be a holy man. I would very much rather be a family man.” So he
bade farewell to his parents, and with a thousand gold coins given by his father
for the teacher’s fees, set out for Takkasila.
After several years, the man graduated with honours and
returned to Benares. Meanwhile, his parents had increasingly wished that he had
taken the route of a holy man in the forest. This was their wish on the day
that he was born. His mother wanted the best life possible for her son. “My son
wants to get married and raise a family. He does not realise how dangerous a
wicked woman can be to a man. I must find a way to get his teacher to teach him
this,” she thought.
So the wise woman asked her son, “Did you earn only the
Ordinary Degree, or have you obtained both the Ordinary Degree and the higher
‘Unhappiness Degree’?”
“I have earned only the Ordinary Degree,” he replied.
“How can you be schooled in the ways of the world if you have
learnt nothing about unhappiness? Return to your teacher and ask for the
‘Unhappiness Degree’,” said his mother.
The son dutifully followed his good mother’s advice and
returned to Takkasila. Now, this world-famous teacher had a 120-year-old
mother. She was blind and very weak. The teacher bathed, fed and cared for her
with his own hands. Since it took more and more of his time, he was forced to
give up teaching completely. Eventually, he and his mother moved into a forest
hut, where he looked after her, day and night.
When the young student reached Takkasila, he found that his
old teacher was no longer at the college. Hearing that he had retired and now
lived in the forest, he went there to look for him.
“Why have you come back so soon?” asked the teacher after
they had exchanged greetings. Respectfully, he replied, “Honourable professor,
you did not give me the ‘Unhappiness Degree’.” “Who told you about that
degree?” asked the teacher. “It was my mother, Sir,” he said.
“I’ve never heard of such a degree! No doubt, this wise
mother wanted me to teach her son how wicked some women can be, for they bring
great unhappiness to men,” contemplated the teacher. “All right, I will teach
you so you can earn this higher degree. This course is a work-study programme.
Your lessons will consist of taking care of my old mother for me. You will
bathe, feed and care for her tenderly with your own hands,” said the
knowledgeable teacher. “While you are bathing and massaging her body, you must
constantly compliment her beauty with words like ‘Dear lady, even in your old
age, your skin remains fair and beautiful. You must have been even more
beautiful when you were young!’ And if she says anything to you, you must tell
me without shame, whatever it is, hiding nothing,” he instructed.
“If you do these things correctly, you will earn the
‘Unhappiness Degree’. Then your mother will be very proud of you.” The student
agreed and began attending to the 120-year-old lady. He bathed and fed her with
his own hands. He massaged her arms, legs, back and head, all the while saying
how beautiful she was while doing them. “Madam, it is indeed marvellous, how,
even in such great old age, your arms and legs are still so very beautiful! I
can guess how gorgeous and ravishing you must have been in your youth,” he
repeatedly praised her. This went on for many days. Gradually, lust and desire
began to arise in the old lady’s mind. Even though she knew she was blind and
her body was rotten from old age, she was happy that this young man found her attractive,
and wondered if he wanted to be her husband. So she asked him, “Do you want to
be my husband?”
The young man replied, “Oh yes, of course, madam, very much.
But how can I? Your son is my teacher and he is very respectable. It would cause
such a scandal! I will not dishonour my teacher.”
“Well, in that case, kill my son if you really want to be
with me!” came the old lady’s reply.
“But how can I kill him when I have been studying under him
for so long? How can I kill him just because of this desire for you?” answered
the young man. Then the old lady said, “If you will stay with me and not desert
me, I will kill him myself!” As he had agreed earlier, the student went to his
teacher and recounted to him everything that took place. Amazingly, the teacher
was not surprised. Instead he said, “You have done well to tell me this, my
pupil. I appreciate your good work.” The teacher examined his mother’s
horoscope and discovered that she was to breathe her last that day. “I will
arrange a test for her,” he said.
The teacher carved a life-size statue from the softwood of a
tree limb and made it look exactly like himself. He then laid it in his own bed
and pulled the sheets up over it after attaching a long string to it. He gave
one end of the string to his student and instructed him to take the string and
axe to the old lady. “Tell her it is time to do the killing,” he said. Obediently,
the student returned to the blind old lady. He said, “Madam, my master is
sleeping soundly in his bed. If you follow this string, it will lead you to
him. Then kill him with this axe if you really can do such a thing!” “If you
will not abandon me, I will do it,” she replied.
“Why would I abandon you?” answered the young man. Taking the
axe into her hands, she trembled as she stood up and slowly followed the string
into her son’s room. Standing next to his bed, she felt the statue and thought that
was her son. So she pulled down the sheets from the head and raised the axe.
She struck the neck as hard as she could with the axe hoping to kill him with
one blow. But it only produced a thumping sound, so she knew it had struck
wood.
“What are you doing, my mother?” came her son’s voice
suddenly. She realised she had been tricked and was caught red-handed at her
crime. As the shock was too much for her feeble heart to bear, she dropped dead
on the spot! The horoscope had been correct in predicting her death! After the
teacher had respectfully cremated his mother’s body and offered flowers on her
ashes, he said this to his student, “My son, actually the ‘Unhappiness Degree’
does not exist. Wicked women are the cause of unhappiness. You are fortunate to
have such a good and wise mother. By sending you here to earn the ‘Unhappiness
Degree’, she wanted you to learn how evil some women can be.” “You have seen
with your own eyes and experienced yourself how my mother, filled with craving
and vanity, turned wicked and came to a nasty end. She has taught you this
lesson. Now return to your wise mother, who cares so much for your well-being.”
When he arrived home, his mother asked again, “My dear son,
have you finally earned the higher degree in the subject of Unhappiness?” “Yes,
mother,” he replied.
“I ask you again, my son, do you wish to leave the worldly
life and go into the forest to worship the fire god? Or do you wish to get
married and lead the family life?” To which the son replied, “I do not wish to
lead the family life. I have seen with my own eyes how wicked some women can
be. There is no limit to their craving and vanity. Therefore, I want nothing to
do with family life. I will seek my peace as a forest monk.” Having said that,
the young man asked for his parents’ permission to live in the forest. After
many years of peaceful meditation in the forest, he eventually died and was reborn
in one of the higher heavenly worlds.
The moral is ✏ Wickedness between
women and men brings unhappiness to both.
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