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attained the fruit of " Unreturning." The teacher made the con- 

 nection, and summed up the birth- story thus : " At that time the 

 crow was the greedy mendicant, and the pigeon was I myself." 

 (End of the "Pigeon" Birth-Story.) 



43. — VALUE A- J ATAK A. 

 " Bamboo-Boy " Birth-Story. 



"The Advice," fyc. 



This the teacher told while residing in Jetavana on occasion of 

 a certain obstinate mendicant. The blessed one asked him (as 

 before), "Is it true as they say, mendicant, that you are obstinate?" 

 and on his saying " Yes, sir," said, " This is not the first time you 

 have been obstinate ; formerly, too, you were obstinate, and by 

 obstinacy, and not doing what the wise said, you came to your end 

 by a serpent's bite (in the mouth of a serpent). He then related 

 the story of the past. 



In past time, when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the 

 Bodhisat was born in a wealthy family in Kasi, and when he came 

 to years of discretion, seeing the danger of desires and the 

 benefits of abnegation, he renounced desires, and going into the 

 Himalaya country he entered the hermit order, and by practice of 

 mental concentration acquired the five kinds of supernatural 

 knowledge, and the eight attainments, and passed his days in the 

 bliss of meditation, and afterwards becoming much sought after, 

 dwelt in a residence as teacher of a train of five hundred ascetics. 

 A young snake of a venomous kind, roaming according to its 

 instinct, came to the cell of a certain ascetic. The ascetic con- 

 ceived a parent's love for it, and made it a bed in a bamboo-joint, 

 and took care of it. From having its bed in a bamboo-joint 

 they named it "Bamboo-boy." And the ascetic they named 

 "Bamboo-boy's father," from his taking care of it as lovingly as if 

 it were his son. Then the Bodhisat, hearing that one of the 

 ascetics was nursing a poisonous snake, sent for him and asked, 

 "Is it true that you are rearing a poisonous snake?" and on his 

 saying "yes," said, " There is no such thing as friendship with 

 snakes (they cannot be trusted) ; don't rear it." The ascetic said, 

 " He is my pupil and child ; I cannot live without him." " Then he 

 will be the death of you." The ascetic did not take the Bodhisat's 

 advice, and could not give up the snake. Some time after 

 that, all the ascetics went to gather herbs and wild fruits, and 

 finding these plentiful in the place they had gone to, remained 

 there two or three days. " Bamboo-boy's father" went with 

 them, leaving the poisonous snake shut up in his bed in the 



