‘I have wings that do not fly! I have feet that do not walk! Mother and father have fled! Jātaveda the fire: go back!’
As I declared this truth the great crested flames withdrew sixteen leagues, as if they had come to water. There is no one to equal my truthfulness: this is my perfection of truth.”
The Conduct Leading to Buddhahood The Chapter With Yudhañjaya The Perfection of Truth (4th) The Fish King’s Conduct
“Then again when I was a fish king in a great lake, in the heat of the sun the water in the lake evaporated.
Then crows and vultures, herons, hawks, and falcons, perched near the fish and devoured them day and night.
There I had the following thought, being harassed with my relatives: ‘By what means can I free my relatives from this suffering?’
Considering the value of the Dhamma, I saw the truth as a support. Standing in the truth, I freed my relatives from that holocaust.
Recollecting the true Dhamma, considered the ultimate goal, I made a declaration of truth that would last eternally in the world.
‘So long as I can recall myself, since I became aware, I do not recall deliberately harming even a single living creature.