Biographical Stories, Part 2, Chronicle of the Buddhas, The Basket of Conduct

Summarized by AI from the full volume (34 topics) — click to jump to where each topic begins.

1. Page 551–552 Prologue and Akitti's Conduct The text opens with the Buddha introducing the theme of the entire work: across countless past lives he cultivated the qualities that ripened into his awakening, and he will now recount them in verse. The first story is set in a time when he lived as the ascetic Akitti, surviving alone in a remote forest on foraged leaves. When the god Sakka, testing him, came in the guise of a poor brahmin begging for food not once but three times, Akitti gave away his entire meager meal each time without hesit
2. Page 552–553 Saṅkha's Conduct While traveling to a port to cross the ocean, the brahmin Saṅkha encounters a barefoot ascetic walking a scorching, rough road. Reasoning that a person genuinely wishing for merit must act the moment a worthy recipient appears, just as a farmer must sow when he has fertile land, Saṅkha removes his own sandals and parasol and gives them to the stranger, despite being far more delicate and pampered than the man he serves. The story illustrates the perfection of giving through the logic of seizing
3. Page 553–554 Kururāja's Conduct (King Dhañañjaya and the Elephant) As King Dhañañjaya, ruler of the Kuru capital Indapatta, the future Buddha is asked by brahmins from famine-stricken Kaliṅga to give up his prized lucky elephant so that rain might return to their land. Though warned by his ministers that the elephant was invaluable to the kingdom's fortune and military strength, he gives it away without regret, declaring he would surrender his whole kingdom and body if needed because omniscience matters more to him than any possession. The story shows generosit
4. Page 554–555 Mahāsudassana's Conduct As the wheel-turning monarch Sudassana the Great, ruling from the city of Kusāvatī, the future Buddha institutes an extraordinary system of public giving, proclaiming morning, noon, and night in hundreds of places that anyone in need of food, clothing, umbrellas, or sandals should come and take what they want. He explains that he gives not because he dislikes wealth or lacks resources, but because generosity is like medicine that cures the sickness of unfulfilled need. The story portrays royal p
5. Page 555–556 Mahāgovinda's Conduct As the brahmin Mahāgovinda, chief priest and advisor to seven allied kings, the future Buddha takes all the tribute and wealth he receives from his high office and redistributes it as constant, unwavering giving, likened to the vastness of the ocean. As in the previous story, he insists his generosity comes not from indifference to riches but from valuing omniscience above them. The tale illustrates a life of privilege and influence turned entirely toward selfless giving rather than personal acc
6. Page 556 King Nimi's Conduct As King Nimi of Mithilā, the future Buddha builds four public halls at the four points of the compass and stocks them with food, clothing, and beds, freely available to every being, human or animal, without restriction. He compares his motive to a servant seeking favor from a master, but reframes it: what he truly seeks through this generosity, in every life, is the wisdom of awakening. The story shows giving as a habitual civic institution rather than a single dramatic gesture.
7. Page 556–557 Prince Candana's Conduct Prince Canda, the Moon, of the city Pupphavatī, having narrowly escaped being sacrificed, is so overcome with a sense of spiritual urgency that he vows to make a great offering, going without food or drink for days until a worthy recipient can be found. He reasons like a merchant investing goods for profit: what is given away, even at cost to oneself, returns multiplied far beyond its original value. The episode links a personal brush with death to an intensified, uncompromising resolve to give.
8. Page 557–559 King Sivi's Conduct (The Gift of His Eyes) King Sivi of Ariṭṭha muses that there is no gift he would refuse to give, not even his own eyes, a boast overheard and tested by Sakka, who appears as a blind old beggar asking for one of the king's eyes. Overjoyed rather than dismayed at finally being asked for something so precious, Sivi has both eyes plucked out and given to the beggar without his resolve ever wavering, insisting he does not dislike his eyes or himself but values omniscience above all. This is one of the collection's most ext
9. Page 559–565 Vessantara's Conduct The longest and most famous story in the collection follows Prince Vessantara from before his birth, when his mother Phussatī is granted favors by Sakka, through a childhood vow to give away anything asked of him, to his adult reign marked by giving away a sacred rain-bringing elephant. Banished from his kingdom for this gift, he leaves with his wife Maddī and their two children, giving away his chariot and horses along the way, and eventually gives away his own children to a brahmin beggar and
10. Page 565–567 The Wise Hare's Conduct As a hare living peacefully alongside a monkey, jackal, and otter, the future Buddha urges his companions to prepare almsgifts for the sabbath, but realizes he has nothing to give but grass. When Sakka appears disguised as a hungry brahmin to test him, the hare offers his own body as food, asking the brahmin to light a fire so he may roast himself, and leaps gladly into the flames, which turn out, by Sakka's power, to feel as cool as water. The story is a striking image of a being so poor in pos
11. Page 568–569 The Elephant Who Provided for His Mother The text shifts to the perfection of ethics with the story of an elephant of unmatched virtue who cares devotedly for his blind mother in the forest, gathering lotus roots to feed her. Though gentle enough to be led away by a king's trainer without any need for traps or restraints, the elephant possesses immense natural strength, strength he refuses to use against his captors, holding firm to his ethical resolve even under threat of violence. The tale demonstrates that true ethical restraint is
12. Page 569–570 The Dragon Bhūridatta's Conduct The nāga Bhūridatta, having glimpsed the pleasures of heaven, undertakes strict ethical observances in hope of rebirth there, lying peacefully on a termite mound and mentally offering his own body to anyone who has use for it. A snake-charmer named Ālampāyana seizes him, crams him into a basket, and forces him to perform tricks across the land, yet Bhūridatta, who could destroy his captor instantly with his power, refuses to become angry, valuing his ethical vow over his own comfort or dignity.
13. Page 570–571 The Dragon Campeyyaka's Conduct The nāga king Campeyyaka observes the sabbath and precepts so strictly that a snake-charmer captures and forces him to perform color-changing tricks at the royal gate. Despite possessing the power to reduce his captor to ash instantly, Campeyyaka reasons that abandoning ethical conduct even to escape suffering would be a greater loss than any physical harm, since a being who falls from ethics cannot reach the highest goal. His resolve to let his body be destroyed rather than break a precept rein
14. Page 571–572 Cūḷabodhi's Conduct The ascetic Cūḷabodhi and his wife renounce worldly life together, only for a king to become infatuated with her and have her forcibly seized. Though he feels a surge of anger at seeing his companion dragged away, Cūḷabodhi deliberately remembers his precepts and suppresses the anger before it can grow, resolving that he would not break his ethical vows even if she were attacked with a knife before his eyes. The story shows the internal effort of controlling a legitimate, justified anger for the
15. Page 572–573 The Buffalo King's Conduct A powerful forest buffalo is repeatedly harassed and defiled by a mischievous monkey who fouls him day after day. A forest spirit urges the buffalo to kill the monkey with his horns, but the buffalo refuses, reasoning that retaliating would degrade his own character and that it is better to die keeping his integrity than to live having harmed another out of irritation. He predicts, correctly, that the monkey's disrespect will eventually be punished by someone less patient than himself, illustrat
16. Page 573–574 Ruru the Deer King's Conduct The golden deer king Ruru rescues a drowning man who had thrown himself into the Ganges to escape his creditors, asking only that the man tell no one of his existence. The man later betrays this trust for a reward, leading the king to hunt Ruru down, but Ruru offers himself in the ungrateful man's place rather than see him killed for the betrayal, valuing his ethical commitment above his own life. The story pairs an act of rescue with steadfast forgiveness of betrayal.
17. Page 575 Mātaṅga's Conduct The ascetic Mātaṅga lives peacefully upstream from a brahmin who curses him out of prejudice, wishing his head would split into seven pieces. Though Mātaṅga could destroy the brahmin instantly with a mere glance if he let his ethics lapse, he instead redirects the curse's danger away and frees the brahmin from its effect, refusing to retaliate even against open hostility. The brief episode reinforces the recurring pattern of possessing destructive power but choosing restraint as the higher ethic
18. Page 575–576 The Deity Dhamma's Conduct As a powerful spirit named Dhamma who guides people toward the ten skillful ways of conduct, the future Buddha comes into direct conflict with a rival spirit who promotes wickedness, their chariots colliding on a shared road. Rather than escalate into the destructive war both sides are poised for, Dhamma steps off the road and yields the way to his wicked adversary, and it is this act of restraint, not force, that ultimately causes the earth to open and swallow the wicked spirit. The story shows
19. Page 576–577 Alīnasattu's Conduct Prince Alīnasattu's father, King Jayaddisa, is captured by a cannibal while hunting and only escapes by promising to return as its next meal. Learning of the promise, the prince takes his father's place, approaching the cannibal unarmed so as not to frighten it, which he considers itself an ethical violation, and instructing it to cook and eat him instead. His self-sacrifice ultimately ends the cannibal's violence against living beings entirely, showing ethical conduct maintained even in negotia
20. Page 578 Saṅkhapāla's Conduct The nāga king Saṅkhapāla, deadly and immensely powerful, deliberately makes himself vulnerable at a crossroads, mentally offering his body to whoever might need it. A group of violent hunters find him, pierce his nose and spine, and drag him away on a pole, torment he could end instantly by incinerating them with his breath, but does not, holding to his ethical vow not to harm even his tormentors. This closes the Perfection of Ethics chapter with its most physically brutal test of nonretaliation
21. Page 578 Yudhañjaya's Conduct Struck with a sudden sense of spiritual urgency at the sight of a dewdrop evaporating in the sun, a symbol of life's fleeting nature, Prince Yudhañjaya asks his grieving parents and the entire kingdom for permission to renounce the throne and go forth as a wandering ascetic. He walks away from immense royal fame and family attachment without a trace of regret, valuing the pursuit of awakening over rulership. This opens the Perfection of Renunciation chapter, establishing renunciation as a decisi
22. Page 580–581 Somanassa's Conduct The virtuous young Somanassa exposes a fraudulent ascetic favored by the king as a hollow fake living off false spiritual reputation. Falsely accused by the offended charlatan and sentenced to death, Somanassa manages to plead his case directly to the king and clear his name, but rather than accept the throne offered to him in apology, he renounces it entirely and goes forth into homelessness. The story links a test of discernment, seeing through false holiness, with a definitive choice of renun
23. Page 582–583 Ayoghara's Conduct Prince Ayoghara, raised in confinement inside an iron house to protect him from a prophecy of assassination, reflects when finally offered the kingdom that even the safest, most privileged life he has known was still one of suffering and imprisonment. Concluding that no worldly position, however secure, can free him from the suffering built into existence, he abandons the throne and enters the forest as the crowd wails at his departure. The story portrays renunciation as a wearied response to a
24. Page 583–584 The Conduct of the Lotus-eaters A family of eight, a woman, her seven brothers, and her parents, one by one choose to renounce the world after the eldest brother rejects an arranged marriage and expresses his wish to leave lay life entirely. Rather than opposing him, his siblings and then his parents are moved by his sincerity and choose to join him, and the whole family abandons its considerable wealth together to enter the forest as renunciants. This story frames renunciation as something that can spread through sincerity an
25. Page 584 Soṇa the Astute's Conduct Soṇa, born into a wealthy and eminent family, becomes disturbed by the pervasive moral blindness he sees in the world and longs to leave household life, resisting his relatives' attempts to keep him bound to worldly pleasure. His younger brother Nanda, inspired by Soṇa's example, chooses to follow him into renunciation, and ultimately the whole family, Soṇa, Nanda, and their parents, abandons its riches for the forest together. Like the Lotus-eaters story, it shows renunciation as a value transm
26. Page 585–587 Temiya's Conduct Born after his father had despaired of a male heir, Prince Temiya is horrified when, as a small child, he witnesses his father hand down a death sentence and glimpses the suffering intrinsic to kingship. Warned by a former relative reborn as a goddess that only feigning total helplessness, deafness, muteness, and paralysis, will let him avoid the throne, Temiya endures sixteen years of pretending to be disabled, willingly enduring public scorn and even being taken out to be buried alive, never b
27. Page 587 The Monkey King's and the Ascetic Truthful's Conduct Two brief tales open the Perfection of Truth chapter. As a monkey trapped on a riverbank by a crocodile waiting to devour him, the future Buddha tricks the crocodile by promising to step onto its head to cross, and does exactly what he said he would do, proving that even a lifesaving lie was unnecessary because he had committed to truthful speech. The second, even briefer tale recalls a past life as an ascetic literally named “Truthful,” who used the power of his truthful speech alone to unite a
28. Page 588–589 The Baby Quail's Conduct As a newly hatched quail chick too weak to fly or walk, the future Buddha is abandoned in the nest by his parents when a forest fire approaches. Unable to save himself physically, he instead makes a formal declaration of truth, invoking the purity of his own conduct and calling on the fire itself to retreat, and the wall of flame miraculously withdraws before reaching him. The story introduces the distinctive device of the truth-declaration, where sincerely spoken truth becomes a protective forc
29. Page 589–590 The Fish King's Conduct When a lake dries up in the heat and birds of prey begin devouring the trapped, dying fish, the fish king makes a declaration of truth on behalf of his suffering relatives, affirming that he has never knowingly harmed a living creature, and calls on the rain god Pajjuna to send rain. The rain immediately pours down, saving the fish and driving off the predators, again demonstrating that a genuinely truthful life gives one's spoken word real power in the world.
30. Page 590–592 Dark Light's Conduct (The Seer Kaṇhadīpāyana) The seer Dark Light has lived fifty years secretly dissatisfied with his ascetic life, telling no one, until a friend's young son is fatally bitten by a viper in his hermitage. Moved by the parents' grief, he makes an unusual declaration of truth confessing his own hidden spiritual half-heartedness, admitting that only seven days of his decades as an ascetic were lived with genuine sincerity, and this stark honesty about his own imperfection becomes the truth-force that cures the boy of the pois
31. Page 592 Sutasoma's Conduct King Sutasoma, captured by a murderous cannibal-king who intends to sacrifice him along with a hundred other royal captives, is granted a request to return to his kingdom briefly to keep a promise to a brahmin. Despite knowing the cannibal will very likely kill him, Sutasoma keeps his word and returns as promised, choosing the risk of death over breaking a promise. The story closes the Perfection of Truth chapter with truthfulness upheld even when it may cost the speaker his life.
32. Page 593 Goldblack's and the One King's Conduct Two short stories illustrate the perfection of love. As “Sāma the black,” the future Buddha lives peacefully among lions, tigers, and other predators in the forest, protected by nothing but the power of his goodwill, with neither side ever showing fear of the other. As the virtuous One King, he governs justly and inclusively, and even after his kingdom is invaded, his family captured, and he himself imprisoned in a pit by the usurper Dabbasena, the episode is offered as proof that his loving-kin
33. Page 594 The Great Hair-raising Conduct In an unnamed ascetic life, the future Buddha sleeps in a charnel ground on a skeleton, where passing villagers alternate between mocking and abusing him and, on other occasions, honoring him with incense, flowers, and food. He records that he felt no anger toward those who tormented him and no special favor toward those who honored him, remaining completely balanced toward pleasure and pain, praise and blame alike. This story exemplifies the perfection of equanimity, the capacity to meet radica
34. Page 594–595 Concluding Verses: The Buddha's Instruction The text closes by summarizing how the Buddha, having endured many kinds of suffering and achieved many kinds of success across the countless past lives illustrated in the preceding stories, fulfilled each of the perfections, giving, ethics, renunciation, wisdom, effort, patience, truthfulness, resolve, love, and equanimity, and thereby realized full awakening. It ends with three parallel exhortations urging the listener to rouse energy in place of laziness, cultivate harmony in place of dispute