BURLINGAME. — BUDDHAGHOSA's DHAMMAPADA COMMENTARY. 523 



The Teacher said, "Yes, there are." Jlvaka sent a servant to 

 find out. At that moment Little Roadling, aware of what his 

 brother had said, exercised his supernatural power and filled the 

 Mango-grove with a thousand monks. Jivaka's servant returned and 

 said, "The whole Mango-grove is full of monks." The Teacher said 

 to him, "Go and tell Little Roadling to come hither." The servant 

 went to the grove and called out, "Little Roadling, come hither." 

 Thereupon the cry went up from a thousand throats, " Here I am ! 

 Here I am ! " The servant went back to the Teacher and said, " They 

 all say they 're Little Roadling." " Well, then," said the Teacher, "go 

 back and take by the hand the first one who says he 's Little Roadling, 

 and the rest will vanish." The servant did as he was told and soon 

 returned with his man. (247-8) 



After the meal Little Roadling returned thanks, and the Teacher, 

 accompanied by the monks, withdrew. When the monks assembled in 

 the evening, they discussed Little Roadling's expulsion from the mon- 

 astery and subsequent attainment of Arahatship, and were loud in 

 their praises of the Buddha. All of a sudden the Buddha appeared 

 in their midst and said to them, " This is not the first time Little 

 Roadling has shown himself a dullard ; aforetime, too, he was a dullard. 

 Nor is it the first time I have assisted him ; aforetime, too, I assisted 

 him, and by my assistance he attained no less success in the things of 

 this world than he has just attained in higher things." "Tell us all 

 about it," said the monks ; whereupon the Teacher began the following 

 story of the past : (248-250) 



The World-renowned Teacher, the Young Man, and the King of 

 Benares. A young man of Benares once went to Takkasila and became 

 a pupil of a World-renowned Teacher. He was most faithful in the 

 performance of his duties as a pupil, but such a dullard was he that 

 after a long term of residence he was unable to repeat a single Stanza. 

 Finally he became discouraged, and went to his Teacher and told him 

 that he was going to give it up as a bad job and go back home. The 

 Teacher had by this time become much attached to his pupil by reason 

 of the latter's dutifulness to him ; so he took him to the forest and 

 taught him a charm, telling him that it would insure him a living, and 

 impressing it upon him that he must recite it over and over again to 

 avoid the possibility of forgetting it. And this is the way the charm 

 went : " You 're at it, you 're at it ; why are you at it 1 /know what 

 you 're at." When the young man had mastered the charm he 

 returned to Benares. (250-251) 



It so happened just at this time that the King of Benares made a 

 careful examination of his thoughts, words, and deeds, for the purpose 



