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The Duddubhāya Jātaka: The Panicking Hare
Everyday life

The Duddubhāya Jātaka: The Panicking Hare

Duddubhāyajātakaṃ

A hare hears a bael fruit fall and runs away, and the animals, hearing the hare's words, panic and run too. The verses say that those who follow others' voices without tracing the source are foolish and heedless, while the virtuous and wise are not easily led by others.

6 points

In the Duddubhāya Jātaka of the Catukkanipāta, Khuddaka Nikāya, the canonical text consists of only four verses. The first is the hare's: where I live, something goes "duddubha"; I don't know where the sound came from, or what made it. The second tells that the hare heard a ripe bael fruit fall with a "duddubha" and ran, and the herd of animals, hearing the hare's words, took fright and fled too.

The last two verses draw the lesson. Those who follow others' voices without reaching the track of knowledge are fools, utterly heedless, quick to believe others. But those endowed with virtue and wisdom, delighting in peace, who keep far from evil, are not led by others.

The details passed down come from the Jātaka commentary: the hare lies thinking, "If the earth were to collapse, where would I go?"; hearing the fruit fall, it cries that the earth is collapsing; animals from deer to elephants run after one another in a chain; and the Bodhisatta, a lion, questions them one by one about who saw it, traces it back to the hare, and takes the hare to the spot, where they find only a fallen fruit. These details are not in the verses.

  1. 1

    Hearing a sound without knowing what it is Ahampetaṃ na jānāmi

    The hare itself says that where it lives something goes "duddubha", and it knows neither where the sound came from nor what made it. The panic starts from something the speaker does not yet know.

    Applying it in daily life

    Before retelling something you've heard, ask how much you really know. If all you can say is "people are saying", say exactly that, or don't retell it yet.

  2. 2

    Fear spreads down the chain Sasassa vacanaṃ sutvā

    The hare hears a ripe bael fruit fall and runs, and the herd of animals, hearing the hare's words, takes fright and flees too. The animals that follow never heard the sound themselves; they run because of another's words.

    Applying it in daily life

    When people around you panic, such as rushing to stockpile or selling off shares together, stop and ask what the cause is and whether anyone can confirm it.

  3. 3

    Believing before reaching the track Appatvā padaviññāṇaṃ

    The verse speaks of those who believe before reaching the track of knowledge, that is, before tracing the matter until they know the truth for themselves.

    Applying it in daily life

    With news that makes you very alarmed or angry, look for the original source first, such as an official announcement or a verifiable news outlet, before believing it or commenting.

  4. 4

    Following others' voices is heedlessness Paraghosānusārino

    Those who follow the voices of others, the verse calls fools, utterly heedless, quick to believe others. Heedlessness here means not using one's own wisdom to check.

    Applying it in daily life

    Notice whether your view on a matter comes from your own knowledge or from what someone you like has said, and look for the other side before deciding.

  5. 5

    The virtuous and wise are not easily led Na honti parapattiyā

    Those endowed with virtue and wisdom, delighting in peace, who keep far from evil, are not led by others. A calm mind is not carried away by fear.

    Applying it in daily life

    When a piece of news sets your heart racing, put your phone down for a moment and breathe until you're calm, then decide whether to believe or share it.

  6. 6

    From the commentary: the lion traces the source Duddubhāyajātakaṃ

    According to the commentary, the lion asks each group of animals who saw the earth collapse. Each says it heard from another group, until he traces it to the hare. He then takes the hare to where it had been lying and finds only a fallen fruit, and returns to tell the animals not to be afraid.

    Applying it in daily life

    When a rumour spreads at work or in the family, ask step by step who heard it from whom, until you reach the person who claims to know first-hand, then check with the person concerned or the facts directly.

Try it in daily life

The panicking hare happens every day in chat groups and on social media. News of a disaster, a miracle cure or someone's terrible deed is forwarded along a chain, and almost no one forwarding it saw anything themselves.

The verses don't teach us to believe no one, or to ignore warnings from responsible authorities. They teach us to trace a claim to its source before believing or passing it on. In the commentary's story, the lion does not mock the other animals' fear; he asks step by step until he reaches the one who claims to have heard it, then goes to look.

If you can't verify something yet, the simplest thing you can do is not forward it. Panic stops with the person who stops passing it on.

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